Happy Valentine's Day / Dia de Amistad

Some days I love El Salvador.

Some days I hate it.

Most days I just don’t get it.

Today on the way to Tepecoyo we drove past the scene of an accident. At first glance it didn’t appear much different than one in the States. But, what I saw will be forever seared into my memory. First, one woman lay motionless, probably dead, on the group while a couple men stood over her. Then I saw another woman lying on the ground. She rolled over exposing fresh blood dripping from her face. It appeared that both women had been violently thrown from their pickup trucks during morning rushhour traffic. There were no ambulances, only Salvadoran men standing around watching the women doing nothing. Most Salvadorans do not use seat belts and riding in the back of pickups is a common mode of transportation. And, there are laws here that forbid people from moving victims of car accidents until the medics arrive. All day I had these horrific images running through my head and don’t think they will ever leave me. Actually, I hope they don’t. I’m here to understand the reality and this is la realidad.

Someone recently called El Salvador the biggest paradox. They are right. There is so much death and violence here surrounded by utter beauty, grace, and love. There were over 1,000 car accidents in January alone. Private security forces, vigilantes, outnumber the national security forces. I think on average I see about 15-20 shotguns daily. This said, El Salvador continues to surprise me. On the flip side, today was dia de amistad, and in class about 6 kids came up to me and gave the biggest hugs. There is so much beauty here that pops its head amongst the sorrow and poverty.

I’m trying to understand this reality. I’m trying to live the questions. I just wish I could ask the right questions, because the answers are not coming…yet.