Culture shock is a term used to describe the psychological disorientation experienced when you leave your familiar surroundings and are immersed in a foreign culture. The culture shock in Ecuador wasn’t too bad until meeting my host family. No one in my immediate family speaks English, so it was very hard to adjust. I went from being in the honeymoon stage where everything is new and exciting, to being frustrated very quickly. The first day in Cuenca was New Years Eve, so each of us spent the night with our host families. My family consists of a mother, father, 20-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son.
At first my family thought my name was Nancy, so I was very confused as to if they were calling me a weird term of endearment I have not heard of, or if they had just mistaken my name. Eventually I told them my name is Teresa, and they felt horrible for calling me Nancy. This first day there was a lot of ineffective communication where the message received was not what the sender intended. The language barrier seemed as large as the Great Wall of China. I looked like a deer in headlights every time they spoke to me.
The next day seemed to get a little better and we started to understand each other easier. After dinner, I sat at the table and talked with my “mom.” It all of a sudden clicked. She would talk slow and clear so I could understand her Spanish, and I would speak in Spanish back to her and she would help me if I didn’t know a word. We talked about our families and future plans. When she found out I didn’t have a boyfriend, she insisted I go on a date with the guapo neighbor, Christian. She said he could be my new Ecuadorian boyfriend (hope he speaks English). This was when I went into the recovery stage of cultural adjustment. I no longer felt a longing to be back at home where everyone speaks English and doesn’t have rice at every meal.
The family member I connect with most is my 13-year-old brother, Martin. We don’t understand each other, but this doesn’t stop us from being goofy with one another. We will try to take pictures of one another when the other one isn’t looking, or we make faces at each other. The other night we spent playing with his model cars and racing them around the house. Even though my family does not speak any English, I am blessed to have gotten such a helpful, loving family.
