Simulacro

On our way up to our second site visit, the super Silvia and I were cruising along past the great views afforded by the mountains of Chalatenango when, de repente, we are stopped by a man in uniform.

The scene was brutal and graphic. A seemingly small rockslide had taken down a tin house, and caused a tree to fall on a man, killing him and pinning his maimed body to the middle of the highway. People seemed to still be stuck inside the tin shack, and the normal array of onlookers and gawkers of all ages were clustered around the scene. TCS, a TV station, had a camera crew there, filming and interviewing.

After passing as quickly as we could cursing and swearing, Silvia and I were totally bummed. It made no sense. Besides the usual frustration one feels whenever they see how the officials handle dead bodies on the side of the road, and how people flock to these scenes with their children in tow, we were also confused about how this strange accident could have happened.

Landslides or falling rocks aren't totally uncommon for the rainy season, but it hadn't been raining. And how did that man end up under the tree in the middle of the road? What a freak situation it was.

On the way back from our site visit a few hours later, we passed the place again. Nothing was there but some blood stains and a few soldiers. Depressing.

The next morning, Silvia called to tell me that there was an article about the accident in the newspaper. It had been a simulacro. A simulation. A drill.

Excuse me?

There wasn't a single thing that warned passers-by that they were about to come across a horrific, but staged, scene and there is no reason to make a simulation so gory with maimed bodies. Isn't an imagination good enough? Doesn't everyone in El Salvador know pretty damn well by now what a dead body on the side of the road looks like?

So, well played El Salvador. Glad to know you are doing drills for the rainy season, but bummed to know that the theatrics of the scene are paramount to sparing people the roadside freakshow.

The good news, though, is that the site we visited was absolutely amazing. I can not wait to pack my bags and move along to this beautiful, focused, mountaintop community. I believe it will be absolutely worth the frustrations and anxieties of relocating and starting fresh. I think that last 8 months of my service will be what I had wanted from my first 17.