Libraries, Archives, and Coffee Shops

Lest you think my life here is just one big party, I’d better write about something else, like libraries, archives, and coffee shops. Bear with me here. I've been trying to post this for a week, but my computer has had other ideas...

Sometimes, you wait patiently for the right bus for 20 minutes, only to find out that it wasn’t the right bus and actually took you 30 minutes out of your way (you might’ve seen my Facebook post about that).

Sometimes, you get into a music war with the teenager living next door who feels the need to play the same song on repeat for 3 hours straight (literally, my first day in Otavalo) or turn his bass up so high that everything in my room vibrates. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m not a fan of party walls!! Acres and acres are looking better by the minute. Thankfully, he seems to only be around on the weekends.

Sometimes, you come down with a cold/sinus infection that at home would be nothing, but here because of the altitude really throws you for a loop. [Hence, my not writing for so long.] Thank goodness I was a swimmer growing up and learned that oxygen is overrated. Don't believe me? One of my favorite t-shirts had that exact saying. ;)

Sometimes, 5 weeks go by and you still haven’t been able to access a single archives for various reasons outside your control, despite trying repeatedly and really needing to look at some original documents to help make your argument with your research, and did I mention it’s super frustrating to keep being turned away? Good thing grad school has taught me a thing or two about rejection (that’s a conversation for another day…in person…).

But sometimes those crummy things can lead to some good things. Like going for ice cream with your host mom because you weren’t feeling up to doing your research (because of the aforementioned cold/sinus infection). Or like visiting with friends over a warm cup of coffee because the cold and wind outside made you feel yucky. Or like experiencing Ecuadorian libraries for the first time.

You may or may not know this about me, but I love libraries and coffee shops. I could live in them (and at times while at UK, I think it probably seemed like I was trying to do just that. More than once, I did proposed we tour as many coffee shops as possible in Lexington)! I love the smells. I love the shared sense of people working away. I love being surrounded by books and quiet – or the dull murmur of conversations, in the case of coffee shops. You might say I view libraries and coffee shops as my sanctuaries. Even here, I relish the days I get to visit coffee shops and often use those visits as little rewards to myself for working hard. So when Cristina proposed to take me to the local library to see if they had anything in the way of archives that might help me, I was kind of excited.

For your viewing pleasure, here are a couple of my favorite coffee shops. The picture on the left is in San Antonio. The cafe has this cool tree sculpture and mood lighting perfect for gabbing with friends or writing the next great Ecuadorian novel. The other two photos are from a cafe in Otavalo that overlooks the Plaza de Ponchos (aka, my office that's better than yours). Technically, the basement level holds a bar, the coffee shop is on the second level, and a super cool store called Etnia Gallery is on the third story. I can't remember if I already wrote about the shop, but I'm in love! The owners (who are artisans themselves) feature the work of different local artisans who hand-make items from natural materials. Their products are often a fusion of Ecuador and Europe, meaning I've never seen anything like what they have anywhere else. Best of all, the owners are the nicest people, and we became friends on my first visit! I love hanging out in their shop with a cup of coffee, enjoying the view of the Plaza below. Seriously, check them out on Facebook (Etnia Gallery) or their website http://www.etniagallery.com/ (it doesn't have much right now, but you'll be able to shop there, soon).

Silly me, thinking libraries here would be the same. Nope. They are often part of cultural centers, and as such, serve community centers/entertainment hubs. It’s perfectly normal for people to carry on conversations at full voice, for kids to run around screaming and playing, for high school couples to make out while “studying,” and for choirs/music/dance groups to use one of the rooms to practice. Heck, at another library/archives, the librarian herself was playing music on her computer louder than I tend to play music in my own room. There certainly were no librarians shushing patrons or asking them to settle down. It was interesting to take in, but the novelty quickly wore off as I tried to read texts in my second language – a task made infinitely more difficult by the distractions around me. Thank goodness I have noise canceling headphones – that will certainly be used next time I venture into a library here!

 A grad student's work is never done. Here's some of my reading. The poor librarian felt so badly that she didn't have the resources I actually needed and just started bringing me random books on anthropology. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I have a 30 page bibliography already, but thankfully, I was able to politely convince her that don't need more general anthropology books...

At what we might call a Community Center, there were all kinds of fun sculptures, murals, and artwork decorating the central outdoor space that was flanked by buildings (including the library).

I've got to hand it to them, their libraries have interesting architecture and really take advantage of natural light, but the noise thing is tough to get used to.