Awesome Blossom

Mike and Britt attend Union Church of San Salvador, an English speaking church in the city. It's an International church, which makes it fairly transient...made up of a variety of people...those working for the Embassy, missions and non-profit organizations, factory owners, English speaking Salvadorians,etc. The pastor and his wife (both Vanguard alums) and their 4 kids moved here about 5 years ago from Southern California. Originally they moved here because Peter was working for the non-profit, Enlace. They're an awesome family and have been great contacts and friends to Mike and Britt.

After church on Sunday, we went out to lunch with all of them. To Chili's!! Now...on any given day in the states, I could think of at least 15-17 other restaurants I'd rather go to (no offense to the home of the Annual Dundee Awards)...but here, after being deprived of American food for so long...getting to eat at Chili's is nothing short of a dream. Almost as good as our occasional post-church visits to Sizzler (classy establishment) as a kid.

Because of my awareness of this special occasion, ordering took on a new level of importance. Picking something that I'd be unlikely to find anywhere else around here seemed to me the best strategy. Vegetables and greens are hard to come by...but who picks salad when you have the option of ordering one of the many menu items that have helped the U.S. secure their #1 spot in the world's obesity rating? Game-time decision. If I choose poorly, I can't just try again tomorrow. Who knows when I'll have this opportunity again? Don't screw the pooch.

In the end, Britt and I decided to share the BBQ Bacon Burger (the picture...the alliteration...how could we not?!) and the Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich. It would have been unpatriotic to chose anything healthier...already on thin ice ordering a hamburger with lettuce. At this point, we both felt confident with our choices...and then...our plates arrived. The burger in front of me, the Philly in front of Britt. We cut our respective meals in half, performed the handoff. And although the Cheese Steak was delicious, there seemed to be an oversight in the action seen as fairly critical in hamburger preparation, namely the cooking of the meat.

When asked how we wanted the burger cooked, I chose "medio" with the assumption that "medium" had a universal meaning. The pooch had been screwed. For future reference, when it comes to meat in El Salvador, "medio" means practically raw, mooing...so always choose the "3/4" option. Regardless, in the spirit of not wasting food (and in honor of Micah), I still attempted to take a few bites.

I figured that if I didn't get mad cow disease or any other bovine related illness after performing a dare to stick my face in cow poo on Europe Semester, then I probably never will (for those of you who are now disgusted and have no context for this story, just go with it. Think of it as the natural progression of childhood dares produced out of sheer boredom...eating a worm, pulling a girl's hair, prank calls, ding-dong ditch, skipping school...cow poop in the face. We were on an island in Scotland with more farm animals than people and there was a monetary incentive...so sue me). In hindsight, due to my subpar knowledge of this country's meat cooking spectrum, salad might have been more prudent. Live and learn.

After Chili's, we went to Price Mart, the Costco equivalent, which provided another taste of home. After shopping in the local markets, being surrounded by familiar name brand products in bulk is exhilarating (*J in the pants). Plus, they have the same hot food set-up as in the states. For a nominal price increase and unfortunately, no soda combo, Hebrew National crosses international borders. And although we had just eaten lunch, I took the opportunity to secure some of the "best hot dogs ever" (FACT) to go...dinner...yes please! And...frozen yogurt...that sounds good...I'll have that! If there was a way to keep Subway sandwiches fresh for a week, I would have stocked up on those too.

A day of familiarity...something only those who have lived in or traveled throughout foreign countries can fully understand and appreciate.