A Collection of Quirky Things About El Salvador -
Dean; Friday, 23 Oct 2015 -

Jim saw some clothes on a line with no clothespins.  The clothes were held in place because the line was made of barbed wire.

Food vendors line highways where traffic zips by at 65 mph.

Money here is all USA currency.

We saw a 2 funerals.  Each consisted of the deceased in a wood casket, inside a glass case, mounted high on the back of a better-than-average pick-up truck that played festive music over loudspeakers.  People walked behind carrying umbrellas for the rain or sun.  Traffic whizzed by on both sides of the procession and in both directions.

We can't drink the water.  Bottled water is always supplied to us on the job site and in the hotel.

No one seems to smoke.  No one - anywhere at any time indoors or outdoors.  Also, smoking is not allowed on Habitat job sites.  I learned that the prevalence of smoking in El Salvador is just 8%, one-fourth of what is is in the United States.  I only saw cigarettes for sale at the airport.

Apparently every vehicle has a stick shift.

Most vehicles lock and unlock only with keys (not a button on a fob).

We'd guess about 1 in 10 rural people own a cell phone, but in the city, the number is higher, maybe 5 in 10.  By no means does everyone own a cell phone.

School for kids is in 2 shifts:  7 to 11:30 a.m. or 1 to 5:30 p.m.  Too many kids and schools too small to accommodate all at once.

All dogs are docile and deliberate in their rounds; these dogs have places to go and things to do.  They're everywhere, including the highways, and the only dog collar we saw was made of corn cobs.  Oddly, I have never seen any dog pooh anywhere.

Driving around, one almost never hears a vehicle honk at another, despite unabated mayhem in the streets which have no lanes and include cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, mototaxis, foot traffic, and, of course, paw traffic.

Last night, Francis wore a T-shirt that read "Minnesota Thunder Academy".  She bought it at a local thrift shop.

A ride in one of the mototaxis here (a 3-wheeled vehicle that seats the driver and 2 passengers) is 50 cents per person, negotiable.  Always black & red with a green & white checkerboard striping.

I bought bananas at the work site from a guy in a pickup truck.  They were 24 for $1.  They were great, and I gave some to the masons (the work site Habitat contractors).

Here, an empanada is a sweet pastry, but folded over into a half-moon shape and crimped at the edges, like in the states.  Ask Jason about the ones he got from Francis and her mother.

Here, a quesadilla is a sweet, spongecake dessert.

We met twin sisters this week.  One was named Claudia Yamy and the other Claudia Yasmin.  If you ask them their names, that's what they call themselves.  When you are already tired from working, and a non-native Spanish speaker, this can be confusing.  You think they are playing a joke on you.  They each had identical pants and identical shirts except that their unique middle name was on their right shoulder.  Here they both are wearing their shirts.

Below, from the left (at the work site), all 8 of us plus two of the masons:

Jose (crew chief), Dean Olson, Zack Meyer, Joe Davis, Felix, Luke Smith,

Jim Hack, Jodi Davis, Tim Smith, Pam Hack Smith, and Karla (or Karlita)

 

That's all for now, and thanks for reading.