Days 5 and 6

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Day 5: Mitad Del Mundo

For breakfast, we had fruit ( pears, bananas, and mango) as well as a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Kim and I walked to ACLAS and after a devotional, we took a bus for about 45 minutes to Mitad del Mundo (the middle of the world aka the equator). We had a tour to learn about the people who lived in the area and some fun facts about the equator. For example, water does not swirl when it drains on the equator, but if you go a few feet north or south, it will swirl either left or right. I balanced an egg on a nail, so I got a certificate and we also got our passports stamped. Then we drove a very short distance to the historical equator line. This is where the equator was thought to be before GPS. We went through a museum, got some good pictures, and ate our packed lunch (pasta salad with tuna, mushrooms, and peppers). Most of us also got ice cream and looked around the shops there. Everything was very colorful! After we drove back to ACLAS, some of us went to the mall to hang out. I bought some sunglasses because mine broke in the morning 😞. At home, we had some time to relax and then met up with some friends at ACLAS to play some card games. Kim and I watched another episode of The Great British Baking Show before dinner. We had an omelet with spinach, a plantain ball with cheese, tea, and bread.



Day 6: Quito

For breakfast, we had a hot sandwich with meat (probably pork), tea, mangos, and mango juice. At ACLAS, we had survival Spanish class and we were broken into 3 groups based on ability. I was in the lowest level class since I have never taken Spanish, but the teacher thought we knew more than most of us did, so it was a little frustrating. We talked about how to introduce ourselves and our families, and family relationships. We had an hour of free time where most of us hung out in the garden area then a lesson on some ethnic groups in Ecuador. We had free time afterwords so a bunch of us brought or bought lunches, then went to the park to do paddle boating. It was only $4.90 for a boat of 2 people for 30 minutes! We went back to the mall for ice cream and relaxed at ACLAS until we left at 3 for Museo Casa de la Cultura (a museum on different cultures in Ecuador. We took a trolley, which is like a bus except it was super crowded. We were crammed in and at each stop, more people came in and not very many people got off, so it was full. We all made it without any incidents (26 people in total). We spent an hour in the museum looking around. There were a lot of paintings, sculptures, and goldwork. We took the trolley back and it was even more crowded. Two people weren't able to get off at our stop since it was so crowded but they made it back okay. Kim and I did some research for our ethnicity presentation, then had dinner with Zully and Anita. We had rice, chicken, and broccoli with shredded carrots. Mama came home and was upset because her boyfriend in the hospital had 3 liters of liquid taken from his lungs and tubes for continuous drainage. We all went to drop Mama off to spend the night out with some friends, then went to a different mall because Zully and Anita needed to do some shopping. When we came home, Kim helped me with my Spanish homework, then we went to bed.



Social Level Reflection:

As I walk along busy streets or through the mall, I see advertisements for all sorts of products. Every morning during breakfast, the tv is on with the news and commercials play during breaks. Ads are all around us. I have noticed that there are ads that feature people with white or very light skin. This is interesting to me because the people in the ads do not always look like most of the people here. There is a high percentage of mestizos but a low percentage of whites. This could maybe imply that people associate whiteness with wealth, power, and/or beauty. However, I have also been told that when Ecuadorians adjust to some western norms or appearance, other people may question if they are really still "one of them" or not. This is a slightly confusing dynamic to me because it seems that on one hand, there is a desire to look westerners because they are seen as more successful and wealthy, but on the other, there is pride in their own culture and way of life. In the Culture Smart book pages 52-53, it talks about how everyone is judged based on things such as last name and skin color. The rich elites are Blancos for their social status and skin color. Even though this is only about 5% of the population, they have a lot of power and influence. The middle class, which is mostly mestizos try to be more like the elite. They eat American fast food, learn English, and have cable TV. They believe that lighter skin leads to more opportunities. So, it then makes sense that there would be light skin portrayed in advertisements. It is showing that if you use their product, you will be seen as better off and more elite. It plays into the status dynamic.

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