Preparing to Head Home

Dang. We actually only have thirteen days left in this country. This isn´t the first time I´ve been out of the country and experienced the strangeness of cultural adaptation and re-adaptation, but this time´s going to be pretty different. Each time I go to El Salvador with my volunteer group for our yearly ten-day trip, we spend only ten days in the country, working pretty hard on a construction project for most of each day, living in fairly rustic conditions is an impoverished part of the country. When I return, I usually spend a few days being pissed off at how capitalistic and commercialized everything in the United States is. It´s like that scene from the movie The Hurt Locker where the main character comes back from Iraq, and he´s standing in the cereal aisle at a grocery store, shocked at how easy and cushy life is the US. Not that I´m directly comparing El Salvador to Iraq, but you get the point.

This time I´ve spent two and a half months living in a comfortable, middle-class setting in Ecuador, living as a student and a tourist, seeing some of the most beautiful places on Earth, and studying a different language and culture. I don´t think the process of cultural re-adaptation to the US will be a process of readapting to comforts that I´ve missed or anything like that, it´ll be simply based on differences in lifestyle. I won´t be walking around an historic city all day, buying delicious two-dollar lunches or talking to my group members about their host families or experiences in Cuenca. I won´t be eating tasty dinners of rice and fried eggs and chicken and plantain. I´ll be at home eating cereal and peanut-butter and jelly. I´ll be playing xbox and working out at the rec. I´ll be talking to my mom about buying stuff to make burritos at the grocery store. I´ll be hanging out with my friends in my buddy´s living room (see photo) talking about videogames and pointless gossip. In short, it´ll be a return to boring, lulling, comforting normalcy, while planning out and waiting for the next adventure.

Hybridization

We´ve only got about two weeks left in Ecuador, and we´ve spent at least a month total living here in the city of Cuenca. We´ve all heard the term "globalization" over the past few years, but it´s amazing how obviously real the process of globalization is, especially when it slaps you across the face like it does here in Cuenca. The symptoms are obvious, and the results are both good and bad. About a month ago, some B.W. friends and I met some students from the University of Azuay here in the city, and all of them were studying the same subjects: tourism and English. It seems that the mindset of Ecuador is becoming increasingly globalized. If they are having difficulty maintaining economic stability through exports and domestic industry, they must depend increasingly on income from tourism, becoming an increasingly americanized society.

Instances of cultural imperialism are everywhere. Although family-owned small businesses still have a large role in Cuenca, including hair salons, clothing and shoe stores, bookstores and restaurants, international corporations have become very prevelant, and their advertisements dominated the city´s billboards and advertisements.  Multiple western-style malls dot the map of Cuenca, each with its share of KFCs, McDonalds´, Nike and Adidas outlet stores, etc.

Although the culture of Cuenca remains rooted in the traditional, a clear tendency towards hybridization has developed. Children, for the most part, still live with a heavy influence of Catholic education and family values, and traditional music and foods still play a huge role in Cuenca. However, the tempations of a materialistic, western-style culture  have left their mark on the youth. This hybridization has created a young generation of cell phone-toting, Abercrombie-wearing, pop music-listening youth who, often times, still hold dear the traditional cultural phenomena of their Cuencan upbringing.

Cuenca´s Military Parade

I love the city of Cuenca. I really do. It´s got beautiful architecture, tons of history, amazing food and a lot to do. It´s just a great city all around. But I keep ragging on it, and I feel bad. But... I can´t help but notice these weird, troubling things like racism and governmental intimidation bubbling under the surface. For example, and again this happened a few weeks ago during the Fiestas de Cuenca, the Military Parade in Cuenca made me feel pretty uncomfortable. In the US, we usually don´t have big shows of military force (at least not WITHIN the US, but that´s another story). Our parades might include a military band or soldiers in ceremonial uniforms with a color guard. But rarely, if ever, would one see soldiers dressed in fatigues, carrying weapons, marching in formation, followed by armored vehicles and other tools of war. But this is exactly what the parade was like in Cuenca. Huge numbers of soldiers dressed in their battle uniforms, wearing camouflage face paint and carrying automatic rifles passed by the observing citizens. Heavy artillery pieces and armored personnel carriers followed them, their foreboding cannons visible to all. To me, this is an attempt by President Correa, and outspoken "hawk" in terms of foreign policy and domestic order, to demonstrate to the world the military capabilities that are at his disposal, and to ensure that his own people remember who controls the nation´s weapons and the potential consequences of revolt. By many accounts Correa has done lots of good things for Ecuador, but given Latin America´s tendency toward coups, his military intimidation is not without precedent.

Aristocracy, Racism, and Beauty Pageants.

La Elección de la Reina de Cuenca is essentially Cuenca´s annual Miss Cuenca competion. It was held in late October, but it´s just been dawning on me lately how perfectly it epitomizes the traditions of racism and class discrimination in Ecuador. This year there were eight contestants, and when I looked at their pictures on a pamphlet I couldn´t help but realize that they all had light skin. Not one of them appeared to be of indigenous descent. I couldn´t get into the competition itself, because after standing in line for half an hour, I was told that it had an entrance fee of $30. Now that, in itself, is a sign of class discrimination and racism. Being realistic, middle- and lower-class Cuencanos can simply not afford to pay $30 dollars per person to watch a beauty contest. This outlandish price is apparently new, as in years past the entrance fee was only five or six dollars. In this way, it seems that the organizers of the competition are attempting to ensure that the event remains only accessible to the economic elite. The winner of the competition this year has the last name of Vintimilla, a famous name in Cuenca, where one´s last name is very important, considering the long history of aristocracy and large land owners in Cuenca. To me it´s pretty clear that only a girl like her, white and rich, has a high chance of winning the title of Reina de Cuenca.
The racism and favoritism is to the point where indigenous and working-class Cuencanas have to compete in beauty contests like La Chola Cuencana, the competition for indigenous girls, and La Reina de los Barrios, the Queen of the Neighborhoods. It reminds me a little of the Negro Leagues of the United States. Hopefully Cuenca and Ecuador as a whole can grow out of this ugly phase of racism.

Development in the Galapagos

The one thing that kind of made me a little uncomfortable in the Galapagos, although it was among the greatest experiences in my life, and without a doubt the most beautiful place I´ve ever seen, was the amount of development and the level to which the Galapagos caters to tourists from around the world. For example, the hotel we stayed in, Hotel Mainao, was absolutely gorgeous. It looked like something out of a Dr. Suess book, with wavy white walls and twisting stair cases to our quaint but comfy accomodations. The hotel is located in Puerto Ayora, a city--yes, city-- of 20,000 people on the southern end of Santa Cruz island. Everywhere you looked there was a nice restaurant, an artisan shop selling crafts that could easily be found in Cuenca or Otavalo, and most likely came from Otavalo, or an upscale art gallery catering to the rich world travelers of Europe and the US. The restaurant near our hotel in which we ate most of our meals was pretty superfluous. It was delicous and had a great view of the bay, but it felt a bit odd to be eating five star meals in one of the world´s most protected and beautiful natural areas. But still, it´s fairly difficult to get to the islands, and even more difficult to stay there for an extended period of time. I´m pretty sure that to stay there longer than a short visit, one has to either have been born there, have a job there, or marry someone who lives there. Hopefully the area can stabalize its growth and not threaten the amazing and unique natural environment that it has already slightly disturbed.

Galapagos

The Galapagos Islands easily, without a doubt, without question, exceeded every possible expectation that I had. The place is simply unbelievable. I suppose that before seeing the islands, I expected to see tropical scenery, palm trees, beaches, coconuts, and obviously the most talked-up examples of wildlife: Darwin´s finches, the giant tortoises and sea lions. When we landed on Baltra, what I saw took me by complete surprise. The landscape looked like Arizona. It was rocky, and covered in prickly pear cacti. The water was a clear beautiful torquoise, and the coasts were rugged outcroppings of black lava rock. However, if Ecuador is considered a diverse geographic area, with a wide variety of climates in a small area, the Galapagos should be considered one of the most diverse zones on the planet. On the central island of santa cruz, with one half hour drive, one can see the crystal clear ocean, desert scrub land, basically what I guess I´d call "chaparral" ...or something like that, and almost like tropical forest in the highlands, with banana farms, thick woods, and misty hill tops. It just amazed me how much variety could be found on the islands. My favorite island... hmmm... I´m torn between South Plazas and Isabela.
South Plazas was a tiny rocky island, covered in sea lions and land and marine iguanas, and was a huge nesting area for tropic birds, gulls, and boobies. The earth was a shockingly bright gray, mottled with vibrant low red succulent plants that the land iguanas fed upon, along with huge prickly pear cacti. The combination of bright reds, grays and greens, along with the torquiose blue of the ocean was beautiful.
But Isabela was nearly indescribable. The main bay was full of reef sharks, eagle rays, sea turtles, and tropical fish, and the huge beach that overlooked the bay was beyond pictueresque. It was absolutely massive, white and sandy, with gorgeous palms, and the pink sunset was pretty much perfect. But it wasn´t just some tropical paradise for lounging and sipping coconut milk through a straw. The island is home to the 2nd biggest caldera in the world, a massive expanse of gorgeous, flat but wavy black lava fields surrounded by verdant green cliffs, 10 km across. it was absolutely mind blowing.
After snorkeling and scuba diving mere feet from sea turtles, sea lions, huge peaceful rays, white tipped reef sharks and hammerhead sharks, and hiking along with finches and blue footed boobies and iguanas, it´s going to be an odd transition to arrive home to a few feet of snow.

Street Food and the People Who Eat It

A lot of us on this trip are huge fans of The Travel Channel. shows like No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain and Bizzare Foods with Andrew Zimmern are my two favorites (although no reservations is way better, Bourdain´s a badass and Zimmern is a nice guy but kind of a goober). The idea of walking around a new and unknown city, chatting with people and trying mysterious and delicious local food is something that i had really been looking forward to on this trip. If it´s made from a weird animal, or a weird part of a familiar animal, or if it seems like it could potentially force me to become close friends with my host family´s bathroom, all the better. Most of the students on the trip have been reluctant to try street food for fear of getting sick, but a couple friends and are totally fine with that, because it means more for us! I´ve eaten skewers of grilled meat 3 or 4 times now, and I´ve never had an adverse reaction. It´s also freaking delicous. I don´t know what they use to season this chicken and steak, but it is unbelievably tasty. As long as a person uses common sense, it´s not difficult to determine a reputable, tasty, and relatively sanitary vendor from a not-so-reputable one. If a stand appears to be busy, selling lots of food to locals, it´s usually a good sign. If you come across a creepy man wearing a cowl in a back alley offering you a strangely colored piece of fruit, just turn around and walk away. DON¨T LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHO SAY YOU SHOULDN¨T EAT IT (unless they´re a doctor!). We were out with the host-brother of a kid in our group who told us "don´t eat the street food, it´s rat meat." I am so glad I did not listen to him. Grilled, seasoned chicken skewers with a hunk of fried banana are Cuenca´s hidden treasure. And i think i can tell rat from chicken.

Pro-Youth Protests

It´s pretty clear that while Cuenca is a very liveable city, with relative economic stability, plenty of great bars and restaurants, fairly safe residential neighborhoods, good universities, potable water, and excellent food, there remain many serious social dillemmas. The public schooling situation, for instance, is pretty terrible. The schools receive little funding, and public school teachers receive low pay, so needless to say the quality of education is far lower than that of private schools in the area. The school day is split into two halves, with half of the students taking class in the morning and the rest taking class in the evening due to overcrowding of schools. Not only does this disrupt the traditional Ecuadorian familial bonds, but it puts the evening students in a dangerous situation, with most taking buses or walking home after school. Recently, a young boy was kidnapped while walking home from school during the day. As far as I know, he was returned safely, but the charges against the kidnapper were dropped. This is probably due to the strange enforcement of Ecuadorian laws. For instance, if someone accosts a pedestrian with a knife, demanding money, and the person gives up their money to avoid being stabbed, they legally have not been robbed, they have apparently willingly given up their money. The legal system has many strange loopholes in Ecuador. This kidnapping instance outraged many local students, including those from the Universities of Cuenca and Azuay. I was with a group of friends the other day walking around downtown Cuenca, and we saw a group of something like 40 college students carrying signs and chanting protests against the unjust legal protection for the youth. They carried signs that said "We are the voice of those without voices," and "NO! to abuse of children." It is clear that the Correa administration has a long way to go to improve its protection of human rights.

Threats to biodiversity in the Amazon

About a week ago or so, we spent 4 days at a biodiversity research station on the Tiputini River in the Amazon Rainforest. The sheer number of species and amount of life around us was mind boggling. Never in my life have i seen so many types of birds that are all so wildly different, or seen a 6 inch wide spider and been told it was a "medium" one. We saw spider monkeys, squirrel monkeys, howler monkeys, sloths, macaws, toucans, tarantulas, geckos, and dozens of other creatures. At night we saw caimans, scorpions, massive scorpion spiders, lizards, tree frogs, things that simply don´t exist anywhere else in the world. I will definitely remember it as one of the most impacting experiences of my life. We met a national geographic photographer named Pete Oxford--google him. He takes pictures like a monster--and he had quite a bit to say about the Amazon and the threats it currently faces. He told us that, in ecuador, the only protected areas are national parks, and even national parks don´t have exclusive rights to their sub-surface terrain. On the way in and out of Tiputini, we saw camp after camp of oil companies, specifically Repsol, a company currently under majority Chinese ownership. Their cutting of the forest and burning of fossil fuels, creation of roads, building of bridges, and influx of workers has reduced primary tropical rainforest to secondary and tertiary forests with much less biodiversity and life. Correa has stated publicly his support of the Yasuni National Park, and his intention to prevent further exploitation of oil reserves that would harm the Amazon, but the future still remains uncertain. Hopefully in the coming years Ecuador can create legislation to better protect its unique natural treasures.

Ecuadorian Graffiti as an Outlet of Public Opinion

One of the biggest faults that people have had here in Ecuador and around Latin America with President Rafael Correa has been his habit of attacking the press, and not permitting negative opinions of his presidency to be published. He has sued multiple newspapers into bankruptcy, arguing that as a citizen, he has the right to sue a private company, but also using his influence as president to claim immunity to insult. Although the SIP, the organization that monitors and supports free press in Latin America, Correa has continued to keep a chokehold on the Ecuadorian press.
While driving through Ecuadorian cities, especially Quito, Otavalo, and Cuenca, i´ve seen tons of examples of politically pointed graffiti that represent the popular voice of the Ecuadorian citizen. In Otavalo a message on a wall read something like "NO to a criminalized government!" Here in Cuenca, the graffiti is more pointed to the specific issues that affect the city, including the threat of mining companies exploiting land near the city. most cuencanos worry that mining with contaminate their main sources of water. Tags usually say something along the lines of "Agua es vida, no a la mineria" or "Water is life, say no to mining." I personally love to see things like this. it ensures that even when the government strikes out against public protest, the people still put their true message out there.