Hola, amigos š
Itās been a crazy busy few weeks. November 7-9 was the annual Adopting Bitcoin Conference here in El Salvador. Tomās sister and her husband came for the conference and stayed for 10 days. We did a little roadtrip up to Suchitoto (see pic above) together, which was so relaxing.
Hundreds of people came here from around the globe for the conference, many from Canada and the States, to check out El Salvador, exchange information, and learn more about Bitcoin circular economies. Some people came here for longer to see what life is like āon the groundā in this country.
Every person visiting had their own special story and a unique perspective on where theyāve been and how they want to move forward. That is such an incredible thing, especially when theyāre guided by hope and not fear.
Our stories and values can divide usā¦OR they can bring us together, and that is a beautiful thing.
My girls decided to sell their homemade jewelry and some baking at the Bitcoin Farmers Market, which was combined with the last day of the conference. It was neat to be down at the market in El Zonte during one of its busiest weeks.
I thoroughly enjoyed talking to so many like-minded people on their different journeys. And it was super easy for our girls to accept Bitcoin Lightning payments on my Blink wallet app. You never have to make change for people, and itās instantāthe transactions take just seconds!
We helped one gentleman do his first-EVER Bitcoin transaction. Followed by a big high-five š
We met so many interesting people with unique storiesā¦.many stories quite similar to our ownā¦on their search for freedom.
One guy from Tomās hometown, Surrey, BC, came up to meā¦
āYou must be Emilyā¦Iāve been reading your blogs and Iāve listened to a few of Tomās interviews.ā
He had already met Tom at the Bitcoin conference and had told him that heād brought his family here for 3 months. He was inspired by listening to our stories and others about leaving Canada and hearing about our new life here in El Salvador. Itās pretty exciting to have more Canadians coming!
I met an Australian couple who now lives in Costa Rica and had moved there to have their baby and get citizenship. They were also feeling disillusioned with how things had transpired during and after Covid in Australia. They make informative online content of their lives in Costa Rica and all they do and are learning. Theyāre hoping to move to El Salvador soon as well.
I chatted with a man who Iād met a few months ago whoād come to El Salvador with his family after seeing how things had gone in Holland during the Covid lockdowns. When heād had to stay home, he learned how to make sourdough bread. Now he, his wife, and their adult son run a bakery here called Seaside Sourdough. They bake delicious bread, deliver it to people along the beach, and also sell it at the farmers market.
I met a family from Florida whoāve been travelling around the world with their 3 kids and came here to check out the country and possibly move here soon.
I chatted briefly with a retired couple from Florida who live nearby on the beach, and said they absolutely love it here.
I met a young Salvadoran woman who said her parents escaped to the United States during the civil war here in the 80ās, and now theyāre back here and run a farm up in the mountains. Her dad was selling cacao beans and some other things at the market. She says she would like to move back here soon to enjoy the freedoms and quality of life her parents are enjoying. I bought a bag of cacao beans from her dadātheyāre bitter, but so delicious, especially when you dip them in jam or maple syrup!
I chatted with a man originally from England who lives in Malawi with his family now. He told me that inflation is often as high as 40% a day in Malawi! He is considering moving his family here, and has developed a course for kidsāeconokidz.com to teach them about economics.
A friendly family from Ontario, Canada who weād met recently were at the market. They had come to El Salvador as a couple to check things out back in May, so weād had them over for a BBQ back then. They returned with their 4 kids in September to spend a year in San Salvador, and their kids are attending a bilingual school.
Their young kids wanted to see our girls, because it had been several weeks since our last visit. So, they came over for a sunset swim at the beach after the market. It was so nice for all of us to cool off and enjoy the sunset after a few sweltering hours in the sun!
Itās always fun to get away a bit and discover new places. While my in-laws were here visiting, we ventured 2 hours northeast through city traffic up to the town of Suchitoto for the weekend. Itās a cute little touristy town, located near a sparkling lake. It is quite colonial, with a beautiful old church in the Town Center, and the building style and colours made it feel like we were back in Mexico. There are neat little shops all around the town, selling colourful art, hammocks, clothing, and cute little hand-painted items. We stopped to enjoy some folklore music in the town center by a group of men playing marimbas. The hotel we stayed at had amazing views of the lake with mountains rising out, and from the pool we could enjoy those views.
And breakfast included with our stay was top-notch: fresh squeezed orange juice, delicious omelettes, and the girls had pancakes with REAL Canadian maple syrup! We spent the whole morning on Sunday just swimming and relaxing, reading by the pool, and taking in the views. It was great to unwind and decompress.
A couple from Canada came to visit us last week. Theyād āmetā us online, after watching Tomās Bitcoin Beach interview. They are so ready to leave Canada, after watching everything thatās happened in the last few years. They asked us some questions about our life here, and adjustments weāve had to make.
Weāve gotten so used to lots of things here now. There have been many changes, but lots of them in hindsight havenāt actually been that hard.
Sometimes we forgetā¦
We no longer eat certain foods that we loved back home, but now weāve replaced them with great local foods.
We donāt have hot waterā¦or sometimes ANY waterā¦so we save those milk jugs!
Thereās a language barrierāwe donāt forget, but weāre getting pretty used toĀ it and ALL the communication challengesā¦and learning to overcome them!
The heat and humidity here by the beach can be almost unbearable at times!
People stare at us when weāre out, and want to stroke our girlsā hair, and call them āmuy bonitasā or āgringitas.ā
Even though pupusas and labour here are cheap, imported foods and electronics can be 3-5x as much!
We can speak freely about whatās been going on in the world and share our opinions with our friends here without worry.
How freeing itās been to NOT have to reveal our āvaccine statusā for over 2 years nowāwellā¦except when we went back to Canada last year!
We have papayas, mangoes, and mandarins growing right in our backyard.
Weāve traded skiing for surfing and boogie boarding.
We own a property in a āforeignā country where we also have temporary residency.
Weāve made some incredibly close friends here who left their homelands for the same reasons we left ours.
Iād like to write about a few of these aspects in a future blogāespecially how some things were challenging and often felt super rustic for us here at first. It takes time to adjust to a new country and make new friends. Iām so thankful for our amazing community here and really enjoyed meeting all those interesting people at the farmers market a few weeks ago.
If any of them/you are reading this blog now, please know that youād be welcomed with open arms as part of the āfamilyā if you ever decide to take the plunge and move here! š
Thanks for reading š
Ā”Nos vemos pronto!
Alright I'll admit.. I choked up a few times trying to read this out loud.