Otavalo – the Super Artisan Market

Otavalo is a cute and not so quiet town that lies two hours north of Quito. Its claim to fame is its renowned Saturday market. The market snakes through the streets for 15 square blocks or more. The market alone draws thousands of tourists every Saturday, but Otavalo has done what it can to compliment the market by refurbishing the city. The sidewalks have (probably) been reconstructed using multi-colored tiles laid in a beautiful pattern; decorative lampposts with metal statuettes adorning the lights line the main streets; trees have been planted along the walk; and the cobblestone streets are all in excellent condition. Combined, it makes for an exciting (when you’re in the market) and pleasant (when you leave the market) visit.

I went to Otavalo to shop for Christmas, and I was able to complete all of my shopping in four hours (a Jeff Record), spend less, and buy the best gifts I have ever given for Christmas (I think, but the jury is still out). Otavalo was also the most interactive holiday shopping experience. Consider a typical interaction:

I am walking down the street when I see a painting that I like at a booth. I approach the booth and within five seconds the vender apparates from thin air and says, ‘a tu orden, señor’ (or something like that), which is roughly translated to ‘at your service, sir.’ I then play the hard to get customer and act rather disinterested as the vender explains why his product is so incredible, how the work is genuinely his own, etc. When it comes time to barter, I ask the price, and he gives some exorbitantly overpriced amount, but says, ‘para tí, una discuensita especial’ (for you, a special discount). I offer half. He acts insulted, and comes down by one dollar. I say, ‘no’ and begin to walk away. He asks me to wait, offers a lower price, and when I again start to walk away, he asks me to make another offer. Yada yada yada…you get the idea. Eventually we agree on a price that is usually 33% lower than the original.

Is that a good price? I have no idea. But at least it is better, and I feel like I have won!

The other wonderful thing about Otavalo is that my host-family is originally from there. So in addition to visiting the market, we visited the abuelos (grandparents), and primos (cousins). The abuelos are absolutely adorable. They are in their 80s, can barely see and hear (it appears), and yet they own a costume shop. Yeah. A costume shop with rabbit, bear, superman, unicorn, etc. costumes in Otavalo. It seems crazy to me, but apparently during the high season (November and December), they bring in $1000/day in revenue, and profit $300/day. Incredible! Somehow they manage.

Finally, Ashley (an American friend who came with me) and I went to a ‘magical’ tree called ‘el lechero;’ it has milk in its leaves and branches, and while most lecheros live for five years and then die, this one has been alive for a hundred (?) years or so. Anyway, we were expecting some mystical or mouth dropping experience at this ‘huge’ tree and tourist attraction. To get there, we hopped in the back of a pick-up and drove the couple of miles out of town. Of course, being Ecuador, there were no signs leading the way nor at the actual site itself. When the truck stopped, the driver told us to walk through some farm fields to the tree. After a five minute walk, we came to a tree that we assume was el lechero, but it was rather unimpressive. It did have milk in the leaves though. But the view was incredible, and for the first time in 2.5 months, I finally had some peace and quiet to just relax. Did I mention that we were the only two at the tree?

So that was my trip last weekend. One day, zero nights, four hours on the bus, 8 hours in Otavolo, two abuelos and one prima, one unimpressive tree, one awesome market, and one fabulous time!

Hasta la proxima vez.

Jeff

Ecua-friends

This is a “coined” term that got a lot of positive feedback in my last post. Really it is only semi-coined. Here in Ecuador, we gringos add ecua to everything: ecua-isms, ecua-food, ecua-volley (Ecuas coined this one), ecua-beer, etc. We have a favorite phrase: “That is sooo Ecua!” But that is not why I titled this entry ecua-friends. Rather, they are something far more elusive than I had originally imagined. So in this post, I am looking for advice from all those who have successfully made friends abroad.

I came to Ecuador with a plan for making friends. Step one was to befriend my students, and step two was to integrate myself into my neighborhood through going to bars, coffee shops, and soccer games in the park. Unfortunately, I have not followed through on my plan.

I am still working on becoming friends with my students. But unlike Carleton, there is no on-campus housing or campus-life. So there is no chance to get to know students outside of class, making the professor-student barrier more difficult to overcome. I think I am starting to get close here, but my position offers an additional challenge. Since I teach 11 different classes, it is very difficult to get to know my students individually. On the flip side, once I do get to know them, it will be easier to be friends with them because I am not their full-time teacher. So, there is a large activation energy I need to get over, but once over the hump, I will in a better position than if I were a full-time teacher. I am still looking for that catalyst. (wow, my nerd factor just went way up.) I have started offering conversation tables on Wednesdays and Thursdays to give me an opportunity to talk with students on an informal level while helping them with English.

As for playing soccer in the neighborhood, I am discovering (actually affirming) that I am shy…well, sometimes. That may surprise some people, but especially in foreign countries and new places, I have a lot of trouble approaching people I don’t know all by my lonesome. If I have someone with me, it is always a lot easier. But without any gringo-guys nearby, and a host-brother who is always working, I have no one to go to the soccer games with. So, I get shy and timid, and subsequently beat myself up for not growing a pair. Any suggestions?

I should add one caveat, my problem is finding a group of friends and guy-friends. I am able to meet girls pretty easily (as an American, all I have to do is smile, flirt and attempt some Spanish). But that doesn’t work so well with guys…I think. But there is a serious gap in that masculine side of my life since there is only one other guy volunteer with WT in Quito. And one thing I really realized in my last years in college, is that it helps a lot to have friends who you can just joke with and not have to worry about any of that opposite-sex-friend sexual tension.

My social life is not lacking, because there are plenty of other Americans to hang out with, and I have managed to make one ecua-friend. But I am not here to talk English with Americans, I can do that in the US while living a much more comfortable life. I am here to learn Spanish and the Ecua-culture. So, my question is for those of you readers who have lived in another country: what did you do to make new friends and integrate yourself into the country and community? Please help.

Ciao,

Jeff

My Set-up

This is my first post from Ecuador. After 9 weeks in the country, I am finally getting around to it. Don’t expect any great work of art at first…this is my first time blogging. But I will do my best to make this interesting, and succinct…maybe. But most importantly, please respond. I hope this can be a launching platform to staying in touch with my American life.

So…to begin, my basic set-up.

“Home”: Quito, Ecuador. My motto: never a dull day in Quito. As a large city of 2 million, Quito is very polluted, kind of dangerous, loco, but full of city-excitement.

My job/work/reason for being here: I am teaching English at Ecuador’s military school, ESPE (Escuela Superior Politecnica Ejercito). My boss is a colonel, I have to attend civic ceremonies before class on Mondays, ESPE is a military bureaucratic nightmare, and a few of my students are military personnel (but only a couple). Most of my students are civilians studying accounting, auditing, business, engineering, or whatever. (Side note: about 50% of my students are studying finances of some sort. I predict that in ten years, there will be an enormous glut of unemployed accountants…or Ecuador’s corruption will get even worse since everyone will know how to do it “legally.”) (Funny anecdote: on my first trip to the main campus, I saw a tank driving around. Haha.)

I sometimes feel like I am only a “pseudo-English-teacher.” My lone qualification is that I have spoken English for 23 years and counting. I am not trained to be a teacher and the only English grammar I know is what sounds right. (I did receive a month of training from my organization, so I have a few pedagogical tools to help me out and I have a general idea of what I am doing.) But unfortunately, I am a big step up from what my students are used to. (Whoops. That sounds conceited.) This is because the book ESPE uses is a piece of s*#!. I think most of the teachers are solid, but everyone seems very grateful to have a native speaker to practice with.

I have 11 different classes. Yup...11. Plus 130 students. Equals crazy. Since I only teach conversation, I float in between 11 classes in one hour chunks, and I see each class once or twice a week (hence the feeling of pseudo-teacher). The benefit of my schedule is that I only lesson plan a couple of hours each week (compared to every day for other teachers). But the downside is that I do the same lesson plan 11 different times each week. This does get a little boring, so I take every opportunity possible to deviate from my plan. This is risky and requires a lot of quick improvisation, but it is way more interesting. Plus my best conversations have been unplanned.

The Fam: I have a host-mom (50s), brother (late 20s), and two dogs. My host-mom (Mariana) is wonderful. She is incredibly nice to me, a great cook, and patient with my gringo-Spanish. While we don't have a lot in common, we always find a way to chat at meals, although this has led to a repetition of the same jokes, which I am having trouble laughing at after hearing them at every meal. But she is still a great person, and easy to live with.

My host brother (Luis Fernando)...the best way to describe him is solid. I don't think we'll ever be good friends, because he is rather introverted, stoic (just a little bit), chats on-line, and plays computer games. Pretty different from me. But he is trustworthy, and if I ever need help, I can turn to him. A solid guy I can always rely on. Plus, he is easy to live with as well.

My host family has had volunteers for 12 years now. This makes things “easy”, because they are used to living with an American. But, it also means that gringos are "old news." That is, I am nothing new to them. They live their life, I live mine, we eat every meal together, but our lives are more or less separate. They haven't shown me around Quito or Ecuador at all. I will just have to do that on my own, or find some Ecua-friends.

Well, that is my situation down here in Ecuador. After two months, the state-of-the-me is “strong”. I am having fun, my Spanish is doing very well, I am learning a lot, Ecuador is incredibly beautiful, the people are nice, I like teaching, I like my family, and I am even starting to make Ecua-friends. All is well in the Southern Hemisphere.