- Mosquitos - They are everywhere, and they are hungry for gringo blood. I sprayed myself multiple times every day when I first came here and still got covered with bites. I never thought that even after a shower, it would be necessary to spray. By now, I've gotten so used to them that I don't even bother.
- Driving - I have already mentioned it in a previous post, but the driving here is completely different than anywhere I have been in the states. I could try to describe it, but you really have to be in El Salvador to fully understand just how different it is.
- Common knowledge - Some things that we see as common knowledge differ greatly. For example, two of my friends in college, one from the States and one from Guatemala, were arguing about continents. The American claimed there was a North and South America (as I myself had been educated in my youth) while the Guatemalan claimed there was a North, Central, and South America. The sense of common knowledge I had developed collapsed since no one in the States really knows which continent to identify Central America in, despite it not being its own continent. Just today, Connie described her hair as being brown while mine was blond, while I identified hers as black while mine is brown. Darkness and lightness seem to have a slightly different scheme here...or maybe I'm just in denial.
- Food - Salvadorians have a diet centered around corn. Economy and location play a heavy role in determining how the citizens of respective countries live. El Salvador is poor, generally speaking, but the produce and seafood are abundant and freshly harvested, meaning that many meals are healthier and thematic than in the US, one of the wealthier countries in the world with the trendy focus on convenience at the cost of quality. It is truly amazing for me to finally understand this; I didn't believe the quality was lacking because it was all I had ever known.
- Religion - In the States, though a majority of people would identify themselves as Christians, the US nonetheless opts to keep religion a fairly private matter, primarily an issue reserved for churches, youth groups, and private schools. Traces of religion are more evident in El Salvador; being a small country, much more of the country's history is steeped in it.
- Minorities - In the States, whites are undoubtedly the dominant race. In El Salvador, I am an extreme oddity as only about 12% of Salvadorians are white, but most of them are still native Spanish speakers. It is a very strange feeling, transitioning from the majority to the minority. At the moment, it hasn't resulted in any serious problems, and I am uncertain if I will be here long enough to really understand the difficulties presented to the minorities of the US, but I have had a taste of it. Little children stare at me, elderly women scowl at me, one man even yelled, "Ayy, gringo!" and flashed me a sideways thumbs-up. Apparently, that meant that he was not going to kill me. That was very sweet of him.
- School - The hours always seemed so simple in the States. Elementary school was approximately 8 - 3. Naturally, there are variations across the regions, but in general, it was the same. In El Salvador, schools seem to operate from 7 - 12:30 (for morning classes). Gerardo told me that those hours extended to 4 for juniors and seniors going to a private school, but for the most part, those hours apply to everyone. There is a need to squeeze in afternoon classes for students and/or parents who prefer later hours, and adults who were unable to receive an education as children are granted the ability to enroll in school as well.
One.
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