One Month!

November 16, 2009


We’ve reached our one month mark in Ecuador! Usually, when you look back over time, it goes by much faster than you realize, as is the case with our last month. It’s been full of moments of complete confusion and self-doubt: What were thinking by coming here? Why did we leave our family and friends, our routine, our life? These questions have not not gone away, and I think we both will continue to self interrogate, but there have been experiences that have allowed us to bond with people outside of our families and friends.  On our first weekend here, we went on a day trip to Otavalo, a huge outdoor market, where for five dollars you can buy two hand knitted ski hats and two pairs of hand knitted gloves. The local artisans sell artwork, jewelry, hand knitted items, and of course, food. It’s paradise! On this trip we met a woman, with long gray hair to her waist that she wore in a pony tail. We connected from the beginning. She was sitting next to us on the mini bus. Through our conversation we found out that she was working here through UNESCO, and that her IQ is double ours put together! She’s working here to analyze the constitution for the five Andean countries: Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Columbia. Apparently, the constitution is sound, but whenever a new president comes into office, conveniently enough, they’re allowed to change the constitution, not amend it, but change it. Her perception is that the constitution isn’t the problem as much as the lack of enforcement. (Ie. When a newspaper company puts out negative press on the President and it gets burned down, oh well!) Needless to say, when she presents her results to the powers that be, she will be making the strong recommendation that this document can not be changed every few years to the likings of the current president and that it must be enforced or it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.

SO ALL THAT’S PRETTY INTERESTING, BUT HERE’S THE BEST PART: She’s a graduate English professor for WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY! GO COUGS!  She and her husband, who is a physicist professor, live on the Idaho and Washington border! They both teach at WSU!

We kept in touch after our day trip together, and she offered us a free ride to Mindo with her our last weekend in Quito. It’s two and a half hours from Quito in the middle of the Cloud Forest. We had been wanting to go there, not for the world renowned bird watching which was the reason she was going there, but for the zip lining and waterfalls! We went in the private van she had reserved and chatted the entire way there, with Dan every now and then admitting that she needed to translate, not that she was speaking in Spanish, but when one has a PHD in media law, the level of vocabulary is a bit above ours! She’s also a writer, so I’m sure he’s going to end up one of her characters in her book!

Once in Mindo, we got dropped off at our lovely little family run hostel and she went further on into a beautiful little reserve. In order to get to the lodge she was staying, you have to cross a river in a mini self-pulled cable car fifteen feet above the rapid water. There is usually someone there to pull the ropes, so you don’t have to do it yourself, so you just sit down, swing your legs over the side, and enjoy the swift moving water below! We will attach pictures of this, because it is a must see! Once on the mainland, there is only hydro-electric power, a huge garden to feed the guests, three cabins, a beautiful lodge/kitchen area with a thatched roof, surrounded by a lush green tropical forest. The man and wife who own it live there. He is a former biology professor from Mississippi and she is  Ecuadorian raised in a rainforest that was destroyed. Together, their mission in life is to live modernly yet in a way that causes the least destruction to the land as possible and educate others how to do so.

We were lucky enough to get to walk around and breathe in the fresh air. After spending a month in a city where the car exhaust makes you dizzy after only a few minutes walk outside, this place was heavenly. They offer alternative cooking classes to the locals, in an attempt to help change the diet of the people. They also offer an apprenticeship for bird watching, training the locals on how to be guides, allowing them an opportunity to make a decent wage. It was such a short meeting with the couple, but they’re mission is an admirable one. We left there hoping that one day we might return.

We made sure to enjoy the activities that help keep the city on the map, so we went zip lining! We went with two other ladies and one lady’s 9 year old daughter, who was hysterically dramatic about the whole feat of flying through the air across the canopy, hanging by a harness, getting a bird’s eye view of the forest. As if flying across the cables in a sitting position wasn’t enough of a rush, apparently no self-respecting zip liner goes zip lining without trying the “Superman,” where you are attached to the guide and you lay face down, with your arms straight out at your sides, flying through the air like superman! We didn’t chicken out, we agreed to fly through the air like superman, and it was amazingly fun!

The next day we hiked to a waterfall where they had a slide built into the cliff that dumps you off into the river below. The water was absolutely heart stopping cold. We couldn’t catch our breath when we landed in its frigidness. There was also cliff jumping, but neither of us had much desire to attempt it. After banging our feet on the bottom of the river with the 10 ft. high slide, we didn’t want to risk it off the 30-40 ft. cliff. We watched as one frightened guy would go to the edge ready to jump, and stop. Then he would go to the edge again, look over, and stop. It was incredibly painful to watch, and after 20 minutes, it was just too much. He had girls and guys passing him up, giving him false courage that he too could do it, and then he’d build up the courage to try again, looking determined to do it, and then he’d start walking fast to go off, and he’d stop at the edge. We spent at least 30 minutes watching from the rocks below, and he never did jump, but he stayed at the top! Seriously, it’s alright that you don’t want to jump, it’s really a dumb thing to do, but come down already! Watching him was torture!

We headed back in the early evening just in time for the Texas Hold Em’ game with the family and cousins. Dan walked in the door and the whole house went crazy with questions about our trip! They have really made this first month feel welcoming. Although it’s really made both of us miss our families terribly, it’s been so nice being here with them, and they’ve really included us as a part of their family.

We will be leaving on Wed. Nov.18th to the Galapagos Islands where we will work as volunteers for the New Era Galapagos Foundation. We will work with the locals on English, both children and adults, since tourism is the main source of revenue for the islands, the more English one knows, the more opportunities for higher paying jobs.

Dan has no problem impressing the people here, they ABSOULTELY ADORE him! He is a giant in comparison, and they look up at him with gaga eyes! Our Ecuadorian family, the teachers at the school, the cousins, EVERYONE just loves him! He will have no problem meeting the right people to allow us to work and travel through the Galapagos. Hopefully, he can trade work for free tours. For the first month, we have a family that we will be renting a room from, so we will continue to practice our Spanish and be a part of the culture.

Hasta luego a Quito y hola a Las Galapagos!