Encounters in Ecuador: Stories from my "Other Country"

Aka the day I learned a TON about both ancient and current production methods. This day alone makes my research feel worthwhile. I went with one of my contacts up the mountain behind her house in search of an “huso,” or spindle. I originally misunderstood, and thought we were going to a location that sold them; but no, we were going in search of a plant so we could collect the proper stick. I learned that the “ancient spindle” is actually a stick from the sicsi plant. The actual plant itself is a large, thin grass-like plant, but the sticks on which the flowers grow are the important part. I never received an answer why only sticks from the sicsi plant were used, rather than sticks from other plants/trees. I suspect that it has to do with the sicsi sticks being naturally smooth (and thus, they wouldn’t snag the yarn or cause debris to enter the yarn), but I’ll have to do some more digging. The research never ends. After returning with the stick, I still wasn’t convinced w...

On Thursday, 9/14, I went with Fanny and 5 of her college friends (who are all retired teachers) to Intag. I had done a little research ahead of time and found that Intag is a semi-tropical region in the Andes. It's famous for its hot springs, cloud forest (which we drove through), plantations, and community resistance. This region is also home to the Andean Bear, also called the Spectacled Bear. Everyone I told I was going to visit Intag brought up the bears, making it sound like they were ubiquitous; they even joked about me being eaten by a bear (though I wasn't too worried. I used to being teased). Although there is a reserve for these bears, the closest I've come to seeing them was this mural in Itag and this statue in Cuicocha. "One result of the environmental conflict is that Intag's communities have organized a remarkable variety of economic alternatives that support their fragile ecosystem as well as their rural livelihood. Visitors can experience ...

I know, I know, it's been forever, but we haven't had power (and therefore, internet) for 2 days. I'm working on getting caught up on everything . On September 7, I moved from the Echeverrias' to Fanny's to spend time with both of my Ecuadorian families. Fanny graciously picked me up so I didn't have to navigate the bus or spring for a cab with all of my luggage. I packed hastily, knowing I'd be unpacking it all later that day, but in doing so, I didn't make very good use of space. I freaked out a bit and bought a duffle bag for my trip home. Later (in my quest to find my bathing suit for our trip to Intag...but that's another story. Stay tuned!), I resituated things and found I have plenty of space. I guess that means more space for gifts :) Earlier that Thursday, I took Cristina and her friend Monica to the Plaza to be their shopping guide. Of course, all the vendors who don't know me thought it was the opposite. It's quite common here ...

I've talked about the Plaza de Ponchos in a lot of my posts because I spend a great deal of time there. It's an incredible market, so I wanted to dedicate an entire post to its history and what to expect if you visit the Plaza. (Ok, so it's one of my favorite places on Earth, and maybe I just wanted an excuse to write about it, but just go with it.) The view from above of Plaza de Ponchos in Otavalo shows how large  and crowded the market is. Source: www.otavalomarket-ecuador.com There are vendors in the Plaza de Ponchos every day of the week, but the biggest days (with the most people) are Wednesday and Saturday. The Saturday Otavalan market in the Plaza de Ponchos is famous worldwide. Tourists visiting Ecuador generally make a point to visit this market; tour guides nearly always bring their groups to the Plaza de Ponchos. It's not uncommon to hear loudspeaker announcements telling tour groups to return to such and such a bus by a certain time.  Becau...

Well, I'm officially a movie star. Or, perhaps more accurately, I've had my film debut (beyond UPB promos -- pun intended). It's only a matter of time before Hollywood comes calling! I suppose I should explain. On Saturday, I was at my friend's stall on the street when a man walked by and asked if I was from here (all of this was in Spanish). I thought it odd because my friend was clearly the vendor, so I told him no, but this was her stall and she could help him. He said no, he wanted to talk to me and not her, and again asked where I was from. He was excited when I told him the US and asked if I could speak English. Yes of course. "Great! I'm filming a movie here in the Plaza and I need people who can speak English. Would you please help me and be in it?" To prove he was legit, he showed me the logo/title of the movie and told me his first film had won an award in Argentina. At first, I had an easy out because he wanted to film ...

The Yamor Festival celebrates corn, and specifically, the chicha made from 7 varieties of corn (called Yamor). (I know I'm super behind in blog posts, but bear with me.) For a little more history: "The  Yamor festivities  started 52 years ago when the intercultural peoples of Otavalo blended the celebration of  Koya Raymi  (the ritual of the moon and the sun as elements of fertility) with Catholic traditions. The Municipality of Otavalo then officially instituted the Yamor festivities. The word “Yamor” refers to a traditional beverage, which is brewed using seven varieties of corn and is unique to this area. This beverage flows freely during the festivities. The indigenous groups of Kichwa Cayambi and Kichwa Otavalo that live in the Otavalo area honour the Andean agricultural cycle and especially corn, which is considered to be a symbol of fertility. Corn is the staple crop grown in the area and has become a central symbol in the cultural and religious  festiv...

OHMYLANTA!! Today, I met one of the people I cite in practically all of my work, and I’m still freaking out, hours later. That would be like a normal person meeting their favorite actor. I tried to play it cool, but my collaborators told me that I most definitely failed. I told them they could make fun of me all they wanted because today was The. Best. Day. Ever. in Ecuador (even better than the llamas! I know, I didn’t think it was possible either, but then I met a rock star of sociology on Ecuador, and I don’t want to jinx myself, but today was amazeballs)! I’m writing a play by play here because I want proof that this was real life. I was hanging out with some of my contacts (it’s a very important method in anthropology; I could teach you, but I’d have to charge), when two men who appeared to be from the US (I like to play this game in which I try to guess where foreigners are from; I’m slowly becoming an expert at determining nationality based on comportment and vestment) and ...

When I went to the English working group with Blady, some of the folks from the US suggested I visit  Peguche Wasi Gallery/Workshop/Artisan Center , a new museum in Peguche. I tried to visit on 8/22, but by the time I got back from visiting with some of my collaborators, they were closing. I finally made it to visit last Tuesday.  First, Marina (co-owner) greeted me and gave me a quick tour, but she was in the middle of cooking lunch, so she didn’t have a lot of time. She then left me with Jose Conejo, who demonstrated the different weaving techniques out back and walked around the store with me. Thankfully, he was patient with all of my questions and encouraged me to take lots of photos (like I need to be told twice! I will, however, need to go back when my camera battery is fully charged).  Then, Jose Farinango Lema (the co-owner) showed up, and he went back over some of the information his wife had shared and took the time to talk more with me. He explained th...