Nuestro Groupa

Our group is a bit more diverse than I had anticipated. Some just cannot get enough of everything....i.e. tell me more! Some cannot get enough of the bar and night scene. This makes for some interesting dialogue about being on time, attending events, etc. Thus the ¨this is not a vacation¨ speeches. Most of the students are quite fluent in Spanish but a few have not had any Spanish courses at all. Those dont´seem to be as engaged in things as the others. At this point, the students seem a bit anxious about living with a new family and about how far they will have to walk to get to class. Some will live more than 10 blocks from the CEDEI university. It is quite a good thing that we have this time together as a group.

At first it did seem like a bit of a vacation time before we began classes, but I have learned that it would not be wise to just drop the students in a new culture. We are all learning about being safe (one student has already been robbed) about acting responsibly (a few have been caught drunk), about begin healthy (one student has already been the hospital for dehydration) and about being respectful of another culture. There are three representatives from CEDEI in addition to the three faculty from SU and we have ongoing orientation. But the orientation is working well and the group is quite enjoyable. They are fun to be with. And the events have been well planned for the given time and for providing cultural events that inform as well as capture the´students´ interest.

So far my only disappointment is that I rely too much on the group and fail to speak Spanish when I should.

Historic Quito

My last visit to Quito in 2006 was so brief, all I really remember is a large, dirty city. That just shows how nice it is to have tour guides. Today we went to historic Quito. Muy interestante! There is a very large square and on one side is the ¨white house¨ where the president lives. On another corner is a church and government buildings and shops on other sides. In the middle is a large park. Now were not talking large like Central Park but large enough for crowds to gather, which apparently they do every weekend. Today there was a band playing, sponsored by the church and people were sitting on the church steps enjoying the music. Other crowds of people were walking up and down the streets and in and out of churches. What amazed me was that there was not much security for the president´s house. People were welcome to walk into the first part of the building, which we did, past security guards who reminded me of guards that stand watch in England, with their elaborate costumes and tourists taking pictures while the guards remainded expressionless.

The highlight of the day for me was the visit to the Society of Jesus Cathedral, founded by the Jesuits. It is the largest in Ecuador and the interior is completely made of gold.....the walls, columns, ceiling, altars, statues, etc. all covered in gold. Apparently the pope visited in 1985. Quite awe inspiring. And the paintings were on the scale of some that I saw in Italy. The irony is that it was completely built by indigenous artesans but indigenous people are not allowed to enter the cathedral. There is one huge painting depicting judegment day. In it all the people who are going to hell are indigenous and all the people walking through the gates of heaven are of spanish descent. Quite telling.

Hello from Quito

Wow! What a beginning. So much to recount. The flight was long and by the time we got to the hotel in Ecuador it was already midnight. And the wake up call was at 5:30 am! It reminded me of our overnighters traveling to Europe. By 8am we were back at the airport and off to Quito. I learned that we saved $300 per student by taking the indirect route to Quito instead of flying directly there from Miami. I had a blast on the flight as I sat next to a woman from Columbia who spoke little English. We chatted for the full hour using my broken Spanish and her sparce English. That is the best way to learn the language...and a bit about Columbia. I resisted the urge to ask her about crime in Columbia but I learned that she doesn´t like living in Ecuador because she thinks the people are not as smart or as friendly. Interesting to get an outsider´s perspective.

After landing in Quito we were whisked off to Mitad del Mundo...the line of the equator. Naturally photos abounded as we took turns standing on both sides of the equator. Then it was back on the bus and off to Otavalo. This is a quite a tourist desination now and has the largest market in Ecuador. That would be artesan market, mostly for indigenous people to sell their products. Fortunately for Jeff, I was invited to join the group advisors for lunch and could only spend one hour at the market. I was so overwhelmed I didn´t buy a thing. The most beautiful jewelry, blankets, handbags, shawls, etc. They are so crafty. While I didn´t buy anything, I did take photos. They fascinate me, all dressed in their indigenous garb. I tried to follow Anne´s lead and take a lot of photos of the children. Fortunately my camera has a wonderful zoom so that I could take photos without really being obnoxious about it.

Later in the afternoon we took a bus ride out of town to a neighborhood more typical of where the indigenous live. We visited one man who demonstrated how they cord the llama wool and weave the blankets. Anne, Ï´m sure this is where you purchased the wall hanging in our living room. Such quality! I bought another from him to hand in my office unless I can find a better place to hang it at home. After that we went to another home and a man demonstrated how they make musical instruments from something that looks like bamboo. Apparently he is quite famous and there was a poster on the wall advertising his band´s trip to Japan. It was a bit of a contrast to see their picture with the Japaneese writing. After he played a while his family joined him and the girls danced and sang. I couldn´t resist taking a short movie and then donating some money to purchase a CD. Don´t have a clue what is on it but it was a donation for such cute little girls. Think they will put it in the college fund? I¨m quite curious to learn more about the education system. It is quite apparent that there is a bit of a class system here.

Our hotel in Otavalo was fabulous with all the charm of old world Ecuador. It was decorated with indigenous crafts and we had the breads for breakfast that I so well remember from my last visit to Ecuador. Naturally I was in breakfast heaven.

I feel a bit guilty to be traveling in the footsteps of Anne but be having such a different experience. OUr hotels are lovely and the food is delicious!! I had spinach, cheese, and mushroom crepes for lunch with strawberry crepe for dessert. And last nigth I had lasagna. Sorry Anne.... The lasagna was organic with homemade sauce. The noodle was the most intersting part. It was in layers as expected but each noodle was about 4 inches by 4 inches. So there were only 3 noodles in all but since it was freshly made and cooked in the same kiln as the pizza´s it was awesome....

We keep reminding the students that we are not on vacation...that this is an academic experience. I´ll get to that part in a subsequent post.... Chow...