A little Caliche

Caliche is Salvadoran Spanish. Everyplace has it's own way of saying things; here they take Nawat words and some crazy uses of English and put it together, resulting me having to learn a whole other dialect! I have to be careful here, too...some things that were just fine in Colombian costeñol are most definitely not okay to say here. Here's some fun Caliche for y'all:

cipote, cipota- young boy or girl
choto- for free (like all the concert at San Miguel's carnaval)
chucho- dog
cabal- eactly, certainly, yeah that's right
chivo- cool (same as chévere, bacano, etc.)
guanaco- salvadoreños might use this to refer to themselves, although it could also be used in a negative sense
paja- lie
garrobo- iguana
vá- an interjection used to stress an affirmative statement
púchica- a nice way of saying damn or the barranquillero favorite, hijo de puta
chulón / chulona- naked, nude, unclothed; there's a statue on Boulevard Constitución in San Salvador fondly refered to as La Chulona

There's also a lot of veggies that are called by their Nawat names: ejote=habicuelas=frijoles=green beans, elote=mazorca=corn on the cob. And so on.

Carnaval de San Miguel

I went to San Miguel's Carnaval yesterday. People were trying to tell me that it was bigger and better than Barranquilla's, which was most definitely not true, but it was still fun. I met up with the Fulbright guy and a huge group of Peace Corps people later on, but I think I actually had more fun helping decorate the CCS carroso. The parade started around 8, with floats for each of the neighborhood queens, amusingly named Yesica I, Yanira II, etc. After that, the streets were shut off with stages for 42 different musical groups. I got to see Grupo Niche, with some of my favorite Colombian salsa, and a huge number of Mexican/Salvadoran style cumbia groups. It really amazed me, though, that at the Niche concert, no one was dancing except the crazy group of gringos! People were singing along and all...can't wait to see them again in Cali for the feria, where everyone will be dancing and singing! Check out La Prensa Grafica and El Diario de Hoy for pics, since I didn't take my camera along.

Thanksgiving Update

The Cold. Cold nose, fingers...first time in a year and a half that I've worn closed-toe shoes to work. Current temp at 11:00 am is 70°F. Temp last night at about 11:00 pm was 55°F. It sounded like a nasty, windy November day in Ohio. I most definitely didn't want to get out of bed. People assure me that this isn't normal and that it will go away soon. Hope so!

Called some friends in Barranquilla last night and it was pouring...a salvadoreño friend had told me that it was raining somethin crazy in Colombia. Looked on El Heraldo, found this pic of the fabulous Calle 84 arroyo sweeping away a taxi...you'd think they'd learn. Can't believe I actually miss arroyos! Seems that there's crazy, abnormal weather in a lot of places right now.


The Work. Everything's going well, although I sometimes feel like it's all I do. I've been helping out with some workshops for the ministry of education on the weekends, went and gave a workshop on teaching language through functions at a university in Santa Ana. The projects I have at CCS are progressing, albeit a little slower than I'd hoped. Students have started coming quite regularly to the conversation clubs. I'll be going to present on blogging and peer/self evaluation at the National Conference for Teachers of English in Costa Rica in January.

The Play. I've been in San Miguel two weekends this month, and am going back this weekend for the carnaval migueleño. People there are more relaxed, and in my opinion, more friendly than in San Salvador. It's warm, there's an active volcano, and people take me out to dance. Not to say that I haven't met some nice people here, but not like San Miguel. I started karate lessons last week (me, three nine or ten year olds, and a fourteen year old) and salsa lessons this Monday and Tuesday (L.A. style with the rueda, and ). I also went to the Marine Ball, but it was a little too pupy for me. All I really require is some hole-in-the-wall place with great music that doesn't require me to pay a cover or dress up in anything more than jeans! The best part was getting home and not being able to get in the apartment cause the lock broke (long story, not my fault)! Thanksgiving was pretty uneventful...just a little lunch at work and several days looking for cheap pecans, which I never did find, so I wouldn't have to pay $20 for a pie! A friend took me out later on to los planes de rendero overlooking the city for some tasty pupusas.

Another quality product...Choker Light hot chocolate mix