Every culture is a collection of unique individual communities. If, as Max Weinrich quipped, a language is merely a dialect with an army and a navy, then what we call a country’s culture is merely the sum of microcosmic social expectations that acknowledge a given ruling authority. For me, much of this past week has centered around both entering and establishing communities. What exactly are those communities? Of course, there’s the obvious single answer – Ecuadorian society – but a second evaluation quickly reveals a more nuanced response. The main micro-community I’ve entered this past week has been my study…
