Good Morning, El Salvador.

Time in El Salvador is a tricky mistress. I hardly left my house all day yesterday ( you would have found my in my PJs, on my floor, embroidering and watching episode after episode of Arrested Development ) and yet, when I rolled into bed around 8:30, the day felt like it zoomed by.

The PCVs and incoming trainees got some interesting news on Friday afternoon regarding service in El Salvador. All the incoming trainees for El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua will not be brought in for "safety and security reasons." Fair enough, Central America isn't the safest or securest place in the world, which we see in the article on Genevadeclaration.org called Trends and Patterns of Lethal Violence. I'd link it, but why place worrisome information directly into my mother's hands? Lets just say: Doesn't it feel good to be number one?

The decision to halt the entry of trainees to El Salvador wasn't, in my opinion, a bad one. I love El Salvador. I really do. I generally feel safe (maybe just because I'm a streetsmart badass) and I feel that the PC wants to keep their volunteers safe. But there are only so many steps one can take to insure safety. No matter where you are, you never know what might happen when all your safety and security training falls just short. I feel horrible for the sites that are going to hear the bad news that no one will be coming to help them, but as the security continues to deteriorate, I'm glad that PC seems to be acknowledging the difference between the PC experience of cultural missteps, big projects, and exciting adventures and the experience of desensitized gringos, real anxiety and a legitimate unease in public transportation.

Anyway, the initial result for PCVs here in country when we heard the news was "and THEN what?" As always, the appearance of "chambre" worthy news led to the great gasto of tigo saldo, and everyone was telling or hearing tales of so and so told so and so and that fulano said that we're being evacuated by midnight... or some such nonsense.

Do I love El Salvador? Yes, absolutely, this is my home.... Would I mind if they sent me home a month  or two early? No. I spend my days shooting the breeze with my women and embroidering tablecloths, not a hard way to live till March, but.... I would welcome a little Yusa in my life. (Lets not exaggerate what that would look like. Think, embroidering on  my couch, watching expanded cable and being constantly on the grid. At least for the first week, while I work on washing the campo off my skin and re-learn using a fork.)

All I ask for is that I fulfill my winter plans. Christmas in La Barra de Santiago with my very beloved former host family, and New Years in Antigua, Guatemala, with my two beloved Daniels.

Anyhow, I'll be disconnected throughout Christmas, but, I wish you all very Happy Holidays. Try to reign in your jealousy that I get to play around on the beach, eat chicken foot soup and light off fireworks throughout the holiday. I'm pretty excited for it.

Paz, amigos.