Another semester, another try....

Alright. I'm sorry.

But did anybody really honestly think I would keep up the blog? I just chuckled reading my last post with abundant promises to update after the jungle... This time around, I will not make any promises, but I promise to make a more sincere effort than the last time around.

So, how to sum up the lost 2 1/2 months of last semester's experience? Let's give it a shot....

• I went to the Amazon, turned 21. I have a picture album posted on my facebook from that trip. It was a fantastic experience, sort of your quintescential jungle experience minus seeing a lot of animals in the wild. I stayed in a cabin, saw a lot of tarantulas, went on a deafeningly loud night hike, traveled by motorized canoe down a river with the Discovery Channel style tree canopy hanging down over the river, saw a lot of crazy jungle animals in a zoo-esque animal protection place, and spent an hour alone in the forest sitting on a log hanging out with insects and beautiful blue butterflies. That was probably the highlight of my trip--I had been in a strange place spiritually, having a hard time relating to my group, and shutting up for an hour (phones, watches, cameras, ipods, etc were all confiscated) and being present in nature was a really cool and therapeutic experience for me. Then we went to a jungle bar, I had my first beer as a 21 year old (anticlimactic!) and I spent a day at this cool reserve owned by a tennessean(? I forget where exactly he was from) but he had this crazy swing that went out over the river and a pet monkey who climbed all over the boys. Generally absurd. Summary: Jungle was awesome. I will be going back in February with my new group but to a different place. Maybe I'll tell you about it earlier than 3 months later....

• I moved to Quito when I got back from the jungle. I had a rougher experience there in a very different setting. I had a married sister who didnt live at home, and a sister that was super busy with schoolwork and never had time to go out. I was living on the terrace completely apart from the main body of the house, which provided me with plenty of privacy but it turns out that it was too much. I had to get my umbrella to go down to the house for breakfast, and the family was very nice but very busy. I got really homesick during that time, I was disappointed in myself and how poorly I handled not having internet, and I started questioning whether I was going to regret the 5 1/2 months that lay ahead of me in Ecuador, crying a lot and dreaming about my family, etc.

• I made it through my time in Quito, though admittedly not taking full advantage of my time there (while others hurried to get to all the museums and parks in the three weeks we were there, I huddled in my room pathetically, knowing I'd have another 4 months in Quito to explore everything. Wasteful.), all the while completing the Academic Seminar class which included 2 lectures each day by various speakers and experts in their professions. The seminar was cool but overwhelming, with heavy amounts of reading in Spanish that I was unable to complete. I came out of the experience feeling overwhelmed, as though I had learned a tiny bit about a bunch of topics (politics, economics, women's movements, indigenous movements, human rights, afro-ecuadorian movement, environmental issues, biodiversity, pre-incan culture, etc etc etc), but without having much concrete knowledge on any given topic. It was only later when I was at home talking with some friends about Ecuador that I realized how much I had learned. It was subtle, but I am certainly much more well-informed than I had been when I left.

• Finally, me tocó hacer mi proyecto independiente. I went to Guayaquil for my independent study project, basially against the advice of my directors and host family members. I had a project waiting for me in the province of Intag with a really excellent community leader and organzer who was looking for help with a few projects having to do with water, but that were really not calling to me....a campaign to stop pollution of a river, not for drinking purpose but because years down the road it will affect tourism if thy have a dirty river. Absolutely important work, but I rather had my heart set on privatization in Guayaquil, even though I didnt have a project plan or organization to work with. Long story short, I followed my intuition against logic and ended up in Guayaquil, wasted a week (out of 3) of my project at a beurocratic organization that deals with canals, sediment in the riverbed of the Rio Guayas, etc. It could have worked out if they'd had a project for me, but they really had nothing for me to do, and no way for me to do my project that needed to include personal interviews. The fateful Friday of that first week, I was left unattended as I had no supervisor or project, so I did a google search and found the Citizen's Observatory for Public Services, doing exactly what I had hoped an organization was doing, advocating for changes in the law and protecting the citizens from the absurd engaños (lies and tricks!) of Interagua (previously a branch of Bechtel, the same Bechtel of the water wars in Bolivia....http://books.google.com/books?id=Ej5c5C2aonQC&dq=water+wars+bolivia&source=gbs_navlinks_s), apparently has recently been transfered to Veolia, one of the three major water companies in the world that owns an outrageous percentage of the world's water....they are privatizing up a storm with universal problems for the impoverished people in those countries....Long story short, everything fell into place, they had been looking for someone to do a project that included personal interviews with the "victims" of privatization, and I had been looking for a project that included personal interviews with the victims of privatization..... it all worked out incredibly, i did interviews and posted a blog for them which i is all in spanish, I apologize for you non-spanish speakers. If you're really interested I hear Google Translator gives a reasonable picture: www.victimasdelagua.blogspot.com. I will give some more details about what I actually experienced and wrote about for my project at a different time--I get very heated up about it, and I need to head for bed relatively soon.

• After I sent them my final project (a 44 pager in spanish) which was basdically the blog on steroids with an added section about how great the Observatory is, they decided to publish my final project as a little 80 page book to be disributed all around, especially to government officials and Asambleistas, as there is a set list of goals that the observatory is currently trying to achieve (representative for the usuarios within Interagua, a set rate for water b/c rightnow its absurd and arbitrary, and a cantidad of free water for everyone which means that even people with 0 dollars can have some of that human right to water). Ultimately they would like Interagua out of Guayaquil, but are focussing on small steps first. When I was with them, we had a meeting with some of t he asambleistas from the commision of soberania alimentaria y desarrollo del sector agropecuario y pesquero to propose these changes to them.... They were supposed to have a meeting with that committee this past week, but Interagua apparently didn't show, so they couldn't do it. Supposedly they will try again next week, and by then the book will be published, so they plan on bringing it to the meeting. I'm excited and totally nervous (um, Intergua will be there when they whip out the publication...)

So that whole thing has been exciting although theres been a lot of drama around the publication, concerns about usingm y real name, my safety, and whether Interagua presents a real threat to my safety after publishing such a "librito" (little book) (although the Observatory takes full responsability and is right on the cover)... At the end of the day and after changing my mind, fighting with my parents, being lectured by the Observatory about engaños and whether we'll have to hide ourselves the rest of our lives for telling the truth, I decided that the risk isn't real enough to not do it. Realistically, I'm just adding my voice to a very long list of people who have been saying the same thing for a long time and will continue to do so. To hurt me wouldn't help their cause, as it would leave the REAL pain in their ass, the Observatory, completely intact and with more reason to bring them down. That's not to say it doesn't make me a little nervous to be so publicly denoucning a transnational corporation.... Ultimately I think it's only going to get more intense from here if this is what I want to be doing (and i think it is), so I'm just jumping in, trusting my intuition that it's right regardless of what happens.

• In other epic news, I ended up dating my Guayaquil homestay brother (against the rules, don't tell!) .... and by dating I mean falling in love with... he is 24 going on 30 (maturity-wise), very very smart, and possibly the most motivated person i've ever met. He owns his own business (he's a medical supply provider), and tells me that his calling is to be a good business man and make a lot of money so that he can help others economically because that's what he's good at. He goes out every month when he gets his paycheck and gives hot chocolate and bread to the street children in his area, has been involved in politics. He ran for asambleista (you know, like a Congressperson...) last year (yes, at 23) so you can google him haha Klever Macero. He didn't expect to be elected the first time around of course, but that's not really the point. He's a bit more conservative than I am, but it's actually a good balance because we challenge each other a lot. We have different philosophies sometimes, but he is also deeply concerned for the rest of the world. He is so into that I'm into social justice, and has entered into my world...it doesn't translate so much into english but se metió en mi mundo, and that has been so crazy for me. Rather than be put off by my intensity, he matches it in a slightly different way. He has the same stupid sense of humor as I do..... need I say more? The short story is, I fell in love in Ecuador, just as I have been warned by so many not to do.

So there you have the rest of my semester: I went to the jungle, I will shortly be a published undergrad student, I fell in love with an amazing guy (ese hombre de Guayaquil) , and I'm currently trying my VERY hardest not to be that obnoxious know-it-all girl in my new group of classmates, even though I am that girl. I'd rather be with my host brother than in a large group of gringos, but I'm trying not to alienate myself at the same time. Tranquila, tranquila, I know that I'll be making more friends soon when we start classes.


VICTIMAS DEL AGUA
www.victimasdelagua.blogspot.com
Es una ventana para hacer conocer los impactos de la privatizacion del agua en la vida cotidiana de las personas. Pondremos relatos, fotos,documentos, videos y todo lo que vayamos produciendo para poner ...
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No more Los Chillos...

I need to head to bed, but I wanted to throw out a quick update: I moved out of my first homestay family today. I'm in Quito for the night, and then I'm heading for the Amazon tomorrow (to turn 21...). I'll move into my new, supposedly very different Quito homestay next Saturday, and from there I promise a much more detailed update.

For now, things are going well, I'm happy, though I already miss my old homestay family. I can only imagine the jungle adventure that lays ahead of me...

I promise to update soon. Hope all is well!

Also...

Also,

You have to throw your toilet paper in the trash here.

I eat rice for every single meal (minus breakfast), and fresh fruit juice every single day.

I rode home from Quito last night in the back of a pickup truck.

I learned recently that they dance not only salsa, but Rueda de Casino in Quito. I've yet to check it out, but I have intentions of going to a Salsateca soon.

I have yet to find a spanish equivalent for the words "struggle" or "awkward," which may be the hardest part of the whole thing.

I think I'm still in the honeymoon phase at the moment, though I keep dreaming about my friends and family from home, which makes me actively miss you all a bit more than usual.

I think those are the rest of my random thoughts. Pictures soon, I promise.

Los Chillos

Okay, the much awaited third post (sorry folks).

I have so much to tell... Okay, so a week from this past Friday I arrived in the Valley of Los Chillos. I live with the Haro family: mom: Nora/dad: Pepe/brother: Guillermo (22)/brother: Esteban (19)/sister Gabby (16). They are wonderful and treat me like a family member with perks. Like, I'm a member of the family but I"m not allowed to do dishes..etc.

I have classes every weekday--5 hours of spanish every day and sometimes seminar after that. It's definitely rough, but I imagine it'll be very effective. I find myself thinking a little bit more in Spanish these days, and understanding what's happening around me (at times) without having to translate into English. I definitely have a hard time understanding quick conversations happening around me though. I keep reminding myself that I've only been here 2 weeks, and that I'm sure in 8 or so months, that'll change.

Generally, I have to take a step back every day and question whether this is real life. I pretty much feel like David after Dentist at all points (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs&feature=fvst). Is this real life? Is this gonna be forever?
1. I arrived at my gated community last week to learn that my host uncle is called the Coronel, works for the army, and lived in Georgia for three years as the DIRECTOR of the School of the Americas. And everyone here is really excited about it. Yes folks, SOA, like, the place that I've been twice to protest. Like, the topic that I wrote my "intercultural experience" essay on for my application for this program (which is sitting in my family's living room, by the way. Excellent.)

2. My gated community (conjunto) nearly burned down last week. As the Valley and Quito are very prone to fires, everything was on fire last Monday, and there were no firefighters left to take care of the fire that was slowly but surely advancing towards our conjunto. Unbeknownst to me, the fire began around 1130 or so, and my extended family started calling the firefighters around noon to no avail. By 2:30, after finishing lunch, I went out with my host dad to check on the smoke to see whether we would need to call the firefighters. We went to the end of the compund to find a frantic aunt who explained her failed efforts. Pepe (host dad) and Gaby (host sister) began calling the 911 equivalent, only to be told that all firefighters are busy, and we are a community, so we should just put it out ourselves. Eventually, 2 firefighters are sent on motorcycles with machetes to cut away at the grass so the fire doesn't spread (¿....?), but to a different location pretty far from the fire threatening to destroy the conjunto. So we drove out to them, Pepe frantically pushed them to go to the real fire...40 minutes later we gave up and came home. By the time we got back, the entire place was engulfed in smoke. You could barely see, barely breathe, tears streaming down your face, etc. Forutnately, Nora (host mom) sometimes cooks with surgical-esque masks, so everyone got to wear a face mask. (real life? i think not.) People are running around with buckets of water. The fire has spread to TWO perimiters of the conjunto by this point, and a devastating language barrier leads me to believe that a house is on fire, which it is not. I am running around like an idiot, frantically asking anyone i run into how i can help. Everyone tells me i can't, and then disappears. They all seem to have efound something to do except me. I'm wearing three surgical masks, smoke-induced tears and snot streaming down my face, panicking because I think a house is on fire, that the firefighters are not coming, and that everything is going to burn down. Fortunately within 5 minutes of this panicked state, the firefighters arrive and begin to put out the fires on both sides. The fire has spread to the cathouse in my uncle's backyard and the firefighters are busy with the giant fires, so we create an assembly line of bucket passing to put out the cat house. Again, real life, I ask you? Absolutely not. Two of my friends who are living in families across the street eventually came over to see the ruckus. As Alanna and I began throwing lemons from a tree across no-longer-burning-ditch that separated us, she was sprayed by the giant firehose which apparently was not done putting things out.

Okay I have to go at this moment because I'm heading to Quito to see the Centro Historico with my pal who I met on the airplane and my host brohan. I have more to update but I'll post this for now.

Too much glory...

Mitad del Mundo

Wow! A second post! I am already exceeding expectations...


I'm at an internet cafe only for a few minutes since people are looking to leave (and, the street-smart girl that I am, I will not stay without them!) We are in San Antonio, home of Mitad del Mundo. I took some pictures that I will put up shortly of myself on the fake equator line, and then later on the real equator line. We had a little tour at the real equator, and saw how being in the center of the hemispheres messes with gravity and centrifical forces...balanced an egg on a nail, watched leaves go down a drain clockwise, counterclockwise, and straight down between the north, south, and center. Also you cant walk ina straight line with your eyes closed. Crazy.

To back up a little, we are in San Antonio for orientation. It's a little ways outside of Quito, and we're at what they call a hostel, but it's way nicer. We have the place to ourselves (all 23 of us), and we are being fed like you would not believe. Breakfast, snacktime, lunch, snacktime, dinner, snacktime. Lots of tea and cookies. Best ever. I'm officially eating meat in Ecuador, so I have yet to face any dietary concerns except for sheer portion size! For those who thought I wouldnt eat well in Ecuador...you were quite wrong!

Everyone in my group is getting along really well--it's sort of at the point where you sit down with whoever, you go exploring with whoever happens to want to go, etc. I expect we will eventually get closer to certain people but for now it's a very cohesive group with a great sense of humor. We laugh a lot together, even as we face orientation sessions about how easy it will be to get devastating diseases, different ploys that will be used to mug us, how we (women) are not relaly allowed to drink, lest we send messages of being the "loose" gringas we are already assumed to be, etc. We basically cry during orientation sessions, and then go laugh off our discomfort. I'm really unhappy about the session we just had about gender relations and relationships...I knew that Ecuador was a very machista culture, but I didn't realize quite the extent. Or, I ignored the extent. It seems there is no middle ground here....

Anyway, I need to head off but I wanted to give a quick update. I{m still trying to figure out where I am and what's going on.. but I think I'm going to like it here. I will move in with my homestay family on friday. I still dont have any information about who i'll be living with or who isinthe family, but iot sounds like they all have siblings my age who will befriend me, so that's good. Also, salsa lesson tomorrow night! My summer lives on!

Ciao ciao.

So, as promised, here is my Ecuador blog. It exists, though I can make no promises about how frequently I'll update.


I leave tomorrow morning (7:45am), and I still haven't done my summer reading. Whoops. The good news is that most of the students from my program have the same flight from Miami to Quito, so we will all be able to meet up before arriving. It just means I won't finish my summer reading.

Anyway, it is unclear at this point how much access to internet I'll have when I go. I understand there are vast amounts of internet cafe's, and I may or may not have internet access at my homestays. So no worries if you don't hear from me for a while. I'm either sitting in my house without internet, or in the jungle.


It's surreal that I'm leaving tomorrow... Studying abroad has always been such an epic, distant concept, and I'm having a hard time understanding that it's tomorrow. Cross your fingers that I don't encounter any rabid dogs on my way to the airport tomorrow...