Children wrestled with the current and slippery rocks, while mothers laundered rags in the languid river. Saints painted in vivid salt boasted as families stepped deftly around them. I gathered with my friends at the only park in town. In the background, there is an empty bomb, concealed in army green paint. El Salvador had a civil war in the 1980's. My childhood was an aftershock of a Civil War, characterized by poverty and phony politicians. My dad is a business man, he once attempted to go into politics but his conscience and lack of phoniness betrayed him. My mom is a full time lawyer, when the court isn’t enduring her wrath, my dad is. Memory isn’t reliable, I suppose they must be different now. I wouldn’t know. I haven’t seen them in seven years. I haven’t seen them since I was nine. Some days I envision that my absence affects them greatly, that I am golden. Other days I’m not as …show more content…
Before I left El Salvador, everything was tangible. My best friend was an orphan who ate the same meal every day. In her lucky days, Rosita, would get some rice with her beans. In those days she sketched infinitely. I reckoned that I would have to glue each of her fingers back to her palm. So, I went on believing that every town had a Lesly and a Rosita. I also had a puppy, it was a surprise gift from my dad. However, the real surprise was that the dog’s previous owner was an unhappy wife who had found her husband cheating with another man. Then I came here, to Las Vegas. I saw an apartment complex for the first time. I started using my cousin’s laptop religiously. I reckoned that I would have to glue my own fingers back. Folks talked to me in an unknown language and looked at me with vacant
Before reading this, I, like I am sure so many others, had no idea of the magnitude of injustices that can occur during these conflicts. Also, this was not very long ago, nor far away, and it speaks volumes of the differences in government ideology and politics. El Salvador is an extreme case of how a government will treat its citizens. Massacre at El Mozote truly was an eye-opener and I doubt I will soon forget it.
War and violence in Central America is a result of governmental injustice due to the United States’ foreign policies. The United States supported El Salvador with weapons and money throughout the civil war. As a result of enforcing these policies, El Salvador’s poverty, population and crime rate increased. The books “…After…” by Carolina Rivera Escamilla and “The Tattooed Soldier” by Hector Tobar give us a glimpse of the issues Central Americans faced.
During 1979-1992 El Salvador was engaged in a civil war, with the government fighting the rural indigenous citizens. Violence and gang culture were taking over the country and creating a cycle that can’t be easily broken. El Salvador’s citizens were searching for new power, opportunities, and a way out of poverty.
It was the fall of 2010 and little did I know that my world was about to change drastically. We had moved back to Kenosha, Wisconsin in 2008 after living in Mexico, and I was starting to enjoy my life in the dairy state. My 6th Grade classes had just started at Bullen Middle School. It was right at this time when my world seemingly got flipped upside down. My parents had a family meeting and informed my siblings and me that we were moving to a small Iowa town called Orange City. I had feelings of nervousness, excitement, and sadness all mixed together.
I am passionate about this part of the memoir because it encourages me to listen to other’s opinions and include them in making important decisions. In similarity with the quote, I made many good choices with advice from one of the best teachers I ever had. In sixth grade, I had Mrs. O’Toole who changed my life. She taught her students to work hard with determination and passion. She dedicated herself to seeing her students work hard to their full potential and filling our days with learning and fully understanding her objectives and lessons. Mrs. O’Toole intrigued her pupils with a creative lesson by capturing her students’ attention and invoking class participation. For this reason, I learned many tips to write with powerful words and a lot of description. She opened a new world of imagination in literature by challenging my class to read forty books by the end for the school year. In math, she prepared the class to show all our work for each problem and equation. With Mrs. O’Toole’s techniques and advice, I made good decisions about reading, writing, math, and organization skills for future classes and choices out of school. One more connection I made with this part of the memoir was my dad helped me with my soccer skills. When my dad signed me up for soccer when I was seven years
In May 2009, I was ready to leave my home in Brazil to study in the United States. A few days after arriving in America I started to take "summer classes" at West Virginia State University. Since then a lot has changed in my life as a person and as a student. I have made new friends in West Virginia and done well at my studies. I have changed majors which added an extra year to my studies. My grandmother passed away in 2010 when I was taking my finals during my second semester at school. And, in the same year one of my two nieces, Juliana, was born. Life was happening, and changes were taking place. I was so busy with my studies and adapting into the new routine that I forgot to consider that my country, Brazil, was going through transformations as well.
El Salvador (The republic of The Savior) is known to be the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. San Salvador has been announced as the Capital City. It is considered to an important cultural and commercial center for the whole Central America. It borders with Guatemala, Honduras, The Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Fonseca. It’s the only country in this region not on the Caribbean Sea.
My story began on a cool summer’s night twenty short years ago. From my earliest memory, I recall my father’s disdain for pursuing education. “Quit school and get a job” was his motto. My mother, in contrast, valued education, but she would never put pressure on anyone: a sixty-five was passing, and there was no motivation to do better. As a child, my uncle was my major role-model. He was a living example of how one could strive for greatness with a proper education and hard work. At this tender age of seven, I knew little about how I would achieve my goals, but I knew that education and hard work were going to be valuable. However, all of my youthful fantasies for broader horizons vanished like smoke when school began.
Growing up in a developing country has really open up my mind about setting up for a better future. My home in El Salvador wasn't the most lavishness, but it's also not the worst. I grew up in a house with two levels; three bedrooms on the top floor, one on the bottom, a garage and laundry room at the lower level, and a small sale shop at the front of the house. Growing up in this home has been a meaningful place for me. Its where I found my sense of place.
El Salvador is a beautiful country with a big population of 6.4 million. The main ethnics are White, indigenous Indians, and Mestizo. Many Spaniards settled and married native Indians therefore making Mestizo (both European and Indian blood) a popular ethnic group. El Salvador’s main language is Spanish, but Nawat is a native language that is spoken by elder Salvadorians.
Guatemala is a beautiful land in Central America is bordering the Northern Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras, and Belize. In this paper I will focus on Guatemala’s geography, anthropological history, cultural behavior, spiritual needs, and current evangelical activity. The primary objective of this paper is to identifiy the spiritual needs and how to pray for this nation and its peoples.
Throughout my life I have heard a wide range of stories from my parents. When putting this assignment together I have put these stories into account. Randall Bass, educator of English at Georgetown University, concurs that stories shape individuals ' personalities. Bass expresses that, "People infer their feeling of personality from their way of life, and societies are frameworks of conviction that decide how individuals experience their lives" (Bass 1). Social stories about family history, religion, nationality, and legacy impact individuals ' conduct and convictions. Personalities of diverse individuals originate from their societies. Narrating starts at home. Stories associate individuals to their frameworks of convictions. They shape individuals ' lives by giving them a model of how to live. Individuals get their most punctual learning from distinctive stories. (Bass)
Nathan, Rebekah. My freshman year: what a professor learned by becoming a student. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 2005.
When I was born, my family had just migrated to California from Mexico. In a new country, my father worked in landscaping earning less than $4 dollars an hour, while my mother relied on public transportation to take her newborn child to and from doctor visits. In the land of opportunity, my family struggled to put a roof over our heads. But never discouraged, my parents sought to achieve their goals and worked tirelessly to raise my younger brother and I. From a young age, I was taught the importance of education; this became a major catalyst in my life. My desire to excel academically was not for self-gain, but my way of contributing to my family’s goals and aspirations.
In the days leading up to her graduation, she was so excited about receiving her diploma for her academic accomplishments, even though she hasn’t accomplished a lot in life by experiencing a little bit of it. She felt like the birthday girl with her pretty dress, beautiful hair, and the presents she received from Uncle Willie and her mother. She felt like it w...