dios de los muertos

pasachoa, outside the cloud forest

moring in otovalo

because everything is sooo new...

i just wanted to start a bulleted list of dumb things that i like or notice. here it is:

* most days at 3 oclock it rains for a good 4-5 hours
* i have met only one other american, everybody is from europe and they we dont speak the the same english. i have learned words like- tat, half 8, popping your cloggs, dodgy, tosser, uni, tube pronounced like tchoob...
*fumey air 24 hours a day
*hardly anyone i have met knows anything about eduador´s history or politics
* reggaeton is the equivelant of gangsta rap
* rarely has anyone been inpatient with my slow and basic spanish
* i love the blasting of, blowing the speakers out music that resounds from tiendas and public transportation
*one day after school Anna y yo went to the supermarket. on the way there was a torential downpour started and i slipped on tile and fell flat on my ---. by the time we crossed the street we were drenched. we caught a cap out and the cabbie played john lee hooker and the blues sounded sooo good- it felt like my senses had suddenly become enhanced. i welled up with emotion.
* as a low-lander, altitude adjustment has taken ages. until recently, everyday had been a fight for clarity. i have been in a perpetual mental haze, foggy and processing thoughts took a bit of exertion. on and off my eyes are irritated, and seem to strain. in the morning walking to school my stomach feels like led. digestion is slowed, apparently. a few times i have delt with splitting headaches. i got a bad cold and with the help of grapeseed extract, whiskey with cinnamon, honey & lime and lots of coca tea- i have finally adjusted and the last couple of days, i am gaining energy and my happy meter is way up.
* exactly now, immagration police came into the internet cafe and asked me for my identification and date of arrival. good golly! its a bit of an adrenalin rush! i was thinking, my god, if my copied passport isnt good enough and they haul me away would they let me pee first? all´s well though!

2 weels in...

This weekend i got out of the city and bussed to Otavalo, a large town oh, 2 1/2 hours from quito to see one of the best markets around. i instantly relaxed as i took in the open space of arid highlands. the mountains are impressive in their youth- high peaked, volcanic, lacking trees but with small patches of agriculture clinging high above the roads and towns. There was sun breaking through the usual persistent grey, and the beauty of the greeness distracted me from the careening mountain pass driving and, unbelievalby, our bus was drafting the bus in front of us.
Otavalo feels small, even cozy and easy to navigate. my weekend partner, Anna of London and i found a good-n-cheap hostel for the night and explored the streets and drank some damn good mojitos. by 5am the vendors are setting up in the streets and the sounds of music and scuffle easily reached our room above. for breakfast i found a REAL cup of coffee from ground beans and it tasted like heaven. what is called coffee is most often instant coffee, and not strong, even in Quito.
i had decided before hand to look for woven textiles, and paintings in miniature in the theme of ecuadorian life and myth with trains riding across open sky and broken bells with people climbing out all with cotopaxi in the background. In the throngs of people, and i might add, not many tourists, i wandered, taking in the colors, patterns, smells, variety of goods, food, feeling excited, happy, taking it in. i learned to barter. i met many friendly open people with easy smiles and indulged in super touristy food of pizza- which was extraordinary, as well as hand squeezed orange juice. i was impressed by the diversity and beauty of traditional dress. some women wear white, lacy blouses with black wool across the shoulder and as a skirt. others a variation with turquoise velvet or valour across the shoulder. lovely.
there is more, but my computador is being finicky and i happen to be fairly tired at the moment of reasons to be explained later...chow!

daily impressions

The city is indeed scary. I have not walked around by myself yet, and in some areas you have to take a taxi where ever you go & be home before dark which is 630 here. at home everything has bars on it, my teacher has a gaurd dog and this is new to me- shards of glass glued to the top of every wall and partition even along beautiful buildings. in the Mariscal district, also known as Gringolandia, there are cops that look like militiary and security guards at the entrances to fancy stores and supermarkets. Even though I have seen scetchy people, I have felt confident in being able to get around safely. And, now that its 10 days in, I am much more comforable and relaxed.


This weekend i went with los grupos de estudienates to see la mitad del mundo, the actual ecuador which is not actual, but some french (?) guy thought it was and built a large monument with a red brick line. the thing itself was boring but getting there was fun. the bus trip took over an hour, with me standing and holding for dear life onto the bar above me. people can get off or on at will and when the bus stops its a jolt that nearly sends you into the person in front of you. the bus door is left open the whole time and barely stops to let people on. i watched with great apprehension as grandma´s and disabled ladies and small children struggled against the force of the bus to get on and not be swept under the wheels of the open door. one lady i gave my seat to because i feared for her life.

so we arrived in one peice and decided to hire a truck to take us to a crater in the mountains with some farming below. it wasn´t very impressive, since i had recently seen into the crater of mt. st. helens, and i was a little bored, but the truck ride itself was fun. it was nice to be out of the city and see green steeply peaked mountains, with slides and outcroppings of houses and buildings below.

the redeeming portion of the trip was going to the REAL ecuator which is said to be scientifically proven, with GPS. they had stuffed and jarred animals, snakes, the parasite that crawls up your private parts in the water, cuy- guinea pigs- alive- and i watched the water in the sink flow 2 different directions only 12 feet or so away from each side of the ecuator.

Eating dinner at my teacher´s house has become an event that i look forward to. the table is set beautifully with home-blended juice, tea, water, and the food is so delicious. my teacher often cooks traditional and regional favorite dishes and explains us the history or nutritious properties ect. of the dish. I am eating very healthfully. one of my favorite dishes is made with green bananas, shrimp and topped with cheese, smothered in white sause- sort of a lasagna. there is always a salad or fresh vegetable and lots of fruit as well.
I really enjoy sitting with a family to eat; it is very enjoyable to practice my spanish explaining the days events and to share with this family.
after dinner, we sit for awhile and drink tea and often my teacher´s papa explains events and decribes places that he deems as important to anna and i. he told us the story of how the banks were stealing and the prezident did nothing,this leading to extreme inflation with 1 us dollar equaling 25000 sucre. this event lead to the decision to change the national dollar from the sucre to the us dollar. I call him profesor Pepe.

¡Si se puede! Ecuador plays Chile

Sunday was the world cup qualifier game between chile and ecuador. we left at 12 and the game started at 5. why did we leave so early? the director of the school who had found us tickets wanted to get the best seats possible. so we sat in a row- all seven students, me next to my friend from australia, and she and i ordered gigantic bottles of pilsener, the official, and as far as i can tell the only beer in ecuador.

it was really an eye full. vendors are allowed to serve beer that they carry in a bag with cups and a container of ice, which you need- becuase its cheap beer its awful when its tepid; women and children carry boxes of cigarettes sold as singles, half or whole boxes along with candy and toys all together. the best are papas y fritas- home made potato chips with a tiny twisted bag of salt. also, similar to corn nuts but indigenous corn thats very big is served with salsa lime and chile; hot potatoes and sauce and cold hotdogs.
no bottles made of glass except for the vendors are allowed in the stadium for fear that people will throw them at the opposing team!

oh and umbrellas! in the morning it was very hot and by half past 1 it was raining and this didn´t stop for the rest of the night. so we sat and drank, like everybody else, to try to ignore the very cold and wet, numb fingered situation; and vendors sell peices of plastic for a quarter and ponchos, umbrellas. the whole scene was brilliant- a packed stadium of colored umbrellas and the mountains filled with black clouds and mist behind.

here´s what else: many cops in riot gear line the field. when the game finally began people threw roles of toilet paper and let off fire works and fire extinguishers and chanted and screamed- "si se puede" yes we can! which, by this time people have been getting drunk for 4 hours and have been singing national pride songs and the small group of chileans try to sing the rest of the stadium whistles so loud you cant hear them sing.

also the insults were great! when the chilean players are introduced one at a time, the whole stadium cries "hijos de puta!", after each one and when a chilean player got hurt and was rolling on the ground in agony, a woman screamed- he acts just like a little girl! and everybody laughed. oh and the guys in front of us were buying smuggled in cheap liqour and everytime anything exciting happened they would look back at us to be sure we were enjoying it as much as they were.

Ecuador won with one goal and when it happened everybody suddenly stood up and jumped in unison and congradulated eachother shaking hands and giving eachother drinks! it was great and much more entertaining than football at home.

at the end though i was very wet and tired and barely could stay awake for dinner.
ecuador is mi pais!

first days in quito continued...

As i walked the feeling that i was out of place grew. i am a tall white woman with westerner´s travel clothes and the slow walk of some one not acclimatized to altitude. as each person passed, i filled in the blanks of what they might thinkof me. A girl came up to us in the market and asked for money while we were purchasing something. I didn´t know what to do! I didn´t want to be seen as simply somebody with riches falling out of my pockets, nor did I want to deny a child. I decided on ¨saying, "no gracias" because i need time to think this through.
The next evening I lay in bed awake, taking in my situation: i felt a great weight and responsibility to jump to my task of discovering microfinance within the city, gathering information and contacts. but, reality had to settle in. Part of me is frustrated, but the situation is that I need to speak better, take time to learn Spanish, learn how to navigate a city, which I havn´t done before, find my feet belonging to the ground and get comfortable before that other stuff can take place.
After discussing this with the other Anna and my friends via email, I feel better. I have a purpose here and can relaxe and enjoy what I can- delicious food, good company, futbol, adventures on buses, and conversation with my household and teacher about politics and life in ecuador.

first days in quito

hello all,
its ten days past my arrival in Quito, but i will do my best to recall my first impressions here. I must begin by telling about my departure from Miami: my two best friends drove me to the airport and wished me goodbye with tears and hugs at the security line. It took effort to keep from gushing tears, but I allowed a few to fall as I boarded the plane. I actually looked back, at what i don´t know, in the breeze-way leading to the plane. it was a gut reaction- the oh my god, this is real, and i am very alone!
I sat in the company of a bunch of Evangelical missionaries on my way to Quito, grimacing at their happy-go-lucky attitude about traveling to another country. I felt somber and wanted peace and quiete to take it all in, but I wasn´t spared. Luckily, I had a window seat and I concentrated on looking at the great blue water below, thinking, Cuba is somewhere down there, and that, really, its not all that far in hours from home to Ecuador. At the same time, i felt the sensation of my bellingham umbelical cord being stretched as the view of water went on and on.
I arrived at night, and the lights of the city are patterned in oblongs and swirls more than in a grid form, which you expect. i thought, this place is huge, what have i got myself into? I felt the altitude difference right away; i had no option of being hasty. I had to walk slowly, my ears feeling pressure, my feet floating. And there was my teacher with my name on a sign and felt reassured and liked her right away.
She had hired a friend to taxi us to her home and when we arrived i met her mother, father, nephew who stays with her part-time and yes, another Anna from London. what a good sign of luck is that! I ate some food and drank tea, trying to stay lucid and answer questions in my simple spanish and explain what the ALG was to the other Anna. my senses were overwhelmed and i just wanted to go to bed. it was even effort to understand english that first night. when i went to bed, i couldn´t believe how loud the traffic noise was from inside the house. how do people carry on their normal lives? i wondered. it can be so loud that you have to talk louder to be heard at the dinner table. Of course, now, i am adjusted and can sleep fairly well through the night.
I was told that night that my teacher could not provide language lessons for a couple of weeks so did i want to attend language school down the street with the other anna. of course, i agreed. I wanted to get busy right away and not have time to get overwhelmed. the following day i began, after having one day to sleep in.
School is excellenct since each student gets a teacher to themselves and you have the opportunity to practice speaking and reviewing grammar. In this short time I feel that my speaking has improved rapidly.
After that first lesson the other Anna and I explored a public market for a few items and took in the city. In some places the steets and sidewalks are in disrepair and you have to watch where you are going- randomly, there will be a whole filled with stagnant water, big enough for a child to fall into that just shows up in the middle of the side walk. Its just one more thing to watch out for besides motorcycles on the sidewalk, whizzing buses and that sometimes the lines in the road mean nothing to drivers.
That first walk down a broken street brought on all the unknowns to mind and the sense of vulnerability: