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 […]
culture shock?
When I was abroad last semester, one of the first things in orientation we did is look over a diagram similar to this: about culture and reverse culture shock. I was pretty sure that I’d be immune to it, but sure enough after a couple weeks I found myself getting frustrated that I didn’t know […]
La primera semana
I’ve officially been here in Ecuador for a week now (It had been when I started writing this, anyways), and I left Colorado with the intention of keeping a blog, so here’s a step in that direction! For now, run-down (of varying brevity) of the days of my first week: Sunday, Jan 9th: I arrive in […]
El Primer Fin de Semana (The First Weekend)
This weekend was the first spent in Cuenca with mi familia. On Saturday, my host mom unfortunately had to work, so I spent the day with mi hermano (brother), two cousins, and a family friend, instead. After enjoying a late lunch of traditional Ecuadorian seafood, we spent the majority of the afternoon simply relaxing, laughing, […]