I used to think to be fully immersed in a culture, I would have to live somewhere for a long time. It is only my fourth day here and I already feel connected to the people, land, and culture. Having learned about Ecuador before coming here by reading books and articles, I started to feel passionate about the country early on. I admire the balance between modernizing and maintaining the culture.

The people we met in the city were so diverse in terms of how modern they were. Some of the people were wearing traditional clothing and selling traditional handmade items while others were wearing new items from name brands and on their phones. It feels like it would be difficult to connect to this group of people when they appear so different, but they have so many similarities that tie them together.

Once we made it to the lodge, it was interesting to see that the people in the remote areas and smaller towns were more in the middle of the range of modernness. The most impactful part of the trip for me so far was talking with the daughter of the lodge’s owner. She very quickly made herself a friendly resource to us and told us her story. Ellie speaks three languages. She was explaining to us that her first language, Quichua, is often expressed in sounds and gestures rather than words. She also speaks Spanish and English.

She told us a lot about the internal conflicts she has because of her connections to different cultures from different languages. She feels tied to English and the US because she grew up going to school there with her friends, but on the other hand, it makes her feel disconnected from her family and home. She also talked about the difficulty trying to express herself in English and Spanish when she thinks in Quichua which doesn’t align with words in the other languages.

My favorite thing she told us was that Quichua is based on connections to nature. She showed us the way she danced and made noises to show that there was a rainstorm. She told us how her happiness was very much tied to her environment and honestly I have started to feel that. Learning about their culture has made me realize that I have had some of these same experiences and emotions in the past and on this trip. The locals just finally explained to me what it was that I have been feeling this whole time.