"Orange Alert" in El Salvador

Before she left Canada, Trinity had asked Douglas if she should bring her "Wellies" (Wellington Boots) with her to El Salvador.  He had told her not to, as her feet would get too hot inside the boots.  Too bad we listened! The poor kid has seen an exorbitant amount of rain & storms since landing there.  Tropical storm "Agatha" was first and then the remnants of "Alex".  The country experienced flooding, mudslides, some deaths and an "Orange Alert" was called by the government.

The casa was built very quickly - & me thinks building codes are not the same down there! Unfortunately, every time it rains heavily, it leaks into her room.  So, Douglas is sweeping the water out every day - hopefully, when the rains ease off, it will be repaired. 

The little village they are living in  - Playa El Tunco - experienced quite a bit of damage.  Erica's restaurant was left "lopsided" due to the high winds and the "sitting area" behind  the cafe, Dale Dale, apparently was swept away in the storm into the ocean. Apparently, the other day the water was almost up to their knees in some parts of town. So, there is rebuilding all around them right now that impedes Douglas from actually opening the Salon.  Otherwise, the salon (Onyx Hair Studio) is furnished and ready to go!

Douglas & Trinity sent some pics to me through the iPhone of the water levels. In the first picture of my cutie petutie, you can see how there is very little water (note her Iguana clinging to her purse) - then in the next picture I have doodled an "X" to indicate the exact place that she was standing only a few days before (in the first pic) with the low water level.  Wow! What a difference!

Trinity Is Making New Friends!

         They are apparently all DEAD though!

Family Reunification

We have spent the last few weeks in El Salvador with Douglas. It has been absolutely wonderful for him and the girls - and me too.  Our journey there was not a direct flight - big mistake! The first flight out of Toronto was cancelled due to a snow storm in Chicago.  We then got a flight out the next morning to Mexico City - stayed there for a day/night and then got a flight out the next day to El Salvador. Avalon was so ecstatic to see her Daddy that she left her carry on luggage at customs and flew out to greet him - we didn't realize until that night that we were short a suitcase.  Thankfully some good-hearted person handed in her suitcase to security.

We escaped the smoggy city and spent our time on the coast - we caught the Bohemian vibe of El Tunco and stayed in our favourite resort "La Roca Sunzal". It was HOT!!!! We stayed in the ocean and pool from morning to night. We had ice cream, limonada and palettas (popsicles) by the pool. We loved it so much that Douglas is moving out of the city and moving to El Tunco.  He has leased space on the main vortex of this little "happening" place to open a funky little Hair Studio.  Apparently, there is a real need by the locals for a hairstylist - they have to travel into the city to get their hair done.

I'm posting some pics of our wonderful time there. Just counting the days until we return. My contract ends August 1st, so it has bought me some months to see what happens with the ineptitude of this Immigration process.

             

Observations of El Salvador

It was like a second honeymoon with an incredibly sad, tearful (& I do mean tearful) ending. I cannot even begin to describe how wonderful it was to see my husband, Douglas and how heartrenching it was to leave him there.  I cried on the way down in the plane in anticipation and excitement and cried on the way back.  The darn flight attendant remembered me and just had to inquire about my visit - well, that was all I needed to burst into tears! Delays with the kids' paperwork continued, so I headed down by myself.  Ironically, their paperwork arrived on the second day I was in El Salvador.  We will be going down again in February, so now things are organized for them to fly.

I was prepared for a Latin American developing country and perhaps was a little surprised at how much I enjoyed it. We stayed primarily at his house in San Benito but did venture out to a few other places and stayed in beautiful resorts.

Some observations:

1.  I could never drive in this city. I could not get over how disrespectful and lawless the drivers were (& yet, the people are so friendly) - anything goes.  I don't know how it is possible that my husband has not had tons of accidents.  The brave vendors walking in between the cars selling fruits etc. was interesting!  The plumes of BLACK smoke from the busses was disgusting - environmentalism is not even on the radar down here.  I did enjoy not having those canvas grocery bags & .05cent plastic grocery bags forced down my throat at every supermarket though. No seat belt laws seem to exist as I saw so many families pile into the back of the truck beds! Many potholes - the only roads that seem to be looked after are the ones going to the Coast.  Almost killed ourselves on the way to Suchitoto - all of a sudden the highway seemed to turn into a two lane hwy - in looking at the video tape I still don't understand what happened.  We didn't see any signs, just all of a sudden a car was barrelling it's way towards us!  We also barely missed driving into concrete blocks that were set up on the hwy.  - again no signs anywhere - just happened to be following another car in front of us in the dark and all of a sudden we are driving on the other side of the highway!  Maybe someone could explain that to us - I feel we are missing something. Douglas has a great ride, but not for El Salvador.  The rims and tires are very expensive and has had five blow outs in 8 months - at $140.00 a tire - time to get a jeep.  Now, he is looking around for one.  It was an adventure driving up the Volcanoe in his sedan!

2.  The poverty intertwined with the wealthy and the poverty in the outlying villages was very sad to see. The glue sniffers on the street disturbing.  Of course, there is no social safety net to help these people. Toronto has it's share of homeless, windshield washers and addicts on the street even with shelters and social programs aplenty, but what was disturbing was seeing the children.  I kept thinking - "these kids should be in school getting an education, and here they are with no shoes trying to sell us a pen, gum or windshield wash!"  Even with the free education that has been introduced last month with the new President, the financially challenged families still need the income that their children can bring in.

A young girl, probably about 11 yrs. of age, approached us one day in the MetroCentro Mall and handed my husband a slip of paper that said she was "deaf and mute" looking for money. She then turned to me, stared at me, and then turned to my husband and asked him "are her eyes real?"  Ha Ha.  Yes, it was quite funny. I did not see many blue eyes down there nor blondes - I don't know where all the "gringos" were hiding!

3.  It is not a pet culture.  I saw one other person with a dog on a leash and I saw many running about. I saw two cats the entire time I was there. This is the newest member of our family - everywhere Douglas goes, this doggie goes - everyone would point and say "I, chee waa waa" - Yes, just like that! It was hilarious! He carries him in a little bag and he just sits in there all day.  His name is Tequila!  A cross between a rat, a bat and a gremlin I think. He is such a cutie petutie!!

4.  No tourist infrastructure and severly lacking in cultural activities.  There is not much else to do in the city other than going to the Malls, but they are fabulous Malls - equivelant to a high end Mall in any other big city.La Gran Via was a great place (Mall and restaurants with outdoor patios - something like a Yorkville in Toronto.)

5.  Amazing meals (I had many different fish dinners) at amazing prices.  We had meals equivalent to a "Keg Steakhouse" meal for just under $50.00 - (I should note: we don't drink alcohol.)

6.  Electronics very pricey.  I would say 50% more than what I would pay in Canada.

7.  Salvadoran people very friendly and polite, very sweet people!

8.  Ocean was of course fantastic - again not Americanized - very raw and quaint. The below pics are from the resort we stayed at in Playa El Tunco - Rocha Sunzal - it was a bargain at $65.00 per night (breakfasts included).

9.  Loved the "cheezy" cemetaries!  (Looks like "The Dollar Store" vomited all over them.)

10.  Homegirl, Mary, was everywhere! Love it! (Even at the Gas Station!)

11.  Came across a Christmas Parade in Escalon.  It was better than any Canadian parade I have attended. I loved the costumes, dancing and the interactiveness of it all.

12.  The high crime rate keeps you sequestered in the gated communities and away from downtown and other areas, keeps you indoors at night.  I didn't have the freedom to just go for a walk without thinking first of my safety and where I was heading.  Also, it was so darned hot, I wouldn't want to walk more than a block or two!  There is no lake or nice vista to really go for a walk to - just really the Malls.  You really have to get out of the city to see the beautiful volcanoes and other spots, but you absolutely cannot live without a car.  I would never ride the bus there - too dangerous and too packed! It seemed that just the poor would use the bus system.  I had my jewellery on and felt safe with my "bling bling" - but again, we stayed in the upscale areas  - if I stuck the camcorder out the window, Douglas would be quick to tell me to get my arm back in the vehicle.  I wanted to see the downtown - particularly the mercado - but he has only ventured down there a couple of times and is leary about going down there.  There is a lot of crime and being "foreigners", we are a target for petty theft/muggings.  Maybe next time I can convince him!

On the day of my departure (Monday), Immigration phoned Douglas to advise him of a package he needed to pick up at the Embassy. Inside it contained his "B" number (Permanent Canadian Resident Number) - so YAY - one step closer to him returning back home to us! I fear though, it will be another 8-12 months from this point on - their online stats show anywhere from 8 months to 22 months from point of receiving application in Guatemala City to point of completion of application.

I'm now back in the balmy temperatures of -3, while Douglas slugs it out in 31 degree weather! We will unfortunately be apart for Christmas this year thanks to Canadian Immigration red tape. :(

Adios Canada! Hola El Salvador!

Douglas left on April 13th - Easter Monday. On the Saturday before Douglas was "removed" from Canada, we ran from Mall to Mall from morning 'til night to acquire all the things needed for the move.

The kids and I dropped him off at the airport in Toronto on Monday morning. We arrived there bright and early (6:15am) for the flight. Douglas and I were a mess in the car - it was filled with sobs, the girls were pretty strong.

We arrived at the Immigration office, as instructed. He was handed some information and then off we went to check in like all the other passengers. We had a great breakfast at the Airport - surprisingly inside a "Swiss Chalet" - I didn't know they did breakfast. It was pricey of course, beings that it was at the airport.

(Pic of Trinity and Avalon watching their Daddy in line to go through security.)

The goodbye was, of course, teary, with promises of being together again as a family in a few short months. Our departure date is all tied into the sale of our house, which has not even happened yet. My sister keeps telling me to go and buy a "St. Joseph" statue and bury it in our back garden upside down, facing the house. Apparently, he will make our house sell! I know it sounds crazy, but I think I just might do that!

His flight left at 9:25am on time.

The girls and I waited near the windows and jumped around like mad idiots, waving in the hopes that he would see us waving to him! It turns out, he didn't even see us! As I was jumping around, I reached into my pocket to discover that I had his luggage keys in there! Yikes! We went running back to the agent to have her deliver them to him.

The whole day we were reciting where we thought he was and what he was doing. I imagined that his family had met him at the airport and after 23 years it was a big happy reunion. I pictured them taking him back to their home and having a joyous celebration with lots of food and drink. Not too much to ask for. The reality was absolutely nothing like this. His brother Rudolfo & sister-in-law were unfortunately delayed in leaving La Union, so his brother William arrived at the airport to pick him up. Apparently he arrived in a vehicle that was literally falling apart. In Canada, we do not see vehicles like this. If a vehicle has even a tail light out, it would need to be fixed before being on the road or the police would pull you over. I understand this is not the case in El Salvador. The windows did not roll down, so in the stifling heat that it was on that day, Douglas was literally going out of his mind with heat frustration. They had to keep stopping to get water to try to cool themselves down. He couldn't remember it being that hot there when he was a child; apparently he arrived just before the rainy season on one of the hottest days of the year!

On the second day in El Salvador, Douglas secured a beautiful 3 bedroom house in Alta de Escalon, San Salvador, and moved in!! He is very happy with it. Escalon is a beautiful, modern part of San Salvador. It even comes with maid/laundry service!! From the pics, it looks like California. Very gorgeous and modern. This area is very different from where his brother lives. His brother lives in Atlactl, about 45 minutes to the south of Escalon. I won't go into all the gory details, so as not to get my "butt bit", but Douglas stayed at his brothers' house the very first night, and hightailed it out of there the next morning.

















(Pics of Escalon) His first week has been pretty good. It definately started out with a huge bump and has got progressively better as the days go by. He faces transportation challenges, as he is relying on cabs and his brother Rudolfo (who returned from La Union) to drive him around. He is very close to purchasing a vehicle. Apparently, you CANNOT live in this city WITHOUT a vehicle, even the poorest of the poor own a vehicle. The bus systems are not safe, most would rather walk than get on a bus. After much looking around, he has found a great vehicle and purchases his "ride" tomorrow! He has spent the week getting acclimatized to the city, getting his DUI card (National Identity Card), trying to locate a Beauty Supply Store etc. He reports that some things are the same as Canadian prices and others are very cheap. He had left his blowdryers here due to space limitations, so had to buy a new one. These are quite expensive over there - the cheapest professional one was $100.00 U.S., whereas in Canada a professional one could be found for about $70.00. He says this is strange, some things are "expensive" and other things are cheap. He is having difficulty wrapping his head around the price differences.


(Pic of the inside of Galerias Mall - close to where he is living.) There have been some difficult moments in the first week. The first few days were tearful for us all, but things are progressively getting organized and on track over there. Now he just needs to network and meet people, so he doesn't feel so isolated.