December in El Salvador

I just posted a reflection about the church women and I mentioned a movie called "Roses in December," there is one part in the movie when Jean Donovan talks about the beauty of El Salvador and says "where else would you find roses blooming in December?" I hadn't paid too much attention to this quote until now when I am spending December in El Salvador and have discovered the same thing that she did which is: December is one of the most beautiful months in El Salvador.

December in Cincinnati can be a pretty depressing month because the winter season officially kicks in and you know that you will be really cold until about March. This is either helped or aggravated (sometimes both) by the overwhelming season of Christmas. While I can get a little sick to my stomach from too much Christmas cookies, music and mall shopping, there can be something calming and peaceful about a room lit only by Christmas lights and a fire as Carol of the Bells plays softly in the background and snow falls outside. That is not what Christmas decorations are like in El Salvador. They are usually very tacky and out of place, and (in my opinion) completely drowned out by the beautifully blossoming flowers and bright blue skies.

El Salvador December days can turn hot but not too hot and the nights are breezy. The rainy season is over but things haven't dried up completely yet. As you walk through the streets or drive through the countryside, you see brilliant flowers that are colored bright red, magenta, yellow, orange and white. So, today I actually walked through the streets in my neighborhood with my camera to document some of December's finest blossoms. Here are some of my favorites:

The neighborhood around my El Salvador homeThis is the bus I take to work (the yellow flowers are my favorites)

There are flowers everywhere you lookA house by where I work

And to show that I also can appreciate the beauty of December in Ohio, here is one more:

My home in Ohio