October 13

It has been a busy past week and a half.  Lots of bits and pieces.  I haven't gotten much going with regard to my project so far, but I have some meetings on Thursday that will help get the ball rolling.

My friend Shannon and I went apartment hunting last week.  I found a beautiful coachhouse apartment in the Floresta neighborhood, but it isn´t available until the middle of November.  In the meantime, I´m living with Shannon in the fantastic apartment she found in the Parque Carolina neighborhood.  We packed our huge suitcases into a cab and headed out of the Mariscal.

I managed to open an Ecuadorian bank account last week and obtain an ATM card - no small feat.  The process went something like this:  Enter the bank, move past guards armed with shotguns.  Stand in line in front of a machine to get "un turno" (a slip with a number on it).  Turno in hand, sit in the waiting room for thirty minutes while watching turno numbers flash on tv screens along side a candid camera show.  Eventually, when your number appears on the screen, sit in front of desk #12, as directed, and hand the service attendant your passport.  Watch as the attendant frowns whilst mysteriously punching numbers and letters into a computer keyboard.  Take the memo-pad piece of paper that she has written a number on and stamped to another attendant at window #11.  Don't forget your turno slip.  Try your best to explain to attendant #11 that you are supposed to be here, that attendant #12 told you to come directly here with the stamped memo note and turno, as he points off into the abstract distance and tells you that you should be elsewhere.  Enjoy a very brief moment of satisfaction as he accepts your stamped memo note and turno slip, and then return to curious confusion as he enters many characters into a keyboard, rifles through a packed file drawer, gives you a piece of paper to sign and write your passport number on, and produces a sealed paper envelope with an ATM card inside.  Proceed to window #4, but you need to get a new turno first.  Stare in utter despair at the turno dispensing machine - What do the words mean?  What category of turno do I need now?  Return to the attendant at window #12 to learn that you don't need a new turno, just go to #4.  #4 asks you to go to #5.  #5 asks you to sign a piece of paper and write your passport number on it.  #5 writes an account number into a passbook and hands it to you.  You now have an Ecuadorian bank account.

Orientation:
We had a great two-day orientation for the Fulbright program this past weekend.  On Friday, the group of us met for the first time.  So many nice people and fascinating projects.  It was exciting to hear what everyone is working on - water treatment and waste management in the Galapagos islands, the effects of urbanization on the Afro-Ecuadorian community, folklore in indigenous river communities and how folklore relates to decisions that communities make about how to care for their waterways, why are some children more prone to roundworms than others, and many other amazing projects.  It´s a group of fourteen women and one man.

The first day we listened to a presentation by the head of the Fulbright commission in Ecuador on cultural differences between the US and Ecuador (the difference in attitudes about time is the biggie) and presentations by local professors on the political situation in Ecuador, race and racism in Ecuador, public health, and biodiversity and ecology.  Interesting stuff.  We also had lunch with a group of Ecuadorian Fulbright grantees who will be studying at American universities in the fall.  On Saturday, the group of us took a bus ride two hours outside of Quito to a private nature reserve.  We went zip-lining on six tracks through the forest and, often, through the clouds.  Incredible.  I can't wait to go back.  Afterward, we went to a nearby museum with ancient ruins of the Yumbos behind it.  There was a parade taking place on the dirt road along the way (a couple pictures are attached).

I'm starting to get more information about the film community here, and I'm really excited to be here and part of it in any small way.  I can't say enough about the independent cinema, Ocho y Medio, and yesterday I checked out a video rental club and cafe called La Liebre, which is owned by an Ecuadorian filmmaker.  The Ecuadorian film festival, Cero Latitud, starts on Friday.  

Two discoveries:
In the evenings, it seems that taxi drivers sometimes enjoy the company of their girlfriends/wives riding around with them.  Twice now I've been in cabs where the driver and his girlfriend/wife were having a conversation in the front seats, and I was happy to be a passenger and fly on the wall in the back.

Another amazing part of the day is mid-day, when school ends.  On weekdays at 12:30 on Avenue 6 de Diciembre, I find myself walking through a sea of schoolgirls in red sweaters and red-plaid skirts with knee-high socks.  They are giddy at being released from the school day, and schoolboys are nearby.  A slow moving sea.  At 12:50, Avenue 6 de Diciembre becomes blue as kids from a different school take over the space. 

First Week In Ecuador

It has been an amazing first week in Ecuador. I've met so many great people already. The green mountains in the middle of Quito are dazzling, and the color and bustle of the streets is exhilarating. I've been staying at a hostel called the Posada Del Maple on a quiet, tree-lined street. I stayed here in 2007 and it was comforting to walk into a familiar place my first night in Quito. I have an attic room with sloped ceilings and a great window looking out onto the neighborhood. Each day a different Ecuadorian couple sits on the bench across from the Posada Del Maple, kissing for hours.

My goals for this first week were to meet everyone at the Fulbright office, get in touch with friends and contacts here, and look for an apartment. I visited the Fulbright office on Tuesday and everyone there is warm and totally inspiring. As far as the other two items on my agenda go, things have been moving along very slowly and I'm having to check my rigid timeline-mindset and settle into Ecuadorian time. What's the rush?

So...I'm enjoying walking around the neighborhoods of Quito with two fellow Fulbrighters who are staying at a hostel down the street. We're doing our fair share of eating at the nearby restaurants. The food here is amazing (I don't understand why it isn't talked up more in the guidebooks). This past week, I have had fantastic Ecuadorian food and some of the best Middle Eastern food of mi vida. There is a big Lebanese population here, and I feel lucky that I can have the food I grew up with anytime I want. Quito is a paradise for vegetarians. Lots of delicious options and the produce is so flavorful. Freshly made fruit juice is the norm at restaurants and each restaurant makes half a dozen fruit juices. If I order strawberry juice, out come fresh strawberries and a blender and a few minutes later I am blissfully sipping away. Frutilla, guanabana, papaya, mmm...

Yesterday, I visited my friend Angelica and her husband. Angelica has been part of the anti-trafficking community in Ecuador for many years and I was fortunate to meet her in Quito three years ago. It was great to talk with her and hear how she's doing, plus gather more information about anti-trafficking organizations in Ecuador. I can't wait to meet my contacts at the International Organization for Migration, and I hope it will be possible to get involved with many other organizations, as well. It seems that several anti-trafficking programs lost funding over the past couple years and have only recently received new grants. Many of the people I met three years ago are no longer here.

The coup attempt/protests (depending on your point of view)
Thursday morning I decided to walk to a neighborhood I'm interested in called the Floresta. The independent movie theatre of Quito is in the Floresta and there is a restaurant that has live jazz and blues, plus a fruit market on Fridays. There is also a film school in the neighborhood. I walked around all morning and saw interesting shops and offices along the way, got my bearings a bit more. When I returned to my hostel, the two front doors behind the front gate were locked. Unusual. I buzzed and the manager, Rosa, came out. She ushered me inside saying that the police were on strike and thieves were everywhere in our neighborhood, la Mariscal. Once inside, I saw my fellow hostel-dwellers reading the news online and watching the news on TV. President Correa had gone to address a police protest about benefit cuts, and things had become heated. Tear gas was fired at Correa, Correa was rushed to a police hospital and was then unable to leave because of a violent crowd outside. A group of military personnel had closed the airports in Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca, and police had barricaded the main roads in all three cities. Nobody knew what was going to happen.

As the situation continued, our most direct threat in the Mariscal was robbery. There are always a lot of thieves out and about in la Mariscal because it is the tourist area of the city, but now they could roam freely with no police on the streets. So we hunkered down at the hostel. An Ecuadorian restaurant on the corner was one of the only businesses open and a group of us ate there behind a locked door. A private security guard from the restaurant walked us backed to the hostel. And then we continued to watch the news. Eventually Correa left the hospital and arrived at the government palace. He made a speech about everything that had happened.

It was a long day. I don't know enough about what happened or about what lead up to it to have an opinion about the situation. But it was very emotional for me, and everyone around me, to see Correa emerge at the palace and to know that the democratically elected government of Ecuador would continue running the country the next day.

On Friday and Saturday, everything felt calm in its usual frenetic activity. After being cooped up the day before, I was struck anew by the beauty of the city. It doesn't feel like the turbulence is over, though. Punishment for the opposition is looming ahead and the country is divided with regard to support for Correa. The next presidential elections aren't scheduled to take place until 2013, which feels so far in the future. Like everyone here, I'm anxiously watching to see what happens next. In the meantime...

Sunday
On Sundays, bustle gives way to quiet. There are cars, buses, and planes moving about, but much fewer of them. Chirping birds often dominate the soundscape. Most businesses are closed and the streets are docile. It's another pleasure to walk around on Sundays.

I have a copy of the Sunday El Comercio and am looking through the classified ads for apartments. Wish me luck!