June 26, Day 4: Mi Primera Pupuseria!

 

Anyone who knows anything about Salvadorian culture will most likely be able to point out the preferred dish that has earned international recognition as being the food of choice in El Salvador. They are called pupusas, and they are pretty amazing, particularly considering how cheap they are. They are usually made of either a corn or rice tortilla and stuffed primarily with cheese and beans, though this is by no means the limit. Pork, chicken, shrimp, vegetables, a lot can be done to pupusas in accordance with the customer's preferences.




Today, I went to my first pupuseria with Gerardo, Connie, and my new friends (their old friends) Diana, Sara, and Rodrigo (a.k.a. Mr. Worldwide). Though not relevant, I'm going to also mention that this was my first encounter with a drunk in El Salvador. Friendly guy. Perhaps too friendly...but I digress.

Though this was not my first time eating pupusas, this was my first time eating fresh pupusas from a pupuseria and I've got to say, it was a highly enjoyable experience. Sort of makes me think of how a ramen stand in Japan is portrayed in pop culture. We ate at La Paciencia, Antiguo Cuscatlán, part of a strip of pupuserias that is apparently well-known in El Salvador. They were 80 cents a piece, and I was completely filled up after three. Plus, I had a Salvadorian drink that Gerardo simply refers to as chocolate. It is very similar to hot chocolate, though instead of putting a pack of chocolate powder into a cup of hot water, real and natural cacao bars are melted down. It is a more bitter drink, but satisfying nonetheless. The excellent company added with this tasty and affordable meal has easily been enough to make me realize what all the hype is about. No wonder Gerardo missed pupusas so much! And as Connie said, "If you don't eat pupusas with your hands, you aren't a real Salvadorian!" Guess I passed the initiation!

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June 25, Day 3: Life in the Fast Lane and Graffiti

There has not been too much going on. I have still been getting adjusted to El Salvador so far. For those wondering, I am residing in Santa Tecla for the summer, a municipality close to San Salvador. I can already feel my Spanish improving slightly, though there is still a world of difference between me and a native speaker. Verb conjugation and adjectives kill me, but since Gerardo is the only fluent English speaker I am around frequently, I have ample opportunity to learn. In some ways, El Salvador is a lot like urban areas in the United States, but in other ways, it is extremely different. For example, the traffic is crazy here. I mean, completely freaking bogus. Gerardo has been to New York City, I have been to Rome, and both of us would say that San Salvador is crazier to drive in due to the lack of ample space and the overabundant amount of people. It is not at all uncommon to see lanes that are intended for two lanes of cars to have three lines crammed in. Plus, people tend to slow down only when they are coming to a complete stop. They switch lanes and cut other cars off at full speed with a skill that I doubt I've ever seen in the United States. That said, the people know what they are doing as I have yet to see a single accident or causality, though from my perspective, it feels like there have been many close calls. I'm getting used to the fast life on the road though.

Gerardo and I have been running at a local park every day. Joe Hoing would be proud of me (inside joke for U of O students and alums). I enjoy simply running to the park in the first place. Gerardo finds it rather distasteful, but there is graffiti all over the city. Of course, a lot of it is just terrible and outright vandalism, but some of it is really cool to look at. I'm a fan of graffiti art myself, and I have never been to a town or city that's had anything more than untalented scribbles and names. I have even seen some portraits and images on the highway walls, though we were going to fast for me to take a good picture. Regardless, it is pretty interesting to be in a place where there are so many attempts at free expression, though there is no telling at what risk the graffiti artist undergoes.

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June 23, Day 1: El Tunco

Thanks to a flight delay, we were an hour late getting to El Salvador, but I didn't really mind. Flight delays are much more bearable when you have several friends to goof around with. Other than that, there were no inconveniences at all. Luggage arrived safely, passport and valuables are still safe, and there was no racial profiling even against the gringo. I wish I could say the US is the same.

Gerardo's parents were eagerly waiting for us, as was his girlfriend Connie and her mother. There is a slight language divide, as I had expected, but only slight. In reality, his parents are very warm people and I don't need to understand each and every word to understand that. His brother and sister are surprisingly young, but they behave just as, if not more, well as children in the States do. Before I had arrived in El Salvador, I had read a book my grandparents had given me about Central America, and according to the section on El Salvador, the people are extremely friendly in general and happy to help. This contradicts the United States' Salvadorian stereotype, and it looks to be the case so far.

We went to the mall to eat at Pizza Hut, presumably because they were unsure what I would want to eat. The food tasted different, but not in a bad way. I had come to expect this from the Waltons' attitudes in the cafeteria at school, but Salvadorians are extremely lax when it comes to eating. Eating in many other cultures is a time for conversation, socializing, and enjoyment. In the United States, it tends to be a momentary break from the stress of our lives, but lasting beyond the hour for a meal is a very rare occurrence. I get caught up in that fast-paced lifestyle as well, but I think I enjoy this alternative way of doing things. Gerardo's mother and I had our first major miscommunication during that dinner in which I was trying to say "I wouldn't like living in solitude" and she interpreted it as "I wouldn't like living in celibacy." I look forward to many more such errors in communication.

Today, we woke up around ten and headed for El Tunco, a beach in the province La Libertad. Regrettably, the tide was too strong to go swimming, so we decided to eat at the restaurant Punta Roca, owned by a gringo and surveying the beautiful beach. People were surfing, a mariachi band was playing in the background, and fresh seafood was prepared. Because the seafood was freshly harvested locally from the sea, they tend to have more natural flavoring than what I am accustomed to. Below are a few of the delicious seafood that made their way to my belly.

After we finished, we went to a fish market that was originally a port. There was a lot of interesting stuff, but I didn't bring any money so for now, I'm just sight seeing. I don't want to blow all of my money anyway. I am still pretty tired from the trip down here, not to mention the filling lunch I had, but I am going to try to work on my Spanish with the free time I have left today so I will be nice and tired tonight.

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June 22: Scrambling & Procrastination! And so, it begins...

 

Gerardo and I still are not in El Salvador yet, but we're getting there! It has been an intense few days getting prepared. We had to get all of our possessions stored which was a royal pain in the culo since we are both avid readers with boxes of books. We threw things around beforehand, but the adrenaline really kicked in at 2 pm after I finished my last day of work at the fitness center. We had the boxes, we had the time, and we had an objective (not getting fined for being slobs). As you can see in the picture below, this was a monumental task, but somehow, we were able to successfully get everything boxed, moved, and stored by 10:50 pm, just ten minutes before the inspection. God probably has better things to do than help college students clean up after themselves, but he surely pitched in with the miracle of our success.

At 2 am, the internationals and I boarded a bus that had been kindly provided to us by the school. Some heartfelt words were exchanged, particularly towards Mr. Eric Leon, an amazing man who has obtained an almost deified status among the Waltons as the Assistant Director of the Walton Program. His shoes will be difficult to fill, but optimism is crucial in the face of change.

We all arrived at Little Rock National Airport, and gradually, we went our separate ways as my peers boarded earlier flights or other airlines. Gerardo and I were stuck with an 11 am flight to Dallas/Fort Worth with some fellow Salvadorians Mario Lopez and Adri Beltran. Since we arrived early enough for the 5 o'clock flights to board, we mostly enjoyed a well-earned nap until we were finally allowed to board. An hour later, we arrived at our layover, and continue to wait for our final plane trip. We are set to arrive in San Salvador at 6:35 pm. Hopefully everyone else has made it to their destination safely as well.

One.

June 17: Deuces States, Hola Salvador! Counting Down!

What's up, ladies and gents? With a week left until I leave for El Salvador, I have decided to get a blog started so my friends and fam in the States can see what I see (to an extent).

A lot of people have asked me why I'm going to El Salvador. I don't really have an answer that sounds good, even to me. My roommate is from there, his fam and girlfriend have been interested in meeting me, I want to be immersed in Spanish, and I want to thoroughly experience another culture. I have expectations, but nothing ever turns out the way things are planned.

I can however sum up what I hope to achieve from this.

• Proficiency with the Spanish language
• Greater empathy for Central Americans
• Experiencing the real El Salvador that citizens of the United States can never know just from reading a book or watching a movie
• Community service or volunteer work
• Appreciation for the culture and customs of Salvadorian residents
• Making memories that will last a lifetime

And of course...

• Shedding a few pounds (down 6 since May 3!)

Because I will be gone for two months and surrounded by limited distractions (leaving television, books, and video games behind), I believe the odds of meeting all of my goals are fairly high. As an American who rooms with a Salvadorian, the long-term goal of this summer is to hopefully be able to create a presentation, with both my perspective and my roomie's, on what it has been like swapping cultures. I've never really blogged before, so keep your fingers crossed that I do better at this than I did at keeping a journal.

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