Day One

It’s finally here! After months of planning and waiting, I am finally studying in El Salvador! We were planning on meeting at the Gerald R. Ford Airport at 5am this morning so I thought I could get some sleep, but of course I was too excited; so I ended up making a late night (1am) run to Meijer for snacks with Patrick, and continued my countdown on Facebook until I realized I only had a half hour until I needed to ‘get up.’ So I started my day at 3am on a half hour of sleep and too excited to think straight. I had one hour to get ready and get out the door, and of course my OCD with to-do lists gave me plenty to keep busy with. After reviewing my “to bring,” “to buy,” and “to do,” lists for El Salvador, and a quick run-through of my townhouse just to make sure I didn’t forget anything major, I was out the door and on my way.\

I got to the airport right on time (15 minutes early), and said my goodbyes to my lonely and heartbroken boyfriend (I’m missing his first two weeks at the GVSU Police Academy and his 22^nd Birthday for this trip! What a horrible girlfriend!).  As our group members started arriving (12 women total), we all started panicking about what we would forget, and some of the girls started to realize things they forgot before we even got our tickets. Alisha left her wallet, drivers license and money all at home, Brittani didn’t bring any socks, and she also packed all of her liquids (shampoo, conditioner, lotion) in her carry on and had to throw them all away when we got to security (due to the strict ‘no-liquid’ regulation). But luckily Alisha’s parents were willing to pick up her wallet and bring it to her, and Brittani decided she’s just going to have to share (I think we’ll have enough shampoo between the 12 of us). 

Aside from these early-morning blunders, we all got our tickets ready to go, our bags checked, and our bodies on the plane. We were extremely lucky to have one smooth ride from GR to Atlanta, and after an hour lay-a-way we were back on a plane from Atlanta to San Salvador.

View of Atlanta from the plane

When we were sitting on the plane, we talked about the heat and how we thought we were ready for it, but we had no idea. After getting off of the plane in San Salvador, marching our way through customs and getting our Visas, we finally got everyone through, got everyone’s bags, and walked outside. The heat was unbelievable! I thought I was prepared for it, and I think I’ve experienced some pretty bad humidity in Michigan, but I was definitely not ready for it. We dragged all of our heavy, heavy luggage outside to wait for Cristina our guide, and we ended up standing outside for about 30 or so minutes in terrible heat (as we watched our hair get frizzy, our makeup melt off, and our clothes start to dampen). Then our bus arrived with Cristina in tow and as soon as we got all of our luggage on the bus we headed towards the city (about a 45 minute drive). At first I was hesitant about the bus ride because in my experience bus rides are hot and sticky, but I was lucky enough to snag a single window seat and slide the window completely open. After the first couple minutes my body temperature reached a healthier level, and I was finally able to concentrate on what was going on around me. I was able to watch the trees, the houses, and the people as we drove to the city, and really take in the essence of El Salvador. I have been to Guatemala twice before, so I figured it would be quite similar, but no matter how many times you see it, it still strikes you every time; the poverty, the graffiti, the tin houses and cows tied to telephone poles.

It’s sad because all I want to do is help, but obviously it’s going to take a lot more than a two week school trip or a church mission trip to fix this. El Salvador is still recovering from the nasty effects of their civil war in the 1980s. Crime is out of control, there are no jobs, and people are constantly moving to the United States, leaving El Salvador’s economy in the dump.

We got to learn a little more about it today because right from the airport we got to go to downtown San Salvador and see the end/aftermath of the International Workers Day March. It is a HUGE deal in El Salvador and people from everywhere come to celebrate the ‘working man.’  A friend of Cristina’s that we ran into downtown said that over 130,000 people came this year to wear red and walk the streets. It is a really big deal in El Salvador, and gives them a lot of pride, but what I didn’t realize (until today) was that most other countries celebrate this Workers Day, except the United States (big shocker!~sarcasm~). Only in the US would we purposefully leave out the people who work hard every day in jobs that many people wouldn’t want, but instead we praise and validate men sitting in big cushy offices who own companies and reap the benefits and hard work of the working class man.

After learning about the march and the celebration, we were able to walk through a BEAUTIFUL and HUGE cathedral; it was open to the public so people could go in and pray and worship whenever and however they wanted. It had beautiful embellishments and sculptures, and in the lower level it holds Monseñor Oscar Romero’s tomb. He was appointed archbishop of El Salvador and was very well known for his radical views that were uncommon for a man of the church. He often spoke out against poverty and the social injustice of El Salvador, and he was assassinated on March 24, 1980. He is a very important figure to the people of El Salvador because he ardently stood up for their rights even though it was unpopular with the church. It was amazing to see how many people came out to recognize and celebrate what he did.

We ended the day by going back to the Casa Oasis (my home for the next two weeks) and relaxing before dinner. Our hosts Damian and Carolina are so kind and wonderful. It is such a cute place and they are definitely feeding us well =)   I am definitely feeling the time difference right now (and lack of sleep) and we have a long day tomorrow, but we get to go to the market so I am excited. Day one: success. 

My bedroom that I share with Jen and Tiffany

Our terrace

Garden outside our house

Dinner patio

View from the terrace