Growing up in the middle of a civil war is not easy and it is only made harder when your family does not have a lot of money. El Salvador, much like the rest of Central America at the time, was in conflict. The war raged within our borders for 12 years between 1980 and 1992. It caused instability, fear and disruption of services. Seventy-five thousand people lost their lives in the war. In a small country, that means you were almost certain to know people that had died as a result of the fighting.

We were fortunate there was not a lot of fighting near our town but soldiers from both sides would pass through looking for food and water. Dad spent much of his free time on the porch waiting for them to pass through so he could offer refreshments in hopes of gaining enough respect from them to avoid any problems. It worked as the soldiers would have their fill and move on to the next place without problem.

My family had a small house and some land in the town of Canton Los Chilamates in the state of Chalatenango.  We were a couple of hours from the capital, San Salvador. Mom stayed at home taking care of the house while Dad worked as a farmer tending his crops of guava, mangoes and sugarcane. To make extra money he worked other farmers' fields. It was not an easy way of life but he had to provide for my five sisters and two brothers.

Despite the war and lack of money, my early life was nice. Without the responsibilities I would soon have spent time with my sisters playing softball, making sculptures from mud and climbing the mango trees. I would take salt from the house, climb the mango tree and eat the mangoes I picked while sitting there above the ground. I can still feel the juice of the mango working its way down my arms as I took bites from the meaty fruit. Unfortunately, those carefree days changed when I was five.

My parents decided that our town had become too dangerous for me to live in so they sent me to San Salvador to stay with my older sister. She had two young children (younger than me) and needed help around the house. I cried as I left my town and headed to a city that was much bigger than anything I had ever imagined. I did not know what was ahead of me and but knew that my life would change. My sister welcomed me, but because she had a busy life to tend to, put me to work quickly. My days of softball, mud sculptures and climbing trees were over replaced by learning to cook, changing diapers and cleaning the house. Spending all my time at my sister's home I didn't make any new friends my age. I stayed there for two years before I went back home.

When I finally came home the town looked the same but I knew my life had changed. I now knew the responsibilities of growing up and life was not as carefree as when I had left. I traded playing in the fields for doing laundry by hand, cooking and getting water from the well. It was still better than the previous few years as I had a chance to go to go to school for the first time and I loved it. I was with kids my age and developed a group of friends I could play and talk with. Even the trip to school could be fun as we would walk 45 minutes for classes and would often laugh and tell jokes along the way. If we were lucky every once in awhile a neighbor or family member would drive down the road and offer us a ride. Life continued like this for another few years until my parents decided to send me back to San Salvador to live with my aunt and work at her restaurant.

Making this trip had become a part of growing up in the family. Most of my brothers and sisters had spent time there before me. Fortunately I still went to school, but all of my other time was spent working at either the restaurant or at my aunt's home. My chores were usually done between 8 and 9pm, and then I would begin my homework. Working these long hours, my school work began to suffer. I did this until I had enough. Then I decided to run away.

One morning, without consulting anyone, I went to my friend's house and hid there until her mom came home. I told her what I wanted to do so she gave me enough money for the bus to my sister's house. My sister was surprised to see me at her door but understood the challenges I was facing and let me stay with her overnight before taking a bus back to Canton Los Chilamates. Even though I had to face my parents for the decision I made I was happy to be home and away from the life I had been living. Life went back to normal for the next few years as I focused in school and my chores.

Even as some things remained the same, I had begun to mature. By the time I turned 14 I could see the struggles my parents were having and knew I had to help support them. With no prospects of finding a good job in my town I again turned my attention to San Salvador. My sister had found a family that needed help taking care of their home and children so I quit school and moved back to the city. The transition from small town to the city was not as difficult this time. Over the course of the next few years I moved between a few different families to find better conditions and to make more money, much of which was sent home to my parents. It is also during this time two of my sisters had left El Salvador and moved to the United States. I began to wonder if I would do the same one day.

That day came at 17 when I decided to go to California and join my sisters in Santa Rosa. Leaving El Salvador took me back to being 5 years old again and leaving home for the first time. Outside of having my sisters there I would not know anyone and that scared me. At the same time I knew I could continue my education and make more money in California. The transition was difficult but I had the experience of past transitions to draw from as I began to learn more about my new home. I quickly searched and found a job packaging frozen food for a Chinese food processing company and enrolled in adult English courses in so I could communicate.

After a brief marriage that I was far too young to enter into I had a beautiful baby girl. Fortunately I had my sisters and friends there to help me with this transition as I continued to work. By now my hopes of finishing school were replaced with the need to earn a good living. Not only did I have a baby, but I was also continuing to send money back home.

I continued to work and raise my daughter in Santa Rosa for the next few years until one day I met an amazing man. I was working at a restaurant when a musician from a band that was going to play there that evening stopped by. Our mutual friend had thought there may be a spark between us so she arranged for both of us to be there. It worked. We had an instant attraction and after a year he asked me to move to Half Moon Bay where he lived and had a job. I was hesitant to leave Santa Rosa but I knew I wanted to be with him so I packed and moved again.

The transition of living in Santa Rosa to Half Moon Bay was hard. In Santa Rosa I could take the bus anywhere and there were a lot of stores and things to do. Half Moon Bay was smaller and transportation was not as readily available. I also did not have many job options. After a brief time with Nurserymen's Exchange I found work with a local preschool as a teacher's assistant. I enjoyed being able to work with the kids and the families. As time progressed I had other opportunities to work with individual families and eventually became a nanny. It is funny to think now that I was preparing for these positions since I was five years old. Over the years I was able to find constant work by being a nanny and it gave me the flexibility to also take care of my children.

I now have three children with my youngest being five months old. I have come to overcome my first thoughts of Half Moon Bay being small and now consider it home. It has been the most consistent place I have lived in my life and provides many opportunities for my children. After so many transitions, I am glad to call Half Moon Bay home.