“It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!”

Pitstop!

This past weekend, my host mom invited me to join her for a neighborhood picnic. It sounded like fun, so I told her I would go. Little did I know, I would be riding on the top of an open, double-decker tour bus, ducking under wires and dodging tree branches to get there (but that is an entirely different story). We ended up in a little city called “Sigsig,” where we stopped at a park for lunch. The sun was shining; but it wasn't too hot, and the sky was blue. It was a perfect day, and it was here that I met three very unique individuals that I will use this blog to describe.

No Name, mid 50s: I noticed a very tall, pale man sitting a few rows in front of me on the bus. Based on these two characteristics, I assumed he wasn't from Ecuador, but I didn’t question it. After arriving at the park, my host mom approached him and basically said, “This is Emily. She doesn't speak Spanish. Talk to her.” He started a conversation with me (in English) and I found out he is from Israel. His security-related job relocated him to Peru. At some point, he met his Ecuadorian wife and moved to Cuenca with her for 2 years. He then moved to the United States and bought a house in North Carolina. He lives there now, but he travels back to Ecuador often because he opened an alternative medicine clinic here, which just so happens to be right around the corner from my house. He told me he likes Cuenca better than anywhere else he has been because the people are so friendly and it is a beautiful city.

Jenny, 17: After talking to “No Name,” my host mom and I took a little walk. She wanted to take a picture of me, so I handed her my camera. She was trying to ask me something, but I didn't know the Spanish words she was using. A girl came up and said (in English), “She wants to know how to zoom in.” I thanked her, and she walked away. We ran into her again a couple minutes later, and she offered me some of her Doritos. We started talking, and I soon found out her English was flawless. I asked her where she was from. She told me she was from Cuenca, but she moved with her parents to Las Vegas for 10 years. She returned to Cuenca three years ago because her mom missed her family. Jenny was a typical teenager, complaining about her parents and how boring the picnic was. I told her I was going back to the United States in a couple of weeks and she begged me to take her with me. She absolutely loves the United States and is planning on moving back there in a few years.

Daniella and me!

Daniella, 10: We took a guided tour of Sigsig, which consisted of stops at a museum and another park that had artifacts from a group of indigenous people who used to live in the area. I noticed a little girl who was always at the front of the group. She took pictures of everything and occasionally asked questions. I smiled at her a few times, and she smiled back. At one point, my host mom asked her to say something to me in English, but she said she couldn't and ran away. However, at the end of the last tour, she came up to me, handed me some flowers, and said in English, “for you!” She sat next to me on the two and a half hour bus ride back to Cuenca, and we started talking. I found out she actually knew English pretty well. She talked to me in English, and I answered using the little Spanish I know.  I asked her how she learned English and she said at school and from her parents.  I was extremely impressed, especially when I thought about how few 10 year olds in the United States can speak another language.  I showed her the pictures on my camera that I had taken in the Galapagos, and she was absolutely amazed. I asked her who her favorite singer was and her eyes lit up as she said “Justin Bieber!” When she found out we were headed back to Cuenca, she got a sad look on her face. I asked her if she liked Cuenca and she told me she loved it, but she didn't want the tour to be over yet. She also said she'd like to visit the United States one day.

I never thought I would meet people who lead such interesting lives while living in Cuenca.... especially so many that only live with in a few blocks of my house!  I found it very interesting that all these people had different opinions about Ecuador (specifically Cuenca) and the United States. Some like Cuenca while others favor the United States; it really just depends on individual preferences.  I think my opinions mostly reflect Daniella's (except reverse).  While visiting Cuenca has been nice, I am more than ready to get back home to the United States!

The Emphasis on Beauty

In general, women in Cuenca are dressed very nicely and have their hair and makeup done.  We were told this before coming to Ecuador, but I was still shocked by the extent to which some women go. For example, my host sister works a lot and is typically wearing scrubs when I see her. However, when we go to the mall or supermarket she puts on her nicest clothes, her highest high heels, and a massive amount of makeup. The first time I saw her getting ready, I thought maybe I misunderstood where my host mom said we were going. Another example: one of the first things I noticed about my host mom was the fact that she changes her clothes at least five times a day; she seems to have a different outfit for everything. Their fixation on looks is certainly rubbing off on my host sister's six-year-old and three-year-old daughters. They are both obsessed with makeup. I know most little girls enjoy getting into their mom's makeup, but this is different... I have seen my host sister helping these girls apply makeup to go out.  I'm sorry, but a three-year-old wearing blush does not look natural. The second week in Cuenca, my host mom started asking me about makeup. “Do you ever wear makeup?” “No.” “Not even for your boyfriend?” “No.” “Not even when you go out?” “No.” I was slightly offended because I felt like she was implying I needed makeup to look “pretty.” The six-year-old is also constantly checking her hair and fixing her headbands. When I was six, I couldn't have cared less what my hair looked like! I still don't obsess over it, but I like to straighten it occasionally. Last weekend, I straightened my hair for the first time in Ecuador. My host mom called me upstairs for lunch and, having never seen me with straight hair before, stopped mid-sentence with a shocked look on her face when I sat down. I think she realized how ridiculous her reaction was because she started laughing. She apologized and told me I looked pretty. Back home, I get compliments on my curly hair a lot. Here, not a single person has said anything about it. Finally, the six year old in my family just got her very first pair of small heels and was proudly “click-clacking” around the dining room at dinner the other day. Regardless of if all Cuencan women are as obsessed with their looks as the ones in my family, more than half the women I pass walking to school on the cobblestone roads are wearing heels. I have tripped and almost fallen so many times in my tennis shoes; I don’t know how these women do it. It is interesting how there seems to be a very distinct definition of “beautiful” here (nice clothes, makeup, straight hair, heels, etc,) and how so many women (and young girls) try their hardest to fit that mold.

"Do you eat potatoes?"

A typical meal.

Vegetarian. Vegetariana. The words are almost identical, but their definitions are not. In the United States, a vegetarian does not eat any animals. In Ecuador, a “vegetariana” does not eat beef; however, it is not uncommon for her to eat chicken, pork, or fish. Not eating any meat in Ecuador has been slightly challenging at times. There have been a few instances where the chef has not known what to replace the meat with... Once it was 10 beans, while another time it was two slices of tomato. Then there are the people who just cannot comprehend what a vegetarian is. Two different people on two separate occasions said to me, “You're a vegetarian? Do you eat potatoes?” My host mom in Cuenca did not know I was a vegetarian prior to me moving in. Luckily, however, she understood... at least I thought. At lunch one day last week, she started telling me about a “strict vegetarian” that she had stay with her once. (There isn't even a Spanish word for “vegan”.)  She told me she never knew what to feed her. “No queso, no huevos, no leche!” Then she pulled out a chicken bouillon cube and told me the “strict vegetarian” wouldn't even eat those. It was then that I found out that all the “vegetarian” soups I had been eating had been made with chicken or beef bouillon cubes. In the United States, this would not be considered vegetarian. However, I didn't say anything to her to avoid feeling like an inconvenience. To be fair, my host mom has prepared me some delicious completely vegetarian meals and I appreciate her trying to give me a variety of food. Also, I have found one good vegetarian restaurant in Cuenca fairly close to the school that has items such as soy burgers on the menu. Overall, although I have had my fair share of less than satisfying meals, I have been able to manage as a vegetarian in Ecuador.

And yes, I eat potatoes.

Galapagos

Going to the Galapagos Islands was a once in a lifetime opportunity and an experience I will never forget.  The week we spent there was by far my favorite part of this entire trip.  We are extremely lucky to have been able to visit all of Ecuador's very unique ecosystem, including the Galapagos.  While I was packing the day before we left for the coast, my host mom came into my room to talk to me.  She picked up my snorkeling equipment with an amazed look on her face, like she had never seen anything like it before. She asked me if I was excited to go to the Galapagos.  I wanted to tell her that was a stupid question but just replied with a simple "sí!"  Then she told me she has never been to the Galapagos.  I asked her why and she told me it was because a trip there would cost way too much money.  Before she said that, I guess I assumed the Galapagos were a common vacationing spot for Ecuadorians, given the fact that it is so close.  When first arriving in the Galapagos, I was too overwhelmed by the crystal clear water and the bright blue skies to pay attention to the other tourists there.  However, I soon realized that English and German were the languages I heard most frequently.  After spending three weeks in Cuenca constantly surrounded by Spanish, I initially found the English to be refreshing.  But then I started thinking... why am I not hearing more Spanish?  On one of the island tours, I noticed a very small group of Ecuadorians taking a tour with a Spanish-speaking guide.  Every other tour I saw, however, consisted of English or German speakers, and almost all the tour guides spoke in English.  Hearing Germans and Ecuadorians converse in English was mind-blowing. I sat next to a German man on the flight back from the Galapagos who was looking at the pictures he took in the Galapagos on his iPad.  The flight attendant, who was Ecuadorian, complimented him on his pictures using words like "Nice!" and "Beautiful!" and the German responded in English.  It is interesting that the majority of the people that can afford to visit the Galapagos either speak English as a first language or as a second language, having learned it in school. This would suggest that people who are more "well-off" financially speak English and are the "winners" in globalization when it comes to global travel.  Part of the reason the cost of visiting the Galapagos is so high is to limit the amount of tourists. However, this inhibits the majority of the people from countries like Ecuador from visiting. While Ecuador does benefit from the money tourists spend visiting the Galapagos, the majority of its citizens (like my host family) end up as the "losers" in global travel.  It is sad to think that although the Galapagos are not too far from my host family, the closest they will probably ever get to the islands is by looking at pictures their host students bring back.

Counterfeiter?

The store that gave me problems...

One thing that is very convenient as an American tourist traveling in Ecuador is the currency; they use the US dollar here. We were warned before leaving that change is hard to come by and that it would be difficult to use anything larger than a ten dollar bill. Before leaving for Ecuador, I went to the bank and requested $400 dollars in fives and tens. Because of this, I didn't think I would have any problems with money. I was wrong.

Coming to Ecuador not knowing any Spanish was very difficult, so I was looking forward to starting school and learning the language. However, because I had so many irregular verbs thrown at me during the first week, I was extremely overwhelmed and felt like I wasn't learning anything. I decided it would be a good idea to buy some notecards so I could make flashcards of the irregular verb conjugations. I stopped in the office supply store that I pass on my way home from school. I picked up a pack of notecards and a stapler. The cashier rang up my order, and the total came to $2.41. I handed her a five dollar bill. She looked at it, then asked me if I had exact change. I didn't, so she pulled out one of those special markers that cashiers in the US use to check the validity of bills usually higher than $20. She used the marker twice to check my five dollar bill. She obviously wasn't satisfied with what she was seeing and called the manager over. The manager took my money and went upstairs. Meanwhile, the cashier helped the man that was in line behind me. He bought two pencils and paid using a $20 bill with no problem. Seeing that made me even more frustrated than I already was; I wondered if this problem I was having had to do with the fact that I'm a foreigner. After forcing me to stand there awkwardly for ten minutes, the manager returns with my money. Guess what.... it was real. I was upset no one apologized to me, but relieved to finally get out of there. A couple weeks after this incident, I went shopping for some souvenirs for my family. A ten dollar bill I tried paying with was rejected because of a tiny rip. This caused me to look back at what happened in the office supply store. In both instances, there were problems with the appearance of my money. Thinking about it, I think I finally realized what the problem might have been. The five dollar bill I was trying to pay with was old and grungy.  In America, using a bill like this is rarely a problem. Here, however, people seem to be afraid the money won't be accepted anywhere else and they will be stuck with money that is useless.  The solution seems simple: if everyone accepted older bills, there wouldn't be a problem!  This example, however, does show how counterfeiting is a problem in Ecuador. And while it is convenient they use the US dollar here, the issues dealing with the legitimacy of the money are not.

Cuy...

Before...

For dinner on Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), I went to my host aunt's house. Her and my host mom were preparing a typical Ecuadorian dish... one I never want to see be prepared again. This dish was cuy, aka guinea pig. Cuy is a delicacy here, often served on special occasions; it dates back to Incan times. I had seen cuy earlier in the trip, but at a restaurant after it was fully prepared. When I arrived at my aunt's house, she pulled out a dish wrapped in foil. I had been warned that the family would be eating cuy that night, but I was not prepared for what was under that foil. There were two guinea pigs with slits in the pale skin of their bellies, intestines (among other organs) spilling out. I immediately flashed back to dissection week in 11th grade biology. I must have made a face, because my host mom started laughing at me. She encouraged me to take pictures to show my family when I get home. After cooking for half an hour, the guinea pigs were taken out of the oven for seasoning. They were still very pale and, for lack of a better word, disturbing. Even more disturbing than their looks, however, was when my host mom picked up a piece semi-cooked cuy skin... and ate it! I shuddered, and she laughed agian. After being completely slathered in butter and other seasonings, the cuy went back into the oven. The timer went off an hour later. This time when my host aunt pulled out the cuy, they were fully cooked and

...and after!

ready to serve. As I sat down to dinner (with my plate full of vegetarian lasagna and salad), everyone looked excited to dig into their cuy. I was okay with it, until I heard my host sister next to me *crunching* on something... I didn't care to know what it was. The end of the dinner was the worst; everyone was *sucking* the last bits of meat off the bones. They all laughed as I sat there, obviously uncomfortable with the noises they were making. When the sucking was finished, I was able to have a good laugh with them. Through the other students my family has hosted, they have learned cuy is not a dish common to North Americans such as myself. They told me they are always amused by peoples reaction to cuy. They said many of their host students are hesitant to try cuy, but they absolutely love it when they do. I've been told it can be compared to really good chicken or rabbit meat. I'm sure the reaction of a vegetarian was especially amusing to my family. People sucking on chicken bones back home is gross to me, but the fact that they were sucking on the bones of an animal I had thought of as a pet my entire life was what made this experience so disgusting. I am glad I was able to participate in this Ecuadorian tradition... but I will not be sad if it never happens in my presence again.