Latin America is an absolutely beautiful region in Central and South America. The region has a warm and beautiful climate. There is so much geographical diversity. There are deserts, rainforests, volcanoes and so much more. When evaluating all the choices and seeing which country to pick, I felt as though one in particular hit too close to home. This was no easy decision because Latin America has so much to offer. I had to go with my gut, and I followed my heart in this situation. I felt as though I was able to connect with the country of El Salvador on a more personal level for many reasons. The first reason was because of its size. I come from a small town, and I believe this really hit home for me. El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America. When I left my small pond of Pleasantville and went to the big sea of SUNY Oneonta I felt as though I could not relate to as many people. So many people here are from big cities like NYC, Long Island, Albany, Binghamton, Rochester, and Buffalo. It was definitely a culture shock for me. When I meet a person from a small town like myself, I feel as though we were able to connect and relate to a bunch of stuff on a more personal level. I feel the same way with El Salvador because it is small in size and seems to be tight-knit. Another reason why I choose El Salvador is because of the beautiful beaches. El Salvador borders the Pacific Ocean to the west. I am an avid fan of the ocean. I love to surf, get a tan and spend time with friends at the beach. I feel like El Salvador would be an awesome place to go. You would also be able to go there year-round as it stays very warm throughout the year. I also felt as though El Salvador has so much untapped potential. There is potential for a booming economy. El Salvador grows crops that are in high demand around the world. Their main crop is corn, and they also grow coffee, sugar cane, rubber, plastics, and metallic products. With all this geographical diversity within the region, El Salvador takes the cake for me out of any Latin American country. While the country is relatively small there is so much geographic diversity within its borders. It is a mountainous region and has volcanos and coastlines.   

  All countries have pros and cons within their borders. Every country has its own set of problems and issues, but El Salvador’s are very alarming and need to be addressed. El Salvador is a country riddled with crime. They are a part of the northern triangle which consists of them Honduras and Guatemala. There are some of the world’s highest homicide rates within these three countries that border one another. This is because of the social instability of the region. There are many cartels in El Salvador that traffic drugs of many kinds. This in turn causes a lot of violence within the country. They also have a major problem with gangs. There is also mass femicide within the country. This is the killing of females simply for the fact that they are female. El Salvador has the highest rate of femicide in any country in the world. This is because El Salvador has systemic gender-based discrimination and it results in mass murder.   

There are many fun facts and important details that need to be covered about El Salvador. Their national sport is Soccer (Futbul) and many El Salvadorians either play or are avid fans of the sport. Their national team made it to the world cup twice, once in 1970 and the second birth in 1982. El Salvador was once ruled by an indigenous group called the Mayans. There were two main Mayan groups in El Salvador which were the Poqomam people and the Ch’orti’ people. This was before the Indigenous group was colonized by Pedro De Alvarado during the Spanish conquest. El Salvador’s nickname is the Land of Volcanos and there are even volcanos on their flag. There are also pyramids in El Salvador and they are located in the Tazumal area. They were created by the Mayans. There are traces of ancient trade from places like Mexico and Panama   

  All in all, I am very happy with my choice in El Salvador. I went into the process not knowing much about this amazing country and am leaving with a wealth of knowledge. I hope I can visit one day and experience everything El Salvador has to offer.