going home to ecuador, part one: finding my people€¦ · going "home" to ecuador, part...
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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