My Reflections

I thought I should decompress my thoughts from my experiences in Ecuador into a blog post. It was an amazing, challenging, and life-changing experience. Here's a peak into my thoughts I've had over the summer.

I loved it. Not everyday-- that would be a lie. Many days were really difficult, lonely, challenging and sometimes terrifying. But if everyday was rainbows and butterflies, I wouldn't have learned how to deal with adversity, I wouldn't have become a better problem solver, and I wouldn't have appreciated the simply amazing days when things went... smoothly. 

The many months leading up to my departure to Ecuador were slightly painful as I had very little sense of what I'd be doing when I arrived. However, it's probably best that I didn't know what to expect, because things often don't quite happen as planned here so I'm sure having a day by day agenda would not have been the best approach.

"The best journeys answer the questions that in the beginnings you didn't even think to ask."

As I reflect on my time here, this is the quote I keep returning to in my head. It really is amazing how much I learned here that I didn't even think about before landing in Ecuador.

Microenterprise work always seemed interesting to me, and I thought I understood what it was, but coming here and working with two different groups has given me a new sense of what a micro enterprise really is. I also thought that I would be able to help due to my education background in business and other experiences. While I'm sure this was a bit helpful, what I really learned is that many of the things I learned in my business classes cannot be applied to micro enterprise work. It'd be hard to apply things from my digital studies class to the camarones group, where there is no internet access in the village. Keeping track of finances and accounting for the la calera group is near impossible because the community is so grounded in sharing and helping others, that saved funds go right to community projects or children education funds. While business principles are still present in micro enterprises, the way of addressing different areas of the business: marketing, accounting, operations, etc., should be gone about in different manners than what I learned in the classroom.

The most interesting thing about micro enterprises is that they are just that- MICRO. They do not have the resources to operate like your average business, they don't "clock in" but rather work on their own schedules, they are not paid a wage, but rather just get the money from the sales they make. If they grow, gain many clients, take on more people to work, they are no longer a micro enterprise.

Aside from all I learned in the "work place" I also gained many valuable experiences from just living in rural ecuador. We can start with living on the basics. I brushed my teeth off the side of my balcony using a water bottle, hung dry my clothes, didn't use a flushing toilet, showered in freezing cold water, never looked at myself in a mirror, and didn't have phone or internet access for a month (except when I went into town). I was also able to quickly get over my fear of bugs.

What I will bring back to Madison from my Camarones experience is: you can survive anything and to live happily you don't need many things. & Take advantage of every resource available.

I plan to pack my bags for Madison almost as light as my travel bags for Ecuador (unfortunately, going back to madison means I have to wear business clothes again). I won't freak out if there is a bug in my room or even a bug in my soup, or if a piece of food falls on the ground, 5 second rules doesn't even matter, it's probably ok to eat-- you will be OK!

I was also often very frustrated working in camarones due to not having internet to do research, having no resources to be able to buy materials, it being so so so hot that trying to do work in the heat without AC was brutal, and when the electricity went out, which it often did, we couldn't work with the high school kids in the evening.

I'm going back to Madison with the everything is possible attitude-- using all the resources the school has to offer, feeling grateful to have AC (or in our case heating), electricity to be able to study at night (my host sister set up candles to study when the electricity went out), and a wonderful education system  and support system that encourages me to do well in school. I am also so grateful to have job opportunities. It is so difficult for women in camarones to find jobs because there are no job opportunities in Camarones and it takes an hour to get to a city and nearly no one has their own form of transportation to leave. I wasn't looking forward to getting back to the states and having to search for full time jobs, but now I am so excited because I am so grateful to GET to be able to apply for jobs and have the opportunity to earn an income to support myself.

Another important note from Camarones:

I wouldn't call myself a "feminist" however, I think my time here has just about turned me into one. Machismo was my least favorite thing about my experience here, although it did show me how lucky I am to live in the states, where stay at home dads and full time moms are options. I couldn't believe some of the things I heard and saw when observing the machismo culture in camarones. It was really eye opening.

I also have become more interested in learning about the age of mothers because in the rural parts of Ecuador it is likely for girls to start having kids at the ages of 13-15 years old. I would really be interested to know what the average age is in other parts of Ecuador as well as other countries in South America.

My Camarones Family

I guess this transitions into my appreciation for the medical system we have in the states. In my time in Ecuador, I made 14 hospital trips which included 7 different hospitals. I got to experience everything from cleaning fluids poured on my wound from gatorade bottles, getting a tetanus shot in my butt in a shared room with other patients, purchasing a shot at a pharmacy to bring to the hospital to administer it, having food poisoning and the hospital wanting to give me an injection (not the right treatment) and telling me the doctor I should talk with isn't in that day, having my rabies vaccine with the name of another patient, a nurse telling me the wrong day to get my rabies vaccine, my vaccination card having the wrong name on it, running around 3 cities in one day to find my rabies vaccine, AND MORE. While many, actually all, of these days and experiences were not  fun, nor ideal, they did make me so grateful for the extreme medical attention and care that is given in the states. They will also make great stories in the future.

That also leads me to lend a million thank yous to all the people who cared for me along the way! From taking me to hospitals, to running around cities trying to find vaccines, to hosting me in Quito, I was blessed to be surrounded by caring people who I can now call family.

My Quito Family


And another thank you to my mom and dad back home for not sending me home when thing started going south. Thanks for letting me go to Ecuador and stayig calm!

My Calera take aways: Engage with those around you and take in their culture.

At first, I was a little bummed out that I didn't have wi fi at my house in la calera, after going the first month without it. However, after a little bit I realized I was really bonding with my family because I wasn't ever tempted to look at my phone. It really makes a difference the level of engagement you can have with people if you never look at your phone. I am definitely going to try to spend less screen time when back in Madison.

Taking in the culture of people around you is extremely important. I was lucky to be here during their biggest festival of the year, Inti Raymi. I did not want to be a tourist for this event, but rather a participant and see what it was like from their shoes-- so I literally put on my host mom's shoes, and her entire traditional clothing and danced in the square with them, helped them sell beer, and even participated in a ritual bathing in the river at midnight.

My La Calera family

This brings me to another point about culture--experiencing another culture internationally will help you understand and work better with people. In the states, everyone comes from a different background, whether that's culturally, religiously, economically, etc. However, we're all really the same, just with different perspectives. The more perspectives you've seen the more you can understand how the world works.

List of differences in Ecuador:

When in Spain I always took note of differences I noticed and wrote about them in my blog, I also did that in ecuador, but saved them until now to talk about:

Instant coffee- here, disolvable coffee is a big thing, super convenient because you just mix it with hot water or milk!

Sign language on TV-almost all the tv shows, new channels, and commercials have little person on the bottom corner of the screen doing sign language of what people are saying- It's neat!

People sell fruit in the streets and do entertainment in the street- this was mostly in Quito- I think it's a novel way to try to make money. In Chicago, people often come up to your car and ask for spare change, here they juggle in the intersection while the light is red and then ask for donations. They also sell snacks, which is a great idea because Quito traffic is awful so if you want a snack on the ride home, no need to stop at a store, just roll down your window.

Broken glass instead of barbed wire- on the tops of walls instead of wire people break beer bottles and sink them in cement.

Buses are sponsored by Jesus- all the buses running through ecuador have some religious saying on the outside, on the seats, and even pictures of the virgin inside.

Things are named after dates- in tha states, we have a lot of things named after people like presidents, but here it's all about dates. Schools, streets, buses all are dates, like the 6 de Julio, or 10 de Augusto.

Don't flush toilet paper- almost all of the toilets I used in Ecuador had signs that say don't flush your toilet paper, but rather put it in the garbage. This doesn't include the dry composting toilets, because those didn't flush and you could toss the toilet paper down, along with some wood chips.

Specialized food stores or brands on women's dresses- this is a new marketing technique I garuntee you won't see in the states. At malls, movie theaters, and grocery stores you may see a woman wearing a tight dress with a brand plastered to the breast area of the dress. That's one way to get someone's attention.

dish soap in a bucket- the popular choice of dish soap comes in solid form in a little bucket.

Milk in a bag- In the states, milk often comes in a plastic gallon, in Spain it came in a box, and in Ecuador it comes in a bag.

They eat guinea pig-enough said.

Men with braids-this is a tradition in many indigenous communities. From the time they are babies, their hair is put into little braids until it is long enough to put it a big braid, usually surpassing their butt. Another note about braids, it's probably a requirement to know how to braid in order to be a mom here, because all the braids on these little girls are so amazing.

Drink beer sharing a cup- Drinking here is truly social drinking. When we had a beer, we litterally had a beer- and one cup. You'd pour yourself some beer in a little cup, drink it, and pass the cup for someone else to pour beer and drink from the same cup.

Megaphone if there is a missing pig- in la calera, there is a community house with a megaphone that the volume reaches all the houses in the community- it often plays music and acts as an alarm clock in the morning, and it also puts out special announcements, for instance, if someone's pig, or cow, or sheep is missing, they will put it on the loud speaker so everyone can be on the lookout. Except often people steal animals, so many times you won't be able to find them!

Picu placa- this is a government run program in Quito to limit traffic. As I mentioned before, the traffic in Quito is bad, so to try and limit it, the gov says, if your license plate ends in "this number" you can't drive in the city on this one day of the week during rush hours. So everyone has one day a week they are can't drive in the city in the morning and after work hours. 

High medium salt, sugar, fat on all foods- on all packaged foods there is a label on the back that notes whether the sugar, fat and salt are either high, medium or low- and it's color coordinated! Red is bad!!

Breast feeding In public- very very common. At parks, restaurants, really everywhere, you will see moms breastfeeding. 

Public schools where uniforms, private don't-this was on the coast. This is the  opposite of how it is in the states so I thought that was interesting.

Anything can be turned into a backpack: pots of food, plants, luggage, babies: this is mostly in la calera. You would be amazed at what people, mostly women, can carry on the backs and how they use a simple sheet to turn everything into a backpack.

Holidays that celebrate seasons- this is big for indigenous communities because the seasons and harvest times of the year are very important to them.

Parade for soccer- it's a big deal here

Quechua has 3 vowels; Quechua is the indigenous language that almost everyone in la calera speaks. The language has only 3 vowels "ah" "e" and "oo". I've learned a few words in Quechua, but my favorite is "ah chai chai" which translates to "I'm really really cold" I'll definitely be using that in the states.

Political campaigning as graffiti- all political campaigns are plastered on street walls, graffitied, hung up at all little stores! It's everywhere!

Juice with all meals- one of my favorite things about ecuador. I was thinking I'd try making some mora juice back in the states, but then I remembered it cost $4 for like 20 blackberries, where he it costs $1 for a pound.

Coladas are warm jam like juice drinks- and they are so tasty!!

3 "Ah ha!" Moments. 
I had an interview after my time abroad in Sevilla, and the first question the interviewer asked me was, "What were your 3 "Ah-ha!" moments from living and studying in Spain. I loved the question and it really made me think about my time in Europe, so I decided I would also answer it here for my time in Ecuador.

1. happy to work- we choose what path we take in life and we have the freedom to change that path at anytime. When you realize that you choose to go to work and have the opportunity to work rather than having to go to work, your perspective will drastically change!

2. The internet can be a great thing ( use the resources it offers) it can also be a terrible thing (don't sacrifice relationships)

3. Less is more- material items should be limited, and when you have less resources you become creative on how to solve problems and get things accomplished

Another point from my experience:
tranquilo, no pasa nada- the theme of ecuador.. Stay calm, don't worry about it. One of my biggest weaknesses I always talk about in interviews is that I'm very impatient. I have had to really learn to go with the flow and not glue my eyes to the clock while on Ecuador.

If you've made it this far in my post, thanks for reading. Here are my closing thoughts:

The whole "Change the world" goal is something I have completely rethought. Something this experience has taught me is that it is more important to understand the world first before even thinking about changing it. A way I have learned to help change the the world is by educating others about the world. When people know and understand what it is like in other places, we may start to realize the change that can be made.

And if you decide you want to make change, first seek to understand what you want to change, ask, why does this need to be changed, what will the outcomes of this change be?

My goals for working with these artisan groups this summer drastically changed from developing their micro enterprises to plain and simply just learning and observing. If I came in and changed what I originally wanted to, I also would have changed the culture and the way these people live, which is not what I intended to do. So instead of focusing on what I could change, I focused on what I could learn.

While it took me a while to accept that my work this summer would not be result driven, or something I could quantify on my resume, I truly believe I walked away with something much more valuable. Through midnight bathing rituals, to rabies vaccines, food poisoning, machismo, scary motorcycle rides, dry composting toilets, bugs to the extreme, indigenous festivals, and more, I have learned to overcome obstacles, enrich myself in new cultures, preserver, and be creative with very few resources. While I know I have learned so much from this experience, one of the most important things I learned is that I still have so much learn. Looking forward to the many adventures ahead but will always be grateful for the time I spent in the beautiful country of ecuador and the wonderful people  I lived with, became friends with, or just encountered along the way. 

So when I think about 9 months ago when deciding to come to Ecuador, I'd still say yes in a heart beat. Through the moments of frustration and fear although challenging, I never once thought, I wish I didn't come here. It's all been a part of the holistic experience of living in rural Ecuador.

Of course I will end with a quote:

"We travel because distance and difference are the secret tonic of creativity. When we get home, home is still the same. but something inside our minds has changed, and that changes everything." Jonah Leher 

Thanks for an amazing 11 weeks Ecuador (&Peru)! I will be back one day, but until then, hasta luego!

Sending smiles from Chicago,

Rebecca

Hasta Luego, Ecuador!