Where does El Salvador fit?

Within the field of education, we are taught to incorporate new concepts into the students’ existing schema. I feel like my first two weeks in El Salvador has been a constant process of trying to fit sights, sounds and experiences into what I know from living in a predominantly Hispanic culture in San Antonio, teaching at a relatively affluent school in Boerne, and living in the developing country of Nigeria. My current assessment of the small slice of El Salvador that I’ve experienced is that it definitely contains characteristics of all of those places.

Across the street from the complejo, there is a little strip mall that could fit into the La Cantera (upscale) area of San Antonio without any adjustments. However, still contained within my super-nice neighborhood, there is a woman with a small shop, located between a bridge and an upscale deli, selling various general store items under a piece of zinc that is held up with to bamboo shoots. Whoa…in which world am I living…one of apparent disparity.

In trying to conceptualize a continuum of development, there are many things to examine, but I feel the example that best illustrates this is to analyze the household tool of the broom. People in the US sweep with long-handled, manufactured brooms. People in Jalingo, Nigeria sweep with short, whisk brooms made from palm branches. People I’ve witnessed in San Salvador, El Salvador sweep with long-handled brooms made from palm branches.

By traveling to some of the villages outside of the city, I’ve seen a lot more buildings and infrastructure that I would associate with the developing world, which is honestly a lot more what I was anticipating. A small part of me is disappointed that the neighborhood where I'm living could be mistaken for a US city. However, upon further reflection, I’m going to embrace the reality that I can get amazing sushi with a Salvadoran twist, delicious Thai food and travel with Americans who are as excited about exploring as I am in addition to finding opportunities to immerse myself in Salvadoran culture, Spanish language and new native friends!