Month 2: El Salvador.
El Salvador is a great upcoming country. It was very different than I expected it to be. My team and I stayed in Santa Tecla which is about five min from San Salvador, the capital. This was the first ministry in which my team stayed in a major city, so you can bet that exploring the city was on our to do list. This is what we found…
San Salvador is one of the fastest growing capitals in the world. It is very Americanized. The currency is the American dollar. Of coarse, Spanish is the main language spoken by all inhabitants; however, English is an up and coming spoken language in El Salvador.
Crime: The last few years El Salvador has been known as one of the countries with the highest murder rate, but as of 2012 El Salvador has seen a 40% drop in crime due to what the Salvadoran government called a gang truce. In early 2012, there were on average of 16 killings per day but as the year continues the number of killings per day continue to decrease. On April 14, 2012 for the first time in over three years there were no reported killings in the country!
Food: The typical dish in El Salvador consist of beans, plantains, rice and corn tortillas. Pupusas ( handmade corn tortillas stuffed with beans and cheese ) are a favorite among the World Race squad. Rice is a very common food. Fresh fruit is usually always served with breakfast. Jamacian Rose juice is served quiet often with the meals. And of coarse, because the city is very Westernized you can always get your fix of McDonalds, Wendys, Pizza Hut, and Starbucks! For dessert it's almost impossible to pass up the 2 x 1 ice cream deals.
Entertainment: El Salvador is very family oriented. It has a lot of activites to offer to all memebers of the family such as movie theaters, beaches, laser tag, shopping malls, and parks. A pizza place/arcade inside of one the malls in San Salvador seems to be a big hit for families to gather for fun nights. Cable is a big form of entertainment in El Salvador. In addition to the American tv shows that are dubbed or translated in Spanish, El Salvador also has there own forms of popular tv shows such as Who Wants to Be a Millionarie and Dancing with the Stars.
Transportation: The most popular form of transportation in El Salvador is the bus. Taking the bus is very cheap both for short and long distance traveling. The short distances buses in El Salvador do not have a number limit as to how many people can ride the bus, the policy is as follows: If they have the money and there is "room" on the bus, they get on.
Although the country of El Salvador is greatly making improvements with new houses and adding businesses, still in the midst of it all poverty still exist.
