Otavalo

I must say, the artisan market in Otavalo is really a site to see!  I feel like I learned so much about local culture just by shopping around the largest artisan market in South America.  I learned how to bargain (though I certainly have a lot to improve on in that area) and I re-learned what to do and what not to do in crowded places in Ecuador (hide money all over your body, keep your hands in front of you, etc.).  The indigenous cultures in this country are beautifully vibrant and that’s especially apparent in Otavalo.

Highlights from this Week:

• Monday – I took my laptop to school for the first time today.  I got the Internet set up with the WiFi people at the school and discovered two things.  1) Skyping with my parents is fun, especially since they’ve never done it before.  2) Bringing my laptop to school frequently is definitely not worth it considering how slow the connection is.  However, it’s still good to bring it once and a while and realize how much easier it is having your entire life on a computer rather than a flash drive.
• Tuesday – Lauren and I went to tour Lumbisí’s high school this morning.  The campus is lovely and has 600-and-something students, 60 of whom are girls.  It’s a technical school that teaches both “theory” (English, history, etc.) and “practical skills” (mechanics, computer technology, etc.).
• Wednesday – We didn’t have classes today, since it’s a día de desarrollo (Professional Development Day) for the professors at USFQ, so I volunteered.  I started the day at Muñequitos and then went with Kirstie to the Comedor to help serve food.  This was my first time helping at the Comedor, since I can’t usually go because of classes, and it was and whirlwind of serving food, cleaning up, and not getting in the way!
• Thursday – ¡Feliz Día de la Mujer!  Happy International Women’s Day!  You celebrate this special day (March 8) in Ecuador by buying flowers for the special women in your life, so I got my family pretty light-purple flowers.  Apparently, there was also a huge protest today in Quito advocating for the rights of indigenous people.  We were advised to stay away, but I heard it was enormous – so big, in fact, that two of my Anthropology-Major friends couldn’t even find the indigenous people to talk to!  Finally, I helped Carolyn and Zack finish cleaning out their apartment this evening.  I wished Carolyn a Happy Women’s Day and wished Zack the best of luck with everything in his move back to the United States.  There’s no such thing as “goodbye,” only “see you later.”
• Friday – This evening, much to my surprise (especially since I was cooking), we had a total of eight people for dinner.  Tía, Jesus’ daughter and her three children were visiting, so I made manicotti and garlic bread for all of them.  I’m not really sure the children liked it (probably just because it’s different from what they’re used to), but Jesús seemed to like it, so that’s good.
• Saturday – Greetings from Otavalo!  After setting off this morning, our program first went to Cayambe, el Mitad del Mundo (the Middle of the World).  We took lots of pictures of monuments marking 0° latitude and of an enormous sundial that sits on the Equator.  We stopped for bizcochos (biscuits) and queso de hoja (string cheese) in a town known for those things and then went to a lake overlook to see the beautiful views around Lago San Pedro.  Afterward, two young ladies boarded the bus and sang a few songs in Quichua for us on our way to the market in Otavalo.  After shopping around the largest artisan market in South America for a few (way too short) hours, we went to two workshops to learn about the different musical instruments and weavings made there.  The musicians not only showed us how to make a pan flute, but also danced, sang, and played there instruments for us.  We also had a chance to watch someone work on a tapestry and learn about the natural dyes used in the yarn.  We then left town a bit to hike to a nearby waterfall.  We followed a stone path and I felt quite at home among the tall trees and peaceful sounds of the forest.
• Sunday – We went back to the artisan market this morning and, knowing what I was looking for, I was much more successful this time.  Then, we went for a hike near Lake Cotacachi, taking pictures of all the beautiful views from the mountain ridge around the lake.  We also went for a boat ride around the lake and learned about the volcano that formed it.  I would certainly love to come back to Otavalo if I get the chance – the artisan market really is something to see!

Random Notes:

• Relatively few people from Lumbisí go to high school compared to people in the United States.  Most people graduate from elementary school, but things like work and costs of schooling prevent many from continuing their education.  It’s even more rare to find people who go to college, but that number, along with those attending high school, is rapidly increasing as people realize the importance of education and actually have the time and resources to send their children to better schools.
• The pineapple here is amazing.  I could probably eat a whole one in one sitting if the fruit itself wasn’t so acidic.  There are two names for a pineapple based on how ripe it is.  If it’s yellow it’s called, “hawaiana”, and is sweeter than any pineapple you could find in the mainland U.S.  If it’s white, it’s called some other word that no one can seem to remember.
• There is no sense of urgency in Ecuadorian culture.  Fortunately, if the one shower in your house breaks and no one seems in a particular rush to fix it, there are showers at the school.  They’re in the Coliseo, in the locker rooms.  Just follow the path around to the other side of the lake from where you come in the main gate and enter the building from that side.  On your immediate left once you walk through the door are the entrances to the locker rooms.  You have to wait a while for hot water, but the showers are usually quite nice and clean (though, of course, I would still wear shower shoes if I were you).
• When baking, remember the oven rack should not go on the bottom shelf, no matter what your host mother tells you.  It goes on the middle shelf, just like at home in the U.S.
• If you go to Otavalo (to paraphrase a quote from a friend who went there before me), don’t bring lots of money because you don’t want it to get stolen, but do bring lots of money because you’ll want to buy everything!  I took $200 with me (in cash, of course), which was about perfect, at least for me (I was planning on buying a lot at the artisan market).  Wear a money belt for some of the money you carry and hide bills all over your body, if you can (in shoes, in socks, in your bra if you’re a girl, in your underwear line, etc.).  These are just a few tricks to keep large amounts of money from being stolen, though I definitely wouldn’t recommend carrying lots of cash with you if you don’t have to.
• In the artisan market, it is appropriate (and highly recommended) that you bargain with the stand owners to lower prices.  Many of them will give you “gringo prices,” which are always way higher than the prices they would give to Ecuadorians.  As soon as they realize you speak at least some Spanish, most will significantly lower the prices of their items if you work with them on it.  I’m not particularly good at bargaining, but I would probably recommend taking the price down to half (I know that sounds low, but trust me) and slowly working your way up to meet them as low as they’ll take it.  If you’re worried about exactly what to say, don’t.  You’ll figure out what to say just from listening to other people bargain, but honestly, you could just name numbers and that would be sufficient.  I would usually ask, “¿Cuánto cuesta esto?” and point to something for sale.  They would give me a price, I would pause for 5-10 seconds and look over the thing I was considering buying, and say, “Pienso que puedo pagar $_,” or pause only for a moment and then say, “Sólo puedo pagar $_,” if I really didn’t have a lot of money left.  Just don’t make the same mistake I kept making over and over again – always start with a price lower than the one you want, then work your way up to meet them part way.