To Change or Not To Change Blog Assignment #3

For our third assignment, we have to analyse how we have changed in order to be more effective in our host culture. I think for me it has been a bit different because I have a sense of what the culture in ES is like already from what I have learned from my family. However there are certain things that I have had to alter. One thing I noticed fairly quickly is that in ES everyone you walk by will say “buenas” which is typically short form for buenas dias, buenas tardes, etc. I am used to going to the bus stop in Toronto and just waiting for the bus in silence while avoiding eye contact, or greeting anyone for that matter. I noticed that in my neighbourhood everyone says “buenas” and everyone says “que le vaya bien” now I start to saw that too. The other thing that I had to get use to are “los piropos” that men on the street constantly throw at me. At first I used to get mad and throw a bitchy look at them but now I just say thank you or just smile. (unless they say some nasty things to me but most of the time they just say “buenos dias chinita linda, que le vaya bien”)

Another thing I have been trying to moderate is my tone. I speak very loud when I am on the bus and I find that people here are very soft speakers very rarely will you find people that speak loud in public. According to Oscar (our wonderful tour guide at CIS) it is because a long time ago when Nahaut was widely spoken, people often spoke soft in public because this language was not the official language although many of the indigenous population spoke it. Therefore in order to not call attention to themselves (b/c at the time indigenous people were being targeted) they would speak softly. Ritha and I noticed this recently while we were enjoying a refreshing drink at a local establishment that we were the loudest people there while everyone else was speaking so low what we couldn't hear what they were saying.

Salvadoran people take pride in always appearing presentable. I at times feel like a slob but I have started ironing my clothes now. (which is something I don't do in Canada, Hey! We have dryers in Canada!) It amazes me how well ironed their clothes are because as hard as I try to iron my clothes perfectly I always have creases.

One thing that I have noticed though is that admiration people here have for gringos. They are captivated by their light skin and eyes. There have been instances where in social settings the gringos (my fellow CIS teachers) are being admired more while I have been disregarded perhaps because of my Salvadoran features they just figure I am a tour guide. At first it use to bother me, now I just avoid situations that would make me feel uncomfortable. It just makes me realize that the idea that beauty lies in people with light skin and coloured eyes still exist in Latin America.