While still in the midst of their study abroad experiences, students at Linfield College write reflective essays. Their essays address issues of cultural similarity and difference, compare lifestyles, mores, norms, and habits between their host countries and home, and examine changes in perceptions about their host countries and the United States. In this essay, Linnaea Funk describes her observations during her study abroad program at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador

Funk, Linnaea

English

DigitalCommons@Linfield

Linfield College DigitalCommons@Linfield 2012-13 Field Notes Field Notes from Abroad: Person to Person 4-9-2013 Person to Person in Ecuador Linnaea Funk Linfield College, lfunk@linfield.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/intl_fieldnotes_1213 Recommended Citation Funk, Linnaea, "Person to Person in Ecuador" (2013). 2012-13 Field Notes. Essay. Submission 12. https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/intl_fieldnotes_1213/12 This Essay is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It is brought to you for free via open access, courtesy of DigitalCommons@Linfield, with permission from the rights-holder(s). Your use of this Essay must comply with the Terms of Use for material posted in DigitalCommons@Linfield, or with other stated terms (such as a Creative Commons license) indicated in the record and/or on the work itself. For more information, or if you have questions about permitted uses, please contact digitalcommons@linfield.edu. Linnaea	  Funk	  Quito	  Ecuador-­‐	  April	  9,	  2013	  Field	  Notes	  from	  Abroad:	  Person	  to	  Person	  in	  Ecuador	  	   Since	  I	  have	  been	  in	  Ecuador	  for	  eight	  months,	  I	  used	  the	  information	  that	  I	  gained	  explicitly	  from	  my	  interview	  and	  implicitly	  from	  what	  I	  have	  noticed.	  	  I	  was	  surprised	  to	  learn	  that	  my	  mom	  teaches	  Feng	  Shui,	  and	  since	  she	  teaches,	  she	  has	  also	  “cleaned”	  the	  house.	  	  This	  tradition	  comes	  from	  Asia,	  and	  is	  not	  very	  popular	  in	  the	  United	  States	  or	  in	  Latin	  America.	  	  It	  was	  interesting	  to	  see	  the	  little	  aspects	  that	  help	  the	  house	  to	  have	  good	  energy,	  like	  the	  mirrors	  over	  the	  bathroom	  doors	  to	  disperse	  the	  bad	  chi	  energy	  that	  concentrates	  in	  the	  bathroom,	  for	  example.	  	  Further,	  although	  this	  is	  not	  true	  of	  many	  Ecuadorian	  families,	  my	  host	  family	  strives	  to	  live	  simply.	  	  They	  have	  what	  they	  need,	  but	  do	  not	  have	  the	  newest,	  most	  expensive,	  or	  fanciest	  things.	  	  This	  allows	  them	  to	  enjoy	  what	  they	  have,	  but	  to	  not	  covet	  everything	  that	  they	  don’t	  have.	  	  I	  think	  that	  part	  of	  this	  perception	  is	  rooted	  in	  the	  fact	  that	  both	  of	  my	  host	  parents	  are	  psychologists,	  so	  they	  have	  a	  stronger	  awareness	  of	  the	  world	  around	  them	  than	  every	  day	  people.	  	   One	  of	  the	  main	  cultural	  differences	  between	  Ecuadorian	  and	  United	  States	  society	  is	  that	  the	  USA	  is	  an	  individualistic	  society	  while	  Ecuador	  is	  very	  much	  a	  collectivistic	  society.	  	  This	  means	  that	  in	  Ecuador	  the	  focus	  is	  on	  the	  group,	  whether	  that	  be	  a	  class,	  a	  school,	  a	  family,	  or	  a	  job.	  	  Instead	  of	  focusing	  on	  simply	  what	  one	  person	  need,	  the	  goal	  is	  to	  make	  sure	  that	  everyone	  in	  the	  group	  is	  getting	  their	  needs	  met.	  	  This,	  from	  the	  standpoint	  of	  a	  US	  citizen,	  can	  seem	  to	  be	  difficult	  to	  achieve.	  	  I	  think	  it	  is	  a	  better	  way	  to	  look	  at	  the	  world,	  though,	  because	  it	  forces	  the	  individual	  to	  take	  in	  the	  needs	  of	  everyone	  involved,	  and	  make	  sure	  that	  the	  decision	  that	  is	  being	  made	  does	  not	  make	  life	  more	  difficult	  for	  another	  family	  member.	  	  Another	  difference	  between	  the	  greater	  Ecuadorian	  society	  is	  the	  amount	  of	  meat	  that	  is	  consumed	  (my	  host	  mom	  is	  vegetarian,	  and	  thus	  does	  not	  cook	  a	  lot	  of	  meat	  for	  my	  host	  dad	  and	  host	  brother).	  	  In	  general,	  a	  typical	  lunch,	  the	  largest	  meal	  of	  the	  day,	  is	  a	  soup	  with	  meat	  in	  it	  as	  the	  first	  course,	  rice,	  meat,	  corn/potatoes	  (or	  sometimes	  both),	  and	  perhaps	  some	  vegetables	  for	  the	  main	  course,	  juice,	  and	  dessert.	  	  The	  meat	  that	  is	  in	  the	  soup	  is	  often	  not	  the	  same	  type	  of	  meat	  that	  is	  in	  the	  main	  dish.	  	  In	  the	  states,	  my	  family	  usually	  only	  has	  meat	  once	  a	  day,	  and	  if	  we	  do,	  we	  only	  have	  one	  type	  of	  meat	  at	  a	  time.	  	  Since	  I	  am	  a	  vegetarian,	  the	  amount	  of	  meat	  consumption	  makes	  it	  hard	  for	  me	  to	  go	  out	  to	  eat	  and	  to	  try	  typical	  Ecuadorian	  foods,	  since	  the	  majority	  of	  them	  contain	  meat.	  	   The	  interview	  that	  I	  conducted	  did	  not	  profoundly	  change	  my	  view	  of	  either	  Ecuador	  or	  the	  United	  States.	  	  Perhaps	  this	  is	  because	  I	  have	  been	  here	  for	  so	  long,	  that	  some	  of	  the	  parts	  of	  society	  just	  seem	  normal	  to	  me	  now.	  	  Or,	  it	  could	  be	  that	  subconsciously	  I	  have	  been	  processing	  all	  of	  this	  information.	  	  What	  I	  do	  know,	  however,	  is	  that	  my	  stay	  in	  Ecuador	  overall	  has	  made	  me	  think	  differently	  about	  the	  United	  States.	  	  There	  are	  some	  parts	  that	  I	  miss	  a	  lot,	  especially	  being	  from	  Oregon:	  clean	  air,	  little	  air	  pollution,	  coffee	  shops/stands,	  changes	  in	  weather,	  vegetarian	  food,	  little	  noise,	  etc.	  	  Other	  aspects	  of	  the	  society,	  though,	  I	  have	  begun	  to	  question.	  	  For	  example,	  I	  have	  noticed	  since	  being	  down	  in	  Ecuador	  that	  the	  United	  States	  is	  constantly	  in	  war	  with	  someone	  else,	  and	  I	  don’t	  understand	  the	  reason	  for	  that.	  	  Further,	  I	  have	  noticed	  that	  sometimes	  the	  US	  tries	  to	  “save”	  other	  countries,	  and	  by	  doing	  this	  forces	  some	  of	  the	  values,	  like	  technology,	  on	  other	  countries.	  	  Overall	  my	  experience	  in	  Ecuador	  has	  been	  an	  invaluable	  learning	  opportunity,	  and	  I	  know	  that	  I	  will	  not	  return	  to	  the	  USA	  the	  same	  way	  I	  left;	  I	  will	  return	  as	  a	  smarter,	  more	  well	  educated,	  and	  cultured	  person.	  Interview:	  María	  Guadalupe	  Alcazár	  (Host	  Mother)	  	  

Person to Person in Ecuador

Name not available

https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&amp;context=intl_fieldnotes_1213

Person to Person in Ecuador

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

DigitalCommons@Linfield

Name not available