Personal Narrative: How El Salvador Changed My Life

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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

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