Excerpts from Stéphanie Maurissen’s Letters from Quito, Ecuador:

A Leap into the unknown: The hardest aspects to face about study abroad were leaving home and not knowing what to expect. When I left home for college, I knew I could go home relatively regularly and I had already visited the campus and talked with my roommate. Here, on the other hand, I knew that catching three planes and spending 24 hours traveling (and $1,000) to go home would not be an option during my six months here. Furthermore, I knew nothing about my host family, the school, or the society I would be plunged into for six months. Not knowing all of this made me petrified about leaving. At the same time, I was excited to be able to explore something totally different from what I was used to.
Getting ready was a chore that took all summer. Knowing basically nothing about where I was going made the task even more difficult. All I knew was that the culture was a lot more formal than US American culture and that the climate was mild. A process of taking out of my closet and sorting everything I thought was indispensable commenced, and finally I got everything to fit into my two suitcases. I found that I would get nostalgic and excited at the same time when I looked at all the stuff I was going to take (and everything I was leaving behind). I knew this was going to be an adventure I would never forget.

First view of Quito: When the plane flew over the mountains that surround Quito, the sight was amazing and my adrenaline started pumping – we were starting the adventure! Since it was 10:30 at night, all we could see were the lights – but oh so many lights! And where the lights ended on all sides lay the mountains. The plane landed and we walked on the tarmac to the customs building. My second impression of the country was of pure chaos. The lines for customs were very long and unorganized and the baggage claim area was like a closet and we were stuffed in it like sardines. The scene of meeting my host family was exactly like what I had been told. I walked outside and saw a bunch of faces staring at me through a barbed wire fence. The man and woman who held the sign with my name on it grabbed me and rushed me out of the chaos before I could turn to say goodbye to the other “K” people. The rest of the night was a blur – meeting my host brother and the dog and getting a quick tour of the house. Then, I collapsed into my bed for a mere five hours of sleep…

Taking the bus: I encounter high adventure twice a day just by taking the bus to and from the university. The public buses usually contain 70 people, when there are seats for only 40. Due to this, a lot of bad things happen – one is often “touched” by someone, and is helpless to do anything about it (thank goodness I have not experienced this) and guns are brought on and displayed (this I did see, and a gun glared at me a few inches from my face during my entire ride, once). The roads are memorable as well. Each bump seems to get bigger by the day and I seem to make more “friends” because of it. We collide or step on one another’s feet when the bus turns too quickly. To get off and on the bus, I sometimes need to hang on for dear life to the railing or to someone else because the bus just slightly slows down when a passenger requests a stop (instead of coming to a complete stop).

Impressions of the Ecuadorian people: The stereotype is that Ecuadorians don’t like Americans and just want to take advantage of us. The majority of the people I have met seem to idealize Americans (except for Bush and other politicians) and each time they find out that I am American, they try to impress me and are eager to hear my impressions of their country. On the other hand, a few days ago, I got my first “chiropo” (whistle) from a bunch of Ecuadorian guys. I was walking to the Internet café I use, when a few workers who were digging up a sidewalk started whistling and hollering at me. I speed-walked past them to make sure they didn’t see my petrified face. Two days later, I met the same men and they treated me royally by clearing a path for me through the dirt they were moving and said they were honored to have a lady visit them. I smiled and thanked them but I could feel their eyes looking at me as I walked away.

Administrative chaos: Our Resident Director doesn’t seem to worry much about deadlines – which got immigration officials mad at us for almost missing the visa registration deadline.
We “registered” for six courses of which we were pre-registered for three— but I was on the class list for only two of those. It took about two weeks to finally be officially in the courses.
The professors gave us each a syllabus with a bibliography. Since there are at least 30 books in each bibliography, the professors left photocopies of the chapters in a copy center (which is about 10 feet by 10 feet). One can just imagine the mix-ups caused by having copies for 100 professors in such a tiny space, and the huge line of impatient students waiting for copies (usually a one to two hour wait). I have waited in the line five times, and only two packets were complete when I first requested them. In some classes, I still have not gotten the correct readings and this is the fifth week of classes.

Homesickness? I have found that I miss home mostly 1) at night, 2) when I talk to friends or family, and 3) when I am frustrated with the situation here (especially with the inefficiency). My host family is nice, I am learning to navigate around Quito, my classes aren’t too bad, I am starting to make Ecuadorian friends and I haven’t had too much trouble adjusting. I think that having been away from home for two years and having traveled quite a bit throughout my life have lessened my culture shock and have helped me cope with my new environment far from everything I have ever known.

My host family: My family consists of a mother, a father, a sister and a brother. My two host-siblings and I have become very close. My sister asks me when she has questions on her homework, and my brother helps me out by proofreading my papers and by talking/annoying me when I’m trying to do my homework. He graduated last year and gets a kick out of telling me in how long it’s been since he’s had to do any homework. My father is passionate about history and we spend time at the kitchen table discussing other countries or lost civilizations. My mother and I got close after waiting 45 minutes to get to see the Ecuadorian President (and yes, we did see him, and I shook his hand). Since then, we laugh and tease each other, and I am invited to participate in whatever she is doing. The family dog has helped me too, and has adopted me. He senses when I am frustrated and is always ready to receive a hug. I feel that every day that goes by gets me closer to my family.

Venturing out at night: I had been afraid of going out at night. Since Quito is the biggest city in Ecuador, I had heard of robberies, rapes, and kidnappings that happened to girls who went out alone (or even in groups) at night. We were warned during orientation not to take taxis alone and told that we should be extremely careful wherever we went at night. After hearing all that, I had no desire to go out and risk my life. My host family started to raise eyebrows after my first month since I had not gone out—the exchange student they hosted last year went out almost every night—so I called my friend Brunella (an Ecuadorian who had been a TA at Kalamazoo last year). We went to a café on a Saturday night, and had a complete blast. We talked for about three hours and then drove around the city. I felt better about my fears when she told me that she never rides in a taxi at night by herself either. Since she lives very close to me, we decided we’d do things together at night. My first night out was a complete success.

A confusing interaction: My tentative plan to go out on the night of September 11th demonstrated a cultural difference I’d heard about, but hadn’t seen yet—the fact that in certain cultures, people are much more indirect about expressing criticism. A group from K wanted to eat dinner on that night at an American restaurant in the center of Quito. After all the warnings from the international student offices about possible terrorist actions, I didn’t think it was such a good idea. I asked my host family what they thought and they seemed to be neutral. After consulting my parents in the States, I decided not to go. My host family was overjoyed, and told me I had made the right decision. I was surprised at their reaction—I really hadn’t picked up on how strongly they felt about wanting me to stay home.

An election year in Ecuador: The presidential elections here are quite different from those we are accustomed to in the U.S. Here, there are two rounds; the first is an elimination step (somewhat like our primaries), and the second is actually to elect the future president of the Republic. This year, there were 10 candidates from 10 different political parties competing in the first round. Basically, anyone who has money can run for president, and the range of candidates demonstrated this—a millionaire who owns the banana monopoly in the country, a military leader who headed a coup against the government in January of 2000, descendents of past political candidates, and a woman who has a rich husband all tried their luck in the presidential arena. I was fortunate enough to have selected two politics classes at the university and was therefore able to understand the process and the candidates quite well. I also went with my host mother to vote, which was really interesting. The first round elections were held on a Sunday, and the city appeared to be a militarized zone. Police were located at every street corner with machine guns, and helicopters hovered above the city. The ballots were also quite different from what I had expected—they were big rolls of paper with all the candidates’ names as well as with their pictures (in color). My mother explained that, since there are many illiterate citizens in the country, the pictures allow them to vote as well. Another thing that seemed a little strange to me was the fact that the vote here is required. If a person decides not to vote, a multa (fine) of $250 is imposed.

The second round is this Sunday where the two finalists will run against each other. We’ll see what happens.

Volcano! During the first weekend of November, the volcano El Reventador erupted. About 100 million tons of ash fell on the city of Quito (which lies about 200 km from the crater of the volcano). The university was closed for two days and a huge cleanup effort commenced. I played a part in the minga (community volunteer effort) that the city organized to clean up the city. We filled 14 bags of ash and powder from just our part of the street and from the two patios that are part of the house. I think that I got closer to all the Ecuadorians who live on our street through the cleanup task, since I showed that I was willing to help out, even though I am only a temporary member of the community.

The language barrier: I think my Spanish was decent when I got here, but I was quite timid at the beginning. Little by little, I have gotten braver, and now I barely have any troubles speaking. One day, a man on the bus thought I was a native. Another day, I was paired up with a Spaniard from Barcelona for an anthropology group exam. The Barcelonans are reputed for speaking fast and incomprehensibly. I was able to understand him as well as be understood myself. We got an A on the exam, and I made a new friend. This past week, I finally had a conversation with an Ecuadorian fellow student from an area where they talk VERY fast and use a lot of slang. I had avoided him in the past because I didn’t want to seem like an idiot for not being able to understand him. Last Wednesday we talked, and I was able to keep a decent conversation going, a true accomplishment for me!!

Getting closer to my host family: My host brother and I have always had a pretty close relationship; we talk a lot about the university and about his experiences in the U.S. as an exchange student. Last week, my host sister decided that I wasn’t such a bad person after all and I have become her closest friend and confidante. This is quite a change from before, when she would ignore me. But the biggest thing so far was something my host-father said this past weekend. At lunch on Sunday, in front of nine family members, he called me guagua (a word for daughter in the Quichua dialect). I didn’t act any differently than normal afterwards but it did surprise me. I don’t know whether he said it on purpose or accidentally, but things like this make me feel that I have become a part of the family.

Milestones: This week marks the 3-month mark of my study abroad experience and I am astonished at how quickly the time has gone by. I wonder what will happen next in the adventure. Stay tuned for the next episode