Saturday, February 16

This was an early morning. Our flight was just before 9 a.m. out of Dulles, so we aimed to be there by 6 so we would have plenty of time to check in and get through security.

But everything went well. There were no delays at any step in the process, and we all arrived safely in San Salvador.

There we were met by Patty Cordero, the Habitat Host Coordinator in El Salvador. She greeted us, got us to our bus, and then bid us a temporary farewell. El Salvador was hosting 4 different international teams, so the central office staff had to spread themselves around. Unfortunately this meant that we wouldn't be able to have someone with us at all times from the main office, but we were still able to contact them, and they would continue to check in as much as possible. It was very impressive the number of people who were there to meet arrivals. In El Salvador, it's traditional for entire families to meet and drop off travelers. This can make things crowded, but very festive.

Because we arrived just after 12:30 local time (El Salvador is one hour behind EST), we were a bit hungry. We had gotten breakfast on the plane, but we were ready for some food. We stopped by a very popular chain restaurant, Pollo Compero, on the way to where we were staying. The chain is known for its breaded and fried chicken, and many Salvadorians traveling back to the US will carry boxes to share with family and friends. Ordering was rather interesting due to language barriers, but between Ron and Cappie and the help of the Habitat volunteer, Glenda, with us, we managed to work something out for everyone, including the vegetarians. We also had fun with the motorbike delivery vehicles parked out back!

For that night in San Salvador, we were staying at the Casa Concordia, a rooming house that is associated with the El Salvador Lutheran Church. It is run by a wonderful woman named Maria Trinidad and her family. Her daughters help her prepare the meals and run the place, and her grandchildren and foster children are also around--playing, helping, and generally making the place bright.

After we got settled into our rooms, we had a few hours to kill before Pedro, another person from the Habitat El Salvador (HES) office, came to give us our orientation. Many of us took the time to enjoy the warm weather and cool breeze that were available. Kjersten was even brave enough to join the kids for a game of soccer.

Pedro gave us a wonderful introduction to El Salvador, giving us all sorts of great information about the housing crisis in the country, difficulties facing HES, and telling us some important safety warnings about how to take care of ourselves on the worksite in the coming week. Pedro himself would be with a Canadian team elsewhere in the country, since they needed a Spanish translator and we had Ron and Cappie!

After dinner we continued to explore our surroundings. A group went out to check out the neighborhood, and were able to get a great sense of life in that part of San Salvador. I hope that others who went on the trip will soon post and be able to share their experiences.

Don wasn't feeling well, but there was a group of nurses and dentists staying at the Casa Concordia as well, and they shared some of the medicine that they had brought to donate. This turned out to be a wonderful blessing, as Pr. Tom later came down with the same sort of illness. But because we still had medications from our first night, we were able to avoid seeking out additional medical attention and Don and Pr. Tom were able to stay with us as we built the house.