June 25, Day 3: Life in the Fast Lane and Graffiti

There has not been too much going on. I have still been getting adjusted to El Salvador so far. For those wondering, I am residing in Santa Tecla for the summer, a municipality close to San Salvador. I can already feel my Spanish improving slightly, though there is still a world of difference between me and a native speaker. Verb conjugation and adjectives kill me, but since Gerardo is the only fluent English speaker I am around frequently, I have ample opportunity to learn. In some ways, El Salvador is a lot like urban areas in the United States, but in other ways, it is extremely different. For example, the traffic is crazy here. I mean, completely freaking bogus. Gerardo has been to New York City, I have been to Rome, and both of us would say that San Salvador is crazier to drive in due to the lack of ample space and the overabundant amount of people. It is not at all uncommon to see lanes that are intended for two lanes of cars to have three lines crammed in. Plus, people tend to slow down only when they are coming to a complete stop. They switch lanes and cut other cars off at full speed with a skill that I doubt I've ever seen in the United States. That said, the people know what they are doing as I have yet to see a single accident or causality, though from my perspective, it feels like there have been many close calls. I'm getting used to the fast life on the road though.

Gerardo and I have been running at a local park every day. Joe Hoing would be proud of me (inside joke for U of O students and alums). I enjoy simply running to the park in the first place. Gerardo finds it rather distasteful, but there is graffiti all over the city. Of course, a lot of it is just terrible and outright vandalism, but some of it is really cool to look at. I'm a fan of graffiti art myself, and I have never been to a town or city that's had anything more than untalented scribbles and names. I have even seen some portraits and images on the highway walls, though we were going to fast for me to take a good picture. Regardless, it is pretty interesting to be in a place where there are so many attempts at free expression, though there is no telling at what risk the graffiti artist undergoes.

One.