Hola, amigos š
Shoutout to each one of youānow over 400 of you, my faithful readers! I honestly canāt believe Iām even saying that, because I still donāt consider myself a āwriter,ā but somehow you all keep coming backā¦and encouraging me to keep going!
All I can say is thank you š
Now that Iāve been doing this for over 2 years, Iāve gotten to the point where itās not even optional. I often have to overcome feelings of āIām too busy right now,ā or āIām just not feeling that inspired to write.ā
And thankfully my hubby/editor, Tom, helps me with that by asking me frequently how my writing is coming along, and when Iām due to post again. But I also have to remind myself that our ānormal lifeā has so many unique attributes and we observe so much in the everyday life in a tropical, developing country.
Things like how they cut mangoes into pretty yellow flowers and then sell them on a stick, how fire flower/flor de fuego trees are in full bloom in May (photo below), how people here earn about $10-$20 a day, but seem happier than most North Americans, and how Salvadorans seem to value taking time for people over the ātime is moneyā mentality.
A couple months ago, we had another cat clinic near the beach, and I brought a couple more street cats to get fixed. We named the timid black and white female āLuna.ā As the vet was handing her cage back to me after the clinic, she said in Spanish,
āIt was hard to do the surgery on her because she has a bad infection in her ovaries. Sheāll need antibiotics for the next 5 daysā¦ā
I handed her the money for the antibiotics and deworming meds, and then she handed my money back and said,
āActually, we want to give you these. You guys are doing so much good for the street cats here.ā
I was pleasantly surprised, thanked her for the work she too is doing, and left.
As I was driving home, I thought,
āHow on earth do I give antibiotics to a timid, ferrel cat for 5 days?ā
Then I had an idea. I messaged my friend when I got home.
āCould we use your dog kennel to help a street cat take antibiotics? Weād need it for almost a week..ā
She jumped right on board, letting me know theyād be happy to lend it to us, and had it cleaned out for me within an hour.
And so, thatās how we had Luna living in the dog kennel in our sun room for the next 6 days. She was so groggy after the clinic that she couldnāt start taking meds till the next day. She deemed me her worst enemy, hissing at me and backing into the corner anytime Iād open the cage to put food or water in. But after the week was up, and we set her free, she decided we werenāt so bad after all. Especially since she knew weād probably feed her. She is now one of our outdoor kitties, and is quite sweet.
With avocado season in full force, weāre eating 10-12 of them a day. Weāve been sharing them with friends, and can hardly keep up with freezing them for future smoothies before theyāre overripe. But the hardest part is getting them from the tree. We got a bunch by standing on our bodega roof and using the fruit picker to reach them. Last week Tom also climbed up in the mango tree to pick some, since the trees are so close together. And today he got way up in the avocado tree with the picker (photo below) and dropped lots for us to go find on the groundālike big green Easter eggs hiding under leaves! It takes a LOT of work for us to get a bag of avocadosā¦but itās sure amazing to bring them home! Like last year, we need to hire a local whoās not afraid of heights to go up with a harness and pick the ones at 25-40 feet up.
Weāve been spending some time at our property, doing a beautification project recently. Itās so fun to see the results! We planted several fruit trees, plants, and flowers near our storage shed / bodega and lining the pathway up the hill, and itās starting to look quite lovely up there.
We recently sent our girls to a school in the city for a week. It was such a learning experience for themā¦and for us! Acton Academy was started in Austin, Texas by a couple who wanted their boys to get away from an education system where kids sit at their desks being lectured to, where āfactsā are taught and memorized, and where thereās little room for critical thinking.
Our girls brought so many great ideas back with them after just a week of being part of that school. To start the day, the kids there do āSocratic discussionsā where they share ideas and opinions about a topic. They use online resources, such as Khan Academy math, to gain more knowledge. My girls decided they want to learn to type ālike the Acton kidsā since attending. And they want to do more online learning about different topics of interest.
Unfortunately itās too far for us to drive up to the city on a regular basis, considering we had to drive 3 hours a day to make it work. But we gained lots of insights, and are so thankful we did that trial week. The director is actively looking for a location here on the beach to open another school up for all the expat families settling down here. Even once we move up to our land, it would be a great place for the girls to come a couple times a week, not just to learn, but to see their friends.
One thing I keep doing is taking some time to think, pray, and process. Every morning, even on days when we have to leave the house early, I walk up this hill to my āhappy placeā at the big pool.
Since itās usually already hot enough for us to beĀ sweating at 7 am here, I jump right into the deep end and swim about 10 laps. I stop occasionally to take in the ocean views, breathing in as I watch the waves crashing onto the sandy shore in the distance.
Then I sit and journal and read and often write a bit of my next post for awhile. I NEED this time, as a busy homeschool mom. Itās sometimes my only āuninterruptedā time of the day.
This season in El Salvador can be so draining with the extreme humidity and heat near the beach. Itās been raining a few times a week now, which helps a lot. But I realized this week that I get āheat anxietyā if I have to go outside for more than a few minutes between 11 am and 4 pm!! Seems a bit ridiculous, I know. But itās been an unusually hot year. I often prepare myself by having a cold shower and putting my wet hair up to help keep myself cooler. Even with wet hair, a person is sticky in the humidity within a few minutes of being outside. Yes, the heat and humidity here has been that intense!
We just spent the night up in the mountains nearby. Itās an hour by car to get up there, but since weād stayed there 2 years ago when we first came, we knew the cooler air would make the trip worth it. We drove up early Sunday afternoon, and opened the car windows for some fresh air, once we reached a higher elevation. Itās around 1100 meters. We arrived at our little mountain home, which looked like something out of the book, Heidi.
On Monday we enjoyed sipping our coffees in the crisp morning air. Weād traded dripping with sweat for wearing pants and long-sleeves, and it was so refreshing! Weād also traded the usual noisy morning traffic for the peaceful sounds of chirping birds and crowing roosters. Looking out over the dense jungle with green hills in the distance, I took some deep breaths, basking in the fresh mountain air, feeling grateful.
After breakfast, we did a little hike with the girls down the steps of the steep hillside to the little ārioā that winds through the bottom of the narrow, green valley. Descending the hill through the little coffee farm, taking in the lush plants and views, we got to the bottom in about 15 minutes. We then stayed on the narrow winding trail, using the carefully placed rocks to cross over the tiny river in various places. There are huge banana trees and all sorts of amazing tropical plants and flowers growing happily in that lush green jungle.
While up there, we checked out the cabin where weād stayed 2 years ago, with the hope of possibly staying there again, this time for longer. Itās a smaller place than we have now, but with the option of storing some things up at our property in the ābodegaā weāre hoping to find a way to make it work. The girls all voted unanimously to move up thereātheyāre tired of always being hot and sweaty, and hardly being able to go outside to play after 10 am. They miss being outside. And the house weāre in right now is pretty dark, so it almost feels like we live in a cave. Weāre all ready to be outside, breathing fresh air and enjoying the outdoors again!
Another reason to make the move is that we havenāt been utilizing being at the beach much lately at all. Itās gotten down to once a week or less. A few weeks ago, my 3 girls and I met up with a friend down at the beach. Us ladies were boogie boarding while the girls jumped in the waves nearby. After about 15 minutes, my middle daughter, 8, came up to me looking beaten up, and said,
āMommy, I just got flipped around 6 times under the water! I could barely get up. It was crazy!!!ā
I hugged her, and told her, āIām SO glad youāre ok, sweetie!!ā Right away my mamma bear kicked into high-gear:
āWeāre getting out! Letās go!! Cāmon girlsāitās not safe!ā
I could hardly believe the rip tide was that powerful!
Just 2 days later we were at a water park north of the city, and I was chatting with a local lady. She was telling me about her family, and how sheād had 5 kids, but one daughter had died when she was only 7 years old. I told her I was so sorry, and asked how sheād died.
āShe died in the ocean.ā she told me in Spanish.
Iāve never had as much respect for the ocean as I did after that experience and that brief conversation. And I told Tom I donāt want to bring the girls out in the waves during the ābig waveā season anymore without him. He agreed that itās not worth it.
And so, weāre leaving the beach soon, after 18 months here. Weāve had so much fun, but itās time. Weāre all sad to leave our close friends behind. But weāll come down at least once a week to visit, and combine it with the girlsā weekly archery class with their friends.
It feels like a season in our lives is coming to an end. But at the same time, a new one is beginning, and weāre so thankful for this oneā¦and hopeful for the next. Thankful for every friend weāve been able to make here at the beach. Thankful for each time weāve enjoyed the sand, the waves, the amazing sunsets, the hermit crabs, and the shells. And hopeful for this next year of living in a cooler place, while building our future home.
Romans 5:3-5
Change is a necessary part of this life, and weāre ready for the next chapter!
Thanks for reading friends!
Nos vemos pronto š
BEST WISHES. I keep thinking about being there
Delightful. You're doing a great job of sharing your life there w/ us. You're really succeeding in making readers feel like we're right there with you. Thank you and blessings!