As we board the plane for El Salvador the
cultural shift has already begun—The Captain’s greeting and in-flight
instructions are in English and Spanish and our “meal” comes with a packet
of hot sauce. As we fly into the night, suddenly out of the darkness, the
Salvadorian coastline, like fingers of light, comes into view. The cheerful
large red block letters “San Salvador” stretch a greeting across the night
sky. As Kathy sets off to rent some carts for our luggage, a friendly face
greets us—Sr. Eleanor has come to welcome us.
We board our transport for the week ahead--A cheerful red Hyundai bus adorned with bright blue cotton curtains patterned with tiny white flowers, and, thankfully, air conditioning. Once people and luggage are loaded, Sr. Eleanor introduces us to our friendly driver, Hernán, who will expertly chauffer us through bumpy country roads, tiny village lanes and busy city streets during our stay. Sr. Eleanor preps us for our first day of setting up clinic as well as sharing some regional highlights for the week ahead. Kathy further elaborates on what to expect our first day and gives us our roommate assignments.
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| The Red Bus and our oh-so expert driver, Hernán | Cornelia Herrara and Judy Dupont enjoy the ride from back of the bus |