Waterfalls, Compost, and the First day of School

The last few weeks have been filled with all things new, from food and traveling to the start of school! A few weekends ago, my extended family took two day trips: One to a country club of sorts for doctors, and another to a waterfall and swimming hole in San Miguel de los Bancos. Both days were quite fun, and it was great spending time with them. On the way home from the waterfall, we stopped at a small mom & pop restaurant for lunch. I ordered chicken soup, which seemed benign enough. Much to my surprise, the first spoonful uncovered una pata -- aka, a chicken foot. My host family laughed at my reaction, and assured me that it was muy rico, or very good. Needless to say, I left the pata in the bowl. The second spoonful uncovered yet another surprise: a dark, spongy piece of meat -- a chicken kidney. I did try that at my family's prompting, and it really wasn't terrible except for the texture. During this weekend, my host sisters also took me to the Calle Ronda in the historical center, a pretty, cobblestone street packed with people and street food on Friday nights. There, I tried a dessert that was a strange mix between ice cream and icing -- a little too sweet, even for me! Still on the list of foods to try in Ecuador are Cuy (Guinea pig) and tripa (intestines), both of which are excellent according to my family.

Strange icing stuff disguised as ice cream. 

Doctors' country club

When required to wear a swim cap, pretend you are a
member of a synchronized swim team!

Most sister sister, Sofie, and nephew, Julian.

The waterfall! 

After finishing up the pre-semester course, we were off to Rio Muchacho -- an organic farm located just a few miles from the coastal town of Canoa. We boarded a night bus and arrived in Canoa bright and early - at 6am - on Wednesday. What do you do when you arrive at a beach that early? Go running, of course! My fellow JC teammate, Kate; and Megan, who runs for Elizabethtown College; and I got in a nice run along the shore, complete with finding sand dollars and a blue crab.

Juniata and Elizabethtown teams, unite!

Blue crab - Cangrejo azul

The beach at Canoa

We spent the rest of the day at the beach, where we met two Germans who were traveling around South America for a few weeks. Between an amusing mix of English, Spanish, and German, we had a great discussion over lunch about politics, religion, and stereotypes about our respective countries. They were surprisingly well-informed about American politics, (asked us what we thought about Romney; thought that Palin and Bachmann were laughable) and were perplexed by the influence of religion in our elections, considering that religious freedom is one of the most cherished and foundational tenets of our country. Regarding stereotypes towards Americans, they had previously gathered that Americans generally seem uninterested in being intellectual. However, they were happily surprised to find that we defied this stereotype, and assured us that they would tell their friends in Germany about the group of American 20-somethings who were in fact quite the contrary.

At the end of the day, we climbed into the back of a pick-up truck to drive to the Rio Muchacho farm. The farm's owners, Dario and Nicola, established Rio Muchacho about 30 years with the goal of running a nearly self-sustainable, entirely organic farm while reforesting land lost to slash-and-burn clearing. In the last three decades, they've done just that: The farm uses only organic farming methods, produces less than 2lbs of inorganic trash per week, and recycles almost everything through composting toilets and composting machines (aka, pigs and guinea pigs.) Organic farming classes are available at the farm, and hundreds of tourists, volunteers, and special interest groups pass through Rio Muchacho annually. This helps Dario and Nicola fulfill a secondary goal of educating the public about environmental sustainability and each individual's impact on the environment. Rio Muchacho has even opened an elementary school that aims to educate local children about organic farming practices and show them that farming can sustain them and their families. We visited the school during "chores" time, where we found 8-10 year old boys chopping down weeds with machetes....not exactly your typical American elementary school!

The Rio Muchacho School...time for chores!

While I could go on and on about the several documentaries we watched and Dario's fascinating lecture about planting and harvesting in harmony with lunar cycles, the three days at Rio Muchacho prompted me to think about my responsibilities as a consumer and as a future scientist. The last few weeks, I've been working through Thomas Friedman's "Hot, Flat, and Crowded," which explores the convergence of energy shortages and their relationship to political power; booming human populations; and globalization. Both Rio Muchacho and Friedman's book have provoked curiosity about new and different branches of biological research, specifically applied and environmental microbiology in the context of these very real environmental, energy, and sustainability questions. Regardless of what politicians and scientists say on either side of the "climate change" debate, the human population and its need for resources are growing nearly exponentially. Quite simply, we need to be intentional and innovative about finding sustainable ways to support the millions who are joining the middle class while conserving the resources we have. And I want to find ways to do this with microbes!

Okay, enough of the population sustainability/energy/environment rant. Since our days at Rio Muchacho were packed, here's just a quick list of the highlights: Making chocolate with only cocoa beans, sugar cane, and milk; riding horses to a monkey forest (we didn't actually find any monkeys); hiking to perhaps the coolest tree ever; making jewelry from tagua (a nut) and bowls from mate (a fruit); and eating -- the food at Rio Muchacho was incredible! Homemade bread, granola, yuca cakes, fresh fruit from the farm, the best soups I've ever had, and homegrown coffee. So good. Here are just a few pictures:

Pathway

Bananas

Pinneaple

Cocoa

Best lunch ever.

Super cool tree!

Horses (ponies by US standards)

Homemade chocolate (photo cred goes to Bridget)

Waterfall!

After the relaxing days at Rio Muchacho, we returned to Quito for the start of classes. I've been in school for almost two weeks now, and it's so different from Juniata. I really miss living at school (my commute is about half an hour by bus) and knowing almost everyone in my classes. At least 4,000-5,000 students pass through USFQ's tiny campus everyday! As far as classes go, I'm taking an Ecology class, two art classes to fulfill requirements at Juniata (weaving and jewelry), two Spanish classes (Adv. Grammar, Language & Cinema), and Intro. to Environmental Engineering. So far, I'm enjoying them!

While this post has turned into a bit of novel, I have one more cool update -- this week, I'm meeting with one of the environmental engineering professors to talk about doing research at USFQ. She's currently starting a project investigating the effectiveness of microbes in remediating soils contaminated with petroleum, a significant environmental problem in Ecuador. As if this project doesn't already sound fascinating because of its combination of microbiology and environmental remediation, this particular professor studied at JUNIATA for a semester in 1999! Small world!

That's it for now! Que les vaya bien : )

The Chapel of Man, Llamas, and Bartering

This weekend was filled with adventures! On Friday, we went to the Capilla del Hombre - the Chapel of Man. It's an art museum of sorts in north Quito, featuring the works of the famous Ecuadorian artist Oswaldo Guayasamin (1919-1999.) The building that houses the collection is meant to be a place of reflection about man's suffering, as this was Guayasamin's principle subject matter. Unfortunately, cameras aren't allowed inside the chapel, but here are some outdoor replicas:

These flowers aren't representative of the bulk of Guayasamin's
work, but aren't they pretty?

Guaysamin's House.

On Saturday morning, our BCA group boarded a tour bus for Otavalo, a town about 2 hours away. On the way there, we stopped at the Pyramids at Cochasqui. The 15-or-so pyramids were built for religious purposes by a Pre-Incan society, dating them to the 6th-15th century. Unlike traditional pyramids (such as those in Egypt), the Pyramids at Cochasqui are covered in tierra (earth/dirt) and vegetation. They have remained mostly unexcavated because archaeologists are unsure if the original structures are still intact. Partial excavations have revealed that the pyramids are made of volcanic debris. Interestingly, the site includes highly accurate solar and lunar clocks that are currently being restored. The fact that such ancient societies had such a profound grasp on time and astronomy is incredible!

Pyramid

Panoramic view of  part of the site

...As if the pyramids weren't cool enough, we eventually came across some llamas. Not just some, but a herd. The tour guides must get annoyed when everyone freaks about about the llamas. (But you have to admit, they're pretty cute.)

After the pyramids, we drove to the equator! Unfortunately, my camera battery died after leaving the pyramids (too many llama pictures), so I'll have to steal some photos from friends. Of course, I didn't leave the equator without doing a handstand!

                     

Juniata College!

 In the late afternoon, we arrived in Otavalo, home to the country's largest indigenous market. Overwhelming is an understatement! It was huge. While everything is really cheap, vendors hike up the prices for Americans. That's where bartering comes in. Our Spanish professor suggested that we go for half the initial cost, and negotiate from there. I felt guilty negotiating for a lower price, as the vendor could probably use the extra dollar or two more than I could, but I guess it's part of the deal. We left the market decked out in traditional Ecuadorian clothes (which no one actually wears), but hey, when in Rome...

Oh so Ecua. 

Bracelets 

Spices! (Photo cred goes to Kate)

Sunday began with a visit to an artisan's home in an indigenous town. The elderly man and woman are specialists in weaving and making yarn from sheep wool. We got to see steps of the process of making a scarf, from start to finish. While the couple regularly invites tourists into their home, asking them to package their culture and livelihood into a thirty-minute workshop seems somewhat patronizing and degrading. In any event, their craft is truly impressive.

The next stop was a waterfall! We had to hike - or rather climb - up a muddy slope, crawl through the trees, cross an earth bridge, and descend a rocky ledge to reach the falls. I decided not to take my camera, but a few people brought their waterproof cameras and got great pictures! (which I will have to borrow...)

After the waterfall, we stopped at Parque Condor. It's a reservation/restorative park for large birds, including falcons, owls, eagles, and Ecuador's famous condors. The visit included a bird show with some impressive animals, even a bald eagle. Interestingly, this was the first time I saw a bald eagle flying...and it was in Ecuador. The condors were incredible, as they're the largest birds that still fly. A bunch of BCAers were really excited about one of the Snowy Owls because it was used for the filming of Harry Potter. (As someone who's never read Harry Potter, it had no significance to me other than being cute.) 

Some kind of eagle

I don't know what kind of bird this is, but it was
absolutely huge. 

An Ecuadorian condor! They're larger than
turkeys.

Spotted falcon

The rest of the afternoon included visiting the house of a family who makes special flutes from bamboo, shopping at a leather market, and relaxing at a volcanic lake. It was quite the weekend, and I'm looking forward to more excursions in the next few months!

Volcanic lake

               

¡Bienvenidos a Quito!

¡Hola todos! Here marks the first of hopefully many entries about living in Quito, Ecuador. I have officially been in Quito for five full days, but it feels like much longer. So much has happened in this short time!

When I arrived in the Quito airport late Friday night, I was greeted by my host parents -- "Mama Ellie" and "Papi Poncho." They have four grown children: Sandy, who is married and has her own family; 29-year old Denis; and 27-year-old twins, Pamela and Sofia. Of the four children, only the twins still live at home. A grandson also lives with us, 8-year-old Rickie. We live in a nice apartment in a gated neighborhood in Northern Quito, the admittedly wealthy side of the city. Mama Ellie owns her own hair salon, and Papi Poncho is an architect who specializes in hospitals. My family has hosted American students previously, so they are well acquainted with the BCA study abroad program and the University of San Francisco in Quito (USFQ), where I'll be taking classes this fall.

                                                   Apartment buildings in my neighborhood

Saturday morning I got up bright and early to meet the rest of the BCA group for a scavenger hunt through Quito's historical center. As I learned in Mexico last summer, Latin America runs on its own clock. Ecuador is no exception. The plan was for everyone to meet at the bus station at 8:30, but we didn't leave my house until close to 9:30...pero no pasa nada! Other students arrived even later. We time-conscious "gringos" just need to get used to (and learn to appreciate) the more relaxed attitude towards time. The scavenger hunt lasted about four hours and took us all over the city -- I was completely disoriented from having arrived in Quito after dark, and was shocked by the size of Quito. It keeps going. And going. And going! Houses and buildings creep their way up the mountains, making for quite the impressive landscape which even the panorama camera setting can't do justice. The current population is somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5 million, and the very, very crowded public buses are certainly representative of such a populated city. After the scavenger hunt, I went to my good friend Kate's host family's house. Her host mom just so happens to be Sandy, the eldest daughter of my host parents. There, I met Sandy's husband Alex, and their two children, 5-year-old Taina and 2-month old Julian.

On Sunday, I went to church with the twins, Rickie, and Denis. Surprisingly, they attend an evangelical church. (Catholicism dominates most of the religious landscape in Latin America.) I knew some of the songs in English, and could easily follow along with the translations. In the afternoon Sandy's family joined us for a large meal at our house, followed by Salsa lessons in the living room. Taina even showed us her hip-hop moves. (Apparently, hip-hop is universal.) 

                                               Alex and Pamela showing us their salsa skills

                                                               Taina dancing "hip-hop"

Monday was my first day at USFQ. While classes at the university don't start until mid-August, we have pre-semester culture and language classes from 9-1, and a salsa class a few days a week at 4. USFQ is actually located in Cumbaya, a town on the outskirts of Quito. For me, the bus ride is about 25 minutes, depending on traffic. The buses are very, very crowded (especially in the afternoon) but there's always room for 15 more -- at least, that's the joke. The bus costs only $0.25 cents regardless of where you get on. Ah, this brings up an interesting point: A few years ago, Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, "dolarized" the Ecuadorian economy. That is, Ecuador goes by the US dollar. US bills and coins are accepted here, although Ecuador does have its own coins. A dollar goes much further here for food, but not for clothing, electronics, and other imported goods.

                                                                   Lunch = $3.20!

Back to school -- the campus is absolutely GORGEOUS! Here's a look:

The last few days, a group of BCA students has gone running after school. Running in Quito is nothing like running at home -- first, there are hills everywhere, and second, the altitude makes a two mile run feel like a five mile run. While it makes running not so enjoyable now, running at home in December should be a breeze! A few of us are thinking of registering for an 8k in late August, as we'll hopefully be adjusted to the altitude by then. 

There's so much more I could talk about -- my family, the food, the city -- but this is about it for now! I'll leave you with a picture of Rickie, mi hermanito. Having always been the youngest in my family, it's fun being the older sister! 

                                            My little brother, Rickie. Don't even think about 

                                                  challenging him in the video game Crash.  

¡Hasta luego!