Ecuador: inglés y amor

A record of my travels to Ecuador as an ESL teacher con mi novio, David <3 "Not all who wander are lost." J.R.R. Tolkien

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lessons learned

Well, I should make it official for anyone who has been wondering: David and I have returned from Ecuador to the US. We've been back for about a month, and we're living in Michigan currently.

Our decision to return so early was based on a lot of things, but I think the breaking point came when it was time for his first paycheck (for about 2 months worth of teaching and office work). He had agreed upon a set monthly salary with the director of inlingua for taking the Academic Coordinator position. His paycheck was less than half of that...for 2 months! He came home after cashing the check and simply said, "I think it's time to go back home."

Both of us were torn: somewhat relieved due to all the stresses we had encountered job-wise while in Quito and ready to find stability again; however, we both wanted it to work. We had wanted to live abroad, to teach English, to improve our Spanish. But we realized that it was time to call it quits and booked plane tickets that night.

Coming back was also an odd, bittersweet experience. We grew comfortable with so many things in Ecuador: cheap prices, simple living, hearing Spanish everywhere, using it every day, consistently nice weather, the public transportation, delicious food...the list goes on. Our transition was a smooth one, though, for the most part.

We were both a little unsettled by all the English around us all the time, by being understood by everyone when we talked to each other in public. We had to readjust to driving everywhere, to not being able to hop on and off a bus for 25 cents (or less!) at a whim, to having to carry identification, wallets, credit cards, etc. with us everywhere we went. Although amusing, these minor changes didn't affect us for long. Many things have stuck with us for the long run, however, and I hope to share a few of those things here for those of you who may pursue similar paths or are simply curious about life abroad.

-Save up a LOT of money if you're planning to live abroad. I mean way more than you think you'd ever need. We had about $8,000 when we left. That seems like a lot. It seems like even more in Ecuador. However, especially if you are going to a country less stable than the US (so, anywhere other than North America or Western Europe), you never know what could happen. Your job might not work out as you planned, start-up costs are huge, daily expenses add up quickly, and what if you end up needing to come back (for whatever reason)?

-Don't let culture shock get into your head. I think David and I greatly underestimated both the culture shock itself that we would experience as well as how much it affected us. I don't think there's a way to avoid it; I don't think you should try. It's a humbling, overwhelming, curious, frustrating, awesome experience to live in another country, but you cannot constantly compare it to your own country. EVERYTHING is going to be different, but focusing on those differences will only tire you out. Appreciate them where you see them, discuss them if you feel compelled, but there is no room for negativity or wishful thinking. Adjust and adapt.

-This is a big one: traveling to another country (no matter how much you have traveled or how cultured you think you are) is NOTHING like living in another country. You are pampered and sheltered when you travel. You stay in hotels that are designed for tourists to feel comfortable and at-home, to feel like they never left. You see things that tourists see. You do things that tourists do. You do everything on your own terms. Living in another country means living as its citizens live, doing what they do, how they do it, on their terms. I don't think I can stress this enough, but honestly, you won't fully understand this unless you have experienced it, so on to the next one. ;)

-Stay in contact with your friends and family, but don't let it become your daily routine. Don't make talking to your parents or your siblings a 4-times-a-week priority. Don't spend so much time on Tumblr, on Facebook, on Twitter that you feel as though you never left. Get out into the air, into the streets, into the culture that you are surrounded by. Explore. You don't even have to plan it out every day, because likely anything you see when you go out just walking around for a while will be new and exciting and interesting. Let yourself run free and be adventurous!

-Don't be afraid to use the language. Especially in a place where you look totally different from everyone around you, there is no harm in slipping up when you speak to a local. They know you're not going to be a native-speaker. I'm not guaranteeing you that no one will laugh or smirk, that no one will take advantage of you, no one will be impatient or rude. Just toughen up and try it. You'll get better at it the more you try, that I can guarantee. :)

So, obviously this is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to living in another country. There are lots more practical things that you need to figure out, but there are plenty of websites for those types of things. (Speaking of, I suggest you google local customs, traditions, culture, just to get an idea of what you're getting into and maybe prevent some cultural misunderstandings.) However, I enjoy the abstract and so I have offered you some more abstract advice, some advice on how to think about your experience. Some of these things I am still learning; my mind is still chewing on these bits of information. And you can bet that David and I are going to try this again in a few years, ready to use what we learned and then be smacked in the face with just how much more we have to learn. ;) Until then, I leave you with this wonderful quotation by Wade Davis:

The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.

[fuckyeahexistentialism]

[…] For what gives value to travel is fear. It breaks down a kind of inner structure we have. One can no longer cheat—hide behind the hours spent at the office or at the plant (those hours we protest so loudly, which protect us so well from the pain of being alone). I have always wanted to write novels in which my heroes would say: “What would I do without the office?” or again: “My wife has died, but fortunately I have all these orders to fill for tomorrow.” Travel robs us of such refuge. Far from our own people, our own language, stripped of all our props (one doesn’t know the fare on the streetcars, or anything else), we are completely on the surface of ourselves. But also, soul-sick, we restore to every being and every object its miraculous value. A woman dancing without a thought in her head, a bottle on a table, glimpsed behind a curtain: each image becomes a symbol. The whole of life seems reflected in it, insofar as it summarizes our own life at the moment. When we are aware of every gift, the contradictory intoxications we can enjoy (including that of lucidity) are indescribable.

‘Love of Life’ from ’Lyrical and Critical Essays’ by Albert Camus Translated by Ellen Conroy Kennedy (via fuckyeahexistentialism)

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2 months in: reflections

So we've been here for just over 2 months now, and I figured I could post again with some thoughts. :)

Something I've really been focusing on this past month is how often I hear and use Spanish here, and, in return, that means how little I hear and use English outside of my communications with David. (If I had a job by now, I'd have been using it a lot more, but...). Anyway, I'm realizing that I have taken for granted up until now how comforting it can be to hear your native language on a regular basis.

Still, it was a bit strange to me yesterday when I passed 2 girls on the sidewalk who were speaking English to each other. As I walked past them and heard it, I smiled and felt a bit more at home. This was somehow a much different experience than hearing it in the Inlingua office when talking with teachers, or Skyping with my parents, or even just chatting with David. I think the fact that I was out in the city, expecting to be totally immersed in Spanish, that made this moment a bit different than the rest.

As a linguistic majority in my home country, the United States, I have always taken for granted that I will be able to hear and use my native language whenever I go out, with almost anyone I meet. I don't think I realized how much I miss English and just how comforting it is to me until I came to Ecuador where it's a rarity.

Regardless, I will be starting Spanish classes soon with either the Yanapuma Foundation or Inlingua to improve. Why not?! :)

So, suffice it to say that I am looking forward to the comfortable linguistic aspect of coming home to the States. I'm also looking forward to a reliable supply of hot water for daily showers, but that's another story. ;)

[esladventures-blog]

updates

To say that the last 2 months have been a roller-coaster of emotions, possibilities, and plans would be an understatement.

David has decided to take on the position of Academic Coordinator/Corporate Advisor at inlingua, the school that we came here to teach for. He'll also be doing business consulting for them, because the corporate culture here is...not quite the same as in the United States. Specifically, he's trying to bring more accountability and organization into their office. It'll be tough, but I think he'll do great. :) He's on a 4-month contract with them, which means we should be here at least until February. Then again, things change at the drop of a dime here...so I'll keep you guys posted. :D

I have decided not to teach for inlingua and instead to pursue a volunteer teaching position with the Yanapuma Foundation. I will be assisting ESL teachers in elementary-school classrooms in under-funded schools just outside of Quito. My plan, though, is to work my way up to being an actual teacher, though, as I am very qualified for the position. :)

So, wish us luck...and here's to hoping that our plans work out this time, at least for the most part. :)

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David and I took a trip last weekend to Baños. We only stayed for a night, but we're set on going back because there are SO many cool things to do. We got awesome massages (I got a full body, David got a hot stone), and the next morning went canyoning! On our list for next time: horseback riding and white water rafting. :)

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my purse's contents in Ecuador

This may seem like a mundane subject for a post at first, but I think that comparing the typical contents of my purse here in Ecuador with what I'd carry in the United States could be interesting. It can also illustrate some of the bigger cultural aspects of living here, in a third-world, patriarchal, Latin American country.

At first glance, the strangest object is likely the toilet paper/napkins. I have to carry toilet paper with me whenever I go out in public. This is because the public restrooms (for men and women) do not provide toilet paper in the stalls. You can buy it from a dispenser at the entrance of some restrooms, but others just do not provide it at all.

My phone probably looks a little silly to most people in the United States. It's a phone I would've had at, like, 12 years old; it does nothing but call and text. Plus, it's prepaid. :P

Sunscreen also likely looks a little strange, but being on the equator means that if I go out for a walk at midday, I'm going to get fried without it. The hand sanitizer is a necessity for someone who relies on public transportation; those bus rails can be pretty yucky.

The most obvious thing missing is likely a wallet. I usually carry change or just a few bills depending on where I'm going. I never have my wallet or more than $20 on me. This is because petty crime is still a huge issue in Ecuador, and being white just means I attract more attention than necessary and look like a rich American.

I never thought I'd need to carry toilet paper in my purse, and I certainly never thought that leaving the house without my wallet would be a daily occurrence. I'll certainly be glad when I don't have to worry about whether I have enough toilet paper to take a bathroom break while I'm out, but for right now, I'm enjoying the odd little things that daily life in Quito entails. :)

[esladventures-blog]

So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

Chris McCandless

I need to keep this in mind every day here in Ecuador. I had forgotten it recently, but I'm determined to live this way while I'm here (and wherever I happen to be next, until I die!!

[azspot]

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Reminds me immediately of Ecuador's situation.

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When we were leaving Otavalo, I saw this massive cloud hovering around the top of a mountain nearby. So beautiful, and proof of just how high up we are!

[plasticinevirgo-deactivated2016]

Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you- it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you… Hopefully, you leave something good behind.

[esladventures-blog]

another instance of the skydive effect

So we went to find the post office today since my parents had sent me a package. It was a hassle even understanding the crazy dude who called us to let us know they had the package, but when we finally found it in what seemed like Quito's Chinatown, we found out that they'd be charging us over $130 just to pick up the package and copies of our passports. I handed him the passports to make copies, and he pointed me to the papelería across the street. Business partners?? :P Keep in mind that nobody EVER carries around $130 in Ecuador.

Also, we should've known it wasn't going to work out; it was our first attempt, after all. ;) We'll try again later this week...second attempt always seems to go a bit better.

[esladventures-blog]

a month in: reflections

I was Skyping with my parents the other day and they were telling me about how they have an appointment next week to finally have new carpet put in at their house. My knee-jerk reaction when they told me that the guys were supposed to come at 11am on the 13th to start the job was to ask them, "Are they really coming then?"

Only after living in Ecuador for a month would I have doubted the appointment that my parents (back in the United States, land of being on time and ultra-reliability) had made with a company to have a service done. Only after having been stood up about 5 times by the internet company here in Quito to have internet installed in our apartment would I have been unsure that the company actually intended to do what it said it was going to do.

If you can't tell, this ordeal with the internet was pretty damn frustrating for me. Other things here in Ecuador have been frustrating as well, but this post is not meant to be a rant. Instead, I want to reflect on the cultural differences that David and I have encountered here, examine how they've changed us (ever-so-slightly, but they have), and try to make the frustrations into something positive.

There are some things here in Ecuador that have changed my daily mindset quite a bit; there are things I never thought I would have to consider on a daily basis. Do I have enough toilet paper/napkins in my purse in case I need to use the restroom when I'm out? (Public restrooms do not provide toilet paper in women's restrooms, and if they do you need to pay for it.) Do I have enough change if I'm going out to buy something? (Most shops, restaurants, stores can't make change very well, so if our total comes out to be $2.32 and we hand them a $5, they will ask for change or smaller bills.) These are just a few things that are different from living in the States; I'd never need to carry my own toilet paper, and we don't even use change, much less cash!

I am also much more guarded now than I ever was in the United States. Part of this does have to do with living in a massive city of almost 3 million people (Harrisonburg just doesn't compare, haha), but part of it also has to do with living in a massive South American city of almost 3 million people who find the sight of David and I walking the streets to be strange and fascinating, but also a wonderful possibility to get some extra cash for the day, however that might be. Since arriving, we have gotten massively overcharged for taxis, internet cafe time, and food. We also have to be careful about going out at night and generally about keeping our belongings safe, whether that means keeping a very close eye and hand on them at all times, or just not bringing much out with us at all.

We have also come up with what we like to call the Skydive Effect, as in: If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you. This effect describes our inevitable failure at anything we attempt to do the first time around. We tried to visit Mitad del Mundo a couple of weeks ago and planned our entire day around it. Unfortunately, we couldn't even find the right bus and ended up walking around what proved to be the wrong end of the city all day long. The next day, however, we succeeded and had a wonderful time. Again, we attempted to take a day trip to Otavalo, an artisan market way up in the mountains and planned out the entire day, only to spend 2-3 hours walking the streets of Quito in an attempt to find the correct bus station. The next day, we took a city bus to the station and were on our way to the market within no time. Our mindset now is this: we're going to fail the first time we try anything, so let's just have fun with it.  We'll figure it out next time! :P

So far in this post, living in Ecuador may not sound so great. That is not the impression I wish to give off; it has been difficult, but there are also lots of wonderful things about Ecuador that I will surely miss when I get back to the United States. The food will definitely be first on that list. Food here is delicious, flavorful, natural, and cheap. I'm sure we will be disappointed by the general over-processed, artificially flavored, expensive crap that passes for food in the States when we return.

This post has gotten a bit out of hand, though, so I plan to post again soon (maybe even this evening) to finish my thoughts... :)

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Me and David posing in front of the view from the street we live on in Quito. It's gorgeous!

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Cultural exhaustion

Lack of internet in our apartment has really limited my ability to post about how exciting our daily lives have been over the past week! Yep, we finally found an apartment, and it ended up being much more difficult than we anticipated. Many of the people we contacted just didn´t respond, or heard David´s Spanish accent over the phone and didn´t want anything to do with us. We still don´t have internet there, though, so I´m sitting in an internet cafe just hanging out before David and I venture to the tiny coast town called Montañita for the weekend. :)

Culture shock has definitely taken its toll on us, and we were the typical excited, amazed travelers for the first week or so. Yesterday, there wasn´t enough hot water for us to shower in the morning, and the entire day was more difficult than we anticipated it to be due to differences in culture, langage, etc. Of course, that´s what we were seeking by coming here, but we decided that we had just been culturally exhausted and decided to have a super-American evening...

We went to Plaza de los Granados, which is a big, Americanized mall and food court with KFC, Chinese food, etc. We got huge hot dogs and drank Coke Zero and talked in English and even took our tray up to the garbage can after we were done (Ecuadorians just leave the trays, trash, pop bottles, etc on the tables!) :P

The little cultural differences like that have been interesting, but, as we realized, have exhausted us quite a bit. I think I´ll write a blog post on these little differences once I get a nice collection going in my head and can sit on my bed in my apartment and write it...hehe. :)

[esladventures-blog]

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”

Miriam Beard

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quick update

David and I made it to Ecuador on Wednesday afternoon. We stayed in a really nice hostel called The Imperial Hostal for 2 nights, and then with his host family last night. We've gone to look at one apartment, but it wasn't ideal, so we're going to look at another one this afternoon. This one sounds like it'll be great, but we'll have to check it out for ourselves. Hopefully we'll have a place to call home soon!

[artpixie]