Tsachilas

     We get every weekend off work and a couple of weekends ago some volunteers and I went to visit Santo Domingo. It's a city with about 225,000 people, and the ingenious group Tsachilas. We wanted to visit their main community and see their museum. We started off getting a little lost, but we found a great Tsachilan community that was happy to teach us about their culture. 
     While we were there we got a cleansing from a Shaman, who happened to be a woman. Normally, shaman are men but this Tsachilan woman told us her story. She explained how her brothers were not interested in learning and becoming a shaman like their father, so the dad taught her how to be a shaman. This upset many in her community, but she still practices as she was taught. I've never experienced a "spiritual cleanse" like this before. It was interesting; she had me hold a heavy stone in my left hand in my lap, and she whistled a tune. I asked her what the tune was for and she explained it was the voices of nature singing. The shaman was very interesting and I'm happy to have met her.
     This lady also told us about her life with an abusive husband and two children. She is now running the museum with her children and trying to preserve her culture by providing guided tours around her property. Her story is incredible, and she is a strong figure for women and Tsachilas. 
     During this day trip, we got stuck in Santo Domingo because of the rainy weather. (The road to the nature reserve closes often because the rain has been causing landslides.) The shaman said we could stay the night with her and she'll serve us dinner and breakfast. Our dinner was a piece of chicken wrapped in banana leaves with lime and wild cilantro cooked over a fire, served with plantain and rice. We ate the savory meal by the fire in the dark and she told us the legends of the Tsachilan rain god, moon god, and sun god. She then gave us Tsachilan names. She named me Quimi. It means hummingbird in their language. She said she chose this name for me because like a hummingbird I seem delicate and flighty, but these are not weak qualities. She said the hummingbird provides balance and harmony in nature and without them the flowers would die. 
     Speaking of hummingbirds and nature, I've been seeing these little creatures all over the place! I love the nature here, and I'm trying to soak up as much as I can before I leave. 

These lines on the arms and legs are supposed to symbolize protection.

This is the table the shaman had set up for our cleanses, and these are the items she used.

    

There are so many things I could add about the Tsachilas, but I don't think I can fit it into a whole post. Please feel free to ask questions! I wrote down notes during our talks about the legends and their culture; I'm happy to share! Alright Quimi out. Goodnight.

Hugs. Chao. 

     

Keeping Up

           By now I’ve finished my classes, and I’ve been doing a month long internship in a reserve 2 hours southwest from Quito. It’s in a beautiful cloud forest, and it has rained almost every day since I’ve been here. The hardest part of living here is trying to stay dry from sweat or rain. We are learning so much about how to organically farm coffee, grass to feed cows, sugarcane, and a handful of vegetables. I enjoy picking lettuce for lunch, and taking care of the cows. This week we are starting to learn how to ferment sugarcane, salt, grasses, and alfalfa for the cows. We also have chickens and horses, but I mostly clear trails with a machete and work with the cafe trees.

            The reserve sits further and higher up into the mountains than the pueblo by the road, and the locals from there are very sweet. The kids are never shy and they always want to know what we’re up to. We were repainting a sign for the reserve and we invited them to join. They were so happy to hang out with new friends that they showed us a waterfall 20 minutes down the road. Ecuador is such a beautiful country; I’m happy to experience the nature out here. 

hugs. chao.

Cooking Class and Anti-Presidential Protest

I’m not sure how well empanadas and anti-government chants go together, but La Acadamia offers cooking classes every Thursday—which happened to be right before a huge protest in downtown Quito. Of course I had to go check out all the commotion. I only stood by as an observer, but the energy of the protest was strong. There were medical students, mechanics, small business owners, feminist groups, young and old all marching through the streets. I felt this was an interesting part of Ecuadorian history, and I wanted to take photos. From my understanding, many people are not happy with President Correa. He has been increasing the taxes on imported products making electronics and clothes extremely expensive here. Many people from Ecuador take weekend trips to Columbia to buy their school clothes or iPhones. Politics interests me, but only to an extent; however, I’m happy to have had this political experience.

Now let’s talk about food. Cooking classes at La Acadamia are optional, and every Thursday you bet I was there. For the first cooking class we learned how to make Locro de Papas. It’s a creamy soup made with potatoes, cheese, and garlic. Serve it up with some slices of avocados, tomatoes, onion, and platano, and you have one of the best dishes in Ecuador.

In another class we made empanadas. These were also quite simple, and they are traditionally served with hot chocolate. Although it sounds boring, it’s not. They throw a few chunks of white cheese into the hot chocolate, stir it up as it melts, and drink it as is. At first I found this combination a little strange, but it was really tasty. 

All in all, things have been going really well here. I’m feeling like a part of the community, and I don’t feel so new and lost. I enjoy being able to navigate the bus system and not feel intimidated by greedy taxi drivers. I also feel a strong improvement in my Spanish. The other day somebody asked me if I am from Venezuela. I can’t believe this study abroad experience will be coming to a close soon.

Hugs. Chao.