Last Minute

        So the last couple days have been super hectic and all over other the place. I went to see the most recently erupting volcano; it stopped its constant flow of lava in 2001. They built this really luxurious hotel right by the top, amazing view. But when they inaugurated it, the lava stopped flowing, so the hotel went out of business...Mother Nature is a bitch sometimes. Tonight, I went to a Mediterranean place with a bunch of friends as a goodbye dinner :( boo. But there were belly dancers and the main dancer's birthday was today, so I got to see, not only dancing, but how the Arabs celebrate their birthdays. Pretty interesting, I had a lot of fun. Tomorrow is going to be all packing and making sure I have everything and fitting everything. UGH...

Coffee and Pink Chickens

Conveyer Belt

Yum Yum

This machine seperates the different sizes of coffee.

Coffee Women

Leonelle showing me how to pick coffee

        Hellloooo! Well today is Tuesday and I am very close to my trip back to Seattle! But here are some things that have been going on. Monday I want coffee picking. You can see a couple pictures of me slaving away. I was out there for maybe two, a little over two hours; I picked 20 Libras and made 80 cents. Let that give you a perspective of what these people go through on a daily basis. So I reiterate, when you have a cup coffee next, APPRECIATE IT. It was an awesome experience none the less, even though it was hot and uncomfortable for a lot of it haha. It really makes sense now why everyone is so short here in the Land of Coffee (god works in mysterious ways). The bushes are short/weighed down and when you’re tall it totally works against you, bending over the whole time or getting smacked in the face by the high branches. UGH, it got so frustrating.

        Also there's a picture of a row of women sitting at a conveyer belt, and another picture of just the coffee on the conveyer belt above. This is the final assessment that the coffee is the right size and color. The women scan their section and every minute the belt moves to a different set of coffee beans. Imagine having that job 9 hours a day.

        Ok, so this was totally random part (but funny). Last weekend I went to the market fair for the last time in Juyua and on my way out there was a young girl who passed me selling chicks. Well, these weren't your everyday chicks. They were died blue, green, pink, and red, which just looked hilarious with twenty of them chirping and jumping around in this small basket. They were twenty cents each and out of complete impulse I just bought a pink one. Well the fun lasted about 30 minutes then the chirping really started to piss me off and I had no interest in it anymore, but it made for a good photo shoot. Unfortunately, I gave it to the farm people and it died over night from being too cold :( they shouldn't have left it outside. So RIP pink chicky.

Downtown

Downtown

Cathedral High Ceilings

Grand Theater

     I just thought I would post some pictures that showed the center of San Salvador. Its worse than New York and Asia combined. Crowded, no concern for the TWO way road, full of little markets and creepy people. It was pretty interesting though. Jeans; 2 for 15, pretty good deal haha. They have everything and anything you can think of, and some people are pretty creative with there choice of advertisment and shelter. The cathedral was gorgeous with high ceilings and the art was so detailed and colorful. It was magic seeing the inside of it, I wish the pictures could have captured it better.

     Anway, it's December 1st which means I will be home in ten days. Man, saying that out loud seems almost unreal. Everyone says this, but it really feels like yesterday I walked off that plane into this foreign country. Time is such a mysterious thing, goes by fast when you want to savor it, and then when you need it to fly by each second seems to feel like forever. Can anyone give me an explanation of how to avoid this paradox? UGH! But I will say, that every day I have spent here has been something new, even when I was doing nothing. Boredom taught me how to be alone, being alone forced me to get out with...different people, and with people I had to learn and speak their language so I could get by. So even when I felt like this trip was a pointless cause, it never lacked a moment in my benefit. I couldnt be more grateful that I came here and nothing could have helped me more and taught me more than taking the step I took to live here for three months.

Whooo too much deep thought for the fun little blog. Hope everyone is enjoying the chaos of Christmas shopping and I'll be home so soon! Love to all!