Here is just a quick update. I "donated" 30$ to Ecuador trying to get a visa. It didn't work so I bought a ticket for Lima, Peru for the 2nd of January. I will be in the highland city of Haunacayo, volunteering at an orphanage above the city of 350,000 folks. It seems like a reasonable organization, (Mosoq Ayllu) & doesn't charge more than room & board. Although they are not involved in microfinance, they said they would be happy to assist me in locating microfinance in Hanacayo. Yeah!
Right now I am frantically gathering last minute things together before everything is shut for the new year celebrations. Who knows how many days that will last.
I wish everyone a great new year!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
in the news...
So, I have been recuperating from my illness by eating lots of fresh fruit, juice and soup. today i tried a soup with chicken & cows feet plus liver- real healthy and although i didnt try the chicken feet the cow was delicious!
Lately i have been trying to concentrate on turning my spanish into something useful. I read the papers here and go to class with articles that i want to discuss knowledgeably. i try to keep up a daily diologue in Spanish about politics here in Quito and whatever else keeps the conversation heated and interesting. i now have a conversational partner- english for spanish with an ecuadorian who enjoys politics. this is a good opportunity, becuase i can ask a longterm Quito resident for info and opinion.
I have discovered from the local paper that Libya, Iran and Russia are all making friends with
Ecuador. President Correa just visited Iran- who is lending money and technology to Ecuador for securing the Columbian boarder and then Correa popped in to visit Gaddafi, to express his admiration for his political career. Interesting yes? My profesor commented that these relations will be good for Ecuador- Libya has oil, so does Ecuador. She views this as a possible new aliance that can strengthen Ecuador. It does appear that Correa is rapidly shifting the country left, opposing privatization, and doing a lot of social spending. He is also known and criticized for having a quick temper, and being really good looking. Quitenos say that his volitile personality makes him untrustworthy with political decisions and several have commented that he was elected over a better qualified encumbant, based on his looks. Well, the voting process is never perfect.
Other news here: relations with Brazil have been strained due to corrupt Brasilian contstruction firms. one, Odebrecht, built a hydroelectric plant last year with money lent to Ecuador from a development bank in Brasil. the plant was built poorly and the Odebrecht spent some time fixing it. Now it is fine, but the incident amplified tensions caused by on-going problems with Brasilian companies that have overcharged for shoddy work. Not only have I read about this, but I know a Brasiliano who worked on that project. the result was that Correa kicked out all Brasilan construction companies, leaving 3500 Brasilian workers jobless and several projects on hold. however, this week diologue has reopened.
To illustrate the logic of the government here, Ecuador is due to make a foreign debt payment in 2012 of 30.6 million (out of 680million) , but Correa has declared the debt illigitamate, becuase the previous government had aquirred the money and misappropriated it. well, in the same time frame, Ecuador just bought some huge airplane for some amount similar to the debt payment.
Here is another example. Recently the constitution was revised and that means that all sorts of bureaucratic mayhem has ensued. for example, when i left for Ecuador all official websites indicated that obtaining a tourist visa was as simple as paying $30 dolars. I have recently learned that these websites are pathetically behind in current information and that in the last few months, regulations and laws on immigration and all visas have changed sporatically.
For me this has manifested as running around to all sort of offices with officials holding differing opinions. then there are the rumors and tall tales of people successfully gaining visas, or that crossing the Colombian boarder works, mixed with scary accounts of huge fines, extortion, and unsafe boarders- and not because of FARC or drugtrafficing.
okay- so here is my situation. I need just a little more time. I want to investigate the flower-trade in Ecuador, workers conditions, wages, export. I can sort of speak Spanish now so its possible, with a native Spanish-speaking friend to interview people. find microfinance in the city ect. But, my visa expires on the 2nd of January. between after xmas and the new year is a really hectic time to travel. and i dont want to up and scram out of Ecuador without checking out topics and territory a little more.
Lately i have been trying to concentrate on turning my spanish into something useful. I read the papers here and go to class with articles that i want to discuss knowledgeably. i try to keep up a daily diologue in Spanish about politics here in Quito and whatever else keeps the conversation heated and interesting. i now have a conversational partner- english for spanish with an ecuadorian who enjoys politics. this is a good opportunity, becuase i can ask a longterm Quito resident for info and opinion.
I have discovered from the local paper that Libya, Iran and Russia are all making friends with
Ecuador. President Correa just visited Iran- who is lending money and technology to Ecuador for securing the Columbian boarder and then Correa popped in to visit Gaddafi, to express his admiration for his political career. Interesting yes? My profesor commented that these relations will be good for Ecuador- Libya has oil, so does Ecuador. She views this as a possible new aliance that can strengthen Ecuador. It does appear that Correa is rapidly shifting the country left, opposing privatization, and doing a lot of social spending. He is also known and criticized for having a quick temper, and being really good looking. Quitenos say that his volitile personality makes him untrustworthy with political decisions and several have commented that he was elected over a better qualified encumbant, based on his looks. Well, the voting process is never perfect.
Other news here: relations with Brazil have been strained due to corrupt Brasilian contstruction firms. one, Odebrecht, built a hydroelectric plant last year with money lent to Ecuador from a development bank in Brasil. the plant was built poorly and the Odebrecht spent some time fixing it. Now it is fine, but the incident amplified tensions caused by on-going problems with Brasilian companies that have overcharged for shoddy work. Not only have I read about this, but I know a Brasiliano who worked on that project. the result was that Correa kicked out all Brasilan construction companies, leaving 3500 Brasilian workers jobless and several projects on hold. however, this week diologue has reopened.
To illustrate the logic of the government here, Ecuador is due to make a foreign debt payment in 2012 of 30.6 million (out of 680million) , but Correa has declared the debt illigitamate, becuase the previous government had aquirred the money and misappropriated it. well, in the same time frame, Ecuador just bought some huge airplane for some amount similar to the debt payment.
Here is another example. Recently the constitution was revised and that means that all sorts of bureaucratic mayhem has ensued. for example, when i left for Ecuador all official websites indicated that obtaining a tourist visa was as simple as paying $30 dolars. I have recently learned that these websites are pathetically behind in current information and that in the last few months, regulations and laws on immigration and all visas have changed sporatically.
For me this has manifested as running around to all sort of offices with officials holding differing opinions. then there are the rumors and tall tales of people successfully gaining visas, or that crossing the Colombian boarder works, mixed with scary accounts of huge fines, extortion, and unsafe boarders- and not because of FARC or drugtrafficing.
okay- so here is my situation. I need just a little more time. I want to investigate the flower-trade in Ecuador, workers conditions, wages, export. I can sort of speak Spanish now so its possible, with a native Spanish-speaking friend to interview people. find microfinance in the city ect. But, my visa expires on the 2nd of January. between after xmas and the new year is a really hectic time to travel. and i dont want to up and scram out of Ecuador without checking out topics and territory a little more.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
rants and the trip to Pasachoa
So its been awhile since i wrote. and now i am going to have to catch up in installments. today i am a little frustrated feeling. i have just spent a week and a half ill with bacterial infection and parasites. i have learned how fragile and dangerous it can be to just eat whatever, drink whatever. i simply have tried to eat cheap and at everyday restaurants. i cook at home as well, but here i am, after a month of feeling tired and wondering if my enemia had reasserted itself, depleted from bugs in my stomach! so yes, immobility, and the scariness of illness have left me feeling like i am falling behind. i have to recapture momentum.
i plan to secure some contact in Peru for volunteer work after the holidays and to spend december volunteering here in quito. i am not ready to leave here yet. its been good to absorb one place and practice spanish. im going to back up and tell some stories but first i just want to comment how difficult it is for me to assimilate a new language! i have learned the grammar, but my ears and tongue are still stupid! it comes in waves. one day i will feel pretty capable, the next retarded. and its a struggle to find new spanish speaking individuals to speak with. its necessary to practice everyday outside of class but this can be difficult. okay, thats my rant. now to Pasachoa....
over a month ago 3 women friends and i went to hike one of ecuadors national forests. a cloud forest no less- full of hundreds of bird species and cloaked in fog. we left with minimum money, food and equipment with the idea that it was an overnight trip. we descoverd that national parks charge a premium to foreigners, something not listed in my guide book, and overall, the caretakers showed some animosity towards our presence there- i have no idea why.
so we planned to rise early and begin our assent towards a lookout a couple thousand feet higher than quito (numbers later) that would take about 8 hours round trip. but, becuase it was still light, we decided on a short loop hike for the afternoon. we had about two and a half hours until dark and i thought well, this could be interesting. we started through a meadow and up into bamboo forest with bird calls all around, bromelaids (tropical plants) perched on trees and stunning views across gorges than ran steeply down. it was cloudy and had obviously been raining a lot recently. the trials were muddy, slippery but not at all unmanagable if your from the northwest. i felt right at home and slopped up the trail, enjoying being out of the bus exhaust and in the quiet. we passed a sign that indidated our half way mark and walked onward. the trail began to angle down and this is where the adventures begin.
my hiking partners hailed from Paris, London, and somewhere in Australia- some not exactly versed in the ways of mud and fuana. slipping and falling, injuring knees, trembling and wet, oh, and some laughter, my friends discovered the unpredictable side of tourism. nature is wild and doesnt care about you or whether you get good pictures or not. the journey became stressful and as the light began to dwindle, fear. however, i am not afraid of the dark or navigating through the forest, only of people.
then a strange thing happened: we rounded a corner and came upon a wailing little girl and her giant german shepard, standing in the trail. luckily, one member could speak excellent spanish and was able to ask what the matter was. apparently, this tiny child of like 6 or so was separated from her uncle and was told to go to a certain place to meet him if she got lost. the direction was back towards the forest and she was terrified. we convinced her to come with us so we could call someone. this took half and hour or so and now it was pretty dark. we reached the meadow from where we had begun and at that point we heard someone calling for the girl. another camper helped us call the man´s name, backtracking, trying to hear how far away he was. we called, "Lucho!" for 20 minutes or so and then suddenly a man on horseback appeared, smiling. he didnt say anything, nor did Monica, the little girl, but silently climbed onto the horse behind him and off they went into the night.
on the return home, some of my comrades felt that the man was rude for not saying thank you. this really frustrated me. i was just sick of every action thats taken by an ecuadorian that is not exactly the same response as a westerner being attributed to some character flaw. indeed i have learned more about judgementalism, racism and how narrowmindedness prevails among well educated, sane westerners than i ever cared to intimately know!
the stereotypes of the "other" as lazy, using and dishonest seems to still find a foothold and i have talked with people a lot about this, both with ecuadorians and tourists. there is no good reason for it. its just too easy to point rather than consider the position and conditions from which another person is acting. this topic encompasses the questions of whether immigrants should learn the language of their host country, why they dont actually learn and whether they feel compelled to do so and for what reasons; do hostfamilies actually need the money they earn from homestays or are they just after a higher living standard and is this somehow dishonest- should they instead only be concerned with facilitating a cultural exchange; do ecuadorian women seek foreigners for marriage as a way to better their lives; and does machismoism effect the wellbeing of women and limit their opportunities towards education, work and self betterment.
yes, there is more to be said about the elections in the US, opinions on Correa and the revisions of the Ecuadorian Constitution, economics and my visits to Centro Historico and the amazing Basilica there, but in bites.
i plan to secure some contact in Peru for volunteer work after the holidays and to spend december volunteering here in quito. i am not ready to leave here yet. its been good to absorb one place and practice spanish. im going to back up and tell some stories but first i just want to comment how difficult it is for me to assimilate a new language! i have learned the grammar, but my ears and tongue are still stupid! it comes in waves. one day i will feel pretty capable, the next retarded. and its a struggle to find new spanish speaking individuals to speak with. its necessary to practice everyday outside of class but this can be difficult. okay, thats my rant. now to Pasachoa....
over a month ago 3 women friends and i went to hike one of ecuadors national forests. a cloud forest no less- full of hundreds of bird species and cloaked in fog. we left with minimum money, food and equipment with the idea that it was an overnight trip. we descoverd that national parks charge a premium to foreigners, something not listed in my guide book, and overall, the caretakers showed some animosity towards our presence there- i have no idea why.
so we planned to rise early and begin our assent towards a lookout a couple thousand feet higher than quito (numbers later) that would take about 8 hours round trip. but, becuase it was still light, we decided on a short loop hike for the afternoon. we had about two and a half hours until dark and i thought well, this could be interesting. we started through a meadow and up into bamboo forest with bird calls all around, bromelaids (tropical plants) perched on trees and stunning views across gorges than ran steeply down. it was cloudy and had obviously been raining a lot recently. the trials were muddy, slippery but not at all unmanagable if your from the northwest. i felt right at home and slopped up the trail, enjoying being out of the bus exhaust and in the quiet. we passed a sign that indidated our half way mark and walked onward. the trail began to angle down and this is where the adventures begin.
my hiking partners hailed from Paris, London, and somewhere in Australia- some not exactly versed in the ways of mud and fuana. slipping and falling, injuring knees, trembling and wet, oh, and some laughter, my friends discovered the unpredictable side of tourism. nature is wild and doesnt care about you or whether you get good pictures or not. the journey became stressful and as the light began to dwindle, fear. however, i am not afraid of the dark or navigating through the forest, only of people.
then a strange thing happened: we rounded a corner and came upon a wailing little girl and her giant german shepard, standing in the trail. luckily, one member could speak excellent spanish and was able to ask what the matter was. apparently, this tiny child of like 6 or so was separated from her uncle and was told to go to a certain place to meet him if she got lost. the direction was back towards the forest and she was terrified. we convinced her to come with us so we could call someone. this took half and hour or so and now it was pretty dark. we reached the meadow from where we had begun and at that point we heard someone calling for the girl. another camper helped us call the man´s name, backtracking, trying to hear how far away he was. we called, "Lucho!" for 20 minutes or so and then suddenly a man on horseback appeared, smiling. he didnt say anything, nor did Monica, the little girl, but silently climbed onto the horse behind him and off they went into the night.
on the return home, some of my comrades felt that the man was rude for not saying thank you. this really frustrated me. i was just sick of every action thats taken by an ecuadorian that is not exactly the same response as a westerner being attributed to some character flaw. indeed i have learned more about judgementalism, racism and how narrowmindedness prevails among well educated, sane westerners than i ever cared to intimately know!
the stereotypes of the "other" as lazy, using and dishonest seems to still find a foothold and i have talked with people a lot about this, both with ecuadorians and tourists. there is no good reason for it. its just too easy to point rather than consider the position and conditions from which another person is acting. this topic encompasses the questions of whether immigrants should learn the language of their host country, why they dont actually learn and whether they feel compelled to do so and for what reasons; do hostfamilies actually need the money they earn from homestays or are they just after a higher living standard and is this somehow dishonest- should they instead only be concerned with facilitating a cultural exchange; do ecuadorian women seek foreigners for marriage as a way to better their lives; and does machismoism effect the wellbeing of women and limit their opportunities towards education, work and self betterment.
yes, there is more to be said about the elections in the US, opinions on Correa and the revisions of the Ecuadorian Constitution, economics and my visits to Centro Historico and the amazing Basilica there, but in bites.
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