El Salvador

El Salvador... I´m here with the Peace Corps. I realized that I probably never would have travelled to El Salvador if the Peace Corps had not sent me here. I anticipated some of the differences between here and the USA, such as the language (I´m immersed in Spanish) and limited internet access here. But I was hoping for the best, and after living here a month I realized I want more for the people than they want for themselves. It seems like most people here are content to live without air conditioning, home internet access, flush toilets, and many other conveniences common to the USA.

Some Salvadorans journey to the USA in search of opportunities to better provide for their families. Almost everyone in El Salvador has a friend or family in the USA. I believe most other countries in which the Peace Corps operates do not have as many people in the USA as El Salvador does. So that adds an interesting aspect to my Peace Corps experience. I´ve been able to witness the immigration debate from both sides of the border. I´ve spoken with people here who were refused visas to the USA and other people who have unsuccessfully attempted to enter the USA illegally. Salvadorans immigrate to the USA to work because making $8 an hour in the USA is considerably better than making $4 a day here in El Salvador. I might do the same thing if I were Salvadoran.

Peace Corps + me = the future

Next Sunday I will join the Peace Corps to become a Municipal Development volunteer in El Salvador. At this point, I believe I'm supposed to make some sort of legal disclaimer: the contents of this blog belong to me and are in no way, shape, or form at all related to the Peace Corps and/or the government of the United States of America.

I look forward to helping Salvadorans as much as possible. Also, my Spanish should improve, which will be especially helpful since people in the USA approach me and start speaking Spanish to me despite the fact that I do NOT speak Spanish and I am NOT Latino. In fact, even a trilingual Chinese person spoke Spanish to me instead of English. But I take it as a compliment, especially since a friend of mine said he thought less of me when he learned I'm not Latino after years of mistakenly assuming I was Latino.

Some sad news is that I may dreadfully confuse Spanish and Portuguese since Portuguese was the most recent language I've studied, and I studied abroad in Brazil last year. The two languages are quite similar. Actually, maybe learning Spanish will help my Portuguese... or maybe not. Regardless, I look forward to my future adventure.