I guess I should be excited but somehow I’m not yet. Traveling internationally lost its coolness with China. El Salvador is a very cruel place. Desolate after 6 months of the dry season.
It is hard to fit in. I still don’t know everyone�s’ names. Maybe its my fault for not being more friendly. Still it is a little intimidating to have old friends greet each other and still be standing there awkwardly.
Customs was a breeze. No problems. We did have some “gypsy women” ask for our money while we waited for our bus. The way they held out their crooked hands as if they had begged all their lives. Their wrists were afixiated that way.
We do have water & electricity. The school is relatively clean. About as clean as Short Mountain at the end of a camp. Trash is still more abundant. I wish third world countries would learn to use a trash can. Maybe that’s what we’re teaching this week.
I still haven’t been able to take alot of pictures. I’ve taken about 10 digital pictures. I guess I’ve been too tired of too busy to get motivated. I have a whole week to get some great shots….for people to bug me for doubles later on. Its my job so I guess I shouldn’t be complaining.
We’ve been warned and warned about the water. Close your eyes and mouth when you take a shower. El Salvador water might as well be deadly acid or something. I am coping with the situation in stride. We do have purified water for consumption.
The heat? Its like Florida in July. But not as bad as I expected. There is a slight breeze around and the shade is pretty reasonable. I can tolerate the heat better than most.
So we counted pills and labeled medicine tonight. I had Vienna Sausage and Cheetos for supper. Still not sure if Buddy’s request to make me gain weight on this trip will come true. At the rate its going now, it won’t happen.
We had a devo tonight. Jack introduced our team to the native preachers. Some of them speak English, so I hope to get to know them later on.
So not much else happened today. The fun will start tomorrow when the clinic opens.

Really not much has happened worth talking about. We arrived at the airport at 4:35AM with the rest of the group (who had ridden over on the church van). Everyone was already in line. We got our group picture for the big screen and the bulletin. I kept walking in front of Kay Buchanan’s camera. I was half awake and forgot to look to see if she was taking a picture. They announced on the flight from Nashville to Atlanta that our group was on board going to El Salvador.
In Atlanta we had about 30 minutes to rest and catch our breath. During the train ride over to the international gate, David Shannon, Jeremy, and Jacob tried to surf by not holding on to anything. They were somewhat successful.
Right now I’m on the flight to El Salvador. Plenty of Spanish speaking people aboard.
My dad has to be the most out of style person on this trip. High waters pants. Making dumb jokes with the lady next to him.
In order for Dennis Buchanan to play cards with the Crisps, I switched seats with him. I’m beside Terry Burton who doesn’t talk my ear off (thankfully).
So I’m wondering how this trip will be. Am I obligated to wear my rose colored glasses while in Usulutan, even though those glasses might be hard to find? Do I dare speak negatively about the trip? Do you want the good, the bad, and the ugly?
Buddy’s goal is to make sure I gain weight while in El Salvador. Its fine with me. Maybe I’m hoping for a trip to Pizza Hut or something.
Anyways our flight is over halfway over. Next stop is El Salvador where the Dave Matthews song “Don’t drink the water” is not just an overplayed pop son. Its a way of life.
This is Jeff signing off.

Ugh. I’m having to get up at 3:30AM tomorrow. I’m dreading that. They say if you do not get a good night’s sleep beforehand you may not ever catch up for the duration of the trip. Everyone snores. Paper thin walls. The heat. Although it appears that it might get down to 60something degrees at night. And I’m bringing some earplugs.
Phil shaved his head. Mr. Clean. Kojak. Whatever you want to call it. Strange indeed. He says its for the El Salvadorian heat. I too got a haircut today. It’s not that short. I’ve found that if I get it too short, it looks really bad.
I have mixed feelings about the trip. These feelings are likely to change once I return. I’ll probably be glad I went.
Then again, as I said before, I don’t want this to turn into an annual trip. There is way too much preparation that is required to do this year after year. So, I’m going to try not to get too close to those involved with this trip, for fear of being compelled to do this year after year. It sounds harsh, but I’m trying to be realistic.
Realistically right now, I’m dreading it. I don’t like the extra preparations involved. I like the idea of helping those most needing, but I feel like I could easily do it elsewhere without the extra brouhaha of a mission trip.
I found out some more information about these Columbia Central High School shirts that we are wearing while we are down there. They are from a Maury County School and are from the class of 2001. I kinda wish I could save one of them to wear at Maury County’s Camp in the summer. Just to blend in. Not likely to happen.
As far as updating this page while I’m down there, I doubt that it will happen. So stop holding your breath. Our group leader will have his laptop with him, but I doubt that there are internet connections down there….without a long distance call.
I am going to be keeping a written log of stuff that happens each day I’m down there. I’ll post it here when I get back.

Have you heard Plan B? We’re having some bureaucratic problems getting our doctors into El Salvador. Apparently El Salvadorian govt doesn’t want the skilled hands of American doctors. So there is a Plan B. Plan B involves driving 3 hours from San Salvador to Honduras to practice medicine there. We have better relations with the Honduran government. The mission group has only been working in El Salvador since 2001, Honduras since 1988.
I’m not so sure about Honduras. I’m prepared for El Salvador….for electricity and sleeping indoors inside of classrooms. I’m not prepared for whatever Honduras holds. Conditions could be much worse.
I guess I’ll find out where our final destination is when we get to the airport Friday morning at 4:30AM.

Henceforth I’ll be calling El Salvador as either “ES” or “The Dor.” El Salvador is just too long to be typing out. Its a funky name anyways. Imagine naming your country “The Savior.” Doesn’t make any sense.
“The Dor” should not be confused with “The Doors” which had some pretty good hits in the 60s. “The Dor” never had any good hits and was only known for having dusty album covers. I never could play any of their records. Way too scratchy.
So I’m slowing getting anxious about this trip. What if I get sick? Seriously sick. The thought of a third world hospital is slightly upsetting. I’d rather not think about that. I hate to think about those things, but somehow I consider the worst case scenerios.
While we are over there telling the El Salvadorians how to wash their hands and to keep clean, we ourselves must keep clean. There’s alot nasty stuff out there. And for some odd reason all the germs must be in The Dor. I’ve been warned countless number of times to always wash my hands…..only drink bottled water. The usual stuff you’re always told, but you always take for granted when you’re in a third world country.
On another note, I’ve broken out my Peter Gabriel “Us” CD. You know, the one with “Steam,” “Digging in the Dirt,” and “Kiss That Frog” on it. My new discovery of “Washing of the Water” prompted my new found interest. It’s a good CD. “Digging…” is one of the better songs. As I remember it, the Dirt video was pretty good. Peter driving around with his girlfriend in a Jeep…with camera angle shot from different perspectives. As a companion to the CD, I have the “Secret World Live” CD, which is sorta just a rehash of the Us CD with a little more hit songs like “Sledgehammer” and “Red Rain.” Am I getting through to you people? Does anybody remember Peter Gabriel? You know, the guy who did “Sledgehammer” and “Big Time” for MTV?

When CoC people decide to get together and have an argument, its not hard hitting stuff like whether or not Jesus came in the flesh or the church’s stance on abortion. Nope. We can all agree on that. Arguments happen over silly stuff like whether or not Adam had a bellybutton.
Yesterday a preacher friend told me a story (could have easily been an urban legend)….about a very conservative church summer camp. One where the girls had to wear dresses and everyone swam seperately fully clothed. We’re talking pants and all in the watering pool. Fully clothed boys swimming seperately from the girls and vice versa. Hearing how the girls swam in their dresses brings back those surreal views of victorian era swimwear.
I find myself worrying about why a bare calf leg is considered sinful in El Salvador yet not considered sinful here. Isn’t a sin a sin no matter where is happens at? Or is it just a matter of perverbial spiritual stumbling blocks scattered throughout the greater Latin American area? Have I been sinning this whole time anytime I mow the grass while my neighbors can see by bare calves from a distance? I realize that I know virtually nothing about El Salvadorian customs. It could be that El Salvadorians see bare calves as nudity in itself. Or it could be that we are just trying to present a positive impression to the people. Once a particular group of people get a bad rap for presenting themselves negatively, the whole town knows about it and the church is shunded by the town.
“No shorts” is an absolute. It doesn’t leave it up for any imagination. Can’t argue with that. There should be some kinda different word to describe shorts. Kinda like how there were 7 different Greek words for “Love.” Shorts is shorts. Nothing like “cargo pants” verses “daisy dukes” to describe those shorts.
No shorts is not completely unheardof. They don’t wear shorts on the stateside mission trips either, which I can totally understand. I guess I’m seeing paradoxical signs. “It’s hot in El Salvador.” However “You can’t wear shorts.” That’s a paradox within itself. But like I said before, mine is not to question the authorities. Maybe I just have questioned it by thinking out loud about this type of stuff.
So I wore some shorts last night. Maybe I’ll post some shots of it so that any El Salvadorian women out there can be titillated by my physique.
Meanwhile, you really should read about the Iraqi Hero to POW Jessica Lynch.