When you are going to a foreign country, things can be worrying because you can’t always speak the language. So, imagine a 6th-grader who can barely speak Spanish and travels to Salvador for 2 weeks not knowing what to say or do because everyone else only speaks a language she can’t. I will be telling you some things about El Salvador so you know a bit more about my experience and how it feels to live over there.

Every place is different in some type of way; whether that’s how it looks or how it feels. And in Salvador, things are different from Kansas or America in general. In this part, we will talk about 3 different parts of Salvador and how they look. The first thing that may be different is the houses. Houses are usually pretty small. The houses also don’t have air conditioning and some don’t even have walls on every side of the house. In those houses, you are able to see everything that’s going on in there and they’re made of wood and straw-looking material. Sometimes the bathroom is beside the house in its own place. Houses that are bigger or that have walls are dark and kinda gloomy. The second thing is stores. Usually, they are located in a market on a hill close to all the houses. The market has all sorts of food, clothes, etc. Some people run stands and try telling people to look at their things. Some people have small stores that are inside small buildings. Usually, things like medicine are in a mini Walmart with random things people can buy. There are little restaurants as well near the stores that you can eat at. You will also see that the roads are extremely crowded with people and cars trying to get by. Finally, the third is the landscape The landscape is interesting because it has lots of mountains, trees, and hills that go all over. Sometimes at the bottom of those mountains and hills, there are beaches that have black sand and huge waves that get you covered in sand. There is also a volcano that you can go up. It’s called “Vólcan Santa Ana”, a beautiful volcano surrounded by trees at the bottom of it.

Food is amazing and you can learn a lot about a country just by trying their food. The food in Salvador will make you want to come back for more. The first thing I will talk about is the most common meals to eat, for example, “frijoles y crema”. Frijoles y crema is a simple dish that you can eat as any meal. Usually, you will eat it with warm crispy bread. This meal contains black beans and sour creme. Another common meal is pupusas and there are many different types of filling for it. The pupusas that most people make are chicharrón or pork rind. The tortilla part is made with masa harina or cornmeal flour. The second food type I will talk about is desserts. The simplest dessert in Salvador is chocobananos. Chocobananos are just chocolate-covered bananas that people put sprinkles or peanuts on them put in the freezer before eating. Another dessert is sorbete cocoa or coconut ice cream. And it’s not just any kind of ice cream. Most places that have coconut ice cream make it from home and then bring it to sell around. There is also this strawberry or cherry syrup that people put on the ice cream to give it more flavor. The third and last type of food I will talk about is food that was originally created in Salvador. The most commonly known food that was created in Salvador is a Quesadilla but not the kind you know. The Quesadilla that they made is basically cheese bread. It may sound gross but it’s actually amazing to eat coffee with. It’s made with some parts of cheese so it doesn’t taste like cheese all the way. It still has a nice soft taste of warm bread. Another food that originated in Salvador is yuca frita. Yuca frita is just deep-fried cassava that tastes a lot like a potato but with a few different flavors that can taste great as a snack.

My experience going to Salvador was fun and a great learning experience for me to learn about my parents’ home country. Even if it is not the biggest country, it was interesting nonetheless. I believe Salvador can be very fun to go to, learn about, and maybe live in at some point. Here’s a link to find out more about El Salvador.