The Difference in Cultures

How do you feel when you are talking to someone and they won't look you in the face? For most of us it is a sign of shyness, deception, or rudeness. Or we start to think that the person is ashamed or hiding something. It can be frustrating. At times, walking down the street in Cuenca, you meet someone coming the other direction. My impulse is to smile and say hello. As they walk by you the head goes down and they say nothing. How rude. I know from the time I was little my mother always told me "look at me when I'm talking to you." Well, this training has made it a challenge for me in my preaching and teaching work here in Ecuador. You see, many times when I approach young ones in the ministry and try to talk to them, they keep their heads down looking at the ground. Even when I try to joke or break the ice, the face is always turned down. Mark has a study with a young man about 14 that to this day when they study he keeps his eyes lowered. So what is happening here?

Well, here's the thing. It is a cultural difference. You see, from the time some Ecuadorian children are born they are taught that to look an adult in the face is rude. This is especially true with the people who live in the campo and are poor. They are told to "baja la vista" (lower your eyes) when speaking to an older person or a person of better economic means. Of course, this isn't the case in every family, but it happens enough to be seen when we speak to different ones in the ministry and they won't look us in the eye. We have had to change our attitude and not jump to the conclusion that the person is ignorant, rude or not interested. This certainly has been a challenge, but we've learned to accept these differences. It certainly has been an interesting learning experience.