In my last three weeks here in Ecuador, I have begun to really enjoy my time and feel as if I am adapting to the culture and life with my host family.
Week 4: Tattoo
In my 4th week here, I got my tattoo! In the build up to this trip, I knew I wanted to get a tattoo that would represent my heritage and roots. Although I could not find the exact tattoo I was looking for, I decided to go with the three most important animals to the Incas–Condor: heavens, Puma: living, and the Snake: underworld.
the condor is on my chest so it is not in this picture.
Week 5:
My Spanish class started to feel easier because I finally felt like I was improving my Spanish at this point. During one of my classes, my teacher took me to the outdoor market to experience a special healing practice. It was an energy cleansing done by a woman who has been blessed by ancestors, and believes that “God” cleans all pains and bad energy. She uses only natural medicine and many of the locals go twice a week on the two days the ‘healers’ are there: Tuesdays and Thursdays. This was a very different experience but cool. As someone who is not very religious, I kind of just went with the flow. The healer started off by rubbing an egg all over my body, then cracked it open into a cup to read my energy. She claimed that since there was a ring around the yolk, it meant someone from heaven was watching over me. She also said that I had a heavy chest, meaning that I had a big decision to make soon. After the ‘egg reading’ she gave me a mix of liquid concoctions to rub on my hands, face and body to help cleanse myself. At the same time, she had a bunch of leaves and flowers that she proceeded to hit me with! This part I did not understand completely but I believe it is also to help rid me of any bad energy.
One night this week, I went to a professional fútbol match between Cuenca and Delfin which was so fun! I think for me that was when I really felt like I was becoming assimilated with the community because I was at a local game, joining in the chants and jeers and all of it with the locals. The rest of the week was spent preparing for my final exam.
Week 6:
During my final week in Ecuador, my parents visited. I showed them all of the cool places I had been to and some new spots that I hadn’t yet visited. We covered a lot of the tourist sites—the Cathedrals, Archeological Museum, Mitad del Mundo (the Ecuator), and the main square, Plaza Calderon, where they were celebrating Corpus Christi with special street vendors, parades and nightly fireworks. After three days, we left Cuenca for Quito. Instead of taking the hour-long flight, we hired a driver to make the eight hour trek through the beautiful Andean mountains. It was a long drive but well-worth the trip!
Quito:
I do not remember much of my time before being adopted at nearly three years old but I do recall bits and pieces . . . so driving into Quito was cool and the houses were more of what I recalled Ecuador looking like. Cuenca was more traditional, both the people and the Spanish-influenced architecture; Ecuador is more modern and cosmopolitan and felt like a whole different world. Once we arrived to Quito, we walked around Parque Carolina and Quicentro shopping mall, both places where my parents took me and my sister when they were in Quito for a month working through the adoption process. This time, we did lots of shopping and site-seeing in Quito and I was told funny stories about how much of a cute menace I was as a child. We took a bus tour and explored the Historical Center, Cathedrals and el Panecillo (see photos).
On the last day of our trip, we finally found the street coordinates to my orphanage which has been closed for quite some time as Ecuador no longer offers private international adoptions. A family friend who came from the same orphanage had visited Ecuador five years ago and warned us that it was closed and the building was abandoned with vines growing through it. But when we got there it was very much not abandoned and is now housed by a government agency. The guard let us enter the complex so we reminisced and took photos of the outside where I used to play and sometimes cause havoc.
Reflection:
All in all, I very much enjoyed my time in Ecuador and feel as if not only did I improve my Spanish but I also learned so much about the culture and history of my home country that I would have never learned from here in the States. I am so thankful to have finally gotten the opportunity to see my homeland and although I do wish I could have spent more time in Quito, I think being in Cuenca was actually better for me because there was so much history. I am so thankful for my host family and everyone in Ecuador for the hospitality they showed me, especially my host mom (Elena) and family; Ana Loja and others at the University of Cuenca; my Spanish teacher, Maria; family friend Tia Tati who is from Ecuador and gave me lots of tips; and Victor Betancourt, Neumann University’s Associate Provost for Global Engagement who helped me to coordinate the trip. It was sad leaving, but I know I will be back after I graduate to spend more time in my homeland. My hope now is to actually become a dual citizen of the United States and Ecuador!