Greater cultural understanding emerged through a three-month comparison of American and Ecuadorean legal and educational systems, which entailed two months interning in a law office in Quito and one month teaching English to tour guides and school children in Mindo, a rural village in the cloud forest. These two experiences allowed me the chance to observe important differences in the two cultures. For example the separation between church and state in Ecuador is almost nonexistent. Posters of the Ten Commandments are common in courthouses, and bible verses are pinned to desks as a matter of course. In the United States this is at least frowned upon and often forbidden, but in Ecuador it is accepted without question. Motivation to conclude cases in a timely manner is all but nonexistent. Educationally, Ecuador is dealing with a broken system. Free public education is available to all, but only for five hours a day. Class sizes were observed to be as large as forty students and there is only one teacher. Government-provided materials may arrive months late or not at all, leaving students without text books, paper, and pencils. Teachers struggle to relate to students and every child passes to the next grade regardless of ability. The greatest problem for Ecuador moving forward will be motivation to improve upon its current situation. The federal government is attempting to implement social programs to better Ecuador, but it does not have the trust of the Ecuadorean people. If this barrier can be overcome, the country will be able to move forward much more quickly because the people will feel that their work will be lasting and they will be more motivated to bring change to their circumstances.

1. Background Information Goals
• A third year Fellow at the University of Louisville pursuing • To understand Latin American legal systems in terms of their
majors in Spanish and Finance. foundation, culture, and effectiveness.
• Interested in working internationally as a translator, diplomat, • To understand Latin American educational systems in terms
or businessperson. of their goals, methods, and results.
• Fluent in written and spoken Spanish • To bring this understanding back to the United States in
• Recently returned from three months in Ecuador. order to act as a liaison between the Latin American and
Two of these months were spent interning in a law North American communities.
firm in Quito, and one was spent in Mindo teaching
English to grades one through ten. Cultural
• Summer 2011 enrichment project was completed as
a study abroad in Madrid, Spain Understanding Growth Understanding
Gained
Through Immersion in • Ecuadorean people are proud
of their indigenous heritage
and often have negative
Ecuador feelings toward Spain.
• The Ecuadorean people do
not trust their government due
to free speech issues they are
Casey Malloy, University of facing. This mistrust makes it
difficult for them to trust each
other and the progress the
Legal Points of Louisville, Class of 2014 country is making.
• The government is working
to counter this problem
Interest through transparency and
investment in projects that
• There is no trial by jury, benefit all class levels.
• Church and state are not separated
• Constitutional points of interest include that there is no
right to bear arms, no death penalty, and no abortion
• Technology has not been integrated into the legal
system. Typewriters and paper archives are still widely
used.
Moving Forward
Educational Points of Interest • The culminating project will certainly be undertaken in
• Free public school is only guaranteed until the tenth grade, but University and the Spanish-speaking world. Possible ideas include
some graduate programs are free. internships in United States Embassies in Latin America
• All those who can afford to attend private school do so or Spain
• There are often as many as forty children in one classroom with the same teacher. • Contact is also being established with Habitat for
• Computers, textbooks, and school supplies are provided by the government Humanity’s Guatemala Affiliate to request a possible
short term partnership