I go to the malls again and bring my computer to write. That's all for today. I feel like a San Salvadorian day, driving to his temporal workplace in the morning and back in the afternoon. It feels good and it's amazing how quick I get used to a new environment. The 101D bus line between the center of San Salvador and Santa Tecla has no secrets to me. Or is this just the surface? Is it just a trick of my mind to forget that I am on an odyssey, or better to prepare myself to imagine how beautiful is Ithaca?
At night, some other couchsurfers have arrived at Amado's place. A tall French boy who went to a German Waldorf school and a Polish boy with rosy lips. Dinner was very tasty.
THE VOICE
"Have you heard it?"
-"What?"
"The Voice has spoken again."
-"The voice?"
"No, the Voice, with a capital V."
-"How do you know I just said a small v?"
"Because I know your line?"
-"Come on, you're kidding me."
"No seriously, I do know your line. You should be more respectful to the Voice."
-"Who or what is this voice anyway and what does it want from us?"
"It is the instance writing our lines."
-"And you believe that?"
"Would you lower your voice please?"
-"No! And what if? If the words from my mouth are just words from the voice, who cares? Whatever I say, the voice says anyway."
"Blasphemy! Burn this infidel!"
-"Did the Voice command you to burn me?"
"No! I mean, yes. I mean, I can almost be sure that that is what the Voice is going to say. So as a humble servant to the Voice, I..."
-"You execute the Will of the Voice even before he had the time to utter it? You should be ashamed of yourself!"
"Who are you to say that?"
-"I am the Voice."
"Proof it! Proof it to us!"
-"There is no need and no possibility to proof this. But listen to me please. Before you execute the alleged Will of the Voice, retreat in silence. Prey!"
"What are you talking about?"
-"That was a joke to find out if you were listening. I mean pray."
"That's all?"
-"And then you gather the Oldest and Wisest and debate long about the words of the Voice before writing them down in your Book. Are those words vile and full of resentment? Or are they graceful and friendly? That is all that matters!"
"You liar! How dare you! We humans should judge the words of the Voice before writing them down? I never heard such a blasphemous idea. Burn him at the steak!"
-"That doesn't make any sense."
"I was joking. I mean the stake. Pile up all the wood you can find and burn this infidel."
-"Father, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing."
"I heard that. I know very well what I'm doing. So don't moan like that. More wood! I want to burn all of the Pole!"
-"I'll go now, hoping you will have a little more faith in me next year."
"Go? What do you mean? And why aren't you burnt to ashes? How did you get lose?"
-"Because you misspelled your word. Actually, I caused you to misspell it, because I am the Voice. Some penguins might have a hot afternoon, but burning the Pole is not going to affect my well-being."
"What? You! Are! The! Voice? You be doomed and be blessed, o you impossible Lord. Please have mercy on me -"
Showing posts with label San Salvador. Show all posts.
May 30. Piling 'em up.
In the morning I write a bit, then I go to mall to buy the ticket. I have to pay cash but it is no problem. When I pay cash and the dollarbills are piled up on the desk at travel agency Escamilla I make a little joke:
"Can you change the destination to Las Vegas?"
The noble clerk of Escamilla smiles. He prepares my paperwork and wishes me good travels. I know the next bit of my itinerary now and that makes me feel light. I can work in the mall once again and feel good when I arrive at Amado's place.
When I couchsurf I try to share cultures and so I ended up baking pancakes in several countries in several types of pans. Unfortunately, Amado doesn't have a good pan and the pancakes come out like thick chunks of dough I silently swallow myself. Finally, I manage some pancakes for Amado. Now I feel good and behave frivolously again.
You remember I wrote an episode of "Sex and the City" a few months ago? I heard that ER is more popular so here is my charade of ER:
In a cosy hospital canteen Lisa and Jeffrey have lunch.
"Hey, I thought you were vegetarian?" says Lisa.
-"Do I look like a veggie?" Jeffrey replies and he imitates the roar of a lion to get his point across.
"No, no" laughs Lisa, who likes Jeffrey but can't stand macho behavior. "It's just, I thought you would order the meatballs."
-"Why?" Jeffrey's eyebrows are high up.
"Because you are a big macho man." She pulls at the hair on Jeffrey's arm.
-"Ouch. What are you doing?"
"Showing you that you are a big macho man. And you are supposed to eat meatballs."
-"Why are you so interested in my balls?"
"That's a typical macho remark. Point p
roven."
Enter: Jacob, a tiny surgeon with long fingers and a dramatic crush on Lisa. He needs some information about a patient.
-"Lisa, I need you for a second."
"Jacob!" Jeffrey yells, as his sexual glands produce all the chemicals to convince Lisa of his fitness as a partner. "Jacob, why don't you join us?"
Jacob smiles at Lisa and ignores Jeffey.
-"I...I'm not talking to you Jeffrey. I need some information about a patient Lisa, can I talk to you please?"
"Just sit down Jacob, Jeffrey knows how to keep a secret."
-"I swore an oath" Jeffrey says laconically.
Jacob takes a chair and tries to make up what information he is looking for. You can see him going through the possibilities, when loud screaming alarms them. A nurse is yelling:
"Emergency! We have a woman losing to much blood in childbirth! We need the best experts here."
Jacob whispers in Lisa's ear that he is sick of love for her, and tells her he has made a reservation in the city's swishest upper class restaurant to the name of "Jacob Steinbeck" and she should consider it.
Then they all jump up, rush to the stretcher with the lady on it and offer their help. She is in the operation room soon.
-"We need blood. Otherwise she'll die." Lisa's diagnosis is infallible. Jeffrey whispers in her ear:
"I have the same bloodtype as her, you know. I can do it."
-"Are you sure? They are going to tap half a gallon."
"I'm a macho man, remember."
Lisas nods her head but let the macho give his blood to the poor lady. He gets pale quickly and when the lady is reviving, his lights go out.
Jacob, who has observed the whispering, is boiling with frustration and jealousy. He sneaks into another room and puts a syringe in his boney arm containing an undisclosed drug. It pumps him up and he gets back to operation room, where he sees pale Jeffrey and the struggling lady.
"Right in time to cut the chord and save the day" he says in a triumphant manner. The baby has already started crying and the mother smiles through her tears, ignoring everything but her baby.
-"Jacob, what's wrong with you? Jeffrey is dying here."
They had taken half a gallon of blood from poor Jeffrey and the macho man looks like a pale cardboard mascotte. Jacob, whose drug has provided him with boundless hybris, throws himself on the empty bed between Jeffrey and the lady, telling they should take his blood.
"For the lady?" Lisa asks him. The baby is crying.
-"No, for Jeffrey. Yes I have the same bloodtype too." The baby cries louder than their voices.
They tap Jacob too, who passes out almost inmediately. He doesn't recover - the blood transfusion combined with the undisclosed drug he injected in his veins earlier - it's just too much. Jeffrey is waking up, looking at Jacob's pale corpse, the smiling lady, and the incessantly crying baby and he shakes his head.
"Lisa, our job is done here. I see just too much of the human condition in this room."
-"So true Jeffrey, to much of the human condition. Let's go to a restaurant instead. I already have a reservation..."
"Can you change the destination to Las Vegas?"
The noble clerk of Escamilla smiles. He prepares my paperwork and wishes me good travels. I know the next bit of my itinerary now and that makes me feel light. I can work in the mall once again and feel good when I arrive at Amado's place.
When I couchsurf I try to share cultures and so I ended up baking pancakes in several countries in several types of pans. Unfortunately, Amado doesn't have a good pan and the pancakes come out like thick chunks of dough I silently swallow myself. Finally, I manage some pancakes for Amado. Now I feel good and behave frivolously again.
You remember I wrote an episode of "Sex and the City" a few months ago? I heard that ER is more popular so here is my charade of ER:
In a cosy hospital canteen Lisa and Jeffrey have lunch.
"Hey, I thought you were vegetarian?" says Lisa.
-"Do I look like a veggie?" Jeffrey replies and he imitates the roar of a lion to get his point across.
"No, no" laughs Lisa, who likes Jeffrey but can't stand macho behavior. "It's just, I thought you would order the meatballs."
-"Why?" Jeffrey's eyebrows are high up.
"Because you are a big macho man." She pulls at the hair on Jeffrey's arm.
-"Ouch. What are you doing?"
"Showing you that you are a big macho man. And you are supposed to eat meatballs."
-"Why are you so interested in my balls?"
"That's a typical macho remark. Point p
roven."Enter: Jacob, a tiny surgeon with long fingers and a dramatic crush on Lisa. He needs some information about a patient.
-"Lisa, I need you for a second."
"Jacob!" Jeffrey yells, as his sexual glands produce all the chemicals to convince Lisa of his fitness as a partner. "Jacob, why don't you join us?"
Jacob smiles at Lisa and ignores Jeffey.
-"I...I'm not talking to you Jeffrey. I need some information about a patient Lisa, can I talk to you please?"
"Just sit down Jacob, Jeffrey knows how to keep a secret."
-"I swore an oath" Jeffrey says laconically.
Jacob takes a chair and tries to make up what information he is looking for. You can see him going through the possibilities, when loud screaming alarms them. A nurse is yelling:
"Emergency! We have a woman losing to much blood in childbirth! We need the best experts here."
Jacob whispers in Lisa's ear that he is sick of love for her, and tells her he has made a reservation in the city's swishest upper class restaurant to the name of "Jacob Steinbeck" and she should consider it.
Then they all jump up, rush to the stretcher with the lady on it and offer their help. She is in the operation room soon.
-"We need blood. Otherwise she'll die." Lisa's diagnosis is infallible. Jeffrey whispers in her ear:
"I have the same bloodtype as her, you know. I can do it."
-"Are you sure? They are going to tap half a gallon."
"I'm a macho man, remember."
Lisas nods her head but let the macho give his blood to the poor lady. He gets pale quickly and when the lady is reviving, his lights go out.
Jacob, who has observed the whispering, is boiling with frustration and jealousy. He sneaks into another room and puts a syringe in his boney arm containing an undisclosed drug. It pumps him up and he gets back to operation room, where he sees pale Jeffrey and the struggling lady.
"Right in time to cut the chord and save the day" he says in a triumphant manner. The baby has already started crying and the mother smiles through her tears, ignoring everything but her baby.
-"Jacob, what's wrong with you? Jeffrey is dying here."
They had taken half a gallon of blood from poor Jeffrey and the macho man looks like a pale cardboard mascotte. Jacob, whose drug has provided him with boundless hybris, throws himself on the empty bed between Jeffrey and the lady, telling they should take his blood.
"For the lady?" Lisa asks him. The baby is crying.
-"No, for Jeffrey. Yes I have the same bloodtype too." The baby cries louder than their voices.
They tap Jacob too, who passes out almost inmediately. He doesn't recover - the blood transfusion combined with the undisclosed drug he injected in his veins earlier - it's just too much. Jeffrey is waking up, looking at Jacob's pale corpse, the smiling lady, and the incessantly crying baby and he shakes his head.
"Lisa, our job is done here. I see just too much of the human condition in this room."
-"So true Jeffrey, to much of the human condition. Let's go to a restaurant instead. I already have a reservation..."
May 29. San Salvador.
I say goodbye to the lady and her father, and jump on a bus to Santa Rosa. I'm extremely cautious when the driver tells me the fare was one dollar. I double-check and find out the real fare is 80 cents."Es facil mentir a un gringo. Porque son locos, los gringos" I say, pointing at my forehead with my finger. I won't be ripped of another cent in my life. It's common and natural reaction after my humiliation yesterday, but I still think I could get something more from it. The correction of the bus fare does give me some satisfaction though.
I will go straight to San Salvador, Santa Tecla (an adjacent city southwest of the capital) to meet my host Amado. He is a very friendly person. I can stay in a room upstairs and have a shower I could really use. So I'd just made myself comfortable as another couchsurfer enters. It's Jason from San Francisco. He travels around spontaneously on his 1000-cc BMW bike. It's a hell of a machine he tells me. He has a hug
e scar on his belly I can't help to see when he walks around without his shirt on. Motorcycle accident, many years ago. I like brave explorers with no fear of dying and wish him and art-moto best of luck.We have lunch together in a typical Salvadorian lunchroom, and visit the town hall of the Santa Tecla municipality which has nice artwork on display. After that, I excuse myself and go to a shopping mall (there are plenty of them here in San Salvador) to write and buy a plane ticket. I won't tell you what the destination is to keep this story at least a little bit exciting.
Dinner consists of rice with tomato sauce and a simple yet delicious avocado-tomato-lime salad Jason has prepared. We intend to drink something in a bar, but we soon find out that the neighbourhood dies out at night. There are a lot of people sleeping on the street, they are lying here peacefully between the colonial columns and open garbage bags. Dogs look for food between the pile of human leftovers. This is the other face of this city, and it makes us go home quietly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
