Field trips still exist!!

Last Wednesday and Thursday my class of 5 students, including me, and our professor took of in a minivan to travel through the Zona Norte, or the area north of Quito. We visited an Andean music workshop where we watched a woman make Andean flutes by hand and heard an Andean band. Kind of a tourist trap, I think, but still authentic and interesting.

Next, we travelled to the city of Cotacachi. It is very well known for its leather so I bought a purse as a momento. Only $39! Also, we spoke with the director of the Casa de Las Culturas (House of Cultures) who told us about all the development programs their mayor has initiated over the past decade. The mayor is an indigenous man who studied economicsin Cuba. It is a big deal that he is mayor and indigenous because indigenous people are at the bottom of the race hierarchy here, per se, sadly. The city has programs to develop tourism, virtual schools for people to learn to read, write and use computers, music programs to record music, and videos to teach more rural citizens literacy. Also, many programs are proposed first by citizens and then supported with government money. It seemed really successful and innovative.

Then, we headed to the indigenous village of San Clemente where the Caranqui people live, half an hour outside of the city of Ibarra. I was a bit skeptical as we drove past shanty houses on a tiny dirt road. However, when we arrived, the experience was truly magical. We stayed with families in their homes, which have been fixed up to have tourists with regular bathrooms and lights. My family´s dad is the president for the year of the whole communityof 600+ people so I really lucked out with learning a ton from him while dinner was prepared. We had a delicious dinner of soup with quinoa, then chicken with beans, rice, veggies, avocado and corn kernals and a sweet, jelly-like orange something for dessert. After dinner, the mom offered for me to put on her traditional clothes to head up to a music and dance presentation. I was thrilled! They wear skirts, intricately embroidered blouses, gold bead necklaces, a ponytail wrap and slip on moccasin like shoes. They usually buy only one new outfit a year because the whole thing costs about $200. Talk about limited retail therapy! We trekked up the hill to the main meeting building while watching tons of fireflies flicker in the fields. So beautiful! When I arrived, I found the other girls in my class also dressed up and the boys had on pants made of llama fur and ponchos. We listened to music for awhile and then were persuaded to get up and try dancing with them. It was basically hopping in a circle one direction until the leader whistled and then you switched directions. Afterwards, we had an early bedtime in order to get up at 6:45am to help make tortillas for breakfast. After breakfast, more yummy fruit, we got to see how the women do borderos or embroidery by hand. Pretty tricky! Next, we went on a nature walk to learn about medicinal plants. Super amazing how much they know and how much it made me realize us Americans love drugs! Then, we heard from the leader of the tourist department of the community how the community is organized and operates. Their whole mindset is of community and sharing, so some families produce dairy products, others clothing, others host tourist, etc. and they all share with what other people lack. Although they are not Christian, it made me think of how the Bible speaks of many people having different gifts. It was truly touching to hear about and made me wish more people in the world could be so unselfish, including myself. When they want to construct a road or someone needs to build a house, they all do it together for no money and share in a huge lunch while they are working on the project. We got to experience a taste of these lunches, called minga. A wonderful experience, something truly unique!

On the way back to Quito, we stopped in Ibarra, famous for its handmade in copper tub ice cream, or helado de paila. Yummy!!

If only US universities believed in fields trips...I guess that´s why there if study abroad!