# Is anyone familiar with Ecuadorian or South American Culture?



## Lizzie'sMom (Oct 13, 2010)

My daughter left Tuesday for Ecuador to study for the semester. She is with a host family and the mother had a talk with her about the house rules. Neither of us can understand one of the rules. She is to wash her underwear and bras in the shower and I guess hang them to dry in her room. They do have a washer, but not a dryer. I don't know if this is a common thing to do or if she just does not want the underwear of a stranger in her washer. I asked her if she translated it properly and she said that her host mom said it in spanish as well as english. Any ideas?


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

hahaha. I've travelled all over the world and the one thing I've learned is to not question local customs and just "go with the flow". Sounds like this is something unique to this woman and not to the culture as a whole, but I would just do as I'm told and respect her wishes. The closest I've been to equidor is Costa Rica, and no problem putting my undies in the washer there.


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

I have lived in India and other parts of the world, I can say what seems strange to us makes sense to them, also sometimes these things are old customs. Could be the reason is they are personal items and private. In India in some households woman do not take baths during their womans time, some households woman do not go before their gods at that time or eat with the rest of the household...they are considered unclean. In India your undergarments were either handled by you or your personal maid and were not to be seen by men folk. My nieces and nephews who have moved out of the country and go back for visits, have trouble with these things and ask me how I could do it.

Your daughter should not take it personal, in the states we are very immodest compaired to other cultures. South America and Central America have a wide range of culture differences and then are economic differences within each country, as example Bolivia and Argentia seem worlds apart.


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

Well... It's a great way to make the bras and undies last longer! Are there boys in the family? Perhaps she is trying to avoid tempting them with the foreign girl's under things.


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## Lizzie'sMom (Oct 13, 2010)

Thanks for your replies. I think that she was surprised and wonders where to let everything dry. We skyped today-the first time since she left on Tuesday and when we started she was crying. It was so hard. She rarely cries, either. She likes her family, but she is the only one of the foreign exchange students to have a curfew. I did convince her to go to church with them tonight. I think it was an important thing to do with them.


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

Sounds like she's in a traditional family...from a Mother's point of view having a daughter so far away it might be a good thing.

When I first went to India, it was very difficult at first, I lived in a joint family, I had to learn the language as my elder sister in laws could not speak english, after the first month it got better. So will it for your daughter.


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