Blog post #14

1) How is the Mercado Artisinal (the market in Quito) a metaphor for Ecuadorian culture?  

From my observations throughout my time in Ecuador the people value family. This is echoed in the market. I saw whole families in one booth selling their goods as a family. Ecuadorians value the bond they share as family, and they spend lots of time together. The market had mothers and young daughters weaving, making toys and selling their goods. While I did not notice many fathers, the ones I saw were too participating in child rearing and selling of goods. I am amazed with how the Ecuadorian culture places great honor and respect for the mother of the family. Since in most of the stalls the women are selling the goods, this would mean in these families the mother is not only raising children, but is the main financial contributor to the family. The market is a small window into the Ecuadorian culture! I have greatly enjoyed my time winding down the market stalls discovering new aspects of the Ecuadorian culture. 

2) What did you learn about kids from your visits to Neque? What did you learn about service? 

With the kids at Neque today we went to the park to play soccer and run around with them, enjoying the outdoors. The night before we went to Neque I was thinking of activities we could do with the kids. I had envisioned a big grassy area with a soccer field. The kids ran up the steep hill to the park, and I was shocked to discover what this park was. I was very surprised to find that there was only a small patch of grass, which was enclosed by barbed wire fencing. Even though the park was not what I had thought it would be, the kids had a blast. Everyone was smiling and laughing it was incredible. In this moment, the kids taught me how to enjoy what you have and not to be concerned with what you don't have. 

What I learned about service is how important being a full participant is! Not only for the people volunteering, but for the people receiving the service. For an outsider to come into a community and volunteer without fully committing appears disrespectful to the people who are receiving a service. What I have also learned about service is the motivation behind serving is different for each person. For some students the photo opportunity is why they serve, for others it is to better themselves and the community they are in. Everyone serves for different reasons, and I find this very interesting to understand the reasoning behind everyone's motivation to serve. 

3) How did cooking with your professors serve as a form of intercultural communication? What were the rewards and challenges of this activity?

A challenge I had throughout making empanadas was wanting to involve myself, but not being offered to contribute to the cooking of empanadas. I felt as if I was being excluded from fully participating in the activity of cooking. Another challenge I faced was the professors speaking Spanish to one another so fast I could not keep up. Both of these challenges I overcame with being aware that I was there to do whatever is needed and not take over the situation. 


The reward I had while cooking was the kneading of the empanada dough. Our teacher explained that good kneading requires throwing all of your anger and energy into the bread. We all took turns throwing the dough and our teacher laughed at us when we couldn't do it correctly. This was an experience I believe transcended language barriers. While I did not understand all of the directions for empanadas, through my nonverbal communication I was able to articulate that I was interested and wanting to participate. I smiled, nodded and laughed along with our professor. As Rita explains in her book, cooking is the universal human language. Everyone requires food and I only wish we could have done the cooking earlier in our trip, because it was such a bonding experience between students and professors. 

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