I went to the tourist office to find a place to stay but, being Sunday, the tourist office was closed. I decided to have lunch on a park bench before implementing "Plan B". Very soon after sitting down, a scary looking woman with scars all over her face, sat down beside me and started ranting in Spanish. I didn't have a clue what she was saying so I moved to another park bench to finish my lunch when I was approached by a bible-thumping group. At that point, I left and went in search of an internet cafe to look on the Hostels of American site for places to stay in San Salvador but with no luck. The owner of the cafe suggested a place near-by called Hostel-America Guest House. I found the place, paid my $10 American per night and settled in to try and get some rest and build up some energy.

         Supper was at a Pizza Hut where I ate a veggie pizza, salad and iced tea for about $5 US. Back at the hotel, I e-mailed my friend Mario who was from El Salvador but was now living in Toronto. I asked him if he would know anyone that I could interview for my film.

         The next day I slowly became introduced to the permanent residents and the staff. The place was run by an elderly woman who was constantly barking orders at the staff. I decided to explore the city and found that the whole downtown area had been taken over by vendors with stalls all over the streets and parks. They stayed there all day trying to sell their wares, eating their meals and going to the bathroom on the street as there were no toilets. It was a stinking mess!

         Back at the hotel, I start to get accustomed to the routine of one of the guests. He had had a stroke a few years early so his whole right side was paralyzed and he walked with a strange limp. He spent most of the day sleeping then at precisely 5:30 pm he would pass my room to watch some TV and eat supper which was prepared for him in the kitchen. At 9:00 p.m. he would watch Charlies Angels and then off to bed. The staff at the hotel thought that I was too thin and, throughout my stay, they insisted that I have something to eat. They refused to accept any money for the meals I did have there.

         The next day, I found that my friend in Toronto had e-mailed me four names that I could contact for my film. I wrote out a speech in English and then translated it to Spanish before I started to make the phone calls. The first lady I called seemed to understand my request and agreed to come to the hotel to discuss the interview on Friday, August 16.

         I tried to find the Embassy of Nicaragua but, much to my frustration, there were two streets with the same name and the Embassy was not on either of them. That evening, I cooked some dinner in my room and then had the hotel meal as well!

         On Friday, as planned, Luticia arrived to discuss the interview. I gave her a list of questions in Spanish and she said she would think about it and get back to me. I then went to the tourist office to see if they could tell me where the Nicaragua Embassy was located.

         My time for the next three days was spent in bed with a cold that completely knocked me out. I had not heard from Luticia so I called her to find that she did not want to do the interview. Rubidia Contreras was the next person on the list to call and she agreed to meet me at the hotel the next day. The rest of my time was spent looking for gas for my stove and shopping for a pair of shorts. Despite the heat in this country, shorts are very hard to buy. I finally found a pair in a discount store. Back at the hotel, I practiced asking questions in Spanish for a potential interview.

         The next day, Rubidia arrived at 9:00am and was ready to do the interview. I had to scrabble to get everything set up but the interview went by quickly. I was not sure what she said but I assumed she understood the questions. She then invited me out for lunch and we caught a bus downtown where we met her older sister who taught English at a school in the downtown area. Over lunch, I discovered that Rubidia was an actress and was working in two plays at that time. They invited me to attend the performance the next day.

         On Saturday, Rubidia's sister arrived at the hotel to escort me to the University where the performance was taking place. We then went out for lunch and on to Rubidia's home in the suburbs where I met her parents and other family members. In the afternoon, we caught a bus that took us on a 45 minute roller coaster ride to a small town on the Pacific. We spent a couple hours there and then took the bus back to the city.

         On Sunday, August 25, Rubidia and Vicky arrived at the hotel with a close friend of Mario's from Toronto. We all went to a coffee shop and talked about the arts in El Salvador and about Mario and how they missed him.

         On Monday, I was invited to another play that Rubidia was acting in. The two sisters came to the hotel in the afternoon and we took the bus to the theatre. The play was not going to start for three hours so Rubidia stayed to practice her part and Vicky and I wandered around the mall and stopped for a drink where she told me more about herself. We then hurried over to watch the play. After it was over, Vicky's daughter and boyfriend picked us up and we all went out to eat. They then drove me back to my hotel. I said goodbye to everyone not realizing that it would be the last time I saw them.