LaRoue - Blog #14


The Mercado Artisinal is a very easy metaphor for Ecuadorian culture.  The market itself was very compact with so many different people selling many different items.  The market is quite like Ecuadorian culture because Ecuador is so diverse in culture just as the market was so diverse in products.  As well, the market was fairly small, but everything was jammed in there.  Ecuador physically is fairly small as well, but it is rich in culture from many different backgrounds.  We have experienced a few different cultures in our trip as well as a couple of languages.  Just as in the market, no matter where you turn in Ecuador, you see something new.  The culture here influences everything and not one place ever feels the same.

Just from my experiences at Neque, I learned a lot about the kids.  As the place was described, Neque is for underprivileged children.  It is a place for the kids to learn, eat, and feel safe.  That is not what I learned about the kids with my experiences.  Not one time did I ever feel like those kids were underprivileged.  Every time that I walked in the classroom, all I ever saw were smiles.  The kids always seemed so happy and energetic.  They were happy for our help and loved to interact with us.  I never experienced them looking for sympathy or even feeling sad.  These kids were happy and content with who they were. 

The thing that I learned about service is that it is never for you, it is for those that you are serving.  I mentioned this in previous blog posts, but I struggled the most with realizing the value of what we were doing and how even the most insignificant things can me the most.  From our service, I can appreciate what a reward can feel like.  All the kids smiling and feeling loved is our reward.

Cooking with our professors was another time when we could nonverbally communicate as a form of intercultural communication.  Cooking is a great way to express yourself without having to say a word.  What way brings people together better than food?  In this case, we could share a mutual interest and passion of creating something for everyone that we all like.


From this activity, we were rewarded with great food and memories.  I walked away with the reward of perspective as well.  I don’t often make food that isn’t already frozen as well as enough food for around 20 people.  I can appreciate what some people go through that are always in the back out of sight working so that I can live the convenient life that I mostly do.  The challenges of this activity were simple.  I had the duty of peeling potatoes.  That is a big challenge for anyone that does not really cook.  On top of that, I did not trust myself with an actual knife.  Instead, I resorted to using a steak knife.  This presented its own challenge.  Cutting clean and efficiently.  In the end, it got the job done with no injuries.

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