In the jungle, the mighty jungle...

Home from the rain forest, covered in bug bites but malaria free and in great spirits! Pictures are at the bottom if you want to scroll down :)


Rivers are the highway of the Amazon
The trip to the selva was absolutely incredible. Leaving Quito for the “oriente” was very much like going to another world. We left from USFQ early on Saturday morning and stopped at the natural hot springs of Papallacta, where we enjoyed an early morning swim before hitting the road again. With our faithful guide, Boni (Amanda’s husband and traveler extraordinaire), we arrived at a hostel/restaurant after a 5 hour bus journey. After a great lunch there, we loaded our backpacks and bodies into a long, skinny, motor run canoa with a canopy. These boats were like our taxis for the weekend, and are truly the go-to mode of transportation in the rain forest. All the communities are connected by rivers (we were on the Napo River, which is a tributary of the Amazon River, if you’re curious) and are what the local people depend on to get anything they can’t make or hunt in the wild. We were each given a pair of rubber boots that we quickly found out would be indispensable in the rain forest. After a two hour boat ride downstream, we arrived at El Albergue Espanol, a hostel of sorts in the middle of the jungle. The cabanas were great! There was running water (usually) but no electricity – the lights in the rooms were solar powered.

The Spirit of Generosity
On Sunday, we got an early start to visit a Quichua community across the river. We spent a few hours with a family learning about their daily life, the two room home shared by 15 people, the plants they grow and cultivate for just about everything they need, and how their lives have changed in the last 60 years as a result of petroleum business. Our guide for the weekend, Fabio, took us into the jungle and showed us the family’s crops of yuca (a potato like staple crop) and various varieties of plantanto (plantains, bananas, etc). As the day progressed, more and more of the family members stopped by, so there were people of all ages there to talk to us, help us decorate our faces with natural paints, and prepare some typical foods and drinks for us to try. Their generosity was incredible, especially considering their circumstances. These communities are often very “poor” because finding work or selling products in towns is hard (they’re so far away!). According to Boni, before big businesses began exploiting the land for petroleum, these communities did not use money to interchange goods. Now, they dress like we do, have cell phones (but not much service), and send one or two boys from each community to the city to be educated. Although this community is, by our standards, poor, they were so happy, friendly, clean, well fed, and generous. I got the feeling that their poverty is not as oppressive as what we saw in Quilotoa because the climate allows them to produce all the food they need and more, and the rivers allow them to access cities more easily than the mountains.

Jungle Adventures a la Tourist
In the afternoon, we got back on the boats, this time in bathing suits and boots, to build our own raft, Huck Finn style. Some of our group members helped Fabio rope together about 15 logs to create a very slippery, very real raft. With Fabio steering at the back, the 16 of us got on and floated relatively peacefully down the river. Boni and the two canoas followed us down the river, and Boni, ever the trickster, contributed to our only accident when he tried to dump water on all of us. We all moved to one side to avoid getting more wet than we already were (sounds silly, I know) and in the process, broke one of the crossbeams holding the raft together. Oops!
That night, Fabio led us on a night hike around the cabanas. We walked for about 2 hours in the very dark, very muddy, very loud, very wild jungle. (The tiny flashlight and local bugspray were probably the two best purchases I’ve made!) We stopped to see all kinds of cool bugs and plants that come out at night, but had some unfortunate incidents with ants in pants (don’t worry though, everyone is fine).

You Tarzon, Me NOT Jane…
On Monday morning, we got up early for a much longer hike through the jungle. We started early and hiked for about 5 hours through mud and rocks and rivers. The hike was a lot of fun: we got to again see all kinds of animals and plants and learn about how the local people truly take advantage of the rainforest. Fabio showed us some simple animal traps, how to use shells to make animal calls, the various functions of many plants and fruits, and all kinds of insect colonies. One of my favorites was an enormous Balsa tree that hunters pound with their arms and legs to make a sound that carries for kilometers back to their wives, who then know when to expect them home so they can prepare a meal. We were able to swing from vines (yes, I the only one who fell off, but falling into plants and mud definitely cushions the impact…no injuries!) and wade through the river. I fell quite a few times in the mud and again in the river (I had to stop to empty my boots out more than once), but it was so fun. To Fabio, the hike was no big deal – the jungle is his home- while to us, it was probably a once in a lifetime chance. So cool!

Local Practices
Later in the day, we learned how locals “lavar oro” or wash for gold. The Napo river has tiny flecks of gold in it, so many families work very hard to find some. However, it can take an entire family 1 or 2 full days to find even a gram of gold, which they could sell for $15, so it is tedious, tough work. We then took the boats to a very tranquil area where we could swim easily and watch for birds. At night, Boni arranged for the local shaman to come show us the purifying ritual for the local people. The ceremony was extremely intense, involving a drink that he had to fast all day in order to drink to avoid being sick, lots of tobacco, and many cool songs and noises. The ceremony was totally different from anything I’ve seen in person and absolutely what the people depend on in terms of medicine. The shaman’s are the most educated, most respected people in the communities, and have a very extensive knowledge of natural medicine.

Animal Kingdom
Before returning home today, we stopped at an animal rescue area up the river from our hostel. We saw all kinds of animals that are in recovery either from illnesses, domestication, or illegal trafficking. We saw all the parrots, monkeys, wild boars, anacondas, turtles, and small jungle cats that we didn’t see on our hike. The animals were beautiful, and their habitats were very natural. Though there were cages and tourists, it didn’t feel like a zoo. The animals are slowly acclimated to natural conditions in hopes that they will someday return. My favorites were the huge red, yellow, and blue Macaws because, while they can be a bit aggressive, they mate for life and often live over 80 years! They were all in pairs, even if only one was sick, because they stick together no matter what, and won’t find another mate if theirs gets sick or dies. Heartwarming!

Okay, I’m sorry that was so much, but it really was quite an adventurous weekend with lots of learning opportunities. Much thanks if you made it all the way through!

Here are a few pictures...

some standard amazon foods


i promise she smiled when she saw the picture on my camera!


the home where we were graciously welcomed and fed!


the sometimes friendly pet at the cabanas


view from the Napo River


we couldn't leave without seeing some monkeys


Fabio teaching us to hunt for gold

Quilotoa!

This weekend, the BC group left Quito for our “rural experience” in the central highlands of Ecuador. We traveled by van with Fabrisio, our driver, and Clever, a professor at USFQ, to the indigenous village of Quilotoa. After a very long ride in a very tight van to the southeast of Quito through rain and fog, we finally arrived at Hostel Cabañas Quilotoa, a small hostel run by an indigenous family. When we arrived, there was a delicious hot meal waiting for us. We settled into our rooms (all 13 girls shared one awesome cabaña with 8 double beds!) and layered up so that when the fire in the stove burned out overnight, we wouldn’t freeze. The climate was certainly different from that of Quito – because we were on the top of the mountains, it was much colder and cloudier.

view from the brim of the crater Quilotoa

On Saturday morning, after a breakfast of champions, we took off for a 5 hour hike down into the volcanic-crater Quilotoa. We started at the brim, where the small village of Quilotoa has constructed a few hostels to host the many tourists who come to hike the crater. We hiked down the very steep, very sandy, very twisty path down to the laguna. The salt water lake has no animals nor plant life and is over 900 feet deep. The water was incredibly blue, but unfortunately, the pictures we took don’t nearly do the beauty of the lake justice because it was so cloudy. When we got to the level of the water, we got in kayaks and made our way across to the other side. Those of us in kayaks were given 12 foot long oars made of solid wood, with tips in the shape of arrows, to row across the lake. Needless to say, it was hilarious. The oars felt bigger and heavier than us! The people who didn’t fit in the kayaks boarded a raft and had about 3 small plastic oars to pull about 10 people across. Between the wind and the weight, it took them about an hour to cross, so we just chilled out on the lake in the kayaks waiting for them to show us where to get off.

When we pulled up to a rock wall on the other side of the lake, we were all a bit skeptical of the practically vertical ascent in front of us. Once we all got out of the boats, we began to climb up the wall of the volcano. There was no established trail, so we were climbing through thick brush, rocks, and mud to get to the top of the mountain. I wish I were a better photographer so I could have captured how extreme this climb was because I don’t think these pictures do it justice.




For a good portion of the first stretch up, our faces were up close and personal with nature and we were using our hands just as much as our feet to climb. We finally reached the trail, which was not much less steep, but was easier to navigate. We continued to climb until we reached the brim of the crater, where we were higher than the clouds on the other side. Between the view, the altitude, and the climb, the crater was truly breathtaking, in every sense of the word!


Once we reached the top, we hiked around the brim, back to where we started. This piece of the trail was flat in comparison, but still pretty hilly.

finally made it to the top!


the fog at the top of the mountain

By the time we made it back to the hostel, 5 hours later, we were all wiped, dirty, and wet from the rain. I was so grateful for the soup and hot meal. Also, aji, a staple hot sauce eaten with almost everything, was a great way to warm up!

A few hours later, we got in the van and drove a little ways down the mountain to the village of Quilotoa Ponce, which is the community that the hostel owners are part of. There, we were greeted by many women and children and a few men of the village. One of the community leaders spoke to us for about 20 minutes about life in an indigenous community. What a different world. The conditions in this village are unfathomable. There are about 40 families who live there, each with about 8 or 9 children. Women get married between 15 and 18. By my age, many already have 2 or 3 kids. The children go to school a half hour away in a school with only 4 teachers for hundreds of students ages 6 to 12. I found it very interesting that all of the women and little girls wear the traditional clothing (hats, knee length skirts with stockings, and sweater ponchos) while the men were wearing pants and coats like we see in Quito. Many of the men leave the village to work in surrounding cities, which are a couple hours away, where they either sell the goods they grow on their tiny plots of land or try to find other work. They often stay in the cities for weeks at a time, leaving their families behind while they try to make a living. In the community, each family has their own plot of land, where they try to grow what they need to eat and sell. Often times, intermediaries easily exploit the people of the villages because they can transport good by car (instead of mule) to the cities to sell, and take a huge profit for themselves. Listening to these people speak was quite eye opening; we saw a completely different way of life in Ecuador from what we see in Quito and Cumbaya, but this is the reality for almost all of the indigenous people, save those who, due to their geographical location, are merchant or artisan communities.

The van ride back to the hostel had a very different tone than the rest. We were all disturbed by the fact that we just dropped in to shake some hands, drop off some food, and take some pictures. We wished we could have done something with or for the people of the village but also realized that there is a delicate balance between trying to help and being a huge imposition.

After another wonderful meal in the hostel on Saturday night, we hung around the dining area and danced with the family. There were about 5 or 6 teenagers, who at first were videotaping our attempts at salsa and meringue, but who we were later able to persuade to join us. On Sunday morning we took off for Latacunga, one of the larger cities in the area, to check out the market. What an experience! The market is not comparable to anything I’ve seen. There were rows upon rows of vendors selling everything from scallions and carrots to raw chicken feet and grains of every color. Then, there was a “prepared foods” section where vendors were cooking and serving to tables of families who were sitting down to lunch. After that, there were more rows of vendors selling clothes, accessories, office supplies, DVDs, CDs, etc. This wasn’t an artisan market, so most of the stuff looked like things we would buy in Target, but it was still a very different feeling. There seemed to be more people selling things than buying, but the place was crawling with indigenous people (to say the 16 of us stood out is an understatement) buying, bartering, and selling. Finally, after stopping for lunch and ice cream, we made our way back to Quito in the late afternoon. This weekend was quite a challenge – both physically and intellectually – so let me know if there is something you want to hear more about…I’ve already written so much!

For me, the takeaway from this weekend was when our guide, Clever, pointed out on Saturday that while for us, Saturday February 14th is a holiday, for the people of this village, every day is the same. Even though they are Catholic, they can’t throw huge celebrations for each holiday, nor do they ever have a “day off” from their routine. Something to consider in our very commercialized lives…



beautiful view of the mountains

Flower Shows and Salsa Dance!

I can’t believe another week has gone by already! The time is starting to fly by, especially when we have plans over the long weekends. It’s so hard to believe that it’s already the middle of February, especially when it’s so sunny and warm during the day (sorry, Boston & NJ!)

Last weekend, Eddie landed a gig at a café in Quito, so we all went to watch him play and sing. We had a great crowd to support him and he did a phenomenal job! He even performed a few songs that he was learned in Spanish since being here. On Friday, I explored the Artisan Market in Quito a bit. Many of the booths had the same products that we saw at Otavalo a few weeks ago, but this market is much more organized and much closer to where I live. On a Friday afternoon, the market was crawling with Quiteños an tourists alike. I’ll definitely be going back!

On Saturday, a few of us went to an Orchid exhibit at Parque Itchimbia, which is near the colonial center of Quito. The park is pretty high up, so it had a fantastic view of the city. The orchid exhibit was absolutely beautiful! We waited about an hour to get in, but it was well worth it. The flowers were prizewinners from all over South America and the world. I think this is a biannual exhibit that will next be on display in Singapore in 2011.

The view from the park


One of many prizewinning exhibits




I’ve celebrated three more birthdays in the past two weeks – two for members of the extended host family and one for Brianna from BC. The family parties are really fun. Since almost the entire extended family lives in the building, it’s really easy to get everyone together, and they love to celebrate! On Tuesday night, we celebrated the birthday of Maqui’s sister, who flew in that day from her home in California. They arranged for a musical group to come and sing and play music, so everyone was singing and dancing well into the night.

Last night, I went to my first salsa lesson! Eddie arranged for a salsa teacher to give us 8 lessons over the course of the next four weeks in his home. The steps are basic and I think that by the end, we will definitely be able to hold our own at the salsa club we’ve been going to. Today I bought a CD of salsa music so I can learn the ritmo! Music and DVD copyright laws must not be as strict (or just not enforced) here, because every block or so there is another store that sells CDs and DVDs for $1-2 a piece. They have almost every movie you can imagine (even some that are still in theatres…), and the quality isn’t always great, but they work!

Classes are finally starting to pick up. This week I had my first exam and an in class presentation and I have another exam and paper next week. (It seems to me that many of the Ecuadorian students aren’t quite as concerned with attendance as others, and much less so than even the laziest BC students. I can’t figure out why that is – attendance is part of the grade for every class I am in!) Today in my Children’s Lit class, we had a guest speaker who is a sociologist born and raised in Quito. She talked to us about the patriarchal family systems that are ingrained into this culture and how females’ role in home has changed in the last 4 decades. She was a very dynamic speaker and has done some very interesting work and definitely presented some unique insights into Quiteño culture that I would not get otherwise. My host family definitely does not fit the stereotypical patriarchal mold, so I was interested to hear the sociologist perspective, as well as that of other students in class.

This weekend, we are spending two nights with an indigenous community about three hours outside of Quito, in the mountains. I am very intrigued to see another face of Ecuador and experience what is sure to be a very different way of living. Supposedly, we will be spending Saturday, El Día de amor y amistad, helping clean up a school! More stories to come!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Abrazos y Besos :)

A Taste of Quiteño Culure

Buenos Dias!

It's safe to say that by now, I've settled into the routine of classes, pre-prac, and daily life at "home" in Quito! This week hasn't been all that exciting, but I thought I'd post some fun cultural facts and new words that I've learned.

Quichua Words: Quichua is the language of the indigenous people of Ecuador, and many Quiteños use some of these words in their daily life. The two I hear most often are:
wawa (no, not the convenience store - it's pronounced more like waug-wa):children, young people, is a term of endearment (cariño) used by parents and teachers alike
naña/o: sister/brother (it took me a long time to figure out what my host sisters were saying when they referred to each other as mi naña!)

Patience is a virtue...
I take two public buses to get from my home in North Quito to the university. If I could teach Ecuadorians one thing, it would be how to wait patiently for people to get off a bus. Instead of waiting for most people to get off the bus, everyone pushes and shoves through the doors so it's so congested that it's impossible to move!

First name basis
All students of all ages call their teachers and professors by their first names. I like this! It makes education a little more personal and decreases the emotional distance between teachers and students. Not only do they use first names, but they often add -ita or -ito, another sign of cariño, to the end. For example, Sandra -> Sandrita, Diego -> Diegito. Amanda has donned me "Caro," which sometimes becomes Carita! I like it, but it sounds much better with the Spanish r than it does in English.

Besos!
It is impolite here to not greet everyone in a room when you enter, especially at a social gathering. Women greet each other and men with the traditional greeting of a kiss on the right cheek, while men shake hands of hug. Even if you don't know someone, it's protocol to give a beso!

No empty nesters here!
In Quito, it seems that almost everyone lives with their parents until they are married, no matter how old they are. Many people in my group have siblings living at home who are in their late 20s and 30s! Since this is custom, PDA (public displays of affection) are much more common here than in the states because couples don't really have places to go alone without parents! We definitely notice this on campus!

It's nice to hang around Quito for the weekend. Last night, Eddie landed a gig at an awesome cafe and got to play his guitar and sing for an hour. We had a huge crowd there to support him, including some host parents and lots of gringo students from other universities in the states. Afterwards, a few of us went back to the salsa club! So much fun!! That's all for now, friends! I hope all is well (and not too cold!) where you are.

Beaches and Bungalows

No matter how cloudy or rainy it got at the beach this weekend, I just kept thinking…hey, we could be in Boston where the rain would be sleet and the clouds would bring snow! But no, instead our group spent Friday and Saturday on ‘vacation’. We left Thursday night at 11:15 on an overnight bus to the coastal town of Atacames, which is a popular getaway spot for many Ecuadorians (my host family loves it there!). We arrived around 7am on Friday morning and checked into our very fun hotel, Arco Iris. We stayed in bungalow type cabins, complete with hammocks on the front porches, AC, comfortable beds, a dining area, a small kitchenette, and of course, mosquito nets – no malaria for us!

We hung out on the beach all day on Friday, breaking only for lunch. The weather wasn’t fantastic, but both the air and the water were warm. The beach itself was really nice – clean sand, no rocks, no seaweed.

It was actually nice that the sun wasn’t shining at full blast…we would all look like lobsters! On Saturday, we hung on the beach despite a little bit of rain. We took a boat tour around a little rock island and saw some crabs, blue-footed ____, and los Cuevas del amor, or the Caves of Love (“donde entran dos, salen tres…”). We jumped off the boat and swam out to the caves. (below)


We didn’t venture off the street of Atacames that runs parallel to the beach. That street, however, is lined with hotels, stores, restaurants, and markets on the inland side and bungalow bars on the beach. (below)

In the morning, vendors parked out front of the tiki hut bars selling fruit, vegetables, and breakfast foods, while by night, bar hopping tourists line the streets. Many of the bars looked the same, with hammocks or swings on the beach side and circular bars in the middle, and they all served a similar selection of fruity cocktails, some served right out of a coconut or pineapple! The music was loud, fun, and different in each one, and they were all open air so you could see which ones were most popular for dancing. It was such a fun environment!

The biggest difference between the beach at Atacames and others I’ve been too, especially OBX and the Jersey shore, was the presence of vendors on the beach. People were walking up to us all day trying to sell sunglasses, instruments, coconut oil, fruit salad, fruit juice, fruity cocktails, hair braids, boat tours, etc. Someone new walked by every few minutes and would often just stand there for a few minutes, despite our continuous “No Gracias.” There were also a ton of stray dogs on the beach (as there seem to be all over the streets of Ecuador), and they liked to come lay on our towels. I may or may not have jumped about 5 feet when I felt a cold nose on my arm while I was lying down on my towel.

Needless to say, it was a great weekend getaway, with great people, great food, and great dancing, despite the not so great weather.

Our group!


Earlier last week, I returned to Colegio Menor for my second day of pre-prac. I observed each of the teachers in their Spanish department, which was very interesting because it would be like observing an English class in the states. Two of the classes were reading poems or books that I had either learned last semester or have on a syllabus for this semester. I am hardly qualified to teach these kids Spanish literature, but it was very interesting to observe! Also, during their break, we had an earthquake drill, which was also something new for me. (No need for those drills in NJ or MA!). We had to get under desks for one minute before evacuating the buildings with our hands over our heads.

Otherwise, classes are going well and life with my host family is great! I think we had duck soup last night, but I’m not quite sure…I got a little lost when they were describing it to me. The broth was peanuty and the meat (poultry?) was unlike anything I’ve tasted before – somewhere between the texture of clams and squid and potatoes (sounds strange, I know) but Maqui told me it was a typical Ecua dish, so hey, why not! I hope you all enjoyed the Superbowl!

[Correction: I obviously heard wrong...the soup was called Caldo de Patas, which literally means Broth of Feet, as in cow's feet. I thought I heard Caldo de Patos, which would have been duck. Not exactly the same...]