So today's entry is going to be about Globalization. Why? Because it can be.
What is Globalization? Some say it's a recent phenomenon that consists of the spread of information and technology throughout the world, along with liberal democracy and liberal economics. Other's say it's the continuation of a preexisting phenomenon in which liberal politics is spreading across the world. But most importantly it's the spread of liberal everything throughout the world. Whether it's new or old doesn't matter.
Why am I talking about Globalization in this entry? Firstly, because I'm taking a class on it. Secondly, it keeps cropping up in everything I do. Thirdly, I wouldn't be in Ecuador without it. Fourthly, I wouldn't be talking to you all without it. Fifthy, I have a love-hate relationships with it.
Why do I love and hate Globalization? Well, the internet and technology exist in wonderful Ecuador because of it. But, liberal economics are killing thousands. I can keep in touch with the friends I've made here without much trouble. But, my friend Jorge's mom can't make ends-meet because of Globalization.
I had a debate with Jorge about Globalization the other day, and he actually really surprised me. He, personally, loves Globalization. His major is computer engineering, or something, so I guess that makes sense. But his mom's a farmer. As a farmer, she is doing a lot of manual labor. And her goods can't compete on this global market we live in. His family is poor. His dad is blind and doesn't work. His mother is old and has trouble working. But Jorge, the jewel of his family, is the only one to get an education, and he probably sees Globalization as hope. Hope for him, hope for his future, hope for making his life and that of his family a better place.
Meanwhile, he turns to me and says, "What do you think of Globalization? Do you like it?" And I'm sitting there thinking to myself, "How can you love it so much?" I told him that there are good things about Globalization, but I think the downfalls of it are much worse. I told him that in Globalization, there are always people who win, and always people who lose, and that I don't think that's fair. We got cut short because we both had class, but it was interesting. Only when thinking about it afterwards did I realize that for me, who's well off and lives a very comfortable life in the U.S., for me, who's one of the winners of the Globalization game, I can take the opportunity to think about it and realize the problems with the system. For Jorge, who comes from a family that has lost the Globalization game, he sees it as his chance. To put it simply, it's almost like Globalization has spread the American dream all over the world.
But it makes me so sad, because for so many that dream is a nightmare. For Jorge, who is working harder than anyone I know to make his life better, it's a dream, and one he can achieve. But he's lucky. He was lucky to be born smart and ambitions. He was lucky in that he has the grades to go to the top college in Ecuador completely on scholarship. He was lucky. And Maybe Globalization will let him win. That's the way it should be. And maybe I can help him, teach him English. Help him get there. He amazes me. I'm here to have fun. The classes seem easy. For him, he's here to make his life so much better. It makes me feel like there has to be something I can do. Something to help.
Least of all, I suppose, I can just tell his story. I want to make a documentary about him. And all the other indigenous students who go here, and come from that losing side. To see them through my lens...and show who they are, what they're here for.
Anyway, that's why we're talking about Globalization. Because we need to get it, and we need to help. We're the winners. I bet everyone who's reading this is. And what did we do to get there? What have we done? We need to ask ourselves, do we deserve it? And if not, let's work for it. We're lucky. But we should be making a difference with the opportunity we were given.
And that's it. All I wanted to say. I wanted to talk about how we watched Fog of War last night for Globalization class, and I wanted to say how much it made me want to make a documentary. But for some reason, all this was much more important to say.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Viaje a Esmereldas, Part 1
Hola a todos!
This weekend, we went on our second Kalamazoo-sponsored trip to Esmereldas--a province in the north of Ecuador. The story is that during the slave trade, a trip carrying a number of soon-to-be slaves from Africa sunk the shore of Ecuador. The Africans that survived created a community in Esmereledas. It is known for this, and more recently, for the large number of futbol players the province has produced. Anyway, we were to take a trip there to see how the people lived, as well as see the ecosystem of the coast of Ecuador.
First and foremost, I must say that it is quite a long trip. We boarded the bus bright and early on Friday at 7:00AM. It was a vacation day, celebrating the independence of Guayaquil, a city in the south of Ecuador, so we didn't have class. We were on the bus for something like eight or nine hours, with only a break for lunch. As we inched closer and closer to Esmereldas, you could literally feel the change in the air. We went from high altitude, almost 10,000ft to sea level. One of the wonderful things about Quito is that it's easy to forget you're on the equator because it's not that hot here. We're high enough up that the weather stays around 60s or 70s. But the coast--you do know you're on the equator. About halfway through the trip, the bus got really hot and the air felt really thick--not only because of the humidity, but also because there is literally more oxygen in the air lower down. You could really feel the difference.
Anyway, about halfway through, we stopped for lunch. All of us were exhausted, and a lot of the K students had gone partying the night before, so almost everyone slept the whole way (except for me and Phoung, who both listened to music and just stared out the window...I hate sleeping on buses). When everyone woke up for lunch, we were pretty much starving. At lunch, though we were at what was probably a superb seafood restaurant (oh coast! How I wish chicken was from the sea!) I didn't eat any meat. In case anyone was curious, I've pretty much gone completely vegetarian here. Which is sorta too bad. But I've always had trouble eating meat. And most of the meat here, I've found, is very fatty or seafood. So I basically am vegetarian. I'm probably eating healthier than every before. But anyway, the exciting thing from lunch is that Matt convinced me to try some of his mystery meat. We'd determined earlier that it had to have been some sort of intestine. He said, "You have to try it just to say you tried it." And that was enough to convince me. I tried it. It wasn't very good, but it had a hot-dogish taste. Which I guess makes a boatload of sense.
Anyway, then we were back on the road. I actually have always loved bus rides. They give you the chance to zone out and think. Also, looking at it from a writer's point of view, you get these incredible glimpses into the lives of strangers when you're driving through their town. You see people cutting at fields with machetes. You see old, fat men lounging in a chair in a cafe. You see little children racing one another, or playing futbol. It's incredible. There's so much there that you can pull from. There's so much there that you wouldn't see otherwise. I love it.
We finally arrived in Esmereldas around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. We were supposed to get their earlier. But apparently traffic was really bad. After a series of breaks at gas stations to "hacer pee pee" as they say here (literally translated, that means to do/make pee pee, by the way), and our hour long stop for lunch, we were pretty exhausted. We get off the bus, and our tour guide (Sharon, a nice Ecuadorian woman who brought her daughter Tania with her on our trip) told us to get our stuff ready, but leave it on the bus. We were going to take pick-ups to the reserve. So we waited for a sec, and then her come these two trucks. And we all hop in.
I was sitting in the front seat of one, next to Andres, the man who ran the reserve we were going to. First thing he did when I sat down was come around to my side of the car and set a cardboard box on my lap. A cardboard box that was chirping. Sure enough, I was holding a cardboard box full of live chicks! Imagine my delight! I was cooing over how cute they were, and Andres got into his seat, turns to me and goes, "Comida." ("Food.") I was so sad for the chicks! I was like "No! Not Comida!" And Andres said, "Well, in a few months!" Oh jeeze. Reason I'm now a vegetarian number 1 and 2.
So, we rode down this incredibly bumpy, muddy road, the chicks chirping the whole way, and Andres chattering on in Spanish, asking us questions, before we pulled into the driveway of Reserva Biomarina Jantu Sancha. There are these reserves all over Ecuador, mostly on privately owned land. It was kind of like going to camp. Andres showed us to our rooms, and we all explored the reserve a little. We had bunk beds in secure rooms (coastal regions are malarial regions) and our own bathrooms that looked a little grungy. The air was think and moist, and we were all set to head out to wherever we were going next. Our stuff arrived soon after us (it came separately in its own, chicken-less truck) and we unpacked a little and hung out before our first meeting.
We soon learned that everything we'd had planned for that evening had been canceled because we arrived so late, so instead we all DEET-ed up and sat around until dinner. That was the time in which we just admired how quiet it was and how wonderful it was to just get out of the city. The reserve had three dogs, a variety of chickens, and a pig. We just sort of hang out and pet the dogs, and chatted. Me, Michelle, Elana, and Lauren decided to take a walk out around the reserve, and so we took off with our flashlights down this little path. It was really nice. Muddy, but nice.
Dinner was good. Fish, of course. I avoided it like the plague, but ate everything esle. We ate by candle light--apparently the lights go out every night for a while. And then we decided we were tired enough to go to sleep. We had to be up really early the next morning, so we all retired to our rooms. It took us a while to settle in, and people took turns taking showers. I shared my room with Lauren, Phuong, and Melissa. We were all just so happy to have beds (no matter how uncomfortable they were) and preapred ourselves for the next morning. End of Day 1.
I think that's all for now. More tomorrow when I have more time!
This weekend, we went on our second Kalamazoo-sponsored trip to Esmereldas--a province in the north of Ecuador. The story is that during the slave trade, a trip carrying a number of soon-to-be slaves from Africa sunk the shore of Ecuador. The Africans that survived created a community in Esmereledas. It is known for this, and more recently, for the large number of futbol players the province has produced. Anyway, we were to take a trip there to see how the people lived, as well as see the ecosystem of the coast of Ecuador.
First and foremost, I must say that it is quite a long trip. We boarded the bus bright and early on Friday at 7:00AM. It was a vacation day, celebrating the independence of Guayaquil, a city in the south of Ecuador, so we didn't have class. We were on the bus for something like eight or nine hours, with only a break for lunch. As we inched closer and closer to Esmereldas, you could literally feel the change in the air. We went from high altitude, almost 10,000ft to sea level. One of the wonderful things about Quito is that it's easy to forget you're on the equator because it's not that hot here. We're high enough up that the weather stays around 60s or 70s. But the coast--you do know you're on the equator. About halfway through the trip, the bus got really hot and the air felt really thick--not only because of the humidity, but also because there is literally more oxygen in the air lower down. You could really feel the difference.
Anyway, about halfway through, we stopped for lunch. All of us were exhausted, and a lot of the K students had gone partying the night before, so almost everyone slept the whole way (except for me and Phoung, who both listened to music and just stared out the window...I hate sleeping on buses). When everyone woke up for lunch, we were pretty much starving. At lunch, though we were at what was probably a superb seafood restaurant (oh coast! How I wish chicken was from the sea!) I didn't eat any meat. In case anyone was curious, I've pretty much gone completely vegetarian here. Which is sorta too bad. But I've always had trouble eating meat. And most of the meat here, I've found, is very fatty or seafood. So I basically am vegetarian. I'm probably eating healthier than every before. But anyway, the exciting thing from lunch is that Matt convinced me to try some of his mystery meat. We'd determined earlier that it had to have been some sort of intestine. He said, "You have to try it just to say you tried it." And that was enough to convince me. I tried it. It wasn't very good, but it had a hot-dogish taste. Which I guess makes a boatload of sense.
Anyway, then we were back on the road. I actually have always loved bus rides. They give you the chance to zone out and think. Also, looking at it from a writer's point of view, you get these incredible glimpses into the lives of strangers when you're driving through their town. You see people cutting at fields with machetes. You see old, fat men lounging in a chair in a cafe. You see little children racing one another, or playing futbol. It's incredible. There's so much there that you can pull from. There's so much there that you wouldn't see otherwise. I love it.
We finally arrived in Esmereldas around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. We were supposed to get their earlier. But apparently traffic was really bad. After a series of breaks at gas stations to "hacer pee pee" as they say here (literally translated, that means to do/make pee pee, by the way), and our hour long stop for lunch, we were pretty exhausted. We get off the bus, and our tour guide (Sharon, a nice Ecuadorian woman who brought her daughter Tania with her on our trip) told us to get our stuff ready, but leave it on the bus. We were going to take pick-ups to the reserve. So we waited for a sec, and then her come these two trucks. And we all hop in.
I was sitting in the front seat of one, next to Andres, the man who ran the reserve we were going to. First thing he did when I sat down was come around to my side of the car and set a cardboard box on my lap. A cardboard box that was chirping. Sure enough, I was holding a cardboard box full of live chicks! Imagine my delight! I was cooing over how cute they were, and Andres got into his seat, turns to me and goes, "Comida." ("Food.") I was so sad for the chicks! I was like "No! Not Comida!" And Andres said, "Well, in a few months!" Oh jeeze. Reason I'm now a vegetarian number 1 and 2.
So, we rode down this incredibly bumpy, muddy road, the chicks chirping the whole way, and Andres chattering on in Spanish, asking us questions, before we pulled into the driveway of Reserva Biomarina Jantu Sancha. There are these reserves all over Ecuador, mostly on privately owned land. It was kind of like going to camp. Andres showed us to our rooms, and we all explored the reserve a little. We had bunk beds in secure rooms (coastal regions are malarial regions) and our own bathrooms that looked a little grungy. The air was think and moist, and we were all set to head out to wherever we were going next. Our stuff arrived soon after us (it came separately in its own, chicken-less truck) and we unpacked a little and hung out before our first meeting.
We soon learned that everything we'd had planned for that evening had been canceled because we arrived so late, so instead we all DEET-ed up and sat around until dinner. That was the time in which we just admired how quiet it was and how wonderful it was to just get out of the city. The reserve had three dogs, a variety of chickens, and a pig. We just sort of hang out and pet the dogs, and chatted. Me, Michelle, Elana, and Lauren decided to take a walk out around the reserve, and so we took off with our flashlights down this little path. It was really nice. Muddy, but nice.
Dinner was good. Fish, of course. I avoided it like the plague, but ate everything esle. We ate by candle light--apparently the lights go out every night for a while. And then we decided we were tired enough to go to sleep. We had to be up really early the next morning, so we all retired to our rooms. It took us a while to settle in, and people took turns taking showers. I shared my room with Lauren, Phuong, and Melissa. We were all just so happy to have beds (no matter how uncomfortable they were) and preapred ourselves for the next morning. End of Day 1.
I think that's all for now. More tomorrow when I have more time!
Monday, October 8, 2007
Ayer
Yesterday (ayer) I went with my host family to go meet my new prima (cousin). My madre's sister had a baby this past week, and I finally had the time to go meet her. So, we left the house around 1, and headed to the bus station to take the Ecovia (bus line) to the South of Quito. It was a little rainy, and cold, but we were fine on the bus. We had to switch buses once, and take a cab. About two hours later (because of some waiting) we arrived at my madre's sister's house.
It was nice just to meet everyone. I met Marcia's aunt and uncle, as well as her sister and brother-in-law. They have another little boy (who by the way, is in love with my host sister...he even cut out his head from a picture and glued it over my host sister's boyfriend's face in a picture of the two of them. SO CUTE!), and they're all really nice. My abuelita was there too, and since I love her so so much, it was great to see her.
First we visited the baby. Her name is Alanis. And she was just the cutest little thing. She's less than a week old, and pretty much slept the entire time we were there. Then we just kind of hung out and ate some lunch. Afterwards, Anita and Marcia's sister retreated to give the baby a bath. Alanis promptly feel asleep again after the bath. But seriously, she was so cute!
I think Ecuadorian babies are just beautiful. My mom countered this by saying "All babies are beautiful!" But I think that Ecuadorian babies are particularly adorable. I mean, you should just see them! And the toddlers, running around the bus station, wearing silly hats. They're just so cute. Oh my gosh.
So anyway, that was pretty much yesterday. We returned home (another hour bus ride) and me and Anita did homework. Overall, it was a nice Sunday with the family. I love spending time with them. Anita and I are talking more, which is nice. I don't really get to see her that often. But when I do, I'm glad to be able to talk.
Anyway I hope everyone is well. Yay for Ecuadorian babies!
Hey, request your next blog entry by responding to this one in some way (email, etc. it fine).
Would you like:
1. Bus Blog post
2. Animal Blog post
3. Rainy Season Blog post
4. Nun Blog post
Let me know!
It was nice just to meet everyone. I met Marcia's aunt and uncle, as well as her sister and brother-in-law. They have another little boy (who by the way, is in love with my host sister...he even cut out his head from a picture and glued it over my host sister's boyfriend's face in a picture of the two of them. SO CUTE!), and they're all really nice. My abuelita was there too, and since I love her so so much, it was great to see her.
First we visited the baby. Her name is Alanis. And she was just the cutest little thing. She's less than a week old, and pretty much slept the entire time we were there. Then we just kind of hung out and ate some lunch. Afterwards, Anita and Marcia's sister retreated to give the baby a bath. Alanis promptly feel asleep again after the bath. But seriously, she was so cute!
I think Ecuadorian babies are just beautiful. My mom countered this by saying "All babies are beautiful!" But I think that Ecuadorian babies are particularly adorable. I mean, you should just see them! And the toddlers, running around the bus station, wearing silly hats. They're just so cute. Oh my gosh.
So anyway, that was pretty much yesterday. We returned home (another hour bus ride) and me and Anita did homework. Overall, it was a nice Sunday with the family. I love spending time with them. Anita and I are talking more, which is nice. I don't really get to see her that often. But when I do, I'm glad to be able to talk.
Anyway I hope everyone is well. Yay for Ecuadorian babies!
Hey, request your next blog entry by responding to this one in some way (email, etc. it fine).
Would you like:
1. Bus Blog post
2. Animal Blog post
3. Rainy Season Blog post
4. Nun Blog post
Let me know!
Saturday, October 6, 2007
This Past Week
This past week was a pretty crazy and busy week. It started with me having tons of homework for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, all of which I had put off until then (including a paper that was due Wednesday. Ay!). But Wednesday at 1:00pm I was pretty much done with all of it, though it wasn't fun, and as normal, when I get stressed, I also get homesick. But everything worked out.
Also, I figured out what I'm going to do for my ICRP. We have to do an Integrative Cultural Research Project while we're here, which is why we're staying until February instead of just December (when the semester ends). Basically, we have to write a huge paper in Spanish at the end of this whole experience about some sort of cultural aspect of Ecuador. But we have to volunteer with some organization for the next four months. I was having trouble finding an organization (I'll spare you all the details of my troubles) and was really frustrated. We had to know by yesterday where we wanted to work, and I was quickly finding out that I couldn't work at any school because of my schedule with classes. We have to start volunteering right away, and I totally don't have time in my schedule to get back to Quito after classes before a lot of organizations close.
Finally, I talked to this guy Kleber who runs a program at USFQ for indigenous students who come to the University on scholarship. He has a Conversation Club where he pairs these students with international students so the international students can practice their Spanish and the indigenous students can practice their English. Basically, I'm going to be helping him with the club and tutoring other students in whatever they need help in. I'm only allowed to speak English 25% of the time for my ICRP, so I can't just teach people English. But I am working with this one guy, Jorge, who is from an indigenous town north of Quito. He really doesn't know a lot of English, so when we met yesterday we talked almost completely in Spanish (good for me. Started my day off with more Spanish than I'm normally used to). He's actually a really great guy, and has already invited me to his Pueblo to visit his family. Plus, all three of his brothers live on the Galapagos, and he was inviting me to travel with him to see them. He's just really nice. Plus, he taught me a little Quechua! I don't remember it, but it was pretty cool. I think I'll ask him to teach me more.
So what else happened? Hmm...my madre's sister had a baby! I haven't gotten to go see her yet, but it is pretty exciting. Because of that, my abuelita was around this week, too. And she's just so sweet. Plus, it was my madre's boyfriend Jorge's (I know a lot of Jorges here...) birthday. We had a really good conversation at dinner on Thursday with the whole family (because we were celebrating, and Jorge likes to ask me tons of questions in English and Spanish). It was nice.
Last night I went out with Alison, Thom, Peter, Katie and my good friend Karla (she's one of the Ecuadorians that was at K last year) to Karla's sister Lu's friend's house. Ha. Long chain of relation there. But it was nice. We just sort of hung out and made pizzas, and the girl's house (Belen's) was beautiful. I feel like I'm making more Ecuafriends. I hope so. Although I didn't really know anyome last night at Belen's and we didn't really get introduced, it was still nice to be sitting in a group of people and talking (though we did a lot of Gringo Ghetto English speaking in our own group...). It's nice to feel like I can have conversations in Spanish, which is how I felt last night with everyone and with my Conversation Club partner Jorge in the morning. It makes me less scared of speaking.
So yeah. That was my week. I'm going to get a group together sometime today or tomorrow to go to Quicentro (a mall here that we frequent) to go bowling. Apparently it's only $2 a lane, and $1 for shoes! YAY!
Hope everyone is well!
Also, I figured out what I'm going to do for my ICRP. We have to do an Integrative Cultural Research Project while we're here, which is why we're staying until February instead of just December (when the semester ends). Basically, we have to write a huge paper in Spanish at the end of this whole experience about some sort of cultural aspect of Ecuador. But we have to volunteer with some organization for the next four months. I was having trouble finding an organization (I'll spare you all the details of my troubles) and was really frustrated. We had to know by yesterday where we wanted to work, and I was quickly finding out that I couldn't work at any school because of my schedule with classes. We have to start volunteering right away, and I totally don't have time in my schedule to get back to Quito after classes before a lot of organizations close.
Finally, I talked to this guy Kleber who runs a program at USFQ for indigenous students who come to the University on scholarship. He has a Conversation Club where he pairs these students with international students so the international students can practice their Spanish and the indigenous students can practice their English. Basically, I'm going to be helping him with the club and tutoring other students in whatever they need help in. I'm only allowed to speak English 25% of the time for my ICRP, so I can't just teach people English. But I am working with this one guy, Jorge, who is from an indigenous town north of Quito. He really doesn't know a lot of English, so when we met yesterday we talked almost completely in Spanish (good for me. Started my day off with more Spanish than I'm normally used to). He's actually a really great guy, and has already invited me to his Pueblo to visit his family. Plus, all three of his brothers live on the Galapagos, and he was inviting me to travel with him to see them. He's just really nice. Plus, he taught me a little Quechua! I don't remember it, but it was pretty cool. I think I'll ask him to teach me more.
So what else happened? Hmm...my madre's sister had a baby! I haven't gotten to go see her yet, but it is pretty exciting. Because of that, my abuelita was around this week, too. And she's just so sweet. Plus, it was my madre's boyfriend Jorge's (I know a lot of Jorges here...) birthday. We had a really good conversation at dinner on Thursday with the whole family (because we were celebrating, and Jorge likes to ask me tons of questions in English and Spanish). It was nice.
Last night I went out with Alison, Thom, Peter, Katie and my good friend Karla (she's one of the Ecuadorians that was at K last year) to Karla's sister Lu's friend's house. Ha. Long chain of relation there. But it was nice. We just sort of hung out and made pizzas, and the girl's house (Belen's) was beautiful. I feel like I'm making more Ecuafriends. I hope so. Although I didn't really know anyome last night at Belen's and we didn't really get introduced, it was still nice to be sitting in a group of people and talking (though we did a lot of Gringo Ghetto English speaking in our own group...). It's nice to feel like I can have conversations in Spanish, which is how I felt last night with everyone and with my Conversation Club partner Jorge in the morning. It makes me less scared of speaking.
So yeah. That was my week. I'm going to get a group together sometime today or tomorrow to go to Quicentro (a mall here that we frequent) to go bowling. Apparently it's only $2 a lane, and $1 for shoes! YAY!
Hope everyone is well!
Monday, October 1, 2007
Long Awaited Pictures from Otavalo!
Okay, so there isn't a lot here because my camera battery died halfway through and I didn't know when to and when not to take my camera off the bus. I'm eventually going to steal pictures from Alison.
Speaking of whom, this is Alison. Making a very funny face.
This is Tio Dan. He was trying to look creepy because he's the creepy Uncle. He's technically the host Uncle of another K student, Peter. So we like to joke about it.
This is another picture from the route to school that I thought was neat. Most walls have glass on top of them to keep people out. This one apparently doesn't. Still, pretty.
Another bus picture I thought was cool. This sign says something about caring about your life, or guarding it, or something. Basically, it's saying be careful. I like that with the ominous sky in the distance.
This is at our first stop at the weaver's place in Agato. This woman was demonstrating how to spin thread from the sheep's wool. Kinda cool.
Here are our dear Cuy friends. Cuy, or Guinea Pigs, are eaten here as a delicacy. It's an indigenous tradition, I guess. I think these were for eating. I didn't ask because I didn't want to know.
I took this picture of a chicken just for my Dad. He really wants chickens. I always go nuts when I see them! And there are two or three that live up the road from me at home that I never see, only hear. So here's a chicken!
This is me that night in the hat I bought from the weavers in Agato. Pretty sweet, right? I know, I look psychotic. But I think I took it myself. And I was really excited about my hat!
Next Day!
This is the view from behind our Hostal. Quite a view. It made me so exhilarated to be where I was! It was incredible!
This is much much later that day at Cuicocha. Which is also where I went this past weekend. It was much much sunnier on this day, so these pictures are better. Plus I video taped this past weekend. Maybe I'll figure out how to get it on my computer and can show you!
Part of the trip was taking a boat out to see the two domes in the middle of the lake. It's a volcanic crater filled with water. And now I know who the dome you can see behind these two formed, but that's another post. This is Elana and Thom. Both are great and wonderful. YAY!
This is Alison and Katie standing/sitting on the wall at Cuicocha. Just hanging out and having fun.
Mostly I love this picture because of Dan's face. Plus, you get a great view and can see almost all my friends. From left to right, Alison, Peter, Gabrie (an Ecuadorian who was at K last year and came with us on this trip), Thom, and Dan.
So that's that! This took forever to put these up here. But I'll do it again with more pictures another time. Not from Otavalo though. I'm done with Otavalo posts for awhile. Right now I'm procrastinating from writing a paper due in two days. But I better start now.
Hope everyone's well.
Speaking of whom, this is Alison. Making a very funny face.
This is Tio Dan. He was trying to look creepy because he's the creepy Uncle. He's technically the host Uncle of another K student, Peter. So we like to joke about it.
This is another picture from the route to school that I thought was neat. Most walls have glass on top of them to keep people out. This one apparently doesn't. Still, pretty.
Another bus picture I thought was cool. This sign says something about caring about your life, or guarding it, or something. Basically, it's saying be careful. I like that with the ominous sky in the distance.
This is at our first stop at the weaver's place in Agato. This woman was demonstrating how to spin thread from the sheep's wool. Kinda cool.
Here are our dear Cuy friends. Cuy, or Guinea Pigs, are eaten here as a delicacy. It's an indigenous tradition, I guess. I think these were for eating. I didn't ask because I didn't want to know.
I took this picture of a chicken just for my Dad. He really wants chickens. I always go nuts when I see them! And there are two or three that live up the road from me at home that I never see, only hear. So here's a chicken!
This is me that night in the hat I bought from the weavers in Agato. Pretty sweet, right? I know, I look psychotic. But I think I took it myself. And I was really excited about my hat!
Next Day!
This is the view from behind our Hostal. Quite a view. It made me so exhilarated to be where I was! It was incredible!
This is much much later that day at Cuicocha. Which is also where I went this past weekend. It was much much sunnier on this day, so these pictures are better. Plus I video taped this past weekend. Maybe I'll figure out how to get it on my computer and can show you!
Part of the trip was taking a boat out to see the two domes in the middle of the lake. It's a volcanic crater filled with water. And now I know who the dome you can see behind these two formed, but that's another post. This is Elana and Thom. Both are great and wonderful. YAY!
This is Alison and Katie standing/sitting on the wall at Cuicocha. Just hanging out and having fun.
Mostly I love this picture because of Dan's face. Plus, you get a great view and can see almost all my friends. From left to right, Alison, Peter, Gabrie (an Ecuadorian who was at K last year and came with us on this trip), Thom, and Dan.
So that's that! This took forever to put these up here. But I'll do it again with more pictures another time. Not from Otavalo though. I'm done with Otavalo posts for awhile. Right now I'm procrastinating from writing a paper due in two days. But I better start now.
Hope everyone's well.
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