Isabel~

Before heading off to South America the Ecuador team and myself thought about some stereotypes that we or other North Americans might have about the country. We each made a list and a promise to ourselves to think about those preconceptions while on the trip. Now the Ecuador team is enjoying our last phase of the journey in the community of Yungilla, each paired with another member in a

View of Yungilla

house with a family that resides there. Because it is our last phase of the trip, we´ve been asked to revisit those stereotypes and consider what we have experienced that may have proven them to be true or otherwise. I was most interested in the fact that our country loves to make it seem as though other countries of the world need our help in sustaining life. I hoped that my visit to many such communities as Yungilla, Sarayaku, Aliñabi, Intag and Apuela would prove that our country´s widespread message is wrong. I have found that these communities wish nothing other than to depend only on themselves and keep hold of their culture. In the week that I´ve spent with my second family in Yungilla I´ve seen the hard work they do everyday to feed their families, the enjoyment they get from the simple things like a daily futból match and the pride they show for their way of life. They have and continue to welcome many groups of volunteers that will join them in preserving their traditions and ways of harvest. However, I have learned that they raise every child to show pride for who they are and where they come from. This pride and strength needs no more than its´ surrounding community to become completely self-dependant.

Rasheed~

Rasheed

My brother gave me an assumption that all ecuadorians hate black people. That assumption stuck in my head and kind of put me in fear to the point where I was thinking of not going on this trip. That assumption was wrong, actually they adore me over here. They gave me a new name The Prince Of Rap, yep that´s what they call me. I asked one of the kids over here why do you call me that and he said because you have a unique style and we never seen anyone with that type of style. wow I feel like im famous over here.

Andrew~

Before traveling to ecuador, I had an assumption that all ecuadoreans hated the united states because of all the bad rumors about us. It was also because a lot of the other countries in the world do hated the u.s. Now that i been in ecuador for 3 weeks now i know the truth. Not all the ecuadoreans hated the u.s.

For the first week i did a little bit of those who do hate the u.s. Some pickpocketers would try to pickpocket american tourists and i once saw a graffiti tag that said “no usa”. Later on in the trip i saw that more and more ecuadoreans dont hate the u.s. at all. Even during our homestays, the homestay families are so intrested about learning about the average american life.

Kelsi & Andrew

Kelsi~

One of my assumptions about Ecuador is that the people are dependent on others and now that I have traveled here my opinion has totaly changed. The people in Ecuador dont have the time to be dependent on others because they spend so much time on taking care of theír families, working 10 hour days to take care of there farms and animals to be able to survive. They also harvest the foods they grow and the animals they raise to sell and make a profit. They do so much for one another it makes me feel like I need to step up to the plate and make a change in my community and stop being dependent on others so I can grow as a person.

Elizabeth~

Going into this all, i was a little nervous because i heard other countries didn´t like U.S. people. I heard they thought we were spoiled, stuck up and lazy. I was a little worried people would be sour towards us for this reason.

I was completely wrong! And i realized this as soon as i stepped in the airport. No one was starring or giving us rude looks. And it was very quick that we built good relationships with people in Quito like our bus driver (Alphonso, who we love! and Deana, the lady that works at the hostel.) and the people on the streets and at the places we went were real nice.

Yunguilla, the host community

Although all these people were so nice, i was still a little worried how our host families would see us. And thankfully, they were extremely welcoming! My family, they all welcomed us, were very interested in us and treated us just like family. I even asked them what they thought about north americans, and their response surprised me. Nothing affensive and all of it, i agree with. They say they hear most of our work is hard on the mind, like computer work, unlike for them, most of their work is hard labor. They´ve also heard things are a lot éasier´for us like washing dishes, washing cloths, transportation etc. and for them, they hand wash dishes always, hand wash cloths, and walk a lot. Still they commented and said they´d have thier life style no other way.