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'"You know the best part? Walking around like this feeling good about everything. If you missed the rest of it I certainly wouldn't cry for you."
Kurt Vonnegut
Bluebeard

So today is the day that everyone gets their site assignments officially. Granted I am probably a day early in reporting this (because I won't know my exact mailing address until later today) but I can guarantee I am still a dollar short. So by about 1 PM today you can probably hear the bitching and/or celebrating from where ever it is in the world that you currently reside. You won't hear much from me, though, because I am one of the fortunate few who will not be surprised... I already know my corn shed will be in La Pena. If you stumble upon google earth at any point in the near future (I know the readers with spliffs in their hands have already been looking at towns in South East Namibia for the past three hours...you can't shit a shitter) then you can probably locate a town close to mine called Cuyuiscat. I'll be about an hour hike up the mountain from that site. If you look close enough you'll probably spot a gringo in a hammock waving back at you.

On Tuesday myself and 8 other aspirantes took a trip to a local guitar maker's homestead. Long story short I accidentally ended up buying a homemade guitar. Cost me 45 bean sacks, plays like a charm, is beautiful, and makes me look infinitely cooler holding it (because allah as my witness I do not know how to play). I guess the plus side is that I now have a guitar.

On Sunday afternoon we volunteers have an unbelievable opportunity to play JICA (the Japanese equivilent of the Peace Corps.) in a futbol game at the Stadium Cuscatlan here in San Salvador. For those who don't know (including myself up until about 12 minutes ago) the Stadio Cuscatlan is the national stadium in El Salvador that only the National Team gets to play at. For the Salvadorans I would say it would be like being born in and living in the Cask n Flaggon for 45 years and never knowing what the inside of Fenway looked like to the naked eye. It's the mecca of deportes here in El Salvador. Starting to get it? To Salvadorans they'd rather play here than Wembley. It's like being able to get a free shot to A-Rod's face from homeplate in Yankee stadium...people drool over the chance and for one reason or another a bunch of foreigners have taken over the stadium for the 21st. To those who don't like sports: It's like having the chance to.. uh... do something really sweet. So yours truly will be running around like a chicken with his head cut off, my pride slowly slipping from one hand, and a hang over in the other, trying my damndest to take down the Japanese just one more time.

No but seriously, I've met some of the JICA volunteers and not only are they extraordinarily nice but they are unspeakably more qualified than us. So, give them a damn cookie, would you? I'm trying my hardest..haha.

Oh, and for the record, the hate for crocs shows no respect to international borders. It is as alive and well here as it is in the states. It does no descriminate and it does not show mercy. Good thing they are one of two pairs of shoes I brought.

El Diario de Hoy, a national newspaper here in El Salvador, reported from the 1st of January to the 12th of March there have been 863 violent deaths here in country.

That said, and completely to the contrary, the people here in El Salvador are some of the most amiable people I've met in my life. Despite the international reputation they are sincerely wonderful people always willing to help a gringo out. Having troubles with the language? They will go mas despacio for you. Standing on a huge crowded bus? They will hold your stuff for you (without riffling through it). Need directions? Odds are they won't know what the fuck you're talking about but they will smile while they are laughing at you. All in all the Salvadoran people are unbelievably friendly and will offer you everything from tortillas to the worst coffee ever brewed (it's not their fault...the good coffee gets sent to the states).

And that's another thing... Weird shit is expensive here. Like cashews. Cashews are harvested here in El Salvador but they cost two and a half arms and leg because they sell ALL of their cashews to the states. So in order to get cashews here in El Salvador you must buy Salvadoran cashews from Planters...an American business. Fuckin whacky, huh?

Alright. That's enough out of me.

For the record, my pinky is still real ugly. Don't I just have the prettiest hands?

Humbly,

Gregorio