Hola, El Salvador

I have been in El Salvador for almost two weeks now. The first week was mostly getting settled for both living and working in a new place. I filled out a lot of paperwork and went to trainings. I saw my classroom and started getting ready for the first day of school. Everyone has been super nice and helpful. There were lots of shopping trips to get everything settled for my house too. The second week we had off, because it is Agostinas in San Salvador. The week is used to celebrate Jesus, the patron saint of San Salvador. Here are some of the other adventures I have been on while in El Salvador. 

1. The Beach

El Salvador is the only country in Central America that does not border the Caribbean Sea. It still has plenty of beaches though. My first Saturday in El Salvador we took a trip to the beach. There are five other new international teachers and four teachers who are part of the welcoming committee. We loaded up two vans and went to the beach. The school pays a membership to a resort called Atami. We rented a couple of cabanas for the day, then spent our time by the water. There were pools, wave pools, and of course the beach. It was beautiful and relaxing. 

2. A Volcano

There are twenty-three volcanoes in El Salvador. We visited the San Salvador volcano, which is located in El Boqueron Park. We can see this volcano from the complejo. It was about a forty-five minute drive. We drove most of the way up and then took a short hike up to the four view points. The volcano is 5,905 feet high. The crater pictured is about three miles in diameter and 1830 feet deep. There was also a small museum about the last eruption of the volcano in 1917. On the way down we stopped at a restaurant called La Pampa, which had good food and a great view of El Salvador. 

3. The Market

I have been to two markets so far. The one pictured is a local food market. We got warnings that you will "get gringoed" and get charged more. I don't think we did though, because I got a ton of fruits and vegetables for $11. I'm excited to start cooking again! We also went to the main downtown market (on the walking tour below). It had food, clothes, and miscellaneous things, kind of like a night market in Taiwan.

4. A Walking Tour (And Lots of Churches)

As I was looking for things to do for our week off, I found a free walking tour of the downtown area. I went with four of the other new teachers. The walking tour company was called EC Tours. The company was originally started to fight the negative stigma of El Salvador being unsafe. They even promote tourism in El Salvador with the hashtag #dontskipelsalvador. Before the tour, we had been given some general warnings about being safe in the downtown area. During the tour, our guide congratulated us sarcastically about surviving the most dangerous part of San Salvador. On the tour we learned more about the history of the country. We also visited several churches. El Salvador has a Catholic heritage, but religion in general plays a big role in the culture. According to the CIA World Fact Book from 2014, 50% identify themselves as Catholic, 36% as Protestant, and 12% as not religious (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/es.html). I met someone who said she lived by a church. She had to time when she left and arrived at her house, because 10,000 people attend the church services. The church pictured above is the Basilica Sagrado Corazon de Jesus. The church was built between 1900-1913. The church structure is made of metal. It was designed and shipped from Belgium. 

 Here is another church we visited on the walking tour. From the outside, it doesn't look like much of a church. The Iglesia El Rosario was designed by a sculptor and finished in 1971. Though it doesn't look like much on the outside, the inside is beautiful with  rainbow colored glass windows lighting the sanctuary. It is the #1 site on TripAdvisor in San Salvador. 

This is the view looking out from Iglesia El Rosario. Much of the downtown area is currently under construction, because the mayor wants to revitalize the area and promote tourism. 

5. Agostinas

As I mentioned, this week we have had off because San Salvador celebrates Agostinas. Some of the other teachers and I went to one of the celebrations. It reminded me of a fair back home. It was very crowded. There were buildings with vendors. Outside there was bandstands with music and performances, rides, and food stalls. One ride in particular was very entertaining to watch. It is called Tagada. People sat on the inner edge of a bowl-shaped ride. There are no seat belts or restraints. The ride spins and then will bounce and jerk around. It was entertaining watching people trying to hang on and trying not to fall into the middle. We also saw part of a hot dog eating contest and a man with a pet squirrel. I didn't take my phone, so I don't have pictures. :(

Here's to many more adventures in El Salvador! #DontskipElSalvador