So this was meant to go up yesterday, but due to some pretty terrible (nee lame) technical difficulties, I can finally bring you this posting. It's been a great time so far, and with yesterday, we went all over the place. I don't want to dwell on it too long but it included getting another interview done well, trying out some amazing food (The horchata was amazing), getting some new clothes for myself and checking out an amazing lookout point called "The Devil's Gate"

hello.
umm soo ... yeahh i ate weird fruit today . well not really ate it, you have to suck on it .. its taste different.. but its fun to eat :).
i remember getting off the plain and it being so hot, i didnt think i would enjoy this trip cus of the heat . but then i found out we have to take cold showers, cus there is no hot water. ohh and ive been sleeping with geikos...
but really i love it hear. its sooo pretty. and the people ive met are so cool.
i feel like ive discovered a new world... its so different then wear i live.
ohh and i feel prettier here. lol.
moi is building stuff with cards.. lol
and it just fell ..
and micheal said we could go to bed .. i might rest .. but i have to take medacine latter so it will only be a rest .. then ill work on editing.

It still boggles my mind that from this high up I can see an entire city, all the lights together as one entity. I can feel the energy emitting form it… Hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of souls, each living their own chaotic lives, coming together and forming this beautiful sight that can only be seen from 38,000 miles above their own little worlds. I wish nothing but prosperity and love for all of them, and when my feet touch the soil, I become just another light in to be seen form the sky. My own world is part of something much larger.
- 8/1/09

Amazing that so much can happen in one day and that three groups of people who had never met before can become a single entity in the space of 12 hours. Where to begin.

Begin with huge thanks to all the people who believed in this mission and gave us the money to make it happen. You will be very proud of your delegation. Thank you Steve, Sally, Rob and June from Chino Cienega. You made this happen. Thank you Downtown Silver Spring; thank you Mark Brantly, thank you Juanita, thank you Susana from DAS, thank you Mitsi, Aurelia and all the rest who gave so generously. The people of Silver Spring were not just supportive but excited about this project. You will not be disappointed.

I woke up this morning to the sound of dogs barking. I really woke up after a bracing cold shower. Outside our room on the second floor is a little patio. I walked out on the patio and realized that we were really in El Salvador. From the roof top, in the distance I saw two huge volcanoes. Lots of pretty little courtyards surrounded by thick coils of razor wire.

We are staying in the Hotel Oasis run by Damien and Maria. It is a charming compound style guesthouse. The courtyard is a paradise of tropical plants with a covered eating area. The walls are filled with posters remembering the Civil War: Oscar Romero, the 4 nuns who were murdered, FMLN.

One week from today the Gandhi Brigade will head out for El Salvador for its most ambitious project ever.

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