Hacienda

(Not) Ready for Phase 3

Last weekend a group of us went to a friend's hacienda (farm) about 5 hours south of Quito. We had a really great time--rode horses, saw how to grow bananas and sugar cane, hiked up to a waterfall, saw all the farm animals and also went to our first bull fight. We ate all fresh food grown from the farm. It was really nice to get away from the city for a weekend.

This week was our final week of class. I turned in a final paper for my Microfinance class and also had to give a presentation. The final phase of the semester begins tomorrow morning--the internship!

I can't believe I've been here for three months already! Tomorrow morning will be really hard! I've made some of the most amazing friends here and I am really close to my host family, so leaving Quito and everyone behind is tough. I'm doing my Microfinance internship in a small town called Quisapincha, 30 minutes up the mountain from one of the main cities in Ecuador. It's going to be a huge challenge--no one there who speaks English, no other students around, rural community. But I think I can do it and I know I'll be a better person when I leave!

"Vamos Ecuatorianos, Esta Tarde Tenemos Que Ganar!"

Estadio Olimpico

This morning I was woken up by my little sister at my door saying "Bea....Bea?" She just turned one this summer and so she is learning how to talk. She only knows 5 or 10 words, but one of them is my name!!

I decided to do my internship in Quisapincha, the cooperative I wrote about earlier. I am really excited and nervous too. These next couple weeks I will be doing some research and working with my microfinance professor to prepare myself for the internship. I move there in 3 weeks. My host mom here is really sad that I'm leaving. All the students come back to Quito to celebrate Thanksgiving together so she is looking forward to that and also insists that we celebrate my birthday in Quito too.

Friday night a bunch of my friends came over to my house to have an American potluck. We were all missing American food so much, so everyone made a dish and brought it over to eat. We had burritos, chicken caesar wraps, Snickers, pita and hummus, pizza, Scotcheroos and lots of other good stuff. It was a really fun night.

Saturday morning we went to the Estadio Olimpico to buy tickets for the Ecuador vs. Uruguay soccer game. Whoever won this game advances to the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. We ended up finding some tickets for $30. The game started at 5:00 but we were in the stadium by 1:00 in order to get good seats. We had a good time waiting for the game to start, even though it was hot! We played cards and made some new friends.

The first goal that Ecuador scored was SO exciting, the whole stadium went crazy. Right before the goal, a drunk man jumped onto the fence that separates the field from the stands. When we scored, he started yelling and shaking the fence and he ended up falling. The fence caught him by the pant leg and so he was hanging upside down. But within seconds, he fell again and this time he fell all the way to the cement floor, face down. Between the fans' seats and the fence is a space about 10 feet wide and 20 feet deep. This is supposed to prevent fans from jumping onto the fence. But this man did it anyway. So after he fell about 25 or 30 feet, of course he didn't move. Two other Ecuadorian fans jumped down in order to help him and began giving him CPR.

I was worried that coming to Ecuador would make me have a more negative attitude toward the United States, but here is an example of why that hasn't happened. The Ecuadorian Red Cross took at least 10 minutes to get down there and begin helping the man. They did not have a plan put in place for situations like this and they were not prepared. Thanks to God, I saw the man move his arm so I know he didn't die on the scene. But it took entirely too long for him to get help. Also, the 2 fans that went down to help him flipped the man from his stomach to his back in order to give him CPR. This may have done damage, and if the Red Cross responded in time they could have taken care of him as they were trained.

A similar situation happened about a month ago. For some reason, a young European girl was shot here in Ecuador. She was taken to the hospital but did not receive treatment in time because they couldn't find her insurance or cash. So they delayed her treatment and she ended up dying--only because of money. I can't say for sure, but I just don't think things like this happen often in the U.S. These things made me appreciate all the regulations and trainings that are required back home.

While we were watching the fallen man get CPR, Uruguay scored! It was tied 1 to 1 and with a few minutes left, Ecuador got a penalty and Uruguay got to kick...and of course scored. So they advance to the World Cup. Ecuador has to win and also have really good luck in order to make it.

Another thing that bothered me--after the game a lot of the fans were REALLY mad. And when the team left the field the fans started yelling and cussing at them, flipping them off as if the players didn't do the best they could. I realize that soccer here is a HUGE deal, but the way that some of the fans reacted was really overboard and disrespectful. They threw plastic and glass bottles down on the press and at the players and also at other fans. It was too extreme for me and also dangerous! I thought it was going to be a really good night, but unfortunately with everything that happened it was kind of disappointing.

Ecuador definitely is still developing and sometimes it's hard to see and understand some of the stuff that happens here. But my spirits are still high and of course I'm still really happy to be in Ecuador!

Quisapincha and Pilahuin

Things I May Never Do or See Again

This past week I took a trip with my Microfinance group and professor to visit some microfinance cooperatives. First we went to a community called Quisapincha. The three men who work at the cooperative were really excited that we were there to visit them! They work in a tiny little office, giving loans to the surrounding communities to support their work as farmers or artisans. The cooperative started 7 years ago with $40 and now gives loans up to $2,000. They two things they struggle with: 1) Capital--they can't get enough loan money in order to meet the demand of the communities 2) Many of their clients don't know how to sign their name, this causes legal issues. We went and saw some of the clients they support--leather maker, shoe maker and a group of women who raise guinea pigs. There are about 30 women and each have a little pin outside of their house. They raise the guinea pigs for 3 months and then sell them. Why? Because Ecuadorians eat guinea pigs!!! It's a delicacy. One day we were holding live guinea pigs, the next we were eating them--literally :) The conditions that this indigenous community lives in some may consider poor, but they seem to have what they need. They work very hard and end up with enough food to eat and seem to be happy. I used the bathroom in the owner of the cooperative's house--made of gray cement bricks, dark, without electricity and newspaper for toilet paper. I am really interested in working in this community for 6 weeks for my internship, trying to gather some statistics about the cooperative and then write a proposal to try and apply for some more capital. I also want to find a sustainable solution to the problem with the signatures. But to be completely honest, I am terrified of living the way the community does. They don't always have running water and electricity, bathing is for special occasions. They don't have phones in the house and the internet is a 30 minute bus ride away. I am going to visit a couple more cooperatives and then make a decision. It's tough! I want a challenge, I want to push myself but I'm just unsure of how far.

The second place we went was even further from anything modern. It was a community called Pilahuin. It is colder, also in the mountains. This community has a queseria (place to make cheese). Each morning and afternoon, the community members milk their cows (I milked a cow too!) and then bring the milk by horse or donkey to the queseria. The company keeps track of how much each family brings so that they can pay them respectively. I saw how they make the cheese, a very interesting process! While there, we also visited a school. They children were very excited to see us! Their classrooms reminded me of what I had seen in the Kansas History Museum, very dated. All the children wore boots, panchos and hats because of the weather. Their cheeks were shiny, redish purple because of the cold and wind. I loved the kids, so excited and so enthusiastic!

The way the people lived really amazed me. They ate the eggs from their chickens, drank the milk from their cows and lived off the land, nothing more. It was an eye opening week, so far from anything I have ever seen before.

Volcan Cotopaxi

Little Land, Lots of Complexity

I arrived in Ecuador exactly 2 months ago today! And will be back in the States exactly 3 months from today. I feel like I have learned so much these past couple of months. Of course, I have traveled around the country a lot and have had a ton of fun. But I have also studied, read, observed and lived life here in Ecuador. While Ecuador is a REALLY beautiful country, and is currently working so hard to make important social, financial, political and environmental changes, it still is suffering a lot. Clearly, I don't know everything about this country and my few experiences here don't tell the whole story but I just wanted to tell some of the encounters I've had, things I've seen and felt.

My Spanish professor told me one day that the people of Ecuador are held together by saliva. Any conflict can tear them apart. Ecuador is 1/3 of the size of Texas, but its complexity is beyond belief!!

There are three main racial groups here in Ecuador--Indigenous people, Mixed people and African Ecuadorians. Quick history lesson--indigenous people lived here before the Spaniards came and colonized the country. One result (among hundreds) is the Mixed race that makes up the majority of the country. These people are of Spanish and Indigenous heritage and make up some 70% of the population. There are 2 Afro Ecuadorian communities in the country. Africans never worked here as slaves. The first inhabitants escaped a slave ship in Central America and ended up on the coast of Ecuador.

For some silly reason I expected Ecuador to be a somewhat united country. I knew they were suffering and I guess I sort of expected the struggling to unite them. I've found almost the opposite to be true. The racial tension makes me feel like I've traveled back in time 50 years. Mixed people are not seen with indigenous people. Afro Ecuadorians don't walk down the street with Mixed people. Interracial friendships are rare. Everyone is separated, physically and socially. The mixed race is the superior race and the blacks and indigenous are considered less. I've heard many negative conversations about the indigenous and Afro people. My friend's host mom will talk to her friends about the shades of their children's skin, because of course lighter is better. My host mom told me a story of how horrible it was one day when her old host student brought an indigenous boy over. I should have expected it, but the racism within this country amazes me. It's so ironic when people who suffer discrimination continue to discriminate against others. There's always a hierarchy.

Another aspect of life here that really bothers me is the machismo. I see this everyday in my own host family. My dad always sits at the table and waits for my mom to bring him food. If he needs anything, he expects my mom to get it for him. He won't get up to get sugar or milk or to put his dishes away, he simply expects/asks my mom to do it. He won't cook his own food or wash his own dishes, clean the house or do laundry. My mom also has to ask him for money. If she ever wants to buy anything, she has to ask his permission. One day a worker came to our house and my mom needed to pay him 25 cents. My host dad wasn't there, so that meant I had to pay him. My mom didn't have 25 cents! She does not have a credit or debit card or access to the family's bank accounts. If my dad doesn't hand it to her, she does not have money. Once again, I feel like I'm living in the U.S. in the 1950's or something. It's really frustrating to see women in the position that they are!

Above all, the most angering thing about the issues of race and sex is that I don't see changes in the near future. When I talk to my host mom about these issues, to her there isn't a problem. Maybe it's not ideal, but this is the way it is, and this is the way it will be. No one notices that Ecuadorians call anyone who looks Asian "Chinese", not recognizing the fact that they could be Tibetan, Korean or Japanese. But in the U.S., if an American mistakes an Ecuadorian for a Mexican, well that's an insult. When my dad tells my mom that she can't have money, she accepts that. Our host families struggle each month to pay the bills and will tell us about their serious financial problems, yet can't seem to understand why indigenous and black communities are struggling financially too. They continue in their ways.

As I'm sure you know, Ecuador is a relatively poor country. The GDP per capita is around $4,500 (1/10 of the U.S.). Hundreds of thousands of people sell to create an income for their families. In Quito, the streets are lined with tiny, tiny little stores. Women walk around the city all day with wooden trays selling gum and cigarettes. Markets are packed full of tiny little stores filled to the brim with clothes, food or other items. The sad part is that these hundreds of thousands of people are living the same life every single day. They wake up and go into the city, hoping to make enough to provide for their family. They sit in their store or at their stand ALL DAY LONG, until it gets dark. They go home to sleep and do it all over again. When I walk past these stores I see the people just sitting, waiting and this is what I don't understand. They are not reading a book, they are not playing cards, they are not looking at the newspaper or playing a game. They are sitting. They are not advancing themselves. Many have kids with them at these tiny stores. They are not able to go play in an open space. They are not coloring or reading books. How can a country expect to improve, to advance, to better the lives of their citizens when they are not educating themselves, not trying to move forward?

Every country has beautiful aspects and negative aspects too. As I said before, Ecuador is an amazing country and there are a lot of positive things happening here. But at the same time, I can't ignore all that I've seen and felt. Ecuador still has a long way to go.