I didn’t sleep very well last night as I kept thinking about this trip and wondering if I forgot anything. I had the alarm set for 3:30 am, but I finally just got up at 3:15 am, ate a quick breakfast, closed up my bag and left to pick up Mike. I was early getting him, but he hadn’t slept well either so he was ready. We got to the airport around 5:00 amand met Gina there. Luckily our flight arrived early in Atlanta so we made it to our next flight in good time. I talked to the Salvadoran man next to me on the flight to San Salvador. This is his first trip back since he left for the US in 1993. He knew his country would be much different now because of the civil war that was just ending when he left. It was fun to enjoy the first view of his home with him as we landed. In the airport we waited about an hour to meet Dean who flew in from Dallas via Miami. We made it through customs and met Chema outside. Although it was much warmer outside than it was back in Iowa (where it was snowing again), it wasn’t as hot as I was expecting. We enjoyed catching up with Chema as we drove through the countryside and past the cattle in the road. The sugar cane harvest is in progress now and we saw fields that had been burned before harvest as well as big trucks loaded up with cut cane. There is an election coming so we saw lots of political signs along the road. We stopped at a gas station for some snacks and drinks before we went to our home in Ciudad Romero. Our dormitory is open air with a roof and dormitory rooms off each side of a central open area. We reviewed the information we had brought along and made plans for tomorrow. At 6:30 pm we walked to Marcelina’s for a delicious supper of beans, tortillas, cheese, cucumbers, avocado, and juice. We came back from dinner and took showers to cool off before going to bed. The weather is actually quite comfortable. Chema said a cool front came through last night and cooled things off – we are lucky (so far)!
Becky
