Beginnings

Well. Here I am, happily situated in my room en la casa de mi familia en San Salvador, El Salvador. I cannot believe that I am really here-- and that it's been over two years since I was last here! What a different climate (weather-wise and politically) than last time! As opposed to my previous visit, there isn't a hotly contested presidential race going on and it's the rainy season. And boy, it rains. Hard. I'm going to definitely need to invest in a sturdier umbrella...

For all of you wondering, "What on earth is Natalie Avery doing in El Salvador?" lemme tell ya-- For the past few years or so, I've been study Spanish at university; however, I find myself to be severely lacking in the area of speaking skills, which is a rather important part to second language acquisition...so what better way to actually learn Spanish than to be constantly forced to speak it? And in a different country, no less. So, considering that living in a foreign country is the best way to learn a language, that's what I'm doing. And what group am I here with? What organization? Nadie! My parents know people who know people who know people (es complicado) and these people (the Maedas) attend a church that also has a school. Dome (la hermana mediana) y Paty (la madre) work at the school and I will be joining them-- in what capacity, I'm not entirely sure yet. But still, they say it is a great place for me to practice my novice speaking skills.

I've never had a blog before (thank you to Susanna Whittaker for recommending that I start one for this summer), so please, bear with me as I attempt to navigate this new tool to tell you about little bits and pieces of my time here. I'll try and post as much as possible. Keep me in your prayers.

Gracias,

Natalie