What's Up El Salvador

This week I discussed extortion with a knowledgable man, who works in connection with police here. Last week I  read an article in a major newspaper on the subject of extortion. Over a few months I received many emails, and listened to a few personal accounts some second hand, others in hushed voice. The subject [...]

Someone jokingly advised me that “Central America loves diplomas”. I forget the context, and thought it was a strange statement altogether. Who doesn´t like diplomas? I like diplomas. This week I learned what he meant. I recently got a job here, as a part time English teacher. Pretty cool job I hope (I start next [...]

The big challenge in home-brewing beer in El Salvador is getting the supplies you need in order to do it well. Both my husband and I are adaptable and enjoy making things, which is good. Most of what you need to brew beer can be pieced together from items you can find at a hardware [...]

There is not a standard mail service in El Salvador like we are used to in the US. (it exists but is not omnipresent) You can send and receive via UPS, DHL or FED EX but there is no typical mail service. In this digital world, that doesn´t have to be that big of an [...]

Yesterday the ground was alive, grass glowed, the fish gave me a pedicure and the tides paced the day. My husband´s 42nd birthday was a good excuse to take a short trip. So we packed up an overnight bag and headed out with our 5-year-old daughter and her little dog Freddy to the Bahia de [...]

As I meet more people In San Salvador, one of the things I see is that jobs are not a good way to make ends meet. The minimum wage is around $250 per month. Educated professionals frequently earn only double or triple that. One outgrowth of this distorted economy is that I have met several [...]

Many people have been asking me about the cost of living in Central America. The Short answer, is “What do you want to pay?” Tweet Many move to Central America (for us El Salvador) to live a happy, safe and comfortable life for a fraction of the cost of an equally comfortable life in the [...]

We made a remarkable food find yesterday in San Salvador. We are finding that there is a lot of really good food in El Salvador as long as you think and eat like a Central American and not an American. We have been working hard to seek out local, independent non chain and non American [...]

The home we rent in El Salvador has a garden in the back. I have posted several pics of the garden, because I think it is so very pretty, peacful, and hosts tropical birds, and plants that are quite common to the region, but to me still feel exotic. OK yes…the garden also hosts tropical [...]

Moving to El Salvador from the United States is difficult, but for all the stories about crime in El Salvador, the blood I’ve shed has not been on the mean streets, but in my own home and yard, to very tiny aggressors. El Salvador is alive with them. Part of a beautiful, rich, healthy, warm [...]