An American in Ecuador

In following some blogs of students who have studied abroad, I bumped into a blog written by a female student from SUNY New Paltz who is in Ecuador.

In her post Table Manners and a Protest, Diana talks about the two topics as stated in the title.

It's true that table matters differ in different countries. For this student, eating in Ecuador means people eat as soon as food is served even if not everyone has their food at the same time. Eat it while it's hot, as the saying goes.

Regarding the eating habits I encountered in India- generally the woman would serve the food, everyone but the woman (wife) would eat at the same time, then the wife would eat alone, last. There are many reasons for this, but this seemed to be common in south India.

The second topic on protest- I think this girl was taking a big risk to go through a protest. It's funny how I think sometimes when we are out of our normal environment we take risks we may not take in our own hometown. Many of us in our own hometowns would not want to be in a protest, so doing this in another country should be off limits.

In my experience in India, protests occurred from time to time- political, student, social, etc. I took my host family's advice to stay away. I am so glad I did as reports of people being hurt were common fallout of protests.

Thank you for reading and participating!!!

References on Culture Shock from Alaivani (my website):
An American in Ecuador
Cross Cultural Experiences – Keeping it in Context
Educational Entrepreneurship: The First American To Matriculate at Madras Christian College
Honeymoon with Husband and his Family: Experiences in the Life of an Extended Family
How To Choose the Right Path in Studying or Living Abroad (Questioning how much cultural change can you handle?)
Integrating Two Worlds: Life in America with an Indian Twist
Is Mine a Case of Reverse Culture Shock?
This article has been published in the book Culture Shock.
Japan Through American Eyes: Joe Conley
On The Move: How have you absorbed Culture Shock?
Preparing for a trip to India to visit Family
Test Taking Trials and Tribulations in India
Yearning to Return (Why I want to go back to India.)
You are Assimilating to India when (by Jennifer Kumar and Caroline Martin)
Relearning How to Communicate (Interactions in an Intercultural Family)

Others thoughts and experiences:
Culture Shock- Moving Back to India by Isheeta Sanghi
A Returning Indian Entrepreneur Reflects


Thank you for reading and participating in this journey with me! E-mail me with your comments, questions or feedback!