Another thing that occurred to us this trip was to ask the kids to put together the albums for the trip. Of great interest to me has been the fact that they focus the albums on the people they are interacting with and the offbeat things they saw and got pictures of. Sure, we have pictures of the major ´laces we visited, but they are mainly the backdrop for the pictures of themselves and the relatives we were with on a particular day. They also include a lot of pictures of locals we met.
Also, when we have asked over the course of this vacation what they have liked most, invariably they have spoken of moments rather than the things they saw. They liked it when we all ate somewhere or when I said something that was informative, funny or out of frustration. They liked it when their mother tried on certain hats at the market.
What I think I have learned is that it is important to see as much as possible on a trip, but it is even more important to share a trip with others. to eat local foods, to make cultural connections and to leave teenagers time to really get a sense of something on their own.
I love Ecuador, for any and all of its faults, it is an amazing place with awesome people. But, while I admired the improvements to the roads and infrastructure, my daughter asked why so much had been invested in Quito while the rest of the country was often stuck in the past and how that was unfair. My son noticed the huge interest people had in conversation about the US elections. This interest has made him more interested in them. They both noticed that there is too much emphasis on the Spanish and less on the indigenous history, so we found as much as we could about the native peoples and all learned a lot.
Given the same places, I have a much greater sense of Ecuador now than I did 20 years ago because my children allowed me to see through their eyes, and I did not force my own views or a tour´s views on them. For this, I am grateful. Now we have to get their cousins up to Boston to finish this mini exchange.
Also, when we have asked over the course of this vacation what they have liked most, invariably they have spoken of moments rather than the things they saw. They liked it when we all ate somewhere or when I said something that was informative, funny or out of frustration. They liked it when their mother tried on certain hats at the market.
What I think I have learned is that it is important to see as much as possible on a trip, but it is even more important to share a trip with others. to eat local foods, to make cultural connections and to leave teenagers time to really get a sense of something on their own.
I love Ecuador, for any and all of its faults, it is an amazing place with awesome people. But, while I admired the improvements to the roads and infrastructure, my daughter asked why so much had been invested in Quito while the rest of the country was often stuck in the past and how that was unfair. My son noticed the huge interest people had in conversation about the US elections. This interest has made him more interested in them. They both noticed that there is too much emphasis on the Spanish and less on the indigenous history, so we found as much as we could about the native peoples and all learned a lot.
Given the same places, I have a much greater sense of Ecuador now than I did 20 years ago because my children allowed me to see through their eyes, and I did not force my own views or a tour´s views on them. For this, I am grateful. Now we have to get their cousins up to Boston to finish this mini exchange.
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