June 2 & 3, 2011
Wicked Long Travel
It's hard to believe we actually got to do what we've been talking about since August of 2010. We finally got to leave! Our adventure started off great as we tipped off the FHHS campus at noon and went on our merry long bus ride to LAX. The busses were comfortable and we watched movies and played games all the way. We stopped for some In & Out and enjoyed the wonders of those amazing burgers that are just not available in Fountain Hills. When we finally got to LAX at 8:30pm, the x-ray machines were down and it took us a long, long time to get through the check points with all of our excessive baggage and donations. After that wait was over, it was time to wait some more for our red-eye flight. We played spoons and dice games and enjoyed using our technology one last time before boarding the plane, falling asleep (if we could), and waking up in the country of El Salvador early the next morning. We ate a miniature waffle breakfast on the plane, I don't think the flight attendant liked such a large group of high school passengers in one place. We rushed off to Immigration and Customs while poor Kevin Madden won the prize for the first to get sick on Team Ataco. After his yack-attack at the Comopala airport, his signature rosy cheeks returned and he was much better the rest of the day. Wicked waffles or motion sickness? We'll never know. The Salvadorian national press interviewed us on our way out of the airport. Claire and Sharon are happy that no one lost their passports and everyone is in one piece. We are ready to get to our ultimate destination, Ataco!
--Will Aker
Hola Ataco!
When we pulled up to the town of Ataco, we were surprised at how colorful, cobble-stones, rustic, mismatched but all pulled together somehow. Clay Benkowksi noted that it "looked like a theme park that Disney would design, but it's legit!" Claire said, "It has its own unique sense of place, just like Fountain Hills does!" We turned a sharp corner and saw lots of people, and music, and more people. We realized the entire town had come together to welcome, thank, and celebrate our arrival. The mayor had been planning this event as a surprise to us, and succeeded, all of us were overwhelmed from the warm joyful welcome we were given. Hearing the speeches on how much they appreciated us coming down to build homes for these people was very touching and I know not only myself but many of us were on the verge of crying and we realized how much they appreciated the difference we are about to make. Thanks to additional donations from our amazing hosts, we are now up from 13 to 20 houses (Carlos likes even numbers!)
The people of Ataco sang their national anthem for us and we sang [at least the first verse] for them! A talented marimba band played. The local men performed a fun interactive dance telling the story of trying to tame a bull to present as a gift to a beautiful maiden. That maiden was Abbey Krumm! We felt honored when Mayor Oscar Gomez finished his speech with the statement looking directly at us, "We hope you will find Ataco to be your "Place Called Home." After the ceremony that included the firing of loud rockets (a few us got a little alarmed until we found out they were) we got to try some of their traditional dishes including our favorite Salvadorian staple, pupusas! I have to admit, they make them way better than we do! We also tried fried plantains (bananas) with custard inside, unique takes on tamales, and a "yucca" (we think) vegetable that was a cross between onion/potato. We got settled in our hotels, and each of the three are really different and show the aspects of the local culture. One even has Wi-Fi! We had Chinese food for dinner, in Ataco?!? So many smiling faces greeted us as we checked out this amazing little town , they seem happy that we are here, and very interested in who we are. The hard-working Melendez/Araujo brothers worked so hard prepare for our arrival, and we were honored that Consul Chacon came to greet us as well. This first wonderful day was offered many unique experiences that and I am sure there will be many more to come over the next 2 weeks in Ataco, El Salvador. We are tired! Buenos Noches!
--Kaylee Shields
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Day 2 "The Lake" El Salvador Tripby AlJ135315 views
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