News Highlights

Two faculty members, three sons spending year conducting research in Ecuador

Minnesota's snow and cold are barely a memory for faculty members Jim Grabowska and Kimberly Contag who, with their three boys, this year are living and conducting research in sunny Ecuador.

2006-11-17
By Jim Grabowska [Modern languages faculty member who, with spouse Kimberly Contag -- also a faculty member -- and their three boys, are conducting research at the University of Cuenca, Ecuador.]

We have to chuckle when we think about snow and cold in Minnesota.

The boys could probably count on one hand the classmates here who have ever even seen the white stuff. We live in the land of perpetual spring. Homes and apartments here are not built with furnaces or air conditioning. If we're hot, we open the windows. If we're cold, we close them. That is the extent of our heating and cooling practices.

Living here in the center of Cuenca (population 300,000), we don't hear birds. As we walk away from the center of the city, it's the first thing we notice: birdcalls. It shocked us because we had forgotten that we hadn't heard them in a long time.

The interesting thing is that 10 percent of all flora found in the world is here in Ecuador, and we don't know about fauna. There are at least a dozen different types of hummingbirds found in our area of Ecuador, from bumblebee-sized to sparrow-sized or perhaps a bit larger. Orchids are incredibly common here.

Flowers in general are very common. You can buy a dozen long-stem roses for $2. Ecuadorian roses are supposedly known for how long they last, and 65 percent of the roses grown here are destined for the U.S.; more than $1 billion in sales per year.

We can't get over walking through the park half a block from here. Friday as we walked through, the loudspeakers were playing Barry White's 1970s hit "Love's Theme," or walking through our favorite dollar store where we heard the Warren Brothers' "Hey Mr. President," while we talked to the attendants in Spanish about the upcoming Ecuadorian presidential elections, and as we shop alongside Ecuadorian indigenes who dress in typical clothing that wouldn't be recognizable in Minnesota. Sometimes we really wonder where we are.

At the same time, what we see here confirms the notion of a global village. Andrew's observation (our middle son) upon arriving was that one would have to know English to get around here. Many store signs, T-shirts, grocery products, billboards, etc., have English words in them.

Most stoves and ovens use gas here. Virtually all water heaters also use gas. The gas comes in containers a little larger than those you buy to use with your grill, and the gas costs $3 per container. We use one container per month.

To avoid Montezuma's revenge, we soak all vegetables and fruits for five minutes in a concoction called Kilol. It is made from grapefruit and is non-toxic. We were told by doctors here that regardless of what we do, we'll come home with some parasites and have to take care of them there.

People here have been exposed to more and have immunities to more diseases than we do. By the way, health care here is excellent and inexpensive. Jim had a tooth rebuilt for a total of $100. Doctor visits are $20 to $25, and home visits are not uncommon. Meds, though, can be expensive.

Ecuadorians are very social. Entertainment is in the form of parties and shared meals, frequently in homes. They would rather talk to each other or dance than isolate themselves. The boys would love to spend more time gaming or going to parties, but they are working very hard to learn. It is difficult when the languages of instruction are foreign. We spend about three hours per night helping the boys with homework.

Alex, 15, is having the most trouble in physics. We call his uncle in the U.S. from time to time to help. Andrew, 11, likes German more than Spanish, in particular because his teacher is "cool," but both languages are tough. Ben, 10, hasn't got a handle on everything yet. He doesn't know when they are working on Spanish or math, but he is doing very well at soccer.

In fact, the school runs the boys pretty hard. I think they'll be in excellent shape by the time they get home. They can run for extended periods at the altitude here (9,000 feet above sea level). We, on the other hand, do a lot of walking, but still get tired and need to catch our breath now and again.

We thought we'd get away from everyone "running" for office when we left the States, but elections for the Ecuadorian presidency are in late November. There were 13 candidates for president and none of them received the required majority to declare a winner after the first round of voting, therefore, the two biggest vote-getters are involved in a runoff that will determine the next president of Ecuador.

Eligible citizens are required by law to vote. There are fines if you don't. Balloting is all on paper, and there were six or seven ballots that each voter had to fill out in the first round because the general elections were for Ecuadorian congress, regional and local governmental positions. The two candidates for president are similar to U.S. candidates, at least as they would be painted by the opposition.

Rafael Correa is leftwing, anti-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, pro-internal development, critical of U.S. foreign policy, highly critical of the way that government has been run in Ecuador, and a populist. Álvaro Noboa is right wing, pro FTA, a selfdenominated messenger from God, also the richest man in the country (a true banana baron), and a right-wing populist.

Both preach jobs, low-interest loans and housing. In a country in which unemployment is high, many earn less than $120 per month, and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, could not dream of owning a house, this election is seen as a turning point in Ecuadorian politics.

Since our arrival, we have taken the opportunity to watch everything from the margins. It certainly doesn't make our observations accurate, but it has certainly displaced our U.S. centric views of the world, and this is what we have most wanted for our children: the opportunity to see the world through different eyes, to experience another culture firsthand, to learn to live with others in their environment rather than ours.

To that extent, we have been successful and more than a bit pleased. At the same time, it has confirmed the truth of the aphorism in Spanish that "el mundo es unpañuelo" ... The world is a very small place.

 

By Robb Murray, Free Press Staff Writer [published 11/14/2006 in The Free Press, Mankato, MN]

For now, James Grabowska and Kimberly Contag are in the moment, dealing with things such as bank accounts and phone service and getting the boys to school.

But in a year from now, when their full-family sabbatical/adventure in Ecuador is over, it'll be back to the classrooms of Minnesota State University, back to the grind. Grabowska says he's hoping the experience will pay dividends down the road.

"Students are already benefiting from our stay here," Grabowska says. "I have been sending articles from magazines and newspapers to our grad students and to faculty since I arrived: ideas for units and lessons, topics for discussion, etc. Kimberly is already slated to teach a course on Ecuadorian literature since 1975 next year."

Grabowska and Contag, who are married and are both employed as professors at MSU, took their careers and their three sons and committed to spending a year in Ecuador.

As expected, the experiencing, Grabowska says, has been mindblowing. But in the end, he says traveling to a foreign country — especially for a teacher of foreign languages, provides authenticity you can't get from reading books.

"When you immerse yourself in another culture, you bring back different perspectives about the culture in which you are living as well as your native culture," he says. "You see things with different eyes. These new perspectives accompany you when you enter the classroom and influence the way you teach, the way you approach different topics, the importance you give to your discipline."

Grabowska says the experience already has become one his sons will never forget. And it reminds him of an adventure he took in his younger days, an adventure that immersed him in the culture of Spain.

"For me, my immersion in another culture was a life-changing event and that will come back with me this time, too, and make its way into my classroom. It is also something I want for my children. That's why they're here," Grabowska said. "This is a oncein- a-lifetime experience for us. We'll never be able to repeat it as a family. And as corny as it may sound, it is quite an emotional experience for me to watch my boys learn and grow in a totally foreign environment."

Email this article | Permanent link | Topstories news | Topstories news archives