Estatus Exaltado

Exalted status (by John)

We have a sense here of having an exalted social status we did not have in the US. Not normally thought of as part of the image of the self-sacrificing Peace Corps volunteer, I thought it´d be interesting to share some of the peculiarities of this new found status.

On the 150th anniversary of Suchitoto, the City had many commemoration events, and below is a photo from one of them--an event most locals could not go to. From left to right are a famous local film maker, the Chilean ambassador and the Mayor of our city.





More telling was what happened at a VIP-only commemoration in which the town was made capitol for a day. The legislative assembly held asession in the city´s theater. Ambassadors came and there were even one or two elected officials from the USA and various other “meros macizos” (important people).

I was helping film the event, and for one reason or another, Amber needed to deliver me some keys. She did so. Walking right in in order to hand them to me. It was not until the next week, when talking with our co-workers that we realized Amber was let in unquestioned for being a “gringa”…

Our co-workers had gone to the theater, but were turned away by gatekeepers.

Now granted, some of this exalted status comes down to hospitality. Perhaps Amber was not just a gringa, but a foreigner in for the event, so she passed in unmolested…

Moving on to another peculiarity. One time, a nice woman hosted us to a luxurious weekend in the capitol. A night in her house with beautiful city views, breakfast served by live-in staff, and so on. This was a weekend most Salvadorans will never know, and it was provided after a very brief 10 minute chat when I met this nice woman at a local "mixer", such as the one pictured below.





Would we have been offered this weekend were we not gringos or with Peace Corps?

Surely, some status comes from being Peace Corps. We are representatives of the American people (not the US government), so we are somewhat public figures. No surprise there.

Nonetheless, from these and other experiences, it is clear we are consistently given the “benefit-of-the-doubt” to a degree of which we had not been accustomed.

Where does it come from? Is it hospitality? Is it because we are from the USA? Is it because of the close relation El Salvador has with the USA? Is it because being from a small developing country makes one have “rock star envy” for outsiders? I think it is a bit of all of these.

Shifting to larger themes to which this entry is connected. Do you come from a big city and sometimes look down on people in "fly-over" country, meaning smaller rural areas? Or… are you from a small town, school or business and figure those from the bigger incarnations of these are naturally better off, more experienced, smarter?

I think we naturally attribute status to ourselves and others based on facts and assumptions (assumptions based on appearance, diction, statements made, associates kept…). It is only natural. We, as humans, categorize.

Nonetheless, from this experience, I hope to take with me that status, whether attributed legitimately or not, should be divorced from the inherent worth one actually has. More than anything, this is a shout out to my Salvadoran cheros (buddies) who have not had the opportunity to do some of the things we have done here...