After my family's trip to Ecuador, my mom wanted to write a guest blog for our site. We were happy to share her experiences with you! Without further ado, here it is!
On June 16th, my sister Charlette, my nephew Shamarion,
my best friend Barbara (who is more like a sister than a friend) and myself
went to Ecuador, South America. The purpose of the trip was to visit my son and
his wife. As that Monday approached for us to take off, I woke up
with butterflies in my stomach. It reminded me of picture day in elementary
school or going on a field trip. I wanted to put on paper the experience I had
while visiting another country. So, I have given myself a homework assignment
that I want to share with my daughter-in-law and son.
As the four of us started our journey at the Douglas
Airport, we got on the plane and walked down the aisles to find our seats. I
noticed that I had a middle seat and Barbara had a window seat, so who did the
aisle seat belong to? I have always believed you never know who you might run
into, so always treat people kind and with respect. I could not have
guessed in a million years, the seat belonged to my cousin, Harvey Degree.
Harvey was a cousin that I did not know and had never seen before. But if you
know me you know I will start a conversation with anyone. That is how Harvey
and I realized that we were cousins and that we came from the same “big” town
of Cherryville, NC. That was my first experience before I even got out of my
own country or state. When we arrived in Miami, Harvey went his way to visit
his son. While my crew and I changed planes and continued our journey to
Ecuador.
As we got off our plane in South America, I had my second
experience. The director in the airport said, "All foreigners to your
left". I looked at Charlette, and said I am not a foreigner. She said,
"You are now". So, in less than 24 hours, I had become a stranger, an
outsider, an alien or a person who did not belong to the place I just entered.
Oh well I thought, I will be one of those for the time being, since I do
not have a much choice. As I waited for my luggage, I said to myself I am going
to see how many similarities there in this country compared to my own country.
What are the likes and dislikes, and what can I learn and take back with me?
I took many notes during my trip, but I have since lost them.
After over two months of searching I have not found them. However, I think I
will be alright, since I still got excited every time I think of something that
I just could not believe. I remember, the first was Wanda is a foreigner. The
second would be the sign in the bathroom at the hotel. There was a sign that
said, "Do not flush the tissue in the toilet". Oh no!! I had to
practice all week because that was something back home that I just did by
habit. There was a well prices the hotel, sixteen dollars a night including
breakfast. You cannot get that back home, that is a difference that was outstanding. The service was great, but Eric had an agenda for us that only had
us staying there but one night. If I remembered the name of the hotel, I would
share it with you, but remember I lost my notes.(side note it is was Santa Fe hotel in Otavalo)
Moving on... Day one we climbed hills (Eric says they are just normal streets but didn't feel that way to me) and went to visit the
family that took Eric and Emily in on their first arrival. I noticed there are
lots of parks that are enjoyed by everyone. You see people playing cards,
exercising, having lunch and enjoying each other (yeap!). Now, we do have
parks, but they are not used as much as I saw there (my opinion).
One thing we have in common is that we eat ice cream and so
do they. The difference is they eat it all the time, in the morning, afternoon and
evening and the price is different. I can get ice cream for twenty cents, now
that is what I was excited about. Ice cream is popular there and the majority
of it is made with fresh fruits.
As day three came around, I
thought I knew my way around along with Barbara. The two of us thought we would
go for early morning walk and pick up some breakfast, leaving the hotel while
everyone else was asleep. We stopped to ask some students how far Burger King
was and they had no clue what we were talking about. One thing I can say is the
oldest of them did try to show us by waving his hand in motion to say way down
there. This let us know it was more than three blocks. We adventured out anyway
to find it and when we got there we could not translate what we wanted. Barbara especially had trouble when she wanted
coffee and the ladies at the counter wanted to give her juice and coffee. Speaking
of which, that is different. They give you both juice and coffee and back home
you get one or the other, not both.
After that, we came out and not
realizing it we turned the wrong way. Realizing that we were lost and Eric was probably
looking for us we finally decided to stick our hand out and get a cab back because
after asking the police office, who did not speak English that was our best
guess. We survived and the price was right. Remember we got into a cab and
neither one of us spoke Spanish, but we did have a pamphlet that showed our
hotel on it. Now, that was an experience.
The next adventure was when we
went to the market, one of the biggest markets in South America, I had another
exciting moment. You know what we say here, "shop until you drop". We
had a wonderful time; I wanted to buy everything at the market. On the way
there we saw a big parade. All the streets closed down and everybody
celebrated. Instead of them throwing candy they gave out fruit. That is a change
from our side of the world.
Some other differences I noticed were:
· The majority of business hours are from 9 to 5 and that includes fast food, an example would be Dunkin’ Donuts. No coffee or donuts until 9am.
· The average price for a cab
is between 50 cents and 2 dollars and you stand on the corner and flag one
down.
· The majority of businesses
have a guard at the front door.
You park in the middle of
the traffic instead of next to the buildings. Traffic goes one way and the
parking lot is in the middle and on the other side the traffic goes the other
way. There is someone there to collect the money instead of having a meter.
· Most of the currency is the
same and the bills are like ours. Ecuadorians use a dollar in coin denomination
and their fifty cent piece is different.
· At the bus station, it cost
15 cents to use the restroom and there is a nice person sitting there to hand
you a certain amount of tissue.
· There isn't any wasting on
paper. Napkins come one per person, per meal, do not look for any on the table
or at the counter.
· It is difficult when you
don’t speak the language. Thanks to my translators (Eric and Emily), because I have
no clue how to speak Spanish. I appreciate them being there for me (remember I
like to talk and I was still trying to hold conversations and getting nowhere).
· Is they use kilometers
where we use miles
· You are able to buy fresh
meat, vegetables and fruit daily at the market. There are no added ingredients
in their food; it is fresh from the animal or garden. The produce is fresh and
the quality is great.
· I would say the driving is
crazy, and the pedestrian does not have the right of way like in our country.
In closing, what I noticed the
most is how Ecuadorians all embrace one another, whether it be getting off the
school bus, in the park or just strolling down the sidewalk. There is no shame
in them showing how much they care for one another. I would say that is one of
the most important things I brought back with me after my journey was to take
time out for others and let them know how much they are appreciated and loved,
whether it is family, friends or a stranger. That is the way God wants us all
to be!! If you read this I would like to thank you for doing so, and let you
know I am not a writer. I just wanted to share that no matter where you go in
this world there are some things that are similar and some that are different
but if you go with an open heart and mind, you will see more likes- and LOVE!
