Carly V.- Blog Post #14


The Mercado Artisanal could be used as a metaphor for Ecuadorian culture because it really embodies much of what Ecuadorian culture really is. It is not the same, but it can be used to show someone who knows nothing about the culture of Ecuador what it really is. The Artisanal Market had a wide array of items that represented every aspect of the culture of Ecuador.

Through my visits to Neque I have learned so much about the children. I think it was really clear from our visits how much of a pureness children have. These children do not come from the best area or the most money, but this does not determine the things they do. Seeing these children so happy and willing to play or learn was really amazing. Children are able to see the good in the world and forget about everything else that may be bad. This quality is something we could all learn from. We should learn to live in the moment, not dwell in the past. It was so amazing to see that something that seems as simple as giving the children two pieces of candy could completely change their attitude. The children at Neque showed me what admiration and happiness truly is.

Through our visits at Neque I learned how important service is, not only to those receiving it but also to those taking part in it. Through our service at Neque I learned so much about myself. It was amazing to be someone who was so important to these children. I felt emotions that I had never felt before. I loved a child I had just met and couldn’t even think about having to leave her. I think that service really provides us with something much more powerful than an explanation can provide.

Cooking with my professors served as an alternative form of intercultural communication because it was acting as a new outlet to communicate through. Food is something that is universal through all cultures and languages. Food may not always be the same, but it is understood for what it is and what it provides for us. Through cooking I was able to use skills from my own culture and integrate them with techniques from Ecuadorian culture to create one dish. I think cooking is such a great way to communicate when there is no common language, or even if there is.


This activity for me had both rewards and challenges. The reward was getting to prepare a dish native to Ecuador that we would later get to eat. Cooking is something that I love to do, so for me this was such an amazing opportunity. The challenges I experienced were the techniques we used while cooking. My particular task was to peel potatoes, which seems relatively simple, however it was not. We were given large knives and toothed steak knives. We were then told to peel the potato while taking off ONLY the skin. For me this was extremely challenging. Peeling potatoes is something I do regularly at home, but I use an actual potato peeler. When not given a tool created specifically for the job I felt lost. I think this really shows the true conveniences we place on ourselves in the United States. We aren’t taught how to do certain skills using different tools. For me learning this new way of doing something as small as peeling a potato turned into a real reward for me. It showed me that I need to look at things differently and see what I can learn or do differently.

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