Homework Blog...

response to my study abroad assignment...woohoo

1. What did you assume before you left that you are not finding in your
host-country, host-culture and/or host family and friends? Why did you
make those assumptions?

Things I am not finding in Ecuador…
Before I left I expected that everything in Ecuador would be extremely cheap. That has been true for the most part—for example I can get a roll of bread for 10 cents, can travel anywhere in the city for a quarter, buy loads of fruit for minimal costs, and more—but it’s not true for everything. Peanut butter, floss, deodorant and other toiletries, books and notebooks are unreasonably expensive compared to the states. It’s probably because they’re imported from the States: because we mainly export finished products whereas the third world mainly exports raw materials, there are other funny quirks about Ecuador.
One of these is that although Ecuador is right next to Colombia in terms of producing high-quality coffee, it makes such a profit from being exported that nobody drinks it here. I haven’t even seen a brewed cup of coffee in five months, since everyone uses the powder kind that you add to hot water.
I also expected to find the majority of the people leading humble lives, meaning simple houses and interiors, plain clothes, basic menus and lots of family time around the table and in the living room. On the contrary, I seem to have moved into a higher class lifestyle than I have ever experienced before. I seemed to forget that I was coming to an actual national capital: sure I walk past indigenous people in their traditional clothes, and plenty of street vendors selling chicken-feet soup and plantain on the corners, though these are the same streets that feature enormous modern United Nations buildings and the like.
I also thought that my family would be much more traditional than I was accustomed to—like eating all the meals together, sitting around and talking in the evenings, etc. In reality, lunch is the only time it’s likely to have company at mealtime, and that only 3 times a week for me; sometimes I’ll have “una merienda” or “tecito” (small dinner or tea time) with my host mom in the evenings, but really everyone in the family has a life of their own that keeps them busy. That means we rarely just sit around and hang out, and nobody is ever found in either of the two living rooms unless we have company.
Which brings me to the trade-off: although we don’t have much nuclear family time, the extended family gets together many times more than I am accustomed to in the US! All four kids and their spouses and their kids live in Quito, within a 20 minute drive. The weekends are always sure to bring one or more of these families over for un tecito, and during the week as well. Then, about once a month, there is some occasion to bring the big family together—meaning the brothers and sisters of my host parents, all their kids, and all the grandkids—so that the guest list quickly exceeds 60 people. That’s when we get out the nice tablecloths, china, and silverware. Carmen works overtime on these days.
Carmen is our maid: the majority of the middle class families employ a maid to cook and clean, though some employ others specifically for laundry or to be a nanny for their children. My family employs Carmen, who cooks, cleans, does laundry, answers the door and makes the beds. She works 6 days a week, 8 or so hours a day, and commutes over an hour each direction—meaning while she cooks for us her children fend for themselves for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We speak formally with her and she with us, though in these last months I have perhaps had more friendly and substantial conversations with her while we cook or do the dishes than with my actual host family.

2. How is the education system you are experiencing different from what
you are accustomed to in the U.S.? From your perspective as a student in
the U.S. how is it beneficial and disadvantageous?

The university is attended by upper-middle class suburbanites who live with their families, since there are no dorms. I realize now what a big difference this makes in the character of the school--there's not a lot of down time to meet new people, so most have groups of friends from high school they hang out with. The feel I get walking around campus is one of being on the OC, or at least back in middle school, where everyone’s wearing Hollister and A&F and AE to go with their sleek hairstyles and generally polished appearance. It is hard to make good friends for all these reasons, not because of unfriendliness on their part but just because that's the way it works with a commuter school. Still there are some really dear people to me from USFQ, especially from my volleyball and German and acuarela (watercolor) classes.
Academically speaking, the professors are extremely qualified; however they do not expect or assign a very high level of work from the students. It seems there is lots of room for this university to grow--the profs have the potential to make these students go far in life. The architecture program is probably the hardest working one, and very highly esteemed among all South America. These are my thoughts....