filling in the details

So, my mother complained to me last night about how I STILL hadn´t updated my blog for over a week. So Mom, this one´s for you. There really hasn´t been much happening here, so I will tell you just a few highlights: Almost two weeks ago I bought a bass guitar in San Salvador. I just couldn't live without one for any longer. It cost me $130, which was a little more than I was hoping to spend, but still, a steal of a deal considering that a similar bass in the States costs about $400. The trip to San Salvador was my first excursion made entirely by bus. It took almost 2 hours to make the usually-45-minute trip into the capitol. The busses stop for everyone, it seems, even if they aren't at a bus stop. Anyway, I've been using the bass a lot for worship music at least twice a week, plus a few of us get together a few other times each week just to play for fun. It's really great and I'm continuing to improve my skills. However, this did not hold true this past Sabbath. A few of us prepared a special music for church and in the middle of the song was a lovely little bass solo. Really easy. The only problem was that the jump up from the previous note was a little tricky. In practice, there were few times when I made the transition smoothly, but I usually got it within 5 seconds after I was supposed to. Sabbath was no different. Well, almost. When it came time for the solo, I jumped up to the fret that I thought would give me the proper note to begin my solo. I was wrong. I searched. I was wrong again. This continued for a very long time. It was a solo that repeated three times, interrupted by guitar accompaniment, and I didn't get it right until the third time through. I just about died! Fortunately, everybody said they liked it anyway and that it was cool. Oh well, we can't all be perfect.
In other news, I made my first trip to the beach this past Tuesday for my day off. Again, long bus rides, and also a short boat ride across a dirty river. Much wandering through back streets trying to find a different bus stop so that we wouldn't have to cross the river again, but when a local boy told us that the closest bus stop in the other direction was a 40-minute walk, we decided it was worth the few extra cents it cost us to cross the river. A sun-burn was my complimentary souvenoir. However, it was my first major one received while here, so I'm doing pretty good.
I joined the marching band here for their last two performances and it was lots of fun. I'll join them again when they start up next year in January or February. Being part of the band also included a trip to San Salvador to eat pizza together. It was TONS of fun, and the bus ride made for great times learning Spanish and playing classic bus games.
Well, that's all for now. Our new directors have now arrived, so we'll see what kinds of changes they bring.