Expat Advice: Culture Shock in Cotacachi, Ecuador

What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?

Cotacachi

If they speak another language in your new country, do you speak the language? If yes, did you learn the language before you moved or while abroad? If no, are you planning to learn the language?

Having decent Spanish is a great boon. Too many people come thinking it is just a matter of a few months to become fluent. Not true. Years. And that is with hard work and persistence. Since you are well ahead of the game I would suggest looking for an area that is not a suburb of a North-American city. Interact with the locals, almost none of whom will speak any English. Become part of their lives. Think of it as an immersion course instead of weekly lessons. I came five years ago and met and married an Ecuadorian woman and was accepted into her large and boisterous family as a new and important addition. None of the fifteen or so of them, including my wife, speaks any English even though they all studied it in school. So the onus for communication is squarely on my shoulders. That's what I came here for, and though it is not always easy or comfortable it is worth the effort just for personal growth.