They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but a picture just can’t convey everything. In some places I have traveled, it is the smells, or the humidity, or something else that just is not captured on film. Well, here it is the noise. Yes, noise.
Sitting in my bedroom the noise can be overwhelming at times. First there are the sounds of an active household with three kids, a mom who always seems to be hurrying everyone, and a housekeeper who works non-stop. ” Por ejemplo”, the other night in a 10 minute span, the phone rang more than once, the front gate buzzer rang at least twice – followed by the jingle of keys and the squeaking noise of the gate opening, the car gate opened and closed repeatedly, someone came by to visit, and everyone was yelling about the problem with the gate. And through it all, the dog was barking. And the dog next door. No exaggeration. And then Pilar knocked on my door and told me my dinner was ready! And these are just the sounds within the house and courtyard.
In the background there is always the non-stop barking of one dog or another. There is the incessant honking of horns. The car alarms that are always being set off. Other household gates clanging. The grinding engines of buses. And the cock-a-doodle-do of roosters. (Why do children’s books tell us that they crow at the break of dawn when they do it any time of the day or night that they feel like?)
In the center of town, there are all of these outdoor sounds, plus more car noise, car honking and people yelling. There is the music from the vendors selling CD’s of folklore music, music blasting from a store front here or there, and the occasional car driving by with a speaker on its roof, announcing something – which I can’t understand of course. Early in the day and right before dark in the center, there are the sounds of vendor booths being taken down and the carts of goods being pushed over the cobblestones. (These carts have license plates on them and bicycle horns which they honk just for the fun of it.)
There is a definite protocol for horn honking. If one bus passes another they must honk. If a taxi is passing another, they must honk. If someone looks like they might step into a cross walk, all vehicles must honk to alert the pedestrian not to step out because the vehicles will not slow down. If a taxi is passing a gringo or a group of people, it must honk to see if they want a ride. If a vehicle knows someone on the street or in another vehicle, they must honk. If a bus is approaching a bus stop, they must honk to see if any of the people waiting there are waiting for that bus. If a vehicle is passing a bike rider, the vehicle must honk to warn the rider of their approach. If a dog is anywhere close, they must honk….. If a cow is on the side of the road, they must honk. On the mountain dirt single lane roads, they must honk at every corner. If anyone or anything is within a mile radius, and even if they are not, the vehicle must honk.
Ok, any of my fellow volunteers, is there any noise I missed?
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Saturday, November 21
I am finished with my first week of volunteer teaching for GVI. It was a fun, but tough week as I also had Spanish classes two days, a get together with the other volunteers and had to get started with lesson planning. In addition to the busy-ness, there was also the accepting of the living conditions of the children and knowing that all I can do is help educate the children and make sure they are getting plenty to eat at the school.
Tracey did the lessons for the first two days, and then I did for the remaining three days. However, I was to teach cultura fisica (PE) on Thursday, but the lunch-recess time was pretty long and the teacher skipped it and said we would do it on Friday. Well, we didn´t cause we did other fun stuff! My other lessons went well, and we made people out of pipecleaners and glued puff balls onto paper in the shape of the number 1 and glitter on the shape of number 2. We also all used the stamps I brought to stamp out our names on paper which they really liked.
Tracey came to school on Friday and brought with her, at the teacher´s request, the ingridients for making a traditional cake, kimberlita (sp?), that is steamed in banana leaves. The whole school, including Jaime the bus driver, was involved in mixing the batter and stuffing the leaves. We made a huge batch and each student got two at school and then more to take home. There were other visitors to the school as well, and they all got to have some too. I had one and thought it was quite good.
My success at school this week as getting the kids to recognize where to start writting on a page and when forming letters : ¨¿Donde comienzo?" Arriba la ezquierda!" With one of the students, this was quite the task, as she kept turning her page around and being stubborn about where she wanted to start.
Other volunteers went to Baños this weekend, but three of us also stayed back. I wanted to use the weekend to get caught up on little things such as shopping, calling family, becoming more familiar with Otavalo, studying Spanish and getting some lesson plans going. I will have Spanish lessons 3 days this coming week, plus we will have a ¨Thanksgiving" dinner at one of the local gringo restaurants on Wednesday night. My Spanish didn´t progress much this week and I am afraid the little ones in my class are going to learn more English from me than anything else! So, hopefully by focusing on this today and tomorrow, I will get a bit further.
Tracey did the lessons for the first two days, and then I did for the remaining three days. However, I was to teach cultura fisica (PE) on Thursday, but the lunch-recess time was pretty long and the teacher skipped it and said we would do it on Friday. Well, we didn´t cause we did other fun stuff! My other lessons went well, and we made people out of pipecleaners and glued puff balls onto paper in the shape of the number 1 and glitter on the shape of number 2. We also all used the stamps I brought to stamp out our names on paper which they really liked.
Tracey came to school on Friday and brought with her, at the teacher´s request, the ingridients for making a traditional cake, kimberlita (sp?), that is steamed in banana leaves. The whole school, including Jaime the bus driver, was involved in mixing the batter and stuffing the leaves. We made a huge batch and each student got two at school and then more to take home. There were other visitors to the school as well, and they all got to have some too. I had one and thought it was quite good.
My success at school this week as getting the kids to recognize where to start writting on a page and when forming letters : ¨¿Donde comienzo?" Arriba la ezquierda!" With one of the students, this was quite the task, as she kept turning her page around and being stubborn about where she wanted to start.
Other volunteers went to Baños this weekend, but three of us also stayed back. I wanted to use the weekend to get caught up on little things such as shopping, calling family, becoming more familiar with Otavalo, studying Spanish and getting some lesson plans going. I will have Spanish lessons 3 days this coming week, plus we will have a ¨Thanksgiving" dinner at one of the local gringo restaurants on Wednesday night. My Spanish didn´t progress much this week and I am afraid the little ones in my class are going to learn more English from me than anything else! So, hopefully by focusing on this today and tomorrow, I will get a bit further.
Monday, November 16, 2009
First day of school
Today I went to my assigned school with Tracey, the GVI project coordinator here. It isn´t really in a community, as the kids come from around the country side. There are 20 children from 7 families. I will be teahing the 1st and 2nd graders: a total of 6, although one boy often does not come. Tracey did the lesson plan for today and tomorrow and then I will be doing my own.
I have one first grader, a boy and four 2nd graders: 3 girls and 1 boy. All were dressed in their traditional clothing, although some had warmer tops pulled on over their clothes. They are quite small for their ages compared to US kids and are as cute as can be. However, all had runny noses, chapped cheeks (from the wind) and worn/dirty clothes. And all were eager to learn and participate in the activities Tracewy had prepared. At the beginning of class, Tracey asked about their weekends, and one girl asked about breakfast at school (which is usually provided by the gov´t), because she said there was no food in the house and she had not eaten all weekend. She is definately from the poorest family there. (The gov´t provided food was not there, so we had nothing to feed them until the lunch was prepared with the food we brought.)
We did the calendar, the days of the week, numbers, matching, concentration game with numbers, recess after lunch, and then Jack in the Beanstalk reading and activities. We also had them prepare folders for their work to stay in at school. Number recognition was clear for 1 & 2, but hesitant on 3 &4. We didn´t go further for recognition of the number. Their color names are pretty good and their coloring was great. One boy was a perfetionist, while one girl never stopped talking in Quicha. (Spanish is their second language.) Another girl was shy, while I am not sure how much the other one was taking in. The 1st grade boy kept up fairly well, but need a bit more assistance than the others.
The ride up to the school was interesting. GVI has a van (same as is used for school buses around here), and not only did the GVI volunteers ride up to two schools, so did the teachers, and a parent with her baby. Then on the way down two different mothers rode down with us. From my school to get to town for them, they would need to walk at least an hour down to where they would hope to catch a bus --- but no gaurantee the bus would be running --- and then pay .50c for the hour bus ride. So, they don´t come down into Otavalo much, and pretty much live a subsistance life style.
I will have to write more later as I am quite tired and have a full day of school, spanish lessons, and lesson planning for Wednesday. Jst wanted to get in my first impressions.
I have one first grader, a boy and four 2nd graders: 3 girls and 1 boy. All were dressed in their traditional clothing, although some had warmer tops pulled on over their clothes. They are quite small for their ages compared to US kids and are as cute as can be. However, all had runny noses, chapped cheeks (from the wind) and worn/dirty clothes. And all were eager to learn and participate in the activities Tracewy had prepared. At the beginning of class, Tracey asked about their weekends, and one girl asked about breakfast at school (which is usually provided by the gov´t), because she said there was no food in the house and she had not eaten all weekend. She is definately from the poorest family there. (The gov´t provided food was not there, so we had nothing to feed them until the lunch was prepared with the food we brought.)
We did the calendar, the days of the week, numbers, matching, concentration game with numbers, recess after lunch, and then Jack in the Beanstalk reading and activities. We also had them prepare folders for their work to stay in at school. Number recognition was clear for 1 & 2, but hesitant on 3 &4. We didn´t go further for recognition of the number. Their color names are pretty good and their coloring was great. One boy was a perfetionist, while one girl never stopped talking in Quicha. (Spanish is their second language.) Another girl was shy, while I am not sure how much the other one was taking in. The 1st grade boy kept up fairly well, but need a bit more assistance than the others.
The ride up to the school was interesting. GVI has a van (same as is used for school buses around here), and not only did the GVI volunteers ride up to two schools, so did the teachers, and a parent with her baby. Then on the way down two different mothers rode down with us. From my school to get to town for them, they would need to walk at least an hour down to where they would hope to catch a bus --- but no gaurantee the bus would be running --- and then pay .50c for the hour bus ride. So, they don´t come down into Otavalo much, and pretty much live a subsistance life style.
I will have to write more later as I am quite tired and have a full day of school, spanish lessons, and lesson planning for Wednesday. Jst wanted to get in my first impressions.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
End of first week. in Otavalo
I've loaded photos to my Picasso site: http://picasaweb.google.com/margie510 Here is further explanation of the activities
On Friday, November 13, for our four hour morning Spanish lesson, Adrienne, Czarina, Janine and I, with both of our Spanish teachers, Fernando & Rocia, hiked about 4 km to a very old tree called El Lechero. This tree is to the east of Otavalo on the top of a hill looking down the other side to Lake San Pablo. There is a legend about this tree and the lake San Pablo in the valley below it. They say there was a pair of young lovers whose parents did not want them to be tighter and he was changed into the tree and she into the lake. They are forever near each other, but not together. (Pretty basic story, but it was told in Spanish and that is what I got from it!) The name of the tree refers to the type of tree it is and not to the legend. When cut, the sap of the tree is like milk (leche; lechero being a milk container). After taking a break at the tree- which included “no English, only Spanish” conversation – we headed down the hill to the north. We ended up coming around to the creek, above the waterfalls that we hiked to on Wednesday. We then hit the same trail and then road back into Otavalo. It was a beautiful hike, and luckily it was overcast, so not quite as hot as it can be. Of course, I was covered in greasy sunblock, sweat and dust when I got back and was in desperate need of a shower!
On Saturday, November 14, the same four of us got up early and went to the Mercado de Animales – the animal market. It was a great reminder that our meats don’t just come in styraphome and plastic containers in the meat section of the supermarket. The market was sectioned of by the different animals for sale: cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, chicks, guinea pigs and the sellers stood around with their animals on ropes or in boxes while buyers wandered between them checking out the animals. There was an area to one side of booths of food being cooked and served – quite a mix of smells for our early morning, empty stomachs.
We then walked into the downtown area of Otavalo and met up with Johnny and our guide to go horseback riding. We piled into the back of a pickup truck and rode about 20 minutes up into the hills southwest of Otavalo – in the opposite direction of our previous hikes. We rode about an hour each way, partly on the road we had just driven on – to a beautiful two-tiered waterfall. I have bruises on the inside of both legs but the ride was worth it because we went through little pueblos and past individual farm houses that we would not have been able to see otherwise. I didn’t feel comfortable taking a picture though of one scene: it looked like the entire pueblo was involved in taking rocks from the river to be hauled away. There were 3-5 groups of people getting the rocks out of the stream and putting them in piles on the “road”. There was a pick-up truck at the first pile with a number of men putting the rocks into the back. Of course I don’t know what the rocks were going to be used for, but I have to wonder if it wasn’t for “paving” some of the roads, as the roads in the countryside are cobblestone.
Today, Sunday, I am recuperating and taking it easy this morning. It has taken quite a bit of time to label the photos and write this blog entry – don’t know if I will have time to do this every weekend! Also, I seem to have eaten something that my stomach wasn’t ready for, so I am sitting here taking Pepto-Bismol tablets and drinking water to stay hydrated. I’ll see what happens when I eat lunch! This afternoon I hope to upload my photos from the past week and post this blog before going to the market with the other volunteers to shop for the groceries for the lunches for the students at the schools this week. I will start at my school in Huayarpungo on Monday with Tracey, the program coordinator and then will be on my own starting on Wednesday! I’m a bit nervous about it, but hopefully will feel more confident after tomorrow.
I’ve found out some more details about my schedule. I will have the week off between Christmas and New Years and will also have 2 weeks off between leaving Otavalo and reporting to Peru. Machu Pichu is not included in this program, so will need to do it during that time. I don’t know the exact dates yet of those two weeks, but will find out soon. I am thinking I will try to do a jungle trip in December, and then the Galapagos and Machu Pichu during that time. My visa for Ecuador runs out on February 3, so I must be out of the country by February 2, but if I use up all that time, then my return flight from Quito in May will be a problem as I can’t come back into the country as I can’t get another visa for some x number of days. Anyway, will start looking at tours and plans for all three of these events.
Anyone interested in joining me? Amazonian Jungle, Galapagos or Machu Pichu????? If so, let me know right away!
On Friday, November 13, for our four hour morning Spanish lesson, Adrienne, Czarina, Janine and I, with both of our Spanish teachers, Fernando & Rocia, hiked about 4 km to a very old tree called El Lechero. This tree is to the east of Otavalo on the top of a hill looking down the other side to Lake San Pablo. There is a legend about this tree and the lake San Pablo in the valley below it. They say there was a pair of young lovers whose parents did not want them to be tighter and he was changed into the tree and she into the lake. They are forever near each other, but not together. (Pretty basic story, but it was told in Spanish and that is what I got from it!) The name of the tree refers to the type of tree it is and not to the legend. When cut, the sap of the tree is like milk (leche; lechero being a milk container). After taking a break at the tree- which included “no English, only Spanish” conversation – we headed down the hill to the north. We ended up coming around to the creek, above the waterfalls that we hiked to on Wednesday. We then hit the same trail and then road back into Otavalo. It was a beautiful hike, and luckily it was overcast, so not quite as hot as it can be. Of course, I was covered in greasy sunblock, sweat and dust when I got back and was in desperate need of a shower!
On Saturday, November 14, the same four of us got up early and went to the Mercado de Animales – the animal market. It was a great reminder that our meats don’t just come in styraphome and plastic containers in the meat section of the supermarket. The market was sectioned of by the different animals for sale: cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, chicks, guinea pigs and the sellers stood around with their animals on ropes or in boxes while buyers wandered between them checking out the animals. There was an area to one side of booths of food being cooked and served – quite a mix of smells for our early morning, empty stomachs.
We then walked into the downtown area of Otavalo and met up with Johnny and our guide to go horseback riding. We piled into the back of a pickup truck and rode about 20 minutes up into the hills southwest of Otavalo – in the opposite direction of our previous hikes. We rode about an hour each way, partly on the road we had just driven on – to a beautiful two-tiered waterfall. I have bruises on the inside of both legs but the ride was worth it because we went through little pueblos and past individual farm houses that we would not have been able to see otherwise. I didn’t feel comfortable taking a picture though of one scene: it looked like the entire pueblo was involved in taking rocks from the river to be hauled away. There were 3-5 groups of people getting the rocks out of the stream and putting them in piles on the “road”. There was a pick-up truck at the first pile with a number of men putting the rocks into the back. Of course I don’t know what the rocks were going to be used for, but I have to wonder if it wasn’t for “paving” some of the roads, as the roads in the countryside are cobblestone.
Today, Sunday, I am recuperating and taking it easy this morning. It has taken quite a bit of time to label the photos and write this blog entry – don’t know if I will have time to do this every weekend! Also, I seem to have eaten something that my stomach wasn’t ready for, so I am sitting here taking Pepto-Bismol tablets and drinking water to stay hydrated. I’ll see what happens when I eat lunch! This afternoon I hope to upload my photos from the past week and post this blog before going to the market with the other volunteers to shop for the groceries for the lunches for the students at the schools this week. I will start at my school in Huayarpungo on Monday with Tracey, the program coordinator and then will be on my own starting on Wednesday! I’m a bit nervous about it, but hopefully will feel more confident after tomorrow.
I’ve found out some more details about my schedule. I will have the week off between Christmas and New Years and will also have 2 weeks off between leaving Otavalo and reporting to Peru. Machu Pichu is not included in this program, so will need to do it during that time. I don’t know the exact dates yet of those two weeks, but will find out soon. I am thinking I will try to do a jungle trip in December, and then the Galapagos and Machu Pichu during that time. My visa for Ecuador runs out on February 3, so I must be out of the country by February 2, but if I use up all that time, then my return flight from Quito in May will be a problem as I can’t come back into the country as I can’t get another visa for some x number of days. Anyway, will start looking at tours and plans for all three of these events.
Anyone interested in joining me? Amazonian Jungle, Galapagos or Machu Pichu????? If so, let me know right away!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Electricity & Spanish Classes
November 12, 2009, Thursday
Electricity
This is supposed to be the rainy season in the central Andes of Ecuador, but they are not having the rain they usually do. It rained one night when I was in Quito, but I have not seen rain since. All of the electricity for the country is produced at a single hydro-electric plant at a dam near Cuanto (a city in the south). Due to the lack of rain, there is an electricity shortage. So, the power is turned off for various hours throughout the day and for various communities and even within the same community. For example, while I was in Quito, the electricity was turned off from 2-4 pm two of the days. Then, the hostal where I stayed was also without power one evening for a couple of hours while we could see whole neighborhoods with electricity.
In Otavalo, there have been power outages each day. Pilar (my host “mom”) has told me everyday what time the power will be out for their neighborhood. It doesn’t seem to be out for the hours that are announced though! Tonight, the power is supposed to be out all night starting sometime in the afternoon! So, tonight’s dinner was early at 5:30 so we didn’t have to eat in the dark. All of the cooking is done with gas, so there isn’t a problem with the cooking, although they had to use candle light while cooking. (It seems the electricity stays on in the center of the city even when it’s out elsewhere.)
When walking down the street, if I get a chance to look into a courtyard, I am still seeing beautiful grass and flowers, so they don’t seem to be conserving water due to the drought.
So here I sit using my computer on battery power for as long as I can tonight and then I guess to bed really early. It has clouded up and it actually looks like it might rain!
Spanish Classes
The Spanish School is a small school, owned by a husband and wife, Fernando and Roci’a. I have had Rocia as my teacher, while Janine has had Fernando. There are other teachers as well who come in for specific one to one lessons. This week I have had lessons 6 hours per day. (I will have a total of 200 hours in the 6 months) A bit much for me! But, they are very willing to get out of the school for the lessons, so that has helped. Yesterday we went to the Cascadia de Peguche in the morning which was a lot of fun. Tomorrow we are going to the “magic tree” La Lucha which will be a longer hike, so we won’t have a lesson in the afternoon. It will be Janine, Adrienn , Czarina and I plus both Fernando and Rocia. If it actually rains tonight, I don’t know how that will be, as there is so much dust right now, there will probably be a lot of mud.
This afternoon’s lesson was fun. Laura was supposed to have Quichiwa language lessons, but her teacher did not show up. So she worked with me and Rocia and both of Rocia’s girls joined us. We played a game *(wish I knew it last year!) and then the girls taught us a couple of kids songs. I also practiced my question words and vocabulary by asking the girls simple questions and then writing down their answers also. It was good practice that I really needed as I don’t think I can take in too many more words – I really have to figure out how to string them all together in the right order!
Electricity
This is supposed to be the rainy season in the central Andes of Ecuador, but they are not having the rain they usually do. It rained one night when I was in Quito, but I have not seen rain since. All of the electricity for the country is produced at a single hydro-electric plant at a dam near Cuanto (a city in the south). Due to the lack of rain, there is an electricity shortage. So, the power is turned off for various hours throughout the day and for various communities and even within the same community. For example, while I was in Quito, the electricity was turned off from 2-4 pm two of the days. Then, the hostal where I stayed was also without power one evening for a couple of hours while we could see whole neighborhoods with electricity.
In Otavalo, there have been power outages each day. Pilar (my host “mom”) has told me everyday what time the power will be out for their neighborhood. It doesn’t seem to be out for the hours that are announced though! Tonight, the power is supposed to be out all night starting sometime in the afternoon! So, tonight’s dinner was early at 5:30 so we didn’t have to eat in the dark. All of the cooking is done with gas, so there isn’t a problem with the cooking, although they had to use candle light while cooking. (It seems the electricity stays on in the center of the city even when it’s out elsewhere.)
When walking down the street, if I get a chance to look into a courtyard, I am still seeing beautiful grass and flowers, so they don’t seem to be conserving water due to the drought.
So here I sit using my computer on battery power for as long as I can tonight and then I guess to bed really early. It has clouded up and it actually looks like it might rain!
Spanish Classes
The Spanish School is a small school, owned by a husband and wife, Fernando and Roci’a. I have had Rocia as my teacher, while Janine has had Fernando. There are other teachers as well who come in for specific one to one lessons. This week I have had lessons 6 hours per day. (I will have a total of 200 hours in the 6 months) A bit much for me! But, they are very willing to get out of the school for the lessons, so that has helped. Yesterday we went to the Cascadia de Peguche in the morning which was a lot of fun. Tomorrow we are going to the “magic tree” La Lucha which will be a longer hike, so we won’t have a lesson in the afternoon. It will be Janine, Adrienn , Czarina and I plus both Fernando and Rocia. If it actually rains tonight, I don’t know how that will be, as there is so much dust right now, there will probably be a lot of mud.
This afternoon’s lesson was fun. Laura was supposed to have Quichiwa language lessons, but her teacher did not show up. So she worked with me and Rocia and both of Rocia’s girls joined us. We played a game *(wish I knew it last year!) and then the girls taught us a couple of kids songs. I also practiced my question words and vocabulary by asking the girls simple questions and then writing down their answers also. It was good practice that I really needed as I don’t think I can take in too many more words – I really have to figure out how to string them all together in the right order!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Long Day
Monday, November 9
Long day. Very long day. And now I am making it longer by writing!
I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep. It could have been because I was in bed by 8:30. I had my first shower and breakfast at my home stay. It’s a tossup over last year’s shower situation and this one! This year’s pros: shower basin with 6” raised lip AND shower curtain; easy to manage facets, even providing hot water when the electricity is out; wall against my bedroom and the outside instead of against a chapel wall; shower head permanently a foot and a half out from the wall. CONS: Electrical wire that runs catty corner across the top, hanging from the ceiling and resting on the shower curtain rod.
Breakfast: croissant with jelly, juice and Nescafe. I was given a cup of boiled milk (I think unpasteurized) into which I was to stir the instant coffee. (Doesn’t real coffee come from this country?)
I was walked to school this morning for the first time in 45 years! Pilar walked with me to the school and waited until the owner couple/teachers arrived. I was matched with Rosario and Janine with Fredrico. Four hours is a long time for a class. We did take a break about half way through and had real brewed coffee and discussed a couple of things. Fredrico speaks English, but not Rosario. But we figured out what I should say to my host mom regarding a little less rice and fatty foods (croissant) and we decided to take a hike to Le Leguche – a magic tree - on Friday for our lesson. It’s about an hour hike up, so we will see how we do. If I don’t carry anything but water, I should be ok breathing. We also determined they could help me with my GVI issued t-shirt that was of course too small. I will say though that it is a large and not even an extra large. So after lunch, Rosario and I went to three different shops to find someone who could insert a one inch panel on either side. We found someone who could do it no problem for $1.00!! What a deal. (I hope I will still think so tomorrow when I pick it up!)
Lunch was a delicious veggie soup followed by a half plate of fresh peas, half a plate of rice with a thin slice of beef with a small amount of light gravy over it. I really appreciated the half plate of veggies. Hopefully this will continue but maybe not with such a starchy veggie.
After class Janine and I went to Buena Vista, a small café/restaurant that has free Wi-Fi and is a hangout for Gringos. I was able to upload yesterday’s blog from MSWord before we headed over to the GVI House. It was Laura’s birthday (a volunteer from Germany), so we went out to an Italian dinner to celebrate. I had manicotti (3 stuffed with chicken) and a glass of wine. With tax and tip: $10.50. We then went back to the GVI house where we celebrated with a dessert that one of the other volunteers made. It was pretty late when I got home and I felt bad as the dog of course barked like it was supposed to, but the JorgeLuis woke up and came downstairs to turn off the lights. There is no way you can quietly enter the house – which is why they have the dog!
Observations:
The indigenous Quichua women wear a cloth tied on their heads, instead of a hat. It is black with white trim in the back. Some women seem to just place a folded cloth on their head to protect it from the sun.
Either to girls have babies very, very young, or some are carrying around their mothers babies. I know the later is wishful thinking.
The Quichua people are of very small stature. It really throws me to see some tiny kids walking and some that from their size I would guess to be 2 or so, helping out a younger child! I asked Rosaria when we walked what she would guess one little girls age and she said probably around 4, but I swear she couldn’t have been more than 2 by her size.
I see police officers everywhere. And a lot of guards. At banks, money echanges, the supermarket, or anyplace bigger than a small family operated store front, there are guards with guns standing by the doorway. Kind of unsettling.
The commerce in this town is huge. On the weekdays, there is the market at the PPPPP Poncho with the crafts. Then there is another outdoor market along both sides of a street a block long with general needs: clothing, pots and pans, shoes, etc. And then every block is filled with little shops selling one or two items of the above.
There are a number of elementary schools and high schools, technical schools and a University. The elementary school children all wear uniforms. Some of the Quichua children wear their traditional skirts or blouses under the uniform.
There are mucho perros (many dogs) wandering the streets loose. I’ve now seen only two dogs on leashes: a schnauzer and a wiener dog. On the walk home last night, we easily saw 15 dogs.
And the winner: Janine and I were walking down the street and we heard music coming from a big truck. There was a loud speaker on the front and we couldn’t figure it out, because it sounded like an ice cream truck, but it seemed too big and it was kind of late and there weren’t a lot of kids around. As it passed us, we saw it was the garbage truck!
Long day. Very long day. And now I am making it longer by writing!
I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep. It could have been because I was in bed by 8:30. I had my first shower and breakfast at my home stay. It’s a tossup over last year’s shower situation and this one! This year’s pros: shower basin with 6” raised lip AND shower curtain; easy to manage facets, even providing hot water when the electricity is out; wall against my bedroom and the outside instead of against a chapel wall; shower head permanently a foot and a half out from the wall. CONS: Electrical wire that runs catty corner across the top, hanging from the ceiling and resting on the shower curtain rod.
Breakfast: croissant with jelly, juice and Nescafe. I was given a cup of boiled milk (I think unpasteurized) into which I was to stir the instant coffee. (Doesn’t real coffee come from this country?)
I was walked to school this morning for the first time in 45 years! Pilar walked with me to the school and waited until the owner couple/teachers arrived. I was matched with Rosario and Janine with Fredrico. Four hours is a long time for a class. We did take a break about half way through and had real brewed coffee and discussed a couple of things. Fredrico speaks English, but not Rosario. But we figured out what I should say to my host mom regarding a little less rice and fatty foods (croissant) and we decided to take a hike to Le Leguche – a magic tree - on Friday for our lesson. It’s about an hour hike up, so we will see how we do. If I don’t carry anything but water, I should be ok breathing. We also determined they could help me with my GVI issued t-shirt that was of course too small. I will say though that it is a large and not even an extra large. So after lunch, Rosario and I went to three different shops to find someone who could insert a one inch panel on either side. We found someone who could do it no problem for $1.00!! What a deal. (I hope I will still think so tomorrow when I pick it up!)
Lunch was a delicious veggie soup followed by a half plate of fresh peas, half a plate of rice with a thin slice of beef with a small amount of light gravy over it. I really appreciated the half plate of veggies. Hopefully this will continue but maybe not with such a starchy veggie.
After class Janine and I went to Buena Vista, a small café/restaurant that has free Wi-Fi and is a hangout for Gringos. I was able to upload yesterday’s blog from MSWord before we headed over to the GVI House. It was Laura’s birthday (a volunteer from Germany), so we went out to an Italian dinner to celebrate. I had manicotti (3 stuffed with chicken) and a glass of wine. With tax and tip: $10.50. We then went back to the GVI house where we celebrated with a dessert that one of the other volunteers made. It was pretty late when I got home and I felt bad as the dog of course barked like it was supposed to, but the JorgeLuis woke up and came downstairs to turn off the lights. There is no way you can quietly enter the house – which is why they have the dog!
Observations:
The indigenous Quichua women wear a cloth tied on their heads, instead of a hat. It is black with white trim in the back. Some women seem to just place a folded cloth on their head to protect it from the sun.
Either to girls have babies very, very young, or some are carrying around their mothers babies. I know the later is wishful thinking.
The Quichua people are of very small stature. It really throws me to see some tiny kids walking and some that from their size I would guess to be 2 or so, helping out a younger child! I asked Rosaria when we walked what she would guess one little girls age and she said probably around 4, but I swear she couldn’t have been more than 2 by her size.
I see police officers everywhere. And a lot of guards. At banks, money echanges, the supermarket, or anyplace bigger than a small family operated store front, there are guards with guns standing by the doorway. Kind of unsettling.
The commerce in this town is huge. On the weekdays, there is the market at the PPPPP Poncho with the crafts. Then there is another outdoor market along both sides of a street a block long with general needs: clothing, pots and pans, shoes, etc. And then every block is filled with little shops selling one or two items of the above.
There are a number of elementary schools and high schools, technical schools and a University. The elementary school children all wear uniforms. Some of the Quichua children wear their traditional skirts or blouses under the uniform.
There are mucho perros (many dogs) wandering the streets loose. I’ve now seen only two dogs on leashes: a schnauzer and a wiener dog. On the walk home last night, we easily saw 15 dogs.
And the winner: Janine and I were walking down the street and we heard music coming from a big truck. There was a loud speaker on the front and we couldn’t figure it out, because it sounded like an ice cream truck, but it seemed too big and it was kind of late and there weren’t a lot of kids around. As it passed us, we saw it was the garbage truck!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Fun filled day - Sunday November 8
Today we started with breakfast and then a meeting over mochas at a coffee shop in the Mariscal District of Quito, not far from our hostal. Around 9:30, the GVI driver (having difficulties with names) picked us and our luggage up from the hostal and we headed to La Mitad del Mundo – the Ecuador. There is a small outdoor museum which we toured with a guide and we tried walking a straight line on the Ecuador line with our eyes closed and arms out and tried to balance an egg. I did pretty good with the walking, but was not successful with the egg! I wasn’t the only one though, and when I met some of the other volunteers who were already here, one guy said he went a second time and finally got it! Of course they showed us the water vortex going in opposite directions and straight down when the drain was right over the equator line. One thing I really liked was this sign:
We stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant where I had trout, a wee bit of veggies and a delicious smoothie made with blackberries – or mora – which was really good.
The landscape on the way to Otavalo was quite dramatic. We were quite high up and looked down over multiple hills and valleys. Otavalo is actually a couple hundred meters lower than Quito, but my village is higher than Quito by about 200 meters.
My family is: Pilar, Alfredo, JorgeLuis (11) and Mabel (9) and then Maria who helps around the house and her little daughter Maria. It is an easy 20 minute walk into the center of town – Plaza de Ponchos – although I must cross the Pan Americana highway. I shared a bag of tropical fruit jelly belly’s with the kids and they helped me say the color names and they identified the fruits. Jorge studies English in school, but I am sure it is not many hours a week, although he has helped me a bit to figure things out.
This first week I will have Spanish lessons from 8:30 to 12:30 and from 2:00 – 4:00. Don’t ask me how I will remember anything after 6 hours! I am looking forward to it though.
Observations:
People wear coats and vests and warm hats, even when it is 80+ outside!
The buses put out horrible noxious fumes and black smoke. Instead of moving out of the way so you don’t get splashed with water, you move out of the way so you don’t have to breath too many of the fumes.
I love it here that the STOP signs are red and octagonal, but say PARE instead of STOP like they did in Hungary!
They love fried chicken here – it is served quite often and is available at every other shop!
You can’t put toilet paper – any – in the toilet as the water pressure and system is too weak to handle it.
They use American dollars and coins, although they also mint their own coins and they have Ecuadorian historical figures and much larger print of the denomination. You literally can’t use or change anything higher than a $20. Even in a bank. ATM’s give out 20’s, 10’s and some 5’s.50cent pieces are quite common.
They are in the middle of the worst drought in over 50 years, so electricity (of which 70% is hydro and comes from one dam near Cuenca) is expensive. And they are not able to produce enough. So there are daily power outages in the middle of the afternoon in Quito and I am not sure yet about Otavalo.
There are internet café’s everywhere in Otavalo and reasonably priced.
Eighty percent of the population of Otavalo is Mormon! The second highest religious population is the Jehovah Witnesses!!
Hasta Luego
We stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant where I had trout, a wee bit of veggies and a delicious smoothie made with blackberries – or mora – which was really good.
The landscape on the way to Otavalo was quite dramatic. We were quite high up and looked down over multiple hills and valleys. Otavalo is actually a couple hundred meters lower than Quito, but my village is higher than Quito by about 200 meters.
My family is: Pilar, Alfredo, JorgeLuis (11) and Mabel (9) and then Maria who helps around the house and her little daughter Maria. It is an easy 20 minute walk into the center of town – Plaza de Ponchos – although I must cross the Pan Americana highway. I shared a bag of tropical fruit jelly belly’s with the kids and they helped me say the color names and they identified the fruits. Jorge studies English in school, but I am sure it is not many hours a week, although he has helped me a bit to figure things out.
This first week I will have Spanish lessons from 8:30 to 12:30 and from 2:00 – 4:00. Don’t ask me how I will remember anything after 6 hours! I am looking forward to it though.
Observations:
People wear coats and vests and warm hats, even when it is 80+ outside!
The buses put out horrible noxious fumes and black smoke. Instead of moving out of the way so you don’t get splashed with water, you move out of the way so you don’t have to breath too many of the fumes.
I love it here that the STOP signs are red and octagonal, but say PARE instead of STOP like they did in Hungary!
They love fried chicken here – it is served quite often and is available at every other shop!
You can’t put toilet paper – any – in the toilet as the water pressure and system is too weak to handle it.
They use American dollars and coins, although they also mint their own coins and they have Ecuadorian historical figures and much larger print of the denomination. You literally can’t use or change anything higher than a $20. Even in a bank. ATM’s give out 20’s, 10’s and some 5’s.50cent pieces are quite common.
They are in the middle of the worst drought in over 50 years, so electricity (of which 70% is hydro and comes from one dam near Cuenca) is expensive. And they are not able to produce enough. So there are daily power outages in the middle of the afternoon in Quito and I am not sure yet about Otavalo.
There are internet café’s everywhere in Otavalo and reasonably priced.
Eighty percent of the population of Otavalo is Mormon! The second highest religious population is the Jehovah Witnesses!!
Hasta Luego
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Quito Day Two
Ok, you're getting two posts in a row, as I leave for Otavalo tomorrow and have no idea how easy/hard my internet access will be.
Maybe I should call it day one since I barely made it out of the hostal (Ecuadorian for small hotel) yesterday. I decided the meds that the Dr. gave me must have caused me to be so fatigued, because I did not take one last night or today and I feel much better. Also drank a gallon of water in the last 24 hours.
This morning I forayed out by taxi to the panecilla - a small (big) hill at the southern end of the city with a statue of a huge winged virgin Mary, holding a chained serpent while she is standing on them.... I could see the Volcano Cotapaxi from the hill and the city sprawled out north to south between the huge mountains on either side. I had the taxi wait for me and then take me to the old town. I walked around there for awhile and saw some of the sights, but will need to go back and go into a few of the places I just wasn't up to today. There were shoeshine boys. By their size I would say they were 5 or 6, but the people here are of smaller stature, so they may have been older. A lot of people selling their wares, musicians playing, families sitting around, people shopping, etc., etc., as you would find in a public square in many countries.
With my limited Spanish, I flagged down a taxi to go back to the hostal. It was a great ride with the taxi driver and I conversing in broken Spanish. He told me he had learned some English many years ago in school, so we traded, "how old are you" "como te llama", etc. I lied to him though when he asked if I had a companion - I explained I did and he was back at the hostal sleeping!
I then walked to the Mariscal district - two blocks away - also known as Gringoland due to the high number of hotels/hostals and restarurants and travel agencies. As I sat eating my lunch and drinking a beer I remembered that I shouldn't drink alcohol for a few days because of the altitude...oh, well, I drank it anyway.
I stopped at the supermarket again. Can't get over the prices. I bought a gallon of water, a tomato, a papaya and two rolls, all for under $2.50. The gallon of water didn't even cost a dollar!
Anyway, off to nap, exercise, shower, eat dinner, visit with other travelers, etc.
Maybe I should call it day one since I barely made it out of the hostal (Ecuadorian for small hotel) yesterday. I decided the meds that the Dr. gave me must have caused me to be so fatigued, because I did not take one last night or today and I feel much better. Also drank a gallon of water in the last 24 hours.
This morning I forayed out by taxi to the panecilla - a small (big) hill at the southern end of the city with a statue of a huge winged virgin Mary, holding a chained serpent while she is standing on them.... I could see the Volcano Cotapaxi from the hill and the city sprawled out north to south between the huge mountains on either side. I had the taxi wait for me and then take me to the old town. I walked around there for awhile and saw some of the sights, but will need to go back and go into a few of the places I just wasn't up to today. There were shoeshine boys. By their size I would say they were 5 or 6, but the people here are of smaller stature, so they may have been older. A lot of people selling their wares, musicians playing, families sitting around, people shopping, etc., etc., as you would find in a public square in many countries.
With my limited Spanish, I flagged down a taxi to go back to the hostal. It was a great ride with the taxi driver and I conversing in broken Spanish. He told me he had learned some English many years ago in school, so we traded, "how old are you" "como te llama", etc. I lied to him though when he asked if I had a companion - I explained I did and he was back at the hostal sleeping!
I then walked to the Mariscal district - two blocks away - also known as Gringoland due to the high number of hotels/hostals and restarurants and travel agencies. As I sat eating my lunch and drinking a beer I remembered that I shouldn't drink alcohol for a few days because of the altitude...oh, well, I drank it anyway.
I stopped at the supermarket again. Can't get over the prices. I bought a gallon of water, a tomato, a papaya and two rolls, all for under $2.50. The gallon of water didn't even cost a dollar!
Anyway, off to nap, exercise, shower, eat dinner, visit with other travelers, etc.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Hola Ecuador!
Arrived last night, Thursday, into Quito after a bit of a bumpy flight from Miami. Everything went smoothly - from going through customs and immigration, collecting my bags, and being met and put into a cab for Villa Nancy Hostel. In line at immigration they gave us a third form to fill out and the guy behind me asked if he could use my pen. When I gave it to him, he asked what it said - it was from my credit union, Denali Alaskan. He proceeded to quiz me as to where I was from and it turns out he is a biologist who works on the fish wheel for F&G up the Taku River every summer!
I've been concerned about adjusting to the altitude, but it seems I'm adjusting ok. Not great, but ok. I was horribly tired today - and slept most of the day. Some of that may be from traveling and the stress of getting ready, but some of it is surely the altitude. I am been drinking tons of water ,not doing much.
I walked a few blocks to the Super Maxi to buy a few groceries and water. The prices were low for the most part - I bought a box of Nature Valley granola bars which cost a bit over $6, but figured it was worth it as I don't know if I can get that kind of a snack in Otavalo and I like to have something with me that I can just grab if I need to.
I paid .28 for a 1/2 kilogram (about 1 lb) of bananas(4) compared to just about a dollar a pound at home.
I saw many familiar brands throughout the store and nothing too unusual really stuck out. Now, having the cheddar cheese in the gourmet cheese case was a bit different, but....
My Spanish sucks. It sure is different hearing a word than reading it -- which I know is the case, but is quite frustrating. I was able to communicate - barely - with the hostal worker and she was very patient and helped me with a few words.
Most of the other guests here speak Spanish as well as their native language and thankfully English. There are a few German gals, another from Switzerland and a couple that just came in tonight that I haven't talked with yet.
I hope to go up to the La Panecilla tomorrow - a hill in the center of the city with a statue of the Virgin Mary and a great view of the city and the mountains and volcano. A taxi there only costs $2 each way and is the safest way to go.
I've been concerned about adjusting to the altitude, but it seems I'm adjusting ok. Not great, but ok. I was horribly tired today - and slept most of the day. Some of that may be from traveling and the stress of getting ready, but some of it is surely the altitude. I am been drinking tons of water ,not doing much.
I walked a few blocks to the Super Maxi to buy a few groceries and water. The prices were low for the most part - I bought a box of Nature Valley granola bars which cost a bit over $6, but figured it was worth it as I don't know if I can get that kind of a snack in Otavalo and I like to have something with me that I can just grab if I need to.
I paid .28 for a 1/2 kilogram (about 1 lb) of bananas(4) compared to just about a dollar a pound at home.
I saw many familiar brands throughout the store and nothing too unusual really stuck out. Now, having the cheddar cheese in the gourmet cheese case was a bit different, but....
My Spanish sucks. It sure is different hearing a word than reading it -- which I know is the case, but is quite frustrating. I was able to communicate - barely - with the hostal worker and she was very patient and helped me with a few words.
Most of the other guests here speak Spanish as well as their native language and thankfully English. There are a few German gals, another from Switzerland and a couple that just came in tonight that I haven't talked with yet.
I hope to go up to the La Panecilla tomorrow - a hill in the center of the city with a statue of the Virgin Mary and a great view of the city and the mountains and volcano. A taxi there only costs $2 each way and is the safest way to go.
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