| 5 things I love about life in Ecuador. If in the future you ever debate the pros and cons of spending an extended period of time abroad, this list might be useful to you. While my experiences are unique and specific to life in San Antonio de Pucará, I think that a lot of what I've learned can be applied elsewhere.5) Kindness, Courtesy, Manners! I came to Ecuador directly from a city where making eye contact is strongly discouraged.This is the culture I come from. Here, on the other hand, I greet everyone I see; it doesn’t matter if I know them or not. “Afterward, ” the attitude goes, “you’ll know them.” 4) Learning to Relax, to Accept Especially when traveling, we Americans have a tendency to be on edge. We’re in a strange environment, we often don’t speak the language and we’ll be damned if that guy on the bus gets any closer to our collective wallet. When the power went out for a week, people here didn’t start rioting and breaking into stores at night. They just adjusted a few things and waited it out. I wish I could say the same for us, that we’d behave so civilly if the electricity were to go out semi-permanently. 3) Appreciation for Cultural Differences I’ve gained a much better understanding of my own beliefs and a deeper appreciation for the culture here. Before coming to Ecuador, I lived most of my life surrounded by people who think like me, agree with me and more or less follow the same cultural norms. Living abroad threw everything into sharp relief 2) Natural Beauty & Sheer Foreignness of Ecuador I’ll put it simply: living in a foreign country is exciting! this country is beautiful. When I wake up here, I jump out of bed– not just because of the bedbugs, but because I’m actually eager to see what the day brings. 1) Aprendizaje Constante, “Constant learning” These days, after a conversation where I particularly handle myself well, I might stop and think for example, “That went well. I’m glad I remembered the verb for ‘to stop raining’. I thinking I’m getting better.” When I say something dumb in conversation, I remember the mistake, review it that same night and vow to never to make the mistake twice. While this process can be exhausting, I still wouldn’t trade it for endless comfort and familiarity. |
