September 2014
Ecuador is incredible.
So much has happened my first month and a half that I do not know where to
begin!
I suppose I’ll start
with my family; my parents are Patricia and Wilo Guerro, and I have four
siblings. The oldest, Crissy, is 25, married, and has a three year old
daughter, Dana Sophia. My second sister, Isabella, is seventeen and currently
on a rotary exchange to France. Living at home with me is Emilo, 15, and
Pablito, 10. One thing that I really love about family here is how large and
intimate it is. Crissy, and my grandparents live on the same city block as us,
and we often get together for family dinners or outings. They have all been so warm
and welcoming, I truly feel that I am a part of the family. I have become
especially close with my mother, Pati, who I call Mamá. Taking the advice of
our district’s beloved former Brazilian student, Gabi, I say yes to everything-
this keeps me very busy always running errands with my ma into the beautiful
town center of Otavalo. Whether it’s a trip to the fruit vendors, attending a
meeting of the barrios at the city’s municipal buildings, or attending a little
kid’s birthday party, I feel as though it is all an enriching part of the
experience (and will help me the language).
On that front, my
Spanish is coming along very well. I can understand nearly everything, I just
struggle producing it on my own, ie. Talking and writing. Nonetheless, I am
able to communicate with ease everything that is necessary with my family. All
of my exchange student friends tell me that they’re so jealous of and impressed
by my language abilities. At first I was very proud… and then I realized that
as Europeans the majority of them are learning Spanish as their third language
(on top of their native tongue and English). And for many others Spanish is
going to be their fourth language!
Yet, of course, there
have been some growing pains- mostly related to the high school. I am attending
the Bilingual academy of the city’s dioceses, a private Catholic school in the
neighboring city of Ibarra. Although my school is very old and beautiful, it
presents a logistical headache when one considers daily transportation. My
“school bus” comes to my house every morning at 5:40 so I can make the more
than an hour commute.
At first I had thought
that my school would be very strict, and in some ways it is, but I soon
realized that the largest emphasis is on aesthetics. For example, girls cannot
have painted finger nails, and boys must keep their hair cut very short. If the
teacher does not find their hair length satisfactory they will call them out in
class and sometimes make them leave school.
We have three different
uniforms: the ‘parade’ for Mondays (when we gather in the school courtyard to
sing the national anthem), the ‘daily’ for Tuesday through Thursday, and a gym
uniform for Fridays. For the parade uniform alone I spent $100- for we had to
buy the cloth separately and then take it to a dress maker. Everything related
to school is very expensive. Some of my unexpected costs included purchasing
text books, and new sneakers, because I didn’t have the correct colored ones
for my uniform. Additionally, I have to pay a monthly tuition fee (on top of
the initial cost to matriculate) of $55...
Yet, I realize that the
most important thing is that I learn the language. All of my classmates are
very kind and outgoing and speaking to them is definitely helping me accomplish
this goal- I am constantly being invited to out to different events. The
Ecuadorian culture is so warm, the people all love their country and are eager
to show it off to me so that I’ll love it too.
I haven’t been all that
homesick yet- so far I’ve been trying to look at it all as a huge adventure! I
would like to thank you all in my sponsoring district for making this
incredible opportunity a reality!
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