Coup!

A study abroad in Ecuador isn't complete without the overthrowing of the government. Banks and airports are currently shut down while the police riot against the President. Why does all the good stuff happens after we leave Quito?  Everyone here is pretty enthralled in it, and have been gathered around watching the TV all day talking like it's the latest drama on the "Jersey Shore."   Even though it's violent and dangerous, it's hard to be too concerned seeing that these coup attempts happen almost every year, and everyone is treating it as if it were about time we had another one.  Also, we're on the islands so no one is concerned about anything, ever.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/09/30/ecuador.violence/index.html?hpt=T2

Alive!

Made it through the plague successfully. We've come to the conclusion that it was something we ate as a group.  More than 24 of the 28 people in GAIAS ended up getting pretty sick, so our classes were cancelled and field trips were postponed.  My current class is titled "Health and the Environment," so we might do a project looking at food preparation and quality in the restaurants we ate at.  It could be anything from rice being left out too long to tap water getting into a soup.   It think it will end up being a cool project.

I hope all is good back home.  I miss watching football already, especially the pizza and wings that accompany it.  We have a lot of chicken, fish, and rice.  I actually don't think I've had a meal that didn't contain one of those three items.  There's supposedly a good pizza place here, I'll be the judge of that.

If anyone wants to Skype, I'm generally free in the afternoons.  The problem is I have to go to an internet cafe because the internet at school is too slow.  Send me a message, email, or comment and hopefullyl we can figure something out.  I'd love to hear how everyone is doing!

Buggin

So i've got a bit of a stomach bug.  Actually, the doctor said stomach infection.  I'm on anti biotics but have been instructed to rest and stay hydrated for at least 2 days.  Long story short, i'm feeling much better now, and have also realized that health care in the US is much more reassuring than health care in Ecuador.  However, at least here there wasn't a wait in the ER, and prescriptions cost $5 total.

All part of the experience, right?

GALAPAGOS

Sorry for the delay, very hectic around here right now!  If you want to hear about the Amazon, skype me up, i just haven't had time to write about it.  In case you didn't know, I am currently on San Cristobal island in the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.  The capital city of the Galapagos, Baquerizo Moreno has about 6,000 inhabitants, and  boatloads of tourists.  It's a small port town with a main industry of fishing and tourism.  It's also the oldest settlement on the Galapagos. Blah blah blah now for the cool stuff.  Our school is literally right across the street from a beach.  Seriously, we have lockers for swim gear and clothes lines for wet towels.  This beach also happens to be full of sea lions.  A person can safely get within a few feet of them, and probably even closer.  We went snorkeling at a different beach today, and they would swim right up to your mask before darting away.  The only negative is they smell pretty bad.  At times it's pretty foul, but overall manageable.  I've also seen marine iguanas, blue footed boobies, pelicans, herons, and tons of fish.  The school itself is only about 5 years old, so everything is really nice (besides the mildly lethargic internet connection).


Anyway, I'm staying with a family who owns a local tourism agency.  I'm not really staying with them as much as I'm staying in a room that happens to be next to their house.  I also will be eating dinner with them a few nights a week, as well as a few breakfasts.  The good thing is we only live about a 5 minute walk away from the school, and 5 minutes from the main downtown.  Everyone in the GAIAS program lives generally close to everything though, seeing that the town is relatively tiny. It's truly awesome here so far, and I expect to get to know this town very well in the next 3 months.

Definitely more to come.  Since it's only the second day i'm still settling in, buying some necessary items, and getting the hang of new classes.  I'll do my best with pictures, the internet here is far from high speed


-joe

Sorry!

I apologize for the lack of blog.  Unfortunately, while in Ecuador I do have to attend classes and pass in homework. Don't worry, my mischievous adventures will be chronicled again soon.

While you anxiously wait, check out my photos on Facebook from Tiputini and also my host dad's 50th birthday party.  I'll be putting captions on the pictures soon so you know exactly what you're looking at, but again the whole school thing is taking up quite a bit of time this week.  It's the last week for course one of the program so everything is due sometime between now and Friday.

On a side note, I leave for the Galapagos on Sunday.  My new host family is "multigenerational" and owns a tourism agency!

Otavlo

So I just got back from Otavalo, home of the largest market in South America.  Our guide, Cesar, belongs to the group of people indigenous to the region.  Needless to say, he gave a fantastic tour and knew so much about the region.  Every mountain, stream, and lake has a name given to it by the original inhabitants, the Incas, then the Spanish.  All of the original names have to do with gender roles and such so it was pretty interesting to find out what they all meant. 
Going to Otavalo is almost like jumping into a TV show.  The men wear a hat depending on what group of people they are from, and almost all of them have a long braid of black hair as well.  The hats are some kind of combo between a Bowler hat and a Cowboy hat.  I really wanted to buy one except 1) I am a terrible shopper, and 2) They made me look like some kind of want-to-be Italian gangster.
The women mostly wore elaborate blouses and a skirt.  Again, the style of the blouse depends on what group they belong to.  Even the little girls look like old women because of their ornamental clothing.
Lastly, haggling was necessary.  It's kind of a mix between having conversation and reducing the price.  A lot of the salesman were fun to talk to, but everything was "hecho a mano" (made by hand) or "de alpaca y algodon" (made of Alpaca fur and cotton).  In reality, our guide told us, most of these products are made on an electronic loom and are synthetic materials (one of the perks of having an indigenous guide whose family hand makes tapestries, hats, and bags).  Some buyers would get excited to argue down a few bucks, but the prices are set so high it's tough to know what it's really worth.  Even with all this, it was an awesome time and we got to experience tons of Quichua culture.


PS-The market was only about 1/4 of our time in Otavalo.  The city and region also has amazing ecosystems, musicians, and a beautiful waterfall. Though, I have heard enough panflute to last me another 20 years.