Aqui estamos We´re here !

´´Óur first task in approaching another people, another culture, another religion, is to take off our shoes for the place is holy. Else we may find ourselves treading on people´s dreams. More serious still we may forget that God was there before our arrival."

Have patience with me acquainting myself with the keyboard...
Here are some of the the group´s first word impressions:

hot, muggy, buggy, green, geckos, different, palm trees, tiny rooms, noisy, beautiful, unique, poor, amercanized

Yes we are near the equator, it is the tropics, plants are lush, if you stand under a light at night there will be bugs, we are in another country and we are cultural tourists. And there are more U.S. restaurant franchises than Salvadoran.

Sister Marie is a delight and passionate about her life´s work. She has a very full and awesome program for us for the next 10 days which she gave us a quick overview after a warm guest house welcome of meriendas; cheese sandwiches, mini empanadas filled with beef, ham and cheese, chicken and philadephia cream cheese. Pastries included a wedding cookie filled with caramel and a traditional pastry ´semillas´which has a granola crust filled with marmalade.

Photos will have to wait as the computer is as antiquated as this typist.

First cultural impressions:
price of gas 4.69 for a population that earns $7/day.
taxis = open bed trucks with benches loaded with locals
don´t flush tp
scarcity of water
high cost of electricity, turn off ac and lights upon leaving the room

Saludos.