Getting to Ecuador I am mostly nervous about communicating. Since the class is an intercultural communications class, I know that I will progressively become better at my knowledge of symbols, accent, and communication abilities overall. Walking in the streets of Otavalo, I felt like I (and the group) was constantly stared at. It was like they knew we were foreigners and there isn't too much cultural diversity in Otavalo. If there was someone who didn't look Ecuadorian, they looked like a tourist. This is also something I hope to diminish a little in the short time while I'm here. My goal is to blend in, that way I can get a better feel for the people and the ways they interact.
While walking around the market all of my sensors were going off. I could smell a lot of meat, which was being cooked in the open market. I walked through hundreds of different meats like pig heads, live chicken, intestine, and flies hovering over them. In the market I also saw a lot of stray dogs; most in very poor conditions searching for food. I also saw a lot of loud colors that were on scarves, instruments, and clothing. These colors were colors I haven't even seen on a rainbow before and were beautifully unique. It was tempting not to buy something at each vendor, for most of the souvenirs were no more than five dollars. As for taste, my first eating experience was in a small Ecuadorian restaurant that served the same lunch for everyone in the restaurant. First we were given soup, which had a dark broth with cilantro, onions, potato, and chicken. It wasn't until a few bites in when I discovered two chicken feet in the soup. At first appalled and taken back, my first instinct was to stop eating. However, I realized that it was perfectly tasty prior to finding the feet so ate a little more until I thought about it more and had to stop. The second part of the meal was rice, beans, and fried chicken, which was exceptionally good. To say the least, it was an interesting first meal. As for sounds, I heard noise constantly in the market place. I heard people at vendors shouting out prices, dogs barking from afar, conversations in the park, foods frying on mobile cookers, and children playing in every direction. It was an explosion of sights, sounds, and smells to take in and was definitely unlike anything I had ever walked through.
