Host Family

My host family consists of Norman Brandt Schwob and Martha Gallego Rosales. Norman is 53 years old and is an agricultural engineer. He is very nice. He is a big guy, and when I first saw him he seemed to be very serious, but he’s just the opposite. He is very goofy and I enjoy waking up in the morning and hearing him say “Hola!” He always says it with such enthusiasm and joy. He acts goofy and tries to make us laugh. My host mom is 50 years old and she is architect. She is very friendly and really does take on the mother role. She is helpful and wants to make sure that we are well fed and comfortable while staying in Quito. She was originally from Colombia and Norman was from Venezuela. Norman has two children, but they are both out of the house. Norman speaks English very well, so he is helpful when we can’t understand what Martha says. He is out of the house during the day, so we primarily talk to Martha (who knows a little bit of English). It has been hard communicating with Martha. I want to talk to her, but I’m not sure how to say what I want to say. I have been pointing or making gestures. I have found it effective to show her the pictures of where we have went because I have a hard time remembering all of their names and she is able to tell us—and she really enjoys the photos. She has lived in Quito for over twenty years and has been very helpful in giving directions and helping us out at the house.

Our host family has a small family. Norman and Martha don’t have any children together, but Norman has two sons. Martha does have a few sisters so she has a lot of nieces and nephews. She told us that her family is very intimate and small compared to most. I can tell that she is close to her family though; last night her sister and mother were here helping her make something. She talks with them a lot. I have learned that they really care about everyone being happy and comfortable. Every morning and night we eat together as a family at the table. I really like this about being here because there are many times when I am home in the U.S. and we don’t eat at the table. Everything seems rushed in the morning in the U.S., whereas in Ecuador, I have noticed that we set a time for breakfast and we eat together. I think that this shows a difference in the collectivism in Ecuador compared with the individualism of the United States. Also, in the U.S. personal space is a must. Here, everyone is willing to give hugs and greet each other. This is very different than the U.S. I think that this alone shows the collectivism of Ecuador. They want to bring you in their arms and treat you like a family. It is as if we are very welcomed here. In the U.S., we may come across cold because we don’t give hugs to people unless they are close family or friends. We just want to say “Hi” from a distance. Another thing that I have noticed within my host family is that they don’t really talk about their work. When they are together they really spend time together. As I am typing this, my host parents are in their room watching television. They just relax and don’t stress out. When my dad comes home from work, I tend to hear all about it and he works a lot at home. He doesn’t spend too much time just relaxing. I think this is because he wants to provide my family with the best life and strives to be successful. This is a major characteristic of individualism.

Today, I ate breakfast with my host family and tried more food that I have never had before. At breakfast, Martha was telling us many different things that we could do, but she wasn’t going to come with us. She gave us directions and told us about the bus and taxis. Our host mom and dad had to leave the house today and said that they would drop us off at the mall. We drove with them in a taxi to the mall where we met up with other students in our class. From there, we took the bus. We wanted to get close to the basilica. We took the bus and it wasn’t very crowded. We were confused on what stop to get off at and had to try and figure it out. There was construction so the bus wasn’t able to get as close as we wanted. After we got off the bus, we walked the rest of the way to the basilica—where we met up with more students from our class. We thought that there were services every hour and then found out that there weren’t. We went inside of the basilica and it was very pretty. There were huge arches and the architecture was spectacular. There were stain glass windows that were stunning. We walked around the outside as well where we encountered a stray dog which followed us everywhere we went. We went to grab a bite to eat for lunch. We ate at a place which had limited options. I tried a chicken tamale. I had never tried one before, but it was pretty good. After we ate, we took the bus back to the mall. This bus was very crowded. I had no idea that so many people could fit on a bus. It was quite the experience and gave everyone in our group a good story to tell. I noticed that Ecuadorians really don’t believe in personal space. I was surprised that people were still trying to get on the bus even though they saw how crowded it was. I also saw a lot of people out today on the streets. I saw many people in the parks. I can tell that people in this culture are very social. They try and make friends wherever they go. I can also tell that many are not well-to-do. I saw some Ecuadorians on the streets begging for money, or even just trying to sell things to us. With that being said, I can tell that this is a culture with many layers. They are very interesting people and have great stories to tell.