Experiences in Ecuador

January 7, 2014

danibutrum — Tue, 7 Jan 2014 00:50:00 GMT

This morning, January 7, 2014, I woke up, got ready for school, and had toast with mora jam and coffee. Once at school we began our day by talking about healthcare in Ecuador and relating it to healthcare in the United States. At 10:30, we tried on rubber boots to wear to Cajas National Park on Thursday. After that, we listed to a group present their facilitation project on healthcare in Ecuador. I was surprised to learn Ecuador is raked in the 20s, I believe 24, for healthcare in the world. In addition, in the United States, there are 63% of people obese and in Ecuador, only 37.8% of people are obese. Ecuador’s number one death is cause by heart conditions / diseases. At 12:30, I had a cooking class. That was so much fun because I love to cook, it is a passion and hobby of mine. We cooked a soup called Lorco, beef, a salad with avocado, onion and tomato, made a drink with a sweet / sour fruit, a side dish with corn and scrambled eggs, and a desert with another kind of fruit. The food tasted excellent, I was impressed with our cooking skills! I will definitely make these dishes at home. Later in the day we went to visit Centro de Salud No4, which is a hospital located in Cuenca. I thought it was very creepy because I do not like hospitals since every time I have gone to one it has been for a bad reason. We toured multiple areas throughout the hospital including the emergency room, pharmacy, delivery room, surgery room, and dentist. I thought the surgery room was the creepiest because I took a peak into the room where the lights were off and I could feel a weird presence. I got the chills immediately as I walked into the room. Another room I thought was strange was the delivery room because in Cuenca the women are allowed to give birth how they want. One of the ways was they could stand up, spread their legs, and hold onto railings on the wall to give birth. I am not used to this because the healthcare system in the United States for giving birth is you are laying on a bed and a doctor is helping you push / grab the baby out. Unlike the United States, the hospital in Cuenca did not seem as sanitary as the ones at home. My whole group used hand sanitizer the second we walked out. This relates to what we talked about in class today about healthcare. However, it was interesting to be able to compare the hospital in Ecuador to ones at home in the United States. Once we got back to school, it was pouring rain so my roommate and I decided to walk home. Good thing we had umbrellas and raincoats. Once at home I wrote a script for a final video project, we have to give and then ate dinner. Dinner consisted on fried potatoes that tasted amazing, rice, and salad of avocado and tomato. I decided to give my host family their gift I brought for them. They absolutely loved the picture book with descriptions on Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and the jellybeans. They have never have jellybeans and they loved them. We spent almost two hours looking at the picture book while I explained everything to them. Today was a fun filled adventurous day! I look forward to seeing what the next days of my trip bring me!

Monday January 6, 2014

danibutrum — Mon, 6 Jan 2014 00:18:00 GMT

Monday January 6, 2014 was another busy day but I am happy today is almost over because I had to present a facilitation project to my class with two other girls that I was nervous for but am happy it is over with. I began my day by waking up at 7:00 am to get ready for the school day and have breakfast. For breakfast, I had toast with jam and hot chocolate. I walked to school quickly because I wanted to get there early to use Wi-Fi. Class began at 8:30 am and lasted until 10:00 am where we talked about the media in Ecuador, like radio, newspaper, and television. At 10:30, we took a visit to Unsion, which is the local TV station in Cuenca. I thought the visit was amazing because my dream is to work at a TV station. We got to see them tape a live show, which was the cooking section, and the producer even turned the camera to us where we were on TV too! We also toured the production area, interview area, creativity area, and talked with a couple of the anchors. It was a neat experience I was interested in. Once the toured ended, I walked home to have lunch with my family. We had chicken, rice, soup, and bananas. After lunch, I had to rush back to school in the rain to practice the presentation with my group I presented at 3:00 pm. I was nervous to present but once I was in front of the class, it was easy and fun. I think my group did a great job at presenting media within Ecuador. I am happy my group went first to get it over with! Now I am at home waiting for dinner to be served. I am tired from doing so much schoolwork so after dinner I am going to watch the news with my family, shower, and then go to bed. I want to get a great nights rest for tomorrow since I have class again at 8:30 and we are visiting a hospital in Cuenca. Today nothing very interesting happened that caught my eye; I was not called gringo or suca, which I am happy about. However, people did stare yet again. I feel safe walking home though because I pass the same police and security guards and they always say hi, good morning, afternoon, or good night. I love the city of Cuenca and I definitely want to come back one day!

Sunday the 5th, 2014

danibutrum — Sun, 5 Jan 2014 00:16:00 GMT

On Sunday the 5^, our class toured Ingapirca Ruins that were almost two hours from Cuenca. On the way to the ruins, we stopped at a market where they were selling fruits, vegetables, meat, and trading animals at an auction like situation. It was strange seeing animals in bags being trades. The animals consisted of chickens, rabbits, dogs, guinea pigs, and cats. It is sad how they treat the animals. Because here in Ecuador they are not considered as, household pets like in the United States. After we left the market, we made our way to Ingapirca Ruins. The ruins where not what I had expected to see but it made me appreciate them more because I was not expecting what I saw. The history behind the ruins impressed me since the methods that they used seem to be advanced for their time. The ruins had tons of roads and water systems that came from the top of the mountain to the ruins. After we finished our tour, we got an hour to eat lunch at Ingapirca and shop around at their stores. I bought many gifts for my family and friends there. Once we left Ingapirca we drove back to Cuenca making a stop at a famous church called Lady of the Morning View. It was absolutely gorgeous inside and out. We had to walk up 148 steep stairs to get into the entrance of the church, which was actually tiring. Once at the top, the view down was an amazing. I took many pictures. Legend is the first time you walk into the church you are supposed to make a wish and that wish is supposed to come true. Therefore, lets hope mine does! The drive back to Cuenca was filled with beautiful scenery. Once back at CEDEI two of my classmates and I went to a café to work on a project we have to present on Monday. I went home for dinner after to have lasagna and rice that tasted excellent. Once dinner was over, I got ready to go to the parade with my brother and his friends. The parade was a festival in honor of the Day of the Innocent Saints. I had so much fun at the parade because there were tons of people, music, street venders, and floats with music and different themes. I was able to meet all my brothers friends and hang out and talk to them, they were so nice and a lot of fun. Again, it was strange to be one of the only “gringos” or white people in a sea full of Ecuadorians because I stood out like a sore thumb. People would constantly look at me and I could tell they would talk about me. Even though I was with a group of local people the same age as me, since I looked different from the typical Ecuadorian person I got many looks. After the parade was over, we grabbed food at a restaurant and walked the girls’ home that are friends with my brother. By the time my brother and I got home, it was 11:00 pm and time for me to go to sleep. Sunday was an incredible day filled with adventures I could never do in the United States. I am blessed to be able to have this amazing experience to participate in and immerse myself in the Ecuadorian culture.

04-ene, Sabado

danibutrum — Sat, 4 Jan 2014 00:58:00 GMT

January 4, 2014: Cuenca

On Saturday, we had our free day, which was very relaxing. Due to I chose to go to Piedra De Agua, Fuente Thermal & Spa. Before I went to Piedra De Agua, I began my day by getting breakfast at Coffeetree. I would say that is my favorite restaurant in Cuenca. Partly because the food is more American than other restaurants. However, I felt uncomfortable though because I was wearing shorts over my swimsuit and it seemed everyone was staring at me. I felt awkward because everyone was looking at me, pointing, and talking about me. I loved going there because we could sit in the hot tub or the pool that was very warm and relaxing. I also lay on the chairs and tried to tan but it was hard since it was cloudy and it began to rain. Since it got chilly after 2 hours being there, we decided to leave and grab ice cream. Then I walked home to change out of my shorts since I felt weird showing so much skin because in Ecuador people are very conservative. Then I went to the park to observe people for an observation paper we are doing for class. While I was taking notes I noticed people knew I was observing them and I felt some people were somewhat offended. After observing I walked to the market to buy a duffle bag so I can fit the gifts, I buy for people in and gifts for my friends and family. After the market I was exhausted so when I got home we ate dinner and then I went to sleep at 8:00 to rest up for the next day to go to Ingapirca ruins. Ecuador is a blast of a country to see!

January 3: Cuenca

danibutrum — Fri, 3 Jan 2014 00:45:00 GMT

January 3, 2014: Cuenca

I began my day at 7:00 by waking up and having breakfast. I got to school at 8:15 for class at 8:30 to 10:30. Then from 10:30 to 12:30 we toured Mueso Remigio Crespo Toral, which is the oldest museum in Cuenca. The tour consisted of many paintings and artifacts that were described by the tour guide. It was very interesting to see how paintings and artifacts have changed over time. I enjoyed touring the house after the tour. We were told there are 91 rooms in the museum, which used to be a famous mans house long ago. After the tour some students and I went to Coffeetree for lunch before going back to school to work on a project. From 2 to 3 pm we had a lecture on migration and its impact on eduaction. I found it interesting how many parents will leave their family to go to the United States to earn money to send back to their family. They want to better their life for them and their family. After the lecture, we had a dance class from 3 to 4 where we learned how to do 3 different Latin American dances. It was lots of fun because I am a dancer and I enjoyed learning different kinds of dance. That evening I went home for dinner and then we meet up with the class at a bar. After the bar we went to a microbrewery and then to a disco. I got to put the dances I learned that afternoon to use at the disco. I noticed at the disco that the locals were very interested in dancing with us "gringos." People wanted to talk to us and to get to know us. I enjoyed everything that I experienced this day and evening.

Thursday, January 2, 2014: Cuenca

danibutrum — Thu, 2 Jan 2014 00:49:00 GMT

Thursday, January 2, 2014: Cuenca

Yet again, today was another fun filled busy day in Cuenca. Today was also my first day of school CEDEI. I began my day by waking up at 6:30 am to get ready and then eat breakfast at 7:30 am. By the time, breakfast was over at 8:00 am, my roommate Emily and I had to leave to walk to school. It took us 20 minutes to walk from our house to CEDEI. Class began at 8:30 am and lasted until 10:00 am. Then our class took a field trip from 10:30 – 12:30 pm to Mueso de Culturas Aborigenes where we learned about many artifacts that have been found and preserved through hundreds of years. In class today we mostly talked about identity in communication and culture in communication. I learned there are four different types of cultural communication but here in Ecuador my class is focusing on intercultural communication. That means two different cultural groups are coming together, which can be through: race, gender, nationality, religion, social class, and sexual orientation. Through the study of identity, we leaned how there are interactions, perceived stereotypes, and experiences. I can relate our talk in class to the way age is stereotypes in the U.S. compared to age in Ecuador. In the U.S., people tend to not want to grow old due to the negative stereotypes perceived. For instance, Americans think when you get older your health will decline. However, in Ecuador people want to grow older because they believe they are much wiser and when you are older, your family members want to take good care of you in any way possible because they “appreciate” the elderly more. We also related our class talk about identity to a field trip we took this afternoon at 3:00 pm to Mueso del Banco Central. We toured the museum looking at all the different identities found throughout Ecuador over time. It was very interesting to see how things changed over the years and how identity changed or did not change in some instances over time. In class, I learned there are two types on identity, primary and secondary. Primary relates to biology like sex, race, ethnicity and health, which are static and can, change over time. For example, you can be a student but that can change to you becoming an employee, or you are a Christian but that can change to you following another religion. Secondary is socially constructed and dynamic which does not change. For example, if you are a sister and daughter you will always be a sister and daughter. That does not change. Today was the day we took our class photo and got our pictures taken for our CEDEI student IDs to use to get discounts at many places around the city. After we visited Mueso del Banco Central, our CEDEI guide, Austin, gave us a Cuenca orientation tour of the best places to eat, shop, go out to at night, and visit anytime during the day. It was very helpful because Austin lives in Cuenca so he showed us the best places. After the city tour, Emily and I walked home to have dinner with our family. We ate fried rice with chicken and drank orange juice. Throughout the day, I walked a total of 3-4 miles. My feet hurt a lot and I am very exhausted. I am sure I will get a great night sleep tonight! I am very excited for tomorrow because we get to take a dance class at school! Today was an awesome day to see the city and get to know the place. I am starting to feel like I live in Cuenca. It is a wonderful feeling!

Tuesday, December 31st, 2013 and Wednesday, January 1st, 2014: Riobamba to Cuenca

danibutrum — Wed, 1 Jan 2014 10:38:00 GMT

Tuesday, December 31^st, 2013and Wednesday, January 1^st, 2014: Riobamba to Cuenca

Yesterday 31 December we had our wake up call in Riobamba at 7:30 am and then ate breakfast once we were ready. After breakfast, we departed for Cuenca, which was a 6-hour bus ride through the Andes Mountains. The drive scenery was very interesting to look at since we were driving above the clouds most of the time. I was impressed how the bus driver could drive impressively through the clouds. We stopped to grab lunch at a gas station on the way. We arrived at CEDEI at 2:00 pm. Our host families were waiting for us once we arrived. I was nervous at first because I did not know what my host family would be like. However, I was happy I have a roommate from my class her name is Emily. Our host mom and host brother were waiting for Emily and I. When we left CEDEI, we took a taxi to our host house that is 10 blocks from CEDEI or about a 15-minute walk. Our house is very big it consists of five bedrooms and two bathrooms. I get to have my own room in the house. One thing I am still nervous about is no one in the family speaks English besides the 17-year-old grand son who is almost fluent in English. I am not that good at Spanish so it is hard for me to converse with the family. The first thing I did after chatting and meeting the family I unpacked in my room and the son took Emily and I for a long walk around the city with their dog. On the walk, we looked for a “dummy” to buy to burn at midnight. That is when the son told us about the traditions they celebrate at midnight and what the dummy means. We were unable to find a dummy to buy so we went home to make one. You take old clothes, stich them together and shove news paper into the dummy. You make a head with nylons and newspaper, put a mask, and wig on the dummy. The point of the dummy is to burn away all the bad things that happened in that year to bring good luck into the New Year. Then we made a sandwich and then took a nap from 7:45 pm to 10:30 pm since we were tired from such a busy day. Once we woke up, there was more friends and family at the house. That is when we took a walk around the city to look at people’s dummies and watch them burn. It was 11:30 pm once it got back so we went outside to burn our dummy at midnight to celebrate. Then we went inside to eat dinner that was ham, potato salad, rice, and peach desert. Another tradition we followed was eating 12 grapes, once for each month, to bring you good luck throughout the year. Once dinner was over, we were very tired so we went to sleep. The next day (Wednesday) we woke up at 10:30 and ate breakfast of bread and orange juice. Then we hung around the house and chatted with each other. I noticed my host family had a calendar and did not have one for the year of 2014 so I gave them one of my host gifts that were a Twin Cities calendar I had brought for them. It was lunchtime at that point so we ate ham, rice, and potato salad. After lunch Emily and I decided to walk around the city to look for wifi and get a snack since our host, family does not have wifi in their home. However, we were unable to find wifi. Therefore, we grabbed a snack at this excellent restaurant called Coffeetree. I had papas fritas and Pislener, which is their local beer. After we continued to walk around the city where we saw a classmate of ours and two of our professors. We were exhausted from walking so we made our way home. It us 6:20 pm right now and we are waiting to eat dinner at 7:00 pm. I am not sure what we will have but I am sure it will be great! After dinner, I plan to shower and then head to sleep since we begin our first day of school tomorrow at 8:30 am. So far, it has been a wonderful trip that I will never forget; if it was not for studying abroad, I may not have been able to travel to this amazing country of Ecuador!

Journal #1

danibutrum — Mon, 30 Dec 2013 13:47:00 GMT

What is culture? Culture is the characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music, and arts.
What are some of the dominant values, behaviors, traditions, etc, from your identified culture? Some behaviors in American culture contain: do not yawn, sneeze, or cough without covering your mouth. Americans are careful not to spread germs. Cover your mouth with your hand if you yawn. It is considered unsanitary to not cover one‘s mouth with one‘s arm if you sneeze or cough. Bathe frequently and do not use too much perfume. Americans are offended by strong odors; they normally bathe daily (sometimes twice daily in hot weather) and use underarm deodorant. Strong smelling perfumes or colognes is applied sparingly because they may not be pleasant to others. Do not belch loudly in public. Flatulence should be controlled as discreetly as possible. Do not spit in public. Do not pick your teeth or nose in public. Do not stare continuously at someone. We speak more loudly than other cultures. Americans are taught to look into the eyes of the person with whom they are speaking. Looking down or elsewhere is considered a sign of dishonesty or untrustworthiness. We have many friends associated with the activities we do. We tend to be very informal, however we are polite using please and thank you. Time is money and should be valued, used efficiently, and timely. We are indirect with whom we are talking to.
What assumptions do you have about the Ecuadorian culture? Where do these assumptions stem from? There are many orphanages in Ecuador; this idea comes from my boyfriend who is adopted from Paraguay. Ecuador is a third world country; from the pictures, I have seen. People eat a lot of beans and rice; this comes from what I have heard from other people.
Choose one of the following areas to briefly research and report on in relation to Ecuador: economy, politics, food, traditions, environment (nature), education, media, health care/practices, and migration. I am reporting on the food in Ecuador. Their popular drinks include jugo natural, which is freshly squeezed juice. Unusual varieties include tomato de arbol that means tree juice, literally tree tomatoe. Naranjilla, which is a bitter orange, too sweet to drink, but the thick green juice is great. Mora, a blackberry juice nice and sweet. The Andean food specialties include cuy, guine pig that I a typical dish. Carne Colorado, a dish that’s chopped steak colored red with annatto. Seco de chivo, goat stew but prepared with lamb and served with yellow rice. Fritada, chunks of fried pork, served with a slick slice of avocado, fried sweet plantain, corn, hominy and llapingachos. Camaron, which is shrimp. Ecuador I the third largest export industry of shrimp. Passion fruit is very popular as there are many types of passion fruit available in local markets.

Monday, December 30, 2013: Quito to Salasaca to Riobamba

danibutrum — Mon, 30 Dec 2013 10:33:00 GMT

Monday, December 30, 2013: Quito to Salasaca to Riobamba

Today we left Quito to go to Riobamba, making a stop in Salasaca on the way. We left the hotel at 8:00 am for departure where we visited HosterÍa La Ciénga. While there we looked around the property grounds, had tea, and listed to music played by the Group Cotopaxi. The music was excellent so I bought a CD. Once we left the Hostería, we departed to the Comunidad Salasaca. This was such a neat place; we were given a weaving demonstration. The man who demonstrated did not need to look at a pattern because it was memorized in his head. He learned how to weave at the age of eight. The Comunidad has tables set up with clothing’s, jewelry, bags, and all types of gifts. I bought an alpaca sweater, which is amazingly cozy. They also served us lunch that consisted of corn on the cob, mixed vegetables, beans, and tea. Before we left the family played music and danced. Next, we made our departure for Riobamba where we spent the night at Hostería Bambú. In the evening, our group has a welcome dinner and discussion about the past few days. Today was mostly a travel day on the bus, which was relaxing.

I noticed a couple cultural differences. Family stays together even when they are adults, unlike in the U.S. where we go off to college and usually do not move home after. Where here they usually do not go to college, they learn the trades of their family and work for and with their family. Their traditions are also different from ours. All their traditions revolve around their family while most of our traditions revolve around the TV. For instance, we watch football on Sundays on TV, we watch the ball drop on New Years on TV, and we watch the super ball on TV. We are a very technology based country. One more thing I noticed how Ecuador is different from the U.S. through the environment is they are considered harmony. Meaning, they give back to mother nature for what they take. For example, they use a certain bug’s blood to dye the wool. They use many alpaca to make clothing. The older generation teaches the younger generation how to make and do things because they want to keep traditions going. Where in the U.S. we are considered mastery. Meaning, we think of nature and ourselves differently. Many people think they are “one with nature” however, it turns out they are not. I heard a story about a man in the U.S. who drives his SUV to work everyday even though he lives one mile away from work. He says he loves nature, going camping, hiking, what not and recycles. How is “one with nature” if you are polluting the earth by driving to work when you live so close. That was my day, which I enjoyed very much!!

Sunday, December 29, 2013 in Quito, Ecuador

danibutrum — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 21:35:00 GMT

Sunday, December 29, 2013 in Quito, Ecuador:

Today was a very long fun filled day with lots of sight seeing. We began our morning by waking up at 7:00 am to have breakfast that consisted of bananas and pineapples. We left Hotel Otavalo at 9:30 to drive one hour to the equator called Cayambe Lat 0* 0’ 0” Ecuador. We took many pictures there it was a blast and a very cool to experience. After that, we took another hour and half bus ride to a museum in Quito named Capilla Del Hombre where Guayasamin a famous artist has many of his paintings displayed. We were given a tour and explained everything about each artifact. While we were there, we took notes on each of the paintings. My favorite was the Wall of Misery, which represent social injustices. Next, it was 2:00 pm, which meant it was lunchtime. We went to the mall in Quito and ate at El Español where I got a very yummy sandwich. After, we were given a tour to learn about the city of Quito where we went to many basilicas, parks, statues, monuments, and walked throughout the town. My favorite part about the city tour was going to The Virgin Mary of Quito statue that was high in the Andes. When we got to the top to see the statue, we overlooked the whole city of Quito. It was one amazing view. There I tried their famous drink called canelazo that tasted like apple cider. By the time we were done with the tour, everyone was exhausted. That is when we went to Hotel Quito. The hotel room is very modern compared to Hotel Otavalo, but both are gorgeous. Everyone was starving at that point so we ventured over to this restaurant called Hunters with our whole group. I got the classic burger and a Pilsener. I was very tired after dinner so I went to my hotel room to blog about today! I cannot wait for tomorrow where we make the trek down to Riobamba, Ecuador. A couple things I noticed while out and about today was people tend to stare at you because I am American and they probably do not see a lot of Americans. They do not make you feel weird since they are just curious in who you are. Another thing I noticed while driving was the amount of cars that pass other cars that are driving “too slow.” Even on crazy steep hills where bends and turns come quickly. It seems very dangerous like they are daredevils. The food tastes a lot healthier and in some cases is seems to be better quality because the way they prepare it. Well that it my experiences and observations for today! Talk to you on my next blog! :)

Saturday December 28, 2013 in Otavalo, Ecuador

danibutrum — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 13:50:00 GMT

Saturday December 28, 2013:

Who: Whom I noticed in my first day in Otavalo, Ecuador were the people. The native people have darker skin and they tend to be shorter than the average American is. The people were very nice and they were willing to help you out with Spanish and not get frustrated. The people in Otavalo seemed to be very welcoming.

What: What I noticed was when we were walking around I noticed people tended to run into or nudge them while walking. They seemed not to care about your space. I also noticed that lunch was served very slowly at the restaurant I went to. However, the food was excellent. I got a classico sandwich.

Where: Where we went on the first day was amazing. In the morning after breakfast and orientation, we were able to walk around the market and buy things if we wanted. I probably bought too much lol. We also grabbed lunch as a sandwich place. We went to a Laguna were we took pictures and we were able to choose between hiking and or taking a boat to drive around the island. It was a lot of fun. After that, we drove to a weaving demonstration where we learned about weaving, artifacts, and were able to buy jewelry. Next, we walked to an instrument making demonstration, listened to the family play music and got a chance to buy souvenirs. Once we got back to the hotel, a group of us went to dinner and a Pizzeria, which was excellent. I would definitely go there again.

When: We had a busy day yesterday. We woke up at 7:00 am, had breakfast and orientation until 9:30 am. We were free to explore the city of Otavalo until 1:00 pm. Then we left for the Cotacachi and tallers. We got back to the hotel at 5:00 pm. We went to dinner then and went to a place next door to hang out and talk. I got back to the hotel at 8:00 pm, talked with people in the lobby for an hour, and then went to bed. Even though it was a busy day, I had a lot of fun!