Hello world!

Not only am I beginning a new adventure in El Salvador, but I´m also venturing into the strange and exotic ´blogosphere.´ I had a nice smooth plane ride and got through the airport without any problems, then was greeted by a nice guy (Dionisio, I believe) who hauled by giant suitcase right up onto his shoulders and led me to a red pickup truck.  My considerable luggage went in the bed and I climbed in the cab and we were off to San Nicolás Lempa where the Asociasión Mangle (the official administrative branch of La Coordinadora) has an office.  I met briefly with Estela, the volunteer coordinator, and then waited around for a bit until a meeting let out and it was time to go to El Mono, the community where I´ll be living.  I can´t quite tell where one community ends and the next begins, so before I knew it we were turning into a dirt driveway and unloading my stuff.  I met my ¨family,¨ an older woman named Tomasa and her daughter-in-law Jilma who has four daughters.  Tomasa´s daughter is in Cuba, so she had a spare bed set up in the corner for me.  As far as the house goes, it is reminiscent of the Guatemala house in the Global Village at Heifer Ranch, with cement floors, painted cinderblock walls, and a composting toilet outside.  But there seems to be reliable electricity – there is an overhead lightbulb in my room as well as a television, small refrigerator, and a stereo that seems to be playing constantly.  I´ll be in part of the main room (now separated with a curtain) and Tomasa and her granddaughter Tomasita sleep in a small room next to it.  There is a porch area with a table for eating meals and a small (gas?) stove, and then there is a large basin sink with running water and a wood fireplace area (for making tortillas?) behind it.  Jilma and her other daughters have another small house behind it, basically one big room separated by a curtain.  So far I´ve been taking it easy, reading a bit of ¨I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings¨ and trying to understand what in the world people are saying.  I met another American couple in the airport and helped translate a little bit about the tourist card and felt quite proud of myself, but have not exactly been communicating fluently in general (for instance, when Jilma took me over to meet some of the neighbors yesterday evening).  So I´m trying to be patient with myself, not think too much, and take things one day at a time…