Chao, Ecuador. Te amo.

Tomorrow morning I leave Ecuador.  I've gotten to explore a beautiful country, made some great friends, gotten some serious abuelito face time, and learned a lot about Ecuadorian culture and nonprofit work.  My only regrets are that I never ate cuy (guinea pig, a traditional dish here and a PRICELESS photo op) and that I was never able to tear myself out of bed early enough to help the baker at the Foundation, Don Lucho, make bread in the morning.  The people here have been so warm and welcoming and all the love flowing in my direction the past few days has made me feel like my heart is swelling out of my chest.  It seriously reminds me of that part in How the Grinch Stole Christmas when the grinch's heart grows three sizes upon hearing the Whos singing "Welcome Christmas."  Not to say that I was grinchy up until now.  But you get the point.  I'm going to miss this place and the people I've met here.

Even though saying goodbye has been hard, I'm looking forward to Chile and the next chapter of my adventure.

Until next time,
Kate

La Playa

This past weekend, I went to Atacamas Beach with some friends, near a city called Esmeraldas in the Northwest corner of Ecuador.  Remember how I told you that there are some Universidad San Francisco de Quito students that live with me here in Cumbaya?  Well I went to the beach with two of them, Melba and Judith (both from Guayaquil, Ecuador) and their friend David (from Riobamba).  David has a car and was nice enough to drive us.

Atacamas was gorgeous and warm and everything that a beach should be.  The water along the equator is so warm it's INSANE!  We rented a pretty nice apartment for but $50 a night and gorged ourselves on fresh seafood and coconut milk.  I only got a little bit sunburned (quite the achievement for me) and generally had a blast hanging out with my Ecuadorian friends for a farewell weekend of fun in the sun.

THAT SAID, we had a few mishaps that you might find amusing:
1.  The roads were in really bad shape and we blew a tire in a particularly nasty pothole.  We didn't have the wrench to change the tire so we had to flag down a car to help (mind you, it was pouring rain and we were dressed for the beach).  The spare was a dinky little thing that looked like it belonged on a lawnmower or bicycle.  Nonetheless, we had to ride most of the way to the beach on that sad little tire because no repair shop for two hours had a big enough patch.
2.  Once we got there and checked into a hotel, we were all in a hurry to eat and hit the beach.  In all our revelry, we lost sight of the room key (the only copy) and ended up having to hire a sketchy man with a rat-tail to pick the lock and replace the handle.
3.  Through the course of the evening we lost sight of a pair of glasses, a pair of sandals, and a friend.  Only the friend was recovered.
4.  I ate some bad clams and fell ill on the way home.  I was too busy holding in the vomit in to ask David to pull over.  So I (and part of my seat) ended up covered in sick.
5.  I changed clothes on the side of the road.  Many Ecuadorian motorists expressed their delight by honking and fist pumping.

FOOD POST No. 2 - La Comida Costeña

Food on the coast is pretty different from typical sierra dishes.

Ceviche (a seafood soup, served chilled in a tomato and citrus broth) is probably my favorite food here.  Unlike its Peruvian cousin, Ecuadorian ceviche is not spicy and is prepared with fully cooked seafood.  There is also a variant of ceviche called "ceviche de chochos," prepared with a kind of bean rather than shrimp/fish/clams.  Either way, it tends to be served with popcorn and chifles (fried green plantain).  mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

some ceviche that my friend Katia made me

ceviche de chochos

Here's some food from Esmeraldas:

camarones encocados con patacones y arroz:

shrimp in a coconut milk broth with fried plantains and rice

pescado entero con patacones: a whole fish with fried plantains

LOOK OUT! THIS ONE'S GONNA BE MEATY!

So I'm headed to Chile on Wednesday and there are few things that I've been meaning to tell you about Ecuador, but never quite got around to.  At this point, I invite you to peek at the subheadings below and decide whether you want to read on or whether you want to skip to my beach post.  

ECONOMY

Ecuador is the second poorest country in South America, after Bolivia. Most of its GDP comes from exports: oil and agriculture (shrimp, cacao, coffee, flowers, bananas).  In 2000, Ecuador decided to officially dollarize its economy.  Which is to say, the official Ecuadorian currency is the US dollar.  Needless to say, this has been quite handy for me.  But why would a country do such a thing, you ask?  Luckily, I took a Latin American Economics class last semester and can answer your ever-so-astute question.  Dollarization is known to effectively put an end to inflation.  Ecuador was suffering from soaring rates of inflation in the late 1990s.  Since dollarizing, its inflation rate has been more or less exactly that of the US dollar.  With a stable currency, the Ecuadorian people can rest easy and Ecuador can work to attract foreign investors.  In an ideal world, dollarization implies a degree of fiscal prudence (i.e. if the country’s economy gets in a bind, it can’t just print more money).  However, the government here tends to borrow from abroad to finance its deficit spending on social programs.  Economists are wary of this accumulating debt and don't necessarily trust Ecuador to remain dollarized in the long-term.  Ecuador’s economy exhibits only sluggish growth, if any, in recent years.

POLITICS

After a long period of political instability and corrupt administrations, Ecuador has enjoyed a relatively stable 4 years under President Rafael Correa.  Correa is a left-leaning politician working to execute a “Citizens’ Revolution” in Ecuador.  He has created bureaucracy up the wazoo to administer his social projects and has implemented some controversial policies such as “pico y placa,” whereby Quiteños are barred from using their cars during a predetermined block of time to reduce carbon emissions.  He also got into a scuffle with the police last September after attempting to adjust their benefits.  Most of the people I’ve talked to are on the fence, valuing Correa’s vision of social change, while fearing that his socialist leanings will carry Ecuador too far in the direction of Chavez’s Venezuela.   

HEALTH CARE

Public health care is available to all Ecuadorians.  Under President Correa, those without means no longer have to pay any form of copay.  Due to long waits and perhaps lower quality of care at public hospitals, wealthy Ecuadorians often buy health insurance and seek care at private hospitals.  

the day-to-day

It has occurred to me that I have failed to tell you how exactly I pass my minutes, hours and days at the Foundation.  I’ll try and fix that.  My daily activities can be divided into 4 categories:

• Medical.  I spend about half of my time working with the doctor, nurse, and physical therapist.  For the physical therapist, I keep computer records of which abuelitos receive treatment each day.  This information is important for monthly reports, funding, and the like.  I’ve been helping the nurse distribute anti-parasitic drugs to all of the abuelitos.  The doctor, employed by the Ecuadorian ministry of public health, has me working on a database of all the abuelitos (there are nearly five hundred), noting which ones suffer from chronic illnesses like diabetes and hypertension, without a doubt the two most prevalent chronic illnesses in this population.  This involves looking through each patient’s medical history and confirming that the proper diagnostic and treatment algorithms have been followed.  For example, if a patient presents with moderately high blood sugar, I should see documentation that a repeat measurement was taken and that the doctor recommended that the patient modify his/her lifestyle before diagnosing the patient with diabetes and prescribing medication.  I also need to check that the proper follow-up has been carried out (i.e. that labs, EKGs, and x-rays, have been performed regularly and according to protocol since the date of diagnosis).  Because the Foundation is chronically understaffed, with a rotating door of medical staff, it is extremely rare to come across a medical history where everything has been done by the book.  Once I have waded through all the files, the doctor will compile the demographic data to map out the epidemic and make a plan for prevention.  Sorry if was too much detail, but this project is wayyy interesting for me.
• The Kitchen.  Providing hot breakfast and lunch for up to 150 abuelitos each day is no small feat.  I try and lend a hand in the kitchen when I’m not needed in the doctor’s office.  I wash and chop vegetables, make juice, and help plate out and serve all the food.  Once all that is done, the kitchen must be cleaned top to bottom.  From about 9AM to 1PM, the cook and volunteers work in a flurry of frenetic motion.  On the days that I work there, I usually leave exhausted and covered in lunch foods.  But content that I've worked my patoot off so that some sweet old folks have something to eat.

• Chillin’ with the ‘Litos.  I make a point of sneaking out of the kitchen/doctor’s office every now and again to attend painting classes with the abuelitos, dance my heart out with the “payasos” group, or play games with the abuelitos.  If I can’t make it to these more structured activities, I usually take a post-lunch break with a group of abuelitos that hangs out in the courtyard of the Foundation, soaking up some sun shooting the breeze.  I’ve had some of the best conversations of my LIFE on the Foundation’s stoop.  Trust the elderly to surprise you with deep philosophical insights while they wait for their afternoon poop to come a knockin’!

• Miscellaneous.  I know, kind of a non-catagory.  SO SUE ME.  Often, errands need to be run.  As I enjoy a nice walkabout as much as the next person, I am quick to offer my services making copies or picking  up some last-minute ingredients from the grocery store.  Also, I sort through donations of clothes, books, and medicines to see what is salvageable and what is junk.

weather

Whether (WEATHER!  HA!) you’re willing to admit it or not, I know that you, dear reader, have been dogged by an inexplicable urge to ask me about the weather down Ecuador way.  Don’t worry.  It’s only natural.  They say everyone’s a little cli-curious (climate curious).  PLUS, as expected, my time with the abuelitos has got me in tip-top shape when it comes to discussing the weather.  So here goes.  I’ll make this quick and painless for both of us.

Due to the high altitude, weather is spring-like year-round and temperatures here rarely exceed 75 degrees Fahrenheit.  Being on the equator, there’s not a whole lot of seasonal temperature variation, though there are certain months with more precipitation than others.  Though this time of year is usually considered “winter” or the wet season (usually with about 4.5 inches of rain monthly and an average temperature in the mid-60s), thanks to global warming I’ve enjoyed a very pleasant climate.  To that end, people here have told me that I must have brought some of that good ol’ Wisconsin sunshine with me!  I don’t bother to explain that “Wisconsin sunshine” is more than a little bit oxymoronic this time of year.  Usually, there’s a bit of a bite to the air as I walk to work in the mornings.  I’d gauge the temperature to be in the low 60s.  In the afternoons on a sunny day, it’s probably in the mid-70s.

To make a long story short, the weather here is nice.  

affirmation

Greetings from the mystical valley of Cumbayá!  I was video chatting with a friend the other day and explaining my new exercise regimen.  Every other day, weather and willpower permitting, I will go for a jog in the park near my house for increasingly long intervals of time.  Before you scoff, this plan is indeed ambitious because a) I don’t jog.  Ever.  When it comes to my fitness, I prefer cushier options like cycling and the elliptical machine (i.e. things that don’t make me feel like I’m dying) and b) jogging at 7000+ feet above sea level is no small potatoes.  When she asked how my first day had gone, I told her, and I quote:

“My hips haven’t hurt this much since that time I tried to go latin dancing!!!”

And then I smiled.  That right there is why it makes ABSOLUTE SENSE for me to spend the bulk of my time with the elderly.