Algunos Salsas de Tomate (Or... Some Catch-Up)

I apologize for having not blogged in so long! I recently discovered that the reason for my increased school work load, is because this course I am taking is typically a ten-week Spanish course, but it is now crammed into eight-weeks, and these last few weeks is right where all the cramming has been done!
Anyway, a few weeks ago I returned from the Amazon basin, pleased with my amazing adventure, but unhappy with the hundreds of bug bites that came back with me. Four days were spent with my class and my teacher, at some very nice cabanas along the Rio Napo. We had a personal jungle guide who taught us how to break open leaves and eat the lemon flavored ants inside, hold tarantulas the size of my hand (they can sense fear, so you have to be completely calm to hold them), and made us a tarzan swings from random vines with nothing but branches and his machete. I was able to apply a bit of what I learned in Costa Rica, but it was even better in Spanish! We floated down the river, visited an indigenous Quichua village along the bank, and sped through the jungle, standing up in the back of a truck- my new favorite mode of transportation.
After the class portion of the trip, we stayed in a nearby town called Tena, and went on an amazing river rafting trip. Unfortunately, one of my classmates hurt her shoulder during a pretty ugly flip-of-the-raft, but later in the evening after a result-less hospital trip, we visited a local shaman, who nearly healed it for $5.
Last weekend we went back to the beach for our last big hurrah before our final this week. Monday was not only the Independence Day here, but also the Bicentennial, so everyone was at the beach, and we ended up coming back on Saturday to wrap up our final papers and presentations since it was so busy there. It has been pretty cool to be here for the Bicentennial- there have non-stop parties and fireworks, free artsy events and theater, and practically every house has an Ecuadorian flag out front.
Patriotism is extremely big here, even bigger than futbol fanaticism ; ) This mentality is even changing in the U.S- funny how that happens when there is a president that the people like. Last week I went to the capital and saw the “changing of the guards” a half hour ceremony that happens every Monday, where Rafael Correa comes out and waves to the people in the Plaza Grande, basically thanking them for their support, and the people shout their support for him in return with megaphones and signs, differing only from a protest in its positivity. The grand majority of the people sing along with the national songs, and when the band pauses, yell, “Que valiente, es nuestro Presidente!” I only saw two quiet indigenous people with polite signs in protest of exploiting the Ecuadoran Amazon for oil. This grand support is not only because of his socialist practices, not only because he happens to publically help the poor and unemployed more than he does the media and the banks, but also because Correa tries to make himself one of the people, which is seen as a refreshing change form the typical dictatorship practices of many South American leaders. He is indigenous, and is seen more often wearing an indigenous embroidered white shirt and sport coat than he is in a suit and tie. He visits a different Ecuadorian town or village every week and holds a sort of town hall with the people, very similarly to what U.S. presidential candidates do only while they’re campaigning. In general, he seems to have made some pretty good changes around here, though sometimes I wonder how he is able to change policy and be seen among the people at least twice a week. I think the answer simply lies in the size and simplicity of this country. After all, on the news, where we may see a clip of an expert in the U.S., in Ecuador, the expert is always a sit-down guest on the news. One of my guest lecturers at CIMAS is on the news regularly for his political commentaries and teaches at two universities here in Quito. Sometimes I see this culture as slow and laidback, and other times it seems extremely productive.
That may be my only complaint about my Spanish program through CIMAS- sometimes we have work jammed at us at the last minute with unrealistic deadlines, and other times it seems like so much time is being wasted. Though I have learned a great deal, this Ecuadorian concept of time is something that I am still, even after two months of being here, struggling to get used to.
Fortunately, I have three more days of classes and finals, and then get to enjoy my real summer! I have six weeks before my next program in Conservation Ecology starts, where I’ll be traveling through Peru, Venezuela and Colombia. During this time, I will do my best to b og, but imagineÿthat I won’t be too worried about getting to Internet cafes, when the wonders of South America are waiting for me. Please do feel free to email though, and I will do my best to get back to you in a timely matter- or at least according to South American time ☺. Muchos abrazos!