One of My Favorite Days in Ecuador

Yesterday I went to Chota--one of the two Afro communities here in Ecuador. I had been wanting to go since I first got here and finally made it this weekend. The community is about 3 hours north of Quito and is actually made up of 10 different pueblos. Each pueblo has around 50 households in it. I have an Afro Ecuadorian friend named Manuel who was born in Chota, and so he went with me to show me around.

When we first got there we saw Manuel's uncle right away. So he walked around with us a little bit. I wanted to buy some art, so they took us into this little room in the community where they keep crafts that people in the pueblo have made. Two men from the community also told me about the history and struggle of the Afro Ecuadorians. It was really interesting, and not exactly the same story that they taught us in the classroom (big surprise). They also told me that 60% of the people in their community don't continue school after age 12, simply because there isn't money.

We visited 3 of the 10 pueblos and during the visits I met so many really sweet, really humble and happy people. I met an older women who had been in a wreck in a bus and so can only do activities sitting because it is almost impossible to walk. But she was so content, laughing while washing clothes, watching over her grandkids. She was SO happy that I wanted to stop and talk to her. She wanted to know if Manuel was my husband and I told her no. So she asked him why not, because she had already fallen in love with me, haha. And she said even though my skin is lighter and his is darker, it doesn't even matter. Glad she thinks that way :)

Soccer is literally one of the most important aspects of life here in Ecuador. And many of the Ecuadorian soccer stars come from Chota, this Afro community. The community is so proud of them, with posters and pictures everywhere. I actually got to meet one of the players, he was really friendly. But the people also told me that many of these men go professional, make millions of dollars and then forget about their community. Chota is extremely poor, with many education and health problems. But most of the players who have made it big don't give back.

I met one woman who sells fruit by the roadside. She had such a spirit, so happy to be there everyday talking to the people, selling them food. She takes care of her grandkids and one of them has a skin disease. The medicine for him costs something like $30 a month, but that is a lot of money here and she doesn't have it. So she says that the disease will just keep progressing. Right now it's only on his face, but they expect it to spread to his whole body.

Most of the people in Chota live off of the land. They grow beans and fruit primarily and sell it to the neighboring pueblos. They are also close to a highway, so when the buses stop on the highway all the women put their baskets of food on their head and run to the bus. They get on and try to sell their food to the passengers.

It was really awesome to see all the kids there. They all were just outside playing, without adults around, not caring about what got dirty. They don't have money for toys, so they made their own--trucks, balls, volleyball courts and soccer fields. It was all so simple and it still made them happy. I saw one little boy who coulnd't have been more than one year old and he was walking around with a plastic bottle and a stick, hitting it and dancing as if it were a drum.

It was such a great day, one of the most memorable, one of the best I've had in Ecuador. When I come back I definitely want to spend more time in this community. The people were poor, working hard to be able to keep feeding their families. But they were so calm, so happy to just listen to music and work. One man told me that the community knows there are richer people who have more things, but they are ok. They are living, and they do so with such an incredible spirit.