I Love Field Trips!

            My confidence in Spanish is like the weather here.  I wake up and it’s cool and cloudy.  I walk outside and I’m transported to late October.  I can imagine the leaves at home, as they fall from the sky, the brilliant color the price paid for the loss of life.  Like the dancing of male Monarch butterflies that travel down to Mexico solely to die.  The sky is gray this morning, and the cobblestone streets are quiet as I leave the house.  A few buses and taxis pass by, but for the most part the city is still sleeping.  I could still be sleeping.  It’s too early in the morning to feel that life is actually being realized, lived, following me as I walk to my bus stop.  I must be on autopilot.  Or like a house of mazes and mirrors.  I’m walking somewhere, I arrive at my destination, but I don’t plan my steps.  I turn when the streets open, and the road seems to pull me in the right direction rather than my own conscious thinking.  I imagine it must be similar for the butterflies, whom in a few hours later will be, well…nature has a way of being cruel and beautiful simultaneously. 

Traveling Companions

            As the butterflies fall to the ground, their energy spent like autumnal leaves, I finish teaching my morning class.  I walk outside to a new day.  Sunny and warm instead of crisp and ponderous.  I chat, I interact, I make a mess of my Spanish.  Talking with Lorena in the sunshine, my confidence in my Spanish increases, because, she an easy speaker.  She speaks slow enough for me, uses the right words and constructions that are not too difficult to follow.  She smiles and her burgundy hair still catches my eyes, as the light, coming through the leaves of the tree under which we are in repose, shines on her. 

            Remember though, I am talking about my Spanish skills.  Sunny and fluid or still and isolating.  Nearly 7 weeks have passed since I have been in Cuenca.  With Lorena, I almost feel that I can speak and understand as a young child can understand the words of a caring mother.  But with others I feel like I have learned nothing at all.  Like my ears and brain are disconnected.  As it is, I’m still uncomfortable going out and making friends for I feel that I will just bother the other person with asking them to repeat everything they say.  Yet, I am thankful for the friends I do have here.

New Fruits!

            Speaking of, last weekend I had a delightful trip to Azogues and Biblian, two towns that lie outside of Cuenca. I met Lorena and her friend Irma at the bus station.  We took a short ride to Azogues and met Lorena’s other friend Miriam who gave us a guided tour of the city.  We started off with the market, which is usually my favorite place in any town.  There were many fruits there that I had never tried, so we spent a few dollars on many types of fruits, which hopefully, in a forthcoming blog entry, will be catalogued in detail along with pictures.  We also tried the morocho there.  Supposedly it’s famous, but it didn’t suit my tastes.  It was more milky and less thick than the morocho in Cuenca, and therefore, I choose Cuenca’s.  We carried our goods out of the market to the cathedral, took a few pictures, and walked to the Franciscan church high up on the side of Azogues.  The church was beautiful inside and out.  It gave a beautiful view of the city and of the virgin, also perched on a distant mountain outside the city.  We walked down the Nave, approached the choir, snapped a few photos and headed to the back.  To the side of the church was a large courtyard and cloister.  Lorena and I were unknowingly talking to each other and taking photos right next to the father who was giving confession to a few of the devout. oops... 

Church 2 of 3

         

   In my home church one expects PowerPoint and computers.  It’s an evangelical church in America.  It’s quite common.  Church and the services have evolved along with technology to suit the needs and desires of the congregants.  I didn’t know if I would find a similar change here in Latin America.  The changes here are small and subtle.  For example, Willow Creek in Illinois is a monolith of a church, the equivalent of the Coliseum of ancient Rome.  In Cuenca, it’s the New Cathedral.  However, in the cathedral here, there are no acoustic guitars, no large screen TVs, no computers and no light dimmers.  The icons are still there, the candles, the Eucharist, the simple wooden benches, the simple austerity mixed with boisterously gilded colonnades and edifices.  Yet, if you stay until the end of the mass, acoustic pop worship music will be played from the speakers.  If you look around, you will see satellite dishes roosting next to quiet gargoyles. 

The Outer Cloister

            The interplay between technology and tradition is alive here in Cuenca.  My vision is by no means far-reaching or exhaustive, but a few instances suffice to give a hint.  I have a student, 29 years old, who lives with his family: his parents and three siblings.  We were speaking in class one day about neighbors.  He said his neighbors start washing their car at 6am and he, who has usually just arrived home an hour or so ago, is trying to sleep.  He drinks, sings, learns English, seems like a normal 29 year old American, except that he lives with his parents and his mother still mothers him.  She complains that he stays out late at night and doesn’t go to church.  Then, 2 weekends ago, I went out with another student and her friend.  The interesting thing was, all through the night, the mother of the friend continually called, asking where she was and if she was safe.  She told a few white lies to get through the night.  Another friend, who lives a decent ways from Cuenca, was not allowed to visit us in Azogues last weekend, her parents wouldn’t let her.  And then there is another, who is involved in technology and health.  She is teaching teens about safe-sex, working for Microsoft, and yet, lives at home and her mother is not exactly delighted that she goes out at night.  She is a single female, living at home, definitely not being conventional.  And most unconventional, is my dance teacher, who moved out of her parents’ house, and is a single woman living alone.  All these people are in the late 20s or early 30s.  The influence of technology and media from other countries is in Ecuador and is visible in the changing lifestyle, fashion and beliefs of the younger generations.  And yet, being here, seeing these families living together, I am missing living with my parents.

Cathedral in Biblian

            After visiting the church, we headed back down the hill towards the bus station and caught a bus to Biblian.  We climbed the steep ascent to the church and took photos of the church and the surroundings.  It is a beautiful landscape.  The church itself is built right into the rock wall, therefore, as one enters the church, one can feel the earthiness of the place.  The back wall is mostly the wall of the mountain.  The church is slate gray as a result.  But the air is clear and the colors more vibrant in contrast to the pale tones of the earth. 

Straight Lemon!

            After visiting the church, we walked up to the peak of the hill and rested.  We were tired.  We ate some delicious fruit while the winds changed from warm to cool.  We looked off to the south and saw dark clouds approaching.  We knew we should leave soon.  But before we did, Miriam pulled out 4 large lemons from her backpack.  This is what you eat when you need some energy.  It hurts my cheeks even now just thinking about it.  But, I ate an entire lime.  We headed down, hopped on the bus, rode back to Cuenca, dinner, sleep, class in the morning.   

La Vista

 

Bread and taxis. Nothing else is as sure.

I was playing guitar by the window of my room today.  From my window you can see into the hallway of the house, the hallway that leads to the kitchen.  There is a curtain, which I would describe as mostly opaque, that doesn’t quite cover up the entirety of the window.  I was in the middle of changing my clothes from sporting to formal this afternoon, when the desire hit me to play guitar.  I was wearing only boxers, in front of my window, when I heard the phone ring outside my room.  What if someone comes by room and decides they need to talk to me.  “Estoy desvestido” I would shout…wait…does that mean I'm naked? I don’t know.  Desvestido?  This could turn into a desperate and rather embarrassing situation…

October in Brief

Stained Glass Window in Ambato

My students have asked me on multiple occasions, "How did you find Cuenca?"  You might as well ask "How does a wizard choose his wand?"  He doesn't.  Neither did I choose Cuenca, but through a series of fateful or fortunate events, the sorting hat has dropped me into my current life.  So much of the past 2 months have been outside of my control, and yet, through it all positive experience has been piled upon positive experience.  Cuenca has been kind to me.  Or rather, the people have been kind to me. 

Let's start with living with a homestay.  Not everything is golden, yet it is positive.  I hoped, with three siblings in my family, all in their 20s, I would have made strong connections with at least one of them, but so far I haven't.  The person I talk most with is my homestay mother, and that is how it has been since I have arrived here.  And how great she has been.  I just look past what hasn't happened between my siblings and I, and be thankful for my mother here.  For example, as a growing boy, I am often hungry, and I got just what I didn't need, more food.  I had been romping around the national park with some of my students last weekend, and came home from the park around 7pm after being out since 7am.  My mother, always concerned about me, well, I think she thought that when I got home I needed to each lunch and dinner and dessert all at once.  I was served a plate of rice and fish...and then 2 ham and cheese sandwiches, then cookies and tea.  No worries, I got it all down, even though I had just eaten a plate of mote pillo in the national park 2 hours ago.  

At times living with a homestay may feel somewhat akin to being a pet.  My mother decides what and when to eat.  She decides what I drink for breakfast (coffee, hot chocolate or a delicious banana smoothie).  She decides when I get fruit.  For a time I felt a little less than the independent autonomous American citizen that I am.  Then she gave me lots of food, asked me what I wanted to drink, showed me how to make coffee using her Italian coffee maker, changed my sheets and towel and took me out for some dessert and coffee after lunch.  Yes, I still don't have complete control over my food but I don't need that right now.  I'm happy to be in her house.  I could feel like a pet, but instead, I'm going to think of myself as a child prince, maybe a little prince.  A little wizard too.

My Students Rocking Cajas

Speaking of family, I really had wanted to put pictures of my family up on the blog this time.  I have been here for over a month and as of yet have not taken any pictures of my family.  It seems rather awkward.  I was determined to make this post about my family, but it didn't work out that way.  Next time...I promise.

So cute now, so delicious later...

Speaking of great people, let me mention some awesome people I have met.  I may have spoken briefly about my dance class that I have each weeknight.  Monday and Wednesday, after class, I go to Joana's place to learn how to shake my hips and then Tuesday and Thursday I teach her English.  This has turned out to be so much more than I thought it was going to be.  Joana, turns out, to be a feminist fighting for women's rights in Ecuador.  Since she was 14 she has been concerned with education and supporting women and continues her work currently as a counselor for battered and abused women.  Fortunately her English is high enough that she can explain, granted not always on the first try, all that she desires.  I thought teaching her English would be about her, but it turns out to be a great way to learn about her and Ecuador. 

Another amazing person has been my intercambio between Lorena and I, which has since expanded to include Alex.  The three of us talk each day after class for an hour or so, and answer each others questions about the English or Spanish language.  Again, these girls have turned out to be much more than I would have imagined them to be.  All I had known of Ecuador before I arrived was that Ecuadorians were more conservative and many of them, by the time they were 23, would be married and starting a family.  Now maybe that is true, but if it is, it isn't true of anyone I know.  I don't know any conservative 23 year old married adults.  Instead, Alex and Lorena are educated, dedicated, and experienced women.  Alex, for example, has a child, which is another surprise, because of how common children out of wedlock are here.  And yet, she travels 2 hours to SECAP each day to take classes and 2 hours back.  These females have family living around the world, they themselves want to educated themselves and travel, want to learn English, want to love their family. (Pictures soon to be forthcoming...)

Writing and Smiling!

Speaking of patterns of thought, in my class I am having my students write a 5 paragraph persuasive about their feelings towards homosexuals in Ecuador.  I have received a little resistance from very few students, some are mild, and some are enthusiastic.  They are today beginning to realize how much work goes into writing a solid 5 paragraph essay.  Most of their previous writing assignments have been sporadic forays into different topics.  However, creating a detailed outline, with a specific method of writing an introductory paragraph has given them a new appreciation for what a 5 paragraph essay should look like.  I'm glad to be giving them such a structured writing assignment so early in the year, because now everything they write another paragraph, I can ask them to sketch an outline of their paragraph with main ideas and supporting details.  I do have a goal of having them do some debating their solutions to gay marriage in Ecuador, but I haven't quite figured out how to structure it.

First Trip to Cajas

Backing up.  October 16th I went to Cajas, to the national park with a few students and their friends.  The park was beautiful...in a spacious and vacuous sort of way.  There wasn't much wildlife, or diversity of plant life to see, at least to my untrained eye.  Tan colored hill followed by tan colored hill mixed with giant immobile boulders and small pools of clear water.  It was barren and forbidding, preserving its majesty and grandeur through its austerity.

Cajas National Park

This first trip to Cajas was warm and sunny.  We did a little fishing and then did some more fishing at a fish farm when we only caught one little guy inside the park.  Sport fishing was not quite what I expected.  I had thought maybe there would be a large lake with guides...but as we walked through a run down bus, picked up our bait made of bread dough, grabbed a fishing pole, which was a long stick with a piece of nylon attached, and a tiny hook tied to the string, I realized this wasn't going to be "sport" fishing as I had imagined it.  Rather, the pools ranged from the size of a grave to a large kitchen.  We dropped our bread into the water, watched the little trout eat up the bread and hopefully tugged hard enough to snag a fish and fling it up onto shore, due to lack of reel and capability of winding.  It turned out to be good fun, and later when we went to Jimmy's house to eat them, they were quite delicious.  Yes, Jimmy did invite me to his house and I met his mother and wife and they were wonderful! They even invited me out to go dancing with them for Halloween, however, more of that later.

Then following Sunday I returned to Cajas, though this time, with other students and to another lake.  We went to Toreadora.  It was another beautiful trip.  Cooler this time, and with much more walking, but we were rewarded with seeing a group of alpacas grazing peacefully near a lake.  It's a beautiful sight.

Outside Cathedral

For Halloween, I chose to go to Ambato to spend time with Teresa, and as it so happens, Jorge and CJ were there as well.  Ambato is the 4th largest city in Ecaudor, right behind Cuenca.  However, it has almost no extranjeros, which is much different than the situation in Cuenca.

Jorge, C.J. and Teresa with Coconut Batido

I took a night bus to get there, which is all but prohibited by World Teach.  We are strongly advised not to take night buses, however, if I'm going to travel this year, I will need to leave Friday nights after class by a night bus.  So heedless of the consequences, I got on my bus and headed off to Ambato.  The bus was perfectly fine.  I never once felt uncomfortable or had a scary incident. Neither there nor back.  I guess bad things happen, but they're rare.

Delicious Breads

Tungurahua

In Ambato the four of us checked out the parks, the churches, the food, the people and the clubs.  Teresa's host family is amazing.  They let the three of us stay in their house for free, they fed us food, they picked me up and dropped me off at the bus terminal, they shared their beds, their colada morada and chatted it up with us.  Wonderful.  Teresa's family is comprised of mother and father and 4 daughters.  They live halfway up a mountain, so that they have a view of the entirety of Ambato from their roof.  And a sweet view of Tungurahua volcano to boot.


 

Pumpkin Pie

The second day Teresa and I tried to make a pumpkin pie, which I think we did quite successfully.  Flashback to Quito.  Teresa and I were in "The Boot," a club in the Mariscal, reminiscing about life back in the Midwest: cheese, casseroles, snow and the vibrant colors of leaves.  It was a warm pain thinking about home with another Midwesterner, whose home was so close to my own.  I knew it would happen again, but I wanted it to.  Back to the pie.  We worked on the pie most of the morning, we chatted about traditions, conditions and our future ambitions while the smell of pumpkin pie (and the pumpkin soup that was made from the leftover mash) filled the ambient air.  I missed home and yet, at the same time, was glad to not be going home.  I don't have traditions here in Cuenca, but thankfully I have plans here.

Colada Morada and Guagua

For example, back to Alex, she has invited me to her place this month and for Christmas as well.  I had her bring some pictures of her home and family to our intercambio yesterday.  She is from Santa Isabel, which is 2 hours south of here.  I can't wait to visit, I'm sure I will have much to say, as she has told me much to make my imagination run and mouth water.

A Few of the Daughters

As for future adventures, this week we only have 2 days of classes and then a 5 day weekend because it is a national holiday.  Wednesday is the "Day of the Dead."  The best part of this so far has been the Colada Morada.  Purple thick fruit drink that is delicious, traditionally served with "pan de guagua."  Which is another term for Baby bread, as you can tell because of the human like resemblance of the load of bread, no?  I love the stuff, but they only make it for one week out of the year.  Ah well, you can't have everything you want.

Thursday is the founding of...Ecuador? is it the founding of Cuenca?  I think Cuenca, though I'm not sure.  And then Friday is another holiday though I can't remember why...oops.  Anyway, some students have invited me out to go dancing with them tomorrow night and during the day a few students and other WT vols. are going with me to check out Biblian.  And that is only Wednesay.  There are 5 days of exploring ahead.  Maybe we'll find a hoarcrux along the way?

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.  I went to a cockfight with Teresa's dad.  Well, you can judge for yourself.