Sunday, October 25, 2009
(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!
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!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
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!
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!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
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.
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.
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