Ecuador: Culture Shock to Acculturation Corynn’S Final Report IE3 Global Internships, Hobbiton CDI Oregon State University

Ecuador: Culture Shock to Acculturation Corynn’s Final Report IE3 Global Internships, Hobbiton CDI Oregon State University

Introduction

This reflection is designed to give the reader an idea of the transitions I went through while on my internship in Ecuador. The beginning of the reflection describes my experience with culture shock. Following sections describe different aspects of internship life, while others reflect on cultural and personal experiences and transitions.

First Impressions and the Reality of Culture Shock

At Hobbiton, I found that the students respected the teachers immensely. I liked how there was a schedule that allowed the students to interact with other age groups, but also adequate time to spend with their age-set peers. The school environment was inviting; it had many colored walls and a good level of cleanliness. The food was of high quality, representative of the culture, and also very, very delicious.

At first, I did not feel like I was making a big impact with the children. I spent most of my time sitting in the classrooms while the teachers taught their lesson. There were a couple times when I was instructed to teach the class. It was difficult to do on my own because I could not speak Spanish well enough to communicate to the kids or manage their classroom behavior. There were a number of times when I was left in the classroom with the children for an extended amount of time while the children got rowdy. I was unable to manage their behavior effectively in these instances.

I also felt as though the teachers were not using me as a resource as I thought they would, such as pronouncing English words or helping build and improve classroom vocabulary. For the most part, I had been singing one song a day to the kids and no more. Overall, I did not feel as though I was being utilized as much as I could have been. I was not satisfied with simply getting to know some of the children and feeding them lunch and teaching them a song or a couple English words. I was also expecting more support from the other teachers, in integration within their instruction and when they finally allowed me to instruct the children. I had been feeling so unutilized that I had been considering finding an additional volunteer organization to spend the rest of my afternoons at, such as an orphanage.

For a long while, Quito did not feel like any other special or different city. There were a few notable differences, of course, like the water quality, driving customs, language differences, etc. but it still did not feel like I was abroad, which confused me immensely at the time. I was really expecting to notice a huge difference right away.

Despite the case of my disguised culture shock, there were many things I adored about Quito. I really admired and appreciated the sense of modesty that the people possessed. I still believe it is due to some religious and weather influences. In the same respect, at this time, I could not figure out why women’s jeans commonly did not have back pockets. In the end, I did not find a specific answer, only that is simply a commonality.

As you can tell, I was experiencing a somewhat classic case of culture shock, although it was not apparent to me until my liaison told me so, which created some more intense internal and external conflict. I felt like I was at a loss and I felt alone, especially after the argument I got into with a family member about our expectations in our communication with one another. Looking back, I can imagine that this was my lowest point in my internship experience, about four weeks in. Thankfully, my experience takes a turn for the better, as you will see in the following sections.

Anxiety and the Way Out

I had a lot of anxiety prior to my departure. My initial anxieties came from four different reasons: The first was the idea of traveling alone. The second was the idea of actually being gone for three months, six months including my study abroad immediately following this internship. The third was finishing school without failing my classes. And four revolved around missing friends.

As for anxiety number one, traveling alone went fine besides a small hiccup at the

Houston airport from a side effect of one of my medications, causing me to delay my arrival to Quito by one day. As for number two, it took me a long time to register that I was in

Ecuador at the beginning. After that, I went from feeling as though I would be there forever to wishing I did not have to leave. As for number three, I was relieved to find out I had successfully finished my last term of my Junior year without failing any classes.

As for number four, I had a hard time missing my friends for a long time in the beginning. I had unlimited access to Wifi, which was a blessing and a burden. It was not long before I felt my friends back home had forgotten about me and stopped putting in effort to stay in touch. Although I had a local Ecuadorian friend I knew from high school, I was uncomfortable asking him to hang out with me all of the time, afraid of burdening or annoying him.

Looking back, I can see that this was a difficult transition for me to make. This, however, did improve dramatically as time progressed at work. I was invited to a couple events and outings with my coworkers. I was able to meet their friends, and thus began a new network of friends I could rely on. Slowly but surely, the friendships grew, despite my poor-but-improving Spanish. Some of these friends I am still in contact with on a weekly basis. These are exactly the kinds of friendships I was in need of. These friendships made my internship unique, real, and raw. I could not have survived without my friends and their families. They meant everything to me and I owe them so much for their help.

A Day in the Life

My work life and responsibilities at Hobbiton were always changing. My first reaction was, why? Soon I realized this was normal for childcare and education environments; my initial tendency was to jump to the conclusion that the language barrier was to blame rather than the sheer nature of the job.

So in other words, work at Hobbiton was dynamic. Starting the third week, I had been given more time to work with the kids, although unexpectedly, as I previously described.

After shorting out the mix-up and clarifying my expectations, I took it upon myself to use new songs to teach new vocabulary and integrate existing vocabulary, which worked well enough.

During a particular week, a teacher I shadowed was in the hospital with medical complications. This meant I was in-charge of all the 4-5 year-olds. Even without a language barrier, managing a classroom of ten 5-year-olds is a difficult task. Soon, my director caught on to the issue, and placed another teacher in the class as a (very helpful) aide. There were also days during that week where I played with just the infants in the daycare of the school.

In later weeks, when school has not been in session, I taught English to the teachers.

I was particularly nervous about this part of the internship, as working with adults is not usually my forte. I was pleasantly surprised and satisfied with the outcome of the course, however. I was asked to review the vocabulary associated with the topics the teachers would be teaching in the coming school year. They requested for new songs in English, new classroom activities for the different topics, and I was to test them at the end of the two-week course. Not only was I producing the most amount of physical materials in the entirety of my internship, I was also able to gain the trust and help establish better relationships with all of the teachers, one of the most valuable outcomes of the course.

The last two or so weeks of my internship were different yet again; it was now the time of summer camp. There were fewer kids, some were even in grade school. On Mondays, we took the kids to the pool near the school, where they participated in swim lessons. On

Tuesdays and Thursdays, we took the group to an activity outside of Hobbiton, such as a play palace, a national park, or downtown to the President’s building. The rest of the days included smaller, less structured activities. Wednesday was the least structured day, sometimes taking the kids to a nearby park, or simply allowing the kids to play, with some structured games here and there. Fridays were baking and movie days. In the mornings, the teachers helped the children learn how to make and bake a snack, and at the end of the day when they kids watched a movie, they got to eat their snack.

During these last two weeks, I was working Monday through Friday from 8:00 in the morning until 5:00 PM or later. Originally, my schedule was set for Monday through

Thursday from 8:00 AM until 1:00 PM. This original schedule happened only for the first few weeks of the internship. During the two-week break of no school when I was teaching English classes to the teachers, I was working Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM until 10:30

AM. The last transition was most difficult, since I was expected to take on more time at work than what I was originally told. It was especially complicated because my mother was in Quito by this time, and with the unexpected change in schedule, it made some of our travel plans more difficult to accomplish. In the end, however, we managed to work with my new schedule and I enjoyed my time working longer at the school.

Work Culture

The culture at Hobbiton had some differences than my home culture. For example, at

Hobbiton, the practice was not to play with the children or scaffold their learning too much.

There was not a lot of interaction with the students unless during meal times or lessons.

There were many times when children would not be supervised. A single child or a small group of children might be playing on the main floor without any direct supervision, or you might find the children waiting in the classroom without an adult or teacher present. There were, at times, only one teacher managing and taking care of a group of babies.

For me, I could see immediately that this is how the school was going to work. I managed to apply my own cultural lens indirectly by watching the kids who were otherwise unsupervised. I sought to monitor and aide the kids who would be completing a task on their own without supervision. Although I could not do a lot to manage the children with words, I could at least be an eye out for them while they played.

There was also a difference in how lunchtime was run. The children were required to finish all of their food. To some extent, I agreed with this practice, but there are exceptions in my opinion when this had to be followed. For the most part, I adapted to the culture of the organization. Sometimes, though, I would allow a child to leave without eating all of their food if I knew they were really very full and could not eat any more.

These are just some examples. For the most part, I was mindful to be respectful of the culture that influenced the practices of Hobbiton. I was always careful with what actions I was partaking in and which I was not.

Remember That One Time…?

I find this next story a good example of what it was like to experience a significant cultural difference, getting it wrong, and the work it took to improve communication for future encounters.

At the beginning of my internship, I was introduced to my friend’s father who did not speak English. Thinking I was being polite, I was smiling, nodding, all while having no idea what he was saying. For me at the time, it seemed easier to pretend like I knew what someone was saying instead of saying I did not understand. What I found out later was that, according to my facial expression and few short Spanish phrases, I came off as being uninterested in the conversation. Not only was I surprised, but I was embarrassed and worried. I was deeply concerned about my impressions, for the sake of myself, my country, and the company of which I represented.

Even worse, this was not an isolated event. I heard this same interpretation of my communication style from another friend in an entirely separate but similar situation. I was not meaning to come across as uninterested, of course. Sometimes, I was honestly trying to look confused or be polite and listen patiently as I did not understand a single word the other person spoke. Unfortunately, neither of these ways worked. So I had to become intensely aware of my body language and communication style. I sometimes felt like my efforts were exaggerated, but I was never told again that I seemed uninterested, and my conversations with others became easier as time progressed.

For the Simple Love of All People

One thing I learned about myself that I really enjoyed embracing was my love and desire to know how people really lived in Ecuador. I was most happy when I was in another’s home or with their family, doing whatever families do on a weekday or weekend. I most desired to eat and drink and use transportation and see the world as they did. I most enjoyed not judging others, only seeing things through mere observation. I tried different foods mostly without hesitation, and insisted I liked nearly everything, so as to not make a quick judgment on anything.

There were instances where I really felt like a tourist, which occurred mostly out of obligation, which I dreaded. Something like this happened when I was in Cuenca for a short weekend. I took the double decker bus tour around the city out of necessity. I felt as though

I was on top of a pedestal I did not belong on, like an outsider looking in, like I was seeing the world as though this place was an “other” when it had already felt like it had become a part of myself. I learned and enjoyed myself the most when I was with my friends, doing normal- life things, having normal-life conversations, and learning about their country and culture from as close to the inside as I could get. That is where I found my admiration and love for

Ecuador and its culture.

The Proof of Personal Accomplishment

My greatest personal challenge was finding the courage to allow myself to explore. I really love sharing experiences with other people, but I also knew this could not be fulfilled all the time. Fear of being lost or hurt was a huge challenge to face. What is most amazing about this challenge was that I feel like I overcame it: I was brave enough to travel to Cuenca

(an 8-hour bus ride south of Quito) by myself for a weekend. And one of the most surprising parts was that I had the option of going with a local friend, but I chose to go alone, because I wanted to see if I could do it. And I did. And I am so glad I did, because I showed myself that

I am capable of such things, as frightening as they might seem at first.

This has also been my greatest reward. I have gained a new confidence and skillset for myself that I did not have before. Although it is difficult to explain how significant this difference is, how challenging this task was, and how hard and long I had to work on it, I know now that doing these kinds of trips on my own are indeed possible without dying.

And I cannot forget all of the baby steps it took to get myself there. I had so much help along the way. Each time I took the city bus with a coworker, took the tour bus with a friend, learned how to hail taxis, asked for directions, read a map, managed money, found a place that served almuerzo, and crossed the street, I was able to accumulate this knowledge to build a skillset that allowed for a successful adventure. It has given me a new desire to go out and do more, to push the limits further and see what I can get myself into and out of safely and successfully. Being able to let go of some of my fears of the unknown, and in return, gaining the confidence that I can do more, has been the greatest reward of all.

Tangible Skills

I have learned a great deal from the opportunities this internship has allowed me experience. One of these is the increase in compassion for and skill in communicating with someone who does not speak English as their first language. Seeing how patient and helpful others were towards me with my under-par Spanish skills, I felt a pang of disappointment in my home culture for the scrutiny we often place on someone who does not know our language perfectly. I have an altered perspective and appreciation for those who try to speak the language, but also understand that getting the opportunity to express yourself in your native tongue is essential for safety, sanity, and simple respect of that person as an individual and as a person of a specific culture.

There is even more I learned about language and its importance. I have applied many new methods of trying to help others communicate their thoughts if they are trying to communicate with me in English. After understanding the frustration of having thoughts and not being able to communicate them, I applaud anyone who tries, especially after seeing the strangeness of the English language. It is not the most regular of all the languages, to say the least. So after all the help and pardon I have received while speaking Spanish, I make an effort to do the same for someone when they are speaking English as well.

I also see the reality of how learning a new language allows you to meet so new people, not to mention how well you can express yourself while using two languages combined. These are skills I can bring into my professional and personal life that I believe will be useful for the rest of my life.

Future Career Commitment

After this internship, I still do not feel like I want to make a career out of childcare and/or teaching of preschool or kindergarten-aged children. I do, however, see how I can implement elements of this job into my future career in working with children in other fields. This internship allowed me to build a new and unique skillset around cross-cultural and dual-language environments. Looking forward into my future, I can see this as useful in my desired career path as counselor or therapist.

Meeting My Goals

Did I reach my goals? In terms of professional development, I met, if not exceeded, my goal of implementing a successful English-language program. It actually allowed me to build valuable relationships with my coworkers, which became integral to my experience. As for communicating with young children without knowing too much Spanish, I ended up resorting to mostly Spanish with only some English integrated into specific activities, such as singing songs, teaching a grade-schooler how to play the card game Go Fish and similar activities, or answering the common, “How do you say this in English?” question. As for identifying parts of improvement in the program, I have decided to pass on my thoughts to the next intern to see if their more advanced language skills can have a better effect on advancing the education and practices at the internship site. I am open and motivated to improving Hobbiton, even though my internship has ended, by working with new interns.

Now for personal development: My first goal was to blog regularly. Some of the time

I managed to blog, but by day 43 (exactly half way), I stopped completely. I guess by this point, I ran out of time and also felt it was unnecessary to blog due to the fact that began to feel like normal life, and I do not typically blog about normal life. As for staying spiritually grounded, there were certain smaller goals encompassed within this that I did not meet while in Ecuador, such as making it to Sunday Mass every week. It proved very difficult to stay focused without my support group from home to help as usual. The third goal of establishing relationships with locals and other people I met along the way I feel as though I successfully accomplished. I now know one lady from Australia, one from Japan, and so many locals from Ecuador that I consider my friends or well-acquainted acquaintances.

Cultural goals first included improving my Spanish proficiency, which happened in a bell-curve fashion, but overall I am confident I learned more Spanish in this three-month period than I did in all 4.5 years in middle and high school. I now want to continue to learn

Spanish to increase my proficiency in order to keep in better touch with my friends in

Ecuador and also to be able to meet more people who speak the language. As for the second part of cultural goals, I know I have not learned everything, but I have learned a great deal about Ecuadorian culture, including the things I wish to integrate into my own value system, the ones I simply admire, and the ones I do not particularly care for. And finally, I did try my very best to try most of the foods I had the opportunity to eat, even cuy. I find myself craving and missing Ecuadorian food and want to go back, if not simply to eat one more almuerzo of mote, fritada, and tostado with a jugo de naranjilla. ¡Que rico!

Advice for Future Interns

Packing and clothes:

Be prepared for all four seasons in Ecuador. Keep in mind that buying clothes is extremely expensive because of the high import taxes (and maybe some people trying to get more money from you). Take things you would normally wear that are versatile. Some things for going out to restaurants and bars, the beach, the high mountains (COLD!!!), the jungle, work, being lazy, being touristic, etc. Be comfortable. If you’re thinking of packing light and not so much luggage, consider that you might be bringing back a lot of souvenirs, as there are lots of neat things to buy at the markets. The last intern told me she did not bring enough warmer clothes and regretted it. Bring a daily rain jacket. I recommend a few scarves and a north-face-like jacket or sweatshirt or the like. For safety reasons, I don't recommend college-affiliated attire, unless it is ambiguous enough. I also recommend a blazer of some sort if you have one that’s not too fancy, for going out or special occasions. Laundry is a little expensive at the hostel, so things that you don't HAVE to wash after every wear will be good for your wallet.

As for toiletries, I advise the same as for clothes: bring what you normally use. But I also advise that you bring only your favorite liquids (hair spray, bug spray, face wash, face cream, whatever, etc.) Soon Ecuador will feel like normal life. And in your normal life, if you use your blow dryer (even on rare occasions) and don't have it, you might get frustrated.

Consider bringing extra travel-sized containers for liquids. They will be helpful for weekend trips.

Dress code at Hobbiton for women: Pants, leggings, layering tops, cardigans, shirts, scarfs, etc. Slipper or Toms are required inside. You’ll leave and use them there at the school.

Boots, flats, tennis shoes, sneakers, slippers for the hostel, flip flops, and whatever kind of shoes you wear are all good. A pair of heels might also be good.

Towels: I bought one at the beach when I needed one and left it at my hostel when I left my internship. It was $8. I wouldn’t use up the precious space in your luggage to bring your own.

Other:

Make (nice) photo copies of all of your important documents (credit cards, passport, insurance, immunization records, etc) and save them in your room somewhere. I always kept a copy of my passport and insurance with me.

Money:

Bring a small coin purse for change, which you will use a lot. Feel free to use a purse or other daily use bag, but I recommend one with a zipper. A money belt is a necessity, in my opinion, for distant travels on buses. You do not need to carry around your original passport, but always carry a nice color copy of it with you.

Using $20 bills is very difficult, if not impossible, except at nicer restaurants and super markets. Very rarely will they accept anything larger than a $20. Use these opportunities to break your larger $20’s you receive from the ATM for other smaller purchases. I also used a change machine at El Espiral mall near La Plaza Foch near my hostel to break up my $20’s.

I recommend bringing both a credit and debit card, having photocopies saved somewhere safe of both. I used my debit card to pull out money from the ATM and had the credit card for emergencies, if I were to have any (like a hospital bill, etc). Make sure you contact your bank and card companies and tell them of your travels, and understand what the international transaction fees and rules are for each.

Depending on what I did on the weekends, I was spending much less than $100 a week. A beach weekend might run about $100-200 depending on what your activities are there, what souvenirs you buy, what your travel and living accommodations are, what kind of food you eat, how much you drink, etc.

Hostel:

I highly recommend The Bird Garden with Lorena located on Pinto and Av. Amazonas in La Mariscal District (La Plaza Foch). Hobbiton is located 25 minutes away by foot. A taxi runs about $1.00-1.25 from this hostel to Hobbiton. Sight seeing:

El Tereférico (I went twice). El Centro Historical (La Casa del Presidente, La Ronda, El

Panecillo, La Basilica del Voto Nacional, tons of museums). La Plaza Foch and all it has to offer. Papallacta hot springs. Cuenca. Loja. Mindo. Tonsupa/Atacames beaches for fun nights out and lots of activities, La Canoa beach for a quieter beach experience. El oriente (the jungle) if you can schedule it. Mitad Del Mundo (middle of the world monument). Ibarra has beautiful lakes. Otavalo is an amazing market (especially for souvenirs). Galapagos if you can afford it. Stay in a hostel on Isabela and do day trips and activities around the island, as it is cheaper that way. You can island hop a couple times from Isabela as well. This is more practical if you can stay longer after your internship.

Try cuy.

Other activities:

Simon Bolivar Spanish School offers Spanish courses. I took 4 days of classes before my internship. They also offer lots of group activities around the country.

I recommend going to Quito a week or so early to get accustomed and staying a week or so after to continue exploring.

Culture:

I recommend bringing along chocolate from the States. Things like M&M’s and

Snickers and Twix and Hershey’s are all VERY expensive there and anyone you give them to will appreciate them a lot. Also, bring larger-ish gifts to give to your bosses, your two (give- or-take) closest friends, and maybe enough for a couple families who will help you at some point during your stay. You’ll meet some crazy amazing people you’ll want to thank in the end. If you read CultureShock! Ecuador, please keep this in mind: It is from the perspective of a non-Ecuadorian man who was interpreting the culture, so I feel some of it is very stereotypical and not always very accurate for the people you will meet. Let me give you an example; the book says you should not finish your food or it looks like you need more and it wasn’t sufficient, which is not true! It is similar to the States: if you do not finish your food, it looks like you did not like it, especially in someone’s home. They will, however, pardon you if you cannot finish your meal. Being polite and asking not to be served any more is received just fine. So take this text with a grain of salt and be open-minded and unassuming and you’ll get the hang of the differences. Ask the locals you meet about things like this and they’ll tell you exactly how it is. The differences aren’t so big in the end.