As mentioned in my "preparation" blog post, these are the focus questions brought to you by the Niagara College CIDA funded youth internship program.
1. This question is an assessment of cultural adaptation as a global competency. Thus far what has been your experience in understanding and following cultural norms, making accommodations for different beliefs, values, laws, and behaviours in your host country?
The blog post that I wrote named “Attention” reflects my “unusual” culture shock experience. I have accepted the fact that my height could be disadvantageous when it comes to simply observing a culture. However, the locals I am befriending, and beginning to get to know have been exposing me to the culture I had trouble seeing at first. I learn new things about the Ecuadorian culture every day, and the newness of it all makes it an amazing experience. I have been told several times by Ecuadorians that many of them can be very honest with people, and some foreigners take offense to it because they are not used to that. I am getting better and better at ignoring some of the more negative comments that are given to me, and not letting it phase me. I understand that each is entitled to their opinion, and some people simply choose to express their out loud.
Another adaptation has been adjusting to Sundays, the day of the Sabbath. As it is a holy day for Christians and Catholics, most of the stores do not open on Sundays. This makes it a horrible day to run out of things such as toilet paper, and food. Though it slipped my mind after a couple busy work weeks, I wrote it in my planner for future references. My roommate also invited me to go to church with him a few weeks in a row. Yesterday, he sat me down and told me how important it is for him, to take me to his church. His church family wants to meet the mysterious woman that has been staying at his house, and sort of “approve” of me. Though organized religion isn’t something I’m crazy about, next Sunday, I will give it a try. Abraham, my roommate, has allowed me to understand the importance of his religion to both him and myself. An hour and a half of my Sunday is the least I can do for such a nice man.
Adjusting to the different law system in Guayaquil has most definitely my biggest challenge. Though there are many laws in place regarding road safety, it is not enforced at all. I have never seen anybody get stopped by the police on the road, or receive a ticket. This scares me, the roads are simply chaotic. Many cars ignore red lights, and keep driving even when crowds of people are crossing the street. I watch policemen, not even be fazed by these impatient drivers. Even the cars on the street have many crazy drivers. The sound of beeping in the city is endless, and the cars are often weaving and cutting cars off. They also ignore crossing people, street lights and sometimes even drive on the wrong side of the road! It seems like there is a constant emergency for the drivers, and they cannot be stopped. Yesterday my bus got in a Car Accident. I have yet to write a blog post about it. But even when people have the right of way, they have to be extra alert and ready to run and dodge the many crazy drives.
I will get used to it someday, and hopefully relax a bit. But as of now, it still makes me nervous, being in either vehicle or walking.
2. This question is an assessment of network and relationship building as a global competency. From your experience to date, what would you say are the main factors in connecting with local people and partners, both socially and professionally? Has it been different from how you might connect with colleagues and partners in your own country, or do you find things fairly similar?
Networking in Guayaquil is very different than networking in Niagara region. I most definitely don’t mean to generalize, and I know that I have not met everybody in the city. The networking that I am used to in Canada, is very professional. Many teachers and mentors of mind have advised me to work on my 10 minute verbal self marketing pitch, also on my 5 minute pitch, my 1 minute pitch, and even my 30 second pitch. These “self marketing pitches” are summaries of qualifications, achievements, education, training and volunteer experiences that you have had, that would make you a good fit work with whomever you are speaking to. When you introduce yourself, within 5 seconds, you have to show your gold star collection, and make them understand why you are worth even listening to.
On the other hand, s far as my personal experience goes; the networking done in Ecuador is a whole new ball game. When asked about yourself, giving a well rehearsed self marketing pitch as you would in Canada is not the norm. In fact, some may see it as “bragging” since things such as post-secondary education in Ecuador is not as common for the average person as it is in Canada. They want to know about our family, your passions, your values and your ability to dance. They want to know if you have tried the food, what is your favorite kind, they want to get to know you on a much more personal level. It’s as if everyone you meet, whether it’s in a professional or social setting, wants to establish a relationship with you. They want to be your friend. Though it takes much more work, and can make some processes last a bit longer, I find it very pleasant. It’s most definitely nice when you get to know people on a personal level as they are getting to know you as well. It’s a great way to develop friendships, and in being in a new country, having left my friends at home, it’s great to meet people.
I am proud to say, that this is the domain I think I have excelled in the most since my stay here. I have many local friends; I know my neighbors and we often have dinner together. And I have even made many professional connections as well. I am now a part a volunteer club, attend events at the French Alliance, and working on a research project with a former CIDA intern that has been living in Guayaquil for almost 10 years now. Also, I have somehow managed to convince a friend of mine to let Cerro Blanco/Pro Bosque attend a trade show/networking event. They will be getting a booth and all. Since marketing has not been a strong point for this organization, it was great news for them, and they were shocked at how a strange Canadian girl managed to pull that off. My answer “a couple conversations over tea, wine and food did it.” And that’s the truth. They are very kind, and give such positive feedback. No great success goes unnoticed here at Pro-Bosque.
3. This question is an assessment of intercultural communication as a global competency. How have you found communicating with local people and colleagues? What have you found works best in getting your message across to local people and colleagues, and alternatively picking up on what local people and colleagues are wanting to communicate?
Because I am fortunate to have had a great spanish teacher at Niagara College I speak spanish with confidence. Also, last year I spent some time in the Galapagos islands completing my co-op/internship term with the National park of Galapagos. My first time being exposed to a spanish speaking country last year was absolutely crazy. As confident as I felt before I went, that confidence blew away when I accidentally agreed to run a full marathon on my second day there! Compared to some past experiences, I have a few random misunderstood words here and there, but I am not having any trouble communicating.
I have found that the best way to get my message across to the people of Ecuador and my colleagues from work is the be direct and to the point. That is the way that I have noticed that they handle situations here, and I need to do as the romans do, and join their forces. Beating around the bush is most definitely an (overly nice) person trait that I picked up from my mom. I realized I need to change that about myself after a few people cut me off mid explanation directly telling me (get to the point, what are you trying to say? I am very confused, what are you talking about?)
Generally, the locals and my co-workers love to talk about their families, and want to know many details about my family as well. Some of their questions I find a bit personal, but the fact that they are asked so often shows me that maybe thats just the way it is here. The first questions are (Are you single or married. Why? or since when? the first answer is usually followed by ( Do you have any children? Do you live with your parents, where do you work, does it pay a lot of money? How much do you make?) see? right to the point. I found I was sensitive and shy about these questions at first, but after a few months, I am most definitely used to them. In fact I have said the same answers so many times, that I answer them as if it was a well practiced script.
The body language here is very relaxed, I find people are much more (touchy) and love to put hands on your shoulder while speaking to you, hold your arms, hand, and even put their head on your shoulder after meeting you for the first time. I dont mind the extra affection, for I am also very expressive in that way.
All in all, as confident as I am in my spanish language skills, I still make the effort to better my vocabulary every day, I learn new sentences, words and do a few pages from my spanish workbook. I do that on my spare time, because it really and truly is fun to me. From the size of my english-Spanish dictionary, I have a lot to learn.
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Months have gone by since I wrote my previous answer, and I'm happy to announce that my Spanish has increased tremendously. The practicing at home alone helped, but I must admit that putting myself out there, and making some local Ecuadorian friends helped me the most. If meeting people is an issue, a great way to meet friends for me was through volunteering programs. There are many, and you always meet like minded kind hearted people.
4. This question is assessing an attitude of sensitivity and respect as a global competence. How have you found maintaining an attitude of sensitivity and respect while in situations where cultural protocols, etiquettes, gender roles, and social systems differ to what you are use to or to what you are comfortable with?
Firstly, maintaining an attitude of sensitivity and respect in Ecuador was fairly Easy. However when it came to gender roles/expectations, I found it much more difficult to hold my tongue and simply conform. When men approach women and don't take no for an answer as mentioned in my Blog post entitled: Pursuit I had a hard time reacting in a way that was described to me as a "social norm". I was uncomfortable with not being able to simply say: "No, I'm not interested, leave me alone please." As I would do in Canada. In Ecuador I was expected to act in a way that not only didn't come naturally to me, but that were also against values I was raised with. Instead of doing what I was told to do by my friend, I decided to take matters into my own hands, and literally remove myself from the situations all together.
Secondly, social systems was another thing I was slightly uncomfortable with. Social classes are very defined, and it seemed to me like there were two categories of people in Ecuador, the wealthy people, and "the criminals". This aspect of things made engaging others to help within the Puerto Hondo community very difficult. Even amongst my own friends, there were many people that refused to go to "that part of town" simply because they believed that all of the less fortunate were out to get them. I don't blame anybody for those strong views, in fact, maybe my short time in Ecuador has made me naive to a reality that they are fully aware of. All I know about "that part of town" was the fact that I spent almost every single day over there, and took the public transit to get there (also something the more wealthy people avoid), and I didn't get robbed, abused or bothered much. There were a few vendors, but I honestly found them more convenient than anything, for example, on a hot day, there was always someone selling ice cold water, and on a day when I was hungry, a vendor with snacks was nearby as well. The prices were the best of all, and they were always kind.
Lastly, I was made aware before my trip to Ecuador, that the colour of my skin may be "an issue" for some people. And I realized this was very true after a few events. I realized that being black, to some Ecuadorians, meant being lazy, poor, uneducated and more negative things along those lines. At a networking event at the Chamber of Commerce, I felt honored to meet with some of the head coordinators and executive members, only to realize that a few of them also believe many stereotype about black people. They were kind enough to say "we don't mean you, we mean everyone else..." but somehow, that didn't easy my disappointment and sadness towards the very discriminatory and degrading things that were being said. I refuse to name people out of respect. Instead of getting angry at something I knew I could not change, I looked for ways to contribute to a slow movement that was happening in Ecuador. Racism is very real, and the Afro-Ecuadorians experience on a regular basis. I plan to write more about this event in a future blog post that I'm currently working on.
5. This question is an assessment of knowledge of the host country as a global competency. Pre-departure training gives you a small window into the history and culture of your host country, but this is just an introduction. How have you found the process of learning and understanding your new surroundings? What roles have curiosity and cultural engagement played in obtaining a greater knowledge of your host country
?
Fortunately for me, this was my second time in Ecuador. During my first trip, I not only learned lots of things about Ecuador, I also invested in many books about the beautiful country. That being said, I still learned a great deal during my internship. It has been an experience like no other, and I could probably write a small novel about the amount of things that I have learned during my time in Ecuador.
Curiosity and cultural engagements played a crucial role in everything that I’ve learned. Luckily for me, I was surrounded with plenty of friendly strangers. Thanks to the wonderful people, I not only learned the beautiful Spanish Language, I also learned about the slangs and the history behind them in Guayaquil. My love for nature, art and dancing have allowed me to meet many amazing Ecuadorians that have helped me grow in different ways. My will to learn more about Nature, made the employees at Cerro Blanco take the roles of my teachers. Each person taught me a different aspect about the Dry Tropical forest and its fauna and flora. My love for art allowed me to meet a small art community, some great painters, singers and poets as well. I was invited to several poetry readings, book signings and art contests where I got to appreciate the beautiful Ecuadorian art scene. The third and last was my love for dance, I went there with the goal to learn more about the beautiful Latin American dance styles, and everyone I told volunteered to be my personal teacher. With everybody’s advice combined, I can proudly say that I do well on the Latin dance floor.
Lastly, the families that I’ve gotten to know have practically adopted me as a member. Each of them have given me advice to keep me safe, and taught me many things from recipes and exotic fruits, to songs and arts and crafts. I felt truly fortunate to have such open people that were willing to teach me about their culture and involve me in their traditions and ceremonies.
6. This question is an assessment of personal and professional commitment as a global competency.
Reflecting on the time you have spent in your host country, how would you judge your capacity to live a balanced life while working interculturally?
I personally believe adaptability skills are a must when considering working abroad. Once I realized that beyond the culture Ecuador isn’t much different than Canada, it became easy. When I first arrived, I found the staring and attention a bit difficult to get used to, however after writing the blog post entitled “Attention” and being able to laugh about it, I got over it. Before I knew it, I had a comfortable routine going just like in Canada. Once I got over the things that were different, I started to notice all of the things that were similar between Ecuador and Canada. This made it easy to work interculturally.
Have you been proactive in your engagements with your new environment, did you try to show leadership in both your personal and professional life?
Personal life:
I’ve always been a strong believer in personal development. And my trip was not an exception. I maintained my health by going for daily runs, and continued learning new things about my new interesting environment. I’ve successfully learned how to cook some Ecuadorian dishes, learned how to dance salsa, and also how to speak Spanish in the “Guayaquil” way. All of those things were included in my goals prior to this trip.
Professional life:
When I arrived to Ecuador, I realized that “set schedules” isn’t necessarily a guarantee. In order to be productive, I found creating my own schedule was necessary. I took all of the tasks that were given to me, and made a detailed schedule and a time line as well. I made goals that I worked hard to achieve, and some of them were to simply get to know Cerro Blanco. As often as possible, I travelled through the nature trails, and explored the grounds, that way, when I was asked, “Why should I go to Cerro Blanco?” I’d have the perfect answer in my perspective.
Both Personal and Professional:
I also volunteered a lot of my time in Ecuador. Volunteering is something I enjoy doing for my community in Canada, and a great way to meet like-minded people. I’ve met most of my friends through volunteer events; they truly do bring people together.
7. This question is an assessment of intercultural team leadership as a global competency. When faced with an obstacle, what has been your experience in attempting to shift between creative thinking (generating multiple possibilities) to critical thinking (arriving at best solutions to challenges), while coping successfully and performing effectively in the face of significant stress or adversity?
The blog post entitled Adaptation describes a situation where I had to think fast when faced with an obstacle. There were many similar experiences when things didn't go as planned and I was forced to improvise with the hopes of achieving the initial goal. Other examples include lack of funding, time constraints, and literacy. There were constantly unplanned obstacles; I learned consider many more things during the planning stages, I also learned to ask for help. I was surrounded with people ready and willing to help me, all I had to do was ask. With a few more people revising my plans every time, there were less and less expectancies, which made them more effective.