Today is
the Day of the Child here in Cuenca. I discovered this when I spotted
clowns and balloon animals outside. The vast array of ice cream
could've been a hint, but ice cream is so commonplace here in Cuenca
that I didn't suspect anything. Those Cuencanos love their ice
cream...
Anyway, it
doesn't surprise me that they have a day dedicated to children; kids
seem to be very treasured here. It's a common sight to see toddlers
waddling along in child-sized ponchos, or to spot women swooning over
their babies, swaddling them in layers of thick fleece blankets. The
folks of Cuenca are almost as bad as me: they think it's cold even
when it's 70 degrees outside.
On the
other hand, I've seen things here that have certainly raised my
eyebrows when it comes to childcare in Ecuador. For example, on two
occasions, I've seen a woman breast-feeding while riding on a
motorcycle. I've also seen a parent allowing their 4-year-old to
steer the car in active traffic. And just the other day, my friend
saw a man cradling a less than 2-year-old child in one arm while
maneuvering a car with his other hand. I'm pretty sure you'd get
arrested for that back home.
Even so,
children are an important part of life here; families are usually on
the larger side, with parents having three or more kids. The times
are a-changing, with the more well-off families having two parents
working outside the home, leaving the kids freedom to idle around.
Among the indigenous and less financially-stable households, children
accompany their mothers to work, whether that means sitting on the
dusty floor of a mercado, running along the sidewalk while mom tends
to the local tienda, or strapped to the mother's back while she sells
fruits and vegetables on the corner. The women here have some
incredible manner of wrapping a child up and tying them to their
backs that I still can't figure out. Somehow the child never falls
out of the tied wrap-around shawl, and even more than that, sleeps
comfortably! I've also been amazed and saddened by the women who walk
around all day long, doing chores and work duties, a child strapped
to their backs, while dressed in traditional clothing (full skirt,
hat, little high heeled shoes, and sweaters. Some women have bowed
legs or serious foot ailments from all of this...
Where are
their husbands, you may ask? “Working”...or throwing dice and
playing cards.
Also,
babying your offspring doesn't end at age 18 like back in the States.
Grown men are mama's boys more often than not. It is no big thing to
have a 30-something-year-old man go to his mother to ask permission
in making some kind of decision, be it leaving the city for a weekend
or buying a television or car. I've noticed that male children get
special treatment also, with mothers doing laundry, preparing meals,
and cleaning up after their sons, while the daughters are stuck
helping the mom.
Just
another cultural difference I've experienced here in Ecuador. Ever
since I made my decision to fulfill my one-year contract and head
back home, a wave of relief has washed over me. Don't get me wrong;
Ecuador's great, and I'd visit again. I just don't think I'd stay
here long-term. It's the perfect place for some people, but not for
me. Thinking about it though, I do not regret coming here, not at
all, never! This experience has been so wonderful...I've grown in so
many ways, and I've learned things here that I would still be mulling
over in my head back in the USA. Ecuador is another chapter in my
life; a long one that would fall under the category of
travel-adventure-turned-memoir-of-a-gringa.
No comments:
Post a Comment