The end of one adventure is just the beginning of another, right?
If the last three and a half months have passed this quickly, then the next two weeks will be over before I can even finish writing this blog post. I have been in Cuenca since January 19, and in Ecuador since January 12, and it is hard to believe that in less than two weeks I will be starting my journey back to the United States. My first stop will be in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, where I will spend about a week and a half teaching computer assisted reporting to (what I have been told will be) a group of students, professors and professional journalists. I'm nervous about translating what I learned less than a year ago to a group of strangers in a language that I am still definitely not fluent in, but I'm also very excited for this opportunity. So, thank you Aimee, Consuelo and everyone else who is helping a second-year journalism student teach CAR internationally, for believing in me. After teaching and spending some time being a tourist in Quito, I'll head back to Ohio by way of a 7-hour layover in Miami, FL. There are so many "Cuencanisms" and other small cultural differences that will probably add up to a significant shock to my system when I get back. Luckily for me, this is apparently completely normal and actually very common. Reverse culture shock, which is exactly what it sounds like, often hits harder than the initial culture shock of traveling. I attended a charla (mini-seminar type thing) this week about reverse culture shock and how to handle it, which honestly just made me depressed about going home. However, I now know more of what to expect and how to handle it. Obviously this experience is different for everyone, but I think that in today's world with easy communication (Skype is my best friend!) the culture shock experience isn't as great because keeping up with family and friends while overseas is much easier. But who knows... I guess I'll find out in a few weeks. In the meantime, I have started compiling a list of small things that either bothered me when I arrived, still bug me a bit, or that I know will be weird experiences when I get back to the United States. Here are my top 10 items, in no particular order:
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AuthorKate Hiller is a wannabe world traveler studying journalism and Spanish at Ohio University. This blog is about her experiences living abroad in Cuenca, Ecuador for a semester. (Spring 2014) Archives
May 2014
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