I made it back from the Habitat building trip to El Salvador very early on Monday morning, about 1:00 a.m. It was a great trip. Believe it or not, no whiners! Good folks all, including especially the masons and the homeowner families. No one got hurt. And, we accomplished quite a lot on the two homes we worked on.
I had a momentary panic attack when I found out that one of the team members was a Lutheran pastor. Shit. How was that going to work? Would I have to clean up my language, I mean, overly? Were we going to have to get all Jesus? I well understand that Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization, but I've never had difficulty fitting into the program, even when I worked there years ago. My experience has always been that they DO a lot, and TALK not so much, which is how I like it. But, it worked out fine. The Pastor's name is Chris. (How ironic is that?) He's actually a very funny guy and not in the least officious or barfy-pious. I would even go to his church if I lived in Charlotte.
And, the age span in our group was huge - late teens to late 60s I'd say, and that makes it all the more interesting. We also had a decent contingent who were repeat offenders -- folks who, like me, had been on this trip before. That's a big help, too, takes some of the burden of explaining stuff off of the group leader, Beth.
The weather was, as expected, sunny and hot. But, we had a stiff breeze on Monday that lingered through Wednesday. I'm sure I've got grit in my skin that won't be out until I get professional help for it at the spa tomorrow. Thursday it was well and truly hot, but a bit of the breeze returned Friday. The resort on Saturday was a welcome respite and this time the surf conditions were mild enough so that we were able to swim in the Pacific Ocean.
But, back to the spa. That's where I get to go now - the spa. Seems kind of crazy to be working in a third world country where people have jack, and I get to come home and go to a spa. How does that work out anyway? It's the sort of thing you think about a lot when you're on a trip like this. I didn't come up with any answers.
Click on the Photo Essays tab above to see pictures from this trip.
I had a momentary panic attack when I found out that one of the team members was a Lutheran pastor. Shit. How was that going to work? Would I have to clean up my language, I mean, overly? Were we going to have to get all Jesus? I well understand that Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization, but I've never had difficulty fitting into the program, even when I worked there years ago. My experience has always been that they DO a lot, and TALK not so much, which is how I like it. But, it worked out fine. The Pastor's name is Chris. (How ironic is that?) He's actually a very funny guy and not in the least officious or barfy-pious. I would even go to his church if I lived in Charlotte.
And, the age span in our group was huge - late teens to late 60s I'd say, and that makes it all the more interesting. We also had a decent contingent who were repeat offenders -- folks who, like me, had been on this trip before. That's a big help, too, takes some of the burden of explaining stuff off of the group leader, Beth.
The weather was, as expected, sunny and hot. But, we had a stiff breeze on Monday that lingered through Wednesday. I'm sure I've got grit in my skin that won't be out until I get professional help for it at the spa tomorrow. Thursday it was well and truly hot, but a bit of the breeze returned Friday. The resort on Saturday was a welcome respite and this time the surf conditions were mild enough so that we were able to swim in the Pacific Ocean.
But, back to the spa. That's where I get to go now - the spa. Seems kind of crazy to be working in a third world country where people have jack, and I get to come home and go to a spa. How does that work out anyway? It's the sort of thing you think about a lot when you're on a trip like this. I didn't come up with any answers.
Click on the Photo Essays tab above to see pictures from this trip.