A Pause in El Salvador

I’m back with another country recap, because I am already in my 3rd country! El Salvador was a debrief location…this means that our 3 teams & all of our leadership met up for about 2 weeks to reflect on the past two months & recharge before heading to our next country & ministry. 

Location: Atami 

Arrival: March 3

Departure: March 16

Days: 13 

Group: All 3 N Squad teams, Emissary, Selah & Flocka Sheep. Alumni Team Leaders (Jenna, Justin, Alayna). Alumni Squad Leaders (Khurry, Zim, Kevin). Our Mentor, Steph. And our Coaches, Beth & Jay. 

Living Situation: The Racers stayed in an AirBnB house in a gated community. It was 2 stories with enough beds for everyone & unlike any house I’ve ever been in. The bedrooms & kitchen & bathrooms were closed in rooms at the back of the house & the rest of it was outdoor, similar to a covered patio. There was a pool, hammocks everywhere & ping pong! The best part? AC in the bedrooms after 2 months of sweating nonstop. 2nd best? REAL SHOWERS. Not bucket showers. I’m telling you, I had reverse culture shock while still being out of the US. 

Best day: Jay, our Coach, rented vans & we all drove to a Volcano! It was called Ilamatepec.We did a 2 mile hike & at the top there was an incredible, turquoise crater lake. I couldn’t believe that color was natural. 

Worst day: Lindsay left 🙁 One of my best friends here on the race decided to go home. She is engaged & they decided to get married in May instead of January & I am SO happy for her but sad to lose her. That was a sad day for sure. Goodbyes are never easy. 

Favorite food: It’s gotta be the El Salvadorian staple called a Pupusa. It is hard to explain but i’ll do my best. They mix corn flour & water, then beans & cheese all together & fry it, making something like a thick tortilla thats crispy on the outside but soft & cheesy in the middle. Really, quite good. 

My job: Each person has a role on the squad, whether it be Health Coordinator, Treasurer, Women’s ministry leader, or a number of other things. I am a Logistics Coordinator & this includes a lot of responsibility, especially surrounding debrief. Me & my team (shoutout to Zachary & Emily!!) are in charge of booking transportation between countries, finding lodging for our debriefs, coordinating all of the meals & small details of debrief, keeping the squad informed on how to be prepared for travel days, delegating jobs like grocery shopping & finding covid tests & ordering pizza, & more. It’s a lot, I know. And I would be lying if I said that going into debrief wasn’t pretty stressful. BUT, the great news is that we made it! We were definitely thrown into it & had to figure out how to work as a team & how to do our job well. But debrief happened & we lived to tell the tale. 

Weather: HOT. It was even hotter than Honduras & the breeze was mostly non-existent. BUT we had AC & that is the game-changer. 

Well, there’s my summary of Country #2 on The World Race. El Salvador. It was beautiful beautiful beautiful. I will remember it with fondness.