Advertisement
Published: January 21st 2020
Edit Blog Post
What a refreshing day it has been! I was able to visit the Botanical Gardens within the park that is across from where I live, and I spent some time at a local coffee shop chatting with friends. It was great to reflect on our experiences together, and share what may be similar and different in terms of our observations. Something that has become apparent for me after some conversations with my mama, is how she and her friends feel about other ethnicities settling in Ecuador, specifically Quito. These conversations with her naturally come up, and also make me feel uncomfortable. When we first arrived, our mama showed us around Quito, and talked about some of her favorite restaurants. The first time I began to feel uncomfortable regarding her feelings towards other people groups was when we passed a Japanese restaurant. Our mama told us that she did not like that there are certain restaurants in town that only certain Asian people groups are allowed to eat at. She said that she is uncomfortable with how many Asian ethnicities are in the country now, does not like how closed off they are, and she is wary about their business. While I
understand how and why her country is so rooted in their own culture, America is a melting pot of various cultures, and that is normal. I never think twice about the diversity in the US, nor do I feel uncomfortable around other ethnicities. I felt uneasy when mama was talking about various people groups here in Ecuador.
Fast forward to a few days ago, when this conversation came up again. I began asking questions about the governments in South America. She mentioned that she is wary about letting other cultures into Ecuador. She feels suspicious of the other ethnicities beginning to come here. She said she does not like how many of them are settling here, and she wants to preserve her own people group. I definitely understand that she, along with other Ecuadorians, have very strong roots and traditions here in Ecuador. I get a sense that they may be a bit suspicious to explore other cultures that may want to live here. I am not saying that this theme is across Ecuador at all. However, I definitely picked up on this with my mama, and she said her friends feel the same way. This is just unusual
to me because I know I would not talk about other ethnicities in the US in this way. I do not stare at other people who are of another ethnicity the way I get stared at here because I am white. This is something that makes me anxious and uncomfortable here- I get called “gringa” a lot by strangers passing by, groups of people point at me, people are staring quite often… it is just weird, an uncomfortable experience, and makes me feel anxious. The difference I am trying to convey here is that Ecuador is not as much of a “melting pot” type of country, like the US. That does not mean this is a bad thing, it is just different, and something to get used to if you are not Ecuadorian and staying here. I want to emphasize that I am in no way saying Ecuadorians are racist, or that my mama is racist. I just thought it was unusual that she was so suspicious of other cultures settling here, because this is normal in America! There is just a relational difference I have noticed between the US and Quito. I am definitely curious to know more about how other Ecuadorians feel about other ethnicities settling in their land, and will continue to ask about this even if I feel uncomfortable or uneasy about the topic. This type of topic to explore requires CQ Knowledge, which dives into one’s understanding of a culture, its norms, values, and behaviors (Livermore, 28). Culture can truly shape the way a group of people think and behave (Livermore, 28). The Ecuadorian culture is strong here, which is very neat! But this means it changes how they adapt or feel towards other cultures. CQ Knowledge also encompasses how one is able to understand how other cultures are different (Livermore, 28). I think what I have written about flows into this topic well because I can see how American culture is different than Ecuadorian culture in that America experiences more ethnic diversity, while Ecuador does not have as much diversity quite yet. This is not a problem, but is just different in how they approach foreigners that come into Ecuador. This is something that I have noticed since the first day we got here, and it is of strong interest to study further.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.121s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 10; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0859s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb