The guys have been going out to the field a lot lately...I don't get to go. I stay and "hold the fort", LOL!...
but, since we bought a camera last year, I make them take it and, aside from the pictures of the events that they are attending, they occasionally take pictures of the scenery...

Here are a couple of places I've never been to (and not likely to visit anytime soon, as it is difficult getting there even with a 4X4!!- in fact, there are places where they had to leave the cars behind and walk for about 1 or 2 hours to get to the communities!)





As you can see, transportation IS an issue (and this was during dry season!!)

shhhh....don't tell anybody just yet... niece was in an ad for Cellphone company #1, which has MUCH better signal coverage than any of the other ones...the reason I stay with my current cell phone company is that their prepaid card balance doesn't expire ....with other companies, you buy a $2 card, once you load it to your cell phone, you have 5 days to use it, or it expire...$5 cards last 7 days; $10 last 12; $20 last 15 days and the $50 card lasts a month...
with my company, I can use a $2 and, as long as I receive at least 1 incoming call in a 60- day period, it NEVER expires...since I've been trying to CUT on cellphone use (I'm currently spending $2- $5 per month!) this makes a lot more sense than switching to company #1...
HOWEVER...the ad niece made is to announce that company#1 is going to go to "non-expiring" cards, too! woo-hoo!
I get the convenience of a pre-paid cell phone (contracts here are for a fixed amount, starting at $15, you get a "free" phone, but the contract is for 18 months...if the phone is damaged within those 18 months, you have to either buy a new one, or sign an extension of the contract (for ANOTHER 18 months!)...and, since I really don't care about having the "latest and greatest" cell phone, I can buy one of the cheap $10- $15 phones and get both the convenience of the no-expiration card AND the best signal coverage!!! It'll even help me LOWER my cellphone budget, because sis and niece (the people I call the most) AND the people at my office are already on THAT network, so calls will be cheaper thatn they are now, with me calling from company #2 to a company #1 line!
woo-hoo!
(I'll just have to wait until they announce it officially!- oh, and I'll have to carry 2 phones while I make sure everyone on my address book has the new number!)

Diesel is $4.95 ... I fully expect it to be AT LEAST $5 when I come back from the trip. EEK!

small bakers have gone on strike in ES over the price of flour...they will not bake for 2-3 days...
they are asking for a government subsidy to help them cope with rising prices in flour and lard without having to increase prices to the public...

Meantime, bus owners and other transportation business owners are asking the government to place a ceiling of $2 for diesel prices...

Troy will burn! (there WILL be trouble, one way or the other!)

38.99% actually. Under the new "Alliance for the Family" law (issued to help us middle class folk in ES- or so they say...) banks and cc issuers cannot charge more than 38.99% interest per year. Some cc's charged up to 47%.
The interesting thing, however, is this: we always have lunch with the bank teller at our office (they have a mini-branch inside the compound) and she was telling us that they had X cc that used to charge 37%, but now they've raised the interest to 38.99%! Kind of defeats the purpose of the whole thing, doesn't it?

this is the newest thing here in ES (the news broke yesterday)...now you can use your cc (and even your reward points) to pay your taxes!...

I still don't know what to think about it...

I had to share this cartoon in today's local paper...http://archive.laprensa.com.sv/caricatura/caricatura.asp#CI


the cartoon says:
Raise for assembly members

The river says: public opinion

the guy in the boat on the edge of the waterfall: Gentlemen, it's time to reconsider this course...

no, not me (I wish!)...this is the latest scandal in Salvadoran politics: the Legislative Assembly members just gave themselves a 44% pay increase (last year they approved a raise of minimum salary...7%!)...so, the lowest-paid Legislative Assembly member will get a RAISE of $1,800/month!!
Crooks, all of them!...the "funniest" thing about it is that, now that the press has given it coverage, all of them are going: "what? pay increase? where? how? NO, I'm sure I didn't vote for it...never really heard about it until now..." (70/84 voted for it, so....best possible scenario they are all idi0ts and just vote without actually knowing what they're voting on...hmmmm, but, the opposition ALWAYS votes against whatever is put in front of them, so...hmmmm...Oh, and, even the member that signed the cheques said she didn't know about it!!!)...grrrrrrrrrrrr...this has everyone's blood boiling!!...people are asking that they revoke the measure (yeah, right!)...we'll see what happens, but, I just needed to vent!...$1,800!!!! (and minimum salary is $180!!!)...and, guess HOW they'll pay for it...or, rather, guess WHO'll pay for it...yep, "Juan Pueblo" ...
one of them actually said they NEEDED that raise because their current salaries are not enough....really, these people know no shame!

same bag that cost me $3.09 on Saturday!
...and they tell me Premium gas has reached $4/gallon!!!

Desperate times call for desperate measures, I'm calling a "clan meeting" at my house tomorrow!!

as with everything, you take it for granted when you've had it all your life...I first became aware of this back in '92, while working for the UN Observer Mission in ES...one of the guys from the Spanish delegation came in one day with an armload of fruits, stood in the doorway (I was the receptionist/telephone operator) and said to another guy (a newcomer): "You won't believe this, but, I've been here for nine months already and, EVERY month I've tried a different fruit...there's always new ones, and there's always plenty, and they are tasty AND cheap! It's amazing!"....my colleauge at the reception (there were 2 receptionists/telephone operators on duty during business hours and only 1 the rest of the time, the Mission was available 24/7)said to me: "Oh, the things that amaze them...and this is in the Information Age...no wonder they thought they'd found paradise when they first arrived 500 years ago!"...we laughed, but it DID get me thinking...I also remember the guys from Chile at the Mission, who ate a pineapple every week...they mentioned that pineapples weren't as sweet in Chile, and that they were very expensive!...and I was thinking about it yesterday, while preparing our lunchboxes: chicken and spinach lasagna, with chopped tomatoes, and mellon for dessert. I also made our dinner, which was a broccoli cream - all from fresh veggies/fruit...no cans, no bags, no powders, no preserves...and the mellon was delicious, too, sweet and golden...fruit doesn't taste the same when it is picked before it's ripe (I guess it's the same for vegetables)...and, if I stick to what's "in season", it really is not expensive!....and, because our weather is mostly "even" all year round, produce tends to be "in season" most of the time!

...went to the grocery store today...bought almost the same things I always do (did not get meats, but had to buy food for both Tonio AND Fiona, as they were both running out)...the total is generally ~$70...today it was $85!!!
...and the MInistry of Economy says cummulative inflation as of November was 5.5%!!!

I'll have to adjust my monthly budgets to reflect these new prices!!!...and I'm guessing the difference will have to come out of the money allocated towards paying debt....grrrrr!

10 months ago, a group of Salvadoran school marching bands was invited to participate in the Rose Parade...the kids have worked hard not only rehearsing, but also raising money to go...they even managed to get their US Visas!! (the association of Salvadorans living in LA agreed to be responsible for the kids return)...flying was too expensive, so they ended up going by bus...only to be stopped at the Mexican border because, since they had switched to ground transportation at the last minute, they did not request their Mexican transit visas in time...But, now they are already on their way again!
If you watch the Parade, watch out for them! They have gone through A LOT and, from what I hear, they're really good!

supermarkets are already packed...I hate grocery shopping around the holidays...the worst thing is, since we buy every week, and we alternate with sis, that means my next grocery shopping will be around the 15th....which is payday!!!!...AND, Xmas bonuses here are paid between the 12th and the 20th...can you imagine what THAT'll be like???...

oh, well, at least it will be sis' turn on the 23rd!!!...

...I am most definetily a "tropical flower"...our temperatures are 28/17 right now and, I'm freezing!...well, not really, but, I'm very VERY cold, and I want my sweater!!! (forgot it at home!)...I have also noticed that I get very lethargic when it's cold...if I lived in a place where temperatures are REALLY cold, I guess I'd hybernate! LOL!...or, I'd have to have a screen, like the rose in the Little Prince!

that's what the new passport will cost (up from $9.71)...so, that's not TOO bad... I thought they might go to $20 (at least!) from all that they were saying...we'll see, as they have submitted the proposal for the increase before the Legislative Assembly, so now it has to be ratified....if mine were about to expire, I could get a new one for $9.71...but, they have issued this new regulation, that your passport has to be renewed on the month that it expires (December, in this case) ....and I doubt it'll take them so long to ratify...though, who knows!...the Legislative Assembly is not known for being fast at that!

Notice that I've been saying my old wardrobe is in shambles and I will soon need to replace some items??...guess what! a colleague's wife said to me a while ago she had some clothes she no longer uses and would I be offended if she offered them to me...and, yesterday, she brought me a bagful of clothes...and they ALL fit!...so, now I have a new pair of jeans, a new skirt and 7 new shirts...both dressy and "weekend" ...
and all the items were "so me" ...and free!...

I was thinking today how I'm spending about $60/month instead of $40-$50 on gas now that niece is taking Ale to school (sis puts in another $20/month), but that it's still positive because I'm not paying the $30 for the transport, so in reality I'm spending $60 vs $70-$80...and then I thought it's good that gas is cheaper now because it's "only" $3.14-$3.20

AND THEN I remembered that it wasn't so long ago when I felt that gas was "super-expensive" when it reached $3!!!

isn't that sad??

The Ministry of Education of ES conducted a school census to verify the quality of private schools...there are ~1400 private schools.... ~400 are going to be closed down...students can finish the current school year and that's it....
The remaining schools have been divided into categories: A, B, C and D...
A's get 10 year permits with yearly follow-up visits
B's get 5 year permits with yearly follow-up visits
C's get 28 months to improve or else they will be closed down
D's get 16 months to improve or else they will be closed down

the criteria included such things as infrastructure, teacher certification, student-teacher ratios, full-time vs part-time teacher ratio, among others...the list was released yesterday...

Ale's school has been classified as a C school, which wouldn't be too surprising, given that their facilities are two converted houses...but, other schools with similar infrastructure made the B list (some of the other schools I visited but couldn't afford).

Now, I like the school and, I'm hoping that the deficiencies found can be easy to address and that the school will do something about it (I also hope this doesn't include charging more or asking for additional $$, because I REALLY cannot afford that)....Today is the first day and, I expect to have a memo from the school before the end of the week (customary). I hope that the principal will include this important issue in the memo, but, if she doesn't, I think I'll write to her next week to try to find out: 1. what were the areas that received the lowest ranking, 2. what is their action plan and 3. as a parent, what can I do to help?...depending on her answers, I'll have to devise my own action plan (but, just in case, I need to start putting money aside for those pesky one-time enrollemnt fees at other schools, which can be anywhere from $1,500- $10,000 depending on the school!)

soooo....since the price of corn has almost doubled, prices at the marketplace are already rising:

onions used to be $0.15 each, now= $0.25
lb of beans was $0.56, now= $0.64
platains were 6 X $1.00, now you get 5
tomatos remain at $0.25 by some miracle...

and, potatoes have gone down...they were 5lbs/1$ and this weekend they were 7lb/$1...

It's my turn to do grocery shopping this weekend...we'll see how far I can stretch my $$$

tortillas are the basis of Salvadoran diet, so, if tortillas become more expensive, EVERYTHING will soon be more expensive, too!!...they used to be $0.04 each and now they're $0.05 each!!...we hardly ever eat tortillas at my house (or bread, for that matter...did you know white bread is considered a "luxury item" by some segments of the population here??) but, if corn prices go up, soon everything else follows!...because of the atypical rainy season we're having, corn is scarce....ES is opening it's borders to Honduran and Nicaraguan corn to try to bring down the price a bit...I do hope the Salvadoran corn crops can be saved, though!

These past two weeks were crazy, but it was worth it!...we had our First Northe rn Zo ne Tour last Wednesday...

To oversee the completion of the compact signed between the Milenium Challenge Corporation and the government of ES, a board of directors, consisting of 4 cabinet members, 2 NGO representatives and 1 private sector representatives was chosen at the beginning of the year...

We helped organize a committee to go to the NZ of the country, where the aid will be concentrated, as this is a "poverty belt"...well,let me tell you, it was EPIC!!!.... we set out at 5:30am, a caravan of 14 vehicles, carrying 60 people....including the ambassador....

So, here I was, little old me, with all these prominent people, whom I see on the news everyday: the minister of education, the minister and viceminister of public works, the minister and vice minister of agriculture, the deputy technical secretary to the presidency, the managing director for our organization, people from the private sector, the ngo representatives, the newly elected executive director and deputy executive director in charge of actually complying with the compact, the coordinator and several members of the National Development Committee...10 drivers,2 translators and some of us "lower level" people from 3 different organizations...no press, so that the attendees could concentrate on actually hearing what the people were saying instead of on what they were going to say to the press!...this was WORK!, not a publicity thing!

It took us 3 hours to get to our first stop, where the group met with mayors on the advisory council, members of a coffee cooperative, cattle farmers and members of a group of municipalities involved in water preservation...

We had a VERY tight schedule, but, the people at the towns we went were VERY organized and managed to stay on track with the time!...

After that first meeting, we left to visit a National Education Institute in a small village 21 kms away...so you have an idea of how bad the roads are there (about $200K for road construction), it took us 45 minutes to get there!!!...We were greeted by the school children, who were waving flags... it was very touching...

Here, the meeting was to hear the expectations and plans of the students, parents and teachers at this little village....the parents said they expected that the educational component of the compact would allow all their children to study and complete their high school education, and, who knows, maybe even go to the university some day...The representative of the private sector asked what they thought were the reasons for the high migration rates this village has and, the parents told her the lack of jobs...being honest, even if you graduate, what then, if there´s really nothing there, no stores, no factories...and, the land is really inhospitable there!...

It was amazing to me to see something so desolate in my country...I would have imagine this was pure forests and, instead, I saw some cows that were kept together only by their hides....trees that twisted in the dry, hot air, like lost souls out of Dante´s inferno...here and there you would see a tiny house made out of tin or cardboard.... and, here and there you would see Mansions (yes, capital M, houses as luxurious as the ones you see in the capital city, only larger!)...these are the homes of the families that receive remittances from the US...I mst say, I understand the lure to migrate...even for those in the mansions....If I had one of those mansions in THAT place, it´d want out....not necessarily to the US, but, at least to the next town!!!! ...but, for those in the tiny shacks....well, just think what they must feel...the difference is really EXTREME!!....

After about an hour and a half of more bad roads, we reached the Lempa river....our ancient Father river...even in dry season, we needed to board the ferry to cross (the compact also includes building a bridge over it)....it was a beautiful spectacle....once all 14 cars were across, we went to yet another town, for yet another meeting, this time with the cattle farmer cooperative, who also explained the opportunities they see with the new road, and with the productive development component of the compact....we had lunch there, organized by the mayors of all these towns we had visited...local river shrimp (they looked more like tiny lobster than shrimp) and hen....quite tasty...

Then back in the cars for the last meeting in a small city, this time on paved roads, but, they were so narrow and full of curves, the cars couldn´t really go much faster than they had on the dirt roads!...

At the last town, the meeting was with the business sector, especifically transport and small commerce representatives...

by this time, it was 4:30pm and, you can imagine how tired everyone was!!!...we left the small city at 6:00pm, back to our capital city....we took a different route this time, and it took only 1 hour and a half to get back home (we COULD have taken this route, but, the whole idea was for this people to actually SEE what the people in the NZ have to live every day and how urgent it is to do something for them and how much of an impact our work will make in their lives)...

Everyone was tired when we left, but, all the people in the caravan where very pleased with the tour and very glad they had joined the tour...could you believe very few of the attendees (me included!) had never visited that part of the country? (where the heaviest fighting was during the war) and, we even had one person who had never actually left the capital city!!!

I don´t have enough time to polish this entry, because Ale wants to play, and it really is a shame, for I know I cannot begin to convey the sense of historic momentum that this trip left in all of us!

I will tell you more about the new job some other time, but, for now, this is the most important thing and, I really wanted to write about it before the feeling goes away!! (and, honestly, I hope it never does, because I feel like I´m really part of something much greater than myself at the moment!)

We're frying!...it has been so hot this past weekend, that the fans have been on 24/7...and I still got a migraine from the heat!...and yesterday none of us could sleep...except Ale, who totally "disconnects" herself at night...and to think rainy season officially starts in May...and we may not even get scattered showers before mid-April....

I just read the news this morning, ES tax forms have changed!...rats! ....just when I was starting to understand the old ones!...oh, well, I hope the changes are for the best and will make things easier!... (I already printed the explanation off the local newspaper site!)...in the meantime, I cannot even start thinking about doing my taxes because the company hasn't given us our tax retention letters...

I forwarded the news to our payroll dept!...(it was during our lunch break, so it should be OK!) :P

yes, I know, we are all individuals and that means we ARE all different...however, the mentalities of nanny's daughters really baffles me!...

Daughter #1 - the eldest who just graduated from high school has gotten a job at a bookstore...it pays minimum wage ($175) + commissions (so, now I will have to switch from buying at the branch in mall X to mall Y, but that's ok, they're both close to my office!)...anyway, she wants the money to pay for her university, as she wants to become an engineer....

Daughter #2 - the one that had a baby at 14...is currently going to night school to get her high school diploma...working as a maid, making $30/week...she wanted my cousin to take a credit line (in cousin's name) so that she (Daughter #2) can get a 25" or 27" TV...never mind that the family already owns a 17" TV, but has no refrigerator...

Now, nanny herself would never even think about asking me to get a credit line in my name to buy something for herself...at most, she asks me for small "loans (rather, advancements on her payment, which I discount in smaller amounts...she never asks for more than $50 and, I discount it by $5/week, for example)...

Now, I know that having gone through High school instead of quitting after 9th grade - the way she originally wanted - changed Daughter #1's outlook on life and of her own potential, but, still...you'd think having a baby would have made Daughter #2 more responsible with money...

I'm really looking forward to seeing how Daughter #3 will turn out! (she's 12!)

...through numerous initiatives and fierce competition, the company employees were able to raise over $16K for the Telethon...the owner matched our $$$ 2X1...so total from the company will be almost $50K...of course, thanks to the PR fairies, the employees' donation was the first one of the event, so it got a special mention in the press!...

Still, it IS a good cause and, they HAVE built new centers not only in the capital city but also in some of the other major cities....

we are having a Telethon for the construction of new physical therapy centers here in ES...our company typically donates all the artist's flights, but we, as employees, also contribute...since last year the amount we brought was $10K, this year the goal is to reach $12K...so, they have organized a competition among all Vice-Presidencies, to see which one can collect the most...insider knowledge says we are in second place right now (ok, so one of our guys is dating an HR girl!)...we have collected about $800...there's a rally tomorrow and we're all hitting the malls to pester people for money, er, ask people to donate...a group is also going to the airport...what's nice is that, no matter who takes 1st place, we all win!

Father Vito once said, if you work to help the (abandoned disabled) children, you will be much blessed....

well, the guy from whom we bought the hot dogs surely was!...as is customary, I deducted 10% for income tax from his pay (actually, what we generally do is "add" the rent, so that these people making marginal profits or less-than-minimum wage can have a break! and then give them their $$ in full and then the next year they get their income tax return as a "bonus")...guess what? the lady at accounting said the receipt was wrong...that even if he had brought people to serve the hot dogs, that actually was a purchase of goods, not services, so I shouldn't have "deducted" the income tax...so, she had me redo the receipt and gave me $17.85 to give "back" to him!....(even with this, and with me having given him $10 "fuel surcharge" -- because the Home IS a far drive from the city), the hot dogs were still about $1.20 each! (we had budgeted $1.25)...so, this nice man gets $17.85 that he wasn't expecting!...he was soo grateful!...evnthough I really had nothing to do with it, it makes me feel good!...times are tough and it is good to see someone getting some unexpected "help"!

The question was asked by one of our PM's upon learning that our maintenance facilities are at a "Free Zone" (meaning tax free) at one meeting and then hearing that taxes are "territorial" in ES during another - related to planes...it's hard for me to explain all that in English (I barely understood it in Spanish!)...

Our answer? ...a handful of raised hands (all the locals, and a few expats - not all of them...depending on their resident status! LOL!)...

Sarah asked about living costs in El Salvador....so here it is!

This is a Salvadoran Colon...it is the national currency, but it was phased out when we went to the Dollar in 2001. 1 USD = 8.75 SVC


Minimum salary has just been increased from $ 5.28 per day to $ 5.81 per day (yes, that is not a typo, it’s $5.81 PER DAY or about $175/month! – pretax!), -- this means my salary is about 4.8 times a minimum salary…We pay nanny $175, no discounts….the other maids in the neighborhood hate her because she only works Mon-Fri, from 9am until I come home from work, and gets holidays off! (a typical “full time” maid stays in your house, works from 6am through 8pm and, gets 1.5 days off every two weeks!...making anywhere from $100-$200/month, depending on the neighborhood!)

The textile industry minimum salary went from $5.04 per day to $5.24 per day.
Agricultural worker’s minimum salary went from $ 2.47 to $ 2.72. Coffee pickers were making $3.57 and now will be earning $3.93 per day.

If you earn more than $225/month, taxes are discounted monthly from your salary and paid directly by our employers to the Government – 10% to 20%, depending on your salary….I pay 20%. At the beginning of the next fiscal year, we submit our tax report to see whether we get a refund of whether we get to pay more!...as a salaried person, I can deduct up to $571/year for medical expenses and up to $571/year/family for schooling!...(if you have 1 child, you can deduct $571, if you have 10 children, you get to deduct the same $571!)...that's about all I can deduct...If you are in sales and are not given a company car, you can deduct gas and car-maintenance expenses...Different deductions apply for business owners or independent professionals, depending on their line of work...

Value Added Tax is paid on all services and/or goods, and the rate is 13%, by law, prices have to be posted including taxes (which is why I get surprised in the US when the total amount to be paid is always higher than what I have calculated...I always forget to add the tax!)

We speak of “collective transportation” rather than public transportation because the government gives special permits to different transport (bus) companies to operate specific routes. Inter-urban bus fare is $0.25 --payable every time you board a bus …that means if you are lucky and only need to take 1 bus to go to your job, you pay $0.50/day on transport….There is an initiative to force all buses over 25 years to be eliminated. To this effect the Government gave all bus owners very low-interest long-term credits, + $5,000 per unit delivered as “downpayment”….believe it or not, some bus owners still didn’t take advantage of it and some really old buses are still running ….the government has said it will not renew permits for such units, so, as the permits expire, bus owners are forced to change the units, relinquish the permits to other bus owners with newer units…The next phase of this project contemplates elimination of buses over 15 years ….but this is opposed at the National Assembly (mainly by some “diputados” –congressmen—who are bus owners!)….There have been many accidents in the past few years that involved old buses that were not properly serviced!...That’s why, provided you have the means to buy yourself even a small, old car, you will sacrifice to do so instead of using the buses!...gas prices are $3.04 for premium and $2.80 for regular right now….

As for housing costs, it all depends of course on the area of town in which you want to live…a small house in a lower-middle class neighborhood might cost you $75-$100 if rented and between $100-$125 if owned (monthly mortgage payments)…if you want an upper middle class neighborhood, you’ll pay anywhere between $300-$700 rent for that same house or, if you want a nicer house, $700- $1,500 rent…to buy a house in an upper-middle class neighborhood, you need a combined household income of $2,000 - $5,000 per month, and 10% of the house’s price as a downpayment…

We rent in an upper middle class neighborhood…the smaller houses in the area, and we pay $315/month between my sister and I….there are real mansions in our area, too, going for $1,200 a month –rent….we live near the American Embassy and the newest shopping malls….we could afford a larger house in another neighborhood, but, living near the American Embassy means security is VERY good!...and we are willing to pay for it!...

Houses in ES do NOT have warm water as a “standard” feature…nor clothes washers and dryers…dishwashers are almost unheard of….but, then, almost anyone has a maid….coming at least a few times a week… in houses where there are no clothes washers, the maids do the laundry by hand….so every house has a “lavadero”, or a place to wash!...(we use it to wash mops, and to bathe Fiona, mostly!)…we do have a clothes washer at home…my family has had one for as long as I can remember…(my mother’s family was wealthy, but in typical fashion, 1 generation made the money, the next one managed to keep it and the third one –my mom and her siblings—managed to spend it all!)…. I was surprised the other day to learn that the most common fuel used in El Salvador was still wood…but, thinking about the composition of the population, it makes sense….people in rural areas still use wood stoves and most have no electricity or water in their houses…Even in the cities, you’ll find places with little or no access to water…

Public schools in ES are for the very poor…anyone making 2 minimum salaries or more will try to pay for a private school for their children, or at least a parochial school….costs for education can go anywhere from $15/month to $600/month for Kindergarten (think parochial school vs the poshest bilingual school!)….The poorest public schools don’t even have bathrooms, or even chairs and tables for the children… Sis sent her children to a school that does not offer the best education, but offers you the best possible “connections” outside the bilingual school circle and paid $125/month for her daughter….I chose to send Ale to a bilingual school, I still don’t know how good the overall education is, but their English program is VERY good and am paying $137/month….figure it’s worth it if I don’t have to pay any additional English lessons!... My unit at work has chosen to sponsor a public school as our community development program…we raised money to replace the roof (children had to move their desks around during rainy season so as to sit in dry spots and not under leaks!!) and fix the bathrooms…we also repainted the classrooms…we are also teaching English to the top 5 students in the 8th and 9th grades and, have decided to start a scholarship program for the top 2 students in the 9th grade, so they can continue with their high school studies… The school principal is very active and has managed to get a computer center built and furnished, as well as equipped through the Ministry of Education and other private institutions…so the outlook for our little school is good….If you want to learn more about it go to: http://tacasdg.blankenstein.info

If we talk about groceries, the cost varies depending on where you buy (market vs supermarket), but, eggs are $2.75 a carton of 30, beans are $0.57/lb, rice is .40/lb, a loaf of bread is $1.27, tomatoes are $0.67/lb….these are supermarket prices, you might be able to find slightly lower prices at the market…I buy most of my groceries at the supermarket and go to the market only for the veggies, fruit and fresh cheese…chicken is cheaper at the market, but, it sits on an un-refrigerated counter most of the day (they only put it in the fridge for storing during the night), so I’d rather not risk it….likewise with the meat!...Meat at the supermarket is about $2-$3 per lb, depending on the meat you buy, chicken is about $1.70-$2/lb and fish is $4.40/lb…a 400gm bag of powdered milk costs $2.32…a lb of ham is $2.74-$4, depending on the ham you like… a can of soda is $0.40…shampoo is about $2.35- $6.00, again, depending on the brand…a 1.5Kg of detergent is $2.60-$5.00—local brands…a gallon of water is $0.63, but, if you buy the 5 gallon bottle you pay only $1.25-$1.60… a lb of unrefined iodized salt is $0.07... combined expenses for groceries, including toiletries and cleaning supplies for our house is about $340/month (we are working on it!)…As you can imagine, most Salvadorans do not eat much beef or fish (except for coastal towns or villages near lakes and rivers!)….and for some even chicken is a luxury!... We are meat eaters at our house...

We pay about $10 for water (there is a subsidy if you spend less than X of m2 per month), and about $40 for electricity…. We also pay $9/month on municipal taxes (includes garbage disposal and a “sweeper” – there’s a nice old man and a younger woman in our neighborhood, that come to sweep the streets 3x a week!)…technically, we don’t live in San Salvador, but in Antiguo Cuscatlan…the mayoress has been elected for 7 successive periods or something like that….Antiguo Cuscatlan is the wealthiest municipality in the country…In contrast, a friend who lives in San Salvador (in one of the poshest neighborhoods, too!) says she pays about $23/month in municipal taxes and the garbage collector comes only 1 a week….and she has to sweep her own street!....

Telephone service is billed as follows: you pay a flat rate of $9.82 just to have a line, and that includes 100 “free” local minutes….any additional use is charged according to where you are calling….our typical phone bill is about $30/month….and we do not make international phone calls!...we are working on this, too…but we have a teenager in the house!...You can get a cellphone for about $29 (currently there's a special, you can get a Sagem for $15!) and depending on the company, you pay anywhere from $0.10-$0.25 per minute...a lot of people in ES own cellphones...even some of the people that sell at the marketplace own cellphones!...you don't pay for incoming calls, just for outgoing ones!...I have managed to maintain an average expense of $12/month for cellphone use this year!

We pay $30/month for internet service…if we wanted to add cable TV we would pay about $16 more per month….cost/benefit ratio says it would be ridiculous to do this!...sis, niece and myself have about 2 hours max time to watch TV everyday…so Ale would be the only one with enough time to watch tv and really take advantage of it....since I am more than happy that Ale doesn’t really like watching TV all that much….makes no sense to pay for cable….especially not with our current financial situation!

Interest on personal loans is anywhere between 7-13%/year, depending on your credit history and, most banks will require a co-signor (unless you get paid via direct deposit at the bank from which you borrow!)...credit cards charge anywhere between 25-47%/year interest...savings accounts pay about 2-3% per year (my company coop pays 4%!)...

This toy store (our regional version of Toys'r'us) has t his new special offer this year: reserve your toys now with 25% of the total purchase price and you can pay the difference in 6 installments...OR, charge the 75% difference to your cc's and these 3 local banks (Evil Card is NOT among them!) will give you 6 months to pay at 0% interest....

This is the card that arrived at my house...




To me, even considering this sounds crazy, yet I'm sure there are people "taking advantage" (or being taken advantage of?) of this offer...this is crazy...first of all, I imagine there's a minimum to even qualify....I cannot imagine that minimum being less than $100...and, I cannot imagine spending anywhere near $100 in toys! (maybe if I had 5 children...)
Still, I think it's crazy...

We went there the other day, as this is one of the stores from which we buy wholesale, and ask the manager how things were going (as we have had very few orders, and it's already "late" in the year...generally, we get most of our orders in October....)...they said things are very slow for them, too...like us, they have presented many quotes, but they've gotten very few orders...Up to a certain point, this is good news to us, since they are our "brand name" toy supplier...seems most companies are going for cheaper toys this year (they do not carry these lines) and, we do have other suppliers, so that could mean more orders for us....