I need your money!

Ok, so asking others for money has never been my strong suit. I was never good at fundraising. I dreaded going door to selling over-priced popcorn so I could go to summer camp. Let's see if I have gotten any better.

Today I am proud to announce that the grant for the English Audiovisual Lab has been approved by Peace Corps Ecuador and Washington DC. After months of work on the grant it was finally pushed through last week and placed on the PC website. All we lack now are the funds!

Some of the English Club kiddos you would be helping

The grant is specifically set to boost the level of English of my teachers and in turn, their students. Right now, English is taught with no materials aside from a book and a white board. Furthermore, the same book is taught to each level so the students see no new material. This grant allots funds for a computer, a projector, a speaker, a microphone, headphones, a printer/scanner and desks. Peace Corps stresses that the community must be responsible for 25% of the total cost of the implementation of the lab. In agreement with this, the school will provide the physical classroom, security systems, and the remaining chairs and desks that are required.

What my normal classes look like

I know that the implementation of lab will have a profound effect on the school. Last year we did not have electricity in every classroom and the possibility of leaping from there to the 21st century would make a world of difference to my school and my community. I would really like my teachers to experiment with new methodology and bring the world beyond my community into the classroom. I won't be here much longer but hopefully this can be something that I can leave behind in hopes of bettering the tomorrow of my teachers, my students, and my community.

The full amount of the grant is $3,7488. After subtracting the 25% being donated by high school the total comes out to $2,478. I have a little less 8 months left here in Ecuador

and I would really like to see the implementation of this laboratory before I go. Any amount you can give is appreciated even if just 5 dollars. You can rest well knowing that in a small way we are making a change.

Ok, how was that? Sappy enough? Please Please Please! It is even tax deductible!

Here is the web page where you can donate!

Peace Corps Donation Page for My Lab

La Mama Negra: Why are those Gringos in the Parade?

La Mama Negra

This weekend the fiestas of Latacunga have officially drawn to a close. La Mama Negra is a festival that begins on September 23rd with the parade of the pueblo and basically continues until the 11^th of November with the celebration of the Independence Day of Latacunga. I quickly got my fill of endless fireworks.

Fresh

The festival is a blend of every culture that exists in Ecuador. Afro-Ecuadorian, Spanish and Indigenous aspects are all represented in the parade. The melting pot of culture makes it virtually impossible to understand what is going on. At one point in the parade people are giving praise to the Virgen de la Mercedes (Catholic), at another a people are being rubbed down with live guinea pigs and get alcohol spit on them to cleanse their bodies (Indigenous), and a man dressed as a woman with a painted black face rides a horse through the streets. It is all a little bit confusing. The main point, as far as I could tell, was to give thanks to the Virgin of the Mercedes for protecting us yet another year from Cotopaxi a mildly active volcano situated right outside our city.

Gettin' our march on

But where does Todd “Pepe” Hemelstrand come into the picture you might ask? 

The principal of my school was asked last year to one of the 5 principal characters in the festival. He, as the Captain, invited me and 3 other Gringos that live here to a part of his entourage. We all happily accepted. The last 2 months have been spent preparing for La Mama Negra at my school. To say that the school has been consumed by the preparations for this parade would be an understatement. Almost every day we would have either a meeting or a 2 hour practice at which times school would be invariably cancelled. I wish I could say that all that practice led to a flawless march but there were still mistakes made by the goofy Gringo…

Found this on the internet. We famous!

When the day finally arrived we met up at 6:30 in the morning. We marched to the houses of each character and the parade grew from there. By 12:30 we were ready to officially start the parade. The sun was beating and my ornate, cumbersome costume did little to keep me cool. Luckily it cooled off about an hour into the parade. 

The festival is known for the liquor that is guzzled in the streets from dawn ‘til dusk. We, as a part of the parade, were instructed to not take any drink from anyone. This had less to do with sobriety of our group and more to do with staying alive. Every year people are drugged and foreigners are at an even higher risk. 

As the parade progressed I noticed the police presence intensifying. At certain spots in the parade our security detail would have to beat back the crowds to allow us room to march. At the end of the parade we simply filtered into the crowd. At this point the national police were dressed in full swat gear apparently ready for action. I had heard from many sources that last year was “tame” because only 2 people came to enjoy their last Mama Negra…

The parade ended and we loaded buses to head to the city where my boss lives. There he threw a party for 4000 people. He hired bands of traditional Ecuadorian music and pop music alike. We danced late into the night. 

Today, the 11^th of November, is the Independence Day of Latacunga. This morning we had another parade but this was much tamer than La Mama Negra. Each high school in the city was involved and marching bands played. This holiday coincides with Memorial Day so it was nice to get to enjoy a parade. 

La Mama Negra was quite an experience. I am glad that school allowed me to be a part of something so important to them. Going from “that Gringo” to feeling like you are “one of the guys” is great. I am integrating slowly but surely. I now have a greater understanding of what it means to be from Latacunga. Even better than that though, I know what I am going to be for Halloween for the foreseeable future.

Colegio Vicente Leon

Ecuadorian Mlitary

Little Ecuas!

Summer Camp: Cuidarte Los Huevos!

“Holding a two week summer camp that one created from scratch is the best and most relaxing way to spend one’s vacation time”, said no one ever…

Ok, so that may be a bit overly pessimistic. While the camp was a lot of work and drained me a bit I am happy to have had the opportunity to hold such a camp for kids who likely had never had the opportunity to attend a summer camp until a couple of Gringos showed up. For sure the rewards outweighed the drawbacks.

The idea to hold a summer camp was hatched by a fellow volunteer who lives in a small community about 15 km from my site. Her site, Pujilí, is comprised mainly of indigenous Ecuadorians and the city is at a significantly lower economic state than my site, Latacunga. My friend suggested we hold a free summer camp for the youth of Pujilí giving English classes along with other typical summer camp activities. I initially had reservations about jumping into such a large project so early into our service but was eventually convinced that we would be fine and the camp would be great. I would be lying if I said that I did not think back to my initial feelings of doubt when the going got tough over the past two weeks but I am still very glad that my friend twisted my arm just enough to get me to commit.

Chillin' wit da homies

The camp was…

…a day camp running from 8:30 until 1:00.

…held at a local high school that allowed us to use their campus.

…open to any youth in Pujilí ages 5-16.

…free.

…created completely from scratch.

…ran by two PCVs that looked like they had it all together when really we would meet every afternoon and scratch our heads as we tried to plan the activities for the following day.

…exhausting yet exhilarating.

The camp was attended by about 30 kids depending on the day. Many of them were from the city of Pujilí but after we were featured on the news a few students from very rural very indigenous areas joined the camp as well. I remember working at summer camps in the States and how accountable the counselors were for the safety and well being of each and every student. Those summer camps assumed the liability for the students that are at their camp. Here it is just about the opposite. Children here are very independent and this was reflected in their behavior during the two weeks. Many times a group of three or four students would simply leave our camp to go buy bread from a store down the road. Invariably they would return though with their bread and things would continue. It was my instinct to immediately ask where they went and instruct them that they could not simply leave whenever they wanted to. I was responsible for them and didn’t want them to get hurt. (My very American fear of being sued for losing a child sometimes gets the best of me). The children did not understand why we wanted to know where they were at all times and this was something that I had to adjust to.

My sunglasses and my backpack made Joel look so cool

The students ranged from 4 years old all the way up to 16. This presented a special challenge. Keeping all ages busy and happy was something that undoubtedly expedited my premature balding. We planned activities we hoped would appeal to all ages. Many times we would ask the older kids to help the younger ones to keep everyone working.

The children were not required to come every day. We told them that we had fun activities planned each day and if they wanted to take part in them they would have to show up. This enticed them enough and we had steady attendance from almost everyone. It probably didn’t hurt that we had a tall blonde American female leading the camp.

Camp Activities:

English classes: We started these with the best of intentions. We wanted only to play games that involved English words and phrases. I allowed my friend to teach these because I had had my fill of English education for the year. These classes ended up being a time for the older kids to ask us questions about the United States and how to say certain phrases in English. I think I taught more English at times when a kid would want to know how to say a random word. For example, a young boy ran up to me and grabbed my stomach. I told him he was grabbing my fat, in Spanish of course. He then wanted to know how to say “fat” in English. I suppose learning  how to say “fat” is better than nothing.

Scouts: This was my specialty. I wanted to teach a few basic things dealing with the outdoors and survival. On the first day we did a challenge course where the teams had to complete certain tasks and the team that finished them all first would win a sticker on their team’s card. This was our monetary system that we used to keep track of who was winning. One activity in the challenge course was searching for food, shelter, and water which were represented by three discs. Another activity was to get every member of the team over a “poisonous rock” that was represented by a rope that was about 4 feet in the air. If a member of the team touched as they tried to get over it the entire team would restart. This activity led to only one kid landing on his head from five feet in the air so I consider it a success.

Como Planear Mi Vida: This is an activity that the Peace Corps encourages us to implement in our sites. I realize not everyone who reads this blog speaks Spanish so I will translate. The direct translation of Como Planear Mi Vida is “Not a good activity for 6 year olds.” Actually it means “how to plan my life” and basically it is meant to make children think about the decisions they make and how they can affect their future. My friend decided she would use an activity where each child is given an egg and told to take care of it as if it were a baby. The activity is meant to give kids an idea what it might be like to take care of a child. On paper it sounded like a great idea. But when you give a room full of little kids eggs, the results are predictable. Within the first 10 minutes we had 3 baby casualties. Egg yolk was everywhere. As the day progressed I found “baby brains” in many random places including the bathroom. Hopefully when these kids actually have babies they will try and take care of them better than they did with their eggs.

Sports: I decided the kids needed to learn American sports. The first sport I taught was Ultimate. The kids took to it pretty quickly and even asked to play in the following days. We also taught kickball. Man those Ecuadorians kids can kick a soccer ball (couldn’t locate a kickball). Those two sports were fun but the kids fell in love with Capture the Flag. After we taught that game that was all they wanted to play. They would just scream “Bandera, bandera, bandera!” when we would ask what they wanted to play. (We told them that the name of the game was “Capturar la Bandera”.)

Recycled Art: Because the camp cost nothing for the kids we had no budget. Every resource we used was either something of ours or we purchased it. Therefore recycled art was very appealing to us. We made wallets out of used milk cartons. The kids really enjoyed making these and I enjoyed seeing the kids using them throughout the camp.

Recycled milk cartons turned into wallets

Music Class: A local musician offered to teach a music class to the kids. The younger kids really liked the class. The older kids decided they were too cool for music school and hung out outside with my friend and me. This was when we had “cultural interchange”. We would chat about the States and the differences between Ecuador and the USA. I call it “cultural interchange” because that is one of the main goals of the Peace Corps and just in case my boss is reading this I want to cover all my bases. Hey Maria Dolores! J

Musical production put on at the final meeting

Olympics: On the last day my friend planned Olympic Games for the kids. We set up 6 stations that the kids would have to complete. The team that finished all of the stations in the quickest time would win. Though the games were very simple and short the kids loved the activity.

It may look like gambling but really they were bowling down water bottles

Working within the system to get the camp set up and ready to go was probably one of the most difficult things about the whole ordeal. There were many leaders in the community that pledged support for our camp. While one of them was able to come through and deliver what was promised many fell through due to various reasons. It was frustrating to rely on someone and then when you really need them they fail to hold up their end of the bargain. Improvisation became the name of the game many times. This taught me the value of two things. 1) Rely only on people that you really trust and 2) have really good backup activities.

Each day I would return to Latacunga around five in the evening thoroughly exhausted. On Wednesday of last week my students at the university called me and asked if I was busy. I told them I was not but I had not planned on coming to the university that evening. They pleaded with me to come because they were not going to have classes on Thursday, the day I normally taught them. I wearily agreed to come even though I had no lessons planned. I arrived to a surprise party they had planned for me and another teacher. We ate dinner and the students thanked me for working with them. It was a very nice surprise. Near the end of the evening a student stood up and gave a small speech about how grateful she and her classmates were. She concluded her speech by giving us matching leather jackets from the class. I have never owned a leather jacket before and I like the one they gave me. I look as if I just got off a Harley. It was very nice of them and I am truly grateful to get to work with students that want to learn as strongly as they do.

University students in an English Masters program

Now that the camp is over I have been working on a presentation that I will give in Quito in a week. The work of a volunteer is never finished. Next Wednesday I will go to Quito to work at a summer camp for the US Embassy. It promises to be a lot of fun. Hopefully they don’t plan on giving the kids eggs…

Last day. I bet in a week or so I will miss them!

Schools out for summer!

The school year has drawn to a close here in the Andean region of Ecuador. Students were released this past Friday with only a small percentage staying for “supletorios”, or summer school. Similar to the United States, teachers are required to stay and “work” at the school until the end of July. I have heard that this period of time largely includes card playing. Maybe instead of methodology training I can teach Bridge to my English teachers. The faculty will have a little less than a month off before returning for a few more weeks of cards then we resume classes in September.

Not quite Ecuadorian children but a great photo nonetheless

I, as a volunteer, am expected to work through the vacation period. I plan on spending much of this “free time” working on Community Assessment Tools that I must present to the Peace Corps during a conference in August. These “tools”, no pun intended, are rather involved. I am to interview around 50 families in their homes, conduct surveys in my school community, and poll my counterparts about what exactly the needs are in my specific community. This process is supposed to guide me to new projects and to gain a better perspective of my community and what my role might be in community development. Personally I think CAT is for volunteers to meet their community and further help with integration. I am all about meeting new people.

In addition to CAT I plan on continuing to work at two local universities. UTC and ITSA have extended offers to me to work with a few of their English courses. I began working at each university three weeks ago. I really enjoy working in an academic setting with students who want to learn. Working in the university is fueling my professional dream of becoming a professor in the US. iYo sí puedo!

I have been working with visually impaired students at the Ministry of Education on a weekly basis. However, they also are now on vacation. This particular job requires a lot of creativity. Every week I try to think of new activities to aid me in teaching English to these students. As one can imagine there is not much material on the internet for this very specific task. Maybe I will make my first million by selling my lesson plans.

I went back to Cumbaya recently after a friend invited me to come to his son’s 15^th birthday party. Eager for cooked food and good company I accepted his invitation. Cumbaya is a well-off suburb of Quito that is home to the movers and shakers of Ecuador’s capital. I expected a warm greeting upon my arrival to the family’s house as I was given one month ago when I visited. Instead, the grandmother of the family scolded me for not calling or visiting the family sooner. It is strange being hugged and chastised at the same time. This was more or less repeated by every member of the family including those I had never met before.

I had bought a t-shirt to give to the birthday boy but absent mindedly left it on the bus. I had shown it to another member of the family the day before so at least it was known that I had tried. In hindsight, it was probably better the birthday boy didn’t see my gift. It was a knock-off Vans t-shirt. “Chimbra” or fake clothing is very popular in Ecuador but within the gated community of Cumbaya my gift might have been judged a bit harsher.

We all sat down for a 5 course lunch. I still do not know which spoon or fork to use with each course. I was excited because they told me we were eating Lasagna as the main dish. As with every meal here we started with soup. Salad followed shortly thereafter and then on to the main course. It looked absolutely delicious. I cut into my lasagna and to my surprise the meat was hot-dogs. I tried to hide my surprise and ate it happily. Ecuador, you never know what to expect.

Before lunch we all watched a “Toros del Pueblo” from the roof of my friend’s house that was being hosted in Cumbaya. This is basically a bull fight that anyone could participate in. BYO Cape. I was assured that the bullfight was safe and no one would be seriously injured. Those horns still looked pretty sharp.  

I did not bring my camera to the bull fight so this pirated photo from Google will have to suffice

The prize for the best bullfighter was a large pizza. I assumed I heard incorrectly but a man standing next to me reassured me that it was indeed the prize. Many of the men that jumped into the arena had obviously had a bit too much “liquid courage” in their quest to for a large ham and pepperoni. One heavy-set man in particular stood out. He did not bring a suitable bull-fighting cape but used his black and white poncho instead. He would stumble around the arena until he had the bull’s attention. Then as the bull prepared to charge the man would have a moment of clarity and run at a drunken full sprint to the fence. Twice he launched himself at the fence only to collide with it as the bull was in hot pursuit. He would climb the fence quickly and both times he did a front-flip over the top of the fence and landed square on his back. This brought great cheers from the audience and from me as well.

I had a great time watching this exposition and even had a very small desire to participate. However, I think the Gringo will stick to sheep-fighting for now.

Climbing Pichincha

This past weekend was a three day holiday here in Ecuador and a few volunteers decided to get together in Quito and attempt to climb the volcano Pichincha. I was excited to get away from work for a few days and reunite with a few of my friends.

We all met up in Quito Friday morning and checked in at The Secret Garden. I have now stayed at this hostel twice and would highly recommend it to travelers that want to save money but not sacrifice (modest) comfort and (some) security. This hostel has a great view of the Centro Historico of Quito. They have a restaurant/bar/relaxation spot on the fifth floor balcony that has magnificent views of the Quito and Pichincha.

View from The Secret Garden

On Friday we bummed around Quito and Mariscal district in anticipation of the next day’s climb. Pichincha is easily seen from most spots in Quito. It sits on the western border of the city with two towering peaks looking down over the city. The peak that we would climb, Rucu Pichincha, sits at 15,413 feet above sea level.  I should have realized that this was not going to be a cake walk.

Friday evening and night was spent at the restaurant and lounge area on the roof with many other international travelers. My friends and I had many long conversations/debates with a few of the European travelers. A Dutch man and I got into a discussion and the need to say the pledge of allegiance. He thought it was ridiculous and he was shocked when I said that in Texas schools we actually say the state pledge daily. He went on to say that he thought that sounded a lot like North Korea to him. He knew that statement was outrageous but he was simply trying to antagonize the Texan. After that speed bump was behind us we actually did have a good discussion about healthcare and the motivation to earn it rather than receive it. Points were made by a Frenchman, the Dutch guy, an English dude, and of course, me. It was all very good brain food.

The next morning we woke and enjoyed some two day old coffee on the fifth floor of our hostel. The flavor may not have been too good but at least it was warm and free. We gathered our things for the climb and set off toward the mountain. We hailed a taxi to take us to the base. From there we hopped on the teleférico, a four person gondola that takes site seers up part of the mountain. From the top of the teleférico we took a few pictures and looked around a bit. Once I saw how far we had to go my stomach dropped a bit. The gondola had taken us up only a small way on our journey to the top. We set off.

Gondola

Over the next two hours we hiked up and up and up. After every ridge we hoped to see the actual peak but we would just see another high ridge ahead of us. As we would later find out, the summit that we saw from the top of the teleférico was actually a “false summit” that really hid the much higher summit behind it. We stopped periodically to catch our breath and drink water and wonder how much further it was. We were afforded great views of Quito from this point on the mountain. As he looked over the city of Quito and the beautiful Andean landscape a friend of mine mentioned that climbing mountains makes one feel truly insignificant. It was an interesting thought and I shared that I felt almost the exact opposite. I feel more significant out in nature and being away from “everything” else. I also shared that the time I felt most insignificant was on top of the Empire State Building in NYC and seeing so many buildings and people and people in buildings. The mountains give me a place to feel both isolated from the world and yet totally in tune with it.



View of Quito before we entered the clouds

As we began the third hour of climbing the clouds rolled in. Or maybe more accurately we climbed into the clouds. Visibility was very low which may not have been a bad thing considering the how steep the mountain was if you looked down. If you can’t see it, you can’t be scared of it right? Pretty soon we left the discernible trail behind. The trail was gone and the only place to go was up. It started out in a rock scree that seemed to last forever but later would provide us the fun opportunity of “skiing” down it. We had to stop seemingly every minute or two to breathe. I was not expecting this climb to be so difficult considering that I had climbed another mountain here that was only a bit smaller. I believe the difference was the distance we had to hike to get to the start of the real climb.

View from the saddle

We made it up the rock scree and to a small saddle between the summit and another smaller peak. We rested there and talked about our options. After a bit of discussion we all knew we were going up even higher into the windy cloudy sky. The last 200 meters or so of Pichincha are a bear crawl up a pretty steep rocky incline. We scrambled up and finally made it to the top. Though there was no view to be seen due to the clouds but it was a great feeling to realize we could go no higher. We sat on the summit and ate empanadas and took a few pictures. I was freezing because I decided to wear shorts rather than jeans (lesson learned). We took in the limited oxygen for a few more minutes than decided it was time to point our noses downhill.

The descent took us about an hour and half, half the time it took us to get up there. As the adrenaline began to wear off from us summiting I began to realize how tired I was. The same thing dawned on my friends at seemingly the same time. Anytime there was a part of the trail that we could jog safely we did so to make the descent quicker. We finally made it down and hopped on the teleférico. It never felt so good to sit down.

A little "Karate Kid" on the summit

That evening we arrived at the hostel smelling to high heaven and could barely drag ourselves to the fourth floor where we were bunking. We got into the room that we were sharing with a few other travelers and laid down with a chorus of groans. As we talked about the days adventures I happened to glance over at our lockers in the room. A fellow volunteer had put all of his valuables in my locker because I had a lock. That locker had a significant amount of “goodies” in it. A smart phone, two hard drives, mp3 player, a wallet, and another volunteer’s cash. When I looked at the locker my heart stopped. Someone had broken the bottom part of the locker enough to get a hand into it. I pointed this out to my friends and began frantically searching for my key. When I finally found the key I fumbled with it to unlock the lock. Miraculously all of our things were still there. I was so relieved after this realization as well as exhausted from the climb that I laid down on the floor next to the lockers for a good twenty minutes as we all spoke about how crappy some people are.

We spent the evening in the Mariscal district that is very popular with Gringos. It felt good to relax and enjoy some good food and drink. I ate at a Mexican food restaurant that was amazing. It was so amazing that I am still sick from it! A friend of mine ate one bean off of my plate and he also became sick. If one bean made him sick, just imagine what a whole plate did to me. My host father has dubbed me “king” because of my frequent visits to the “throne”…

Probably the most accurate visual description of my emotions up high

This climb up Pichincha was much more difficult than I had anticipated. I have been running a good amount here in Latacunga to keep my cardio up and I plan on training much harder for our next climb. I hope that within the next year I will be able to climb Cotopaxi, the world’s highest active volcano which sits at 19,347 feet. Pichincha was a good tester to see how I might fare at higher elevation. I think I can… I think I can… I think I can.

Great trip with great friends

What do you bet the Gringo eats French fries?

So what is there to report since my last post? I have been sick for basically 2 weeks straight. It began with the loss of hearing in my right ear after swimming in Cumbaya. I thought it was nothing at the time and didn’t report the loss of hearing to the Medical Unit. After four days I decided it was time to do something. I spoke with the Peace Corps Medical Officer and was instructed to go to the local hospital and have my ear checked out. Little did I know that this was about to be yet another adventure into uncharted territory.  The instructions from the PC were vague at best. I decided to call the Ministry of Education English Coordinator to get her opinion on which hospital to go to and how to go about getting treatment. She told me to show up at her office and we would go together.  I was very grateful that she would drop everything she was doing and offer to take me to the hospital.

We entered into the ER which comprised of a bed with a sheet, a scale, and a plethora of hurting people. I felt out of place for more than one reason. For starters, I am white. Also, I was in nowhere near as much pain as many of the other patients. As the nurse began asking me questions I realized something else. Everyone at the hospital was indigenous. I asked the MOE Coordinator why that was. She responded that this hospital was for non-government workers and people that couldn’t afford the other “social security” hospital. So basically, I was in a welfare hospital with-in a Socialists country. Fantastic.

I was questioned by the nurse about the usual health things: age, weight, height, history of medical problems, French fry intake. That’s right, he asked me if I ate a lot of French fries. He asked this as if it were on the medical chart right below date of birth. I responded with a quick “no” but I have a feeling he might have checked yes anyway. I later asked the MOE Coordinator why I was asked this information. She responded that he was probably just curious to find out if this particular Gringo stereotype was true.

We were then ushered to another part of the hospital to wait on a doctor. We sat for about an hour without seeing any of the ailing older people enter the doctor’s office. We then saw the doctor walk out of the office and down the hall to a supply closet. The MOE Coordinator quickly got up and walked after her. After a quick conversation she came back to me and informed me that the doctor was just chit chatting with a friend. But the MOE Coordinator had told the doctor that I was sick and did not speak a word of Spanish and she was there to translate but could only wait for an hour. The doctor said she would be with me shortly, 58 minutes later to be exact. I was told to not to respond to the doctor and pretend as if I did not understand a word of what she was saing once we got in there. I accidently responded once but quickly acted as if I was speaking English rather than get caught and sent back out to the hallway.

The diagnosis ended up being that I had an infection and I was sure to get the flu the following day. I was giving a plethora of pills and told to go to sleep. Surprisingly the entire visit was free including the medication. I have mixed emotions about the whole thing. Yes, it was free medical care, but at what cost? The doctors were not motivated to help and one could tell the standard of care was nowhere near where it should have been. I have been informed by other volunteers that there are great hospitals in Quito and the next time I am sick I should just insist on medical care in one of those hospitals. To the doctor’s credit, I did get the flu the next day. I was doubled up in bed for 4 days and am just now fully getting over my cough. A friend of mine insists that bad things happen so that you can appreciate the good when it comes. I am sure that when I feel better I will rejoice in my new found health.

One more note on medical care. I spoke with the MOE Coordinator about medical care here in Ecuador compared to the US. I informed her that I knew of people that work full-time for 12,000 dollars a year in the United States because they receive medical benefits from the job. Her eyes widened at this statement. I later found out this was not because of the measly amount of pay but rather that doctors in Ecuador make roughly 1,000 dollars a month. Her shock was not due to the fact that people work in America for 12k but rather that this was an exorbitant amount of money. 

Note to self: don’t bring up American wages again…

I went back to school on Thursday of last week. Everyone was worried about me and had plenty of theories as to why I was sick. The overwhelming opinion was that I do not wear a scarf around my neck at all times. Others included that I swam in water that was too cold. Everyone had their own idea and who knows what the actual reason was. I am just hoping it doesn’t happen again.

Young man preparing his lips.

Video of Flag Ceremony

On Friday classes were cancelled for a ceremony that happens once a year for the graduating seniors. They are all lined up with military like precision and one by one were marched up to Ecuadorian flags. They then went down on one knee as if they are going to propose to the flag and then they kiss the flag in a symbol of patriotism. All of this was set to the beat of the large school band that played a marching song as the students went to show their patriotism. They are supposed to promise the country something of themselves. Then they are marched back to their spot in line. It was a very nice ceremony. The young men and women went up the flag with all seriousness and smooched away. I was very impressed with the level of dedication each and every senior had. I was expecting one or two to make light of the situation or only kiss the colors half-heartedly.

Marching in unison

This ceremony only served to remind me how traditional this society is. It had almost a romantic appeal to it. Rebellion is not in the vocabulary of the students and young people here. Yes, some students cut loose on the weekends and have a drink or spray paint some politically-motivated graffiti on a wall but mainly they behave the same as their parents. Authority is really not questioned here. I cannot imagine telling a group of American high school students that they have to kiss an American flag. How many students would really do this? By the time American students are 18 they have already begun their paths towards independence and free will. This is a value that we as Americans hold dear. The ability to question authority and identify what you believe is an integral part of being an American. Ecuadorian youth may not agree with everything that is said by their parents or school authorities but at the end of the day, they are all going to kiss that flag.

Flag ceremony

That evening I was invited to a party honoring a man that was receiving a lifetime achievement award for his work in the field of agriculture. This man had organized labor and brought a brighter future to many indigenous farmers. The ceremony concluded after 2 hours of praise for the man from the governor of the province, the mayor and many other prominent individuals in the community. I felt like high society that evening. Then the dancing began. A local artist serenaded the crowd of revelers and a very famous Ecuadorian band, “Casa De Cultura” played long into the night. It was a nice cap to a long week.

Traditional dance after the ceremony

Salud. Or at least in hope of health.

Ecuadorian Hospitality and Climbing Putzalahua

This past weekend held yet another lesson on culture for one of Ecuador’s newest and whitest residents. After the two days were finished I was physically exhausted, full to my eyeballs with Ecuadorian food and a bit red from the ever penetrating sun. I am just now beginning to recuperate.

Last week I went to an all day birthday party where I met a very nice family that invited me and a fellow volunteer to their house “anytime we wanted”.  They were very kind and seemed to be good contacts to have. Seeing as how we had nothing to do in the upcoming weekend we decided to call and accept the invitation to come to their house only six days after meeting them. I felt that it might have been an empty promise and was worried we might be calling a bit too soon. To my surprise they were ecstatic to have us come visit and so soon! We got the address of the house and a few more contact numbers and prepared for our whirlwind one day trip to Quito.

The family actually lives in Cumbaya, a suburb of Quito. Much like the song, Cumbaya is a very calm and relaxed. Oh and did I mention it is where some of the wealthiest people in Ecuador live? Yeah, after we realized where we were going I began to wonder what kind of experience was in store for us.

We left early in the morning on Saturday and embarked on our 3 hour trip. We arrived in the much warmer city of Cumbaya and waited in front of a large megastore for the family to pick us up. A man walked up and asked if we were Todd and Chelsea. Awkwardly we responded that we were and were quickly whisked into a nice car where the grandparents and the daughter were waiting for us. I realize that we as white folk stand out here but when someone comes up and already knows your name and who you are, it is a bit unnerving.

We made it to the house shortly thereafter. This house was amazing. It was in a guarded compound and the first thing I saw was the pool. We weren’t in Kansas anymore. We parked in the garage. That’s right, I said garage. I have not seen one here before this Saturday. Then we were escorted into the house. It was beautiful. The house had hardwood floors, three stories, and a magnificent view of the suburbs of Quito and the surrounding mountains. I tried to keep my jaw off the floor. What kind of Peace Corps experience was this.

View from the 3rd floor

Lunch was prepared for us and the rest of the family was about to arrive. We ate sandwiches and drank juice. I was happy that they didn’t go out of their way to make us a large meal. The parents arrived after lunch and we chatted for awhile. My friend had made a pie to give to the family. I made… drum roll please… Doritos. The family thought that was hilarious and because men here do not cook it was acceptable. They were very happy that we had accepted their invitation. We were asked if we had brought our swimsuits because it was time to swim. I packed my trunks in the anticipation of this offer. We were ushered to the pool and sauna both of which I thoroughly enjoyed.

After swimming we were told to shower and come downstairs for lunch. I had assumed that we had had lunch two hours earlier but as usual I never know quite what is going on here. An enormous meal had been prepared for the whole family. We ate a large cheesy soup followed by salad and fresh shrimp. Then we had the main course of spaghetti and French bread. Dessert was fresh fruit and whipped cream. It was all delicious and I was stuffed by the second course. I must admit that more than once I had to watch the family to decide what piece of the large array of silverware to use. This was a piece of knowledge that I did not think I would need to employ while in a developing country.

At the end of lunch we sat and chatted for about an hour. They, along with most Ecuadorians, love hearing about my family and where I am from. Both topics I am happy to talk about. I love the looks on their faces when I describe my city in Texas. They simply cannot believe people would live in a city that is flat, dry and dusty. When it was time to leave we let them know how grateful we were for having us there. They were pretty sad that we were not staying the night with them. They continually insisted that we could not leave. We promised we would return and stay the night at a later date. They turned this into a plan for us to stay a whole weekend and have the whole family together. They offered to drive us to the bus stop and we were happy to accept. Of course this meant we had to stop and get ice cream to delay our departure from the family. I offered to pay but they would have none of that. They then took us to the stop and we said goodbye and thanked them many many times.

I was amazed at the hospitality of this family. They had met me only a week before but I felt as if I was a member of the family. Despite the fact that this family was obviously very well off they still behaved like any other Ecuadorian family. They were very close to one another and were not arrogant or prideful. I am very proud to say that they are one of my new good friends. The grandmother kept hugging me and telling me how happy she was for us to be there. Ecuadorians walk arm in arm with people they are very close with. The grandmother walked with me in this fashion after only having known me for 3 hours. After she found out that my mom is coming to visit in October she insisted that we all stay with her. I thought she was just being nice but after the third time she mentioned it I knew she was serious. If her house is anything like her son’s I think my mom would rather enjoy that. She continually called me “my boy” when addressing me, in Spanish of course... This could also have been due to the fact that Todd is a ridiculously hard name to say in Spanish. I am hoping she just really liked me.

We got back very late in the evening but the bus trip was not very bad. My friend and I spent the ride chatting about how great and hospitable the family was. In the back of our mind I kept remembering that we had yet another very large day ahead of us.

On Sunday I woke up early without much rest and prepared a large strong cup of instant coffee. “Coffee, if it ain’t instant, it ain’t Ecuadorian”. Ecuador produces some of the best coffee beans in the world but for whatever reason, instant coffee is the craze. At my school the teachers use the drip coffee maker to make hot water to put into a cup and then add the granules of instant coffee. Appalling to all coffee drinkers, but it is what it is.

I headed to the central park of Latacunga at 7:30 in the morning. I walked around until I saw the man I was looking for. I recently met this guy and his wife at a literature night here in Latatcunga. While the poems and songs are in Spanish I can still appreciate the artistic prose. I told the guy that I wanted to climb a nearby mountain but didn’t have much information on it. In true Ecuadorian style he “Ok, let’s go this weekend.” So five days after having met this guy and his wife, I and another volunteer were about to be taken, by car, to the trailhead. The fact that we were taken by car was great. We assumed we would all take a bus but the guy told me that his father-in-law would be happy to take us. We all piled in to a very small car and headed off. We drove for about 20 minutes before arriving at a house on a hill. We all got out and were told to wait. Like always, I had no idea what was going on or about to happen. Then a large GMC 4x4 came rumbling up. We all piled in and headed off again. The man, my new friend, told me that the road is only passable by four wheel drive vehicles. I didn’t know it at the time, but we were going muddin’.

Cruising in the GMC. Can't beat 'Merican muscle.

The road got narrower and narrower. The rain didn’t help much either. We slowly crept up toward the mountain. The family kept calling the truck a “spider” because of the way it would lurch ahead with each touch of the gas. Other folks were making the same climb towards the mountain. Quickly we ran into a traffic jam. Trucks were stuck everywhere. It was very scary seeing the trucks slipping and sliding down the muddy road with large drops on one side. I was happy to get out of the truck and begin the hike.

We hiked for about 2 hours up the mountain, Putzalahua. I chatted with my new friend throughout the trip. He is somewhat of an intellect and enjoyed speaking and debating about socialism versus capitalism. He made some very valid points for his side and I feel that I did the same. It was refreshing to have an intellectual conversation in Spanish. The views along the hike were great. There were many indigenous people living high in the mountains and seeing them work in the fields and the housing always gives me a sense of humility. We made it to the top and soaked in the beautiful views. All around us the Andes rolled their hills out beneath us. I had yet another feeling awe when I thought of how lucky and blessed I am to live in such a beautiful place with such great people.

View from the top of Putzalahua

We had a picnic on the peak of sandwiches, chips and fruits. We took plenty of photos and then decided it was time to head down. When we got in the truck I realize just how exhausted I really was. I was struggling to keep my eyes open as my friend wanted to chat more. My weariness was a topic of conversation and great laughter in the truck as we drove back to Latacunga. We arrived back at his house and all piled out. I hugged each of them and thanked them profusely for taking us. I offered to help pay for gas but this family also would not have any of it. We are making plans to travel to another remote and beautiful spot 5 hours away next month.

Danilo and I

It is crazy to think that neither of these two families had not planned to host or hang out with two gringos this weekend but were more than happy to plan their weekend around us. The father-in-law most certainly could have spent his Sunday a better way than spending his time, money, and energy taking a friend of his son-in-law up a mountain but he was delighted to do it. The hospitality and genuine acceptance of new acquaintances here is incredible.

Couldn't resist taking a picture with this girl and her llama.

This is usually where I try to think of something witty or wise to say but honestly I am still too tired to think. So catch you on the flip side.