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Remembering “Ecua-Time”

After spending a week settling into Cuenca and my life in Ecuador, I was beyond excited to reconnect with my host family from my time in Global Citizen Year. I have been practicing my Spanish, taking Spanish classes at Notre Dame, watching shows like La Casa de Papel, and even trying to play through Skyrim in Spanish (I did not make it far). This practice would enable a deeper connection with my parents and siblings than I had previously, and not only that, but I would have a chance to meet the new baby of the family!

I finally arrived in Paute this past Saturday night, happy to visit my old home and see the old haunts of Paute. My family was playing in a soccer tournament, and we planned to get dinner together and watch the soccer game that night. After saying hi, hugging, and catching up, we picked up food and returned home to eat. The animated conversation lasted all of 20 minutes, and after that, an awkward silence spread over the table.

Immediately, I felt uncomfortable. I had been away three years, and we didn’t have anything to talk about? While I’m not fluent in Spanish, my skills are proficient to the level that they do not hinder daily conversations. As we sat and ate, I wrestled with this uneasy feeling, trying to dissect where it was coming from, and what could be done about it. My night in Paute was a whirlwind of old memories and emotions, when I remembered the term that my friends and I would refer to the way that the passage of time seemed to dilate during our gap year: “Ecua-time”.

Ecua-time means that things seem to move more slowly here, and rather than constantly preparing for the future, people allow the passage of time to wash over them and react how they may – not forcing anything that was unnecessary. During my dinner with my host family, I felt compelled to force conversation as I struggled to come up with new questions to learn more about the lives of my host family during the years of Covid and beyond. On the contrary, my family accepted the dinner for what it was – quality time with someone they had missed. Conversation arose when it was appropriate, but in the time between words, bites of chicken and the company of the dinner were more than adequate.

As I am re-integrating myself into Ecuador for the summer, these cultural hiccups that feel uncomfortable have begun to arise. While I have a leg up because of my previous experience here, it would be naive to think that this experience will protect me from culture shock. As I continue to navigate a different yet familiar culture, I need to remember Ecua-Time, take a deep breath and process things as the arise, and know that my best is more than enough to thrive here.

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Pre-Departure – Yerevan

I am very excited to study Russian in Yerevan, Armenia this summer. In preparation for my time in Armenia, I have been reading George Bournoutian’s A Concise History of the Armenian People to gain basic knowledge of the region and Armenian history. While I am most interested in Armenia’s past under the Russian Empire and Soviet Union, I am aware that Armenia has an incredibly rich and distinct history. Bournoutian notes that Armenia was positioned as a “corridor between Asia and Europe” (7). As a result, “Assyrians, Scythians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Arabs, Kurds, Turks, and Mongols have all left their impact on the land and people” (7). Yerevan is almost thirty years older than Rome!

I have three primary goals for this trip. The first is to improve my Russian language skills. The second is to gain a greater appreciation and understanding for Armenian culture. I think I can concretely move toward this goal by visiting cultural and historical sites and reading books on my own about Armenian culture and history. I also will learn some basic Armenian and use it when out and about. While they were a part of the Soviet Union, many in the country are looking past their soviet past. Armenia has a rich and distinct culture and I wish to show it respect by learning the language and history of the people here. 

My third goal is to get more comfortable with direct speech. In America, we tend to beat around the bush or fear offending others by being direct or demanding. From what I understand about post-soviet countries, this is less the case. That is not to say the people are rude. I want to make my thoughts or needs clearly known and not feel offended or put off when people are direct with me. This will come as I speak more with people and make an effort to clearly understand the situations I find myself in. This may entail asking people to repeat themselves or becoming comfortable with saying “I do not understand.”

While I am excited to spend 20 hours a week in class improving my Russian language skills, I am most excited to be in a Russian-speaking environment. From what I have been told, English, Russian, and of course, Armenian, are widely spoken in Yerevan. I hope to avoid using English as much as possible but may default to it in case of emergency or if I am really struggling to get my point across.

 In a word, I am very excited to engage with both Armenian and Russian culture, especially while reading Bournoutian’s book. Although I’ve traveled and even lived abroad, I occasionally get nervous about my trip (I never cease to be excited about it). I want to use the time as productively as possible to grow in my goals and to develop my language skills. I may even come across senior thesis material while I am abroad!

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Post #2: Critical Incidents So Far

Hello from Grenoble! It is a beautiful day here, and I was lucky to go on a run this morning to see the sun rise above the valley and mountains. I have attached a photo below 😀. Today was the first day of my course and also the first day I have begun to settle into the rhythm of living here. I think this is probably natural, but on my trip to and since arriving in France, I have experienced a lot of mixed feelings: I have felt like an imposter because of my lack of fluency in French and unfamiliarity with Grenoble; I have felt lots of excitement about learning a new language, exploring the mountains here, and getting to know the family whose home I am living at; and I have felt eager to grow as much as I can from this adventure. I have also already had the chance to interact with several French-speaking people, and I thought I would reflect on one particularly memorable one here.

On my trip from Lyon to Grenoble, I stopped in a town to get food at a small eatery. The place was practically empty except for one group that looked like a family. Maybe because of jet-lag or maybe just because of my poor French skills, I stumbled over my words when ordering my food and drink at the register and could not understand several of the things the barista was saying to me. I already felt like a total idiot, but this feeling heightened when I looked over at the people nearby and saw them staring, whispering to each other, and laughing a little. On the one hand, I found the situation funny, too, and was able to laugh at myself. On the other, though, I was embarrassed, offended, and struck by a rather blunt sense that I did not belong here.

In reflecting on the encounter––and considering some of what we have learned so far––I have come to see the experience in a slightly different way. For one, the family sitting at the eatery likely meant nothing. It might be unusual for them to encounter people who do not speak French; not to mention, it is possible they were laughing about something completely unrelated to me. More so, just as they may have made some initial––and in many ways, fair––judgments of me (perhaps that I am ignorant and/or an outsider), I certainly judged thier expressions without knowing anything about their background. I hope to use this experience to keep growing in humility, to motivate my French-language learning, and to work on not making assumptions about people’s actions and expressions!

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First Post – Amman, Jordan

As I draw nearer to my departure to Amman, I keep asking myself what I expect for this summer and what to be prepared for. I narrow in on the changes that I will expect when I land in Amman for nine weeks. The heat for sure, the swap of my jean shorts for linen pants, and the change from home-cooked meals to cooking for myself.

In telling my friends from Notre Dame, friends from home, and family about this experience, the usual response that I receive is “Wow that will be so life-changing.” I look forward to how I will change from this experience. I began this journey when I was learning about the Middle East beginning in Middle School. Making the decision to study Arabic in college has opened me to this SLA opportunity and going to Amman feels like the highlight of this journey. I think about the changes I have gone through to get to this point in my life and wonder what will happen after. I have set goals for my intercultural competency but I do not know what will happen to me on a more personal level. This journey is the culmination of the passion that I have had for almost a decade. So why am I nervous?


First, I’ll be outside the country for longer than I ever have, second I won’t be with any person in my family and third, I will not be a native speaker of the language. However, writing that I have a smile on my face. I accept the nerves and allow them to propel me to feel excitement for what will happen. See you in two months!