Be Vigilant

When we first accepted the post to Ecuador, we were told how wonderful of a place it was. Our conversations with our employers weren't entirely sugar coated though. We were made well aware of potential for crime here. Ecuador is an economically less developed country and as a result, there is a lot of poverty and as with most of the world; with poverty comes risk for crime.

We wanted to make sure we were aware of all potential risks and crime statistics so we did some research. What we heard from our bosses matched up with the stuff we found out on our own. Crime is a huge problem in Ecuador but it is usually nonviolent crime. The US State Department rates Ecuador "critical" in terms of crime and residential safety. Theft is a big problem; as is armed robbery. If you hand over your things, everything usually works out alright without anyone getting injured.

We have found in our time here that if you are smart and vigilant, things will usually work out alright. Avoid alleys and sparsely populated areas whenever possible. Try to avoid traveling alone. Don't carry more valuables than absolutely necessary. Don't wear visible jewelry. Pay attention to your surroundings. If you follow those guidelines, you are probably in good shape.

Since we got here in August, I have had someone attempt to pick my pocket at a culture festival. I luckily had nothing in it, and also felt it and slapped his hand away as he scurried away in the crowd. We have had friends who were robbed at knife point on the beach as well as friends who had phones stolen from their pockets at parties. This is just a part of life here, but if you are careful and vigilant, it usually works out alright. Shannon and I have been very fortunate to have avoided many of these scary situations.

I did however...have a close call last night. I think it was mentioned earlier in this blog that once a month the ladies get together at someone's house for "Ladies Wine Night." That was last night. It also happened to coincide with our Thursday Embassy basketball game. The guys decided that after basketball, while the ladies were drinking wine and hanging out, we would get some pizza and watch some sports at a friends' house.

Something that should be stated about our friends' house is that it is in probably the nicest part of Quito. His house overlooks the park and is on one of the safest residential streets in the city. Well, we were on our way to his house and as we were pulling onto his street, we decided to go to the tienda a block away to pick up some drinks. Normally, we would have parked the car at his place and walked but we just got done playing basketball for three hours so the drive seemed wise. While we were paying, we were delayed by about 5 minutes because the cashier had no change.

As we pulled up to his house after leaving the tienda, our friend Andrew and another friend Rudy ran outside. They told us what we had missed by no more than 30 seconds.

Rudy had parked his car on the well lit, nice neighborhood street to go to Andrew's house. While Andrew was checking out the window to see if we had arrived, he saw a nice car pull up alongside Rudy's car and there were two people inside of his car! Andrew started banging on his second story apartment window to get their attention to scare them away and one of the guys breaking into the car got out of the car, and while standing on the street took out a gun and pointed it at Andrew in the window. Andrew dropped to the floor to duck and stayed on the ground for about a minute.

When he got up in front of a different window he peeked out and saw them pulling away AS we were pulling up in our cars from the tienda. They both ran outside, explained the story, and examined the damage.

They had an air compressor of some sort that was used to blow out the passenger side key hole. They then opened the car door, tore open the dash, and stole the car's computer. The car was dead. The computer is a $5,000 part. When someone asked why they would steal that Rudy explained that this had happened before.

Apparently this is a big crime racket in Quito. A group of thieves will steal the computer and sell it to the black market in the shady side of town. When you go from shop to shop and realize that the part would have to be imported at a much higher markup, you eventually go to the black market and ask the part dealer for a part that matches what you had stolen. They inevitably have the same exact one that was stolen from inside of your own car and make you pay for it at a shady meeting spot at a shady meeting time. They frequently take pictures of your registration so they can look up your residential information and threaten to hurt you or your family if you go to the cops or come to the meeting with any other people. This apparently happens frequently. It is quite literally taking car parts for hostage.

Now Rudy has a $5,000 part to buy and a choice to make. Deal with these criminals again or import a new part and hope it doesn't happen to him a third time.

I want to clarify that I do not feel unsafe living here. If you take precautions and do your best to minimize potential opportunities where you are vulnerable, it is a great place to live. Rather than giving the false impression that this place is unsafe, I want to stress how important it is to be vigilant while you are in Ecuador. If you do that, it is a great place to live.

Fiestas de Quito

Our school "mom" frequently sends out interesting cultural information that might be relevant to teachers on top of doing her job. The week before Fiestas de Quito, she sent out a brief write up on what Quito Days are and how they are celebrated. I'll let her much more experienced and knowledgeable words lead the way here:

"The Fiestas de Quito was first celebrated on December 6^th, 1534, for the IV Century of the City’s Foundation.  This celebration has continued through the years. 

Every year, on the 6^th of December, Quiteños celebrate the anniversary of the foundation of the city.  The air in Quito takes on a more festive spirit throughout the first week of December as Quiteños, watch parades, and attend street dances, cultural events, food preparation, parties in hotels and restaurants, and ride around Quito on Chivas (open-air party buses complete with live music and drinks).  

The bullfighting “Feria de Toros Jesus del Gran Poder “of the Fiestas de Quito is one of the major attractions.  Presently these are held in Latacunga in lieu of on the full fight in Quito on Av. Amazonas.   The Quito bullfights always seem to draw the most outstanding personalities of the bullfighting cult from home and abroad. These include: bullfighters, current stars and revered veterans, knowledgeable journalists, proud “ganaderos”or bull breeders, aficionados, musicians, artists and other important social and political figures.  .

Another of the massively attended activities has been the Great Parade of the National Unity on the Parque Bicentenario (former airport), with allegorical cars, musical groups, acrobats and town bands. The musical contests always attract a large audience. Thousands of national and foreign tourists come to the city as though attracted by a magnet.

For several days, generally a week, Quito is filled with party air, and in spite of financial crises and difficulties, everyone is happy and ready to party, and even the weather cooperates with the holidays, because although Saint Peter keeps the “keys to the sky”, rains generally stop and the sun shines brightly."

Naturally, it's a pretty big deal here. We even got off from school on 12/5! All week, a lot of people were buzzing with anticipation of the event. We had our Spanish classes put on an assembly. Actually, three assemblies. There was one for the elementary school kids, which I heard included baby flamenco dancing and a "bullfight" complete with a child dressing as a bull. There was a middle school assembly which featured a few of my students pretending to be partying on a Chiva while holding up a cardboard bus. There was also a high school assembly, which I cannot speak much about since I wasn't there nor did I hear anything about it.

There were parties in the park, parades, and festivities all over the city. I think to liken it to the fourth of July would actually be underselling it. Latin Americans love to party. They love to party publicly. Most fourth of July celebrations I have ever attended featured BBQs in someone's back yard, maybe a trip to the beach, and then fireworks at the end of the night. Here, it's kind of that but all over the city. The fourth also lasts a day, while the celebration of December 6th lasts about a week. 

Don't worry, I would never say I favor Quito Days over Independence Day, it's not my holiday. I'm just highlighting what is certainly quite an elaborate and omnipresent party. 

Shannon and I actually didn't participate in most of the festivities but we enjoyed the day off and hearing about the spectacle nonetheless. 

I Call Bull

This weekend is Fiestas de Quito, which celebrates the founding of the city of Quito on the 6^th of December. As part of Quito’s Spanish influence, the holiday involves parties, parades, flamenco dancing, and bull fighting. I am morally opposed to bull fighting, just as I am to cock fighting or dog fighting or any other “sport” where animals are made to fight against their will and ultimately to their demise. And while I realize this may be considered a cultural experience, let’s break it down to what it really is: a bull is tortured and terrorized until it is in a frantic state. It is then trapped in a pen where it cannot escape. The bull then endures up to 30 minutes of agony as it is repeatedly stabbed and taunted. A particularly “macho” matador may even cut off its ears or its tail while it’s still alive – what a feat of bravery! Finally able to defend itself no more, to barely raise its own head (because its neck muscles have been paralyzed by multiple spears) it is killed – all to the chorus of cheering and singing fans. Horrific. By no means did I intend on participating in any of the local bull fights, even though that is “the thing to do” during Quito days. This is why I was flabbergasted to hear so many of my friends were trying to get tickets to a bull fight. These are cultured, educated, professional people, and yet – the lure of seeing one of these bull fights was irresistible to them.

I was saddened by this, but what really enraged me were the excuses that I heard them making. Such idiotic justifications: “Well, I know it’s pretty horrible, but I feel like it’s a cultural experience that I just need to see.” Or “Oh I know I’m probably going to regret seeing it, and be scarred forever, but I just really have to see it one time. It’s cultural, you know?” BULLSHIT. Don’t try to make it some cultural obligation that you owe it yourself to be a spectator at this most barbaric, gruesome and cruel ritual. You know what else is “cultural”? Beheadings. Public stoning deaths. Child brides. Honor killings. Animal sacrifices. Genital mutilation. Gladiator fights. You could say the same thing about any one of these – these are rituals and traditions that are ingrained in a culture and have been going on for hundreds of years. They all have aspects of what is perceived to be honor and sacred custom.  It doesn’t make them artistic or beautiful or enlightening.  And it sure as hell doesn’t make them a “cultural experience” that you “just have to see” when you get the chance. One friend even drew this outlandish analogy – she likened watching a bullfight to watching a “ping pong show” in Thailand: You wouldn’t go to Thailand without seeing a ping pong show, so how can you go to Ecuador without watching a bullfight, she reasoned. How is watching a woman doing things with ping pong balls anything close to watching the slow, excruciating slaughter of an animal? Absurd.

Do you know what they do to a bull prior to making it fight to its death? They file down its horns so it’s less dangerous to the matador. They hang heavy sandbags on its back to weaken it. The beat the bulls testicles and kidneys. They feed it sulfates to cause diarrhea and weakness. They lock the bull up in total darkness for 24 hours leading up to the fight to make it mad with terror. They slice cuts into the bull’s legs and rub turpentine into them. They plug its nostrils to make breathing difficult. They rub Vaseline into the bull’s eyes so that it is nearly blind. Does this sound like a fair fight to you? And I’m supposed to be awed by the bullfighters’ “courage”?? By his splendid bravery and masculinity? Are you freaking joking me? That is torture, plain as day. And torture is not culture.

And while I realize I may be coming off a little self-righteous here, I don’t care. That’s what blogs are for, right? I find anyone who derives entertainment out of the pain and suffering of a living creature to be a little disturbing. And I can’t say I’m not more than a little disappointed in some of my friends for doing just that.

American Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Obviously, I love all the food and feasting, but I really love Thanksgiving because it’s the kickoff to the holiday season. Before all the chaos of Christmas starts, it’s just Thanksgiving – a low-stress, low-pressure meal with loved ones. Your last calm, deep breath before the season kicks into full drive. And I also love Thanksgiving because at least in my family, we always wind up picking up a few stray friends for the feast. Friends whose families are far away, old friends of the family and seasonal boyfriends all make their way to our Thanksgiving dinner and I love it because it’s just such a loving, come as you are, everyone is welcome kind of feeling.

Ecuador does not celebrate Thanksgiving, clearly. (Though they do have Black Friday sales, so explain that to me…). And while in the States, we’re used to getting a whole WEEK off from school on Thanksgiving week that was sadly not the case here. We did have to work the whole week, but we did get a half day on Thursday for our actual Thanksgiving. The next day, Friday, the school hosted a Thanksgiving luncheon for the entire campus. Parents were asked to provide all the dishes – turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, graving, green beans, salad, and desserts. This was a BYOP (Bring Your Own Plate) dinner and we all sat down under huge tents in the courtyard and had a massive meal together. It was actually very well done. And did help alleviate the homesickness I was feeling for my usual Thanksgiving meal.

Friendsgiving 2014

A few days later, we were all able to have a proper Thanksgiving meal with our friends. Which we dubbed, Friendsgiving. On Sunday afternoon, our friends hosted about 20 of us for a Friendsgiving meal. Since most kitchens in Ecuador are pretty small, everyone had to prepare a dish ahead of time and bring it to the party. Justin made three pans of bacon macaroni and cheese and a pan of green bean almandine. Our friend made two turkeys – one roasted in the oven and the other he cleverly cooked by filling the bottom of a gas grill with charcoal and turning into a smoker. We lined up all the tables in the house we could find. We even had the traditional “kids table” which meant that a few people sat on the floor and ate off the coffee table. After the meal, the gang settled down on the couches and floor to watch an NFL game, streamed over the internet via an VPN. Whatever it takes, right? For dessert we had warm, homemade whisky bread pudding. This pretty much put us over the top and Justin and I had to call it a night.

Post-Food, Pre-Coma Watching Football

And while it wasn’t quite as good as having Thanksgiving with my actual family, it was the next best thing. 

Christmas Time in Hollis, Queens

I would first like to start this post off with something to set the mood of this post.

When I was growing up, my family was always really big into Christmas. My mom had one of those "NOW That's What I Call Christmas" type CDs she would always play as we were decorating. Every year, in fact multiple times a year, it would go from Bing Crosby to this song and she would start dancing and singing to it. My mom dancing to Run DMC...one of my favorite Christmas traditions.

Anyway, when it was time for us to start decorating for Christmas, we took ourselves to the Christmas Pirate store and picked up a few things. We held off on doing all of the actual decorating until the day after Thanksgiving.

Starting Point

Final Product

We had our plant guy, Robert, deliver a tree to us along with some poinsettias. We knew it was coming about a week in advance and we made our minds up that we were going to have our tree stand and be prepared. Nope! We went to five different stores and couldn't find one. After talking to a few locals, we heard a lot of "we don't do that here" kind of stuff. When asked what they do instead, we kept hearing "we just put it in a bucket." Well Saturday morning was here and we didn't know where this thing was going to go. Robert and his son carried it up our stairs, and low and behold, he had a bucket and some rocks. Apparently that's how you stabilize the tree in Ecuador. We arranged for him to pick it up when January rolled around and he was off.

We made one more last minute trip to get a llama blanket to use as a tree skirt, and picked up a few more ornaments and came back to decorate. Yes, of course we listened to Christmas music and Run DMC specifically.

Threading the Floss

After the tree was up, our stockings were hung, and some other stuff set up it came down to putting the ornaments on the tree. One more thing about an Ecuadorian Christmas. They don't use hooks or string for their ornaments. We couldn't find any at any of the stores we visited. Not even Christmas Pirates! Apparently, they take the top off, and pop that sucker on the end of a tree branch. The end. Well, we weren't going to be having any of that.

Shannon got to work on using dental floss to thread through the ornament loops and I strung the lights up and started hanging the ornaments. Our final product looked pretty good!

Next came the last decoration, our family nativity scene. This one requires a bit of explaining, but I'll try to be brief. My family has had the same nativity scene since my grandparents were children. It was this beautiful, hand-carved masterpiece complete with farm houses and some sweet animals. As the years progressed, my uncles and aunts, and of course my mom broke some of them on accident as kids do. Also as kids do, my family would put a new piece there to replace the old one. If a sheep broke, a horse was put in. Eventually the family caught on after enough random animals started showing up and this nativity/Noah's Arc became the tradition. Each year, every family member who was spending the holiday with the family had to make an animal contribution. It could be random, but ideally the animal should represent something from that person or their year. For example, on our first date, Shannon and I came across an injured bat and tried to save him. For her first Christmas with me, she donated a bat.

Yes, that is a hippo and two dinosaurs...

When I moved out as a teenager, my sister rightfully inherited the nativity set and I received

my own as a gift to start my own tradition. Well we set ours up and made our contributions; for me an alpaca for obvious reasons, and for Shannon a tortoise to commemorate our upcoming holiday trip to the Galapagos.

We still have a few more small things to set up, but it was great bringing my family tradition, and some of our holiday spirit to our home as we prepare for the holidays.

All Ready for the Holidays!

Chivas!!!!

Last weekend we were officially exposed to one of the local party traditions. One of the teachers who has been here for a few years invited us and a "few" friends out for his birthday. He told us about something called a chiva that he rented out and we were all going to hang out on.

We ended up meeting at a friend's apartment in the bohemian district of Guapolo. It was a pretty low key hang out complete with fish tacos, a few drinks, and some music. At around 10:00pm, the guy whose birthday we were celebrating told us it was time to go up to get our chiva.

We had to walk a little ways up to a hotel parking lot. This happened to be the same hotel the school put us up in for our first few days in Ecuador so it was a nice little reunion and moment full of some confused and overwhelmed memories.

As we waited, more and more people joined. It was apparent that the guy we were celebrating was apparently really popular. We ended up with about 43 people. The chiva finally came, a bit late and we all piled on.

The best way to describe a chiva is that it is an open air party bus that consists of two hosts; one is a DJ and the other is handing out drinks. The whole bus is a mobile dance floor that is meant for about 25 people. Again, I repeat we had 43.

The chiva drove us all around the city from parks to cathedrals; all the while being...well, a dance party. Nothing even remotely close to this could have possibly been legal in the US.

It was a great time. The chiva dropped us back off at the hotel and we cabbed it home. It was definitely a unique experience to the area and something I won't soon forget, even if many won't remember it.

Christmas Pirates!

Well, ‘tis the season to be jolly. Well, almost. In Ecuador, they don’t really do the whole American Thanksgiving thing. Their main holiday before Christmas is Halloween. Actually, up until recently even that wasn't much of a thing we hear. In the United States, at least in my experience, Thanksgiving is the official kick-off to Christmas preparation. In the absence of Thanksgiving here, Christmas decorating and preparation begin in October.

We were a little hesitant to begin our Christmas preparation until this week because we wanted to stay in line with our traditions and experience, but we couldn't hold back any longer. This weekend we went out for some Christmas decorations.

Christmas Pirates!

Something you all need to know about me before continuing to read is that I am a huge Christmas fan. I have some very specific and strange family traditions. I love all of the music, movies, and lights. The Christmas season really improves my mood by about 78% at all times.

We walked into the store and low and behold, it was magnificent. It wasn't just a Christmas store. It was a Christmas store with pirates. Yes, I said pirates. As in Johnny Depp, Jack Sparrow, Argh Matey! Pirates. Let that marinate on your mentals for a few moments before continuing. I don’t know if this is an Ecuadorian tradition and theme, if it was the theme of the specific store, or if they were just super into pirates. I repeat. Christmas pirates have taken over South America.

Pirate with her Steel
Treasure Chest

I’ve heard of Christmas stores employing humans dressed as elves. I’ve even seen a few Santas and reindeer in my day. Pirates!?! Not before today.

We picked up a few overpriced decorations, and we are going to begin putting them up tonight. We have some plans for Shannon’s family to come visit us during the holidays and we have a few ideas up our sleeves. I am sure there will be a lot more to say regarding the Christmas preparations but until next time,  enjoy your turkey day and have fun shopping for your booty as the real holidays approach. After all, 'tis the season to be jolly rogers. (Sorry I couldn't resist)

Bad News Ballers

Well, it’s that time of year again. It’s basketball season. For the past three years, for me, that has meant it was time to prepare for 6 practices per week and 2-3 hours per practice per team. Sports, and basketball specifically, are a very big deal in Orlando. As a sports fan for my whole life and a big basketball fan this suited me perfectly. The busy schedule rendered my vocal cords raw and unusable by about week three but I loved the sport, I loved the kids, and I loved coaching so that was no sweat. 

I have had the privilege of working with players and coaches from the Orlando Magic, National Basketball Academy, NBA players, as well as players who went on to NCAA Division 1 scholarships. I will always count myself lucky for those experiences as they have molded my perception of the game and of sports in general.

When asked if I would be interested in coaching basketball at my new school, I jumped at the chance thinking it would help me continue to develop as a coach as well as give me an opportunity to get to 

know my students better.

One hundred and thirty students, a hot loud gym, kids hitting three pointers and some of them even dunking. The echoes of shoes squeaking and balls dribbling…must be tryout day. Well…not in Ecuador. I was well aware that soccer is king here and that international schools generally have a different perspective on sports. I did not truly understand the scope of the difference. When tryout day came, I had 18 kids in the gym for JV tryouts. JV sports in the United States is reserved for the best 10^th graders, some 11^th graders, and if they’re really a special talent, maybe a freshman or two. Here in Ecuador, my JV team was made up of two high school players, a few 8^th graders, and a bunch of 7^th graders.

We went through some conditioning, shooting, and passing drills. Our layup line was, a little less impressive than most JV teams I have seen before. There were a few kids who truly could play very well and a few who were trying out to learn about the game and get in better shape.

I think the country’s soccer-centric focus has led our players to developing skills that leave a bit to be desired in terms of basketball coordination. I had multiple players tell me they weren’t used to looking up for a ball. They were used to looking at their feet. It showed when they tried to grab rebounds with their elbows and foreheads.

This brings me to my overall theme of our tryouts. After tryouts, practices, and some kids showing up and not showing up according to their personal schedule, I was a little overcome with frustration. But then after having some time to reflect it occurred to me that in this school, and maybe the international community in general, sports are not a priority; they are an after school activity. They are like art, or band, or chess club. There isn’t a special reverence placed on kids who could throw a ball far or jump really high. It’s very different for me. I have always grown up as a person who enjoyed and focused on sports. Maybe even at times I let it consume my free time. When I think back on the reasons I spent so much time on sports, I can say with honesty that I have always had a genuine passion for them. I personally hold sports in high reverence for the lessons about life, teamwork, effort, perseverance, and perspective they have taught me. I have seen however, that in many parts of the US, sports have become religion. It has become an outlet for exploitation of talented young men and women rather than a way to learn those lessons mentioned above.

I am never going to stop loving sports. I am watching a game right now as I type this. I am never going to lose my own personal competitive edge and desire to win. I don’t want to. It has been a developed personality trait that has allowed me to experience many successes in my life. I will say however, that after seeing these kids and this school and their attitude towards sports and the role it plays in their life, I am optimistic. I think the same lessons can be taught. I think that the fact that my students care more about academics than their team’s record is refreshing. It’s perspective that I will continue to hold and appreciate. New thoughts, experiences, and perspective are some of the most paramount reasons I went into international teaching.

All that being said about perspective, I still want to encourage my players and students to focus on the right priorities. I want each child to improve as basketball players, and for us to improve as a team. It is my job. As a team, we have been getting much, much better already. We went from going 4 for 44 on free throws a week ago as a team to 16 for 22. We are growing as players and as a team. This Tuesday we have our first game. We are going to win; or we won’t. Either way, I know we are going to get better, we are going to have fun, and we are going to continue to grow.  

UPDATE: We won-39-24.

Yoga in the Rainforest

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go on a ladies weekend yoga retreat in the tropical forest region of Mindo. Mindo is about a 2 hour drive outside of Quito on the western slope of the Andes.

The Cabin

The climate is cloud forest and is about 10 degrees warmer than Quito. One of the 2^nd grade teachers at our school is a yoga instructor and she put together this girls-only weekend for us to get out of the city, get into the jungle, and unwind with some yoga and meditation…and obviously mucho vino.

I carpooled with a group of women (all mothers) and about the first 30 minutes of the car ride was spent talking about how excited they all were to be able to enjoy a weekend to themselves, sans dependents (husbands included). We were already receiving reports of pancake dinners and disregarded bedtimes from the fathers left behind on child rearing duty. I sat quietly in the backseat and smiled to myself as I listened to the exchanges. I was happy that these busy working mothers were all able to attend a much deserved retreat.

Possibly one of the things I miss the most living in Quito is green – grass, trees, vegetation, and the damp lush fragrance that they provide. Quito is concrete and chills and I can’t tell you what a relief it was to my spirit (and my lungs) once we started to reach the outskirts of Mindo where Nature was abundant and there were more shades of green than I could count.

The Pulley to El Monte

We stayed at a beautiful eco lodge called El Monte. The grounds butt up against a raging (well, maybe more rushing than raging) river. This river can only be crossed by sitting on a wooden bench and being manually hauled across via a pulley system – which means you have to holler across the river and hope someone at the lodge hears your calls so they can send the swing across the river. Clearly, it would be no big effort to build a little footbridge across the river, but the pulley system definitely adds a “Members Only Secret Treehouse Club” vibe to the whole experience. El Monte’s property consists of 6 cabins that sleep 3-4 people, and one great “meeting place” open-air cabin where all the meals are served family-style.  It was on the open-air deck of this meeting place where we had our 3 yoga sessions. You couldn’t dream of a more beautiful venue. The weather was just warm enough to be comfortable. The air was fresh. On all sides we were surrounded by tropical rain forests. Our yoga was accompanied by bird calls, insects chirping, and leaves rustling gently in the breeze. A few times tropical birds flew within a few feet of our prone and stretching bodies, really adding to the experience of reconnecting with self and nature. The weekend went like this: Arrive in Mindo mid-

The Meeting Place

morning. Anoint yourself with bug spray (okay, so this part wasn’t “organic” or “clean living” but bug bites are really annoying when you’re trying to balance your knee on your shoulder, so give me a break). Congregate on the deck for a 2-hour Vinyasa flow class, then lunch – grown from the organic garden on premises), followed by a Hatha-hybrid Restorative session, then dinner. Then wine, wine, and more wine. Then chocolate bars in the cabin. Then blissful peace and quiet to read a book and eat chocolate in bed. (This is seriously one of my most treasured things). Then breakfast. Then hike through the balmy forest trying not to crush the leaf-cutter ants as they go about their business, followed by an hour and a half Chakra-balancing session to align and open our energy channels. Only too soon it was time to pack up our bags and send them back across the river swing to head back home to Quito.

It was wonderful to be surrounded by Nature, to be surrounded with such smart, funny, and loving women, and to dedicate a little time to yoga and meditation. I did leave feeling quite restored, a little more grounded and peaceful inside, and I’m happy to report, with only 3 little bug bites. This is definitely something I would like to do again, and knowing that this quiet green haven is just a couple hours away from my concrete cacophony is a calming and reassuring reality.

Neck of the Moon

Neck of the Moon

Cotopaxi is a Quichua word that means neck of the moon. It is also a gigantic volcano that deserves the name. Depending on the report you read or hear it is the largest active volcano in the world. (Or second to a volcano in Chile) The top half of the volcano is always covered in ice due to the temperature and when it storms, you can see the sheet of ice climb down the mountain covering a larger and larger area. On this volcano also rests a gigantic glacier. When we started this school year, I was told about a program the school calls “Week Without Walls”. The premise of this is each grade level goes on a trip for a week with their grade level teachers to a site in Ecuador where they will learn about Ecuador, content specific curriculum, team building, and how to overcome adversity. The 7^th grade trip this year, and therefore the trip I was sponsoring was a four day, three night camping trip to Cotopaxi National Park. So basically, let’s so sleep in the shadow of an active volcanic ice mountain. Pretty sweet.

We were all given a packing list of things we should bring prior to the trip, and I went out and got most of it from a local outdoor store. I borrowed a few other things I didn’t have and I was set. We were all told prior to leaving that Cotopaxi is a very cold place. Quito stands are 9,000 feet above sea level but Cotopaxi National Park, where we would be camping lies at about 14,000 feet. It was going to be cold and the air was going to be thin.

As you may have read in the last post, we were just wrapping up a visit to the beach (sea level 0) and on our way back to Quito where I would be leaving the very next day for the camping trip. We had a great time, but a cut on my foot and an elevation increase of 14,000 feet were bound to cause some issues during hiking.

Me and the Crew

We left on Tuesday morning from the school and as we all gathered in the courtyard and waited for the bus, dozens of kids were decked out in their $1000 camping gear with smiles on their face and confidence in their eyes. I even saw one kid with a beanie and a cowboy hat on top. It was clear that they didn't know how to camp. Neither the smile nor the confidence would last long. When we got on the bus, the kids in typical field trip fashion sang random songs at the top of their lungs and eventually they asked to put the radio on to their favorite station. Of course, the station was 80s pop. We listened to “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “We’re in Heaven”. Of course the Ecuadorian kids knew the song and belted it out since all this country listens to is 80’s pop. I couldn't help but crack up. Go ahead, click it, set the tone.

We took the bus for about an hour and a half and after being told some of the history of the park (in complete Spanish) we drove through some beautiful scenery. There were huge dirt canyons called lava flows coming down from the volcano that were at least thirty feet wide and 40 feet deep. It looked as if God himself reached down and ran his fingers through the rock as if he were a child running his hand through sand. After driving a bit longer, we found a campsite. The instructors of the program assured the teachers that we were only needed as representatives from the school and that they would have supervision, food, activities, and discipline on lock down. When we got there, and got off the bus, it was clear that this was going to be a challenging trip. It was no higher than 50 degrees outside, which was about 25 lower than it was in Quito. The instructors gave the kids a brief orientation on how to set up their tents and during that time, all three of the teachers set ours up. Each tent was to house three students and each teacher was supposed to get their own tent. This is not accurate. I ended up sharing my tent with the other male teacher on the trip. I normally wouldn't mind this, but when the tents are small enough that neither fully grown man can lay down in them without crunching their legs due to being too tall, that’s a problem. Oh well, I was determined to make the best of it, and I was friends with the guy I was bunking with, so we set up our tent and moved our bags in. Sidenote: the ground was frozen and we had to use rocks to hammer in the spikes as if we were cavemen. Also since I did not have a mat for under my sleeping bag, I had to borrow one from the company. The mats are supposed to keep you off the cold ground and also provide some padding from the rocks underneath the tent. Well...the mat they gave me was about 18 inches long, and clearly meant for an Andean child. It went from my collarbone to my bellybutton. The most disappointing thing so far was that we had been in the park for about two hours but had yet to see the famous volcano.

Home Sweet Home

As soon as we set foot in our tents, the heavens opened up and the rain began. With the rain, the temperature dropped about 30 degrees. We were very fortunate to have set up our stuff because had we been outside, we would have been much more miserable. The thunder was some of the most fierce I had ever heard in my life and I lived in Central Florida for the past five years. With the rain and thunder came terrifying lightening, and of course hail. The storm dropped the temperature, froze the ground, and lasted about 4 hours. During the storm, there was nothing to do but put on more layers and lay in the sleeping bag hoping the tents they gave us would hold under the howling wind and deluge. (With a few exceptions of some water leakage, they did) I was later told that Cotopaxi is famous for its storms as it sits on the edge of the Andes. The high pressure altitude and cold of the mountains frequently meets the low pressure heat and moisture of the Amazon basin that lies right beneath Cotopaxi on the far side.

When the storm finally subsided, there were a bunch of red faced, shivering cranky pre-teens begging to go home and some began to tear up due to the cold. We then ate our lunch of hot dogs and mashed potatoes, which cooled to the temperature of a corpse immediately upon being served. The kids then started to do some team-building stuff and the other two teachers and I went on a hike of our own for about two hours. When we came back it was time for dinner, which was unflavored ramen noodles and a scoop of tuna. We ate like champions.  Due to the rain, there would be no warming campfire with which we could roast marshmallows and dry our weary bones, and we still couldn't see the volcano. We wondered aloud why they picked the spot they did for our campsites.  

That evening, during the time when you are supposed to sleep, I sat there wide eyed and freezing because the sleeping bag I borrowed was too short for me to use properly. By properly I mean, I couldn't use the hood to complete my full Dracula coffin. I was wearing long johns, thermal pants, hiking pants, an underarmour shirt, thermal top, hoody, gloves, hat, and buff (the neck and mouth covers that make you look like a ninja) and I couldn't sleep because the biting cold on the four inch exposed part of my face was enough to chill my entire body. Giving up on the notion of sleep, I got out of my tent to use the bathroom at 2 in the morning and low and behold, the clouds had cleared and standing before me was the behemoth volcano, Cotopaxi. The nearly full moon was shining on it and the glow that came from the moonlight reflecting off of the icy glacier and snow cap made the whole volcano come alive. It looked like a ghost mountain. I have been camping many times before and I have seen some cool stuff, but seeing Cotopaxi looming before me like a giant reflecting in the moonlight is one of the most majestic things I have ever seen in my entire life. I sat there in the below freezing temperature and just stared with my mouth agape for about 6 minutes. Of course, after I was done, I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night because I had just been standing outside and was even colder.

Good Morning Ice Mountain Volcano Beast

One of Many Many Water Breaks

After about a total of one hour of sleep, I was greeted by the morning fog (well technically cloud that happened to be at ground level where we were) and by the chatting and giggling of 13 year old girls. I was snapped back into the realization that I was supervising a field trip and it was time to get up.

We ate a nice wholesome breakfast of sugary cereal with yogurt on it instead of milk (common Ecuadorian way of serving it) and tea, that turned cold upon being poured. After breakfast, we packed up a backpack and organized our groups. Each teacher would join one group as we went on a hike. Every student was given a job, which I thought was pretty cool. We had two navigators who had to lead the way with a compass and map, one trash collector, two cooks, one leader, one pace setter, one time keeper, and one water control

Away We Go

person whose job it was to decide when we have water breaks. At high altitude water is extremely important since your cells have to open up to get more oxygen, thus being unable to retain much water. It also helps in cold temperatures as with dehydration, your blood circulates like a lava lamp rather than a river like it should.

View from the Ruins

We took off on our hike and after going about thirty steps and hearing the phrase “Water Break!” twice, it became apparent to me that it would be a long trip. Oh well, I was there for the kids to explore and have some fun. We hiked for another 5 minutes and “Water Break” echoed the from the mountains again. I nodded and drank some and nearly as soon as I tied my shoes to continue I heard “Water Break!” again and nearly lost my cool. Along the way we saw some wild horses, wild cattle, and some lizards. After all of these animal sightings, we got another “Water Break!” After again reminding myself that I was there for the kids and this wasn't about me, I endured the next 7 “Water Break!”s and after about two and a half hours we arrived at our destination, the Inca Ruins of Ingapirca. When we got there, it was the cooks’ job to make us all lunch, which were ham sandwiches. While everyone was eating, I wandered around the site and found it to be one of the most incredible things I've ever seen.

Inca Building Foundation

The location was a large hill/mountain smack dab in the middle of a valley surrounded by mountains. Any invaders would have to hike through the Andes, hike up an additional mountain no matter which direction they came from, and once over the mountain they would be at a strategic disadvantage below the fort, forced to climb up another mountain protected by rock walls. The thought that went into it was incredible. The ruins weren't much now as they had endured hundreds of years of Cotopaxi super storms, but the walls were still about four feet off of the ground and the foundation of a few rooms could be found. Based on nothing more than a little bit of time I spent studying the Incas during college, I imagine the rooms were meant to serve as an armory and a medical facility as the area was

What Remains of the Inca Fort Walls

clearly a military post rather than a residential area. I went back to the lunch site, excited for the guides to explain the history of the spot when yet another storm opened up and we had to begin our trek back to the camp site. So essentially, we hiked for 3 hours to see Inca ruins and discuss their historical significance, then we ignored the sacred ground that thousands of warriors dedicated their lives to defending and a bunch of 12 and 13 year-olds ate ham sandwiches and left. I think that’s how the Inca Gods would have wanted it, although it left a lot to be desired on my part. Needless to say, as someone who appreciates history so much, I was seething a bit at the brushing over of such significant world and local history. I frowned until the hail and rain and cold bent my face out of the frown due to the numbing cold. That night, we again ate like kings and had some unflavored ramen with cold tea. We deserved it for our lack of appreciation that day.

After settling into the tent that night, I was lying there and all of the sudden heard some kids yelling. 

Confused as to what they were talking about yet too cold to get up, I ignored their warnings. A moment or two later I heard a wild horse sprint through the camp and stop outside of my tent. He/she couldn't have been more than three feet outside of my tent. Thinking about the lack of fear the thing showed running through camp and the fact that I was in a paper thin tent, I was convinced at that moment that I would soon be trampled, but it ended up walking away.

The next morning after a few more hours of sleeping we packed up our things and went on a nice 5-6 hour hike through the cold while lugging our 60lb backpacks. It was awesome. I really enjoyed this hike. It was a great workout, gave me an opportunity to conquer the thin air, and truly made the kids struggle through and later overcome some adversity. Along the way I saw a few more wild horses and two wild Andean wolves. There is more to come with them later. There were a few kids who collapsed to the ground under the weight of their limited expectations and heavy backpacks with their eyes full of tears. I don’t think the students I have ever experienced much physical adversity of any kind. I appreciated that they did it, and then conquered it.

When we got to the new campsite, we set up our tents and they even had an extra for me! I finally had my own tent like a grownup! When we were all settled, we had lunch which was unflavored ramen and tea and then hung out for a while. When it was the kids’ turn to cook dinner, they got to work and when the meal was finally ready, we looked up to see that our camp was being surrounded by two Andean Wolves, which for all intents and purposes are nothing more than small foxes. They kept darting through the camp and trying to snag food. They were also clearly not afraid of humans as they had no trouble picking up food packages the kids had left out. We had to have dinner in shifts so other people could use flashlights to scare them away. We saw nothing but darkness in the woods until our flashlights came across these little devils stalking us. This became a game of cat and mouse for a while until everyone had the opportunity to eat. After dinner, we packed up and went to sleep in the tents.

I slept soundly and warmly I might add (more layers) until about 2:30am when I was awoken by a stampede of wild horses running through our camp. There were about 6 horses and they luckily avoided all of our tents.

The next morning, we ate some breakfast and the kids were taken on a solo. A solo is a part of this company’s program where they drop kids off in the wilderness for multiple hours with the hope that the solitude and wilderness will enlighten the kids to some sort of spiritual awakening. After a few hours, during the debriefing it became apparent that the kids did not have a single deep thought. They mostly thought about pizza, video games, and bugs. I was a bit disappointed until I had one student come up to me and tell me about his experience and how he thought about life and death and how cyclical it was and how temporary and fleeting time was. I was amazed. My mood changed dramatically with the one student having a break through. I guess that’s what teaching is about sometimes.

After the solos, we all packed up and went back to school. I think as a whole it was a great trip. It was full of some adversity, some bonding, and some educational opportunities. It was everything it was meant to be. I am sitting here now on my couch, in my warm apartment, with all of the creature comforts I have come to appreciate and I’m glad I went. 

Until Next Time, Cotopaxi

Just a Day at the Beach

Kicking Back at the Beach

Sorry for the delay in posting. We’ve been busy the past week and a half; but I have all those stories here. We have been in Ecuador for about three months. We have been taking our time making our apartment into a home, complete with house plants, paintings, furniture, and even lime and orange trees. All the while, some of our other more adventurous collegues have been touring the country on their weekends and seeing some of the sites. We decided that now we were comfortable with our home, it was time to take some adventures.

Another couple friends of ours were feeling the same way, and with a long weekend coming up, booked a sweet beach house on Air B&B. It was a big house on the beach and a total of 10 teachers, three dogs, and a few bags of snacks were shortly on the way.

Due to our current lack of a car (may change soon, stay posted) we had to figure out alternate transportation. Shannon rode with our friends Adrian and Ashley and their new puppy and I rode with our friends Betsy and Roman, along with Howie and their dog, Lucy. To say the ride was uneventful would be about as big of a lie as I could tell.

Small Shanty Town

One thing that you need to know about Ecuador is they have the WORST drivers in the world. I am not trying to make some sort of hyperbole saturated statement. They do not pay attention to speed limits, lanes, traffic lights, or passing regulations. In the city it’s fairly common and relatively easy to navigate if you’ve ever driven in NJ or NY before. The proper mindset is, if they don’t want to crash, they’ll yield to me. This is how EVERYONE acts, so if you drive passively or defensively, you literally won’t go anywhere. Well, that’s just in the city. In the countryside, it is much worse. Ecuador as a country is about the size of Nevada, yet it takes a long time to get from Quito to anywhere due to the elevation. There are many winding mountain roads. On said mountain roads, there are very seldom any stretches of straight road for more than 50 feet so obviously there is no passing. That obvious statement is wrong. People in the countryside of Ecuador drive as if a normal one lane each direction road is a two lane highway. I saw countless people drive over 80mph over hairpin turns and pass each other as they are in oncoming traffic going around mountain bends. It is a very nerve-wracking and dangerous experience, but it is common place among Ecuadorian drivers.

People Selling Produce and Goods
Along the Roads

I would be doing you a disservice if I didn't tell you about some of the things we saw along the drive. We saw a few mountain cattle. I’ve heard of mountain goats, but never mountain cattle but these things got pretty high up on the sides of very steep mountains to graze.  We also saw some sweet donkeys just roaming the mountains randomly, and at least a dozen very formidable looking Ecuadorian men stalking the streets with 3 foot machetes. We saw some beautiful rain forests and jungles. Also, while this may be unbelievable, we ran into some signs on the road that were advertising land for sale that cost $1.50 per square meter. Now before you go investing, this is in a super rural area of the jungle with no electricity, running water, or signs of civilization for hours; but if that’s your cup of tea, I can verify it’s a real thing. One of the things that struck me along the way is the great disparity of wealth between Quito and the rural areas. Quito is a sprawling city and by no means does it exude wealth in the way of a Dubai or Tokyo. It just seems like an average run of the mill South American city. There are cars, restaurants, and some poor seedy areas. The rural areas surrounding Quito are poor. I’m talking the kind of poverty where nearly every house is made of spare sheet metal, straw, mud, and if you’re lucky, a segment of chain link fence. It was a side of Ecuador that I had known about, but seeing it was really a revelation for me. It made me appreciate everything I have even more than I already do.

The driver of my car, Roman was able to luckily navigate these crazy drivers and shanty towns and deliver us to Same, the beach town where we were going within the projected 7 hours it was supposed to take. We decided since we were the first ones there, we would pick up some food for everyone and stopped at a little pizza place along the road. It was a nice setup. After a 7 hour drive, I obviously had to use the bathroom and they had a nice little walled in outside bathroom much like you’d see at a public pool. I started going to the bathroom, and to my absolute surprise and if I’m being honest momentary terror, a bright green and yellow frog the size of a fist crawled out of the bottom of the toilet and jumped onto the rim of the toilet. I repeat, a frog the size of a fist crawled out of the area where things are flushed. I quickly finished and retreated out of there realizing that the plumbing over the weekend might get a little suspect.

You'd have to ask Shannon for specifics about her ride, but I gather that it was slightly less pleasant, with a puppy getting car sick in the backseat with her about 7 times. 

The Living Room

When we got to the house, we found some of our friends already there and we got settled into a nice night of hanging out on the giant terrace overlooking the beach. It was great. The house had enough space to accommodate 10 people and 3 dogs and it cost us $75 for each person for the whole weekend. It was a sweet deal.

View from the Terrace

The next day, we spent just about all of our time on the beach, in the pool, or swimming in the Pacific. Interesting side note, I had never seen the Pacific before this trip. The owner of the house who was renting it out to us was very accommodating and showed up shortly after we woke up with about 15 lbs of Mahi Mahi for us that was freshly caught that morning. In the afternoon, he arranged for his empleada to come to the house and fry it up fresh for us along with some freshly fried plantain chips. 

Hanging Out at the Beach House

We were ecstatic. Fresh seafood, no need to leave the beach, and delivery included! When he came back at lunch time to check on us, we started to get a little weirded out. He asked us if we had everything we needed, and then cracked open a beer and sat with us as we were hanging out. It was starting to seem like he was renting out his house to make friends and we were just there to rent his house. We politely hinted at him leaving and he lingered for another half hour or so before getting out.

Beach Day, Ecuador Style

Shannon, Adrian, Ashley and I took the dogs for a nice walk down the beach and about a mile or so down the beach, we found a great restaurant that had a nice little patio overlooking the beach and ordered some more fresh seafood. Shannon and I split a nice fried whole fish, which was another first for me and it was fantastic! We picked the bones clean and after eating and drinking our fill, paid our $8 or so and got out of there to spend some more time on the beach.

Selling Goods for
All Saint's Day

The next day was much of the same. The starting to get creepy landlord was there when we woke up. He delivered 15 lbs of marlin and 15 lbs of shrimp for us and then lingered a bit too long. We left, hoping he’d be gone when we got back. We walked to the same restaurant for breakfast and had fresh rolls, eggs, fresh juice, coffee, and plantains for $4 each and spent the rest of the day on the beach. This day marked the aforementioned All Saints Day and our beach house was about a half block away from a cemetery. We were able to witness some of the traditions from the beach at a respectable distance of course. There were food stands, and flowers being sold on the side of the street and many people shared a meal with their departed loved ones.

When we went back to the house for lunch, we found that the empleada was there finishing up on two batches of fresh ceviche, one shrimp and marlin mixed, and one just marlin. It was absolutely out of this world.

After a nice lunch of ceviche, we went back down to the beach where the weather was again perfect and went swimming. We were at a part of the beach where at knee level, the sand gave way to large flat rocks the size and shape of a couch cushion. I miss-stepped and slipped on one as a wave was coming in and cut the side of my foot pretty deeply on the side of another rock. A little salt water and sitting down and I was find. 

Fire on the Hill!

We all awoke from beach naps to the sound and smell of a campfire and noticed that the woods on top of the hill near us was on fire. It started out as a small plume of smoke and evolved into a full blown forest fire. The local fire fighters and military were called in to fight it and after a good couple of hours of hard work, they got it under control. 

On our way back to the house to get ready for dinner, we saw the landlord again. It was getting really weird. He was just hanging out, and this time we directly told him he was being inappropriate and we wanted some privacy to hang out with our friends. He didn't get the hint and stayed another hour and a half...

99 Bottles of Beer on the
Wall

That night we went for a walk and found another delicious seafood restaurant on the beach which had a pretty neat interior. There were bottles hanging everywhere and it was dimly lit, mostly with candles. After some waiting (Ecuadorian time…) we had some Pescado Encocada delivered and ate our fill yet again. Pescado Encocada is a coastal Ecuadorian tradition of a coconut cream based sauce with fresh fish or shrimp and it was perfection.

When we got back to the house, all of the water was shut off. We weren't sure if that was good 'ole Ecuadorian plumbing or if there were more sinister things afoot. Some of us theorized that the creepy landlord shut off the water in order to have us call him for help. This idea was given some legitimacy when one of our group went outside to smoke a cigarette and found the landlord asleep in his car outside of the house. It was very creepy.

The morning that we were leaving, Shannon and I asked everyone if they wanted to go back to the breakfast place before we hit the road and some of our friends met us there while the rest said they would catch up later. On our way back down the beach to the house, we saw them and they told us that on their way to the restaurant they were watching their dog play in the surf and two teenage boys came up behind them with kitchen knives and robbed them. They took $20, a cell phone, and a necklace from them. It was a disappointing, yet strong reminder to us all that while paradise can be found within pockets of a poverty stricken country, even paradise itself carries some risk with it.

We made our way back shortly after that and along the way we could smell the cacao being fermented and roasted. It was heavenly. Imagine, a while village that always smelled of chocolate. We of course stopped to by some fresh fruit, vegetables, and chocolate and made our way back to Quito after another 7 hours of dodging maniacs and holding on as we went around the winding roads of Ecuador.