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! 

Me queda una semana...

¡Casi no puedo creer que salga por Ecuador en una semana! Aunque la experiencia haciendo investigaciones científicas en Carolina del Norte haya sido excelente, estoy lista para empezar un nuevo capitulo. Claro, tengo algunos miedos, y anticipo que los días primeros serán un poco difíciles. ¡Creo que valdrá la pena!  

I can hardly believe that I leave for Ecuador in one week! Although the experience doing research in North Carolina has been excellent, I’m ready to begin a new chapter. Of course, I have a few fears, and I anticipate the first few days to be difficult. But I think it will be worth it!