Visiting El Salvador after 20 Years-The Investment Lessons I've Learned

Welcome to another episode of the Be A Boss Coaching Podcast.

My name is Beatriz, and this is a special episode primarily because of Hispanic Heritage Month,

but also because I also traveled to the country where my parents are from, El Salvador, a place I had not visited In about 20 years. I'll be reflecting on my experiences there. What I saw, the people, the history,

and how it has impacted my life as a child of immigrants from El Salvador. . And if you enjoyed this episode, please come back to be a boss coaching. com and send me a message. Also check us out on Instagram and Tik TOK at be a boss coaching to connect with fellow listeners.

And if you're a child of immigrants from El Salvador, like myself, please don't hesitate to reach out. Enjoy the show.

Hey y'all and welcome to season three of the be a boss coaching podcast. My name is Beatriz. I'm a business and entrepreneur coach,

and I'm the founder of Be A Boss Coaching. In this podcast season, I am thrilled to have a brand new lineup of guests from diverse fields, each bringing their own unique orientation.

products and services to the table. Not only are we featuring inspiring business entrepreneurs and their stories, but we'll also dive into the skills and innovations that are integral in building a thriving business. Get ready for topics that are essential for your entrepreneurial journey. In this season, we'll cover everything from healing to AI to to creativity, to building a private practice.

Stay tuned and don't forget to visit BeABossCoaching. com where you can read our other blogs, listen to our other podcast episodes and join our newsletter where you'll find out about new services and offers and exclusive discounts and so much more. Thank you so much for being here and I hope you enjoy the show.

hey everybody and welcome to another episode of the be a boss coaching podcast This episode I am doing after a trip to El Salvador a trip That I have been looking forward to for a very long time Especially knowing that I haven't been back to El Salvador in 20 years. I'm 35 years old The last time I was there, I'm pretty sure I was about 20 15, 16 years old.

And I decided to go back this year. It really wasn't in the cards, but my, my suegros were actually the ones who seeded the idea for myself and my parents to, for us to go to El Salvador this year. And unfortunately, my suegra, she could not come, but my suegro did. It was quite. The experience having my suegro come to El Salvador, someone who has lived in Malaysia for a very long time, well, pretty much their entire life.

And so I was actually a little bit, not worried, but just a little, unsure of what that experience would bring to him, but it was overall a great experience. We definitely made some memories and I'm excited. I'm glad that we were able to do this. I almost didn't go simply because my suegros weren't able to go anymore.

But then I thought about the fact that I hadn't, I have been saying that I've been wanting to go back to El Salvador and I just hadn't, and this time I was saying it again, and also it wasn't happening, so I said to myself, I would go, that it would be okay, and it was, it was a fun experience, a little stressful, I would say, for my husband, who had to drive there, a huge SUV Pathfinder there for seven people, so he was lugging us around the whole time, it was quite stressful for him, because, you know, The traffic and streets in El Salvador are much more chaotic, though I must say that it is fascinating to see the respect that drivers have for each other on the road.

And, um, so that is. That is what my experience back in El Salvador after 20 years. So I wanted to welcome you to this podcast episode today and, give you a bit of my experience being there, what thoughts came for me. During my time there and thinking about the immigration experience and how that really shapes our beliefs and ideas around hustle culture when we come to countries like the United States, where hustle culture is very prevalent and it is guys.

Bye. It's not easy to shift away from, especially when you do want to create your own business or trying to create a better life, if you will. And, uh, when I was in El Salvador, seeing the People. La allí. The culture of El Salvador. It's such a small country, right? It's about the size of Massachusetts, but it has 6.

5 million people. And seeing the country and the people, el pueblo, how they live, I've come to this thought that the country It's culture. There's like a layer like it's there's it's it's culture of like it's history right around colonialism and a lot of history around the Civil War and things that the country has gone through.

And. While I was there now in: 2024

S. and even children of immigrants like myself,

why hustle culture is a big part Value or belief in immigrants or in Latin American immigrants, like my parents, it's the only way that we have known to live, that we have known to Live our lives, and I have had the privilege to be born in the U. S., but

the privilege also to explore and to take my time and to try new things. The idea of survival for me was only vicariously experienced through my parents. Even when we lived in the US, right, we lived in, in neighborhoods like South Central, like I, I was born in Koreatown, but then I, we moved to a small house in South Central, we still, we then bought a house in the same area of South Central, but just maybe about two miles away.

No, not two miles, I think three miles. And. It struck me or I have come to the realization that my privilege being born in the US, my parents decision to come to the US to experience some sort of upward mobility, um, is their return on investment that they received coming here. Like, I am the return on investment for their decision to come to the US.

And my ability to explore, to To try new things, to not live from a point of survival, but from a point of safety and, and exploration, I've come to realize that Immigration in itself, like those risks, those decisions, the, the sacrifice that it took for them to leave their country behind, to leave family behind, roots behind, that all of that for them, even though it might seem like a sacrifice, like you can see it as a sacrifice, but the other side of that coin is also an investment.

investment in the future, investment in their future, and whether it looks like a future for their children, for their future generations, or in themselves, or for even an investment in being able to, to provide back for family back home, which is actually what a lot of immigrant And so what do four family who do stay behind is they send money, resources, clothes, food, anything that they can back to families and their people who have stayed behind.

And I've seen that a lot, um, with my own family. And then. across the board and other experiences of immigrants. So being there, seeing the culture, seeing just literally it's auto, it almost reminded me a little bit of New York city where the city never sleeps. It just keeps going and going. There's just constant chaos all the time.

I remember like we would get up at 6, 7 a. m. to start our day, and everyone was already wide awake. Everyone was already going to work. Everybody was already bringing their hustle to the day. There's no one there that I did not see, not trying to survive. Um, and that's where, wherever you went, like small towns, more developed areas, wherever you were, That was the culture is really wanting to make sure that you have enough and I think for countries like El Salvador, who are really exploring and have, they have undergone a lot of changes, especially now with the election of their latest president, Nayib Bukele, right?

He's now in his second term and one of the things that you have Learn. One of the things that El Salvador has been known for for this past few years is the changes that this president has made in the country. Primarily his most,

well known policy has been been the crackdown on gangs, which had a suffocating grip on the population and small businesses there and seeing the aftermath of these changes, how people have have experienced these changes, how small businesses have experienced these changes.

The has been quite revealing. And I think now Now that there's safety that people most people have experienced with these changes. I think the next level of meeting the country's basic needs is being able to not just survive but Drive. Um, I think it's not quite there yet.

Obviously, there are areas within El Salvador where are that are more developed. there are specific people within the population that have, not just construction or labor is jobs, but jobs in the government and private businesses who. Maintain and provide resources and maintain the infrastructure of the country.

And so it's it's revealing and interesting to see the different the employment, the different ways that people live there, how they are able to provide for themselves. , but I think It has a lot of room and potential. to thrive and to continue to, to provide a better living situation for the people there.

So overall, being there, it was, it was a great experience for me. I enjoyed making memories with my family, seeing family that I hadn't seen in over 20 years. I saw my cousin who's about around my age. I think he's about a year younger. He now is married. He has a baby. And, uh, being able to see my aunt who I hadn't seen, of course, we've kept in touch over the years through Facebook or WhatsApp, but you know, it's not the same, right, as seeing them in person.

And I was able to see a brother who I hadn't seen in 20 years. He's my oldest, oldest brother from my mom's side. So it was, it was very interesting. I think definitely the next time we go, I definitely plan to not wait another 20 years to return. Bye. That this time around, I wish we had more time, but I think the next time we go, it would definitely be, you know, over in the area of San Miguel, which is not, it's more on the, I want to say Eastern part of the country.

We stayed more in the capital of San Salvador and San Marcos and the Western side, closer to the border of Guatemala. So next time. I go, I'd like to go to the east side and, and go to San Miguel, which is, I don't know that part of the country. It's where my mom is from. I have been there when I was 14, but I don't remember anything.

So like to see what it looks like on that side. Um, but being that it's Hispanic heritage month and this month is about honoring. Hispanic heritage, honoring , Latin American countries, honoring our roots, honoring our history. I wanted to make this episode to, to really reflect on this trip, to reflect on the ways that our experiences shape our beliefs and our ideas now, even if we live in countries like the United States, right, the hustle culture that I saw so prevalent in El Salvador and how it.

Bleeds into the future generations, even if they are born in the U S like myself and like my father, even though he immigrated from El Salvador to the U S in the early eighties, hustle culture and surviving was, it's still ingrained in him very much like an old scar that has healed, but it's still very part of who you are and.

I see that in him, but why he was, but it's also the reason why he was able to start his own business and use that business to provide for his family, to pay off our home, to help me with my education and paying off student loans, um, something that I really appreciate. I'm always grateful for and something that now when I think about my own privileges here building my own business Yes, I am.

I come from a history of survivalism and hustle culture I understand why that is and it's also balancing that out with my privilege of being able to explore and so those Two things can coexist and, um, being able to figure out what that looks like for me as I continue to build my business, continue to want to provide for myself, create for myself, um, and build a business and be reflective of who I am as a person and the, the histories before me, how they shape my beliefs and my ideas and.

And how I choose to operate in the world and how I choose to build my business in general, so i'm happy like I I think about, again, the sacrifices of my parents and how that, if I think about investing, there's all forms, there's so many types of investing. And I think immigration is actually a form of investing because you're taking a risk and you're hoping that that risk

compounds to something better, compounds to more, whether more is more opportunity, more wealth. More happiness, fulfillment, safety, even I think that that is what reminds me every day that I can take risks. I will always be okay. And and I have the privilege to do so. In in security and safety. So that is my little reflection on my recent trip to El Salvador.

Happy that I got to make memories. There was a time where in El Salvador is close to the equator. So it's very tropical. And there was a time I'll just tell you a little story here. But there was my dad being from El Salvador. He knows a few spots, right? But he, Hasn't lived there in so long that a lot of these areas and places are blurry to him.

So on a trip to, uh Huahua, I believe is the name of the town. There was a specific waterfall place that he wanted to take us to called Los Chorros. And on the way there, we encountered a very underdeveloped road, very rocky, very muddy. We had not realized or we had completely forgotten that it had just rained throughout the entire day.

So going down that road, Unfortunately, coming back up got stuck, and I felt so bad for my husband who was trying to get us out of the road. It ended up being that we dented the car trying to get it up. My dad, thankfully, has had a lot of experience in these kinds of situations, and so he got us out. But, um, that was definitely a memory.

That I will always have with me, with my husband and my father in law, my parents, my sister, there's a cute little puppy. I wish I would have taken a picture of it. That was there around us trying to be part of the action too. And, um, but that's just one story that I know I'll have with me for ever the rest of my life.

And so when we have the opportunity to experience places that where we come from or even just in general traveling. There's always the opportunity to create memories and to create bonds and, um, perhaps trauma bond a little bit, uh, over some of the hurdles and challenges that we face, but overall, it was a great experience.

I'm happy that we got to go. And I got to see the country and the way it's developed, how people live, the way people have experienced the changes since the, this new president, Bukele, with all of its, all of his policy and, and the security policy that he has brought upon the country. And I'm, Excited to see how this will continue five, 10 years from now, like how will this change continue to impact the country?

Will these changes stick? And, um, I think that's one of the questions that the population has is this president made these changes. He did, he created this policy and. Will this continue to stay past his presidency, will all of this be undone after he leaves? It's a very real worry and concern for the people of El Salvador, but we will Basically, we won't know until that day comes.

Thankfully, there's again, another five years. And I think 10 years is a good enough time for a country to make changes and for those changes to stick. So I'm hopeful and I'm hopeful that the country continues to rise. It continues to thrive beyond survivalism. And, . That its economy continues to grow.

We'll see. All right, y'all if you are from El Salvador, let me know Are you from El Salvador? What part of El Salvador are you from? And when was the last time that you went to El Salvador if you're an immigrant? Have when was it? When did you leave? Have you been back? Maybe your parents are from El Salvador Have you ever been to the country?

Have you ever experienced it? And if it's been a long time ago, what do you remember? And If you've been there recently, what are the changes that you've seen since, since being there since the last time you were there? I'd love to know. I'd like to have a conversation. So hit me up on social media. I'm at be a boss coaching on Instagram, LinkedIn and tech talk.

Of course you can always come and check me out at be a boss coaching. com and Send me a message there. All right, y'all have a wonderful rest of your week. I will leave you with a reminder I would love to speak to you about any challenges that you are facing in your business journey, entrepreneurship journey.

And, uh, I love working with women of color, BIPOC, queer entrepreneurs who Also want to build their businesses like a boss. All right. I haven't said that line in a while. Wow All right, y'all so With deep appreciation. Thank you so much And I will see you on the next episode. Bye