Halfway Pau!

Today marks 50% of my time here in South America. I have made it through half of my scheduled time here and I'm still alive! Yay!
Lately I’ve been nostalgic and mildly homesick as Christmas decorations begin going up around Quito. There really isn’t anything like Christmas in Hawaii, and it honestly is one of my favorite times of year. There are very particular smells and feelings that I remember, like hoodies and gray skies throughout the month of December, as well as Christmas carols and gaudy decorations around Pearlridge and Ala Moana.

I’ve come to a very comfortable place in Ecuador now. I really am happy to be living here and feel very comfortable with my family, home, and life here. It’s interesting because many other students have begun to have problems with theirs, but Marcia and I get along great, we have a very comfortable and friendly relationship. I've recently decided that she's crazy in a good way, but that's ok, it's fun. I'll have to post examples at some point.

I've decided that I really like it here, although it took some getting used to, and I am comfortable here. With this, however, I've also realized that I really do like living in the US. It's more of a culture thing than anything, and although I am loving Ecuadorian culture, it's something to miss your own, where you're at home at. I also have very much been missing Hawaii home and the crazy unique culture there. It's been fun here in Ecuador, because I feel like Hawaii is very much a middle ground between Ecuador and the US in terms of similarities. I am very much enjoying my time here, but also am excited to get home and see all my loved ones again. Until then, I will revel in the Ecuadorian life :)

Happy Halloween, sorta

Ok, so Ross has called me out on my incorrect statement. Mauna Loa is in fact, the LARGEST volcano (in terms of area covered), not the highest, that belongs to Ojos de Salado in Chile. Cotopaxi, turns out, is the second highest volcano on earth. (Thank you Wikipedia) They still make the claim that it's the tallest, and that's still wrong.

Also, I did some weird blogging, but I have another post about my trip to the jungle a few weeks ago (Oct 18th) in case that was not-apparent. It has a cool picture of a frog.

This weekend is Halloween, and I'm kind of bummed that Ecuador doesn't do it like the US, but they've got parties going all weekend (starting today) for Dia de Los Muertos [Day of the Dead] so it's ok. Por ejemplo, At the moment I'm listening to a marching band that's at the school across the street. They also have awesome traditions like colada morada which is this warm thick fruity drink thing with pieces of fruit inside and it's delicious. They also have guaguas de pan [bread babies, yes, I know, I eat babies] which are sweet bread (sometimes filled with yumminess) in the shape of small children with colorful frosting decorations. They're delicious. Om nom nom.

The K program is taking a trip this weekend, and us ecology kids are headed to the coast, which should be awesome. We're bummed we can't have a Halloween party, so the 8 of us are going to have a party with ourselves. Hopefully dressing up in ridiculously resourceful costumes. I bought some chocolate coins, so at least we can be mildly festive.

I also made mochi on Wednesday, which was adventurous as I don't know how to bake well, and this was my first time in altitude and my oven is sketchy to say the least (my madre doesn't really know how to use it) but I managed it! It's not as good as usual, but it's a definite personal victory for me :)

Carbohydrate Madness

I had another culture moment last night with my host mom as she tried to feed me dinner. She had brought home some lasagna in a Tupperware from somewhere and was heating it up for me. She asked me if I wanted any arroz [rice] with it. This, being lasagna, seemed strange, so I said, “no, pero un pan sería bien” [no, but some bread would be nice]. She looked at my strangely and slowly, explained that this food was actually pasta and if I wanted some rice with it. I hesitantly replied with another “no, está bien”. I then realized this was a culture moment! Of course I know that lasagna is pasta! Lasagna is one of my favorite foods ever! I could (and have) eat it for 5 meals straight! However, to an Ecuadorian, eating pasta with bread is just out of the question. Clearly this is a rice or potatoes kind of food. I just laughed to myself while I ate, realizing how different Ecuador has once again proven itself to be. On top of that, it was clearly the Ecuadorian adaptation of a traditional Italian food, as the lasagna didn’t have any tomato sauce in it.

Been There, Done That? Sorta?

I was talking to my mom on Sunday and she asked me if I thought I had an easier time with the adaptation to Ecuador because of my cultural background and already having gone through culture shock at Kalamazoo. Most people are surprised, but I actually went through huge culture shock in my first year at college by moving to the Midwest. I told her that, in some ways, yes, but only to a very minimal degree. For the most part, I’m pretty much on the same level as most of the other students. Got me to thinking though, and since I’ve recently become a fan of the ease and efficiency lists provide, I made some.

Advantages I May Have for Study Abroad:
-have already been far away from my family
-acknowledge and am used to the inability to go home, just gotta stick it out till it’s pau
-mildly more used to different cultures than other people
-used to fruit being everywhere. Also used to rice 24/7
-I’m already late for everything!
-nature is a bit more laid back and more used to flexibility and such
-darker skin and hair=fit in better
-heat? what heat? oh the sun? I guess…
-understand accents in English better
-have a good Ecuadorian accent
-feel more at home in a tropical environment
-academically, have already specifically studied ecology and environmental philosophies/anthropology, etc.

Disadvantages I Have:
-I am female
-I am smaller
-don’t like wearing shoes
-don’t like/not good at dressing nicely
-not a city person, not used to the inseguridad
-don’t understand Spanish as well
-more timid than other people
-sort of a homebody
-time differences

Ways I have Already Changed after Only One Month in Ecuador:

-wear shoes almost every day
-almost never wear shorts
-started drinking tea regularly
-have drunk three full cups of real coffee to date
-enjoy going out to bars and discoteques (not frequently, mind you)
-hair already sorta lighter from sun exposure
-enjoy bargaining and wish I could do so in the grocery store
-think, (not just speak) in Spanish most days
-English abilities are getting more difficult
-eat salad
-new found appreciation/addiction for James Taylor
-eat vegetables fairly regularly
-America’s Next Top Model junkie
-anything over $4 just seems too expensive... especially lunch

Otavalo

Finally updating, several days late but school and internet have been interfering with my blogging abilities. Normally I´d let it go, but this is just one adventure that needs to be documented and shared. Also warning, very long, but i put in pictures where i could, so it shouldn't be as boring.

This past weekend the Kalamazoo Krew all took a trip to Otavalo together. It was a grand adventure that began at 630am on saturday morning with a bus full of cheerfully awake college students (haha, yeah right). We all passed out and woke up at 9am to a beautiful vista where we stopped and took pictures, hung out with a sheep and llama, played some frisbee, had a little cafecito, and got psyched for Otavalo.

First stop, the animal market where we saw a mariad of animals. Not the usual type of biodiversity but still something to behold. The thing that got me the most was that everyone just kept their animals in sacks. Ie there were people standing with just bags full of guinea pigs. It was pretty cool. Some kids got a little weirded out by it/were incomfortable, but I didn´t feel like this at all. Somehow I am used to seeing animal markets or livestock all in one place?

Yeah, that's a bag of guinea pigs (Cui) which are a delicacy here ($8)

Second stop, fruit market. If you didn´t know, Ecuador is home to a ton of fruits I´ve never seen before in my life and the market was cool to see this. The outside was full of vendors while the inner part of the market was more like a bunch of stalls selling food (soup, plates of food like meat and beef and whatnot). It reminded me alot of China town back in Hawaii and how the produce, food smells, smoke, and people and cooking smells were just everywhere. Also, the mild sketchiness of the food and general chaos of such close quarters.

Next Stop and last market was actually my favorite. We got to spend a few hours shopping at the famous Otavalo Artisan Market, the largest of its kind in Ecuador. It was really fun to get to wander around and see all the products, especially the brightly colored fabrics that South America is so famous for. They had everything from hammocks, to scarves, shirts, pants, wool socks, knit hats, panama hats, bags, food, sheep/llama-skin rugs, bracelets, jewelry, everything!! It was crazy! Everything was super brightly colored too (which of course made me very happy). I actually really enjoyed bargaining too, even if it was my first time doing it. Unfortunately, I was so overwhelmed by everything, I didn't take any pictures, but hopefully I'll go back in the next few months and remember to actually get some.

By the time we met up again, we were all starving and were taken to a traditional restaurant for some good Otavalo food, most of which I'd had in Quito in my house before. There we also got a weaving demonstration by our guide's father. Learning about the indigenous people of Ecuador really reminded me of learning about Hawaiians as well as just indigenous groups throughout the world. Eventually maybe I'll post on my musings on this and how this trend seems to be progressing across the globe with all differnet cultures.


After lunch we went to Parque Condor where we were able to see different types of raptors from all over the Andean region. It was very exciting for me (as I LOVE birds of prey in general) and we also got a cool demonstration by the owner of the park. In case you didn't know, the Andean Condor is basically one of the symbols for both Ecuador and the indigenous population here. Also, if you didn't know, these birds are freakin HUGE. Like, bigger than a small child. 3x the size of my dog. Ridiculous but very awesome animals.

On our way down the mountain, we stopped and saw something I thought was really cool and interesting. This tree, standing on the top of this hill all by itself, is actually somewhere around 200 years old. There's a legend about it having some sort of pair, like an old lover but they couldn't be together and so the other tree is on one of the other mountains across the valley (reminds me of the naupaka legend). Apparently it's a symbolic tree and people will come to solidify their love for forever and that sort of thing. Another thing that's cool is that it's also become kind of a symbol for the indigenous people of the region. Despite years of wars and conquest and defeat, the tree has always been a strong point on the valley (it's a hill, so strategically a stronghold, naturally) but it's also lasted for 200 years, despite people trying to tear it down and everything. Some kids even set fire to the inner trunk, but it's still going.
This story really reminded me alot of the history of Hawaiians over the years, and it was cool to see this here, a simple tree just going on living and surviving after all these years.

Despite our tiredness, we were dragged to a music museum, which was actually pretty cool. We got a demonstration of how to make those little pipe flute things, which was super interesting for me (music dork, admitedly) and seeing and hearing him measure all the pitches simply by ear was very cool. Then the man and his family came out, his daughters performed a traditional dance and then the whole family sang a song. That was fun and cool. The little kid was also very cute because he was kinda tired by the end of the song and so his rhythm was slow, but still cute (he's playing a percussion instrument made of sheep hooves in this picture).


FINALLY we ate dinner and were very happy about it. We celebrated all the September birthdays with cake and really cheesy jazz-covers of happy birthday and it was fun. Unfortunately, our night was not over as we then piled back into the bus and were taken to a random street and put in a very small basement to witness a traditional shaman cleansing.

4 K students (Tor, Luis, Melissa, and Beth) volunteered to be "cleansed" and this was actually really crazy, interesting, and different. I don't remember exactly what the woman did (I was at a delirious stage of exhaustion by now) but it was all done in a mixture of Catholicism/traditional religion and Spanish/Quichua. The ritual involved (from what I remember):

1. Everyone rubbing their body with candles ("like washing with soap")
   
2. Volunteers stripping down to their underwear and standing in smoke from a mixture of charcoal, incense, and other dried plants and things.
3. Volunteers standing with arms outstreched while the woman used a mixture of alcohol and stuff to blow fire all over their bodies (not actually touching them).
   
4. The woman blowing cigarette smoke over the students.
5. The shaman blew cigarette smoke over bunches of leaves (eucalyptus?), then spat the alcohol mixture, then shaking the leaves against the students' bodies, head to toe.
6. Rubbed 2 eggs all over each student's body, head to toe, after blowing cigarette smoke over the eggs.
7. Each student "washing" themselves with a mixture of purfume, red carnation petals, and some other liquids (face, body, legs, feet).
   
8. The shaman chewing up more red carnation petals, mixing them with the alcoholic mixture (?) and spitting it on the volunteers' bodies and backs.
9. Volunteers should bathe, eat spicy foods/pork/onions for minimum 1 day, 3 is better.

Finally back to the hotel and we all crashed out. I'm tired just writing this and I can't believe that was only day 1.

DAY 2!!!!!
After breakfast, we visited Peguche, the beautiful sacred waterfall of Otavalo. It was nice because we got to walk through a beautiful forest park to get to the waterfall first. Once we finally got there we had the opportunity to go exploring, which of crouse was fun. Although the waterfall itself wasn't particularly large, it was still pretty. Lauren and I climbed up above the waterfall, which in itself was fun (I have never gotten over my love for rock scrambling).


After our little jaunt, we drove to La Reserva Cotocachi-Cayapo, a nature reserve home to Lake Cuicocha. We hiked and saw a great view of Mt Cayambe (it was an awesomely clear day). After our hike, we arrived at Lake Cuicocha, a gorgeous volcanic lake at the base of Mt Cuicocha. The lake also has 2 small islands in it, which we got a full view of during a boatride.


As a moment of sheer geekiness, I got really excited during this hike while seeing all the flora because it really reminds me of Hawaii. The dry ecosystem has alot of the same things found in the drier parts of Hawaii (acacia everywhere, and a bunch of other plants that I couldn't identify but made me feel at home). The height of this geekiness was when we were actually on the boatride on the lake and I saw these birds near the shore of one of the islands. I freaked out because they look almost identical to Alae Ke'oKe'o, one of the endemic waterfowl we have back home! This of course got me thinking of geographic and genetic distribution and just geeking out about ecology in general...Lunch was very exciting and we got to walk through the tiny town of Cotacachi, famous for its leather goods. Sadly, I forgot my wallet on the bus and was unable to buy myself a belt (which I have been desperately needing).

We finished up the trip with a short hike and view of San Pablo Lake and some more lectures on culture and ecology and the like. By this time were all exhausted and it was mildly lost on us, but the view was cool, especially with the late afternoon sun.


One would think this was the end of our adventure, but no... we finished up the trip by sitting for the next 4 hours on the bus. First, there was a landslide so we had to take an already longer route back to Quito. Then, there was apparently an accident that left us going at about 5 mph through winding mountain roads in a bus full of tired, crazy college students. By the time we got back to Quito at 930pm, we were pretty much crazed. Despite my strongest attempts, I fell asleep reading my unfinished homework promptly 5 minutes after sitting down at home. An exhausting, but awesome weekend.