GRIP, Internships Abroad My Host Family

Penn Laboratory for Understanding Science - Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, Ecuador

My host family consists primarily of an older couple named Norma and Milton, but also includes two of their children, a daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren living directly adjacent who often join us for meals. My entire team – four girls, including myself – are living with them, and have already become part of the family. 

Milton, the patriarch, has a wealth of knowledge not only about the natural history of San Cristóbal and the Galápagos Islands, but also the social and political history of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Though at the beginning of our stay this meant our meals were often one-hour lectures, we have all come to appreciate both his knowledge and his achachay jokes (funny but bad – think dad jokes). He was born into a poor farming family, but now grows and sells a variety of organic products in addition to being an active member of the political community. We've learned a lot about his role as municipal representative in the national government as well as how he was responsible for bringing running water to all of the houses in town during his tenure. 

This last part we learned from his wife, Norma, who keeps us entertained throughout meals when it's just the five of us. We've seen pictures from her mother's 100th birthday last December, heard the story of how she and Milton met, and been up before breakfast to do Zumba with her. Through her we can all see the traditional gender roles in place throughout the town and region, but she seems to be happy over her dominion of house and family. As four female students from Penn, we have discussed Norma's position several times, and have made it an active mission to include her in as many of our research projects as possible – she seems very excited for us to bring a telescope to watch stars on the roof. 

In the first couple weeks being here in the Galápagos, I've definitely experienced a lot of the things I expected, but I've also been surprised by many things as well. This is my first time out of the United States, and while the new aspects of this environment are very interesting, seeing the similarities between vastly different spheres in my own life has been comforting. At two weeks in, our host mom and dad are gently improving our Spanish – no English at the table – as well as welcoming us into their family with open arms.