Hello everyone! I can't believe that I have been in Ecuador for a whole month! For a while, things were moving really slowly. My real classes are just now beginning. For the past three weeks, I have been doing an orientation course with the 4 other UT students. The course was pretty easy and my teacher was absolutely incredible. He is a native Guayaquileno and loves his city. We did lots of projects that allowed us to observe the city in light of its tumultuous history and recent development projects. I learned alot about the culture wars going on in Guayaquil between the very strong North American Pop- cultural influences and the simpler ones native to Ecuador and its costal region. Apparently, "Guayaquil (specifically) has a history of imitating other cultures to make up for their lack of one." I have concluded that this cannot be true, but that it only seems true as Guayaquil's dark and dirty past has made it difficult for the city to really invest in its own cultural preservation. However, a project called " La Regeneracion Urbana" is the city's biggest and greatest (and maybe most effective) attempt to reverse some of the damage that its pirate-invaded, disease infested, and impoverished past left as memorabilia. Comparing photos of the city in the 90's and then today, I can't help but feel a little bit proud (which I know is silly because it has nothing to do with me) of Guayaquil, Ecuador, and even the whole of South America because they are really trying to clean stuff up, build stuff better, and most importantly reach out to their poor. The project does not only concern infrastructural development, but includes educational, cultural, and economic investment. Jaime refers to it as a "sociological phenomenon" because the idea is that if the city can improve its own appeal asthetically and infrastructurally, then the citizens will perceive themselves more worthy of living in a beautiful place. The result is increases self confidence on the individual level (which propels ambition and confidence in improving quality of life) and confidence on a population level (which provides an increased sense of security and pride). The project's objectives depend on the idea that if the city looks better and there is more access to educational and professional resources, then the people might feel more self-worth and dignity amongst themselves and each other (the benefits of this idea becoming reality are endless). I am excited for Guayaquil and am beginning to actually feel honored that I get to learn and be apart of it. For me, a student of sociology, the city of Guayaquil is fascinating and very encouraging. However, I can't and don't ignore the ever present and pervading poverty that is cleary visible along the other side of the river and many other dark pockets of the city. My prayer for the city is that its leaders will continue to be true to their citizens and keep building big beautiful buildings and schools while also being aware of the physical, educational, and emotional needs of its poorest and disabled.
To transition a bit...
We went to Cuenca last week during our four day break between the end of orientation and the beginning of our new classes. It was fantastic- an absolute breath of fresh air. I loved it. The city embodies everything that is quaint and lovely about South America without much of its flaws- crime and poverty. I know that this city isn't perfect, but it felt perfect as we shopped and browsed and ate postres and drank coffee. The city knows many tourists. So, no one really cared when a blonde gringa was walking down the street. It felt good to feel "unwatched" and not scared. Although, I know that this feeling of security in Cuenca is false as I am being taught over and over again that true security and freedom resides only inside of an active relationship with Jesus Christ. It was not difficult to be grateful and prayerful in Cuenca as I was allowed to take a break from the big city of Guayaquil and enjoy the most beautiful architecture, flowers, crafts, and people I have ever seen. Not only did this trip provide a hiatus from the hechtic and HOT life of metrovia, bus pollution, pick pocketers, and taxi drama in Guayaquil, but it allowed the 5 of us to really connect. I am getting to know the other students here so well. It has been difficult realizing and being reminded (alot) of my own selfishness, judgemental tendencies, and self righteousness. However, God is good and redemptive. After realizing (again) how broken I am and being so utterlly embarassed that my brokeness is visible for all to see (evidenced by a couple of emotional breakdowns), it was evident that His love was really able to flow through me. I guess it is hard to explain everything, but for this reason and so many others, our trip to Cuenca was rich... and I got some really amazing photos!
Over and over, I am realizing some of the same things. To be sure, there is a reoccuring theme in my adventure to Ecuador. In order to survive it, I am trying to live by a simple philosophy...
"have almost no expectations...but always high hopes"
I guess I can summarize my experience in Ecuador ( and probably that of all the other students) by describing it as everything that I wanted and nothing that I expected. But I guess the same goes for life, too.
Classes start on Monday. I am super pumped. My original plan was to have a really easy semester. However, I have fallen in love with some of the syllabi that Catolica has to offer. So, I have decided to really dig into the language and the material so that I can learn as much as possible by taking a couple extra classes. Wish me luck! I miss everyone and am so thrilled to receive emails and updates. They are always perfectly timed, so keep'em coming!
To transition a bit...
We went to Cuenca last week during our four day break between the end of orientation and the beginning of our new classes. It was fantastic- an absolute breath of fresh air. I loved it. The city embodies everything that is quaint and lovely about South America without much of its flaws- crime and poverty. I know that this city isn't perfect, but it felt perfect as we shopped and browsed and ate postres and drank coffee. The city knows many tourists. So, no one really cared when a blonde gringa was walking down the street. It felt good to feel "unwatched" and not scared. Although, I know that this feeling of security in Cuenca is false as I am being taught over and over again that true security and freedom resides only inside of an active relationship with Jesus Christ. It was not difficult to be grateful and prayerful in Cuenca as I was allowed to take a break from the big city of Guayaquil and enjoy the most beautiful architecture, flowers, crafts, and people I have ever seen. Not only did this trip provide a hiatus from the hechtic and HOT life of metrovia, bus pollution, pick pocketers, and taxi drama in Guayaquil, but it allowed the 5 of us to really connect. I am getting to know the other students here so well. It has been difficult realizing and being reminded (alot) of my own selfishness, judgemental tendencies, and self righteousness. However, God is good and redemptive. After realizing (again) how broken I am and being so utterlly embarassed that my brokeness is visible for all to see (evidenced by a couple of emotional breakdowns), it was evident that His love was really able to flow through me. I guess it is hard to explain everything, but for this reason and so many others, our trip to Cuenca was rich... and I got some really amazing photos!
Over and over, I am realizing some of the same things. To be sure, there is a reoccuring theme in my adventure to Ecuador. In order to survive it, I am trying to live by a simple philosophy...
"have almost no expectations...but always high hopes"
I guess I can summarize my experience in Ecuador ( and probably that of all the other students) by describing it as everything that I wanted and nothing that I expected. But I guess the same goes for life, too.
Classes start on Monday. I am super pumped. My original plan was to have a really easy semester. However, I have fallen in love with some of the syllabi that Catolica has to offer. So, I have decided to really dig into the language and the material so that I can learn as much as possible by taking a couple extra classes. Wish me luck! I miss everyone and am so thrilled to receive emails and updates. They are always perfectly timed, so keep'em coming!
