Mompiche, the beach that make me happy.

This is a shot underneath an amazing Mangrove tree, with all the folks I went to the beach with. This is proof that I've actually made friends in my time here, and all but the insanely blond lady are Ecuadorian.
I loved the calm of Mompiche. Small houses, fishing community, tranquility. More pictures to come via Picasa.

In between a rock and a hard place

This was my view over the weekend, camping in between the mighty Rumiñahui (top) and the powerful Cotopaxi (below). Its a strange feeling to think of yourself as one of the human beings closest to the sun in all the world, but it is true, when you are up in the Andes near the equator. I have spoken of the páramo before and once again I had the pleasure to spend time amongst the strange and diversified plant life up there. Few animals can be found, and it is one place I think plants really have won out over animals.

My halloween was spent crawling through a bat-filled cave

Photos of my last trip can be found here: http://picasaweb.google.com/rebeckyrose/ViajeAlOrienteTripToTheJungle#

Now I can say I have seen the three main ecosystems of Ecuador. I live in the Sierra, I have been to the coast, and I just returned from the jungle, known as El Oriente here.

The trip was a good time, I would have to say the highlight was our Hostería called Hakuna Matata. Amazing food, a huge freshwater pool, secluded jungle chilling...a fully stocked bar didn't hurt either...Otherwise we spent our time tubing down el río Napo, a tributary of the Amazon river, and did a little cave hiking, which involved driving about an hour to a teeny tiny village where seemingly all the family, numbering some 20 people, accompanied our group on the journey. Kids, grandpas, and everyone inbetween was with us in the cave, which took about an hour total to navegate. We had flashlights, and bats flying in our faces most of the time. When we came to the opening which was also a small waterfall, I stood under it and let the chilly water refresh me.

After that excursion we came back to their home and were treated to a traditional meal, which included yucca, palmito (heart of palm I think we call it) fish, and of course some random bugs cooked in a banana leaf. Honestly, they were good.

It was nice to get away and enjoy such a wonderful accomadations, and now here we are on election day...I am planning on heading downtown in a few hours to find a bar that will be playing CNN so I can take part in the festivities (I am an optimist...but we will find out soon enough) On that note, GO OBAMA!

Just like a rolling stone...

10 days is a long time, and I am sorry. Honestly it is probably a sign that I have settled into a routine, doing the day by day university/speaking spanish/hanging out with friends/little bit of traveling here and there thing. My spanish I must say is improving, due to a couple of days where that was all I heard or spoke. 100% immersion is truly the only way to get better.

In other news I have a new photo album up you can visit which is probably about as good an explanation you can get from my last week or so since I've written. Basically a lot of random little excursions or get togethers:

http://picasaweb.google.com/rebeckyrose/SomeRandomMomentsToMarkTheHalfWayPoint#

So let me know what you think, and I promise once I go visit the Amazon this weekend I will have fresh tales and more photos of course.

Shots from up high

The first image is the view of Quito from the Teleferico, which takes you up the mountain Pichincha, the western landmark of the city. The second image is what you can't see from the city, as it is almost always covered by clouds. I climbed almost to the top, but when the trail gave way to craggy loose rocks I called it a day, and got to climb back down in hail.

I was happy for the impromptu climb, as the Teleferico is one of the main tourist draws in Quito. The view is pretty impressive, and once again, being up in the páramo is always a cool experience.

In other news, I went into downtown Quito to an irish pub wednesday night to watch the final presidential debate of Obama and McCain. I was surprised to see the place absolutely packed, full of "gringos" cheering and booing the debate. I have a feeling that election day will be spent with all the ex-patriates in some bar as well...

This weekend's plans are unclear, but if I am lucky it could involve a film or two at this festival that is going on and better yet another go at horseback riding.

Guayaquil..never before and, probably, never again

Here is the link to my photos of Guayaquil, where I spent my last weekend:

Yes, it's been awhile, largely due to my trip to Guayaquil, the most populated city in Ecuador and one of the most important economically. It is a port city on the Pacific coast, and it is truly just a huge sprawl. We were frequently reminded of Chicago during our stay there, even the cities respective flags look strikingly similar. Of course, palm trees and the tropical climate reminded us that we were far from the windy city. However, one must drive at least an hour to reach the first public beach...we spent one day in Salinas, a beach about two hours from Guayaquil but embarrassingly did not even get in the water, as it is apparantly still "winter" there. No sun to speak of, and chilly waters kept us on the sand.

The highlight had to be the wonderful ceviche available to us on the coast. The traditional ceviche of Ecuador is just up my alley-seafood cooked in citrus, then eaten in a broth-like dish that is tangy, spicy (once ahí is added) and full of fresh seafood flavor. For this I was grateful.

More from the front lines later!

Shots of my home away from home, Lumbisí

Last Sunday I walked around my small pueblo and took some photos so better show those at home what my daily surroundings were like. Here is the link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/rebeckyrose/MyHomeInEcuadorLumbis#

To be honest, one of the best things about this experience is my home here, Lumbisí, Ecuador (when saying it, you stress the last syllable like this (lum-bi-SI). I feel that way because I don't think I could have received a more genuine cultural experience. My family knows absolutely no english, so everytime I go home I get to practice my Spanish (ok so the 4 year old Cristina knows numbers and colors in english! I help teach her other words sometimes).

The mother, Clarita is a truly amazing woman and a phenomenal cook to boot. Part of it could be her love of salt, but I know a huge part is the fact that all our vegetables, all our meat is grown, raised, and prepared in my community. From Lamb to chicken, cucumbers to avacados, it is all fresh on the table. Not to mention every morning I get a huge bowl of fresh fruit-papaya, pineapple, canteloupe, banana, etc.

But the cooking isn't all that makes me happy there. Their family is close-knit, always together at night, enjoying each others company, laughing, joking, and they have a alot to be happy about. Espiritu, my host father, is a carpenter with one of the most respected shops in the community as well as being one of the leaders of Lumbisí. Clarita and him have worked hard their whole lives, but have so much to show for it now. 4 kids two of which are already married with children of their own, as well as countless other family members around the town that know and love them. Clarita is 50-something, and her parents are still living, in their 70's and just the other week Clarita joined them to plant, by hand, the corn in their huge field they own. The word retirement does not exist in this culture! All the elderly of the community continue to work until the day they die, sometimes completely unable to stand up straight.

But all in all, I feel much safer here in Lumbisí than in Quito or even Cumbaya, where my university is. The whole community supports each other, I mean they have to by law-it is considered a commune, in which you do not pay taxes to the state, but must commit to communal work for the betterment of the community. The sign I feel most important which I displayed above for emphasis literally says "The land is neither bought, nor sold-it is worked." Their work ethic here is to be admired, and once again after remembering stereotypes in the States about the laziness of such and such culture or even the historical past of bringing down indigenous by saying they are drunk and lazy-well that is just simply not held up here, where essentially everyone in the community wakes up at dawn and works until sundown. And often with a smile and kind word to boot!

Anyway, I am sure I am leaving some things out-like dog warfare and other strange happenings, but time for class!

What was your past life like?

This is the building in which I take my autoconocimiento class (it means self-knowledge and involves a lot of meditation and eastern philosophy). Last Friday, I walked into my class to find a "regression hypnosis" underway. Basically an Ecuadorian student was laying on the floor, blanket up to his chin, while our professor was guiding him through what was apparantly his "past life."

He had begun the hypnosis in the last class, and the guy had begun to explain all the stages of his past life, from early childhood to death. Our class came in near the end of his life, which was one of a campesino (farmer) in some random village in South America. He lived in a house made of mud, by a river and worked his whole life in the fields. By the time he was in his 70s he was very much alone and near the end, which we came to and the kid explained feeling pain throughout his body, trouble breathing, and extreme tiredness. At one point, the kid was able to look at the body as if from the ceiling, and then the professor began to ask him questions about what he learned through this life and such.

I think our class was very split on whether or not to believe this kid. I mean honestly, the life of a campesino is a rather easy one to tell, everyone is familiar with it so it is quite likely he could have invented it. When he "woke up," from his state, he expressed feeling like he was jolted back to the class, and that the previous experience was much more palpable than any dream. He claimed he could smell, hear, feel everything going on around him in his "past life." There was a moral to the hypnosis, because apparantly his past life of solitude and sedation meant that now, in this life, he loves to travel and be social. I really did not know what to think, but afterwards the professor backed it up with several other accounts of regressions that involved all sorts of strange occurances such as an Ecuadorian in a past life dying in clan conflicts in some African tribe in which he could feel the spear piercing his chest which killed him.

I would like to have this tried on me, but what they say is that you must already believe it is possible for it to work. I am so horrible with meditation (honestly I have to lie in my meditation journal!) that I do not know if I could find myself in that deep of a state. However I am open minded and the idea is cool, I just feel like people quite possibly could piece together random things they already know about to invent a past life which makes sense for them.

Ultimately, though, if you believe it, its real for you right?

Mountains, New Constitution, and no beer (OK-still beer)

These are two images of my trip to Riobamba yesterday. When I come home, ask me for the video of these musicians playing, it is truly enjoyable.

Yesterday the vote for the new constitution of Ecuador took place, and in the end, Sí (yes) won with roughly 65% of the vote. This means Ecuador has now on their 21st constitution, and only time can tell if any of the 400 some articles will actually be enforced and change the country for the better. For me, it was an interesting time to compare the differences in election processes of Ecuador and the United States.

For example, There was a law forbidding the vending and consumption of alcohol for three days before and during the vote. Additionally, the vote took place on a Sunday, and was obligatory. You can extrapolate whatever you'd like from these differences, but the funniest manifestation of this was the back to back events of seeing a poor elderly foreigner being rejected at the grocery store while trying to buy bottles of wine, and walking out to the parking lot and viewing some younger fellow stumble out of his car, head into the grocery store with beer in hand, no later than 4pm.

So, yesterday I went to Riobamba, a town about 3 hours south of Quito in the Andes, with a friend who needed to vote in that area. I must say Riobamba is possibly the most beautiful town I have seen since my time here, as the parks, colonial edifices and history are well-kept and rich in history. The experience was complete with a visit to the traditional tortilla joint, in business over 100 years now with the same recipe (a type of corn meal mashed into a ball with a bit of cheese inside-Yum!)

But the best jem of all was the luck we had in being able to see the three main mountains surrounding Riobamba, Chimborazo, El Altar, and Tungurahua completely clear (almost always they obscured by clouds) Chimborazo is in fact the closest point to the sun in the entire world, Altar is the steepest climb in all of the Andes and Tungurahua has been actively destroying villages, roads, and the surrounding countryside since 1999 with its volcanic activity. Coincidentially, I have chosen this mountain as my geology project of choice for this semester. More on what I find out about Tungurahua later.

Unfortunately I have class but my next post will have the attached photoalbum link :)

Yo me llamo la cumbia...

This is my usual view when I am fiddling around online with my laptop at the university. I thought I'd show it so you could get a sense of where I am part of my time here.

Sadly, I don't have any photographs of my dinner last night, although it was defintely worthy of them. My friends and I had just been booted from the university, as it closes at 8 (very different from the 24 hour libraries at U of I!) My compañeros had a long ride ahead of them, as they live in Machachi, a mountain town about an hour away from Quito. We were looking for a "typical" ecuadorian joint when coffee and something called humita, which i think is just corn bread type thing wrapped up in a corn husk. The regular joint was closed, and the only open place fitting our criteria seemed to be this very tiny restaurant feauturing Tamales from Colombia. Without further ado, we stepped inside.

The place was seriously no bigger than a wealthy persons closet, and the older couple that owned the place were crammed in the kitchen the size of a porta potty, with the refrigerator already stuffed in. We came in sort of asked them what type of tamale this was, and order one for each of us with coffee as well. When my friend asked where the ahí was, the woman said, well we don't have it but I can make it right now. This was great news as fresh ahí is about as good as it gets.

While waiting for the tamales to cook, we talked with the man about when they came from Colombia, trips there, climate, etc. At one point the other girl, and ecuadorian, with us was mistaken for a foreigner, likely because she has blond hair. I was assumed to be from the coast, Guayaquil, which I gotta say felt cool. Although I was wearing sandals in about 50 degree weather and had just come back from the beach with a nice tan to boot. The couple had so much energy and good humor, they put on the best of Colombian cumbia and we were all dancing in this tiny little place. The tamales came, and were stuffed with carrots, potatoes and a huge piece of chicken. I enjoyed feeling like a local, at least to some extent, and to be with people who were happy to serve you, joke with you, and tell you about their home. And plus for three meals and coffee, it was a whopping $5!

More this week about the nationwide drinking ban that takes place starting Friday at noon that goes until Monday due to the vote on the new constitution...better stock up now...:)

Yo amo la playa

Atacames at sunset, the beach where I spent my last weekend.

The ocean is a powerful thing, and I enjoyed myself immensely. For some more photos check out my newest web album at: http://picasaweb.google.com/rebeckyrose/FirstBeachVisit

Some of the highlights were:
-Going during the off-season, apparantly Atacames is overcrowded and dirty during the Nov-Feb peak.
-staying in the apartment of our resident director, as it only cost us 10 dollars each for two nights
-Ceviche! Fish cooked in lime/lemon juice, it is a staple of the coast and you can get everything from shrimp, mussels, crab, squid and octopus in this delicious soup-like dish.
-Cloudly, no rain, and being on the equator that means you still get a great tan.
-we got to see whales! They are huge!
-After many weeks of being here, I don't think I had the opportunity yet to get my muscles stretched out via swimming. This was a great chance to swim up and down the semi-calm waters, and also enjoy boogy-boarding

All in all, I am making it a priority to visit each and every beach possible along the Ecuadorian coast during my next three months. Some beaches have great surfing, others are more for relaxing, but I will want to definitely soak it up...

As for what I am up to now, I am into my second month here, enjoying school as it isn't too demanding, but sort of playing things by ear waiting for the next trip to happen. I hope to have some more interesting and witty stories coming up, sometimes that creative spark lies low in me...

Last shots from Otavalo...Vamos a la playa!

Don't be scared, the colorful person in the first shot is the same and the guy sitting next to me in the lower image. Patrick put on the Aya Huma mask for a little photo shoot during our trip to Otavalo. The Aya Huma masks has two faces, one angry and one happy (although its hard to say which is which) It is a popular item at the Otavalo markets, and people use the mask in their traditional dances and ceremonies.

The small bowl Patrick has his hand in at the table is a typical starting course called "tostadas" or basically toasted corn kernals. They are especially yummy when doused with salt and a bit of ahí, the traditional hot sauce.

I regret not bringing my camera with me today, as I wanted to take some shots around my home in Lumbisí, but I promise I will make it more of a habit starting next week. However, this weekend a trip to the beach is planned, and I have to say I am very excited. I imagine there will be quite a lot of take pictures of, so expect a picture-heavy post on Monday with some good beach stories.

Oh what I would give, to sail across the seas...

Lago Cuicocha...it is possible to hike around the tippy-top of the surrounding mountains, a venture that takes around 4 or 5 hours to complete, if you are up for the steep challenge.

My group made it only a fraction of the way, up to a high lookout point that gave a good view of not only the lake, but the valley behind it. While hanging out, taking pictures up there, I sat down next to an elderly couple snacking on avacados and rice. Somehow, a discussion was sparked where I was translating what our guide (that cool youngin whos picture is in the most recent album) was describing about the hike around the lake. The woman apparantly knew some spanish, the man obviously none. After the facts were out, we set into a conversation in English about our respective reasons for being on the top of this hill looking out over this lake. Mine, you all already know, theirs on the other hand is possibly a bit more interesting anyway.

It seems they are an older married couple, with grown children who some years ago decided to take up sailing. First a hobby, it is now there life as they seem to be on some around-the-world adventure. They began in Washington, sailed down to Panama, and are now docked off the Ecuadorian coast somewhere in the north. They seemed to have no rigid plan, telling me that "oh we might go up to Costa Rica for a while, but we can only stay there three months..."

A few of my friends heard the conversation, and after a short while we had to trudge on to our next stop, and said goodbye to our new friends, with me of course saying "Happy sailing," in my usual cliché manner...Beginning our descent all my friends commented on how the life of the sailing couple was one desired most. We all seemed to have this desire to 1, have the freedom to travel wherever and however we pleased, and 2, have someone to do it with. I suppose the fact that we met them on the top of this peak, overlooking a lake named after the gods, in the middle of the world, made our short exchange more memorable and fascinating. Meeting people who are actually "living the dream" makes life a bit more richer, a bit more unpredictable...you think to yourself.."ok anything is possible." As for me I once had a dream of sailing around the world, and I guess as with most responsible people, you get busy working, studying and the like and sort of forget...As for myself and my friends, we have quite a bit of time to plan, save, and get ready for whatever journey our lives takes us on, and that in itself is a comforting thought. Or hell, just have fun with what you are doing now, and make that an adventure!

In a perfect world, there would be no Wal-Marts, just Otavalos...

Here I am, helping (or hurting, who knows) the weaving process at this indigenous house. For all you bike freaks, I thought you would appreciate that the wheel is used ubiquitously as tool of choice for their weaving. Pretty cool, eh?

All the forthcoming stories are more or less documented in this photo album: http://picasaweb.google.com/rebeckyrose/OtavaloAndItsEnvirons

Bargaining is essential to one's experience at the Otavalo markets. Without this tool, you will pay twice as much as you would otherwise, and probably just not have as much fun. The vendors love to go back and forth with you, selling their product, joking, and complimenting you in some way. For all of you who will be receiving gifts when I return, they were haggled over and fought for.

Ok so Otavalo is sooo large that with two hours to shop, we only made it to (I think) less than half the market. It goes on, and on, and on...etc. Unfortunately, I was dumb and didn't bring my camera for fear of robbery. But, I found so many amazing picture-worthy things that when I come back (yes I plan on going back for another dent in my savings) I will have my camera, safely in hand, to capture some of the market ambiance.

Other than a shopping spree, we stayed in an indigenous pueblo that is called Peguche, after a waterfall nearby. Sadly, I was rather under the weather and was not able to make it on this little hike, but my friends all jumped in the frigid waters and had to wear their pajamas the rest of the trip, so I guess everything has its pros and cons.

Sunday morning we visited a home of indigenous weavers, as well as a place where indigenous instruments are made. Both were wonderful homes with wonderful people, and I loved listening to the talents of the beautiful women who made some type of flute in less than 5 minutes, and proceeded to play a beautiful song from it.

Afterwards we went to Lago Cuicocha, Kichwa for "Lake of the Gods." It rests on the top of a volcano, and the two islands in the middle of the lake are rather famous. Another round of delicious food, and our last stop was the town of Cotocachi, known for its leather stores. Leather World, Leather Palace, Leather Mart, so on and so forth.

It was another weekend excursion enjoyed by all, but I must say the trip to the Hacienda still ranks number 1. Our next group trip is to the tropical rainforest in November, but between then and now I have mountaineering excursions, tentative beach plans, and who knows what else. Look for a post soon, when that spark of creativity is bright, or something really cool happens. Peace and love!

Grafitti, games, and great fun

Yesterday in my spanish conversation class, I did a report of grafitti as a form of popular expression. The spray-painted image of the tree that appeared in one of my earlier posts I used as an example of grafitti with a social message. This image above was taken in my indigenous village Lumbisí, and is a good example of the diffusion of Hip-Hop culture throughout the world. Sadly most of the "grafitti" one finds on the streets in Ecuador is quite ugly. Simple scrawls about Correa, random offensive comments, or really just scribbles of nothing. This above, however, I feel is worthy of permanence...I don't know how long it has been up but I have a feeling no one in Lumbisí has the time or the desire to remove it from the broken down building it calls home. In this instance, I believe grafitti is art and brightens up the concrete jungle that is so ubiquitous here.

In other news, Ecuador tied Uruguay in a thrilling game yesterday afternoon. Sadly it was just for rankings, so we had to be content with the tie. Ecuador couldn't beat Uruguay's defense, and Uruguay simply had no offense. Perfect recipe for a draw. Because our classes didn't get out until after the game began, we opted to stay in Cumbaya rather than journey into Quito. It was enjoyable nonetheless, many students decked out in the yellow Ecuador jersey, cheering and getting quite emotional. Sadly the next qualifier is not until October, I believe against Chile...Until then, we wait...and maybe play a game ourselves?

New photo album

http://picasaweb.google.com/rebeckyrose/BirthdayCelebrationsAndTripToMindo

Here is the link to my newest photo album, it has all of last weeks festivities as well as my trip to Mindo which I told you about in my post earlier today. Enjoy, and look for more soon!

They call it lindo Mindo

The Lumbisí carrier bike, used for carting around food/drink stands. Sorry I am in the way! However this style, with the two front wheels is quite common here in Quito, but I paticularly like the rich blues and greens on this one.

Another monday morning, I am posting this with my trusty caffe Americano by my side. Mindo, the town I spent Saturday night in, was a very enjoyable time. Our hostel was beautiful, clean and had a jacuzzi in a cave like thing to boot. Mindo reminds me quite a bit of Costa Rica, it was a tropical rain forest climate, and had tourist activities like zip lines, 4-wheeling, and tubing. We did none of those things, but instead chose a wonderful trail that took you to about 7 waterfalls, some big enough to swim in the frigid river.

As soon as we arrived (it was only about an hour and a half from Quito) we realized they, like so many other towns in Ecuador, were in the throes of another festival. Smaller than Lumbisí's four-day extravaganza, Mindo's was modest but enjoyable nonetheless. Quite a few locals celebrating, mixed in with the random tourists from all over the world. I enjoyed the small-town feel, and my group and I just hopped from little bar to little restaurant, enjoying the local food and drink while getting into heated discussions on politics and very rich archaeological conversations. Our favorite place might have been the Kissama Kafe, a small joint honoring the Kissama national park in, of all places, Angola, Africa. The pizza there was amazing :)

Later today, with a stronger internet connection I will download a photo album of not only adventures in Mindo, but a birthday celebration last Friday in which I ate massive amounts of sushi. Mmm...

20 years of USFQ...and they love rock and roll

If you look in the back left, you can see the tents set up where the fiesta went down today.

Today, more or less unannounced, classes ended abruptly at noon to celebrate the 20th anniversary of la Universidad de San Francisco de Quito. A band set up, food and drinks all in an outside patio. The professors wasted no time in getting drinks in their hands, and boogeying on the dance floor. The band, in what I see as a continuing trend here, played all the classics. No, not La Bamba and Girl from Impanena, but I love Rock 'n Roll, and I Can't Get no Satisfaction. I hear these songs everywhere! Oh yeah they love Jim Morrison too, and never miss a chance to sing "Love me Two Times." Anyway its good to attend such a laid-back university, everyone likes having a good time, and are very nice people. So far the homework load has been rather light, and I have been lucky enough to have some readings in English, due to the inevitable fact that most scholarly work is done in my mother tongue.

The highlight of my day, however, was showing up to my autoconocimiento class with Akira Kurosawa's film Dreams playing. This film I must say is one of my favorites of all time (you can check it out at Rentertainment! if you'd like) and as we only made it through the first four dreams, I am interested to find out what connection exists between this film and our class which is based on self-knowledge and meditation. I can only guess now, but most of what I see is the strong elements of Japanese values showing through the various dreams, which none of the students really possess as they are all Ecuadorian. Anyway I was enthused and look forward to a discussion on the film, possibly on Monday. I don't look forward to documenting each time I meditate in our special journal (which is supposed to be three times a day according to our teacher!) Ay!

Tonight is sushi (Yum!) and then a weekend trip to Mindo, which I know nothing about so I will have to fill y'all in on the details (with pictures of course) on Monday. Peace and love!

One last bureaucratic grasp before freedom!

Mis amigos on the big 'ol volcano rock, in the páramo before climbing the volcano Sincholagua.


So, I am about to venture into Quito (and yes, between village life in Lumbisí and bourgeois Cumbaya, going to Quito is indeed a big to-do) for another round of paperwork, standing in line, card obtaining madness. I have been told this will be the last of it, but we will just have to see. I will be getting my CENSO card, a sort of green-card for extended-stay foreigners. Apparantly we can get into national parks, events and the like at local price as opposed to the general trend of charging actual vacationers double or triple entry fees for things. Anywho, I look forward to focusing on other, less annoying things.

On another note, my schedule is falling into place perfectly. In the morning before class I go to a café with wireless and about as close to real coffee as you can get. One thing I have been surprised about is the lack of actual brewed coffee here. If you are to find it at all, it will be the instant variety in the supermarket, or variations of espresso. Ah well... Anyway this place, Cactus, plays Bob Marley every morning, which I suppose is not a bad way to start off the day. If you make it there for lunch or a beer in the afternoon, you will without a doubt here Rolling Stones' album Some Girls. Why they choose that album is a mystery, someone behind the scenes must have good taste (as it is the only Stones album save Exile on Main St. worth anything at all in my opinion).

In general globalization's effects on countries like Ecuador are shown in myriad ways. For is example, why are there scores of Kentucky Fried Chickens here, and not a single Arbys, Burger King, or Subway? I am sure that when my four months here come to a conclusion, I will have a whole notebook full of musings on how crazy this world is. Connected, changed, and forever different because of things like internet, mass communication and international business.

Tomorrow I get my first taste of sushi as my group is going out to celebrate a friend's birthday. Sushi is in fact my favorite food, and lucky me because not only are there two sushi joints in Cumbaya, there is another place in my university I have yet to attend. I was saving it for a special day, you know, when I like, really deserve it :)

The páramo ain't no place for sissies

Just a sample from the full photo album at: http://picasaweb.google.com/rebeckyrose

Back at the university, for a full week of classes. Last weekend up in the mountains (I mean, I already live some 10,000 feet up, but this was even higher), was a truly enjoyable experience.

As with most future plans in Ecuador, no one in our group really knew what to expect. We had been given a brief e-mail instructing us to bring warm clothes, sunscreen, and hiking boots. That was in fact the best advice we could have hoped for, because it was incredibly cold at times, yet the sun, being closer to us than any other humans on the planet, was incredibly strong. And hiking we did, up and down the páramo.

The páramo is an ecosystem that lies up in the Andes. Water is collected in massive quantities, and apparantly the Amazon is nourished by this collection, as it flows downward. Because of this, farming, development, etc that takes place way up high could drastically effect the Amazon if taken too far. Thick, tall grasses abound up there, and volcanic rock is strewn everywhere from the 15 volcanos in the surrounding areas. Not as eerie as the desert, but not an entirely welcoming place either. Beautiful though, especially when the clouds clear and the massive mountain peaks can be seen on all sides.

Much bushwhacking was done Sunday, yes literally, because there were no trails to speak of and our guide, the owner of the Hacienda, was one of those slightly wacky guys with a lot of zest for life and taking us into thick underbrush with no real plan ("How about a little adventure?" he would say, and off we went).

In addition to the fun, yet tiring, hike Sunday, we had the pleasure of eating delicious food, with cheese at every meal, as it was a cheese making place. The family who ran the Hacienda was very interested in the "mestizo" theme, incorporating traditional Spanish and Incan dishes together, as well as cultural traditions from both sides. I enjoyed this multi-cultural celebration, in fact the name of the Hacienda, "El Sinche" is a Kichwa word meaning "strong, valorous, brave."

And then there was horseback riding! I must say, it was the first legitimate horseriding I believe I've ever done (pony rides 15+ years ago in Oklahoma hardly count). And, I loved it. I rode three different horses in our couple of hours there, which was great because I was able to feel out how each horse acts completely different, not to mention being quite different sizes. We stayed in an enclosed area, so there was no galloping through the countryside, but many of us have plans to return to this Hacienda and maybe I will have my chance yet.

Basically I was pleased with this trip because although the Hacienda is just getting its start at a place for tourists to stay and enjoy their time (apparantly we were the first group for an overnight) their mentality of sustainable tourism, organic farming and cheese making, and general love of life goes hand in hand with how i think the world should be. I know these movements are beginning to take shape in the states, but it is even more uplifting for me to see it enacted in other countries.

A long post indeed, I chuckle because I told so many people before I left that my blog would be "picture heavy" Well, photography is not my forté, so a little mix will have to do. More from the equator soon!

commentary on television in Ecuador/my schedule

Some of the better graffiti I've seen around. Mostly you find text related to Rafeal Correa being some kind of dictator, or father of the country, or leader of Farc, or wonderful leader, etc.

So, every night when my host family and I sit down to dinner, if Braulio the 13 host brother of mine is home, the TV will be on. They only have a few channels that don't always work great, but you can count on one of a few shows to be on.

There is the Simpsons, dubbed into Spanish, and usually the humor is lost on me, without the real voices simpsons just ain't the same.

There is the news, which is a mish mash hodge podge of everything under the sun, although the majority lately is related to the upcoming vote on the new constitution. Correa in Guayaquil, Correa with the miners, Correa in Quito, etc. His adversaries will be reported on and various events related to Chavez. The rest of the news ends up beingsub-par reporting on this or that natural disaster, the olympics (an ecuadorian won the silver medal in speedwalking, and that was much talked about), or the US presidential race.

Then, the favorite, the telenovelas. The most popular one (at least the one watched most frequently) is called Cómplices (accomplices?) and is made in Colombia. I wonder how all characters in the show, being as wealthy and outrageous as they are, survive with the Farc around. I've heard they just get carted around everywhere with military personnel. Hmm...

without a doubt, my favorite title of a telenovela translates into "Without tits, there is no paradise." Unfortunately it is the story of a girl caught up in the drug trade to raise money for breast implants. I really have not seen a respectable female character on any of these shows, they are either overly emotional, completely idiotic, or vicious back stabbers. Ah well...

On another note, I think (hope, pray) my schedule is finally fixed. all my classes take place mon-wed-fri, which frees me up to volunteer in Lumbisí on Tuesdays and do homework thursdays. But on my class days I have: Meditation (also known as self-knowledge) at 9, history of Latin American Republics at 10, Anthropology of Religion at 12, geology/arqueaology at 1, and advanced spanish conversation at 2 30. Hope it all comes through, the only class still in question is the geo/arqu. mix in which I am the only student registered! I am a nerd indeed...no one seems to have the passion for rocks and ancient cultures garbage that I do...Hmm...

My next post will be Monday, with probably a photo album and many stories to boot. Until then all y'all in the states enjoy your Labor day now ya hear? :)

Comida, comida, comida

Just another beautiful nature scene from the botanical garden. After our excursion to the Hacienda on Cotopaxi this weekend, I will have many more photos to show. Not much to report, another day of fiddling around with my schedule and trying out the many places to eat in the university.

Today we went to the Italian trattoria, and the food was quite rich, and quite good. On the expensive side, however, we had to pay a full 6 dollars for a meal! usually a lunch here is anywhere from 1.50 to 4 dollars, and whenever it seems to be more my friends start complaining about price! I just remember working at Luna downtown champaign and the cheapest lunch possible was starting at 7 dollars, and that was a grilled cheese!

In terms of food, I have to say my favorite so far has been the salads. My host family always has organic, freshly picked cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce, and the dressing is always lime and salt. The lime comes from their bush outside the house. Everyone has a lime tree in their yard! If all I could eat was salad, I would. Speaking of salt, most of you who know may know of my addiction to it, but I tell you I fit in perfectly here, sometimes my family puts TOO much salt, even for me, on their dishes. Wow.

This might be all for now, I have all my classes tomorrow so I will have a good sense of whats in store for the semester.

Peace and love!

Students are here, classes underway, pictures finally uploaded

Mid-way through first day of classes. True, I have only been to one but it will honestly be about a week until I think things will be set in stone with my schedule. I am working on a nice balanced schedule, but not too easy, this is my time to totally immerse myself in my studies now that I dont have all my wonderful, but distracting habits from home.

I wanted to blog today to give everyone looking at this the link to my picasa web album site because I put about 20 pictures up from the first week. They are different than the ones already up here so give them a looksy. I promise to continue posting more and more, but those are the best so far. here is the link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/rebeckyrose/FirstWeekInQuitoEcuador

enjoy and I love hearing comments from everyone, thank you for that. It is great to feel connected to home and hear from all the ones that I love up there. I keep you all with me in my travels, so know that.

More later, there is a trip my group is taking this weekend to some Hacienda (basically a huge house) next to Cotopaxi, the volcano outside of Quito. I am not sure what all is involved, but I heard something about cheese....

Pictures, finally!

Here are a few good shots of the first week.

I am dressed in indigenous clothes in the first picture. I was part of a dance group that numbered 18 people in total, mostly students at the university like me, but some volunteers and some actual local ecuadorians. We just found out that out of all the dance groups, numbering more than 15, we were the group that won the first prize trophy. We all couldn't believe it, and weren't even sure who voted and under what premises, but we thought it was great nonetheless.

The second picture above is a typical firework from the Lumbisi festival. These different animals would be lit, begin to give off their different sparks and someone would pick them up, run into massive crowds with the thing spewing fireworks everywhere. This could last for several minutes and was funny if you had enough distance.

The final picture is taken in the historical center of Quito, and the massive statue on the top of the mountain is called El Panecillo, the guardian angel of Quito. The picture really doesn't do it justice, but it is nice to see the bright colonial style of the buildings below. We went to two amazing Baroque style churchs in the same historic center, one of them was just entirely gold on the inside. Wow. Sorry, no photos allowed in there.

Classes start tomorrow, my first one will be a meditation class. I will report later tomorrow on my first day, which we have already been warned can be chaotic ("some teachers dont show up, others late, others in different rooms...good luck"-from my wonderful resident director Maria Teresa)

Festivals of Lumbisi

There is still one more day to go on the Festivals of San Bartolome in Lumbisi, celebrating their 473 anniversary. These past four days, my quiet little pueblo has been turned into a veritable free-for-all. Fireworks, strange drinks, dancing, bands, clowns, banditos, everyone just seems to party and party forever.

It is a truly traditional time, with foods such as Guinea pig, which I tried last night and drinks made of sugar cane and cinnamon called Chicha. There are all kinds of different native peoples in their traditional dress, some selling their goods, some dancing in the festivals, others just enjoying themselves.

Ay! Ecuador does present confusion, however. Nothing really happens as planned, so it is necessary to learn to improvise and to go with the flow. For example I have just tried to upload a photo album onto facebook, and after an hour of waiting, the upload "failed." Getting a cell phone was tough but I have one now which is great and cheap to call the other international kids who are living here and going to school with me.

My brain is feeling a little confused with what I have already said, what I have left out and what is yet to come. Classes start wednesday, and I will be very happy to get into a routine. I promise to get some pictures up when I get the wireless code for my school. Much love to all!

Ay! What a week!

Ok ok, This first week is definitely unusual in terms of how much I will blog. The pueblo I live in has no wireless, and only two spots for internet. However, next week I will begin classes at my university and there is indeed wireless there. So, starting monday I can upload pictures (I arlready have over a hundred) and blog much more frequently.

Things have been overwhelming, beautiful, really cool, and fun so far. Right now there is a huge 4 day festival going on in my town celebrating the 473 anniversary of Lumbisí, my pueblo. From killing and cooking over 300 chickens, to massive amounts of fireworks, to the traditional dance that my group of university students somehow ended up taking part in, it is a crazy time here. Rafael Correa, the president of the country of Ecuador just finished speaking in the stadium in Lumbisí. One thing I did not realize was how politically charged this semester is going to be in this country. Correa re wrote the constitution, and there will be a vote from the public at the end of September. Things are heating up, because the constitution has a strong socialist bent, very anti-foreign countries (mainly US). Some things that would change would be:
-legalizing abortion in some cases
-expulsion of all foreign military bases
-shutting down all private schools (including the university I will be attending, one which Correa himself was educated and taught at)
-and other things I need to learn about myself

Basically, the opposition is a mix of Catholic priest and students from the private catholic university. They disagree with Correa for obvious reasons. I will of course keep you all posted on this situation. Another thing is that voting is compulsory here, so everyone must vote! Makes things a bit more interesting than the States, eh?

In the following posts, I will talk about my family and volunteer work because I will show you pictures. For now, know I am safe and happy, but only a week here and I realize how important my own family and friends are to me. I really want to begin classes, to learn, to stay busy, and get moving with the semester. More on Monday, te prometo (I promise you)

Ciao!

I wish I could plan and pack forever...and ever...and ever...

I promise to not tell lies in the titles of my posts, but sometimes one might find them there for an added sense of irony.

In general, one of my strengths is organizing. Whether in the form of activism, hosting social functions, or listmaking, I not only organize well, I get quite a bit of pleasure out of it (a pleasure I know many women share with me...to cross something off a list is wonderful). However, the planning that goes into successfully getting on a plane to Ecuador this Sunday, and subsequently surviving/enjoying my nine months there has grown old. The only way to push on through is to do things one bit at a time. Most of you know this by now, the one-thing-at-a-time nugget of wisdom. It works.

Basically I look forward to a few weeks from now when I can get over the whole moving to another continent and can return to my super-organizing skills that bring me joy rather than grief. Maybe I will post photos of every single list I make, in their stages of crossed off succession. Another lie. I would never do that to you. The pictures will be thrilling.

After Half Dome, its all downhill :)

Myself in Yosemite, July 2007. This is my test post before I depart. Scaling Half Dome last summer is what will get me to the top of many a mountain in South America in the coming months. Once I was terribly afraid of heights, but Half Dome finally broke me of my fear. It is just about having control, and a sense of calm.