Fronteras, Dinero y Maneras de Vida
(Borders, Money and Ways of Life)
“In the United States people earn $7 an hour. In El Salvador they earn $7 a day..” Lucy, mother of our host family
It’s stunning to think that $7 an hour here is so much when its so little back home. Some things in El Salvador like food and some clothing cost a lot less. Many things, however, like brand name clothing, gasoline, and electronics, cost as much or more. I’m not talking relative prices here but actual dollar for dollar comparisons. (El Salvador uses US currency, making this easy.). That means that a pair of brand name sneakers that would cost a minimum wage worker in the US about two days worth of work would mean over two weeks worth of work for the same worker in El Salvador. But given the cost of basic living, it also means that things like brand name sneakers are just out of reach for the average Salvadoran.
What this means is that everyone has a lot less stuff. Also, economies are much more local and small business/ owner-operator oriented. For instance there were two family owned popsicle-stick making businesses in San Ignacio, a municipal area of 8,000. (Almost every kid at every school buys three choco-bananas a week). The number of overall businesses in El Salvador is stunning. Everybody’s selling something everywhere. When we went to Puerto de Diablo and hiked up the mountain there were vendors selling food, water, or handicrafts every 50 feet. It puts the US concept of hard-work, self-starting entrepreneurship to shame.
In small rural communities like San Ignacio this seems to work well. Families help each other out economically. Less stuff seems to mean that everyone spends more time together. In San Ignacio church is a huge part of daily life. There are well attended services (over 100) several nights a week, plus Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. Here in Soyapango (a community adjoining San Salvador) it’s different. Families still spend more time together and help each other out economically. But there are also many folks with marginal or no housing. Many church members live in suburbs a good 45 minutes from the church and school. TV (and internet, to a lesser degree) seems to fill in for church time when it’s not Sunday.
Due to the economic disparity everyone here has one or more relatives in the states, commonly known as “usa” pronounced as one word like a conjugation of the Spanish verb “to use” or as “Uniteds.” Many don’t have the papers to work legally. Its odd to realize the extent of the connectedness between El Salvador and the US. It’s much clearer here, as one watches US shows, uses US money, and hears about the many distant relatives, than in the US. But for those of us who are US citizens, it’s important to understand the impact of our government's policies.
