Poverty and corruption in a great place with good people is the image I had of El Salvador when my family and me move to the United States over 15 years ago. Unfortunately that image is not an image anymore it has become reality; it is easy to place the blame on lack of education but when there are no avenues to pursuit an education then who do you blame? Most Salvadoreans don’t know a world in which the government is not corrupt to its core or one with the publics’ best interest in mind. There is no middle class in El Salvador in it rich people with a BMW parked in front of a house on a hill or a family of six living in a one room shack without enough money to even feed and clothe themselves everything in El Salvador is at its most extreme rich and poor both ends of the spectrum. Everything is dirty and unsanitary for humans to even be around and it stinks and it is always hot. It is depressing to be in El Salvador as much as it pains me to say that since my parents have done so much to provide for me and my brothers since we moved to Texas. It is loud and full of angry drivers so all you can really hear is car horns blasting and bad exhaust systems that would never pass inspection anywhere else but since we are in El Salvador who gives a damn, the government certainly doesn’t. Since everyone and there mom owns a car and the way the roads are designed doesn’t really make to much sense a there is always gridlock and smog. You are probably asking why do I keep on coming and why do I stay so long the only answer I have for you is the food. The food is really the only reason why I keep on volunteering to come back.
All kidding aside I love El Salvador even with all its faults and every time I go I learn something and I feel a lot more appreciative of what I have here and what my parents worked so hard to achieve since we moved. Every time I go it almost serves as a wake up call to me and it reminds me that I am not that far away from living that kind of lifestyle if you can call it that, we are all just a few mistakes away from being in that position. I feel that El Salvador helps me shape into the person that I am today. I can not wait to see the new El Salvador that is beginning to form. Thanks to the United States, El Salvador has decided to make the dollar their new form of currency. New and better innovations in the country have helped pave the way such as new freeway systems and public transportation have really helped the infrastructure and the environment of El Salvador’s biggest city and capitol San Salvador. Even with all its disadvantages El Salvador is still a big part of my culture and heritage.
