Cantaclaro with your Canelazo with your Zhumir with your energy drink

Saturday June 8^th, 2013

In classic me fashion, I slept in really late because I really just suck at waking up early every single day, in addition to the fact that my week had finally caught up to me and all the mate and tea in the world couldn’t help me stay awake.

I’d barely had time to put pants on (no, who am I kidding, I wore a skirt) before it was already time to go out to dinner for Jessie’s birthday. At first we were thinking La Casa Lojana which is a little more upper crust. It is a hotel/restaurant area that serves sushi. We glanced over the menu and while they had a decent selection, it still seemed a little ridiculous that a California roll was going for almost $8. Ainhoa had pointed out another sushi place that seemed a little more in our price range and style—it’s called Sushi Cat. In addition to having a cute name, the way it was decorated inside was cute with koi and origami decals on the walls. I don’t even really like sushi that much, but I was sold. They even have a roll with Dorito crumbs to give it a panko effect—but hey, when you don’t have panko, you gotta improvise!

On our way out of Sushi Cat, we ran into Juan and made plans for later on. Not much later, the Juans were outside our front door ready for a booze run to Megan’s favorite place, Hipervalle. Hipervalle seems to be one of the most erratically stocked stores of all time. Some aisles are practically exploding with goods, while most others have gaping holes. Luckily their alcohol selection was sufficient and we bought two bottles of Zhumir which is basically a really strong wine cooler, coming in at 15%. Aka, the perfect beverage of choice for babies like me. Oh and I guess they mix it with energy drinks sometimes, too. Hello Four Loko…

We made a sophomoric trek to a mirador (viewpoint) of the city and enjoyed our baby booze to the sounds of Blink-182, reeeeeally making me feel like I was back in high school—but in the best way possible and hilariously aided by the fact that we were drinking legally in an illegal way. With energy drinks. It was one of those moments where you laugh at jokes you haven’t made yet with friends you’re still getting to know but you feel you’ve known for years. We debated over who partied hardest: Ecuador, Spain or Argentina with the Juans trying to get Ecuador in the lead, but Megan and I argued that because the bars are legally obligated to close around the time the Argie and Spanish bars are just getting going, they were out for the count. Argentina’s clubs made my eyes bleed. So maybe they win. Or lose…

Being watchful for the yuta, we took our final sips staring out at all the little lights of Loja and became some of them as we made our way back to town to meet up with the rest of the group at the bars. But not before I sophomorically snuck Cantaclaro in my purse…

Cantaclaro is effectively Ecuadorian moonshine. It tastes horrible and is totally unnecessary but added to our jar of canelazo it was even more ridiculous. But again, it went with our theme of legally drinking illegally. We felt as blurry as all the pictures I was taking and headed over to Juan’s house where we were trying to be quiet, but also dance to salsa music—an impossible combination. I would never say I was a good dancer and I took salsa lessons just once in high school, so I was surprised to mostly be keeping up, especially given the cantaclarelazo effect. But one by one, we started to look as dazed and bored as people who have too much money on a hot day. I finally settled into bed, already knowing that Hangover was ready to snuggle me until tomorrow afternoon…Ooooh my head…

Offroading with UTPL

Friday, June 7^th, 2013

7am rolled around and that meant it was time for our mini road trip adventure with Carlos and Verónica (2 UTPL faculty advisors) in addition to Sam, Brita, Jessie, Joa, Diana and Ana. I showed up around 7:10 thinking I was perfectly on-time-late, but we wouldn’t actually get on the road until 8 due to some car confusion. Here’s hoping like hell that the 4WD works on these trucks…

We were on our way to Tres Lagunas first, with our final stop in Oña. On the way out of town and towards our destinations, we of course enjoyed chatting as we got to know each other better. A topic of common recurrence was my accent/vocabulary, being that they are heavily influenced by my stay in Buenos Aires. #sorrynotsorry. And while Ecuador generally maintains a good relationship with Argentina, they consider it to be the least “Latin American” country of all and regard Argentines as a bit stuck-up. I guess this is partly true, especially if you’re talking about porteños, but my love of all things Argentina doesn’t stem from the fact that I think the rest of the countries in South America son una mierda; it’s because I spent so much time there, met its people, traveled to its cities and grew so much as a person. So just hold on one minute, Ecuador, because I can guarantee after 2 months here, you’re going to have a room with a view in my heart.

For example…

We made a stop in Saraguro for breakfast. My eyes were practically bleeding from how tired I was, so it was obviously time for mate. I know that probably contradicts the argument I was trying to make above that I’m not an Argie elitist, but horchata, while ridiculously delicious and a beautiful fuchsia color, just isn’t going to give me that boost. To balance out the bitter mate, however, I ordered a tree tomato smoothie. The taste was love…

But we were off again. After one mishap, we found the actual trail we needed and did some serious off-roading. Normally everything makes me carsick, so I was continually amazed that I was doing just fine. I mean, it wasn’t something I’d like to do for more than 45 minutes, but with the view and the company, it was more than tolerable. When we finally got up to the crossing, we found that of course the river was waaay too high and there was no way to cross. So we drove down the bumpy road again and decided to try on the Oña side.

As we made our way to Oña, the weather seemed to be clearing up so we had better hopes. But our hopes were dashed again when coming up from the other side we had even worse luck, not to mention that the roads were basically mud—but Veronica drove like a champion. The aquatics team braved the wet, windy páramo weather which team social science stayed in the car. I bought waterproof pants for this, but do you think I remembered to wear them? No of course not.

On our way out of town (which was a ride bumpy enough to dislodge your colon…) we saw a cow scratch its head with its hind leg. That’s probably not that interesting but I have never seen anything like that before and it’s worth remembering because it was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen despite the fact that Veronica made it seem like that was common…Our guts all jumbled up, we stopped for linner where Sam had the pleasure of ripping my trout’s head off. My insides felt great…

Nikkilude #4: Ecuadorian food specialties

I’m still learning the names of a lot of food and being a vegetarian means I’m not going know how a lot of them taste, but here are a few dishes or otherwise uniquely Ecuadorian foods that I’ve tried or noticed.

1.       Locro—this beautiful soup is a rich, creamy cheesy potato soup, usually garnished with tomatoes and avocadoes. It is delicious. You will fall in love with every bite.

2.      Horchata—stop right now thinking you already know what it is. It’s not the sweet, rich white Mexican drink you’re thinking of that Kearns sells right next to their nectar. It’s an herbal tea that is especially popular in Loja, where they are famous for it. It is slightly sweet naturally, but usually flavored with sugar and lime. It is the color of beets and is divine.

3.      Ceviche—quite frankly, I’m not really a ceviche fan because even when I did eat meat, seafood wasn’t really my thing. But that’s probably also because I don’t live directly on the coast. Essentially the seafood is still raw-rare and marinated with lime juice and garnished with a variety of things, depending on the local offerings and tradition. But ceviche comes in a lot of different forms, so it’s hard to pin it down, especially since I’m not even eating it!

4.      Cuy—this is guinea pig. For some, it’s sad and cruel because they consider the guinea pig to be a pet and therefore how could it be a local specialty?! I know I’m a vegetarian, but at the same time, I really think the line between edible and inedible animals is not only totally arbitrary but unnecessarily judgmental when used against other cultures. They’re easy to raise, small and provide a good source of protein—why wouldn’t you eat it? So chew on that the next time you think you’re taking the high road eating a good burger. And speaking of chewing, apparently the guinea pig is pretty crispy but chewy and kinda goes along the “tastes like chicken” lines.

5.      Mote—this is a puffed white corn that we call hominy. It comes in various different forms and can be served cob style or perhaps mixed with eggs. It’s ubiquitous and definitely a staple.

6.      Tree tomato—I think I might have explained these, but they are similar in texture (but not flavor) to a tomato. They are a bright yellow-orange inside and are quite tart by themselves. Mixed into a smoothie, however, they are to die for.

7.      Canelazo—again, I’ve already mentioned this, but it is a famous Ecuadorian alcoholic drink. It has naranjilla juice with cinnamon and is warmed up. It warms your tummy, especially when you drink it with friends :)

Ok that’s not too much, but that’s all for now. More to come!

Partying with the Profs

Thursday, June 6^th, 2013

The opportunity to go out to a pub with your professors doesn’t always necessarily happen that often, so when Carlos invited us out for burgers and beer, our group was more than down to get casual. While I was at first skeptical of Carbón Burger, I looked to my right and saw an advertisement for a veggie burger! Yes!! Another “eat nothing or cave” conundrum avoided. It was delicious too. I’ll be going back there soon. As an added bonus, it was only $3.50! And they don’t have French fries so I don’t have to worry about wanting them but not wanting them.

Once we stuffed our hungry little faces full of burger, we walked to El viejo minero, which is a tiny little pub with its locally produced beer, in addition to a wide variety of other drinks and spirits. I ordered la cerveza artesanal (their production) and was delighted by the taste. I didn’t really have the desire to get drunk because I knew I had to not only be awake, but ready to go by 7am. Regardless, everybody was in a sociable mood and I enjoyed hearing about Carlos’s wild adventures when he studied in Germany. Which of course involved beer…We were all getting a lot chattier, but Emma was stealing the show. She might be the only person who can get more serious than me when it comes to school work, so it was a bit of a shock to see this other side that looked like she was about ready to start dancing on her chair. This is what I love about our group—we’re all very good students and definitely earned our way on this trip with our hard work, but we’re all very sociable and up for an adventure anytime. But not in a Greek Row kind of way. These are my people. I think it’s been the first time I’ve been a part of a group and hit it off so well with everybody. To make it even better, the Juans showed up. (Not just Juan, but two! Ah that pun never gets old…).

But the best part of the night was when Megan and I came out of the bathroom and saw this funny condom poster that had all different varieties for all different personalities. They weren’t real mind you…but that didn’t stop Carlos from weighing in a bit…EPPB became relevant (Michael and Cory, I’m talking to you…) and all I could do was laugh. I might actually like going out now…

Hey look, a parade

Tuesday, June 4^th, 2013

If I had a dollar for every time I turned a corner and found something totally unexpected in “Latin America”, I’d have enough money to stay here forever. On our walk home, we turned right and encountered a huge parade gearing up for its winding journey through town. There were hundreds, if not thousands of people all celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the technical school that’s a block from my house. They had floats, alumni, buses, balloons, music and lights. We stayed and had a blast looking at all the wacky people and floats passing in front of us. People were excited to be in pictures with us and although it drove me nuts that they automatically greeted us with “hhhello hhhow ahrr you?”, they all seemed excited that there was a group of gringos celebrating with them.

That’s what I love about being here. You of course have ideas about what you need to get done in a day and how you’re going to do them, but you have to delight in all the distractions that come up along the way and take you somewhere else. Because if you don’t, you won’t enjoy any of it. It took me a long time to realize this in Argentina, but once I accepted it, I started to miss it when I had to go back home to the U.S. It continues to be a huge part of why I feel so beguiled by “Latin America”. Sometimes you turn the corner and it’s a parade, other times it’s a protest, but whatever it is, it tells you a little bit more about life here—even if it drives you half crazy. You can tune out the news, but you can’t tune out your own life, especially when it collides head on with hundreds of others’ in the same serendipitous moment. 

Bridging Gaps

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Today began with a cute little breakfast with our UTPL colleagues. As we munched on fruit, we all navigated side conversations that were a strange medley of English, Spanish and Spanglish. Since I’m probably the most fluent in our group, that naturally makes me the translator—despite the fact that I lack a lot of stupid, simple vocabulary. Not only that, but translating involves not just the vocabulary but knowing the context and phrasing. 90% of the time I find that what people are trying to say not only involves a word they don’t know, but a rephrasing too. This is interesting, because there are so many parallels between English and Spanish, yet the more I have to translate, the more I realize that direct translations are much less ubiquitous than those learning the language hope for. But despite all these intimate nuances of language, everybody is a great communicator and listener. Despite all our different language levels in either language, I don’t think anybody walks away thinking “what????”. And THAT is amazing.

After breakfast, we once again parted ways, and being that I didn’t have any lab equipment to calibrate or any high-stakes meetings, I went to the library to work on what you’re reading right now. But I did get a little bit distracted by some people watching, in the sense that people were literally watching me, and I could feel their eyes scanning me. I think humans are programmed to focus in on what is different, which is why we still struggle with things like race, gender, sexuality, etc. Especially when someone different from us emerges in our more homogenized spaces. Maybe it seems ignorant to complain about being white—but that’s not really the point. The point is that we don’t get very far when we place so much emphasis on something we can’t control. Because when I actually started talking to one of my staring fellow library-goers, we realized we were both working on personal writing…The power of language and writing wins yet again.

Nikkilude #3: The Sounds of Loja

I haven’t even been in Loja a week, but there are definitely a lot of notable lojano sounds. More to come as they invade my eardrums…

1.       That ice cream man truck sound you hear all day is actually a propane truck. Not only does the annoying 7 note song alert homeowners that they can get some propane (which fuels the city), but also alerts drivers as to the fact that they are driving near a highly flammable vehicle. Either that or it’s alerting you about the garbage man, which plays a sad sounding song that is a lojano classic. I hear them so frequently that I’m starting to think I hear them even in utter silence.

2.      El español lojano es muy fácil a entender. Lojano Spanish is really easy to understand. It’s not only a bit slower, but clearer too—sure there are times when I have to ask people to speak up or slow down, but overall I don’t feel like I’m about to go on a linguistic rollercoaster ride every time I tell somebody hello. But this also makes my Argie accent reeeeeally pronounced and some people get confused because I can’t pass for being Argentine based on how I look, but based on the bombilla I’m sucking mate out of and my accent, they don’t know whether or not to say “Hello” or “Qué tal”. 

3.      Fireworks are randomly shot off all the time, regardless of it being early morning or late night. I have no idea why or where people even buy them because they sound like pretty big ones. I have yet to actually see it in the sky though.

4.      Rain and wind are common sounds you’ll hear here, at least during the rainy season that is—which is conveniently right now! It’s not really about if it will rain, but when and what kind of rain it will be. Loja is very prone to misting too…

5.      Barking dogs. Not unlike Argentina, Ecuador is home to homeless dogs. Some are pretty mellow and have that look in their eyes that reminds you of those depressing Sarah McGloughlin pet commercials. Others are mangy and you wouldn’t want to touch them with a ten foot pole.

Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja

Monday, June 03, 2013

Today was our very first day visiting the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL). Our university has formed a partnership with them that allows us not only to work with their faculty, staff and students to do our research, but to just enjoy ourselves getting to know them on a friendly level too. As we showed up, we saw everybody waiting outside and peoples’ voices were put to a face as I finally met Veronica and Fausto who are my primary advisors. For the students, their Facebook pictures came to life. Everybody was a little bit shy and nervous and we didn’t have much time to talk, but I could feel how excited everybody was to finally get started and get to know each other.

After the brief meet and greet, we got a campus tour, starting at the campus museum which is more of a Loja museum. From there we went to the campus print press where they print not only some of their own textbooks, but notebooks and other books that are shipped within Ecuador and worldwide. It was pretty impressive. Some of these books were in the UTPL library, which instead of being organized necessarily by the good ol’ Dewey Decimal system, it simply organized by discipline so students can find books more easily. Interesting…

From there we went to some of the other facilities on campus which included a dairy processing factory, essential oil extraction area, foodstuffs testing/production facility with a few research areas in between. I have to say UTPL is top notch. It not only has these facilities, but allows students to work in them. Further, the research and output of them has a lot to do with the local community, so it’s not just contained in some obscure research lab with no results. The essential oil area, for example, is helping local communities determine more medicinal properties for these endemic plants they are extracting, but also helping them to understand them more fully. And not just so they can start exporting them and mass producing them. The dairy facility sends its products to local grocery stores, too! The possibilities seem endless.

The tour ended with a pass through the main laboratory building. Comprised of 3 stories, the building is then loaded with smaller lab rooms, each working on noteworthy projects—once again, related to relevant local issues, species and peoples. Students and faculty in white lab coats explained their research to us, and even though they explained it in impressive English, my mind was still unsure about how they were doing all of this. Expensive, shiny lab equipment adorned each room and I felt like UTPL made UI look like a dump. Not only that, but because it is more of a math/science institution, many of the students are involved with noteworthy research and worthwhile majors. Yeah, I graduated with 3 degrees in 4 years, but none of them involved looking for cancer cures…

Overall, the best part of UTPL was not its gleaming lab equipment, but the passion and dedication of its people. Maybe I wouldn’t be an ideal student here because science has always been my weak spot, but UTPL seems like one of the few highly scientific places that sees the link between these subjects and ties them to their social settings. At the end of the day, you can’t cure cancer if you don’t care about people, right?

The Farmers' Market of Dreams

Sunday, June 2, 2013

I’m a sucker for farmers’ markets because not only are they a good way to start a beautiful day, but they offer some of the best produce any various region has to offer, from the very people who so carefully cultivate it. You can get into ethical defenses of them as well, but being that the whole “organic” movement is something that doesn’t necessarily make sense down here, you can’t know for sure what exactly is happening to get that produce to the stand. But based on how everything looks and tastes, it seems to remain outside the reaches of industrial crap agriculture…

This market represented the pinnacle of stereotyped and simplified versions of “Latin American” culture—vibrant colors, exotic fruits and vegetables, low prices, haggling, everyone screaming out what they were selling in odd voices…And albeit a hackneyed idea, it was still beautiful nonetheless. In addition to being a visual treat, it was also going to be quite a treat for my palate, too. After walking down almost the whole market, we decided it would be a good time to start buying. Although I think you’re supposed to haggle, I wasn’t really sure what was considered a ripoff price because 5 apples and 2 passion fruit for $1 seems like a steal and while I once mourned being charged for 4 Macaroni and Cheese’s (when I only bought 3), I’m not really known to argue over a quarter. All in all, I got 2 cucumbers, 5 apples, 2 passion fruits, 2 bags of beans, 5 eggs, 8 tomatoes, 2 avocadoes, 6 tree tomatoes (imagine tomato texture, but tart. A national treasure), 3 carrots, 1 head of lettuce and 3 croissants for less than $7. All local. All delicious. Ecuador, you’re delicious. 

Nikkilude #2: The Traveler's Dilemma

After spending just 2 days in Quito and getting totally ripped off once for a city tour that I pretty much ended up doing on bike, I’ve decided that I’m starting to have mixed feelings not about traveling, but about being a tourist. Inherently just by stepping foot in a foreign land, you’re setting yourself up for a few rip offs and hectic, confusing moments, regardless of what you do, but those just seem a bit more unbearable when you’re rallied to and fro with tens of other people rendered temporarily unfashionable and just as confused as you, but in other languages (equally as confusing sounding sometimes). In getting to interact with a few locals in Quito, I realized that yes, you have to see the landmarks, but sometimes it’s way more fun to sit down and share a meal or a drink with somebody who’s not desperate for all the money in your wallet. They have invaluable insights about their city/country—because they live there! And they can show you their favorite places that Lonely Planet might have missed.

But wait, you say, what’s the point of going all across the globe if you’re not even going to take pictures at its greatest landmarks? That’s like going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre; going to Botswana and not going on Safari; going to China and not visiting the Great Wall—and the list goes on and on. The problem with these things is not that they’re not worth the long lines and high prices you have to pay, it’s just that you can’t help but feel like you’re not really in that place—you’re beyond that in a little international bubble. My favorite traveling moments have definitely included these things, but looking back on what stands out the most, I remember the people I met which have included fellow travelers and local peoples. OK, and I remember the food too…

That being said, does it mean I’m renouncing all tourist activity, but maybe choosing them a little more wisely. Instead of getting on a bus, maybe I’ll try a bike. Or maybe I’ll get the word out and try and get hooked up with a local person before I even arrive. Granted, on weeklong trips you have to make the most of that time, but does every day have to be devoted to museums, artifacts, history and tours? I don’t think so. At the root of everything are people and communication, so why would I squander an opportunity to meet people from other walks of life and hear their stories? Loja, being a much smaller and less touristy place (along with my having 2 months here) seems primed to be such a place, which is why I’m loving it so much already. 

Loja at Last

Saturday, June 01, 2013

Just as I was starting to feel like I was getting a bit of a feel for Quito (spending 2 days here is really just cruel…), it was time for us to make our way to Loja for our actual journey. At the ass crack of Quito’s consistent 6am dawn, we piled into a school bus, in clown car fashion barreling towards the airport some 45 minutes away.

After paying $40 in unjust baggage fees (they added 10 kilos to my bags mysteriously…), we made it to our gate and were of course unsurprised to find that for whatever reason, our flight was delayed. Somebody cited a weather problem, but looking out the window, you couldn’t really ask for a nicer day—leading me to believe that despite the dangers of the former airport that was in downtown Quito, this new one wasn’t very promising either…not to mention our rough landing.

When we finally landed, we were greeted by Ainhoa, who is actually here from the Basque country working for UTPL. She had barely finished her greeting sentence and I knew she had to be Basque, not just because of her manner of speaking (which was obviously not Ecuadorian) but by her legs. Call me weird, but I know Basque legs. Additionally, her mannerisms and bluntness stuck out to me as delightfully hilarious—again, something pronouncedly Basque.

As we wound our way into the valley where Loja sits, she explained to us a few basics of the city and told us about herself as well. I was indeed paying attention, but at the same time, I stared out the window, never feeling anything less than absolutely stunned by the Andes, which in this part aren’t even the crazy jagged peaks, but rather the immense, green hills that took me back to my time at Machu Picchu. They made me feel so small in a blissful, geographic way. The world existed before me and it will continue on after me, these mountains being a constant marker of that.

I was drawn back into reality as we approached the city and tried to rapidly assign housing situations. I was really clamoring for a host family because of my experience in Argentina with Juan and Ana, which was truly life changing. But David had explained that there might only be one host family with room for 3 people. We arrived at the first house, which they explained was the home of María Dolores. Sam, Megan and I jumped out of the bus, not wanting to face the consequences of securing a host family and were greeted by a welcoming yellow living room and immediately I knew I wanted to stay. Sure, María has 2 very young children and explained that really, she and her husband, Diego, wouldn’t be home during the day very much, but it’s 10 minutes away from the university and I didn’t want to risk it. Sam, however, looked around wondering how he was going to even fit in the bed she had open for him—not to mention the fact that the room was decorated with flowers, dancing princesses and happy little bumblebees. Codie, then, took his place. And so Megan, Codie and I became the new foreign family.

Once everyone was settled, we finally made it to lunch at a quaint little place called Mama Lola. In porteño slang, lola means tit, so I couldn’t help but have a laugh, even though I knew that’s not what the name intends to say…Though the service was slower than normal “Latin America” pace, they more than made up for that with the delicious food. As a vegetarian, the menu was easy to navigate because right off the bat, I eliminated most of the dishes. This left me with potatoes, a salad and a soup. Perhaps that sounds a little bit bland, but it was delicious and perfect. Not to mention, it all cost less than $4. In fact, for the ten of us, it was $70, including drinks and tip. I could get used to this…And even better because I’ll have to for the next 2 months.

Quito by Bicycle

Friday, May 31^st, 2013

As if our “tour” with Edisón wasn’t great enough, Mikki lined up a bike tour with her professors in the language school she attended before all of us arrived. They greeted us warmly and were so thrilled to see Mikki, you’d think she’d been here for at least a semester studying. Again, that’s what I love about being in “Latin America”. Our tour guides were just as friendly and once we were all hooked up with gear, we were off.

At first I was a bit terrified to do Quito by bike because in addition to having terrifying traffic, I hadn’t noticed a lot of bike lanes. I respect bikers on the road, but who knew about impatient city drivers and buses…But I was surprised to find that there were indeed bike lanes—sometimes just for bikes and sometimes shared with the metro bus lane (which is just for buses). While I wouldn’t say it was like biking in the Netherlands, it wasn’t nearly the fright fest I feared. We passed through the historic district of Quito yet again, meanwhile getting a few tidbits of information from our guides. After hauling for about an hour, we passed through La Ronda again for another jar of canelazo and the best nachos and fried bread I’ve ever had. Not only is it huge, deep fried and covered in sugar, but THERE’S CHEESE INSIDE!!! Ok, Ecuador, you’ve won me over. The ways in which you consume cheese are magical. Thank god you also come stock with every variety of fruits and vegetables, otherwise it could be a problem. Once again, the canelazo got me feeling happy, especially in the company of such friendly and funny quiteños. Being that it was raining, we stayed for quite a while hoping we could beat the storm, but after an hour or so, we headed back.

Passing by the cathedrals and other colonial architecture at night gave the city a glorious, illuminated sparkle. As we whizzed through the city’s many parks, and thinking back to Parque Itchimbí, I took in deep breaths of fresh air, wondering if maybe Quito* should have really been named Buenos Aires…

*Fun fact, though: Quito is an indigenous term meaning “center of the world”. Eat your heart out, China. 

Un poquito de Quito

Friday, May 31^st, 2013

So as I was saying that once you talk to people, they often treat you like a good friend or family, Edisón took us on a mini excursion through Quito to show us around without all the tourist BS (which would have been nice Thursday…haha). First we went to Itchimbí park, which sits on a nice hill overlooking all of Quito. In addition to being a great view, you can catch up on your fresh air and nature. It’s not necessarily very big, but is home to some nice jogging paths and an expo hall that sits in front of a big lawn where there are concerts and festivals. We stopped at un mirador to get a better peek of the city, which seems to extend infinitely into the valley surrounded by volcanoes. 

From here we went to other notable places around town, primarily a lot of cathedrals, which are all so beautiful inside. I’m not religious at all, but I can’t help but stand in awe of not just the architecture but the decoration inside. It’s just so intricate that you could stare at it forever and not see every detail. The only thing is, it still really bothers me that not only did they force the native inhabitants to be their construction slaves, but they didn’t even let them attend the mass in this beautiful building they constructed unless they stayed outside on the steps. This is why it’s always baffling to me to understand why Catholicism has such a huge following in “Latin America” because not only did it enact a literal and cultural genocide in favor of European, Christian norms and people, but also it justified this in the name of God, which seems to contradict the whole idea of what Christianity was based on. God loves you—unless you’re brown. This isn’t to say that if you’re Catholic that you are in support of this, but it seems like the most extreme instance of the Stockholm Syndrome to date…

Ok, now that I’ve probably thoroughly upset some people, back to the city tour…

We were stopped in La plaza de San Francisco and decided we couldn’t wait any longer for a bite to eat. It was a really touristy area, so we probably could have walked 5 blocks and gotten something just as authentic for half the price (and seriously, you need to share plates here because they are huge). I ordered a salad because despite how delicious locro (cheesy potato soup) and empanadas are, I’m sure they eventually will start to take a toll on my waistline which already suffered the consequences of a stressful semester. Not to mention my diet the entire month of May was mostly comprised of cheese anyways…But speaking of cheese, it came with Edisón’s hot chocolate. At first thinking it was perhaps the greatest, richest snack combo ever invented, I realized that it was about to get richer as he dunked the cheese cubes into the chocolate and slurped it all up in his spoon. OMG. It’s like an Argentine submarino on crack. YUM. I didn’t try any, but I’m putting it on my snack radar. Meanwhile I sipped on my mate de coca, which I think is even earthier than la yerba mate. Really, it’s like dirtleaf tea. And I mean that in the most loving way possible, because its effects and supporting culture are magical.

As if lunch wasn’t great enough, we went to La Ronda, the classic colonial style street in  Quito which was restored and preserved. The houses in this area have a cute little open area plaza in the middle, surrounded by the rest of the house. I think I need a house like this…But more than architecture, we were there to study another Ecuadorian classic: el canelazo. While I’m still not sure of what the alcohol inside is, I do know that it’s ridiculously strong. Mixed with hot naranjilla juice (think oranges, but a little bit more tart) and cinnamon, it warms the body in more ways than one. Being a baby when it comes to alcohol, I was a bit nervous and didn’t want to make that “ewww gross!” face that seizes up every time I even smell vodka. But in all honesty, I think canelazo is delicious. It slides down your throat, warming as it goes y te pones muy hhhappy, as Edisón said. While some others in the group were having a few doubts about it, I was sipping mine down pretty fast—but I had to keep in mind the high alcohol content. I can see how that would get pretty dangerous…But for now, I’ll just be hhhhappy.

With floating heads and warm hearts, we had to bid Edisón farewell. Who knows if I’ll ever get to see him again…I wish him the best in his plight to get to Portugal and am so glad to have met such a kind, funny quiteño. ¡Siempre estás bienvenido a los EEUU!

Nikkilude #1: “Latin America”

So what’s the deal with the quotation marks? I won’t post my 20 page senior thesis here (but if you really wanna read it, just drop me a message…), however I think it’s important to explain the knowledge I gained about this phrase after researching it for 6 months that changed my perspective on it. If I tell you right now to think of Latin America, you can probably visualize the basic geographic layout in your mind starting with Mexico all the way down to the “end of the world” in Argentina. You might think of Spanish-speaking people that look and dress a certain way and share a colonial history in addition to problems with drugs, corruption and violence. In a way, you are right. But on the other hand, this is a terrible simplification that continues to disservice the continent. 

The “Latin” part of “Latin America” clearly would not exist without European colonization so automatically if you’re talking about “Latin American” history, you preclude the discussion of cultures and civilizations that were there thousands of years before Europeans even knew they sail across the ocean without falling off the Earth. Cultures that in many cases still have influence and importance today—yet continue to be marginalized and glossed over. Though because of this, many postmodern “Latin America” scholars argue that if the peoples of this continent share nothing else, they do share what Gloria Anzaldúa brilliantly calls the “colonial wound”, which is the disempowering legacy created by colonization that justified the violence, marginalization, invasion and dependency in the region in the name of “progress”. The themes relevant to these issues are obvious and prevalent in many of the cultural pieces generated by peoples from this region, thus allowing us to group them together via the phrase “Latin American”. But I have a problem with this phrase because I think it glosses over the huge diversity of peoples, ideas, cultures and perspectives present, allowing us to condense it down into Spanish, dirty wars and Gabriel García Márquez. And yet despite being such a terrible name for a place, it still serves as a discursive space for any type of “Latin American” person to explore this identity—an identity of many I’s and many contradictions. “Latin America” is playing Hotel California on an Andean pan flute at the market; is colonial architecture painted bright orange; is Teatro Colón and Machu Picchu all at the same time and that’s what we love about it. I don’t know what else we would call it, but by putting it into quotation marks, it reminds me to think outside the box and dig deeper beyond stereotypes, racism and Eurocentrism. So maybe you will too. Henceforth why you see “Latin America” in this blog from now on.

For more on this topic, see Walter Mignolo’s The Idea of Latin America! Or my thesis.

La Mariscal

Thursday, May 30th, 2013

Ok so the tour ended up being a huge rip off because we were told that about half the included destinations and lunch were actually not included, but for no particular reason because we had time and we had transportation…and paid an embarrassingly high amount…but I won’t even get into that…We went to a cheesy “museum” for La mitad del mundo. It is cool that water falls straight down on the equator and that gravity gives you a little less strength. 

So the tour was mediocre, but as a group we still enjoyed ourselves and had some laughs along the way and it was fun to pass through the various parts of Quito, which is a city far too big to be tackled in a mere 2 days. 

The botched tour left me hungry to speak more Spanish and get a better feel for the city, which actually came in the form of a somewhat strange opportunity. Brita, another researcher, had plans to meet up with her German best friend’s Ecuadorian boyfriend, Edisón. So we went to one of the many bars in Plaza Foch, which is the heart of La Mariscal district. 

Edisón is a clarinet player and instructor as well. Because of his talent and the lack of adequate symphonies (there’s only 1 in Quito), he was hoping to be accepted to study in Portugal. But the process was taking a while as the immigrations officers seemed to want to find any reason to say no, or continue to give him more questions and paperwork. Despite the setbacks and exhausting nature of it all, he seemed eager and passionate to make it. It was additionally inspiring because he had people around him telling him to do something else—you know, something that makes you rich—but he decided to follow his passion. And it just might get him to Portugal! Ojalá, Edisón!

During the conversation there were 3 different dialects of Spanish going on: quiteño, porteño and aprendiendo. Obviously Edisón was our quiteño muy chévere (“cool”), zsho como la porteña y Brita putting her Spanish 201 to the test (and kicking ass, by the way). Edisón seemed to be getting a kick out of my accent and all the gestures and vocal fluctuations that come with Argentine Spanish. Obviously I am totally open and excited to learn all the new phrases and nuances of Ecuadorian Spanish, but there’s resistance on my part to totally switch over to it because Argentine Spanish just goes so well with who I am and it’s a part of me. Still, it’s always a bit awkward when I use vos, yell “¡che!” or say zsho me zshamo Nikki. But I find myself muttering “¡qué chévere!” more and more so I imagine that when I show up to Buenos Aires in August, people will be more confused as I fuse Ecuadorian, Argentine and generic classroom Spanish all together. In the meantime, it’s exhausting the number of differences there are between Argentina and Ecuador for simple vocabulary words…

Edisón also told us some funny things about el castellano quiteño. For example, they sort of do a ‘ffff’ sound at the end of sentences—“Sí, soy de Quito...fff”. And they looooooove adding the diminutive –ito/ita to every word. “Saludcito!”  So I guess for someone who is extremely hyperbolic, erring the side of GIGANTESCO or chiquitito, I quite enjoy this feature, which seems to be general to Ecuador and not just Quito, although it makes sense for them because -ito is already in the name...

As the night drew to a close, I kept thinking to myself what a great time we were having and how incredible it was that someone Brita and I hadn’t known just a few hours earlier felt like a friend we’d had for a long time. Maybe this kind of hospitality is found worldwide, especially when you speak the language…but this is something that keeps drawing me back to “Latin America” (explanation of quotation mark use will be in a future blog). This sense of intimacy and talking for hours to strangers and turning them into friends feels so organic here. So even though everybody stares at me like I’m an alien, when they actually sit and talk to me, they treat me like family.