God bless America

July 2nd, 2010 A lovely Friday

Field trip! Today my group (5 people total) teamed up with three other groups for a cultural trip to Peguche.
The traditional Quechuan woman demonstrated some of their trades and techniques for us. It was simply fascinating. Wool hats, blankets and other clothing. I thought sheep shed wool sweaters, apparently I was mislead by childhood cartoons.
The woman had a basket of recently sheared wool (still dirty). We were all given a small piece to sift through and pick out the pieces of dirt, small twigs and maybe pieces of excrement. Luckily, my piece didn’t come from that end of the sheep. After we finished our task at a fraction of the speed one of them could have done it, we watched the next part. Next, they used two pieces of what looked like Velcro attached to wood too fluff up the wool.
Now comes the part that takes a real talent. They took the fluffy wool and put it on an upright piece of wood and meticulously spun it around a pencil thick piece of wood to create string. A few of the girls tried to emulate it, but understandable had a very hard time. This was apparently the really old fashioned way to do it. So we moved over to the more advanced wooden machine with a giant wheel at one end.

Amateurs need not apply.

They also showed us how to make cornmeal and aji (hot sauce).

We also danced a traditional dance and I was asked to join in on the other guitar present to help play some music for the dancers.
The dance session concluded and we were all individually blessed by one of the women. She took a bowl of water with flowers and patted some on our head while speaking in Quechua.
We walked to the cascade at Peguche, only a 25 minute walk from the house of Quechuan family. Some people brought their bathing suits in anticipation of a good swim (I did not, but likely I had quick dry under wear! Shout out to Gen and Eric!) Walking through a beautiful stone pathway covered by the canopy of the rainforest we approached the verge and into view came the cascade.
What a sight, but the first thing I noticed was lack of places to take a dip. That did not discourage the 5 or so people, me included, from taking a dip. Refreshed. No towel. Not a problem, one of our professors let me use his after he was finished. The Peace Corps. staff is really great, not just for lending wet Americans towels, but also for being great teachers and friends.

Nothing like putting jeans on when you are still a little wet, not the best feeling. Sucked it up and moved along.
Back in the little touristy court yard area entrance to the cascade stood a welcoming bar. Sure, we have time for a beer! I laughed as I noticed the familiar figure of Kokopelli etched in one of the bars glass windows. I wonder how many people realize that symbol is out of place? Most people probably don’t even notice it, the Heineken beer can wind chime sticks out a little more.
The bus rides here are a lot of fun. Ecuador does not have rolling hills, they have rolling mountains. Really gorgeous scenery here.
The rest of the night I spent hanging out with the family in our living room chatting about this and that. I had my first gardening class (had a choice of dancing, crafts, cooking, music and gardening) the next morning early and didn’t want to be too tired.

July 3rd, Saturday

Class consisted of mixing terra firma and whatever poop people brought (cow or guinea pig) to make good soil for planting. We planted radishes in a tire and cut up water bottles. Pretty cool, should be ready in three weeks. At this altitude things grow at about half the speed they would at sea level due to lack of oxygen.

Finished up early and had time to run to a restaurant to catch the rest of the Argentina world cup game. They got spanked by the Germans, bummer. Then it was time to go back to the house to watch the next game with the family. Again, South America was defeated. Only one team left from this soccer breathing continent!

Took a quick nap.

I was awoken by a phone call from another volunteer (lives in another town) who was in Cayambe wondering if there was anything cool to do here. “Sure, let me call you back in 5.” I asked my host brother and he told me we were heading to another bull riding event (of course!). So we picked up my friend in the family truck and headed to the square.
Today for one reason or another we got VIP treatment. We were on the same stable-er platform as the announcer and people drinking wine from a bottle (rare). We enjoyed the spectacle of amateur bullfighters and the two dumb gringo tourists who were in the rink for awhile, until... Snap! A bull blew out his right hind knee (I had a lot of sympathy for the bull, having blown out my knee before). Just like a wounded soldier, the bull still trudged on trying to complete his task walking on the leg. The announcer instantly boomed of the loud speaker to leave to bull alone while they tried to get it out of the arena. It can be a cruel sport, but the Ecuadorians are not cruel about it.
Dinner time! Connor (the previous volunteer who lived with the family) and I made burritos for the whole family. We even made guacamole which came out pretty darn good! The family enjoyed the dish; however I think we enjoyed it more since we had seconds!
After dinner it was time to head back to the square where the rodeo was held for the night’s festivities. Since we had left they had erected (hehe) a stage and the vendors (beer, liquor and food on sticks) had moved in. The opening act was a typical Hollywood equation. Big boobed singer in a skimpy outfit who can’t sing + flamboyantly gay back up dancers = money. The second act, no frills added, kicked ass. Just a bunch of guys with their instruments who know how to play them. The night went on as such, act after act, beer after beer, until my $7 dwindled to the $1 reserved for the cab home.

Slept like a baby.

July 4th, Happy birthday USA!

Woke up at 8, parade time (not for Independence day )! Stuck around ‘til 11 when the time came for me to bugger off to party with my fellow Americans. Picked up hotdog buns and ketchup to contribute to the fun. I had 30 minutes to kill before I had to meet up with my group mates to catch the bus, so I did what everyone else would. Blasted Bruce Springsteen’s “born in the USA” and Zac Brown’s “Chicken fried” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4ujS1er1r0 (copy and paste the link if you havent heard the song) and other patriotic songs in my room.
The rain did not damper the spirits when we arrived at the party (in the middle of a soccer field, but of course). However we were having a tough time getting the grill going, the charcoal (homemade) did not want to light. After several failed attempts. I asked a nice local couple if they would help us. Ten minutes later, we had full blown charcoal burning fire. They were served the first two hamburgers, naturally. Then came kick ball, which was hilarious due to mild inebriation, inadequate footwear and mud. The rule for the team in the field was you had to have a drink in hand at all times, this made fielding and catching balls very difficult. Good times. This was probably quite the spectacle for anyone who saw us. Which was luckily not too many people because we were tucked away in a small corner of an even tinnier town.
Home by 8, asleep 10 minutes later. Buenas noches!