What a trip

El Salvador was amazing. That will be the theme of this post. Some of you have already seen Ben's pictures, which are better than mine. But I'll try to recount some of the best times we had visiting Gabbo in Central America.
Where to begin? Even on the drive from the airport to Gabe's community, all we saw was trees and mountains for miles and miles and miles. Unfortunately, once we hit the more urban areas we found KFCs and Burger Kings and such, which sucks, but whatever. Gabe's area is beautiful, basically one long dirt road filled with wandering dogs and chickens, and houses/farms on either side. And everybody there loves him for some reason. Probably because he's the only guy blasting tunes that aren't Eminem or reggaeton. We got to meet all of his neighbors, the cute kids, cool men, welcoming women, they were all so nice to us. One night Gabe was supposed to cook dinner for Tonito, but he turned the tables and invited us to a feast at his house. It was honestly some of the best food I'd eaten in years.
We spent a night in a cabin in the mountains. Hiked to a waterfall, and even rode some ziplines. I was terrified at first, but they start you off slow, and gradually you go faster and over higher valleys. The views were perfect.
We also spent a couple nights at the beach. Once again, it was perfect. Tons of international surfers, and families on vacation just having a good time by the beautiful water. We climbed enormous rocks, swam in the ocean, had underwater swimming contests, met lots of other chill people, played pool and pingpong, and even had jam sessions outside of our room.
Doesn't get much better than that. We just did so many things that I thought I'd never do. Lots of hitchhiking, and riding in the backs of pickup trucks cruising down the highway. Jumping off waterfalls, and then navigating underwater tunnels to find other waterfalls. Swimming in public pools that cost a quarter, and then getting attacked by rain on the way back, standing unprotected in the back of a truck. Eating delicious street food that you know isn't sanitary, but the taste and price are too good to turn down. Visiting Lauren's site, hiking to a lake surrounded by trees on all sides. Seeing Jimbo's site, a natural shower, eating choco-bananas for 7 cents, hiking up a mountain to see a view of San Salvador at night. Walking around the Centro, a sketchy part of the capital with lots of pickpockets and great deals on clothes. I think the only part I did not enjoy was the roosters in Gabe's yard waking me up at 4am. I never wanted to kill something with my bare hands so much.
Honestly, I know I've left out so much in this little summary, because amazing things were happening every day. Like I said, the country was beautiful. Our trip was perfect. It was great just hanging with my brothers, going on adventures we'll be remembering for decades. I put up some more pictures on my flickr page, so check em out. And look at Ben's if you haven't yet. And if you can, VISIT GABE. You won't regret it.
Oh yeah, yesterday was my thesis defense. Not nearly as exciting. A bunch of professors gave me some pointers on my paper, and how to make my composition look better. Now I'll do some revisions, and once that's done I'll schedule my oral exam. Next week I'm trying to move to Chicago, and start a lease on September 1. Without a job. Exciting! I'll keep updating everyone as crazy life-altering events keep happening.