Hola from Ecuador and a Lesson in Geography!

Hola and Saludos Friends and Family!

I hope all is well for you all in the good ole USA! Today is a holiday here in Ecuador so no work or school for anyone...jealous?

Last week was pretty full! I had my classes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as usual. Tuesday and Thursday I volunteered and worked with the kids in the afternoon, but really I don't feel like it is enough! Its only a few hours and we just work on basic reading and math skills and then play outside for a bit. I am going to focus this week on designing some city beautification projects and figuring out who I need to speak with in the city to make them happen. I am thinking murals and maybe some sort of contest to design an anti-litering campaign (like a contest for kids to design posters that can be used by the government). School starts back in September so I have a little time to work on this one!

Wednesday I visited the Museo Banco Central (nothing to do with a bank though). It was interesting because it was full of relics and models of tools and other artifacts used by the various indigenous cultures around the country prior to the arrival of the Spaniards...the art, jewelry, pots, statues, etc look different and are made from different materials depending on the region of the country...which brings us to today's geography lession (briefly)...

(sorry if this is boring to some of you...BUT I am here as a Cultural Ambassador, not just a tourist!). Ecuador is known for its 4 very diverse regions. First, there is the Galapagos Islands, which I am dying to visit, but to do so is quite expensive (although cheaper for Ecuadorians than foreigners). To visit, you have to fly out of Guayaquil (the largest city in the country, a good 10 hour drive from Quito, I would have to fly). Once you reach the islands, you can take small cruises (small boats, not cruise ships like Carnival) on trips lasting anywhere from 4 days to a few weeks.

Next, is the Coast. This region is known for its beaches, food, and agriculture. There are a few popular places to surf, and I would love to spend a weekend just lying on the beach. In this region, they grow plantains, rice, and tons of fruit, and you can eat some of the best seafood you can imagine. I was actually at the beach this weekend spending time with my Host Rotarian and her family and saw a boat of fishermen pull up and take a fresh load of fish into the restaurants lining the beach--I had the best shrimp of my life (which says a lot becuase I am really picky with shrimp). I am starting to get sort of tired of soups though...throughout the entire country, soup is really popular...often with fish or chicken but occasionally with beef, bull penis, lamb intestines, plantains...depends on where you are (and how brave you are!). Since pretty much everything they eat here is either beef, pork, or deep fried (and the fact that I am EXTREMELY picky) I have been eating tons of soup and ceviche and fruit (although I do love an empanada or some fried chifles/plaintains from time to time too). I was a little suprised though to find out that the Coastal Region is the driest of the four regions, and many of the cities we passed through were extremely dusty and dirty. I don't think I could live there. Manta, the popular touristy and more luxiurous city right on the coast (huge port city too, most of the imports come through Manta) was very clean and moden...I'd love to visit there (or the nearby surfer beach called Mantanita...or little Manta).

While near the coast this weekend, my Host Rotarian did me a huge favor. I had mentioned the beaches where you can whale watch to her before we left, and on Saturday, she accompanied me (along with her nephew, a great nephew, and great niece) to Porto Cayo, about an hour and a half from Portoviejo (the more inland city where we spent the weekend...not one I would recommend you visit). From there, the younger nephew and niece and I paid for a boat tour that lasted about 1.5 hours to go watch whales! It was kind of overcast and I had heard that this year there had not been many whales so I was worried that we would be disappointed, but it was amazing! Bad news is that when I tried to take a picture of the first whales we saw, my camara died. We ended following around a group of about 4 whales...three males fighting over one female (its mating season...). One lost fairly early in the battle and went off but two battled for quite a bit! At first, we just saw their backs as they arched near the top of the water and swam along but finally we saw a few tails rise out of the water. Then one of the whales raised the top half of his body out of the water, turned a bit, and crashed back into the water! It was breathtaking! Then, the two males began really going at it! They turn on their side, lift their fins and slap them back down into the water. Near the end of our tour, the two males popped their heads out of the water a few times...it was really cool!

The next region is called the Sierra. The drive from the city to the Sierra is really pretty...as you move inland, things become less dusty and much more green. Almost like driving through a forest in the US, but with tropical trees...not quite a forest, not quite jungle. The mountains of Ecuador are actually the top part of the Andean Mountain range. I won't talk much about the mountains here because I think I have done a lot of that already (Quito is located in the Sierra...9,300 feet up, wedged in a valley). Many of the mountains of Ecuador are in fact volcanoes...some of which remain active...and some of the mountains and volcanoes are snow capped (and beautiful). I think this coming weekend I will travel to Cotopaxi...a snow capped volcanoe fairly close to Quito.

The next region is called the Oriente...here you find La Selva (the jungle). I don't know much about this region yet, other than that it is beautiful...full of animals and beautiful plants...that I might get Malaria if I don't take my pills...and that there is a particular indigenous community that will kill you if you try to enter because they want to maintain their indigenous lifestyles. I also learned in school that many of the indigenous cultures in this region have been and are exploited terribly by oil companies. Today, oil is Ecuador's primary export..supposedly the government is trying to do more to protect the jungle and restrict where oil companies can drill, but we all know how that story ends.... I will write more about the Oriente after I visit it in September.

So like I said before, today is a national holiday. It makes the 200th anniversary of the first declaration/battle for independence. Quito is referred to as "La Luz de America" or the light of America because it was the first city to declare independence from Europe. In the end, it was one of the last places to actually achieve independence, but it led the way for later independence movements. Unfortunately, I missed most of the festivities which occurred yesterday because we were traveling from Portoviejo (an 8 hour drive...Ecuador is not a large country, but travel anywhere takes a long time because the roads wind and weave through the mountains and the trek is slow!). Apparantely, every park and plaza yesterday had some sort of free concert, performance, or art display...I did here some fireworks as I returned home around 10 last night.

Today, I headed to the Historic Center after doing some laundry (which I wanted to point out because I think this is interesting too...pretty much everyone has a washer, but they don't always use it. On the contrary, very few have driers..so i wash my clothes in the washer and then hang them outside to dry...which reminds me...I better get them now before it gets dark and cold!). A friend from school and I were hoping to see what was happening in the Historic Center and visit a few museums (because we were told this whole week/month everything is open and free)...it turned out however that pretty much everything was closed. We did have some good luck though! This weekened, Presidents from around Latin America visited Ecuador to celebrate the independence. Also, the President (Corea) was inducted this morning as the Secretary General of UNASUR (United Nations of South America....UNASUR is a political and economic group of South American countries, created in 2008 and modeled after the EU...the political headquarters is in Quito. Just as my friend and I were finishing lunch in the Plaza Grande (where the President's Palace is located) and heading out to see if a museum we wanted to visit was open, we noticed a lot of activity on the corner of the street we were trying to cross. After battling police and members of the military, we finally got across and asked what was going on. Our timing was perject...just as we got across...a motor cade pulled up. A few secret servicemen jumped out and open the car door and out stepped Raul Castro. A minute later, another motorcade followed by two large buses. Out of the first...more security guards and assistants...out of the second...the President of Peru, Costa Rica...a cute prince from Spain, and then Hugo Chavez! We were seriously only about ten feet away from him. It was crazy! I snapped a quick photo of Chavez....I will pass it along later. After asking around a bit, we found out that a lot of people like Chavez a lot....It seems to be about half and half here. A lot of conservatives think the current Ecuadorian President is too young and the reason why there is high unemployment...these same folks admire Chavez for his style of governing. Another Rotary Scholar who spent 6 months in Venezuela said it is about 50/50 there as well. After the crowd cleared...we wandered a bit and found all the museums and churches were closed.

This is getting long...but one more quick note. I passed along in a previous email some favorite phrases and words used frequently here...I have another. Ecuadorians are EXTREMELY proud of their country and their history. You would be amazed by how much these people know about eveything...every church, street, plant, town, city, fruit, etc. One thing I love that they say...and I am not sure if it means anything to them or just to me, and maybe other Spanish speaking countries also say this, i do not know...is the verb "conocer. " It means to get to know or be familiar with, and I learned it in school many years ago. I was taught that you use this verb when you refer to knowing a person (literally it translates as "to know") but not when you are saying to know information. I like it because we don't use such a verb in the US in the way they do here. When we speak of the places we have visited or give recommendations to tourists, we say "you have to see" or "I saw" or maybe "I have been there" or "I have visited." Here they tell you that you need to "conocer" or you need to get to know this place or that place. To me, it shows more respect and admiration--you are not just seeing something, you become familiar with it. It maybe nothing, but I kind of like it! Its like telling someone to make sure they stop and smell the roses while they are passing through a place.


Well this has gotten quite long! I hope you enjoyed! Have a great day! Thanks once again for emails and updates! Let me know if anyone wants to come visit and get to know Ecuador...flights should start getting a little cheaper in the next few months as the tourist season calms down!
Love you all!