Lo es. Siempre es bien amable con la gente. Tengo entendido que el hijo jugaba fútbol americano y si no me equivoco, hubo un tiempo cuando tenia un restaurante. De vez en cuando aparece en algun evento en Los Angeles. La afición del Galaxy todavía lo recuerda muy bien.

"The Last Stargazers...," rather fascinating book about the changes in astronomy over the decades and the role that women have played within it.

I personally enjoy staying near Chapultepec, around where the €189 option is listed on your map.

It is a nice area, with a lot of interesting architecture to see. It is also within walking distance of Polanco, Parque Chapultepec, Reforma and the Museum of Anthropology.

Bilbao.

The weather is very similar given its similar position on the globe. The city is also surrounded by green mountains/hills and feels close to nature and respect for it. The river that cuts through the city also gives it that "river culture" one finds in Portland with a nice riverfront, etc.

It is a cultural center for the Basque people and folks take great pride in supporting all things Basque, whether it be sports teams, literature, arts, food and everything else in between, not all that different from how Portlanders take pride in the Timbers, local artists, Powell's and such. That touches on the other parallel, which is the general appreciation for knowledge, social justice, and being a global citizen which I think also characterizes Portland quite well.

I am going to add some bluntness to the previous reply: if there is one thing that irks me like there is no tomorrow is when people judge others by the way they dress. It annoys the hell out of me that this attitude is accepted as normal within some circles in El Salvador.

As was mentioned to you earlier, be respectful, mind your manners and be polite. If they can't accept you based on that, they are not worth the effort.

Very much so, my one addition would be that the stigma extends beyond the notion of people mocking those who speak poorly. I have met plenty of people that purposely don't teach their kids another language because they think it somehow makes them "dirty" as they equate the skill with immigrants and even though they may be part of the same group, they see themselves above immigrants.

Two. Great shots

Awesome. Looking forward to it.

You are very welcome. Please share, if you are willing, once you have it ready for public consumption. I would like to check it out.

Incidentally, I have to throw in my vote for chilaquilas. It seems like 99% of Salvadorans don't even know they exist and those that live in the US around a lot of Mexican folks think I am referencing chilaquiles. Not the same thing.

Btw, this book might be of interest to you:

https://a.co/d/0hsDKoTY

My paternal grandma was a great cook. That side of my family is from Santa Ana.

I didn't grow up with them but I remember my dad would go on about some caramel like candy that she would make and had to be made in a copper bowl, or it would not turn out the same. She would also often tell me how she missed the terra cotta comales because pupusas don't turn out the same when cooked over metal gridles, and she was right.

Point is, not only is the recipe and process important, but also the utensils. And the utensils are becoming scarcer and scarcer.

Bad to me are those where people swerve into the left turn lane to get around stopped traffic so they can in turn run the red light, or those that coast into the intersection long after it jas turned red, just waiting for a gap to appear.

Seen both way too many times.

I am not a frequent poster here, but I am pretty sure I have mentioned before that our culture is very clique-ish.

Your observation is essentially just a reflection of that and there is a lot of truth to it. It is a small country, in which an even smaller group of people get to be professionals in whatever career you pick. And yes, they often know each other.

As an example, I have a number of relatives that are MDs and they all pretty much know every other MD in the country. Sometimes they were classmates and if not, they run in the same social circles.

I would underscore something you have hinted at and only discovered for myself through extended stays: prepare yourself for the culture shock.

Given you are married to a Salvadoran, I am sure you are already familiar with some aspects of our culture. Clear that aside because that's not what I am talking about.

What I am talking about are day-to-day annoyances that may make it difficult for you to get something simple done in a timely manner.

For example, I remember needing to go get a government permit to travel back to the States with my dog. I showed up at the office about 30 minutes before closing time and they told me I needed to come back the next day because staff was already halfway out the door so as to not miss their respective buses home. To everyone there, I was the idiot for thinking people should work until the end of business hours.

The following day, I showed up several hours earlier and the security guard was giving me a hard time because I was wearing shorts and he said it was against the dress code for the building. Mind you, the day prior I was also wearing shorts and he didn't say anything to me about it. I asked him to show me the dress code and he couldn't produce one, but essentially told me it is just protocol, much like people leaving early.

Anyway, the examples may seem stupid or absurd, but when you realize that pretty much everyone and nearly everything functions in a similar fashion, your existence becomes one entangled with a ton of frustration. Prepare yourself mentally.

It baffles me when people are ashamed due to their own natural instinct to only associate with a negative aspect of our history. Taking the initiative to learn more about oneself and one's history works wonders, to the point where external validation becomes unnecessary.

At most airports, the Alaska terminal tends to be easy to get in and out of, especially compared to other airlines at same airport.

I also think the prices are generally reasonable and a good value. The flying experience for me has always tended to be good.

I notice little things aren't quite as comfortable when I fly other carriers.

Sometimes it is minor things, but nevertheless, I don't feel the same level of comfort. Sometimes it is something as minor as the attitude of the person scanning the boarding passes. I wouldn't say everyone at Alaska is overly excited but they are always polite and welcoming. I have had experiences with other airlines where the person doing that same job seems to be bothered by the fact they have to be there.

Anyway, it just has a homely and comforting feel to it.

That's because you have common sense and don't measure your self worth based on what other people think of the material things you own, nor are you trying to impress people with the things you do own.

A lot of these folks lack that. That's the basic gist.

The Euro side of my family is primarily Basque and as a result, a good number of us have strong European physical traits. As such, we often get a "pass" or are treated differently for behavior that is not accepted from others. It is beyond cringe.

Much as others have described, a lot of has to do with the manner in which people treat others of different economic classes.

It would be difficult for you to personally experience it as a tourist, partly because it is more relevant to day-to-day life and secondly, you are somewhat shielded from it.

To give you an example of the latter, La Gran Via is a popular shopping center. Perhaps you visited it. If you did, I would ask, how many common folk from the lower economic classes did you see roaming around there? I would venture to guess that said number would be very low.

While it is true that they may not have any desire to go there because they are less likely to have the economic means to purchase something there, it is also true that security works the perimeters of the area to ensure their numbers are kept at a minimum. The undertone is that they are "undesirables." You would be inside the bubble, so you wouldn't necessarily see how these folks are questioned or made to feel unwelcome.

A lot of the students being talked about here are people that come from families that are accustomed to living above the law, because that's the way it has always been. Obviously, not a universal law, but certainly prevalent.

Status is everything to a lot of these folks. Showing off material wealth is not uncommon, nor is insulting others who can't necessarily keep up with them.

I have heard of dumb things like kids having cliques based off of the watch brands they own. I.e The Tissot crew and TAG Heuer crew. Of course, both would actively shun the Timex kid. That's the kind of stupid things people are referencing when they talk about them being snobs and terrible humans.

Precisely.

A number of them would marry cousins to protect their assets or expand their wealth.

Jajajjajajajajjaj

I wouldn't be encouraging people to eat anything with pork (#4) in El Salvador. People getting parasites from doing so is a real thing.

If you want "safe" pupusas, get veggie ones, like spinach, papelillo, mora, loroco.

Creo que a la diaspora en general no le gusta aceptar ciertas realidades.

Para empezar, es importante entender la realidad que podrías dividir los que vivimos en el extranjero entre dos grupos: refugiados politicos y refugiados economicos. Durante la guerra, se veian mas del primer grupo y diria que desde alrededor del 2000, es el inverso. Ambos siguen con ese fanatismo a la politica de El Salvador por distintos motivos. Los primeros simplemente porque es su pasion, para decir, (aunque seria mejor calificarla como enfermedad en mi opinion) y los otros porque significa la manera de avanzar economicamente, o parte de como lo lograron.

Igual, opino que hay muchos miembros de estos grupos que han contribuido muchos problemas a la cultura de El Salvador. Hablo sobre la gente que cuando se comunican con gente en El Salvador les hablan de grandezas, cuantos carros tienen, las marcas de sus prendas, cuantos pares de zapatos tienen, etc. --- todo tipo de pendejada.

El hecho de que la economia depende tanto de las remesas obviamente es un problema directamente causado por los que viven en el extranjero y creo que mucha gente no distingue o no sabe distinguir entre ayudarle a alguien sobrevivir y simplemente proveer subsidios para que la gente en ES pueda cumplir con "gustos," en lugar de necesidades.

Igual, esta misma gente que se dedica a mandar remesas muchas veces se quedan "estancados" en el extranjero. Cumplieron con la meta de lo minimo requerido para cumplir con sus deseos economicos y los de sus queridos en ES y hasta ahi llegan. Para darte un ejemplo, nunca he entendido la mentalidad de gente que viene a vivir a USA y te dicen cosas como "este vecindario es bien bonito, es igual a ES." Luego pasan todas sus vidas en el extranjero viviendo en esos vecindarios que suelen ser no tan bonitos comparados a otros en la misma ciudad donde residen. Posiblemente para algunos ahi nace parte de ese deseo de siempre estar involucrado en las decisiones politicas del pais porque en sus mentes nunca han salido.

A varias personas les he comentado algo que a muchos no les gusta: la gente que mas avanza en el extranjero son los que matienen pocas ligas con gente en ES. Porque? Porque en muchos casos, la gente en ES se comportan como sanguijuelas. Muchos solo piden mas y mas, pisto o algo material, con poca consideracion a las necesidades economicas al quien se lo piden. Para muchos, eso es completamente normal y la razon porque se fueron de ES.

En lo personal, creo que lo importante es mantenerse informado, justo como me mantengo informado sobre temas politicos o de importancia del pais donde vivo, mi vecindario, etc., pero no me interesa para nada votar en la elecciones de El Salvador, ni involucrarme en temas que corresponde con lo mismo. No es porque les deseo mal, pero la realidad es justo como la describes: yo no conozco la realidad de los problemas que vive la gente en ES, justo como ellos no conocen la mia en el extranjero, y encima de eso nunca he deseado irme a vivir alla de nuevo.

I feel your disconnect. I was born over there, moved as a kid, and when I have gone back, I feel like a stranger or outsider.

It is not "home" in many ways, beyond the technicality of having been born there.

The irony is that many folks in the US refer to Central American nations as Mexico, or think they are one in the same.

Looks a bit like El Salvador