The topic of “ethnocentrism,” looms large in my life and thoughts here in Ecuador. Daily, I struggle to rationalize my emotions and visceral responses to the culture shock I experience while traveling in South America. I try to take into consideration how my presence, as a citizen of the United States living temporarily in Ecuador, […]
Cultural Relativism
I think that we, as students of Lewis and Clark have a very unique relationship with ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. In fact I think students from areas all around the world are taught to break apart from the ideals of ethnocentrism which roots from a lack of open mindedness. Which I believe that absolutely everyone […]
Culture Shock (or Lack Thereof)
Culture shock for me in Cuenca has not been nearly as prominent as I expected it to be. There are little differences that pop up most days, but this overwhelming feeling of being in a different country really hasn’t hit (yet?). The most prominent of these differences pop up in the home, but outside I […]
Culture Shock Post
When I arrived in Quito at the beginning of this program, I was prepared to be immediately confronted with so-called “culture shock.” However, I didn’t have this immediate response, probably because we were traveling in a group of very similar “extranjeros,” and so the full effect of this phenomenon was buffered. However, once I arrived […]
Welcome to the World
I guess I’m in a little bit of a different position than most people on this trip. I spent last semester abroad in Tanzania on the east coast of Africa. I went back to the United States for a total of 7 days, and the reverse culture shock is an ongoing extremely difficult process. So […]