A couple of weeks ago, all of the AFSers in Ecuador participated in a short exchange to another city for a week. I got placed in Salcedo, a small mountain city about three hours from Guaranda. I was excited at the prospect of getting to spend a week in a new place, but I became a little less excited each time I asked anyone about Salcedo. I always asked what there was to do there and the only answer I got was "Nothing, but they have really good ice cream!" Well, I was determined to make the most of it, so I decided I try as many ice cream flavors as possible.
I ended up getting really lucky. Not only did I land in the nicest family, but the volunteers in Salcedo had organized a couple of trips for us! We went to Quilotoa, a nearby volcano with a lake in it's crater, and to the amazon!
Quilotoa
Tena (in the Amazon!)
I also had a wonderful family. They were all incredibly caring and I got along well with them. My host mother willingly picked me up and dropped me off from wherever I need to go, even if it was the middle of the night (we got back from Tena around 1AM...). They took me to Quito and Ambato to see movies, to eat ice cream, and had me try all sorts of other things that I'd never had before. Of course they invited me back to visit any time I wanted and offered to take to to Cotopaxi (another volcano nearby) when I did. I cannot stress how caring and sweet they all were!
And yet, no matter how great of a family they were, beginnings are inevitably awkward. Think about it: the concept of hosting/being hosted is that you go to live with people you've never met before, in a completely new place. Regardless of how weird that sounds, it's ultimately a wonderful experience. The thing that has to be understood, is that it's not going to be all rainbows and butterflies right away.
When you first move in with a family, you're treated more or less as a guest. Everyone is very polite with each other, and there's a lot of tiptoeing that goes on. This is especially true when it comes to exchange, because it's not just new people learning to interact with each other, it's different cultures as well. No one wants to mess up and say/do something potentially offensive. It's awkward, and no one really says anything about it, because admitting things are awkward feels like a strange thing to do. But that eventually goes away. You learn how to fit into your family, how you fit into the household and your new life. Sometimes, that's a hard adjustment for exchange students. We often gain more responsibilities and aren't treated like we're special anymore. But in the end, it's an important shift to make, because then you truly become part of the family, and that's where you learn the most.
I remembered all of this while I was with my short exchange family, because we were all very polite with each other and everyone kinda tiptoed around me. I remembered the first month that my family in the U.S. hosted Melissa and how I felt the need to constantly take care of her, because I knew that she was new to it all. I remembered the week that I spent with Tiril (the girl from Norway that my family is currently hosting) and all of the small talk we tried to make. Most of all I remembered my first weeks in Guaranda, when I was trying desperately to feel like part of my new family even though, most of the time, I wasn't sure what to do with myself. As much as I loved my family in Salcedo, my week with them made me miss my family in Guaranda and knowing where I fit in.
Hasta luego,
Elisa
P.S. The ice cream really was fantastic!
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