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Written by Keith Rhoades
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Friday, 01 April 2005 |
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It is almost midnight and it is my last night in El Salvador. El Salvador was not even my primary destination and I am sad to be leaving. For what El Salvador lacks in historic sites and ruins...this leg of the trip has been probably the most intense culturally and experience the life of the locals...I find it hard tonight to leave. So many ironic things have happened in the last 24 hours. After I wrote last night, We drove into he city in that damn pickup and I had to sit in the bed of the truck and it was so scary...dark and windy...I thought I was going to fall out of the bed of the truck. By the time we got to the clubs...my hand was numb from holding so fast. but then everyone here transports this way..in fact, many of the busses are just standing in the back of f a pick up truck. Anyway, Diego, Antonio and I went out to various dance clubs...salsa, merengue, cumbia. I met Veronica who was a waitress at one of the clubs and she fell into fascination with me and kept bringing me free appetizers and wanted me to drink beer! Then everyone wanted to buy me a beer. I got very nervous and I told Diego I was in AA and sober for 8 years. He then said his father was in AA and had 38 years of sobriety!!! Later in the evening Diego told me that he was gay but that only one close friend new and that he couldn’t tell anyone because it is not a good thing here and how he struggles with it and wanted to know about gay life in America. We were out until 3 am....dancing talking, and find out that most Salvadorians love Bush and the United States! This morning....I woke up late and I went with Diego to a fiesta...a birthday party for a 2 year old...I felt odd going being the only white person and an outsider...but everyone was so welcoming. I sat at the table with Reina and <hector...who were my age and married 11 years and was still madly in love with each other. She was an actress here in El Sal and he did make up at the studio. We then danced the entire afternoon. I have pics to prove I was salsa dancing. I dance with Anna Cristina and her brother Pedro who teaches biology. Everyone was so nice and chatted and everything. Then Diego and I went to Centro San Salvador...which is now the most craziest city I have been to...traffic, congestion, smog, yelling....it overwhelmed me. I was squashed on the bus getting there. I went to see the main cathedral and there were so many people I thought I was going to get trampled. not only was it the 25 th anniversary gathering for Romero. but also that is when I found out the pope had died. The city went nuts!!! I couldn’t move and people were singing, crying, lighting torches for Romero. I couldn´t even get into the church. After that I went shopping for gifts and then came home and went with Diego’s dad to an AA meeting...he founded and my first international aa meeting. I couldn’t understand much of it but I knew enough that it was good to be there. In the evening there was a going away party for me in Najapa, El Salvador....Antonio, Diego, Carlos, Anna Cristina, Ophelia, and Pedro all went out to dinner for pupusas and beverages and then we hung out and chatted in spanglish....I laughed so hard. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much!! When I said goodbye..everyone invited me back and wants to come visit me in the US but they can´t get a Visa. Then everyone in true El Salvadorian style...started crying and hugging that I was leaving and wanting me to stay longer. So now I am about to go to bed and I feel very happy, content and sad. Tomorrow morning I head for Guatemala City...a dangerous bus ride so I am told But there Flavio will be meeting me at the bus station and I will stay with him the first night.
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