Food for thought
On this page you will mostly find random thoughts about life in Ecuador. Often times this page will serve as a platform to critique the "normal" standards of living that many of us in the western culture have adapted. Again my goal is to challenge us, to accept a different way of living, and to be aware of other realities.
In my own personal life, I have often felt stuck in different stages of my life and I am only 23 years old! There has been such a rigid structure given to me of what the rest of my life is supposed to look like: go to school K-12, go to a four year college, go to graduate school, work for the rest of my life with a decent pay, all while getting married, and having a family. Not that this reality is bad but sometimes this reality is not for everyone. So when I traveled to Ecuador the first time, it changed my whole perspective on life, it changed the way I normally did things because I was able to witness how other people were living their lives and how other people were thinking about the same concept or idea differently. It was extremely liberating, and thus why I want to share with you all the endless possibilities and the various perspectives of life that people hold, so that we can implement some changes in our lifestyles. So please keep an open mind and enjoy!
Stay tuned,
Anabel
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April 7th, 2018
Until we meet again,
Nothing is better than sharing this beautiful journey with the love of your life, your best friend, the one that has been there for literally everything. From the smallest milestones to the biggest accomplishments. It hasn’t been easy for the both of us, we’ve been a part before, but not nearly for this long.
Our relationship has been tested so many times and I honestly cannot believe we still stand here strong. This journey has most of all tested me as an individual. For years I haven’t fully experienced being alone, doing what I want to do, eating what I want to eat, thinking what I want to think. Relationships do that to you. You have to consider your partner's feelings, be able to compromise and accommodate. It’s not asking for permission in order to travel the world (like in my situation) it’s running it by them as a courtesy. It’s a partnership and although that is a beautiful thing sometimes people lose themselves. So this one is for all the couples out there.
Relationships aren’t easy, and as perfect as some may seem, they aren’t. People meet at a certain point in their life and at that moment it seems absolutely perfect. You two are intrigued, attracted to one another, maybe have similar mindsets, you seem like a perfect match. However overtime, growing as an individual is inevitable. Opportunities are thrown at people everyday, each step they take, changes them whether they like it or not. Maybe your partner doesn’t grow at the same speed as you, maybe you begin to have different dreams, aspirations, and opinions. Whatever the case is, at the end of the day people can choose to work through it, but it takes both partners to want to work it out and maybe sometimes it won’t work out, maybe you both have changed too much and end up deciding that you’ll be happier apart, or as friends. Nonetheless, don’t be too quick to throw in the towel, sometimes all you need is to remember why the both of you fell in love in the first place, and if you are able to concentrate in all the positives, the negatives will not be able to outweigh them. Find ways to grow together, to better eachother, treat each other with respect, be understanding, but love yourself and find yourself before committing your whole self to another individual.
My partner and I met nearly eight years ago, I was actually just starting high school and he was a junior at the time. However, the young and dumb period got to us and we actually didn’t start dating until three years later. Those who know our story, know how rocky it has been, but we aren’t ones to live in the past and so we prospered and decided that we shared more beautiful than ugly, thus here we are...
As for my journey in Ecuador, it has allowed me to me to find myself, and when I return, the biggest challenge yet will be being able to keep this version of myself within my relationship. Of course it’ll still be a partnership, but I am not the same person anymore, how can anyone be after living abroad immersed in a whole new culture, and adopting a whole new routine and lifestyle? My partner was able to see a glimpse of that when he recently came to visit me, but after conversing and knowing the partner that I have, someone who is understanding and accepting, I am confident that we’ll make it through the rough transitioning.
So fight for love, even if it’s complicated, because although the journey is great alone, it’s even better with someone you can share it with. So with all that said, I just want to thank my partner for being there through this whole journey, for being patient, supporting, loving, for making us a priority, and for stepping outside of his comfort zone, and never giving up hope. He had hardly ever left Minnesota, never been on a plane, and he came to a whole new country on his own because he knew it was important for us and just another part of our journey. No we don’t have all of the answers and we don’t know what life will be like in a few months, or years, but for now our hearts are still in sync and we are choosing to fight for one another, not out of habit because we’ve been together for so long, but because we are genuinely happier with each other in our lives. We help each other grow, we still love each other, and so I think that’s worth fighting for.
So to the love of my life, el amor de mi vida…
I’ll see you tomorrow,
Anabel
February 24th, 2018
Hope
Living shouldn't ever be about just going through the motions in order to get to Friday. You shouldn't allow yourself to get angry at the meaningless things like the person who cuts you off on the freeway, or the waiter that brings you the wrong order. Living should be about enjoying the little things, trying new foods, hobbies, and making new friends every single day. It’s about being humane and understanding that people are more than their job title, socio-economic class, the color of their skin, their gender, their disability. We get caught up on labels as being something someone is, but those labels are only characteristics of a person, characteristics that we as a society made up in the first place.
I can testify to living everyday as someone who isn’t seen as more than those characteristics. How did we get here? How is it that an entire society of what is supposed to be an accumulation of the most intelligent species the world has ever seen can also be the most ignorant.
I remember the day that I realized I had stopped living. I was working 50+ hours a week, and going to college full-time. Although I’m sure I enjoyed beautiful days, I can’t remember them, because I let a whole year pass me by, and all I remember from that year is working at an unfulfilling job just trying to keep a roof over my head and my fridge stocked, all while passing my classes. One things for sure, that although I earned good grades, I learned nothing that year, except that I knew that the life that I was living, wasn't living at all, but I also noticed other people weren't living either.
I worked for a four-star hotel where I met very wealthy Americans. And although they may have had everything money could buy, they still thought they needed more. I never understood how they could stand in front of me and yell at me for the most meaningless things as though their happiness depended on it. Their pillows were never fluffy enough, their breakfast was hardly ever complementary, and sometimes they thought they were paying too much for a room clearly not worth it. All things that had nothing to do with how much happier they would be, but everything to do with money, everything to do with getting their way, and everything to do with my position vs theirs in this society. Our society has sold their well-being and humanity for money, for selfishness, and greed.
Wake up and look where we are! We stopped caring about each other and caring only about ourselves, how much we can gain without thinking twice about what the person on the opposite side is losing. We are greedy even though we have much more than any person needs, and if we keep this up we will be driving ourselves to our own grave.
I’m not here to point any fingers or create a hostile feeling if you are anything like the people I mentioned, because I played my part too. I’m just here hoping to push us into changing our way of living, and our way of caring. The odds may be stacked against us, since our grave is pretty deep by now, but it only takes your part to salvage the life we have created for ourselves.
Change your thinking, change your world,
Anabel
P.S. Stay tuned for when I talk about how I began to live again.
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February 23rd, 2018
Hollow
I’ve allowed myself to go hollow. To purposefully vacant my mind of thoughts and opinions about our everyday life. I’ve scrolled past every imaginable video about a school shooting, every article about illegal immigrants and police brutality. I’ve skipped past statistics of prejudice and discrimination against people of color in comparison to whites. I’ve forced myself to not analyze or to not feel any emotions for a whole month because well, it has become draining. I feel emotions 100% whether they are happy ones or sad ones...some would call me an empath, but well, if you haven't noticed, I’m not a fan of labels.
Sometimes it’s necessary to pull away from media because our well-being depends on it. Everyday is a constant roller coaster after hearing about the horrors of the world, and then experiencing and hearing about kind gestures, beautiful friendships, and reconciliations. You just can’t seem to have one without the other.
I’ve always thought of this world as being a beautiful place where bad things happen, but the truth is, too many bad things have happened and it had briefly tainted my vision. Thus why I put my thoughts and opinions on pause, so that I wouldn’t lose myself during this battle.
Some would call me naive to think that this world could ever be a beautiful and peaceful place, but although tragedies have been occurring for centuries, for me it’s easy to imagine a world where we truly live together. And that is why I have never stopped giving people the benefit of the doubt, or why I have given the same people over 20 chances after they have let me down over and over again. Because if I stop forgiving, I stop giving people the opportunities of changing, and I also risk myself in becoming a bitter person with a lot of hatred and anger.
I wanted my mind to be blank for a while because I have a tendency to analyze every situation, every action, and inaction because I just want to understand how people can become so heartless and so cruel. I feel like there’s a reason for everything even if the “why” or the “how” isn’t ever clear and I don’t think it’s even clear to the people who make those inhumane choices either.
Our society is a demanding one, with constant pressures to follow social norms and to reach certain goals... if only we could break out of that habit. I continue to hope for us, even if I become hopeless for just a few seconds. I’m here to tell you that it’s okay to go hollow, just make sure you don’t stay there forever, only long enough to recuperate and continue fighting your daily battles. I also want you to forgive more, because having unfinished business puts you in a very dark place and will cloud your judgement, holding you back from living a happy life. So from one fighter to another, live your best life.
Anabel
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January 27th, 2018
“niña”
When do I become known as a woman? A lady? A señorita? I’m 23 years old now, but somehow I still get described as a girl. Yes, Latin America is known for machismo, but I don’t believe it is any different around the world. Maybe our western society is “more aware” of the damages of calling grown women: girls, but we under no circumstances have stopped that habit. And I’m by no means innocent of using this word either.
Just a few days ago I posted this picture…
We are continued to be seen as less than from our gender binary counterparts. I am more than just a pretty face! I am stronger than you make me seem! And most of all I am capable of holding an intellectual conversation! So society, STOP treating me as less than what I am! STOP with the cat calling, and STOP calling me niña.
Sincerely an Unapologetic Brown Woman,
Anabel
December 16th, 2017
Teaching as a little brown girl…
Teaching a language that originates and has been portrayed as belonging to the white man has made my credibility as an English teacher rather complex. If you don’t know me personally, or if you haven’t noticed me in the pictures I have posted, I am not exactly white, yet I speak English and now I teach it as well. No I don’t have an accent, and yes many people are often surprised at how well I speak English, and being in Ecuador most people are also surprised at how well I dominate both languages.
For the most part my students like that I know both languages very well, so I can explain something they don’t understand in Spanish, but I noticed that toward the end of the cycle I began to use my ability to speak Spanish as a crutch because I began to explain so many things in Spanish, which won’t be useful for my students in the long run since they won’t have me as their personal interpreter. On the other hand I also had a parent a little nervous of me being their child’s teacher, because being bilingual in Ecuador often means you have an accent when you speak English, or it means speaking too much Spanish in class, or not fully knowing English grammar. So this parent was concerned because CEDEI is known as one of the best institutions to learn English, and well one of the most expensive too (target population: upper-class). So I understood this parent's concern since it's not apparent that I am an English teacher by just looking at me, because English speakers apparently don’t look like me, at least not the good English speakers.
So yes it’s complicated and yes I often have to explain to others why I speak English so well, looking the way I look like. My response is always the same and goes like this “my parents are from Mexico, they moved to the US (legally) over 30 years ago, so I was born there. I also went to a bilingual elementary school”. Is it frustrating having to explain myself? At this point not really, I’ve kinda mastered it for the past 20 some years. Wow 20 some years, we’re kinda evolving at a slow rate at what diversity looks like…
For those who always have to explain themselves, hang in there!
Love,
Little brown girl Anabel
P.S. Leave your experiences below I’d love to hear them!
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December 10th, 2017
I finished my first cycle of English teaching!
Ten weeks has past since I taught my first official English classes. I was assigned a total of four English classes, two niños courses each with 8 students (ages 9-11), and two beginner level courses, one with 5 students and the other with 12 (ages 13-37). I taught 3 classes Monday-Thursday from 3-7:15 p.m. and one Saturday class from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Overall I learned that I really enjoy teaching, it is definitely something I didn’t see myself ever doing, especially teaching a language that I am not an expert in. You see I grew up bilingual not really mastering either language. Of course I speak Spanish and English relatively well, with the exception of having a broader English vocabulary due to our education system, but knowing the grammar rules and structures to each language is not exactly my strong suit. So I wasn’t really confident in my ability to teach English, but I still went for it, hoping for the best.
I work for CEDEI here in Cuenca, Ecuador and they do an excellent job in laying everything out for what needs to be covered in class. For the most part all quizzes, exams, and writing exercises that should be covered are given to the teachers and so basically I just have to lay everything out and try to transform book activities into whole classroom interactions. On occasion there are some questions that I can’t directly answer in class, most questions that start with “why is with this, but not with that” and knowing that I can’t just say “well because it is” I have to do my research that night, in order to give the students a proper response the next day.
As far as my students in general, they were all so very sweet and generous, I was so lucky to get such a great group of students. The niños courses took a lot more energy however, because, well they’re kids and so we often struggled to start class on time. It also took a lot of energy trying to incorporate so many activities in one hour, but obviously necessary, since kids can’t simply sit still for a whole hour. It’s difficult for them, especially since they get out of a normal school day just to sit through another hour of learning. Not only that however, it’s an hour of learning a language that doesn’t get spoken often in their community. If you have ever taken a language class that isn’t native to you, you know how exhausting learning a language can be. So I absolutely admire these students for at least trying. It is apparent from the beginning that English isn’t often engrossed in their daily activities, so it is important to advise students to speak English during the whole class period because they won’t get that outside of class. From most of the adults that I taught I learned many wanted to learn English in order to be more of an asset in their profession, others to be able to travel. I think English is particularly useful in Cuenca, because there is a huge expat and retiree community here. Thus a lot of companies would like their staff to know English in order to be able to expand their business to English speaking people.
So overall, just to wrap this up, teaching takes a lot of patience and having compassion for your students, but it also involves teaching yourself beforehand and being prepared for everything and anything that may occur in class. It means adapting your lesson plans everyday depending on how well your students understand the material. Of course teachers have their own agenda, and have to be able to cover certain things, but remember to cater to your students so that they get the most out of the course, make sure students are understanding and not just memorizing.
Please feel free to ask me any questions on teaching, I know I have only been teaching for three months, but if you are thinking about becoming an ESL teacher, especially abroad, let me know! Maybe I can help you on the process! This is definitely quite an amazing journey and beats any regular ol’ 9-5 job!
Remember to live,
Anabel
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Rehearsing to present their final projects to their parents!
This class didn't want to invite their parents lol!
Kiddos brought pizza for our last day of class!
Last day of class (niños and two girls from my Saturday class)!
November 30th, 2017
Fundación El Arenal
The moment I walked into El Arenal, I have been received with open arms. I have volunteered at many organizations and they were all wonderful of course, but this one is particularly special because I bonded instantly with all the staff and students (well the teenagers were a little hard to shake, but after awhile they too opened up). El Arenal makes it so much easier adjusting to being far away from home because I get treated as a family member. I feel like I am constantly surrounded by aunties, uncles, and cousins; ones that I can gossip with, others that I can hug when I am down, some who I can make a fool out of myself with, and the little ones that I can play games with that bring out my inner child.
El Arenal is an organization that works with at-risk youth whose parents typically work at Feria Libre which is a large food market that is located in a very poor sector of Cuenca, Ecuador. These children and adolescents are deemed as at-risk because they often have to miss/quit school in order to help their family members sell goods at the market, or take care of their younger siblings. Also living in a very poor sector allows for a greater influence of violence and drug use, and many times receiving inadequate homework help and health-care. El Arenal thus provides a space for the youth to receive full-benefits that other children are fortunate in receiving. Such as: homework help, meals, snacks, an on site psychologist to help with difficult circumstances and behavioral issues, resources to learn about outside knowledge, and opportunities that will guide their future. Overall, El Arenal has a solid mission to offer educational support, and family guidance under the difficult circumstances these families have to live in.
So yes, it’s true that it’s not all fun and games, I mean the population I work with do live in difficult circumstances and often times they have to switch from being just kids to mature adults in order to deal with their hardships. It can be overwhelming when you know about their life situations, but see them still so full of energy, hope, and love. They teach me so much about love, just like the other places I have volunteered at. That people can form beautiful relationships regardless of the circumstances and differences. They teach me about perseverance and about enjoying the little things, and especially about living in the moment. All I can do is take these moments of learning and return the favor when they are feeling down. Again even though my role is to assist with homework and keep an eye on the students so that they don’t partake in violence which can happen, simply because they often see violence in their circumstances, I am mostly here to offer support because the organization already does a great job in benefiting the students and offering opportunities that they may have never come across. Such as field trips to the swimming pools, parks, camping, movies, etc. Thus, El Arenal offers a space for at-risk youth to come together to learn and support one another during times of hardship, and I am extremely fortunate to be a part of a great organization that is contributing to my growth as a person.
Love always,
Anabel
P.S. see my previous post on the meaning of volunteering
My time at El Arenal thus far (see more in the photos section):
November 29th, 2017
A volunteer does not = a savior
Before a person begins to do volunteer work, they should ask themselves a series of questions:
- Why do I want to volunteer?
- What will my role specifically entail?
- What do I hope to get out of this experience on a personal level?
After asking themselves these questions, the person should make sure that none of their answers involve:
- Because I want to help needy people
- I will enlighten unfortunate people with my knowledge and expertise
- I hope to change people’s lives
Although being a volunteer is often known as someone who does unpaid work with people and organizations that face difficult circumstances, there has been a misconception of what that role really means. Many people have believed that their role is to help these people and organizations move towards a better way of living, or that somehow their presence as a middle to upper-class individual automatically means that they are the savior and it is up to them to change lives. Although these are often done with good intentions, it’s not exactly the correct way to go about volunteer work.
For me personally, I have been volunteering every year since I was 17 years old. I have volunteered at various organizations, with a variety of populations of people, and although I may have started with a superficial thought about what it meant to be a volunteer, I have evolved with a greater understanding, but I too continue to learn. I have found that with all of these experiences I have been taught a lot more than I could ever offer to an organization or a group of people. A volunteer is about someone who is there to support a group of people or an organization during difficult times. More than often these people and organizations already have a mission and a great plan on how to unravel these goals. However, they need volunteers to offer some motivation or to provide an extra set of hands to make their work more efficient and effective.
During this, volunteers should get to know the population they are working with and learn more about their culture, and their daily routines. It should be treated just like getting to know people from our everyday encounters, but in this case, volunteering offers the opportunity for a person to go outside of their normal social circles and get to know more about a population of people they wouldn’t have gotten the chance to know. You see we tend to spend time with people who are similar to us, our socio-economic class, race, age, sexual orientation, gender, profession, and other labels often create a wall between people who fall under the same category and those who don’t. There aren’t enough opportunities in our society to mingle with those who fall under different categories, this creates a huge a divide that is clearly visible. Just look around your neighborhood… I’m sure it’s mostly composed of a certain group of socio-economic class and race(s). Thus why volunteering could be a form of getting to know each other better, getting to know amazing people that we wouldn’t have had the chance to meet. It should be treated as a mutual exchange between you and the organization, one person doesn’t know more than the other, both sides have great insights to offer, and much to learn about one another. So please before you begin to volunteer, take these points into consideration, or if you’ve never had a chance to volunteer, now is your chance, but again go in with an open heart and mind!
As always, stay humble and stay wise,
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November 7th, 2017
Trust
I almost got scammed/robbed or worse!
I honestly don’t know what could've happened to me today. You see I was just walking home from work around 11am and this man stops me and asks for help. I couldn’t really understand him, but of course I still attempted to help him out. Luckily, two seconds later he stops a woman and asks her for help too, however he insisted that I stay because apparently he trusted me more than her. So of course because I tend to be very generous I went along. After walking with them a few blocks I started talking to the lady. She seemed really nice and I trusted her at first. I trusted her enough that I ended up telling her I wasn’t from Ecuador, but from the United States. She told me about her and her family and every now and then she would ask me more and more about me. I thought she was just curious about why I was here, where I worked, and where I lived in Ecuador. I didn’t see any harm at first so of course I gave her pretty much all that information. As we kept walking I finally learned about what exactly I was helping the man with. He had won the lottery! $200,000 worth. He showed me his “winning ticket” and the woman conveniently had the poster with the winning numbers on it to show me. The man had me verify that those were the winning numbers, and they were! So he wanted me to cash it for him because apparently they wouldn’t let him since people were looking for him. Any how after walking for about 10 minutes I asked again which bank we were going to since we were moving further and further from downtown. I began to feel uncomfortable and unsafe, they began to ask me to show them how much money I had in my bank and purse so that the guy could trust me knowing that I don’t need his winning money. He also kept telling me that he was going to give me a cut of his money for helping him out, which I thought was nice but I told him I really didn’t need it and that I wanted him to keep it and get home safely with it all. Once we apparently were approaching our final destination he wanted me to leave something with him so that I wouldn’t run off with his winning money. The woman took out her wallet and cell phone to give to him. When it was my turn I finally caught on. I said to myself “I bet these two know each other” and said you know what I have to go prep my classes, but I hope it all goes well for you. All he had to say was okay I will just give more to the other lady that stayed and I said okay and quickly walked away.
I suppose it is possible that he really won all that money, but I wasn’t going to stick around to find out. There were too many red flags. It’s a bummer that I had to experience this because I have had it really good here, but it is a learning lesson for me and everyone who is reading this. Please don’t walk away thinking Ecuador is unsafe and create unnecessary stereotypes about Ecuadorians because this could happen anywhere in the world. There’s just a few bad eggs that maybe have been treated unfairly by life and have learned to live a certain way, making it hard to trust people. However, this experience is unique and doesn’t pertain to all people of Ecuador. Life is hard and well some people end up resorting to risky work. Nonetheless, I am safe and I still love Ecuador very much, I just have to be a little more cautious from now on.
Until next time,
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October 28th, 2017
Holidays: Values vs Capitalism
Don’t get me wrong I love halloween, I love having an excuse to dress up, decorate my home with spider webs and pumpkins, eat endless amounts of my little sister’s candy, and now that I’m older, being able to party as a zombie until 2 am. But why do we really make such a big deal about holidays in the U.S.? Is it because we are excited to spend time with our family or because with holidays comes an excuse to eat large meals, being able to spend money on costumes and decorations that give a sense of nostalgia?
It’s sad honestly, that we seem to need holidays in order to spend time with our loved ones. And those who can spend the most money on decorations, gifts, and food are the most favored by our society. Being here in Ecuador, I’ve definitely been more in touch with my Latinx culture, being able to learn about true values. Familia is the number one priority here in Ecuador, that’s why most, if not all people get to go home for a two hour lunch break. They are able to eat with their family. I mean they actually sit together at the dinner table!
On Sundays, most stores except a few restaurants are closed because that is the most popular day to spend time with your family. Families will often go to the park, go to the many fairs that are always around, or meet up with their extended family members for dinner. They don’t need a holiday to take some time off work in order to spend quality time with their family members, and we shouldn’t either. We’re living a dangerous cycle in the U.S. we work so much because we want to provide for our loved ones, but we don’t actually need material things in order to feel loved, we need one another's time, and presence, we need more love. Stop slaving your life away just to feed into our capitalistic society, take a break, relax, and enjoy some human company!
Love,
Anabel
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October 1st, 2017
Let's talk about host families...
For those of you who haven't lived with a host family for a brief to long period of time let me tell you that a host family may remind you of your own family, that is if you grew up being close to your own family members. They may invite you out with them to eat, go to church, you watch movies with them, you all eat together (which may be different from most western families), you may even get lucky enough to go on vacation with them. Overall you attach yourself to their routine as a family.
After a while you may actually really feel a part of the family as if you have known each other for your whole lives. Then a number of things may happen that you realize your actual family is far away and you miss them very much, more than you ever would have if you were there and never left. Things like when it comes to taking pictures, all of a sudden you have to take their picture as a family, you may be in one or two pictures with them, but eventually you have to take a picture of them... without you in it. Allowing you to remember you're not actually a part of their family. Or when you go to their family gatherings they begin to talk about things that you're not familiar with, or when they run into friends and you are introduced as the exchange student. This isn’t done on purpose to make you feel bad, in fact most host families are the sweetest and most caring people ever because they intentionally signed up to provide their home as a place for foreigners to stay while visiting, and they are often curious about your own culture as you are of theirs. It is a mutual learning exchange between one another.
Nonetheless, when you're away from your actual family you begin to appreciate them so much more than you ever would have because you begin to notice the little things. The little things they do everyday that you don't always thank them for or think is a big deal. And it's odd to think that the reason why we tend to feel homesick is because all of a sudden you're faced with unknown and uncomfortable situations and as socialized humans we long for a sense of knowing and belonging, something that you can't possibly have when visiting a foreign country. All you have to count on, is your perseverance and willingness to learn because in order to have a rich intercultural experience you have to be willing to become comfortable with the uncomfortable.
Hang in there,
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September 15th, 2017
A beautiful friendship,
I met Estefania two years ago when I first studied abroad in Quito, Ecuador. I did an internship at La Fundación Sol de Primavera where Estefania was a student at the time. I have so much love for La Fundación Sol de Primavera because it is an alternative for at-risk youth who were either rejected or couldn’t afford “regular” schools. This organization takes students in that other schools won’t. Sol de Primavera believes in them, and gives them a chance despite their circumstances.
At the time some of the services they offered were teaching the general courses like math, vocabulary, natural sciences etc., as well as offering technical workshops so they can earn a certificate in bakery, carpentry, or sewing so that they may find a job once they graduate from the program. They also have an onsite psychologist, because, well, their living circumstances are really challenging. They also provide lunch since many depend on eating a healthy well-balanced meal, since for many it may be their only meal of the day.
When I was there, I was in charge of teaching math and vocabulary to three students, who were really behind because they either learn at a slower pace or didn’t have the opportunity to attend a “regular” school until now. Much like Estefania who was 18 at the time and couldn’t write, read, and had trouble doing simple math in her own language. However, I thought these students were teaching me so much more than I could have ever taught them. They taught me so much about Ecuadorian culture, about important familial values, they made me feel at home, and most importantly they taught me that you can create a beautiful relationship with complete strangers despite cultural background, socio-economic class, gender, sexual orientation, and age.
Stay humble,
Anabel
Anabel
Ecuador 2015:
Ecaudor 2017: Reunited with Estefania
To learn more about Fundación Sol de Primavera please visit their site: http://www.soldeprimavera.org/es/la-fundacion/que-hacemos.html
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September 1st, 2017
Culture Shock
If you haven’t been out of the U.S. or other western societies you most likely have a certain image of Africa, Central America, South America etc., and honestly that is not entirely your fault. Popular culture and our western academic system don’t seem to do a good job at portraying the reality of those places, or the people that live there. We grow up with single stories of groups of people and their countries.
If you look up Africa on google images you get pictures of a safari, or of the continent as a whole, but if you get more specific and look up certain countries and cities within Africa we see infrastructure and similar living situations that we are so used to in our own western world. In other words if you “show a people of one thing, over and over again that is what they become” (Adichie, Single story Ted Talk). The media and our academic system has focused on single scenarios of people and countries, not letting us in on the whole truth, the complete image of a group of people and their homes. It is no wonder that when we finally get out of our habitual environment we go into shock because we haven’t learned about other people. We shouldn’t be surprised when we realize how similar “their” country is to “ours”, or how different they behave from situations that we are used to. It isn’t weird, it’s just an alternative. This is why we must educate ourselves on other cultures, customs, and traditions, maybe then we can limit the hatred or confusion we feel when we come across people who identify different from us.
Thus, on a personal note, I myself imagined other Latinx countries to be very similar to Mexican culture, but they’re not! All 30+ Latin American countries are all different in their own unique ways. Many have different traditions, and their own twist to the spanish language (the same vocabulary can often have different meanings). There are many indigenous groups within those countries too who speak their own language, have their own belief system and ways of doing things. For instance, Ecuadorians do not generally like spicy food, they don’t put lime on everything, they don’t eat tortillas, they don’t have tamarind candy, they don’t listen to the same type of music as Mexicans traditionally listen to, they don’t celebrate day of the dead the same way, and the list goes on. I too was expecting all of this when I first came here, but I was brainwashed, even as someone who identifies as Latinx! All the stereotypes that exist out there are incomplete, so please just let go of all your expectations, unlearn what you have been taught, and just live and accept the differences that exist between us, they’re so beautiful, I promise.
Until next time,
Anabel
August 1st, 2017
It’s the little things…
It’s the cluster of predominantly brown eyes, tinted skin tone, and short stature that makes me feel like I belong. It’s walking through the city and hearing a language that isn’t foreign to this society. It’s the Latinx rhythm and music that flows within all of the stores, homes, and through the parks. Unlike back home where if you would like to hear and dance to Latinx music in public, you’d pay a $10 - $20 cover to enter one of the few Latinx clubs. But here, the language and music of my Latinx culture flows freely.
It is the most amazing feeling to be able to walk through the city without sticking out for once, without being judged because your tinted skin doesn’t belong in the nice side of town, or inside the prestigious stores. It’s devastating that a country I hardly knew about could feel more like home than a place I have lived all my life. Although I love the place that I call home, because of my loved ones, my support system, and the infinite number of cultures, I will forever feel like a foreigner in my own land, especially as long as we don’t realize the true definition of what it means to be an American.
I identify as Mexican American, but somehow I am always just Mexican in our western society. My skin color and my customs somehow aren’t seen as American. It’s strange really, because the United States of America is composed of so many races, cultures, traditions, and customs...shouldn’t an “American” be just that? Someone that belongs to a country with so many beautiful people from all parts of the world? Hopefully someday I’ll be able to call the U.S. home, but for now I am home.
To be continued,
Anabel
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To be continued,
Anabel
July 1st, 2017
The problem with "same thing, different day"
Living a habitual life day after day makes it so difficult for the human being to become comfortable with any situation that differs from their daily routine. It is so difficult right now to be away from everything that I have become comfortable with, and to be away from everyone who I have routinely seen for most of my life. This makes it difficult for many of us to have rich experiences like going abroad for months/years at a time to either do missionary work, volunteer, study, or just to live. However this is what many of us long for. To be able to travel and enjoy all that comes with traveling, like experiencing a new culture or soaking in new climates.
For instance being away from my beautiful mother is so hard. Her presence is comforting just like the presence of my father, my sisters and my boyfriend. Traveling would be so much easier if our lives weren't structured by these habitual routines. Nonetheless I wouldn't have it any other way, because it allows for the human being to appreciate their loved ones, and re-evaluate the amount of time they spend with them. Although it has only been a few weeks, It has been really hard not to cry every time I facetime my loved ones, but this year apart will be good because I will be able to continue re-evaluating my life and how I interact with others, especially those closest to my heart.
So I ask you to step outside your comfort zone every now and then so that you are able to adapt more easily to unordinary situations, situations that can really benefit your life, that can bring you joy and many opportunities.
Love,
Anabel
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