showers of blessings...literally

So, one part of life that i have just not gotten used to here in el salvador is that we have not ever had hot water in our house. now, the cold water feels pretty good in the afternoons, since its so hot here usually, but 5:30am showers before work have just always been a punishment for me. we have checked into getting one of these electrical showerhead things that you install (aka The Widowmaker because apparently its easy to get shocked by them), but it was gonna take a lot of work and money to run new cables from the breaker box downstairs to the shower upstairs. anyways, i had become resigned to the fact that i will always have cold showers. however, this week, we talked to the owner of the house about changing the older electrical outlets in the house (several didnt work anymore), and she agreed, so they ended up having to basically rewire the whole house. so, while they were doing all that, elvis surprised me and asked them to go ahead and do the wiring for the hot water showerhead and to install it! sooo, guess who gets to take 20 min long hot showers in the morning now?? thats right! and they even grounded the shower (i guess thats how you say it in english) so we won't even get electrocuted. so, we no longer call it the "Widowmaker", but rather the "Happy Wife Maker". =)

in other news, you may be aware of the "high heel" culture here in el salvador. women here wear high high heels 24/7, even when you have to walk a mile to work, or hold your baby and groceries while standing up on a crowded bus, etc etc. we have a good friend who wears them so much (even when getting around the city alone with her 2 year old son) that she says her feet actually hurt when she wears flat shoes. we like to joke that her feet are shaped like Barbie's...naturally shaped in that awkward inclined position. anyways, we saw this billboard this week, for a "High Heel Marathon" that will actually take place this coming Sunday. apparently, all these women will put on their high heels, and start walking, and whoever lasts the longest will win a new pair of high heels! im thinking about participating....nah, id rather just take a hot shower.