Greetings to you all,
Monday and Tuesday I had my Spanish classes which are very helpful, but not very interesting stuff for the blog.
Yesterday I went to visit the Episcopal Church in Ibarra, a town about 2.5 hours north of Quito. It is the church farthest north from Quito and it is about 70 miles from the border with Columbia. Chris took me together with a family that is currently staying at his house. This family, mother, father and three small children, lives in Chattenooga, TN. They are old friends of Chris and Trish. They are a wonderful and delightful family. They have a FAIR TRADE business in Chattenooga and they are here in Ecuador to meet local artists from whom they can buy items directly and pay the artists more than the local distributors pay them, then take the items back to the US to sell. The local distributors pay unconscionably low prices to the artists, mark up the prices and sell to the tourists, or export to other countries like the US where the middle men make the most money and the artists makes the least. FAIR TRADE businesses try to see that the poor artists get a just and fair benefit from his/her art.
The Episcopal priest in Ibarra knows the local artists and arranged the contacts with Chris´s friends. It was a fantastic day in many, many ways.
First I have to explain that one of the realities in Ecuador, aned Northern Ecuador especially, is the flood of refugees coming into Ecuador from Columbia. The government of Columbia is a very repressive regime. The military and the para-military forces of the government roam the country and crush any effort to speak out against the government. The church in Ibarra tries to help as many refuges as it can. They even have a small bed room right beside the main sanctuary and while we were there we met a small family of refugees that had just arrived from Columbia, a mother and three daughters. They had fled because they were a part of a human rights group and a para-military force had raided their group and killed the son and the boy friend of one of the daughters. It is a horrible situation that gets no press in the US to my knowledge. I am told here that the US government is very supportive of the current regime in Columbia. I have no independent confirmation of that, but I am very interested to find out.
Later in the day we visited two families who have small homes on the ourskirts of Ibarra. The first family has a small farm, but to supplement their modest life, the mother makes ear rings and necklaces using designs taken from ancient ruins of pre-Incan civilizations near where they live. They are beautiful in their simplicity. They made a deal with Chris´friends that will improve their lives greatly. The family was so gracious and we had a wonderful time with them.
From there we went to another family. This family had an incredible story. Fourteen yeras ago the father was returning to his home on a motorcycle, his only means of transportation. He was run off the road by a car driven by some thieves who wanted his motor cycle and left him to die in a ditch by the side of the road. He did not die ,but was left paralyzed from the waist down.
To feed their family, the wife strated a small buiusines making clothes. She now employs two other peole full time and has 30 other women who do embriodery on the clothes for her part time. She makes a whopping $0.40 on each gament she makes. The shirts, dressed and pants are fabulous. The family who are friends of Chris made a great arangement with the lady to purchase a large supply of her product and paid her a price far above what the local distributors pay. Everyone benefitted thanks to the help of the church in Ibarra who made all of this possible.
I was exhausted when we finally got back to Quito. I had planned to go with them again today and Friday to another town, but I opted out. The little truck Chris has is very small, eventhough it has back seats, but you know what those are like. In the truck we had Chris, the father and the mother of this family, plus their 3 small children and me, and all of our stuff. The kids were fantastic all day and we all really enjoyed every part of the day. But the trip today and tromorrow is a 5 hour drive, twice as far as we went yesterday, plus an overnight stay, which means we all have to take some small luggage. I just decided it was a little too crowded and could be really uncomfortable for everyone, so I opted out.
Instead I will go to Otovalo, a town near where we were yesterdays and stay there for a couple of nights and visit the incredible market they have there on Saturdays. It is a real feature of local Ecuadorean culture and I really want to see it. I will leave today and come back on Sunday.
Well, that is what I have to share for now.
My love to you all and I will look for a place in Otovalo to access email and this blog to let you know what I find there.
Love to you all,
Glenn+
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
A Short Note
Hello everyone,
I have a short note today, because the only news is that I started Spanish classes today. The class is private tutoring for two hours a day, plus study and practice time outside of class on your own. It is very personalized and I think it will be perfect.
I plan to go to class about two days a week on the average. These will be the days I am in Quito and not traveling outside the city.
This week Wednesday through Friday Chris is taking me to visit some of the churches outside of Quito. Wednesday we go to Ibarra about a 2.5 hour drive northwest of Quito. Thursday and Friday is a two day trip to Guaranda, a town about 5 hours southwest of Quito. These will be my first chances to see churches that are in rural communities. This all makes for a good week.
Late yesterday I found an American-type sports bar that had both Guinnes and the NFL playoff games on TV. ALLELUAI!!!
So what if the play by play was in Spanish, which over time I came to understand more and more. I saw the end of the AFC game and the first half of the NFC game. I watched the second half and overtime in my apartment. It made for a nice Sunday evening.
Well, I have my homework to do, so I will say Adios for now.
Glenn+
I have a short note today, because the only news is that I started Spanish classes today. The class is private tutoring for two hours a day, plus study and practice time outside of class on your own. It is very personalized and I think it will be perfect.
I plan to go to class about two days a week on the average. These will be the days I am in Quito and not traveling outside the city.
This week Wednesday through Friday Chris is taking me to visit some of the churches outside of Quito. Wednesday we go to Ibarra about a 2.5 hour drive northwest of Quito. Thursday and Friday is a two day trip to Guaranda, a town about 5 hours southwest of Quito. These will be my first chances to see churches that are in rural communities. This all makes for a good week.
Late yesterday I found an American-type sports bar that had both Guinnes and the NFL playoff games on TV. ALLELUAI!!!
So what if the play by play was in Spanish, which over time I came to understand more and more. I saw the end of the AFC game and the first half of the NFC game. I watched the second half and overtime in my apartment. It made for a nice Sunday evening.
Well, I have my homework to do, so I will say Adios for now.
Glenn+
Sunday, January 20, 2008
A Day at Pululaua
Hello everyone,
Yesterday at Puluylaua was an absolutely incredible day. I didn´t know what to expect because I had very little infomation about Pululaua. All I knew was what Chris told me which was bring cloths for cold and hot and for rain and sun. I knew he was taking his whole family and that Puluaua had something to do with an old volcano that had colapsed, creating a deep crater.
Well, when we got there I found the most gorgeous vistas and scenery I have seen since I have been here. The volcano did colapse creating a crater that drops down about 2000 feet, from a rim of about 13,000 feet. It is completely coverd with vegetation of the kind I saw in Mindo and thought was jungle, It is not jungle, but what they call here a CLOUD FOREST. What that means is that the forest is dense but because of the altitude it is constantly either surrounded or engulfed in clouds. Hense the advise of bringing clothes for every kind of weather because that is what we had over the course of the day. When the clouds were not over us the sun was very hot, and when the clouds rolled in it got cold and though it didn´t rain the air was very moist.
At the botton of the crater is farm land that is lush. They grow corn and other crops there, but the other crops were not planted while we were there.
A friend of Chris´ is building a house in the crater and has the shell built plus a covered shelter away from the house. We had the most fabulous picnic in th bottom of the crater. We cooked chorizo sausages for appetisers, and had steaks on the grill along wth potatoes and vegetables, wine and carrot bread. The kids ran in the grass, and we watched the scenery change minute by minute as the clouds rolled in and covered the area and then rolled out again.
We left there in the late afternoon and stopped at Mitad del Mundo, only we went to the REAL equator, and took a guided tour that was fascinating. We stood directly on the equator, balanced and egg upright on the head of a nail, and saw some demonstrations that were incredible. One had to do with the swirl of the water going down a drain. Whether you are in the northern or southern hemisphere when water goes down a drain it swirls counterclockwise, I think. They had a portable drain and moved it a few yards off the equatorial line and we saw the water swirl. They then put the drain right on the equatorial line and there was no swirl at all, the water goes straight down the drain.
It was a truly fascinating tour and I got some good photos.
I was really beat when I got back to my apartnent and slept soundly all night, which I had not done for a couple of nights.
I got up this morning and had a long quiet time and prayer time, and a slow quiet breakfast. I got my shower and went to the catherdal for church.
Tomorrow I will call the language school and talk to them about what they may have to offer that would suit my needs. I get along quite well, but I want to see what they can design that might help be better understand what people are saying, and correct some of my speaking as well.
This afternoon I am going to the park and just have a relaxing afternoon. I went to the grocery store and got more food that I can prepare in my apaprtment. Nothing fancy just hot dogs, frozen dinners, some fresh fruit and yogurt, which I have missed.
In my quiet time this morning I found myself focusing on how much better I am feeling. I am finding a peace in these days that seems to be related to the balance of solitude and time with people who have become my friends and my time exploring the beauty and wonders of this magical place. I really do feel a calm and a healing beginning to take place that is hard to describe.
Physically I am feeling terrific, but the ever present hills and the stairs are hard on my legs. My feet don´t bother me at all which is a bit of surprise, given all the humidity, but going up and down stairs and huge steps and hills is taxing. The sidewalks everywhere are very rough and uneven with huge steps. So, I just go slow, and slow suits me just fine. I have no hurrys and no worries.
Well, Adios again for a while.
Glenn+
Yesterday at Puluylaua was an absolutely incredible day. I didn´t know what to expect because I had very little infomation about Pululaua. All I knew was what Chris told me which was bring cloths for cold and hot and for rain and sun. I knew he was taking his whole family and that Puluaua had something to do with an old volcano that had colapsed, creating a deep crater.
Well, when we got there I found the most gorgeous vistas and scenery I have seen since I have been here. The volcano did colapse creating a crater that drops down about 2000 feet, from a rim of about 13,000 feet. It is completely coverd with vegetation of the kind I saw in Mindo and thought was jungle, It is not jungle, but what they call here a CLOUD FOREST. What that means is that the forest is dense but because of the altitude it is constantly either surrounded or engulfed in clouds. Hense the advise of bringing clothes for every kind of weather because that is what we had over the course of the day. When the clouds were not over us the sun was very hot, and when the clouds rolled in it got cold and though it didn´t rain the air was very moist.
At the botton of the crater is farm land that is lush. They grow corn and other crops there, but the other crops were not planted while we were there.
A friend of Chris´ is building a house in the crater and has the shell built plus a covered shelter away from the house. We had the most fabulous picnic in th bottom of the crater. We cooked chorizo sausages for appetisers, and had steaks on the grill along wth potatoes and vegetables, wine and carrot bread. The kids ran in the grass, and we watched the scenery change minute by minute as the clouds rolled in and covered the area and then rolled out again.
We left there in the late afternoon and stopped at Mitad del Mundo, only we went to the REAL equator, and took a guided tour that was fascinating. We stood directly on the equator, balanced and egg upright on the head of a nail, and saw some demonstrations that were incredible. One had to do with the swirl of the water going down a drain. Whether you are in the northern or southern hemisphere when water goes down a drain it swirls counterclockwise, I think. They had a portable drain and moved it a few yards off the equatorial line and we saw the water swirl. They then put the drain right on the equatorial line and there was no swirl at all, the water goes straight down the drain.
It was a truly fascinating tour and I got some good photos.
I was really beat when I got back to my apartnent and slept soundly all night, which I had not done for a couple of nights.
I got up this morning and had a long quiet time and prayer time, and a slow quiet breakfast. I got my shower and went to the catherdal for church.
Tomorrow I will call the language school and talk to them about what they may have to offer that would suit my needs. I get along quite well, but I want to see what they can design that might help be better understand what people are saying, and correct some of my speaking as well.
This afternoon I am going to the park and just have a relaxing afternoon. I went to the grocery store and got more food that I can prepare in my apaprtment. Nothing fancy just hot dogs, frozen dinners, some fresh fruit and yogurt, which I have missed.
In my quiet time this morning I found myself focusing on how much better I am feeling. I am finding a peace in these days that seems to be related to the balance of solitude and time with people who have become my friends and my time exploring the beauty and wonders of this magical place. I really do feel a calm and a healing beginning to take place that is hard to describe.
Physically I am feeling terrific, but the ever present hills and the stairs are hard on my legs. My feet don´t bother me at all which is a bit of surprise, given all the humidity, but going up and down stairs and huge steps and hills is taxing. The sidewalks everywhere are very rough and uneven with huge steps. So, I just go slow, and slow suits me just fine. I have no hurrys and no worries.
Well, Adios again for a while.
Glenn+
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