Blog #14 - Caitlin

The market is open aired and things are handmade. There are things that are strong and durable and there are things that are delicate and fragile. The people are kind, yet also persuasive and persistent. It shows that the Ecuadorian culture values hard work and kindness. They have delicate parts of their culture, yet their roots are deep and strong.

The kids at Ñeque are so loving and fun. Nothing gets to them. They have a confidence and open hearts that are difficult to have at times. Being with them showed me that I need to embrace every moment of my life because I have been blessed with a home, clothing, education, and a loving and whole family. I need to open my heart to others and be as fun and easy to please as they are. They take nothing for granted and give their love away freely.

The idea of cooking with professors sounded great. I thought that we were going to learn all the steps involved in making things and actively participate in the cooking. I thought that they would have taught us more about the food and had us communicate with them about what we had to do. I literally peeled potatoes, and that was it. I learned nothing about Ecuadorian cooking. The only intercultural communication I had was asking where to put the knives once we were done. So the challenges of not being able to fully participate and not knowing what we were supposed to do other than sit, are much more powerful than the rewards. I can’t say that I made Locro or empanadas, I peeled potatoes and sat on my butt for an hour.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meng - Blog 16

1. In Paige's Blog(#14), she mentioned that she used some nonverbal communication to communicate with teachers when they were cooking. It is an effective way of intercultural communication. I totally agree that sometimes, if you don't know how to express yourself, body language helps a lot, and it even works better than language. 2. In Blog12, Tyessa said that she feel not close with her host family, and usually, they don't communicate with each other too much, which makes she felt upset because she wants to get closer to them. In my points of view, it can be seen as an ineffective communication. I think in the process of communicating with people, sometimes you should learn to be proactive. Break the silence first, and take the initiative to communicate with others. If you are especially enthusiastic about other people, they will feel it. 3. An example of effective communication came from  Linsey. She talked about how the communication way changed ...
Read more
      I will admit that the thing I am looking forward to the most when I get back home is some good, processed, junk food. It seems strange, because I like the food in Ecuador, and am almost always willing to be adventurous and try new foods. But that sense of adventure is exactly the problem. I rarely feel as though I can just gulp down anything placed in front of me, secure in the knowledge of exactly what it is and what it will taste like. The classic foods from home will allow me to eat with that security intact, and that security is what I really miss.      I think the thing I will miss the most about Ecuador is the sense of adventure that I could feel every time I left the house, whether it was just to class at the academia or to some other attraction. I loved the feeling that I was going to see new sights, experience new things, and accomplish something impressive every day. The quote that struck me today, as we were le...
Read more

Blog post #15

1) what are you most excited about returning to in the US? What I am most looking forward to about heading home is the opportunity to share my experiences with others. I want to share the funny stories of my host family with my friends and family here in the U.S. so that they too can be exposed to some Ecuadorian culture. I am very much looking forward to returning home because I will use my experience of Ecuador to further think about what it is I want to do with my life. Not having a clear path for my profession is a challenge for me, but through using my travel experience to discover what my passions and interest are, I am always one step closer to knowing what it is I want to do with my life.   2) what will you miss the most about Ecuador? What I think I am going to miss most is the walk to school Carolina and I shared in the mornings and afternoons. In the two mile hike to school I saw mothers sending their kids off to the bus, adults off to work and busses ...
Read more