Life in Ecuador

Slideshow

2008-04-15T19:20:00.003-05:00

Check out this slideshow my Mom made from our time in Otavalo and Quito. Its nice.

http://gallery.mac.com/harveyjan#100000

MACHU PICCHU

2008-04-10T18:24:00.008-05:00

And now the one many of you have been waiting for...................................MACHU PICCHU PICTURES.

Quick summary. 38 hours on the bus from Quito to Lima. Two nights in Lima. Great city. Plane flight to Cuzco. Super touristy, but beautiful. 4 days and 4 nights backpacking in luxury (we had a table and chairs!). One full day at Machu Picchu. Train and bus back to Cuzco. Night at the clubs with my group. 30 minutes of sleep. 4 hour delay at the Cuzco airport. $100 voucher for next flight on TACA (I complained about the delay......in Spanish). Caught bus from Lima with 15 minutes to spare. 38 hours more on the bus to Quito. Got pulled over by the cops at midnight in Ecuador (see below). Arrived at my apartment at 4 am, March 30th. Classes started 7 am March 31st. All in all, an incredible trip!

This is the group at the top of the Salcantay pass, about 15,200 ft. There were 4 people from Buenos Aires, and then 4 (including me and Caroline) from the US. Great group. Great dynamic. We had a lot of fun and had a nice little English-Spanish mix (although mostly English by the end). The guy in the big red jacket was our guide. Super nice, good English, and he new a lot about the Quechua culture in the area (he is Quechua).

We booked our trip in Cuzco with some random agency (we took a gamble). We went on the Salcantay Tour. We began on Sunday from Cuzco, took a bus to a small town, and then began the trek.

Needless to say, we were hiking in style. Tables. Chairs. Horses to carry the bags. Two cooks to prepare dinner, snacks, and do the dishes. Food and drinks would be waiting for us when we arrived to camp. It was great!

Our first campsite.

Salcantay Mountain. Our backdrop for our first night.

Worshiping the Inca gods with three coca leaves. To do so, you blow on them as you wave them in a small circle (same as how a condor takes off), say the names of the mountains nearby as you look in their direction, and think the positive feelings you wish to receive. You don't ask for material goods but more abstract things: like health, safety for that day of work, etc.

We woke up at 4:30am so we could be at MP by 6:00 for the sunrise. Good thing we did. Isn't it beautiful?

Actually it turned out to be a gorgeous day with beautiful scattered clouds.

Waynu Picchu in the background.

On top of Waynu Picchu. You can kind of see MP down below. The shirt was off because it was drenched from the climb. Stairs straight up the mountain for maybe 2000 ft. Not an easy climb.

Some ruins built on the top of Waynu Picchu on the cliffs. Absolutely incredible that the Incas could do this. The top of the cliff in the picture continues all the way to the river valley floor, some 5000 feet below or so.

Incan stairs leading down from Waynu Picchu. They were so steep that you could hold onto stairs above you like a railing. And they were so skinny that my boot was wider than many of them. Treacherous. But awesome...from the safety of the bottom.

A video from the top of Waynu Picchu. Enjoy the scenery. Absolutely gorgeous.

Jumping off Waynu Picchu. It was a long way down.

Beautiful.

Look at the cliffs Machu Picchu overlooks. That was one of the coolest parts for me.

Machu Picchu and Waynu Picchu from "La Puerta del Sol." This shot gives a good sense of the scenery surround MP.

A video of MP from the post card spot.

All in all, an incredible trip. It was way cooler than I expected, and well worth the money. The alternative treks are a lot cheaper and better on the environment (I think), but I hear the Inca Trail is really cool. Just a heads up, to do the main trail, you have to book anywhere from a few months to a year in advance, depending on the season. I highly recommend visiting Machu Picchu if you can. And do it soon. Apparently the side of the mountain is slipping 1 cm a month. There could be a catastrophic land slide soon, or they are going to greatly reduce the number of visitors. But again, I highly recommend it.

Puro Miedo

2008-04-10T18:21:00.002-05:00

This one is a short one. I was returning from Machu Picchu on a night bus from Guayaquil to Quito. I sat next to a nice old lady and she started warning me about the night buses and how you shouldn't sleep on them. I was like, right right. I've done this before. I'll be careful. And then she warned me about how the police stop the buses at night sometimes to "check for weapons and robbers," and how they will steal stuff themselves sometimes. Sure enough, that night, we were pulled over by the cops and we had to get off. To add to my fear, I had heard of two extranjeros being pulled off a bus by the border a couple of months ago, robbed by the police at gunpoint, and then left in a field. So needless to say, I was crapping my pants. Nothing happened, but nevertheless, that is one of the darker sides of traveling in South America.

Ecuador's Amazon Rain Forest (El Oriente)

2008-03-31T12:27:00.007-05:00

The Oriente was definitely the best place I visited with my parents. It had everything. A really good guide, beautiful scenery, perfect weather, cool animals (we saw 6 different types of monkeys), and complete relaxation. We were at the Napo Wildlife Reserve. While not cheap, definitely worth your money and a great place to visit.

Our group for the four days we were in El Oriente. The guy in the front with the blue shirt was our guide. A very bright guy with perfect English. The two on the right were our native guide and extra paddler. We didn't have to paddle. What luxury.

Our lodge at sunrise (not sunset).

My parents enjoying the canoe ride up the river to the lodge.

This is a video of a parrot lick. Every day the parrots come to a place like this where they can eat the exposed chalk. The chalk is necessary for their digestive system.

This plant is very cool. When an insect eats the seeds, the plant takes over the nervous system. It then forces the insect to climb up a tree on to a branch where it can receive sunlight. Once there, the plant sprouts through the animals body and sets its roots down. Isn't that incredible?

A local shaman doing a healing ritual to eliminate bad energies. He used the branch to brush the lady off while making whooshing sounds and would periodically empty the leaves of the bad energy by shaking them at the wall. At the end, he did something where it looked like he was blowing something into the top of her head while making a gutteral sound. Pretty cool to watch. Apparently, in the past, if a shaman could not heal a patient, he would blame it on another shaman in a different tribe casting a curse, at which war would break out. Being a shaman is dangerous business.

Two Macaws that we saw at one of the Parrot Licks.

Toucans!!!!!

Look out for the Anaconda! Actually, we didn't see any. Too bad. But it is still a good picture of the jungle.

Paddling down the river. Did I mention that it was a relaxing trip?

The Galapagos Islands

2008-03-31T10:48:00.010-05:00

With this entry, I'm going to try a different approach. More pictures and less words. Let's see how it goes.

With the rents enjoying the sun (obviously not in Quito) and the view. The islands were absolutely gorgeous.

You can see our ship the Santa Cruz on the left in the background. It was a large ship with 85 passengers. We think it was too large, but at least we didn't get sea sick.

Strutting its stuff.

Cool. It was hard not to feel like you were in a zoo.

Boobies!!!!!!!!!!!! And they have blue feet!

With some friends from the boat on the day of the turtles.

These guys are enormous. No one knows how long they actually live, but Darwin's turtle just died. That's right, the same Darwin who wrote about evolution sent an adult turtle back to England and then Australia (?). So at least 170 years old.

Our ship. Definitely NOT sexy.

Peru and a 38 hr. bus ride

2008-03-22T19:06:00.003-05:00

Machu Picchu. The Incan citadel in the Andes. My destination...Thursday.

But I shouldn´t get ahead of myself. Let me take a step back.

I´m in Perú. I left last Monday from Quito on a night bus to Guayaquil with a long-time friend of mine from home, Caroline Chalmers. Recently, she decided to travel through South America, and invited me along. Luckily, she´s a chill cookie. Our night bus to Guayaquil took 10 hours. And two hours after arriving, we boarded a 28 hour bus to Lima Peru. Surprisingly, the ride wasn´t too horrendous. I read "Into the Wild", slept 11 hours, watched the scenery, chatted with some tree-huggers, and ya, llegamos. We´ll see if I´m still singing to the same tune after repeating this trip in one week to get back to Quito in time for classes on the 31st of March.

We spent two nights in Lima, and loved it. I was surprised how clean the city was. The sidewalks didn´t have any holes, the buses didn´t billow out huge black clouds as they drove by, the the buildings weren´t falling apart. I was impressed. Also, we found a grocery store that screamed New Seasons (or Whole Foods for you non-Portland folk). I was in heaven. Quito has nothing of the sort.

Now I´m in Cusco. Tomorrow morning we are leaving on an alternative trek to Machu Picchu. We are taking the Salcantay Trail (o algo asi) at 4:30 am. Yikes! But I´m thrilled. I´m so excited to get out on the trail. 5 days, 4 nights. A 4600 meter (15,200 ft.) pass. Beautiful mountains. Hot springs. Machu Picchu. It should be awesome. We are agoing with an agency called Amadcus. It was pretty random how we chose it. Basically, we were walking down the street, walked in, they were leaving when we wanted to leave, the price was right, and they seemed legit. So...listo y Ojalá. Cuzco is pretty cool as well, but incredibly touristy. I haven´t enjoyed it as much as Lima or Quito. I just don´t do the crazy tourist scene well any more.

That´s it on the news. Next time I´ll have photos. Stay tuned. Chao.

Now I've Seen Everything

2008-03-06T13:34:00.003-05:00

Well...not quite, actually a long shot from it. But today, I saw something completely new for me. Street dogs humping is a common sight in Latin America. But what I saw is in a whole new ballpark: Two male dogs having sex. It reminded me of the "Ignoble Awards" or something like that, which was won by a scientist that documented the first case of homosexuality in animals (ducks). But this was really interesting and it just goes to show that homosexuality is a natural condition in nature.

Political Saber Rattling and Rumors of War

2008-03-06T12:29:00.004-05:00

Some of you may have been following the conflict between Colombia and Ecuador (and Venezuela although it does not involve them). First, I’d like to calm any fears. We are not at war, and war is highly unlikely. Ecuador is not on the “hot-spots” list posted by the State Department. Really, all this amounts to is saber rattling and political posturing. Although, I think there are some real grievances that underlie this conflict.

A cautionary note: this blog entry does not involve anything about my life down here. It is merely a report on the political situation and conflict with Colombia. It is kind of long, but that’s because the conflict is complicated, and I want to do it justice.

First a brief synopsis of events. Last week, Colombia attacked FARC, the leftist leading guerrilla movement (originally) and drug-trafficking terrorist organization (currently), in Ecuadorian territory. They only advanced 1 mile over the border, and they succeeded in killing one of the leaders along with 21 other guerrilla fighters. Plus, they recovered a crucial laptop from the FARC leadership. This laptop supposedly has documented evidence of Chavez (president of Venezuela) giving $300 million to FARC, of the FARC pursuing chemical material to make dirty bombs, and meetings between FARC and Ecuador and Venezuela.

Arguably, this is why Chavez has led the political counter-attack on Colombia, in an attempt to cover up his complicity with the terrorists. He led by severing diplomatic contacts with Colombia and kicked out Colombia’s ambassador, and by stopping trade with Colombia. Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa, followed suit by severing diplomatic ties and by getting all huffy about Colombia violating Ecuador’s sovereignty.

It is entirely possible that all of these connections between FARC and Ecuador and Venezuela is a result of the hostage situation that has been playing out in recent months. Venezuela and Ecuador both were helping to negotiate the hostage release. Venezuela was not playing the part of un-biased mediator, so Chavez was dismissed from negotiations. But in January, Ecuador’s Minister of the Interior (or something) went to help negotiate. This is the same time as the supposed meeting between Ecuador and FARC that Colombia is accusing Ecuador of. Furthermore, someone said that Chavez paid $300M for the release of the hostages. This would explain the money payment, but it still doesn’t seem like a proper use of Venezuelan money. (Note: Chavez received $192,000 from FARC in 1992 while in jail after a failed coup. The connection gets deeper.)

Since the attack, Ecuador and Venezuela have sent troupes to the border with Colombia as a show of force. Venezuela says that if Colombia carries out a similar mission in Venezuela, there will be war. But that is ludicrous, because Venezuela has no chance of winning. Colombia has been receiving $600M a year under Plan Colombia to help fight FARC and drug-trafficking in Colombia. Does that seem like a good use of American tax payer dollars? Incidentally, Colombia began its assault on FARC with Plan Colombia. Before Plan Colombia, FARC was stronger militarily and could have taken over the government (apparently), but now Colombia has stronger fire-power. Now, to escape the attacks, FARC crosses the Ecuadorian and Venezuelan borders to rest, regroup, and then re-launch their own assaults in Colombia. Because of this, Colombia is claiming that Ecuador is harboring terrorists.

So why all the anger? Colombia was defending its own national security and might have even done Ecuador a favor. Chavez is not Ecuador, Colombia, or FARC, so this really doesn’t concern him, unless he really has been helping out FARC. Well…there is actually a hidden undercurrent between Colombia and Ecuador that might be causing a lot of the tension.

According to a Colombian living in Ecuador, Ecuador and Colombia were great friends in the past, and had a very healthy relationship. This friendship deteriorated in the last 5 years or so since Colombians have been entering Ecuador in large numbers. This immigration is hard to explain because Ecuador's economy is not strong. In the last decade, the economy collapsed along with all the banks, forcing the switch to the dollar. Now, 1 million Ecuadorians are sending back remittances from Spain. So why would Colombians want to come to Ecuador?

Notice that relations started to deteriorate at about the time that Plan Colombia began. My Spanish teacher, who used to work for the American Embassy, says that the deterioration in good-feelings has to do with the conflict with FARC. FARC has terrorized the south of Colombia near Ecuador's border, forcing civilians to flee the conflict. These civilians are posed with one of two options: move to another Colombian city and try to settle down, or temporarily go to Ecuador where there are free refugee camps until they can return to their land. Returning to their land is the ultimate goal, so they choose the cheaper option. Thus, Ecuador has been receiving a lot of immigrants of late.

This has upset lots of Ecuadorians, because they are being forced to pay for the consequences of the conflict in Colombia, and Ecuador doesn't have any spare resources. A refugee camp doesn’t have to be bad news. But Ecuador is not receiving any financial help from the world or Colombia (or at least not enough). Plus, many of these Colombians have resorted to crime to make a living, which causes bitter feelings. Finally, since Ecuador’s economy is weak, many Ecuadorians think that Colombians are going to take their jobs (notice a parallel?).

Similarly, Ecuador does not want to be drawn into the conflict with the guerrillas. They see this as Colombia's problem, and they don't understand why they have to once again pay for Colombia's war. By attacking the FARC in Ecuador, not only has Colombia violated Ecuador's sovereignty, but they have also made them accomplices with Colombia and therefore the enemy of FARC. This opens Ecuador to retaliation from FARC. Thus, Ecuador wants the fight to stay on the other side of the border.

Unfortunately for Ecuador, they don't really have the option to stay uninvolved in this situation. Ecuador does not have a military large enough to defend its entire border with Colombia, especially in the jungle, so the FARC will cross the border to avoid attacks by Colombia. This gives Ecuador two options: help Colombia defeat the guerrillas, or do nothing and give unofficial amnesty to the guerrillas.

Personally, I think Ecuador should help Colombia, but they should not have to use their own financial resources. Colombia should give part of that $600M to Ecuador to compensate them. Ecuador will suffer casualties, and that is something that will be unavoidable, but at least it prevents the FARC from permanently setting up camp in Ecuador, the worst case scenario for this wonderful (despite all the political posturing) country.

One last comment about Plan Colombia. $600M a year is a lot of money. Ultimately, it is money to bolster Colombia’s military and fight drugs. But considering the results, their must be a better solution. Under Plan Colombia, the military has been crop-dusting a serious chemical on Coca crops to eliminate them. But this chemical kills all plants, not just the targeted plants. Plus, this chemical has been getting into the water in Colombia and Ecuador, causing grave and fatal diseases. Plan Colombia has led to a deterioration of foreign relations and caused a perpetuation of the civil war in Colombia. Might soft power be a better solution? Imagine if Colombia used the $600M to subsidize farmers so that they didn’t have to turn to the lucrative coca farming in order to make a living. Might it be a better plan to convince farmers to plant other crops and working with them rather than destroying their land? Not planting coca would be the most accurate and productive way to eliminate this necessary ingredient for cocaine.

Now, I’d like to leave you with one last question to consider. Some Ecuadorians believe that Colombia should not allow the FARC to leave the country. It is Colombia's problem, so it should remain within their borders. So who's responsibility is it to seal the border. Does Colombia need to prevent people from leaving or does Ecuador need to prevent people from entering?

The Economist has a good article about the situation. You can check it out here. I made a comment on the article. My pen name is Jeff08. Check it out.

But here is an even better article.

No Pay

2008-02-19T11:05:00.002-05:00

So.......I have now reached a point where I have worked more without pay than for pay. I still haven't been paid for my work in December. Not to mention January or February. Oh Ecuador! And I'm not the only one. Everyone with WorldTeach who works for a government school has not been paid. I think that is about a third of us.

The excuse has been changing. First, in early January, I was told that the ESPE campus in Quito was not given money by the valley, and that the valley was going to pay me. Then, in the middle of January, I was told it was because the finances guy is getting transferred. So when we got the new person (a week or so), I would then get paid. Then in February (and this is still the excuse), I found out that the entire Ecuadorian government is restructuring its pay system so that ESPE is not going to pay me, but the Department of Defense is going to. So now.....I'm settling in for a long haul. I have also heard rumor that the government isn't wanting to pay foreign organizations (like WorldTeach) until we set up special accounts.

I guess the worst thing is the ambiguity of it all, the lack of a coherent and solid excuse that doesn't change from week to week. All I want is the reason and a concrete day when I can expect my pay. That way I can more effectively budget my dwindling resources. Is that too much to ask?!?!?

Oh Ecuador..........I guess this is what I'd call Ecua-bureaucracy.

Club de Andinismo

2008-02-18T11:54:00.010-05:00

In my post below about being robbed, I mentioned that life is looking up. That prognosis continues, and as I approach my mid-way point (end of February), I am starting to worry about these last six months passing too quickly. Now I’m on vacation until April. My parents come tomorrow, I travel with them for two weeks to the Galapagos, the Amazon, and Quito, then I have two weeks of free time, then I’m traveling with a family friend from Portland (Caroline Chalmers) for two weeks, and then my vacation is over. Following that, I teach a semester, have the month of August free, and then me voy. It is going to go so quick, it is scary.

One of the reasons why I life is good here is the hiking club I joined at Universidad Católica. I joined with my friend and assistant director of WorldTeach, Katie, in January in that low period in the month when I was feeling kind of lonely and bored. Since Katie is always working, she has not been able to salir with the group on the weekend, but she does go to meetings. Some day Katie, some day.

My first weekend with the club, we went and climbed Rumiñahui, which is a “small” mountain (maybe volcano) right by Cotopaxi (a very big volcano). 15 of us met up at the university at 6 am (why am I waking up so early when I don’t have to work?), drove to Parque Nacional de Cotopaxi, and started climbing around 9 am. We summited the mountain around 12:30 or 1:00, and returned to the cars by 3:30. All in all, it wasn’t too difficult of a hike. The summit is 4712m, 15460 ft. We summited the middle, so we didn’t quite go up that high, but we were somewhere around 4600m. The hike up wasn’t too long either. I estimated the hike to be about 12 km, or 7.5 miles-ish, but some of the other people in the group estimated it to be 15-20 km (yeah right). The hardest part though was the elevation. That high there isn’t nearly as much oxygen, and we climbed probably 3000 ft or so.

Two weekends later, I climbed the mountain Iliniza Norte, 5126m (16800ft). This mountain was much more difficult, and probably the most difficult climb/hike of my life, and the most dangerous. We started climbing around 9:30 am at 3900m (already above 10000ft), and didn’t reach the summit until 3:30 or so. Accept for the first two miles or so, this hike was straight up. The thing about Ecuador, is that they don’t really believe in switchbacks. They believe that the fewer steps you take, the less tired you get. But when I suggested walking faster and breaking more often to move faster, they said that would build up lactic acid too quickly. I guess they haven’t made that transfer of knowledge to steepness of grade yet. This hike though, was not as much fun. It was cloudy the whole way up, so we didn’t get very many good views (although it did clear up at the top to give us a break-taking one), it was hard, and we had to go very slow (almost as if we were dragging our feet). I couldn’t have gone too much faster, but there is something destimulating and rather boring about going slower than you would like, even if just barely.

The other crazy thing about this last outing is that we traveled by bus and truck to the hike. I first took a bus to the south of Quito (1 hr.) to meet up with the others. Then we grabbed a bus to Machachi (1.5 hrs) which the next big town south of Quito, then another bus to Cuapchi or something (30 mins.), and then finally we hired a truck to drive us the last 20 mins. Up the mountain to the trailhead. It was ridiculous getting there and probably added about 7 or 8 hours to my day.

I like the hiking club for a couple of reasons. First, everyone is super friendly and welcoming. They didn’t care that I was new, but still welcomed me on any trip I wanted. Second, even though many of them speak English (everyone studies it and some have been to the US and England), they really only spoke in Spanish to me. That was very nice of them. And last, they are a lot of fun. So I’m excited about the hiking club. I hope to go out with them once or twice a month, climb a mountain, learn how to glacier climb, rock climb, and other things. It is a great way to see the countryside, and just get out of Quito for some de-toxing (pollution) and relaxation.

Hiking club is just one reason though why things are looking up.

An Ecua-Wedding

2008-01-31T16:52:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, January 12, I went to Ibarra for my “cousin” Sandrita’s wedding with Olgar. I left Quito with my “brother” Luis Fernando, my “aunt” Pati, and “cousin” Roxanna at 9:30 am Saturday morning, and drove (yes, drove, no buses involved this time) the two hours to Ibarra with a 30 minute stop in Cayambe for Biscocho (a local cheese pastry) and yogurt. We arrived at noon just as the wedding was about to begin.

The wedding was a Catholic one. Upon entering, I have to admit that I was a little nervous about how long it would take, because there were chairs in front for the groom and bride to sit on (only 30 minutes). This was my first wedding with chairs. Well…one of my first weddings, period. Three to date. Pathetic? Interestingly, there were no bridesmaids or groomsmen. Instead, the parents sat/stood up front with them. I don’t know if this is typical for Catholic weddings, or if it is just an Ecua-tradition, but nevertheless, something I found peculiar. Furthermore, everyone there was family. I didn’t meet one person who was a friend. Reception included. That put a damper on my hopes of meeting a nice Ecuatoriana my age.

The reception took place at a beautiful hacienda on the outskirts of town. Upon arriving, I got a funny feeling like I was part of a drug cartel family celebration from the movies or something (a la the quincienera in “El Crimen del Padre Amaro). Imagine 20 cars rolling up to this sprawling hacienda and with about 50 Latinos (is that stereotypical?) standing around in their best suits and dresses. I don’t know, it was just an impression that struck me.

Lunch was delicious. We ate shrimp salad (with too much thousand island-ish dressing, but was nevertheless quite good), chicken stuffed with spinach, rice (of course), and vegetables. A good meal. Although the alcohol did not start to flow until after the cake. I was a little shocked. Plus, no wine or beer, only Johnny Walker Red Label on the rocks (the drink of choice at all ecua-special occasions). Ooh, almost forgot. The cake was incredible!!!!!!!

After cake, the dancing began, and we danced for about 2 hours to a DJ playing salsa, merengue, cumbia, regetón, reggae, bachata, and a mix of other genres as well. After 2 hours of dancing, the band showed up. A little late. But it was a Mariachi band; I wasn’t too thrilled. Mariachi music does not exactly lend itself nicely to dancing. They had great harmony though. Props for that.

The whole wedding thing got me thinking. I have a general fear of marriage. I think something about the “Till death do you part” scares me a bit. I jokingly would say this to my family and my bride-cousin, and they would all respond by saying something to the effect of: “that isn’t really true anymore.” And really, here in Ecuador, it isn’t. Men, and women to a lesser extent, don’t take their Ecua-vows very seriously. Men repeatedly cheat. Mariana, my host-mom, left her husband when she found out he had a second family. And the sad thing is that this is not uncommon in Ecuador. I have met Ecuadorian men who cannot understand why I would only want one girlfriend, and I have many Ecuadorian friends who are seeing multiple girls at the same time. On the coast, with men sometimes have 3, 4, or 5 wives.

So with all this in mind, I have to ask myself: what is the point of marriage? Currently, I have heard that 80% of marriages are ending in divorce! 80%! The odds are not good for this new couple. Many of these divorces are in marriages where the couple marry because the guy impregnates the girl (birth control is not very common in this Catholic country). So my cousin-bride has that going for her…I think. They have dated for seven years or so. But back to the other question. If 80% of marriages end in divorce, what is the point of marriage? Why get married? Is it any different from being a couple together? Is it done so that people can live together? Is done for the sex? So that they can move out of their parents’ house (men and women live with their parents until marriage)? If most men have every intention of cheating on their wives, why get married? Why take the vow of faithfulness until death? I don’t get it. Am I being too negative?

One other interesting factoid about Ecuadorian weddings. Anticipating their divorce in the future and leaving themselves with a backdoor to walk out, most Ecuadorians only get married through the government and not through the church. The government allows divorces. The church obviously does not. So if you only get married legally and not spiritually or religiously, it isn’t as permanent.

But overall, the wedding was a great event and a lot of fun. The families had a lot of fun together, the dancing was great, everyone seemed happy, and the food was tasty too.

Shit Happens

2008-01-31T16:07:00.000-05:00

Shit Happens

Sorry readers, but there are no photos for this blog, because this sort of occurrence does not lend itself easily to taking pictures.

Anyway, I was robbed. Monday. 6 pm-ish. Walking through Parque El Ejido (I have found out post-hoc that this park is dangerous and should always be avoided. Great to know now.) It was raining. I was late. On my way to salsa. I was taking the quickest route I knew. I’d taken it before. Rain, late-ness, busy-ness, excited for salsa = not thinking, stupid, letting my guard down, not keeping my wits about me. My fault. Avoidable.

I was walking through the park when suddenly a tall black man from Colombia (I think) quickly walked towards me so that by this time (earlier…different decisions could have been made leading to avoidance) I didn’t have time to avoid him. At first I thought he was a pan-handler, and I was like, “whoa dude. No. Leave me alone.” He continued to rattle off in Spanish and reached for his pocket, at which point I realized this wasn’t part of my daily routine with street beggars.

I looked around for help, but seeing as it was raining and I was in the park, there weren’t many people around (see the stupidity?). I looked left, and I saw one person yelling as he ran towards me. I thought, “Oh, maybe this person can help me.” But as I began to appeal for help, I realized he was a second thief. Chuta. I looked right. Two more people running at me yelling. I’m starting to get the idea, but still I start to ask for help. But no. Two more thieves. Chuta. Otra vez. Then I look behind me and I see another man. By now I understand and I don’t even bother asking for help. A fifth thief. I’m screwed. So I gave them what they wanted: my money ($5, haha), my phone (that part sucks), and my umbrella (it had just broken that day, but maybe it’ll keep them dry-er). I’m sure they were surprised. Here I was: a white man in nice shoes and a nice jacket, who probably looked loaded. They even asked me: “That’s it?”

I was lucky though. Credit cards: check. My nice shoes and the jacket which was a b-day gift from my bros: check. My safety, health, and physical well being: check. Aside from the annoyance of having to replace my phone contacts and maybe having a couple lost forever, nothing really bad happened. I wasn’t hurt, I wasn’t given any nightmare or paranoia material, and I didn’t lose that much.

Afterwards, I remember thinking: “Is that it? Was I just robbed?” It seemed kind of surreal and matter of fact and business-like. Almost as if I wasn’t too shocked. Well…I wasn’t. I expected it to happen eventually in my travels. I still went to my dance class and had a great time, and it gave me something to bond with my classmates about. I was shaken up and distracted for the first 30 minutes of class or so, but dancing is a great mental distraction. Now I’m not exactly rattled. I have some of the fear back in me of walking the streets of Quito. But I’m realistic. That situation was completely avoidable. I just can’t ever let my guard down. If I do, shit will happen again.

It got me thinking though about the idea of stealing, and how f*$ked up it all is. At first I wasn’t too angry at the thieves, because they looked poor, they were probably only looking for money so they could eat, and they didn’t hurt me. But they forcefully took something that was mine. I had worked for it. It was on my body. My property. Gone. Because they were five, I was one. Them reaching into my pockets to get my $2 in change. Violating my personal space. Think about it. Even though they needed to eat (or get high, something), with time, I have grown less and less sympathy for them. They took what I had earned.

On the positive side, to the credit of my Spanish, I was able to successfully negotiate the robbery in Spanish. I understood them, talked to them, and at first tried to refuse them in Spanish. Maybe the fact that it didn’t work is another testament to my skills. Haha.

My next entry was going to be titled: “Things are looking up” or something like that. Because life overall in Ecuador is good right now, and it is continuing to improve. Even being robbed, my new found enthusiasm for the country is not fading. But that is for an entry coming soon.

Christmas and New Years at la Playa

2008-01-05T15:13:00.000-05:00

Since I went home for Thanksgiving (a post about this coming soon), it was not possible for me to fly home for the holidays too. Being a time for family and tradition, I foresaw a lonely and homesick Christmas. While I generally do not get homesick, I did not know what to expect from my first Christmas away from home. To distract myself, I decided to do something so different from the typical Christmas and hopefully so awesome that I would be unable to draw comparisons to my normal Christmas and avoid some of the homesickness.

The plan included three parts. One, surround myself with as many of my good American friends here in Ecuador as possible. Two, go to the beach, lie in the sun, and play in the ocean. And three, have fun.

On the 23^rd of September, I boarded a night bus for Montañita at 7 pm with two other English professors, Megan and Heather. Three more friends – Katie Skipper, Ashley, and her boyfriend Andrew – were awaiting our arrival. Night buses alone are quite the adventure, and might require their own post some day. But for now, just imagine racing through mountain roads at sickening speeds, watching your bus pass cars around corners while you have no clue if a car or truck is coming in the opposite direction, and then 11 hours after leaving Quito in the mountains, waking up at the beach. Actually, the bus was only 9 hours, even though it was supposed to take 11, but if you do the math, that means we pulled into Puerto Lopez, a town where we had to transfer buses, at 4 am! The only time I have ever cursed a bus making good time. Amazingly, buses run down the coast at that ungodly hour. Who knew? So two hours later, at 6 am on Christmas Eve, we pulled into Montañita ready for the next 9 days at the beach, even if we were completely sleep deprived.

Yes. 9 days and 8 nights at the beach Ecuador. It’s a tough life. It would be silly to recount every day, so a summary will have to suffice. Allow me to describe the typical day.

I slowly and with great difficulty climb out of bed at 10 am or so, with my only motivation the beach that lies ahead for me. I can hear the waves from my bed, and I know that the window for getting some rays is quickly passing. After lathering up, I shuffle in my sandals and swimsuit to the Tiki Limbo, where I order my porridge with fresh tropical fruit (mango, pineapple, papaya, and bananas), fresh brewed coffee, and banana milkshake. All for just $2.25. Over my coffee and breakfast (see picture), I read “Love in the Time of Cholera” (an incredible book which I highly recommend) as I continue to wage war with the demons left-over from the night before.

Around 12:30, I finally find myself on the beach with my other WorldTeach friends (while we started with six people on the 24^th, by the 31^st

there were about 20-25 of us. By this time I have declared victory over the morning as I begin to soak in the warm equatorial sun. Our beach time was pretty typical in the way that typical beach time is incredibly awesome. Laying in the sun, body-surfing, real surfing, reading, walking, soccer games and surrounded by beautiful people in swimsuits. All in the luxury of nothing but my board shorts. A life and wardrobe I only dream about in Quito at 9500 ft. while slaving away in slacks and dress shirt. Only when the sun sets at 6:30 do I even dare to take my leave from the hot white sand.

After the beach, we clean up for the night, and put on some presentable clothes (jeans, a t-shirt, and sandals). Dinner at 9 pm, then followed by a night at the bars with delicious fruity drinks and dancing on the sand. A live reggae/rock cover band begins at 1 am in a club called Caña Grill, and at 2 am, we progress to La Fugata or a thatched roof bar on the beach for salsa, merengue, and regeton dancing on the sand until 4 am (on average). After just 6 hours of sleep, once again I struggle out of bed with the sound of the breaking waves enticingly floating into me.

Christmas Day in particular was a lot of fun. In the morning, I made French toast (my first time making it, but apparently I’m a natural) and the girls cut up a fruit salad (also excellent), and we bought mango, strawberry and blackberry batidos (juice with milk) from a street vendor. After breakfast, I talked with my family for an hour on the phone (I hope it was with Skype), and then we went to the beach (see picture). While I didn’t surf on Christmas (one of my hopes), I did body-surf. At night, we splurged on a special dinner ($10). I had swordfish with mango sauce.

At this point, I should probably talk about the food. Basically, seafood. Incredible seafood. Everyday on the beach, for a late afternoon snack, I ordered ceviche with oysters and shrimp. It was exactly a year ago on a Mexican beach that I first tried oysters (thanks Tim), and I absolutely love them. Ceviche is a combination of seafood and vegetables in a vinegary sauce. I watched the guy open the oysters on the spot and prepare the ceviche individually for me. Absolutely delicious. New Year’s Day I ate Encebollado, supposedly the hangover cure food. It is similar to ceviche, but in some kind of broth along with cheese (I think). Good, but not as good as ceviche. Plus, I think I would have enjoyed it more as a dinner or lunch. Finally, Montañita is home to wonderful variety of world cuisine. So, I got a nice break from the typical Ecua-food (another post).

Finally, New Years was also a lot of fun. It was pretty much like every other night during the week with dancing on the beach, but there were some awesome festivities at midnight. First, there is a cool tradition where all the surfers try to catch their last wave of the year at midnight. Second, an Ecuadorian tradition is to burn the “old year”. Everyone builds or buys his or her own paper mache statue of a cartoon or political figure, and throw it into a bonfire at midnight (see picture). Usually there are fireworks inside. Third, Montañita had an incredible firework display. Basically, it was a five minute grande finale. They didn’t mess around with the boring preliminary stuff, but cut straight to the cake.

I sadly had to end my vacation on the 1^st and return to Quito, where I resumed classes on the 2^nd. I did not want to leave the beach. Life was so stress-free and tranquilo and relajado that I simply did not want to return to the big city life of Quito. Fortunately, I will be returning within the month to the beach, and I will have a couple weeks to travel up and down the coast in February. Viva la Costa.

That’s all. If you made it this far, I commend you for your endurance. I look forward to hearing from all of you who are taking the time to read this. Please let me know how life is treating you.

Lastly, if there is anything about Ecuador you are curious about, please let me know, and I will make a post about it.

Otavalo – the Super Artisan Market

2007-11-19T21:42:00.001-05:00

Otavalo is a cute and not so quiet town that lies two hours north of Quito. Its claim to fame is its renowned Saturday market. The market snakes through the streets for 15 square blocks or more. The market alone draws thousands of tourists every Saturday, but Otavalo has done what it can to compliment the market by refurbishing the city. The sidewalks have (probably) been reconstructed using multi-colored tiles laid in a beautiful pattern; decorative lampposts with metal statuettes adorning the lights line the main streets; trees have been planted along the walk; and the cobblestone streets are all in excellent condition. Combined, it makes for an exciting (when you’re in the market) and pleasant (when you leave the market) visit.

I went to Otavalo to shop for Christmas, and I was able to complete all of my shopping in four hours (a Jeff Record), spend less, and buy the best gifts I have ever given for Christmas (I think, but the jury is still out). Otavalo was also the most interactive holiday shopping experience. Consider a typical interaction:

I am walking down the street when I see a painting that I like at a booth. I approach the booth and within five seconds the vender apparates from thin air and says, ‘a tu orden, señor’ (or something like that), which is roughly translated to ‘at your service, sir.’ I then play the hard to get customer and act rather disinterested as the vender explains why his product is so incredible, how the work is genuinely his own, etc. When it comes time to barter, I ask the price, and he gives some exorbitantly overpriced amount, but says, ‘para tí, una discuensita especial’ (for you, a special discount). I offer half. He acts insulted, and comes down by one dollar. I say, ‘no’ and begin to walk away. He asks me to wait, offers a lower price, and when I again start to walk away, he asks me to make another offer. Yada yada yada…you get the idea. Eventually we agree on a price that is usually 33% lower than the original.

Is that a good price? I have no idea. But at least it is better, and I feel like I have won!

The other wonderful thing about Otavalo is that my host-family is originally from there. So in addition to visiting the market, we visited the abuelos (grandparents), and primos (cousins). The abuelos are absolutely adorable. They are in their 80s, can barely see and hear (it appears), and yet they own a costume shop. Yeah. A costume shop with rabbit, bear, superman, unicorn, etc. costumes in Otavalo. It seems crazy to me, but apparently during the high season (November and December), they bring in $1000/day in revenue, and profit $300/day. Incredible! Somehow they manage.

Finally, Ashley (an American friend who came with me) and I went to a ‘magical’ tree called ‘el lechero;’ it has milk in its leaves and branches, and while most lecheros live for five years and then die, this one has been alive for a hundred (?) years or so. Anyway, we were expecting some mystical or mouth dropping experience at this ‘huge’ tree and tourist attraction. To get there, we hopped in the back of a pick-up and drove the couple of miles out of town. Of course, being Ecuador, there were no signs leading the way nor at the actual site itself. When the truck stopped, the driver told us to walk through some farm fields to the tree. After a five minute walk, we came to a tree that we assume was el lechero, but it was rather unimpressive. It did have milk in the leaves though. But the view was incredible, and for the first time in 2.5 months, I finally had some peace and quiet to just relax. Did I mention that we were the only two at the tree?

So that was my trip last weekend. One day, zero nights, four hours on the bus, 8 hours in Otavolo, two abuelos and one prima, one unimpressive tree, one awesome market, and one fabulous time!

Hasta la proxima vez.

Jeff

Ecua-friends

2007-11-14T20:59:00.001-05:00

This is a “coined” term that got a lot of positive feedback in my last post. Really it is only semi-coined. Here in Ecuador, we gringos add ecua to everything: ecua-isms, ecua-food, ecua-volley (Ecuas coined this one), ecua-beer, etc. We have a favorite phrase: “That is sooo Ecua!” But that is not why I titled this entry ecua-friends. Rather, they are something far more elusive than I had originally imagined. So in this post, I am looking for advice from all those who have successfully made friends abroad.

I came to Ecuador with a plan for making friends. Step one was to befriend my students, and step two was to integrate myself into my neighborhood through going to bars, coffee shops, and soccer games in the park. Unfortunately, I have not followed through on my plan.

I am still working on becoming friends with my students. But unlike Carleton, there is no on-campus housing or campus-life. So there is no chance to get to know students outside of class, making the professor-student barrier more difficult to overcome. I think I am starting to get close here, but my position offers an additional challenge. Since I teach 11 different classes, it is very difficult to get to know my students individually. On the flip side, once I do get to know them, it will be easier to be friends with them because I am not their full-time teacher. So, there is a large activation energy I need to get over, but once over the hump, I will in a better position than if I were a full-time teacher. I am still looking for that catalyst. (wow, my nerd factor just went way up.) I have started offering conversation tables on Wednesdays and Thursdays to give me an opportunity to talk with students on an informal level while helping them with English.

As for playing soccer in the neighborhood, I am discovering (actually affirming) that I am shy…well, sometimes. That may surprise some people, but especially in foreign countries and new places, I have a lot of trouble approaching people I don’t know all by my lonesome. If I have someone with me, it is always a lot easier. But without any gringo-guys nearby, and a host-brother who is always working, I have no one to go to the soccer games with. So, I get shy and timid, and subsequently beat myself up for not growing a pair. Any suggestions?

I should add one caveat, my problem is finding a group of friends and guy-friends. I am able to meet girls pretty easily (as an American, all I have to do is smile, flirt and attempt some Spanish). But that doesn’t work so well with guys…I think. But there is a serious gap in that masculine side of my life since there is only one other guy volunteer with WT in Quito. And one thing I really realized in my last years in college, is that it helps a lot to have friends who you can just joke with and not have to worry about any of that opposite-sex-friend sexual tension.

My social life is not lacking, because there are plenty of other Americans to hang out with, and I have managed to make one ecua-friend. But I am not here to talk English with Americans, I can do that in the US while living a much more comfortable life. I am here to learn Spanish and the Ecua-culture. So, my question is for those of you readers who have lived in another country: what did you do to make new friends and integrate yourself into the country and community? Please help.

Ciao,

Jeff

My Set-up

2007-10-22T21:45:00.000-05:00

This is my first post from Ecuador. After 9 weeks in the country, I am finally getting around to it. Don’t expect any great work of art at first…this is my first time blogging. But I will do my best to make this interesting, and succinct…maybe. But most importantly, please respond. I hope this can be a launching platform to staying in touch with my American life.

So…to begin, my basic set-up.

“Home”: Quito, Ecuador. My motto: never a dull day in Quito. As a large city of 2 million, Quito is very polluted, kind of dangerous, loco, but full of city-excitement.

My job/work/reason for being here: I am teaching English at Ecuador’s military school, ESPE (Escuela Superior Politecnica Ejercito). My boss is a colonel, I have to attend civic ceremonies before class on Mondays, ESPE is a military bureaucratic nightmare, and a few of my students are military personnel (but only a couple). Most of my students are civilians studying accounting, auditing, business, engineering, or whatever. (Side note: about 50% of my students are studying finances of some sort. I predict that in ten years, there will be an enormous glut of unemployed accountants…or Ecuador’s corruption will get even worse since everyone will know how to do it “legally.”) (Funny anecdote: on my first trip to the main campus, I saw a tank driving around. Haha.)

I sometimes feel like I am only a “pseudo-English-teacher.” My lone qualification is that I have spoken English for 23 years and counting. I am not trained to be a teacher and the only English grammar I know is what sounds right. (I did receive a month of training from my organization, so I have a few pedagogical tools to help me out and I have a general idea of what I am doing.) But unfortunately, I am a big step up from what my students are used to. (Whoops. That sounds conceited.) This is because the book ESPE uses is a piece of s*#!. I think most of the teachers are solid, but everyone seems very grateful to have a native speaker to practice with.

I have 11 different classes. Yup...11. Plus 130 students. Equals crazy. Since I only teach conversation, I float in between 11 classes in one hour chunks, and I see each class once or twice a week (hence the feeling of pseudo-teacher). The benefit of my schedule is that I only lesson plan a couple of hours each week (compared to every day for other teachers). But the downside is that I do the same lesson plan 11 different times each week. This does get a little boring, so I take every opportunity possible to deviate from my plan. This is risky and requires a lot of quick improvisation, but it is way more interesting. Plus my best conversations have been unplanned.

The Fam: I have a host-mom (50s), brother (late 20s), and two dogs. My host-mom (Mariana) is wonderful. She is incredibly nice to me, a great cook, and patient with my gringo-Spanish. While we don't have a lot in common, we always find a way to chat at meals, although this has led to a repetition of the same jokes, which I am having trouble laughing at after hearing them at every meal. But she is still a great person, and easy to live with.

My host brother (Luis Fernando)...the best way to describe him is solid. I don't think we'll ever be good friends, because he is rather introverted, stoic (just a little bit), chats on-line, and plays computer games. Pretty different from me. But he is trustworthy, and if I ever need help, I can turn to him. A solid guy I can always rely on. Plus, he is easy to live with as well.

My host family has had volunteers for 12 years now. This makes things “easy”, because they are used to living with an American. But, it also means that gringos are "old news." That is, I am nothing new to them. They live their life, I live mine, we eat every meal together, but our lives are more or less separate. They haven't shown me around Quito or Ecuador at all. I will just have to do that on my own, or find some Ecua-friends.

Well, that is my situation down here in Ecuador. After two months, the state-of-the-me is “strong”. I am having fun, my Spanish is doing very well, I am learning a lot, Ecuador is incredibly beautiful, the people are nice, I like teaching, I like my family, and I am even starting to make Ecua-friends. All is well in the Southern Hemisphere.