the Ecuadorian mindset

Miercoles 7/16

So Dunc’s padre, Cristobal, was held up by gun point today by the panaderia shop close by our casas. Awesome. And apparently, it may be dangerous to take a taxi alone porque there have been cases when girls traveling alone have been drugged by taxi drivers, then violated and robbed.

On a lighter note, we went to the cultural museum today and checked out some really amazing art, classical and modern. I’m not an art expert, but I enjoy and appreciate it mucho. My favorites were “la Apercicion,” “la Sed”, y “Desolicion.”

Random note: buses never actually really “stop.” They “roll,” and people jump off and jump on them whenever they want. They also like to change routes, so you never really know where you’ll end up. It’s a good thing I inherently have amazing spatial orientation skills. HA.HA.

Lunes 7/17

I learned the past tense (preterit) today. It was like a whole new world opened for me.

Seth, Holly and I visited Alinambi today (poor Joc was sick, and Eliah and Dunc went to meet with a microfinance contact), the school/clinic where we will be holding a lot of our programs, and where I’ll be spending most of my time working. Alinambi is located in the valley close to Conocoto, and houses about 30 or so children that come from impoverished backgrounds, with about 180 (double check) or so, grades 1^st-8^th, that attend school here on a daily basis. We met with the owner of Alinambi, who outlined the history, vision, and objectives of Alinambi. It took painstaking effort to take apart his sentences...the most I got out of his speech was that Alinambi had no biases, and was open to people of all social, cultural, religious, political, and economic backgrounds. We got a tour of the school, which consisted of colorful buildings in a square-like arrangement surrounding a grassy field for recreation aka futbol. There was a classroom area, the clinic, dormitory space, a greenhouse, a small playground, and the administration office. We met a few of the kids there, really sweet and witty. Two of them, Merienda and Brian, were somehow really fascinated that I was from China, and made me speak/write to them in Chinese. Mark tells me everyone will be calling me “Chino” here. Well at least they think I look Chinese contrary to the Chinese-speaking couple at Bogota (whom I am really hoping will find their way back to China knowing only how to say “hola”).

Every time I look at the kids, a big smile is planted on their faces. Such a simple life, yet so much more rewarding. The kids help the adults paint and clean the houses, without one word of complaint. I’m thinking back to the kids in middle-class Northern American society with their Wi’s, ipods, iphones, and PCs…what a dichotomy.

There’s only 1 doctor, Julia, the owner’s daughter, who works on site, along with a dentist that comes in once a week. We’ll be working with her to coordinate the clinic’s needs with our resources in attempts to meet their wishes. More to come. Can’t wait to start!

Holly and I went back to my place afterwards (took a bus all on our own!) and had an amazing yogur con pan de yuca y helado at mi madre’s prima’s little snack/restaurant. Delicious. And luck had it, MTV was on, so we mindlessly watched “Engaged and Underaged” (there really are no limits to reality television anymore). I think we both lost a piece of our minds and sanities in those 30 minutes.

Viernes 7/18

El telefériQo/Volcán Pichincha. Almost 4800m. Never had my hemoglobin worked so hard in my life. ¡Qué increíble! The views were absolutely spectacular. I felt like I was floating amidst the clouds. The magnificent mountains atop the colorful, tranquil city floating among the clouds, made me feel like I just dove into a children’s storybook. I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire 3 hours we were there.

We attempted to climb to the top of the Pichincha (on average, takes 3 hours roundtrip to climb to the top after taking the Teleferiqo). We started late, so decided it was best to try another day. Instead, we took a nap halfway to the summit. Felt really, really good.

Apparently, there was a serial robber/rapist that wanders the Pichincha scavenging for climbers. Fortunately, he was just caught a few weeks (or months?) ago. I propose we all get chastity belts loaded with ammunition, embedded with ladrón-sensitive radar detection.

Climbing this mountain definitely made the commute to school a whole lot easier. Afterwards, we went to a sushi restaurant (yes, 4-5$ sushi is expensive with my Ecuadorian mindset) and a “Beatle’s Bar.” Entonces chilled at Mark’s place playing “turrets” (thanks Jocelyn) and “that’s what she said.” Don’t ask. Dunquito = turrets champion. I also discovered a whole new meaning to my name according to urban dictionary.

Sabado 7/19

We spent 2 hours playing on a snail today. Brought me back to the good-ol’ CTC times (St. Paul shout-out). Really can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

I got a hat for $2.50 (non-Gringo price!). Thank you China for my bargaining skillz.

Domingo 7/20

Guayasamin = one of my new favorite artists. Google him. He is absolutely fantastic. At first I wasn’t thoroughly impressed, but once I learned the deeper meanings behind each painting, and studied them more meticulously, I began to appreciate them one-by-one, more and more. I was hooked. Every painting told its own story—socio-economic, political, religious, moral, personal struggles…you name it. The amount of imagery, symbolism, and detail in each painting was mesmerizing. “respeK”

Martes 7/22/08

Personal record: 5 cups coffee in less than an hour

I learned to not carry bills over 10$. 10$ is even a stretch. Every time anyone uses a 5$ bill, people will check them under the light (you’ll see three clear “5s” to the left side of Lincoln’s face if it’s real) to confirm its authenticity. That’s how much worth a 5$ bill is. We are already arguing over dimes and quarters (por ejemplo I was in debt for 55 cents, then down to 20 cents, but I paid Holly back, so I think now she owes me like 10 cents). Every cent counts. People here live by the quarter (can get you one or two delicious panes, or bread, or a ride to the other side of Quito). It’s already starting to get tough imagining life back in the States…