Indigenous Visit

This past Friday, our group took a bus ride to the next town, Cotacachi. This town is known for its leather-making. We walked around the town and saw boots, wallets, jackets, purses, belts, shirts, pants, pencils…you name it, they made it with leather. I ended up buying a leather jacket (unplanned). I love it! However, as I was purchasing my amazing new jacket I asked the storeowner what it was made from; I learned that I had just purchased a baby cow. 

My new Baby Cow.

This weekend we had a cultural experience in a local community called San Clemente. This Indigenous village is one of many that have preserved the culture and lifestyle during the modernization of Ecuador.

While in San Clemente, we had the opportunity to participate in several activities that make up the everyday lives of their people. We first removed corn from the cobs to be ground for flour. We then ground the corn kernels using a stone mortar. It was very difficult! Our guide, Don Juan, told us that in the past if a man were interested in marrying a woman, she would have to come to the family’s house and grind a certain amount of corn within a time limit. If she couldn’t do it, the family did not accept her. I was not very skilled at grinding the corn; I guess I won’t get an Ecuadorian husband. The next morning we had corn tortillas for breakfast made from the corn flour we ground.

Grinding corn into flour by hand...Very difficult!
She already has a husband.

We also were able to see how the Indigenous people plow their fields. They hooked up two cows to the yolk and let us plow as well. I passed on this activity, but my friends said it is much harder than it looks! The plow is very heavy and hard to keep in a straight line. That evening we dressed in the traditional Indigenous clothing and danced to their traditional music. The family has their own band called (NAME) and sells their own CD’s. We had a great evening and enjoyed spending time with the locals. We each stayed with one of the families that evening and had traditional food dishes made by the mothers. It was delicious!

In the morning we had an opportunity to ride an Alpaca! Well, sit on it. He was not very happy with having 15 people try to sit on his back. Alpacas are similar to llamas, however they are smaller than llamas, have a finer coat (hence the popularity of alpaca-made products), and have different feet. The foot of an Alpaca is like a soft pad on the bottom, and has two nails/claws on the front. The soft pads distribute the Alpaca’s weight so that it does not compact the ground and make it hard. This is helpful to farmers because the Alpacas can graze without ruining the fields. The claws help the Alpaca grab the ground for a steady grip, and also helps aerate the fields for the farmers. They are very good for carrying heavy objects, but of course are most known for their coats, which are used to make warm clothing, blankets, and other fabric products.

Feeding a baby Alpaca!

Riding an Alpaca! He was not happy with us.

Before we left, our host mothers gave us each a bracelet made from the colors of the village flag. The colors of the rainbow are used to symbolize the sun, the earth, corn/crops, spirituality, and serenity.

Our host mom for the weekend - Susanna

On Monday, we went to the local weaving town, Peguche. In the shop, we had a Master Weaver show us how wool is turned into useful material for weaving, and how the many colors are made (all from fruits, berries, etc.) The woman who gave us this demonstration is one of only two women Master weavers in the town!

In other news, my family sold all but one of their puppies. I had to say goodbye to my favorite one the other morning:

So sad to say bye to Pablo!

This is our last week in Ecuador! The time went by so quickly. This week we will visit a local weaving town and see how all that Alpaca wool is made into a product. Also, we will finish teaching our lessons, review with our students, and prepare a presentation for their parents. We still have a lot of work to do!



Cafe Rio Intag

On Saturday, we left early in the morning for Intag. Along the way, we stopped at a lookout to see Lago Cuycachi. This lake was orignially thought to be named for the island in the middle shaped like a "Cuy" (ginea pig), however it was later discovered that Quicatchi is an Incan word meaning Lake of the Gods. This lake is too acidic to hold any fish, due to sulfuric vents in the lake floor created by the surrounding volcanoes.

Lago Cuycachi

Later that day, we stopped in the town of Pucara to tour a "permiculture" farm. This way of farming is designed to work with the land to create natural environments for growing crops. For example, the farm is not planted in plots of square land with separated rows like you might see in North America. Instead, they plant many different crops together in groups so that as one dies off another grows in its place. Our tour guide, Pete, is an expert on agriculture and engineering. He developed his farm so that the soil renews itself completely on its own from the way he has planted his crops, instead of needing to add fertilizer and other chemicals. It was very interesting to learn about!

We had to climb through barbed wire on our way
to the farm because Pete forgot his keys!

While on this tour, we had a chance to pick coffee beans, and learn about the process of making and distributing coffee. It is much harder process than I imagined! First, the fruit is picked from the coffee plants, which take about 3 years to grow before they are able to produce fruit. The fruit is then put through a de-pulper to completely extract the bean. These beans are then dried on a rack for about 3 days, and bagged to take to the coffee plant. At the plant, the beans are graded: A = commercial grade (good for exporting), B = local grade (good for local purchase), C = good for use in candy, spices, etc. that use a coffee flavor. They are then separated by size. This way, each bag will be sorted first according to grade, and second according to bean size (ie: A1, A2, A3, B1, B2...) A local farmer can get up to about $200 per 100lb. bag of quality grade coffee beans. As Pete told us, the locals are hoping that this will be presented as an alternative source of income to the government - Ecuador is currently fighting government wishes to build a copper mine in the Intag area. The coffee company we visited, Cafe Rio Intag, is a free-trade company who sells only naturally grown coffee free of chemicals/pesticides. They help employ almost half of the village, and even export to the U.S. to a company called Concious Coffees (based in Colorado). 

To learn more about it or purchase your own coffee, visit the Concious Coffees website!

Picking coffee!

Different colors of coffee fruit.

Graded coffee, bagged for export.

Cabins we stayed in overnight.

Relaxing in a hammock on our porch!

Sunday, we drove back to Otavalo. Along the way, we stopped for a bit to watch a futbol (soccer) game. All of the surrounding teams come to this field in Pucara because they have the nicest grass in the county! We also stopped to hike into a cloud forest. Unfortunately, 5 of us were unable to go on the hike due to stomach issues - something in the food from Saturday made us sick. Two of the girls have intestinal infections. I was one of the lucky ones, and am feeling much better now! 

Cloud forest areas

This week is our 3rd week of teaching! Yesterday, my teaching partner and I did a first aid lesson on how to care for fractures. The kids loved acting out scenarios, like tripping on the stairs or walking into a wall. They learned quickly! 

Perfect first aid!

The actors of our class having fun with the activity.

This weekend we will be traveling to an Indigenous villiage. We will be wearing traditional clothing, learning traditional dances, and staying with Indigenous families! It should be a great experience! 

Happy 4th of July!

It was very strange to be in a different country and have the 4^th of July pass like any other day. Lucky for us, one of the host families remembered our special holiday and threw us a party! We went to the hotel that they own in a neighboring town (Imbara). We had a pool party, “American” music (songs sung in English), hotdogs, beer, and Oreos. I didn’t realize how much I missed hotdogs until I had one last night! The family even put up red white and blue streamers for us; they were very thoughtful. At the end of the night they brought out sparklers and small fireworks. A perfect celebration!

My friend Kelly next to our ´Merica decorations

Day two of teaching was much better than the first! This was the first time I have ever had the opportunity to teach on my own (without a teaching partner or mentor teacher). I was amazed that everything went according to plan. We went over the difference of “I like (something)” vs. “I like to (action),” corrected sentences they wrote last week, then played a soccer review game using these sentences. The kids loved it – several of them were yelling “One more minute!” when I announced that class was over. It was a nice confidence booster to hear that!

    

I like...

The amazing soccer game.

After class today we went to see the Condor House and La Lechero. A Condor is a type of vulture. The Andean Condor is found only in the Andes Mountain regions, and is frequently seen in Ecuador. They were amazing to see up-close (and rather ugly/creepy too). Other birds are also housed there. We saw a gorgeous Bald Eagle, several other hawk-like birds, and many owls.

Condor - it had a huge wingspan! 

This was a really large, funny looking bird
that just had 16 babies!

The House is on top of a small mountain, so the views from the top were amazing. From here, we could easily see the “Heart of Imbabura.” Imbabura and Cotacachi are the two volcanoes surrounding the town of Otavalo (where we are staying).  Imbabura is called the “Father mountain” and Cotacachi the “Mother mountain.” If you look at the picture of Imbabura below, a heart-shaped crater is located toward the right side, facing the direction of Cotacachi. Legend has it that this is Imbabura’s heart, and that the Father mountain is giving his heart to the Mother mountain.

If you look closely you can see the heart shape in the right side.

Me next to the heart!

In the valley between the two volcanoes is a sacred tree named El Lechero. This tree is said to have grown out of the love of the two mountains, and when cut it bleeds milk; hence the name “Lechero.” (Leche = milk. I think that it’s probably just sap…) Many couples have carved their names into the tree trunk, because it is said that this is the tree of true love. 

El Lechero, with Lago San Pablo in the background.

This weekend we are traveling to Intag, where there is a large coffee plantation. There we will have the opportunity to see how coffee is grown and harvested, and taste many varieties. When we come back, week two of teaching commences!

What an adventurous weekend!

On Saturday, we went for a 3 hour long horseback ride through the mountain farms of Otavalo. The views were gorgeous and the ride was fun...and long. Since I have had some riding experience, I was given a horse named Diablo - that translates to Devil in English. Needless to say, he took off on me several times throughout the ride. My legs and back are very sore. 

My "devil" horse.

In addition to the ride, we also hiking Fuya Fuya - a local volcano - on Sunday. The entire trip took about 6 hours (40 minute drive each way to/from the hiking base, 2 hours up, and 2 hours down). It was a very rewarding experience but VERY exhausting! Due to the altitude, we needed to stop about every 10-15 minutes for a breather, and we drank lots of water. When we reached the peak, we were around 12,000 feet above sea level. It was very cold up there! From the top, we were able to see into Columbia when the clouds cleared.We all ended up sliding on our butts most of the way down due to the mud and steepness. However, I was the only person to rip a hole in my pants.

We were eye-level with a cloud at the top! 

Me, at the top of Fuya Fuya! (Pre- ripped pants) 

The University of Otavalo also had a welcoming party for us this Friday. The local people performed some traditional dances, and we had a taste of traditional Ecuadorian foods. We also learned how to Salsa, Mambo, and Samba! I was not very good. 

Traditional dance performed by locals.

After our fun-filled weekend, we have a lot of work to do this week! This is our first week of teaching completely on our own, while being observed by our mentor teacher. We have many lesson plans to write and activities to invent! Today was our first day. It went better than planned and I was not as nervous as I anticipated. However, we did overestime our timing a bit, so we finished our lesson plan about 15 minutes too early! I had a small panic attack, but then we ended up playing a body part game for our students to practice labeling body parts and using First Aid sentences (ie: "Ouch, my arm!" "I know First Aid. Can I help you?") Overall, the lesson went over smoothly and we have several reserve activities and lesson planned for tomorrow!!

First Week in Otavalo

The hot springs at Papallacta were wonderful. The water is heated from the volcanoes surrounding the area, and the people collect the runoff water funneling them into the hotspring baths (more like hot tubs). The tubs are built with volcanic rock. The water and minerals are supposed to be great for your skin. The spa here is famous, so everyone got a massage. I had a very relaxing neck & back massage.

Hot springs at Papallacta

When our bus pulled into the University of Otavalo last Sunday, I started to panic. WHAT did I get myself into? How was I going to survive in a house where nobody speaks English? Well, the first night my shower was cold and I was woken up at 4:00 am by ten barking puppies. Yes, ten. However, they are SO adorable and fun to play with:

My two favorite German Shepherd puppies

My family is very nice - Their names are Julio and Acacia. They have two sons who live in Quito: One of them is a doctor, married, and has one daughter. The other is in law school, and he is taking his LSATs this weekend! 

My host mom is constantly telling me to eat more, and makes me fresh fruit juice from her garden every morning - delicious! My favorite is guanabana. (She taught me how to correctly use the hot water in the shower!) Every night at dinner my host dad makes me get out my Spanish work from class that day, and then quizzes me on the words I wrote next to in English. Yesterday I decided to try not writing anything on my paper in English to see if I would be quizzed on any words...He quizzed me on all of them instead.

  

This is a Guanabana 

My first day of teaching was this week! So far, everything is going well and I love my students. They are very attentive and eager to learn. Sometimes they forget my name so they just call me "Teacher." We are teaching Basic First Aid to our students. The first day, we surprised them with a skit where I had a bloody nose, and my teaching partner had to take care of me. I must say I am a fabulous actress - all the kids were laughing with (at?) me. 

 

So far, I am having a wonderful time here in Ecuador! This weekend we are hiking a local volcano (a 4 hour hike!), going horseback riding, shopping in the market, and planning lessons for next week! We only get internet at the university, so bear with me as I try to keep up with my blog! 

Hasta luego! 

Days in Quito

3 Days in Quito, and I already love Ecuador!


In Quito, we have done a lot of site-seeing. We took a bus tour through Old Town, where we saw all the different styles that have influenced Quito's architecture over the years. 

Spanish colonial influence

French influence

After our drive through Old Town Quito, we went to see the "Casa de Cristal," which was originally built for Rock concerts, due to a lack of venue for people who appreciate this type of music. Now, many cultural events are held here. From there we drove to the top of El Panecillo (little bread) to see the statue of the "Virgen de Quito." This is the only statue in the world that depicts Mary with wings - inspired by the Book of the Apocalypse. From the top of this hill you can see several volcanoes in the distance. The views are amazing! 

Virgen de Quito

View of the Virgen from Casa de Crital

We also took a gondola ride to the top of volcano Pichincha, the namesake of on of the provinces in Quito. The views at night were incredible, and you could really see how big the city is from the span of lights across the valley. The volcano is now inactive.

Quito is 10 miles long, 3 miles wide. This image only shows about
half of the city view from the top of Pichincha.

The food here is delicious! We have tried many fruit juices (my favorite is Guanabana) and traditional dishes. I have not tried Cuy yet (guinea pig) because they serve it whole - the head/body is all intact. I was informed that this is the Ecuadorian way of showing you that you are in fact being served cuy, not some other animal such as a rat. I still think it's gross. I do, however, like many of the other dishes. They serve a lot of plantains and yuca, and also potatoes. My favorite meal so far was "Ceviche de pollo y aguacate" which is a cold meal of chicken and avocado in a citrus/tangy sauce. The avocado here is SO good! It is always fresh. We also had a chance to try different chocolates and cocoa beans. As a chocolate lover, this was one of my favorite activities!  

Ceviche - Que rico!

     

Today we are moving to Papallacta, a natural hot spring and spa resort. This will be our last day before we move on to Otavalo, where I will be meeting my host family and begin teaching! 

En Route

...And we're off!

Leaving a rainy Miami behind, we boarded our Boeing 787 bound for Quito! As I sent final good-bye text messages and turned off my cell phone for a month (the horror!) I finally let it sink in that I was going to Ecuador...I was SO EXCITED!


After food, a movie, and some chatting with a local seated next to us, we began our descent to Quito. As we broke through the clouds, mountain tops came into view. The scenery from the sky was gorgeous. Tips of snow-capped mountains could be seen above the layer of clouds below us. I was shocked at the size of them. 

Gorgeous view from my plane window

Yes, that is a huge mountain at eye level out my plane window...and we were still 20 minutes from landing!
Pretty high up... 

When we landed, one of the program coordinators met us at the airport and took us to the hotel to meet up with the rest of our group. After settling into our rooms, we went to a local restaurant in search of some "Ecuadorian" food which turned out to be the most "American" meal I had all day - beer, chicken sandwiches, and french fries. We're all tired from traveling and can't wait for tomorrow, starting with a tour of Quito!

First night in Ecuador - Cheers!