How not to be a gringo in Ecuador...

On other forums, some people believe that you will always be a gringo in the eyes of LatinAmericans if you are white... this is both correct and incorrect. That being said, just becuase you are a foreginer does not make you a gringo... in my opinion a Gringo is a foreigner who has very little spanish knowledge and instead of changing their cultural practices in foregin countries, they try to impose their own.

Don´t fool yourself if you have white skin, blue eyes and blonde hair... it dosen´t make you a gringo... I have seen many argentinians and spanish with those physical charactaristics. Your actions are what make you a gringo and a target in Ecuador. So I just wanted to share a few tips on how to intergrate better in Ecuador, some will go without saying and may be obvious, but you wouldent belive the amount of people who forget to do these things.

1. Don´t be frightend to use buses and other public transport - You will get respect from other people if you use the same services available to a normal ecuadorian (When in Rome, do as the Romans do). Gringos don´t use town buses... so you should use them! :)

2. Make friends - Having native friends will boost your level of street knowledge, Spanish and you will gain more respect from just about everybody. You should always offer the hand of friendship to anybody you meet, who knows where it will lead. Exchanging English for Spanish is a good way of making new friends and improving your Spanish.

3. Being in the shopping centre (Mall) all the time is an act of the commun gringo... Visit other places nearby and that are not on the tourist route, reccomendations can be found all over the web.

4. Keep talking Spanish despite the difficulty at first - There is nothing that ecuadorian people like more than foreigners attemping to speak their language... It´s a very nice gesture and you will be rewarded as you gain confidence.

5. No fear - Fear makes you a target and a gringo, This is probably going to be a male only tip (Sorry Girls) I will happily walk in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Guayaquil. Some people will say I am playing with fire but my point is that a gringo or vunerable foreginer will not be walking anywhere... Thieves fear confidence... Being in good physical condition is also a good deterrent! (foreign and local grils have to be very careful if walking alone)

6. Don´t get lost - Research or plan your route before you leave home. Try not to use a map in the street. Again thieves target vunerable people, if you are confident and know where you are going and keep moving... you are less of a target.

7. Don´t flash your Cash - Another obvious tip, thieves will target you if you wear expensive clothes, watches or accesories. Being more descrite will go a long way and also makes you more approcahble to most people... wearing expensive things gives the impression that you belive you are better than everyone else.

8. Don´t take Sh$$ - If somebody badmouths you, give them something back in Spanish, it dosen´t have to be aggresive, something humourous works very well and gives the impression that you have understood what has been said.

9. Try copying the local fashion - this goes for clothes or places to hangout... it will help you mix in better. The same can be said for learning popular slang, it will help in all aspects of your stay. Many webpages have some good ecuadorian slang.

10. Enjoy yourself - The ecuadorian people are very animated in how they speak and act. If you respond in the same way you will be sharing their culture and you will become more intergrated.

By Jamesito on Jul 5, 2009, 03:39 in Ecuador forum.

dguittar says on Sep 24, 2009, 07:55: Murder rates in the world - I could not find Ecuador in the top 50 Rank Countries Amount # 1 Colombia: 0.617847 per 1,000 people # 2 South Africa: 0.496008 per 1,000 people # 3 Jamaica: 0.324196 per 1,000 people # 4 Venezuela: 0.316138 per 1,000 people # 5 Russia: 0.201534 per 1,000 people # 6 Mexico: 0.130213 per 1,000 people http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-cap... 0 funny, 0 helpful.

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