Culture Shocks

I jot this down as I’m sitting on the bus, trying to figure out what it is that I’ve experienced that could be called culture shock. Apparently it’s supposed to be a negative, uncomfortable thing. But I wouldn’t confine it to only that.  There have been plenty of surges of emotion for me, both good and bad.  There have been moments of literal shock. But more often it’s just a quiet kind of confusion.

There are some things that I would never be able to get used to. Children sleeping sprawled on the pavement of the streets, begging desperately, constantly, for money. What’s most shocking is the lack of compassion shown towards them. A little girl, ten at most, rides a hand-made skateboard barefoot through traffic , holding her hand out to people with open windows. People shake their heads, no one gives anything. I’ve been told not to offer money since it encourages begging. But when kids clearly are clearly suffering, gaunt and filthy, it’s hard to turn away.

There are also things here that will never cease to impress me. The work ethic of the people, especially of the women here, is astounding. Whether it’s families I’ve met, or just people I see on the streets, everyone is working themselves to the bone. The things that women manage to balance on their heads, usually while carrying or herding a couple kids, is astounding. I’ve seen: a huge bundle of branches, a full size cooler, a potted plant, a ceiling beam (8’x4”x4”- no shit) and many, many baskets.

There have been some hard moments. One of my first Sundays here I had to force myself to leave the house. I was tempted to stay in bed all day since I knew it was safe there. Sundays are extra creepy because the streets are empty and almost everything is closed. But I got out and felt better for it.

There have been a few frustrations due to cultural differences and language barriers. Most are minor and can be laughed off. But there was one day when I really offended a friend that I really respect. The next day, another barren Sunday, I was racked with guilt and bursting with frustration for my weak vocabulary. We worked it out on Monday and realized it was no big deal, but that Sunday I felt utterly isolated and helpless to make myself understood.

Other jarring, though less heavy moments have been when I am confronted with brash American culture. Let’s talk about Metrocentro for example. While it is actually the most used and least high-class mall here, it’s still a huge adjustment to walk into. Everything is big and shiny.  Prices in most stores rival those at home. Being in there for an hour or two, my tolerance for high prices starts to rise back to Canadian level. When I catch myself almost thinking that three bucks for a piece of pizza is reasonable I shake myself back to Salvadoran reality and run to take shelter in a pupuseria around the corner to get a 70 cent dinner.

But even more intense than the mall is watching American movies.  No moment has been weirder here than when the lights came on in the theatre after watching Sex and the City and I saw the people around me who had just watched the same film. Average Salvadorans packed the theatre. It was cheap Wednesday. I couldn’t imagine what they would have thought of the film. Sure there’s enough American pop culture that they’re probably used to it, but it is so far from the very narrow reality of this country. And maybe I just get too carried away in the movies, but walking out of the theatre into the night in San Salvador I had to very consciously remind myself where I was, what I needed to do to get home and what was waiting for me when the sun came up the next day.

However there is one bit of pop culture that I grasp onto for all its worth, which is music. Hearing a familiar song is the one and only thing that can make me a little bit homesick. When Neil Young came over the speakers in the supermarket, I almost cried. When Hopelessly Devoted to You came on another day, I had no choice but to belt it out. When Footloose came on in the bus, I stayed on an extra stop or two to hear at least the chorus and had to try very hard to refrain from dancing.

These moments are surreal more than anything else, I don’t even know what to do with them. Ah but that’s all part of the fun. It’s a good thing I like roller coaster rides!

Pictures!

 This is the community centre in a village outside the city where I teach English to an amazing group of kids. It’s also the working space for a group of women with whom I do sewing workshops so to help them get their small business going.

This is one of the artisan workshops I work with for my job. The woman on the left, Teresa, makes beautiful pottery from clay she gets from the village’s river. She gives her works to this workshop where a group of women paint them with vibrant colours and designs. These women were so much fun, they were chatting and joking all day long.

I will never get tired of mountains.

This is the wall of the University that I walk through to get to work. The graffiti here tends to eschew pretty pictures and get straight to the point. Propaganda is painted on the walls by the political parties as often as by the general public.

Environmental El Salvador?

So, what kind of ecological consciousness is there in El Salvador?. On the surface, El Salvador looks pretty rough. In the city you see tons of buses and trucks spewing black smoke. The smog is frequently visible and is particularly bad because the city is surrounded by mountains that trap it in.  Huge piles of garbage on the sidewalk or street are common. Recycling is possible in El Salvador but it doesn’t seemed to be practiced in most homes. There is garbage pick up but if you want to recycle, you have to take it to the facility yourself. In theory anyways. In practice if you leave a bag of cans or glass on the street, someone in need of a bit of extra money will take it to the facility to recieve the deposit on the items. And ya there’s no thought of abolishing the plastic bag yet. So the things that a Canadian would look to to judge environmental standards are pretty weak. And they definitely (thankfully) haven’t caught on to the concept of being fashionably green. 

However, what the Salvadoran system lacks in organized efforts towards a more environmentally conscious society, they make up for in their lifestyle which allows no room for waste. Also, because the waste disposal system is less than efficient, garbage is more visible. As a result, people are more aware of what they’re producing.

Ok, examples needed. The basics of Salvadoran life are wonderfully utilitarian. Hot water is just not necessary, even people who could probably afford it don’t bother to get it. But don’t think that just because its a hot country the water isn’t cold. It is cold. But you get used to cold showers pretty fast. Air conditioning? Only in malls. The houses here are built for constant ventilation. No need for a dryer. People just hang their clothes. During the rainy season dryers would actually be extremely useful, but whatever, you get by. Even their dish soap is less wasteful. Its in a paste form that you just dab into. I loveit!! I’m definitely bringing a couple tubs home with me.

Rural communities are much more bare bones than this. Homes rarely have electricity. Many buildings are made out of earth. This is done impressively well. You often can’t tell until the wall starts crumbling a little. We can say that this wouldn’t be possible in Canada due to our cold weather. But these houses withstand (most of the time) earthquakes and hurricanes. Eating locally isn’t a politically correct trend, its the only way to eat when you live at the top of a mountain or in the middle of a forest. 

You can’t flush toilet paper. Ok, this doesn’t seem like much, but trust me, you want to use less. The bins for throwing out your paper are always small, to discourage frivolous wiping. Plus eventually you’re gonna have to empty that bin and you want to do that as infrequently as possible. If you’re in the countryside, they don’t keep the paper in thier outhouse, its in a box or on a table somewhere so you gotta remember to ask for a couple squares. 

And some more examples of Salvadoran brilliance. Mop? You don’t need a mop. Just slip an old (really old) t-shirt over the broom (the neck goes around the broomhead) and you have a perfect mop that is way easier to wash when it gets gross. 

Also the garbage cans on the street are really not used, and I don’t think anyone actually collects their contents. But not to worry, they don’t go to waste. People break them off their posts to bring them in as scrap metal.

Ok these are just random observations really. I really don’t know what kind of conclusion to come to. But I gotta say, Salvadorans step up to the plate when it counts. Recently Canadian (and a couple US) mining companies have been making deals with the Salvadoran government to set up mines all around the country. If all the contracts go through, and its looking like they will, mines will take up over 5% of the land in El Salvador.  The run off from these mines will contain lots of toxins, in particular, cyanide. This will get to the main rivers that provide water for many people in El Salvador. Forest will also be destroyed in the process. Obviously this is a huge environmental and public health concern. But not in the government’s opinion. They see it as a way to up their economy. There’s much discussion to be had about this, but my point for this blog is, the people of El Salvador have produced a huge backlash against this. There is incredible movement to try to stop the government from selling their land and destroying their beautiful countryside.

So no, people are not buying hybrid cars or stopping the use of plastic bags. But they are mobilizing against their (and our) government with impressive power and solidarity. There will be more on this as I learn about it. And I’m sure there’s something that we as Canadians can do. 

I’ll let you know what I find out. In the meantime, here’s a couple articles:

http://www.miningwatch.ca/index.php?/El_Salvador_en

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41039