My Expectations

In my opinion all of my beliefs and attitudes will contain some ethnocentric aspect to them no matter how hard I try to remain open minded. I think it is in our human nature to find the differences in people who are not the same as us. As far as food I am pretty open about types of food, but I am obviously accustomed to specific types and will view this new food differently. Social practices will also be a huge adjustment as well. Because we are going to a country that is so culturally different from our own, adjusting to these new practices will be different. As open as I will try to be about fitting into each category, the extreme differences are going to leave me with ethnocentric views in my mind.
Some stereotypes that I have heard/seen about Latin-Americans include they like to eat a lot and they like to dance to music. 
Some stereotypes I think Latin-Americans may have about my culture is that we may be stuck up, we are not open-minded, and we do not value family, but rather ourselves.
I think the most obvious challenges I am going to face in Ecuador is just adjusting to a new place and culture. Being in a place that speaks a different language completely is a really scaring feeling. I think that having the language divide may lead to being really lonely. I also expect to face some challenges with fitting into the culture as whole. Feeling like an outsider is not a good feeling, so I am hoping that people will be inviting and open to acceptance. 
There are many rewards that I hope to gain while in Ecuador. Mostly I hope to find out new things about a completely different culture. I think having the opportunity to travel is such a rewarding experience and should be taken of completely. Getting to see the world through the eyes of another culture is not something that everyone gets to experience. I also hope that I will find new things about myself. I would like to try a lot of new things while in Ecuador and hope through these experiences I can learn new things. I think that most of the rewards of this trip will be things that I will not expect and instead will discover along the way.

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