Going "home" to Ecuador, part one:Finding my people

A section of Quito, Ecuador. Quito, the capital, is near a volcano called Pichincha. Photo from: Getty Images/Sergio Mendoza

Hochmann

The first of a two-part article

When I was 15, I traveled to Ecuador -- my father’s home country -- for the first time. I went to

visit my extended family, and to learn more about a part of my culture that I had never explored

firsthand.

Growing up in the United States with immigrant parents, my classmates often made fun of my

family’s meals, our music, our customs. But when I arrived to visit my extended family, I was

relieved to discover that we were not as strange as I had thought.

By Amanda Machado, adapted by Newsela staff on 09.14.17

Word Count 606

Level MAX

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1

Just like my mother, my aunt starts her mornings with either Bustelo coffee (if she has the

time) or Nescafe (if she doesn’t). Just like my parents, my aunts and uncles here feed their pet

dogs “human food," cutting the chicken into pedacitos, or little pieces, so that they’ll be easier

to chew. Just like my parents, they give their children bendiciones, a sign of the cross across

their children’s foreheads before they leave the house to go to work or school. People here

watch the same novelas, or soap operas, that my parents love, and they cherish the same

statue of la Virgen in their living rooms. In the stores in the city, stereos play the same pasillos,

the Ecuadorian ballads my father used to sing in the shower.

Even the simple act of seeing so many people with brown skin felt comforting. I grew up in a

part of the southern United States where most people were fair-skinned and often blonde. I

recognized early that my tan skin and almost-black hair didn’t fit the “southern belle” look that

seemed prized in my neighborhood. I knew my skin color made me different. But when I

walked around in Ecuador, for the first time, I blended in.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2

And after a few days of observing my cousins and my aunts and uncles, suddenly my parents’

rules also no longer seemed as strict as they had in the United States. Parents here don’t

allow their daughters to go out alone with boys either. When my cousins go dancing, their

parents stay awake late into the night para esperarlos, to wait until they return. Even my

cousin Maria Lourdes, who had just turned 39, told me her mother still calls her every night to

ask where she is.

After days of consistent hugs and kisses from friends and family, I also realized how much I

love physical contact. In the United States, I had learned to extend my hand when introducing

myself. I had taught myself the idea of “personal space,” and forced myself to adapt to rarely

being touched. But in Ecuador, hugs are not a big deal anymore. After just a few days, I no

longer remembered how they ever could be considered an imposition.

Most of all, I loved hearing Spanish. In the United States, the language of my parents had

always felt so private, something we did mostly in our house and rarely outside in the

traditionally southern part of town where we lived. Yet here, of course, Spanish -- my first

language and the language I associate with my family’s love -- was finally everywhere.

By traveling to the country of my immigrant father, I received a specific kind of warmth. It felt

as if I was finally returning to something, as if I had found something I had been missing for a

long time.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3

Quiz

1 Read the conclusion below.

The author prefers the way people in Ecuador greet each other to theway people in the United States greet each other.

Which sentence from the article provides the BEST support to this conclusion?

(A) When my cousins go dancing, their parents stay awake late into the night para

esperarlos, to wait until they return.

(B) After days of consistent hugs and kisses from friends and family, I also realized

how much I love physical contact.

(C) In the United States, I had learned to extend my hand when introducing myself.

(D) I had taught myself the idea of “personal space,” and forced myself to adapt to

rarely being touched.

2 Which sentence from the article supports the idea that the author could do things in Ecuador that

she didn’t feel comfortable doing openly in the United States?

(A) I went to visit my extended family, and to learn more about a part of my culture

that I had never explored firsthand.

(B) Growing up in the United States with immigrant parents, my classmates often

made fun of my family’s meals, our music, our customs.

(C) And after a few days of observing my cousins and my aunts and uncles,

suddenly my parents’ rules also no longer seemed as strict as they had in the

United States.

(D) Yet here, of course, Spanish -- my first language and the language I associate

with my family’s love -- was finally everywhere.

3 The author wrote this article mostly to show how she felt at home in Ecuador even though she did

not grow up there.

What did the author do to illustrate this point in the article?

(A) She described the different places she visited in Ecuador and her favorite spots

to learn about her parents’ culture.

(B) She listed all the ways that kids in the United States were different from the kids

in Ecuador.

(C) She gave examples of how customs in Ecuador were similar to things she and

her parents did in the United States.

(D) She told stories about her cousins' life with her aunt and uncle in Ecuador.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4

4 What is the author's MAIN purpose in including information about living in the southern part of the

United States?

(A) to explain why kids made fun of her growing up

(B) to show how she felt out of place in the United States

(C) to give reasons why she wanted to move to Ecuador

(D) to illustrate why she is proud to have her brown skin

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5

Answer Key

1 Read the conclusion below.

The author prefers the way people in Ecuador greet each other to theway people in the United States greet each other.

Which sentence from the article provides the BEST support to this conclusion?

(A) When my cousins go dancing, their parents stay awake late into the night para

esperarlos, to wait until they return.

(B) After days of consistent hugs and kisses from friends and family, I also

realized how much I love physical contact.

(C) In the United States, I had learned to extend my hand when introducing myself.

(D) I had taught myself the idea of “personal space,” and forced myself to adapt to

rarely being touched.

2 Which sentence from the article supports the idea that the author could do things in Ecuador that

she didn’t feel comfortable doing openly in the United States?

(A) I went to visit my extended family, and to learn more about a part of my culture

that I had never explored firsthand.

(B) Growing up in the United States with immigrant parents, my classmates often

made fun of my family’s meals, our music, our customs.

(C) And after a few days of observing my cousins and my aunts and uncles,

suddenly my parents’ rules also no longer seemed as strict as they had in the

United States.

(D) Yet here, of course, Spanish -- my first language and the language I

associate with my family’s love -- was finally everywhere.

3 The author wrote this article mostly to show how she felt at home in Ecuador even though she did

not grow up there.

What did the author do to illustrate this point in the article?

(A) She described the different places she visited in Ecuador and her favorite spots

to learn about her parents’ culture.

(B) She listed all the ways that kids in the United States were different from the kids

in Ecuador.

(C) She gave examples of how customs in Ecuador were similar to things

she and her parents did in the United States.

(D) She told stories about her cousins' life with her aunt and uncle in Ecuador.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 6

4 What is the author's MAIN purpose in including information about living in the southern part of the

United States?

(A) to explain why kids made fun of her growing up

(B) to show how she felt out of place in the United States

(C) to give reasons why she wanted to move to Ecuador

(D) to illustrate why she is proud to have her brown skin

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 7