Ecuador

Population: 14.67 million

Capital: Quito

Currency: The United States dollar

Language: Spanish Phrases: Hola (hello) Chau (goodbye)

Climate: The climate varies on where you are in the country due to the different elevation levels.  The coast averages 77 F, but the highland areas average temperature is 64 F due to the close proximity to the equator.

Religion: 91.95% have a religion of those 80.44% Catholic, 11.30% Protestant, 1.29% Jehovah's Witness, 6.97% other.  Catholicism is a major part of Ecuador's history and culture.  in the 1500's when the Spanish colonized Ecuador and brought with it the Catholic church.  In 1869 Catholicism was made the official religion and only those who were Catholic could hold office.  Since their independence all religions are accepted but Catholicism still holds a strong place in the culture of Ecuador.

Sports:  Soccer is obviously the most popular sport in Ecuador.  The National team has made it to the world cup twice.  The country has several professional teams that play each other throughout the year.  Barcelona won the league finals in 2012.  Other sports that are popular in Ecuador are baseball, tennis and basketball.  Jefferson Perez won the first Olympic gold medal for speed walking.  Ecuador has participated in 11 summer Olympic games and 0 winter games.

Famous people:  While several soccer players have become well known from Ecuador (Luis Velencia -Manchester United, Joao Plata-Real Salt Lake) probably the most famous person who is half Ecuadorian is Christina Aguilera.

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Facts:
* The main industries in Ecuador are: petroleum, food processing and textiles.
* Ecuador has a lot of active and inactive volcanoes
* Ecuador has had 20 constitutions since gaining independence in 1822
*The Galapagos Islands are part of Ecuador
* Ecuador consists of four regions: Galapagos, coast, highland and jungle

Culture: The indigenous people of Ecuador still live in the rural areas of the country.  They dress in traditional clothing and are among the poorest citizens in the country.  They speak a native language different then Spanish called Quechua.  The main population is modern even though it is still customary for women to stay at home and care for the children and husbands.  Today more and more women are joining the work force.  Popular foods in Ecuador are fish, fruits, vegetables, rice and meat.

Activity

Ecuador has always been a part of our married life.  Since Mario is Ecuadorian it makes up who he is.  His likes, dislikes, behaviors  ways of doing things, ideals all have some kind of Ecuadorian influence.  We try to speak Spanish in our home, I always ask Mario about his cultural traditions and how we can incorporate those with American ones, so we will always be partly immersed in the Ecuadorian culture.  However, being the first E country on the list we did spend some focused time learning about Ecuador.  Most of the information on this blog post is from Mario's personal knowledge, but I did look up the stats online.

There are several activities we have done as a family related to Ecuador, one is having Mario's mom live with us for a few months when the babies were first born.  They truly were taken care of most of the time by his mom those first few months after birth as I was adjusting to returning to work and Mario was also adjusting to a new job. I have to say her Ecuadorian techniques helped teach them to eat well, sleep through the night, and be pretty well behaved babies.

Every time we hear about an Ecuadorian restaurant in the area we go to it often.  There have been two here in the Salt Lake valley, but sadly they have both gone out of business.  That is where I got my first taste of real Ecuadorian food (besides the food Mario makes).  The first place was off of 3300 south and Redwood road and was my favorite.  I loved the empenadas and ceviche.  The second place was off of 5300 south and the freeway and I honestly have to say I did not like it much.  I always ordered one of the dishes that they said they made just for Americans. I did not like the authentic food.   Now there are no Ecuadorian restaurants in the area that we know of.  We did visit a place in LA when we were there last September with the kids and it was really yummy.  But out of everywhere I've eaten, I have to say no ones shrimp ceviche holds a candle to the one Mario makes.  The first restaurant here was close, but not nearly as good!

ceviche

 Another activity that we did just last month was actually go to Ecuador.  The kids did not come with us on this activity, but Mario and I went.  It was my first time and all I have to say is there is no better way to really feel a culture then to go and actually spend time in it.  I was blown away by the beauty and diversity of the country. We swam in the ocean, went zip lining in the jungle and of course spent time in the capital where Mario is from.

swinging out over the jungle

animal rescue center in the Jungle

zip lining in Bonos Ecuador

beach in Manta Ecuador

Mario does have a lot of friends in the area that are from Ecuador and from time to time we get together with them, and of course we support the national soccer team and Barcelona which is Mario's country team. Ecuador will continue to be one culture we will learn about and have an influence on our lives.