Author: ctaguchi

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#6: Shuk puncha tuparishun, Quito

Shuk puncha tuparishun, Quito — we will meet again someday, Quito

When I tell people that I studied Kichwa in Ecuador, they often ask me “Why Kichwa?” or “Why Ecuador?”. I do not have any roots in Ecuador or South America, and my primary research interests were not related to Ecuador before the SLA program. I even knew nothing about Ecuador and Kichwa before coming to Notre Dame. I decided to go to Ecuador to study Kichwa because I was motivated by people I have met (almost coincidentally).

I first got to know about the Kichwa language when I emailed the Quechua FLTA of last year, Jefferson Saransig, in October 2022 to ask about the Quechua class taught at Notre Dame. He told me that He was from Ecuador and was teaching Kichwa. Kichwa is the Ecuadorian variety of the Quechuan languages and is spoken by 150,000 to 500,000 people (uncertain statistics due to lack of reliable census). It is common for younger generations to speak Spanish but not Kichwa (also known as language shift in sociolinguistics) due to the social stigma against expressing indigenousness in Ecuador, and Jefferson was concerned about the future of his own language. Since my project in my department (Natural Language Processing Group) was documenting endangered languages with computational technologies, I decided to take the Quechua course in the following semester to see if my research can actually contribute to the Kichwa language.

During the spring semester of 2023, Jefferson shared with us information about the opportunity to study abroad in Ecuador (Summer Language Abroad program!). By that time, I was mesmerized by the linguistic beauty of Kichwa, and I wanted to visit Ecuador to boost my Kichwa proficiency. From then on, everything went really quickly — Jefferson and I visited Alessia to talk about the opportunity, then I applied, and I got an offer; soon after, I booked the flight ticket and applied to the local Kichwa language school and a homestay program. Right after the final exams, I was already in Quito.

That’s how I started working on Kichwa.

At the time of my arrival in Quito, I barely knew anything about Ecuadorian culture. All I knew was mostly things discussed in my Kichwa classes — but since I have already written about my serious introspections about the culture in the previous posts, in this post I would like to introduce to you my favorite things in Ecuador.

ECUADORIAN FOOD!!

Food is probably the most unforgettable thing I had in Ecuador. The dish in the picture above is called fritada, sautéed pork with various side dishes — tortilla de papa (yellow stuff on top), choclo (corn on top right), queso (cheese on top right), tostada (toasted corn), grilled plantain (bottom), mote (boiled corn in the middle), avocado (left), salad (mid-left). This dish is a beautiful concentration of Ecuadorian local ingredients which would be very hard to get in the United States and Japan (my home country). The taste and texture were something I had never experienced before, and I was totally fascinated after the first bite.

Fresh fruit juice is also something that shocked me. Fruits in Japan are very expensive and I never really thought of buying them when I lived in Japan. In Ecuador, however, they are much more affordable to the locals, and what’s more, they are irresistibly fresh and sweet. The juice in the photo above is jugo de guanábana, a kind of tropical fruit called soursop in English. It was the first time for me to taste the fruit, and it tasted so good that I ordered them in every restaurant I visited where possible.

Andean Nature

Ecuadorian nature was different from the ones that I had been familiar with in any aspect. Ecuador is located on the Equator line, but Quito’s altitude is nearly 3,000m. For this reason, plants, landscapes, temperatures, rainfall, and air quality were all very unique. The photo above is from my host mother’s village, which is a community consisting of only 50 indigenous Kichwas. I had a chance to visit her village on weekends, and I was totally flabbergasted by the amazing landscape there. The overwhelmingly mountainous terrain was surrounding us; the layer of clouds was beneath us; weather could change in ten minutes; the morning was freezing (remember we were at the Equatorial area).

People

As I said, my whole journey to learn Kichwa has been shaped thanks to the people I have met — my host family is definitely one of the biggest influences on me. The photo above is a picture of me and my host family in their traditional Otavalo Kichwa outfit. They were a bilingual family that spoke Kichwa and Spanish at home and talked with me in both languages. They were not only my host family but also my teachers in Kichwa and Spanish, my family, and my friends. I appreciate their kindness and generosity to share their time and space with me.

For the future

My SLA program is over, but the memory about and the attachment to Ecuador and the Kichwas will continue to be rooted inside of me. Before going to Ecuador, I was taking the SLA program as an opportunity to enhance my language skills; however, it was in fact way more than that. Interacting with people there, directly experiencing their culture, and understanding the culture were the biggest factors that shaped the current “me” after the program. I deeply thank the SLA programs, in particular, the supporters, organizers (Mary!), my Kichwa teachers, my host family, and many others for giving me this incredible opportunity. I will continue studying the language and will try to contribute back to the community with my research expertise as much as possible.

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#5: Power and Collectivism in Japan and Ecuador

When it comes to hetero-stereotypes of Japan, I often hear the following cultural tendencies from my non-Japanese friends:

  • Polite
  • Slow decision-making, beaurocracy
  • Hierarchical power relationships
  • Collectivistic, prioritizing the harmony of one’s group over an individual’s benefit

I personally believe that these observations are more or less true. We have to behave politely to older people (even if they are only one year older than us), and we even use different verb forms to talk to them. It is preferred to behave ourselves in public places (e.g., “don’t talk on the phone on public transportation, don’t eat while walking, don’t talk loudly; there are simply many social “don’ts” in Japan) so that we don’t harm the public benefit.

So, I was expecting that the “Power distance” index would be higher and the “Individualism” index would be lower in Japan than in Ecuador. However, the actual data showed the opposite.

(Orange on the left: Ecuador, Blue in the middle: Japan, Purple on the right: USA)

The figure above shows that the power distance index is higher and the individualism index is lower (that is, more collectivistic) in Ecuador, and Japan’s indices are around the middle.

This was unexpected data for me, but once I read the details of these scores, I could see why they are as they are. In short, the power distance metric shows the degree of social inequalities in the country. Though Japan does have a hierarchical structure based on age and sex, Ecuador has structural inequalities based on social classes and race (for example, mestizo/white over indigenous groups). I think that this power distance is directly affecting the endangerment of many indigenous languages of Ecuador. The Kichwa people I met in Ecuador told me that it was often the case that parents did not want to teach their children the Kichwa language because it is socially stigmatized and they might be looked down on if they speak the language in public.

As for individualism, it is understandable that the US is extremely individualistic, as symbolized by the Statue of Liberty. In contrast, Ecuador is one of the most collectivistic countries on that metric on the contrary to my intuition. As the Hofstede metrics explain that “In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only,” this is the case in Japan. Nuclear families are the most common type of household in modern Japan, and family relationships seem to be not so tightly united. For example, I rarely call or text my parents now who live in Japan (not that we are in a bad relationship; we are doing well), but I saw my host family call or text their extended families almost every day.

All in all, it was interesting to compare the results of Hofstede indices for Japan, Ecuador, and the United States. However, I still think that the power distance and collectivism in Japan are stronger than it is represented in the data. I never feel like talking to Japanese professors in a friendly manner because of the strong sense of power distance, and I never feel like saying “No” to any offer or suggestion because I do not want to damage the harmony among my group. As explained in the Hofstede metrics, their criteria are based on only a few aspects of the society, and I am sure that they are not perfectly representative of the culture of each country (also, different ethnic groups in one country may have very different cultural behaviors, such as Mestizos and Kichwas in Ecuador). Though these metrics are useful to compare cultural tendencies of different countries, I am skeptical about the metrics and think that it should not be used to make judgements on countries.

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#4: DIVE into the toilet

WARNING: This post is about toilet culture!

When I finally arrived at my host family’s apartment after the long trip from South Bend to Quito, I first needed to go to the bathroom.

Then I found a trash can next to the toilet, and I thought: “Wait, is this for that thing?” I opened the trash can, and there were used pieces of toilet paper in it. I immediately understood that I should not throw toilet paper into the toilet bowl in Ecuador (Description). In many parts of the world, it is common that toilet paper cannot be flushed and instead must be thrown away in a trash can. Since I had already experienced it in some countries when I was traveling, this fact was not so surprising.

However, my initial reaction was indeed something. After the long Covid period that I spent in Japan, the UK, and the US, I was totally accustomed to the toilet culture where we can flush it in the toilet bowl. So, I could not help myself feeling a bit of mental resistance when I had to do so, thinking like “I just want to throw it away in the toilet bowl; I feel embarrassed because it could smell later” (Interpretation).

I did not talk about this cultural incident with anybody here because I understood it from my own experience, but I do see a piece of paper saying “No tire las toallas de papel en el inodoro” (Don’t throw away toilet paper in the toilet bowl) in public bathrooms in restaurants and cafés. So I would say that my observation has been verified (Verification).

Although I must say that my first immediate reaction was more of the negative side, I got used to it after that (or I switched my culture mode) and now I feel neutral about the toilet culture (Evaluation).

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#3: Heterostereotypes about Americans: from the conversation with my host family

Imanalla mashikuna, kawsakunkichu?
Kunanka ñami kimsaniki hunkay kashka. Ñukapa kichwa ayllupika, chishimikuna punchapi tawka imakunamantami rimanakunchik. Kay killkaypika kichwapurakunapa, Ecuadorpi kawsak mishupurakunapapash, estadounidensepurakunapapash estereotipo nishkakunamantami rimakrini.

I do not have any auto-stereotypes about Americans, since I do not identify myself as American; I am just an international student. Instead, I would say I have some hetero-stereotypes. One evening, after finishing the cozy dinner with my host family, we talked about the auto- and hetero-stereotypes of Kichwas, Mestizo Ecuadorians (i.e., white or mixed-white Ecuadorians), and Americans. In this post, I will share some of the hetero-stereotypes about Americans from the perspectives of me and my Kichwa host family, with special reference to the Ecuadorian culture(s).

Personal space of Americans, Mestizo Ecuadorians, and Kichwas

Ecuador is a multi-ethnic country, and the cover term “Ecuadorians” can contain a number of different cultures. For example, my host father told me at the dinner, “The notion of the comfortable personal space between people is very different between Mestizos and Kichwas. For instance, when Mestizo friends meet up, they often show the greeting involving more physical actions, such as hugging, tapping on the shoulder, and giving a friendly kiss next to the cheek (like bisou in French). On the other hand, Kichwas do not do that; when Kichwas meet each other, they just shake hands, and nothing more. So, compared to Mestizos, Kichwas prefer a larger personal space when meeting or talking with somebody. This is like Americans, right?”

I thought that this is an interesting observation, not only because there are very different cultures within one country that have been coexisting for centuries since the Spanish colonization, but also because I myself did feel the cultural similarity between Americans and Japanese in terms of how people keep personal distance. When I see Americans how to greet, where to sit on the bus, and how far they keep their distance to each other when talking, I feel it very similar to what I am used to doing in my Japanese culture, whereas I still cannot help myself feeling awkward when people start hugging and kissing casually.

To be honest, “optimistic”, “warm-hearted”, and “closer personal space” had been my hetero-stereotypes of both Americans and South Americans (or Latinos in general) before getting immersed in their culture myself. I did not even know that there are multiple layers of cultures in Ecuador. Since coming to the United States and Ecuador, I feel that my unreasonable hetero-stereotypes about others have been deconstructed and have become more fine-grained and objective.