New things every day...
I referred to it in the last posting, but it is truly amazing how each day there is a new thing to encounter - of course with moving to any new place and job that is true and so then you add on a new culture, foreign country, and language it must go up exponentially. That leads to the highs of seeing new places and having new adventures and the lows of being drained emotionally/mentally (from frustration, expectations, not knowing - language, social cues, perceptions, etc..., and feeling alone...). Here is one simple and fun example of a cultural food difference that I learned last night - Salvadoran enchiladas are nothing like Mexican enchiladas, they are more similar to our Mexican tostadas (in shape/structure at least); Salvadoran tacos are rolled up and I suspect fried like Mexican tacos (learned this from talking/signing with Haydee); Salvadoran pupusas are made out of maize flour and are more thick than a Mexican corn tortilla and often are filled with frijoles, queso, and/or some sort of meat. The last two nights Haydee has made us pupusas and enchiladas (fried, thicker corn tortillas with chicken, lettuce and a slice of tomato, cucumber, hard boiled egg, and queso on top) ~ it was very delicious - muy deliciousa! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupusa
I referred to it in the last posting, but it is truly amazing how each day there is a new thing to encounter - of course with moving to any new place and job that is true and so then you add on a new culture, foreign country, and language it must go up exponentially. That leads to the highs of seeing new places and having new adventures and the lows of being drained emotionally/mentally (from frustration, expectations, not knowing - language, social cues, perceptions, etc..., and feeling alone...). Here is one simple and fun example of a cultural food difference that I learned last night - Salvadoran enchiladas are nothing like Mexican enchiladas, they are more similar to our Mexican tostadas (in shape/structure at least); Salvadoran tacos are rolled up and I suspect fried like Mexican tacos (learned this from talking/signing with Haydee); Salvadoran pupusas are made out of maize flour and are more thick than a Mexican corn tortilla and often are filled with frijoles, queso, and/or some sort of meat. The last two nights Haydee has made us pupusas and enchiladas (fried, thicker corn tortillas with chicken, lettuce and a slice of tomato, cucumber, hard boiled egg, and queso on top) ~ it was very delicious - muy deliciousa! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupusa
Now on to the highs of traveling and encountering new places, people, and experiences in El Salvador... Tin Marin ~ is a wonderful children's museum in San Salvador (capital city). On Saturday, August 14th Cole and I met up with Carolina, a Salvadoran secondary school counselor at EA, with her son, Andres, who is in Cole's class. We had met before and were planning to get together and then at the pre-K orientation on Friday I learned that Andres and Cole were in the same class - and so I went to work setting up a play date before school started on Monday, so Cole could know one classmate.
We went to Tin Marin - where I have been wanting to take Cole and have heard great things about. It is only a $2 admission and it is better than some children's museums I have seen in the states. The best part is that nearly every station had at least one or more personnel to walk you through it (perhaps due to relatively inexpensive personnel costs). It was nice for Cole to be with another kid at Tin Marin and also for Carolina to translate when needed. Cole and Andres had a good time together, even though Andres only speaks Spanish. Here is a little taste of what they experienced: large play volcano where you can go inside along with a cave, waterfall, and trees with Central American wildlife (fake of course); painting an old VW Bug with their hands; learning and mixing colors; dress-up area; life-sized train engine and car made in the US in 1925 and a video tour of the country; life-sized airplane with talking tour; and bubble land (area to make and play with large bubble-making). And there was much more! I was impressed and we will be back. http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=634967
Lago Coatapeque ~ this was our Sunday excursion and we finally made it there via maps, a "wrong turn" (which led us to see a cool old lava flow area) and a few stops for questions/preguntas. The lava flow was along the CA-1 highway. Cole is really in to anything nature, so it was a highlight for him to see a lava flow and take a few of the volcanic rocks as souvenirs. Rob, who we met and went with on the golf-swimming outing, is a geologist and Cole calls him the "mad scientist" ~ soon we will visit his home and see his rock collection. On Friday, we had checked-out a Volcano DVD from our great library which he watched later on.
The Lago Coatapeque is a beautiful crater lake and I will quote another EA traveller for the description: "This is a natural phenomenon unsurpassed in El Salvador. The crater lake is truly beautiful and serene. Although the majority of the frontage on the lake is privately owned, you can get right down to the lake by heading left on the road that runs alongside the lake (it is a bumpy ride, but worth it). There are a number of hotels and restaurants along the lake shore. They often offer boat rides out on the lake. A nice afternoon can be spent relaxing on one of their piers." http://www.lakecoatepeque.com/ We did find one of these restaurants - Rancho Allegro and had a nice lunch along the lake shore and went out on a 30-minute boat ride, which proved to be a great way to see the lake and surroundings (again, given the privatized nature of the lake). Cole loved the boat ride! There are some very beautiful homes along the lake and a few public spots to hang out, swim and fish. The water is clear and clean enough for swimming (no bilharzia like I had to worry about in freshwater lakes of Africa) - I think!
Tin Marin is way better than any Children's Museum I have seen! (I checked out the website.)
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