Papallacta

Today, our program went to Papallacta, which isn’t too far from where we live.  Although we didn’t really explore the town, we learned a lot about the landscape, which is one of the most important ecosystems in Ecuador.  That system is the páramo, a high-mountain terrain covered in short plants and grasses that hold water well.  Papallacta is a beautiful area known for this landscape and its hot springs.

Highlights from this Week:

• Monday – At Penn State, we have a very important weekend during the Spring semester called THON weekend.  THON is a 46-hour no-sitting no-sleeping dance marathon to raise money to help families with kids with cancer.  Today, I went to the post office to send a few of the dancers cards, which they will (hopefully) receive during the dance marathon to encourage them to keep going and keep dancing For The Kids.
• Tuesday – I got a package from my family today.  Just like at college, getting packages here is like Christmas!
• Wednesday – I had my first big Ecuadorian test today.  Usually, I do pretty well with tests, but this one was a little intimidating.  Some of the questions seemed a bit vague and I don’t know that I did particularly well, but like everything else here, it’s an experience.
• Thursday – We did an activity in anthropology that involved trying to explain the Quichua religion, which seems complicated, but really neat.  After doing that, I actually really want to learn Quichua now.  When I got home from classes, I found that no one was home, so I started making dinner.  I have no idea if anyone else actually liked what I cooked, but I had a fun time making it.  I always forget how much I enjoy cooking…
• Friday – We read a story for literature called Axolotl, which is about someone who is obsessed with the Mexican salamanders and sort of turns into one, so he can see things from their point of view.  It actually kind of reminded me of what it’s like to be an exchange student, so I enjoyed discussing the story and relating it to experiences we’ve all had here.  After classes, I helped at the venta de ropa (clothing sale) in Lumbisí, which was really fun and a great success – we made over $450 to help the community!
• Saturday – Today, our program went to Papallacta.  We hiked around a lake near the town and admired the beautiful scenery.  Then, we went for a walk through what seemed like a secret garden and enchanted forest to learn about the páramo, one of Ecuador’s most important landscapes, and explore what I believe was a cloud forest.  Afterwards, we went to some nearby hot springs and enjoyed hanging out together and visiting while relaxing in the warm water.  Later that evening, there was a dance in Lumbisí for el Día del Amor y la Amistad (Valentine’s Day) and Carolyn, Zack, Daniel, Lauren, Tara, and I went to that.  Apparently, this was the first time the community put on a dance for Valentine’s Day, so it took a while for people to come, but there was lots of music and dancing and it was a great cultural experience.
• Sunday – We had a minga in the organic garden and a group of us were there to help with that.  We put up most of the poles for the greenhouse and we just need to do a little bit more to finish it!

Random Notes:

• Baking soda is illegal in Ecuador.  Apparently, you can use it to make drugs.  At least, that’s what the very nice and understanding man at the market told me when I asked where I could find it.
• If you don’t know how to light a match, learn before you come.  This includes “safety” matches.  The stoves here use gas, but you need to use a match to light them.  I have enough trouble with regular matches, let alone safety matches.  Learn how to light a match.
• Half a dozen eggs cost $0.72 at the panadería.
• People social kiss here.  “Social kiss” means (roughly) put your right hand on their left shoulder, move like you’re going to actually kiss them on the cheek, but instead just touch your right cheek to their right cheek (sometimes, they don’t actually touch, though it certainly wouldn’t be considered rude or awkward either way).  Girls “kiss” girls and boys and girls “kiss.”  Boys shake hands with other boys.  These rules also apply when you are first meeting someone (though usually, boys and girls don’t “kiss” upon first meeting), though many Ecuadorians know Americans tend to shake hands when meeting someone, so they won’t feel awkward if you do (or try to do) something different.  Just go with the flow and try to do whatever they’re doing.
• Vendors tend to hop onto the buses at random to sell things.  Although what they’re selling usually sounds delicious, remember, no street food for the first few weeks (and only limited street food after that).
• Ecuadorians have cédulas de identidad, which are identity cards.  You do not have a cédula de identidad, but you do have a passport.  This means that many people helping you do many different things are going to want to know your passport number, so I highly recommend you have it memorized.
• You’ll hear this a million times, but make sure you get a cultural exchange visa, not a student or a tourist visa.  I hear getting them changed is a pain…  (Did I mention the government likes to makes its processes really difficult?)
• Having some basic “handyman” skills before you come would also be really useful, especially for fixing things in the house or helping with volunteering.  For example, if there isn’t enough water to flush the toilet, what do you do?  Put water in the tank (not in the bowl).  You might want to be able to use simple tools, too – you can be a huge help if you can accurately hammer a nail into a piece of wood.
• Speaking of toilets, you don’t put the toilet paper in the toilet here, since the water pressure’s rather low and you could clog the pipes.  There’s always a wastebasket next to the toilet and you put toilet paper there, instead.  Also, the word for toilet (the thing, not the room) is inodoro, not toileta.
• If you forget to pay the electricity bill, the power will go out.  Unlike in the United States, the people who turn your electricity back on only work until 5:00, so make sure you remember to pay the bill!
• Lots of professors will let exchange students use Spanish-English dictionaries during tests, so make sure you bring one with you to class.
• Neighbors often call each other veci, which is short for vecino (neighbor).