Because if you're anything like me...

You just kind of want to know what's up. 

And now that I have a better idea about what I'm doing here this summer, I suppose I'll share those plans with my wonderful family and friends. 

As you probably know if you've been keeping up with this blog, I'm here in El Salvador with Ben and Meredith, representing Duke and working with the Methodist Church here. I knew nothing about what we would be doing before we arrived and started working. Here is what a normal day looks like:

6:30 /6:45am: Get out of bed. I've been awake since 5am because the sun rises very early, and my friend the rooster likes to tell me it's time to get up. Everyone else in my house has been up for at least an hour by the time I get out of bed :-)

7:15ish: Eat breakfast. More often than not it involves beans and eggs. Believe it or not I'm totally getting used to it, and I look forward to it!

7:45ish (the "ish"es indicate El Salvadorian time. hehe): I get picked up to go to Spanish school at the Missionary House (which is attached to the Bishop's house). 

8am-Noon- Spanish school. Today was my first day with my teacher, Carla, but I really like her. She speaks French and English too, so if needed we could communicate in 3 languages. I think that is super awesome.

Noon-1:15ish: Chill at the missionary house, talk with the teams who are arriving for lunch from their morning sessions. 

1:15ish: Lunch. Always amazing food cooked by Juan de Dios's family. Food blog is coming later, no worries. 

2:00ish: Arrive at the worksites for the afternoon. Last week we worked on a construction site and in a Bible school. (see the pictures tab!) This week we're working in a medical clinic and a Bible school. Each week we will work with whatever short-term team is here, helping them translate. It's incredible practice, and a great way to get involved in the communities. This week especially, we are working in a very poor area- the line for the medical clinic was consistently long today, and there were plenty of kids who came to the Bible school, purely for something to do!

4:30ish: We leave the sites and head home to our families. I'm sure Meredith and Ben's families are great, but I'm partial to mine :-) I think they're the best. 

Mari is my mom. She is probably my [biological] mom's age, and she is amazing. She is the sweetest woman, and lets me talk to her in my broken Spanish and always tries her best to understand. Today was the first time she corrected me on something- like a good teacher she let me feel very comfortable making mistakes before she corrected me. Love her. 
Brenda is Mari's daughter. She is 30 and married to Walter. She is a lawyer and he works for the postal service (and has a nifty uniform!) They have two children (who I also call my "brothers" because I don't really want to call them my "host children," hahahaha). Diego is 9, and he talks my ear off! He is going to be the biggest help for learning the El Salvadorian accent, because he doesn't pronounce any of his S's, and as difficult as it is to understand him, he is super helpful to talk to. David is 9 months, and probably the happiest baby I've ever spent time with. Whenever I smile at him he smiles his huge, adorable smile back at me. I love hanging out with these two kids. Here's a picture I took this afternoon, when David has yogurt all over his face.

David is a little flirt. I call him coquetito (little flirt). At least I think that's how you say it. Hope I'm not calling him anything bad when I call him that. hahaha.

Anywho. I hang out with my family until around 7:15ish when we eat dinner. Then after dinner we usually watch tv. I go t bed around 10ish.

I'm very lucky to have internet here in the house, but I am trying my best not to use it often. I'm called to be here, and here is where I need to be. I don't need to stay connected 24/7 to the United States, and it's probably not healthy for me to be. It is nice, however, to be able to Skype my parents on the weekend and update my blog whenever I want.

Strangely, I have not felt the weird awkward uncomfortableness that I felt in Guatemala. My family has been so welcoming, and so nice. I think coming in with some language skills helps. My family hosts many students- usually one each summer for a long period of time (often Duke students). What I love most about this is that their house was built by a Lutheran group that came from Ohio. Now, they open up their house for a least 6 weeks a year to host other people who come to work for the church. There is something beautiful about that.

That's about it for now. Thanks for reading!

Peace, Love, and Always Smiles, 
Christa