Originally posted by: JEDI
1) What country did you live in? How long?
2) What have you found most difficult about adjusting to living in America?
3) How is daily life different?
4) What do you like best about living in America? What do you like the least?
5) How are values different in the USA than where you are from?
6) How do people in your country view Americans?
7) What things do Americans most need to understand about your country?
8) How are beliefs about how you treat children, or how men and women interact different?
Thx again!
Hmm, I'm not sure if you want to consider my responses...I grew up 100% overseas (0-17 years old), but my parents were ex-pats. I'm not really sure if I consider myself "American."
1)Ecuador, for 14 years, Columbia, 3
2)People here are so inCREDIBLY wealthy (ALL of them! Even the bums are wealthy!), and the scale of things is massive. I still have a hard time finding what I want in a supermarket, and how do you choose between 17 different brands of the same product? Finally, people here are REALLY anal about "the rules"...even if I'm willing to take 100% responsibility for my own actions, it's not allowed, because it's against "the rules". Examples: jaywalking, riding in the back of a pickup truck, doing anything in an area that isn't specifically designated for doing that thing.
3)Well, it's a lot more isolated...in Ecuador, you usually take public transportation or walk, since the weather's so nice and it's so cheap and easy. You see a lot more people
near you than here in the US. Like I said, people are less flexible on rules and punctuality (it's not all bad! The drivers are much better here, and people get stuff done on time).
4)BEST: You get a lot of money for a little work, and finding jobs is pretty easy, you can buy all sorts of luxuries for fairly cheap. Technology is common and accessible. And the used market (for everything, pretty much) is priced very low.
WORST: Did I mention legalism? It's almost as bad as Switzerland, except here people are assholes about it. You don't have the freedom of Ecuador, but you don't have the careful order of Switzerland either. Also, it really bugs me how little people appreciate their possessions...you get people who honestly think they're poor because they "only" have two cars, or people who think a used car is worthless even if it runs perfectly well. Not to mention the attitude that poorer countries are probably just full of stupid, lazy people who deserve their poverty.
5)Some advantages here...Ecuador is a pretty typical Latin country, which means it sucks to be a woman. All the double standards that people complain about here, are real there. Men are pretty much going to sleep around, and women are expected to have the house clean, dinner on the table, and take care of the kids.
In terms of general society, there's an attitude of fatalism in Ecuador that you don't find as much here. When bad things happen, people shrug their shoulders and pick up the pieces. It's almost a necessary attribute if you don't want to go crazy down there. The government is corrupt, things get delayed and delayed, even necessary infrastructure repairs, sometimes people do a really shoddy job (not always, mind you...but always check their work!). So, when a bridge washes out, or a crash occurs, or your kid dies, it's no one's fault...life goes on...maybe in a couple years the government will rebuild the bridge, if you work really hard you can afford another car, and there's nothing to do but wait for your next kid to grow up...
6)Tourism's a major part of the economy in Ecuador. People there don't hate Americans, but they do tend to think of them as rich (true), perhaps a little naive (when things differ from how they are in the US, you can't blame them), and as bullies when it comes to diplomacy (also true...the history of US intervention in Latin America is pretty dirty).
However, thanks to the war on drugs, there are a lot of planes and helicopters overflying the border with Columbia, and keeping it secure...which is something Ecuador probably couldn't do by itself.
7)This is a kinda funny question...I'm always suspicious of the "what do ____ most need to understand about your country?" questions. Your average American on the street doesn't really "have" to know anything about Ecuador. "It's in South America" and "I don't really know anything else about it" are perfectly OK by me, if you're not going to visit.
If you are going to visit, or live there:
Ecuadorians are very proud of their country, and with good reason, but Ecuadorians themselves tell Ecuadorian jokes...sometimes the things they do won't make any sense. Sometimes there will be a better way, or a safer way. They'll do it anyway. Just let them do it, and enjoy some of the things you can't get away with on the US. Be polite, very polite...yelling and casting blame, even when it's clearly THEIR fault, won't get you far. They expect a higher level of politeness than most Americans are used to...for example, the worst business reference and employer might write would be one which doesn't mention a single negative thing, but simply doesn't have any concrete examples of positive attributes or work done.
8)I already touched on men and women above...it's a very
machista society, with all its inherent pluses and minuses. Basically, men are better at everything except child rearing. The only advantage women have is in getting people to come to their defense. I'm exaggerating a bit, but you get the idea.
As far as children go, I'd say they grow up a lot faster down there. In the lower classes, kids will be working from a really young age, and parents tend to be less tolerant of a kid who's lazy (or doesn't go to school, in the higher classes). However, the worst is the rich kids...they pretty much don't get any parental attention, but plenty of parental money. Being that it's a corrupt country, they can do whatever they want. I won't even go there, just trust me, American rich kids are a MILLION times better than Ecuadorian rich kids, just because the other kids have money too.
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