School and Cultural Program

Military blockade in the city center, owing to the coup attempt.

Classes started well, and right away it was intense. Of course, this was what I wanted, but it still doesn't make it easy. My professor for the first two weeks was Vinicio, who is Quechua from Otavalo. Needless to say, we had lots to talk about!


And Vinicio had the classroom space on the patio, so I had outdoor classes every day! Yes, life was good.

We had class every day from 9 until 1, with a twenty-minute break at 11. For the first two weeks, one of these breaks was actually a group class, which was great fun. The first week we learned about Ecuadorian fruits; the second, Ecuadorian snacks. Each professor and student had to describe one while the other students guessed, and at the end, we got to sample them all. (food blog to come) A rather fun way to explore new things!

Students came from everywhere, but English was the common language. I almost resented breaks and lunches, since it seemed that I spoke more English during those periods than at any other time. But eventually I found a balance, and my classmates were great. (later post)

The school also offered a ton of excursions and special options, which was fabulous -- evening activities, weekend trips, cultural excursions, etc. It was going to be hard to pick and choose! Ecuador is an incredible country for the outdoors-minded, so there was plenty of adventure to be had as well.

For the first two weeks I also enrolled in the cultural program, so afternoons, Monday-Thursday, I had 2-4 more hours of language immersion, but off on excursion. Marialisa was my guide the first week; she's a tourism student and an intern at Yanapuma, and she was terrific. Monday, we walked to the Museo Mindalae, which is an ethnographic museum of Ecuador's indigenous peoples. It was really terrific.


The museum is five levels, and covers cosmovision, history, craft, dress, music, etc. It's quite large and comprehensive, and does a good job of explaining material that most people have never before considered. This is in the gallery related to contemporary dress styles of the different communities, and represents three different women's dresses.


Lots of weaving and baskets! I was supposed to do some basket purchases for the new space at the museum, but my Shuar friend and I were never able to re-connect on that.... Maybe next time. Below is a type of doorbell!



A wide variety of head-dresses, mostly from the Amazon region. Below, instruments of all type. When I ran the instrumental arts pavilion for our opening festival, we had instrument makers build and demonstrate both charangos and a marimba, both of which I saw here.


Tuesday was Mitad del Mundo (see previous post) and the Museo de Sitio Inti-ñan. Tuesday through Friday evenings, the school offered activities. So Tuesday night I ran back in the rain in order to make my first ever salsa lesson! And I'm so glad I did because it was a blast!! 75 minutes long, very warm room, we were all sweaty and laughing at the end. And ready for more!

Wednesday's class was verbs verbs verbs, including some very humbling exercises about past tense of irregular verbs. I also learned about Enrique Males, a well-known artist I'd love to see at the museum someday. Wednesday's program was to the Museo Fundación Guayasamín. Oswaldo Guayasamín is probably Ecuador's most famous artist. I never did make it to his masterwork, the Capilla del Hombre (Chapel of Man) -- another on the next time list -- but this was fantastic

Guayasamín lived in this building in the Bellavista suburb looking over the city, and it's devoted to his life and work. One building is completely filled with materials from his collection, ethnographic pottery and figurines from the indigenous cultures of the country. Another houses much of his religious art (Ecuador is a very Catholic country.) A third showcases many of his paintings. An indigenous artist, he is well-known for actually painting the pain involved in living, rather than glossing over the hardships and racism and oppression. It was very powerful and moving. The last section were his paintings of hands, which are huge canvases that show, just through hand gestures, a wide range of emotions, from pity to fear to victory. It's remarkable and hugely moving.


No photos are allowed inside the buildings, sadly. The Chapel is dedicated to the struggle between the Andes and Spain, and contains an eternal flame.


That evening was the performance of Jacchingua, the National Folklore Ballet of Ecuador. It was a small group of us attending, and the theater was equally small, which led to a wonderfully intimate environment. The dances were spectacular, and I could have listened to the musicians all night. I wasn't crazy about the Dansa de Paz (Dance of Peace) -- too many religious overtones for me -- but the rest was phenomenal, especially the Maypole.


The 90 (!) dancers come from a number of indigenous communities, as do the dances (including Saraguro, San Pablo, Tigua, Quilotoa, Cotopaxi, and Cañar). Four musicians led the way, using a variety of guitars, drums, and rondadors (Andean flutes). Absolutely worth it!

As you all know, things became a little strange in Ecuador that first Thursday. From my classroom, we saw the start of the protest by the police.



In fact, Vinicio and I were talking about Ecuadorian politics as part of our lessons. So I already knew about some of the reforms underway. Needless to say, that morning I got a better understanding of some of the issues. By the time morning classes finished, things downtown were starting to coalesce. My afternoon program, which was to the old town, was cancelled, and we students were advised to avoid the old part of town. We could have lunch in Mariscal, the tourist part, but were to go home early and stay home for the evening. Since the police serve as security for many banks and restaurants, several banks had been robbed that morning, robberies and petty crime were rampant across the city, and many restaurants were actually closed. That was a minor problem as I was intending to get money to pay the hostel.

But the center of the tourist area was still open and busy, so that's what I did. I got back to my hostel about 4:30p; some of my classmates returned to theirs about 6:15p and their host families were getting pretty antsy. I had a quiet night of homework and computer, and figured things would be better in the morning. Sure enough, I woke to the sound of planes, which told me that the airport had reopened. What I didn't know for a while was that there had been a firefight downtown between the police and the military trying to get President Correa out of the hospital. After that was over, things apparently settled down and were, in fact, returning to normal. Normal in this case meant security back at the commercial enterprises and the military in charge of the city. A bit odd, to be sure, but it worked. And things were certainly worse elsewhere, like in Guayaquil. As my host family said, 'Hay mucho adrenalina en Guayaquil' (there's a lot of adrenaline in Guayaquil).

So in addition to being told that I'll speak better Spanish after my one month of study than many people speak English after studying it for years, my morning classes included a politics lesson on Ecuador's presidents -- really fascinating, since there have been about ten in twenty years. President Correa has been in control now for about four years, and it's been pretty stable. The issue here was a new law passed by the Assembly limiting some bonuses and working to eliminate some of the corruption in the system, as was done a couple of years ago with the military. Things seemed pretty good this morning, so my cultural program was set for that afternoon, and after classes, Marialisa and I set off for the Iglesia de la Basílica.


It's really a lovely building, and quite new too, begun only in 1992. I've never seen a window like this on a church before.



The stained glass is beautiful!



They've even worked in orchids, symbols of Ecuador, into the rose window. Gorgeous!



Gargoyles are actually local birds. Fun! And there are just beautiful views of the city as you climb the towers.



Clocks and towers. It was a great climb, and very easy too (just go slowly if you're not altitude adjusted yet).



One tower isn't quite finished, or is being redone, I wasn't quite clear on that. But you can sort of access it by taking this funny bridge across the top of the vaulted arches..... It was certainly a great view that one doesn't normally get in a church.

So after the Basilica, we headed to the center for a few more churches, only to be greeted by lines of military troops blocking off the Presidential Palace and all the historic center (photo above). End of excursion! So I figured that since I stand out so clearly, they wouldn't mind if I took their photo. Given that it was still early and the weather was good (our only day excursion without rain!), we opted to walk back. We shared queso de ovejo (sheep's cheese, like mozzerella) and talked the whole way, which was great. And I began to get a sense of the vagaries of credit cards in foreign banks -- this is pretty routine actually. If you stick with the big national banks, you're usually fine. But the smaller ones often won't read your card. Never fear, there's always another bank somewhere nearby.....


This is the statue to Simón Bolívar, the man responsible for Ecuador's independence from Spain.

Back at the school, I got some photo work done, and noted events for the coming weeks. Sadly, the weekend trip to Otavalo was cancelled for not enough students. Quito for me for the weekend then! But first, mojito-making at the school.


Marialisa and Kjell are busy in the kitchen with refills. Below, the group engages in a lively game of Cucharas (Spoons). Next time I have a party, we're playing it.


I wasn't sure what my weekend plans would have in store -- I figured I'd go over to the Parque El Ejido and do some shopping at the artisan market. Since I wasn't on the weekend trip, I was going to be around the city. Many of my classmates were leaving Sunday for programs away with the school. Juan Carlos was in Cumbaya, wherever that was, and wasn't sure when he'd be back.

Next up, week one wrap-up and observations.