Not long after arriving in Cuisnhuat I met a family with whom I had an immediate connection. They basically adopted me for the remainder of my service, inviting me for meals, introducing me to people, and helping me to gain "confianza" at my site....
On Christmas Eve, 2004, I was planning a traditional dinner with my Salvadoran family. They were bartering with the door to door hen saleswoman over the price of the hen in the picture. The asking price was $6, the family wanted to pay $4, and I...
During my service I helped the local clinic form a group for senior citizens. We met monthly to discuss health issues. Since many of these seniors walked for miles through the mountains to get to the meetings we always had something to eat and a...
Every November the Catholic church in Cuisnahuat celebrates the Fiesta of San Lucas. Cuisnahuat is a traditional town where they still do dances with hand-carved masks to act out the story of San Lucas. These dancers are all me from the town and...
This picture was taken in the weeks leading up to my COS conference. The gentleman pictured is Don Rodolfo, who was my landlord for the beginning of my service. His daughter Betty was a close friend of mine and the bay he is holding is her son,...
My adopted Salvadoran family owned a store where I spent much of my free time. They always wanted to make sure I had eaten, and on this particular day near the end of my service I was helping them finish leftovers of my favorite Salvadoran dish-...
When I first arrived for my site visit it was arranged that I would stay with Nuria, an employee in the town hall that was to be my counterpart agency. She and I immediately bonded. She taught me a ton about Salvadoran culture and was my closest...