like Ecuador are defined as Third World due to their economical level the lifestyle in Quito, for instance, follows more or less the pattern we know in this part of the world. People, drive to work, eat out and children go to school. However, this system functions with different values, customs or schedule. I spent four weeks in Quito at the Spanish Academy to take transfer credits in this language. During this time period I lived with an Ecuadorian family that is the parents and their two daughters, which allowed me to interact with them on a daily basis. The father, Ramon works in the United States and Marcella, 18, the eldest daughter attends college in Quito where she studies medicine. I found it easy to interact with Marcella because our age difference is not big and we are both college students. In addition she is a girl and we could discuss topics that are relevant to our gender, such as fashion or dates. The fact that this family educational level does not greatly differ from mine helped our communication, and shaped the messages we were exchanging. We were able to discuss many topics from politics to sociological and although they are from a different culture, our views were not radically opposites. However, the pace at which the Ecuadorian society develops made it difficult for me to explain them clearly what I am studying. For instance, they could not figure what jobs I would have later with a public communication major, since the communication sector is not as advanced as the ones in the United States or in Europe. Thus, in this particular case it was not their social class or their culture that made the difference, rather the time at which their society as a whole develops. I also had the chance to interact with men and women from different backgrounds, mainly teachers from the Academy. Since I can speak Spanish it was not difficult for me to bond with people and make friends. Thus, I did what people my age do in any...
