Violence

A big downfall about living in El Salvador is the violence that lives in most places of the country. It is considered to be the second most dangerous country in Central America. Gangs are a huge part of the violence, in fact the biggest part. They form inside small poor communities and then spread their members throughout the whole country, controlling specific areas and getting into fights with other gangs for control of that area. There is an average of 30 murders per day in El Salvador most, if not all, committed by gangs. The worst violence is in the poor areas of the country, the cities that have the most poverty tend to be the ones that have the more gang problems because young boys fall into the trap of joining them because of lack of education and guidance. This does not mean that violence does not occur in the capital, where I'm from, it does, and it is huge. Gang members are hidden everywhere: stop lights, dark alleys, parking lots, and even super markets. So even though they are hidden, they’re in front of our noses. This type of intense violence is why people don’t understand how I can live in this country. Do I live in fear? Yes. Am I also very used to it? Yes. I, as well as most of the other 7 million people living in El Salvador have learned to live around this great issue that lives in our home. Literally, live around it. We know well what places are safe to go and what places are best to stay away from, and according to this knowledge we move in the safest places and directions. It might get tough having to avoid certain places because the gangs decide to choose that place that specific day to rob people, but it’s a small price to pay for safety. The community does a great job at alerting the others of what is happening in certain areas, like if someone is robbed at a certain red light on a certain street, half of the country will immediately know not to go near there. This is because of the consciousness that going through that is horrible, and we don’t want to give the gangs the feeling they’re winning. It’s small things like this that make it a bit easier to get by. Though I’ve gotten used to this way of living, it’s still very sad, and I wish there was something to fix it.

                                     

Culture and People

I have to say my favorite attribute about El Salvador’s culture is the warmness of its people. The culture is rich in many parts of the country, the pride of our ancestors show in some parts, but the friendliness is everywhere. Our ancestors’ legacy still lives in some towns, and we take much pride in visiting them and keeping them well conserved. Some places like “Ruinas de San Andres” an "Joyas de Cerén” tell the story of how ancestors live I the past, and they’re very popular attractions for people who want to learn about the natives. I believe this is very important for us because as time has passed, El Salvador has assimilated the Western culture more and more. El Salvador went from being extremely undeveloped to having a Starbucks in every corner in a period of ten years. Having been exposed to the “American culture” my whole life, I saw this as an exciting thing to be happening in my country, but the majority of the population, which have never been out of the country, felt it like a huge development in our country, that is because they were used to the local small places. I am from the capital, San Salvador, where the culture and feeling of American influence is much stronger than anywhere else in the country, but in the smaller towns all you can see is the Salvadoran culture. The key difference between both of these cultures is the warmness. You can tell in the small, almost native, towns of El Salvador the warmness and love the people radiate. Everything is much less generic and “popular,” it’s like it was made to fit us especially. It seems that over time there has been a division between the small towns, where no big changes have been made, and the big cities like where I’m from. One thing we both can relate to is the poverty. There are many places all over El Salvador that can be seen as need help, or very undeveloped. All around my country, you can find poverty almost anywhere. Although it’s sad and can be frustrating at times, it is the truth. I believe there is a better future for El Salvador, but it takes the right people and time to get it there. For one, the citizens are positive people. They are genuinely good-hearted and care for the betterment of our country. We need to keep our culture alive, and also the people’s spirits. I hope that through communications, I can return to my country with the intentions of bettering it. I have many ideas on how we can make El Salvador a land of enrichment and happiness again, but it takes hope, and thankfully I have it.

Introducing Home

When I tell people where I'm from, they assume many things, most of them negative and inaccurate. The worst and most random idea people have about my country, that is, if they even know where it is, is that we live on trees. Yes, trees. I've had people ask me before how we do to live so primitively. Others think we ALL live in extreme poverty, or that we live in huts. Other people know that this is one of the most dangerous and violence filled countries in the world, and they can't understand how I live there. They assume I can't even leave my house some days because of the violence. Some of the bad things said about my country can be true, like the violence, the poverty in many areas, the pollution, and many more things I will go into later. But what most people don't know about my home, is the beauty it beholds. El Salvador might be the smallest country in Central America, but it holds so many wonders people have yet to know. The beaches, the culture, the lakes, and the warmness of the people who live here are barely acknowledged by others. The beautiful things this country has to offer are often undermined due to the amount of unfavorable things. Even the citizens forget all the good in this place, all the positive things it has to offer for them. Although that bothers me because it hurts the pride I take of being Salvadoran, I understand why it happens. Sometimes the bad things overshadow the good things, especially when the bad things are the ones that make the news, and especially when they happen so often they're so common it's almost natural. But I've learned to overlook these bad things and find the good in my home, and that is what I intend to do explain in this blog. The mix of the good and the bad El Salvador has, whether be culture, people, places, traditions, etc. is the thing that makes it so special to live in. You learn to live happily in such a  special place, whether other people see it or not. This mix creates my home's identity, and I wouldn't have it any other way.