"It's probably culture shock."

Okay, so this is a phrase that expats here say jokingly a lot, but culture shock is a very real thing. As we get closer and closer to the end of our summer here, it's something I've been thinking about a lot.
Have I had culture shock here? Will I have culture shock when I go home? Is it possible to have both?

Culture is a strange concept. It is the combination of a peoples' social norms, religion and morals, language, cuisine, and arts. And, most strangely, you might not necessarily know your own culture until you experience another one.

One piece of cultural difference between the States and El Salvador is easily noticeable right off the bat: the language. All the signs are in Spanish. The menus are in Spanish. They tell you your total in Spanish at the checkout. When you want to ask someone's name, or where the bathroom is, or how to do something, you ask in Spanish--and then you have to understand their Spanish response back. Honestly, it's something English-speakers in the States joke about regularly ("No habla ingles!" [which is not correct], "no problemo" [also not correct]) but that gets difficult to live in if you're not fluent. Sometimes you just want to order your meal at a restaurant and actually know what you're getting, you know?

The other major difference that may be subtle until you meet enough people is the social behaviors of Latin Americans/Salvadorans. Here are a couple simple examples:

You know how we say "bon appetit" to wish someone a good meal? We don't always say that--we almost say it as a joke, or before a meal we're going to REALLY enjoy. It's also not even our own language, and the French connotation makes it sound fancy. Here, the same phrase in Spanish is "buen provecho," and they say it all the time. Someone even told us that it's expected that as you walk past a table of people eating, even if they are total strangers, you are to wish them "buen provecho." That takes some getting used to!

Another example is gifts. Imagine this: I have a package of M&Ms. We are hanging out, and I say, "Hey, want some M&Ms?" (because I'm polite, not because I like having fewer M&Ms.) What do you say? Most often, and depending on our relationship, you'll say, "Oh, no thank you", "Are you sure?", or a hesitant, "Sure" (because you want M&Ms but don't want to be rude and take all of mine.) Then I give you like, what, 2-4 pieces? Not here. These are the most generous people...or we're just really greedy. The same situation here would go more like, "Do you want some M&Ms?" "Yeah, thanks!" And then you get a handful of M&Ms. Saying, "No thank you" could actually be considered rude in many contexts. The little things make the biggest difference when it comes to culture.

In the last few days, we've been simultaneously realizing a little bit of culture shock/homesickness while also recognizing that going home will be a huge adjustment and knowing we'll miss a lot of things about being here. It's strange to be feeling both.

Would you pray for us as we transition home and for our travels to be safe and obstacle-free? Thank you! We love you all so much.

Matt and Brittany

"Oh, El Salvador."

Today, I wanted to do something a little different. Instead of talking about what we've been doing, I wanted to take a minute to talk about what it's like living here!

In some ways, El Salvador isn't SO different from the States. In a lot of other ways.....

Well, the climate is different. It's always warm, and there are really only two seasons. Right now we're in wet season, which means exactly what you'd think. It doesn't rain 24/7 though, just at least once a day, and it makes for some really beautiful scenery.

It also means different food! Banana, coconut, papaya, mango, avocado, nance, citrus, and almond trees are all easily accessible just at our camp, and elsewhere there are lots of other plants that we definitely don't have in Missouri too!

Warm climate also means really big bugs, though :(

Speaking of food, our groceries are a little different here.

These are our eggs. Yes, in the pantry. Apparently, if you don't wash eggs--as most North American grocers do--they're perfectly well-preserved at room temperature.

We couldn't find bananas at the grocery store, so we bought them off a street vendor. A whole bunch for $1! And so cutely small! 

Even though our whole milk is 3% at home, I'd never actually seen it on a label before!

This is a traditional dessert called tres leches. I just wanted to show it to you because it's delicious.

And this is our water. All the North Americans have these because the water contains different flora and really messes with our guts...plus, we live on a volcanic lake, which as you might imagine has some additional sketchy chemicals in it.

Then there are just the random fun tidbits. There are a lot of things about our culture that we totally take for granted until we see something different.

Like what having extra letters in the alphabet does to parking garage signage! (This is an Ñ, pronounced "ny" as opposed to just "n")

El Salvador, fortunately for us, uses US currency. FYI, this is where all of the US's unwanted gold dollars are being used. I don't think I've ever seen a $1 bill here.

I guess they don't technically have the FBI, so.......movie piracy is a totally normal thing. You can buy DVDs for $1 on the street, right next to the bananas.

Okay, but what about religion? Isn't that the whole reason we're here?
As with anything, the religious culture of an entire people is complex. But the short of it is that El Salvador maintains strong roots in Catholicism (their main man is Archbishop Oscar Romero, a Salvadoran Catholic priest who ended up a martyr) and is therefore very open to spiritual topics, a stark contrast from the increasingly-rational North American culture. Protestantism, specifically Pentecostalism, is very much on the rise. But the coolest thing to me is that God uses this spiritually-open culture to move in big ways. Here's a classic example:

Yesterday, I went to a birthday party for the daughter of a King's Castle worker at her secular school. We brought 3 students from the Castle's School of Missions, who dressed as clowns and danced to Christian songs and prayed over the birthday girl. My friend Jorge is pictured here preaching the gospel to all those 4-year-olds as they eat their cupcakes...and the teachers didn't do a darn thing to stop any of this, even participated themselves! This is what happens at all the school programs Castle does--something that would NEVER fly in the States. Can you imagine? It's SO COOL!

Of course, this is all just a tiny glimpse of life in El Salvador. It doesn't take into account the influence of the language, the politics, the social norms, the fashion, the economics. But to experience all of that, I guess you'll just have to come down here yourself! Consider this an invitation :)

God bless you! (Dios te bendiga!)
💕Matthew and Brittany