I am quickly realizing the life of privilege we all live in the US as we navigate the lifestyle of Quiteños here in Ecuador. There are many things I’ve realized after only four days – being able to put my toilet paper in the toilet, having hot water in every sink (not just the shower, and only for a short time), being able to brush my teeth without bottled water, knowing that I can get clean water anywhere without paying for it, people pronouncing my name correctly (there is apparently no TH sound), and most importantly, understanding the language. Now this is not me bashing on Ecuador, I have absolutely loved it here. I am just realizing the opportunities afforded to me in my everyday life as an American.
This first week in Quito we are taking a Spanish class and staying with a host family. Class is interesting and exhausting as we have to explain everything in a language we have not spoken - and never spoke very well - in over 10 years. We have so far learned how to describe everyday objects, conjugate some verbs, and ask simple questions. Our homework last night was to fill in the blank in simple sentences with common verbs such as hacer (to make), ir (to go), dar (to give), and conocer (to know). Though this looked easy at first, it took Eric and I at least an hour to complete 12 sentences and we still needed the help of our host family and the internet. Along with attempting to carry on dinner conversations with our family, it has been a challenge. Our limited vocabulary means that we are able to ask/answer simple questions….and stop there. No details, no follow up questions/answers, no explanations. This brief experience has given me a strong glimpse into what it must be like to be an English Language Learner. It is painful and requires so much effort to say the simplest thing at times. And whenever I hear someone speaking English I cling to them and feel comforted in being able to understand what they are saying. I cannot even imagine what it would be like to be a student in my science classes, having only been learning English for less than two years. Those students are champs. Sample interaction: “What did you both do today?” “We go on walk tour of city.” “Did you see the whole city or only one part? Where was your tour located?” “We see center history. It start at hostel.” “Ah, the historic district of Old Town, Quito. Did you enjoy it? What did you see? Where did they take you?” “Market and palace and square and church and another church and we ate candy. Also we drank juice.” “What kind of juice did you drink?” “Um, purple.” End of conversation. Though this took about 5 minutes to say, these conversations are so beneficial because they are allowing us to practice the language in a full immersive setting with extremely patient conversation partners. Our host mom, Lorene, frequently corrects our grammar and will rephrase sentences for us with proper vocabulary. Her daughter’s boyfriend, Jorge, knows a little English and can help us with word choice when we are at a loss. I could not ask for more patient and understanding people to learn from. This is the same with our teacher, Annabella. Her teaching style is to ask us questions and let us fumble from there. We ended up talking about the homeless problem in Portland, our love of food carts, and all of the waterfalls in the gorge. It was so encouraging to be able to converse about somewhat complex topics and current events. I am very hopeful that we will be more confident in our speaking within the next few weeks – as long as we stay immersed and continue to practice with each other. We are already defaulting to Spanish when we are alone together. My first instinct is to ask Eric something in Spanish. Even more interesting, when writing this post and writing in my journal, I started in Spanish. We will get there eventually. Outside of class and our family we have not done too much as we are getting used to the altitude and reminding ourselves to take it slow. This trip is a marathon, not a sprint. It is ok if we don’t see anything one day and sleep in a bit. We have just started and have 7 more months to go. It is also weird to think we don’t know what we are doing tomorrow, or Monday, or 3 weeks from now. I have never lived this way, and although it is terrifying, it is also freeing. As the locals say, “que chevré,” meaning “cool.”
3 Comments
Momma Stephanie
7/13/2017 02:30:57 pm
You'll be fluent before you know it! Sounds like you are surrounded by the perfect people to get you started on this incredible adventure. I don't know it I have ever had a time in my life without plans, how wonderful to have that experience. Love you and can't wait to hear what's next!
Reply
Zoe Dash
7/13/2017 11:15:32 pm
I laughed out loud when I read your sample interaction. It rang so true! I remember how frustrating it was at times when I was trying to meet new people and make new friends and just generally convey my personality but had so few words with which to do so. Getting my sense of humor and jokes across? Forget about it! It took months before I got there, but I eventually did, so hold out hope! :)
Reply
Mike
7/16/2017 09:52:46 am
que te diviertas
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorJust two kids out exploring this big world of ours. Archives
September 2017
Categories |