Good afternoon! Here’s the latest:

On Thursday afternoon, two of my friends from Yunguilla came to Quito and I went with them to set-up Yunguilla’s stand at Quito’s Ecoferia (eco-fair). We made dinner back at my apartment and then went out to Quito’s touristy district, La Mariscal, for the night. While I normally think Bungalow 6, one of the more popular clubs in La Mariscal, plays too much American music, this night, they seemed to play a perfect mix of popular American and Ecuadorian songs and we had a great time dancing and drinking delicious mojitos.

The view from my terrace on a gorgeously sunny day. And yes, that's part of a volcano (Pichincha).

 

I went back to the convention center on Friday afternoon to visit the eco-fair and help out with Yunguilla’s stand. We attended the fair’s official inauguration ceremony that evening, and afterwards, Galindo introduced me to his friend who sat on the panel we had just watched, who is an advisor at Ecuador’s national planning and development office. I was super excited because I’d begun to read that office’s national development plan for el buen vivir 2009-2013 and she was one of the authors of that document and had been an advisor at the conference when they wrote the Constitution! We arranged to meet-up on Sunday, which I’ll get to in a little bit…

I wasn't the tallest one at the eco-fair! ;)

My two friends and I went out again on Friday night and met up with one of the teachers from Yunguilla. Not as much fun as Thursday night, but I had a delicious chicken and spinach calzone for dinner, so I was happy!

I stayed in for most of the day on Saturday and attempted to clean the apartment. There was surprisingly a non-dubbed English movie on TV at night, “Love Comes Softly”, starring Katherine Heigl. The reason you haven’t heard of it – it’s a 2003 Christian drama Hallmark Channel movie. I tuned in about halfway through, but at the end (when it was getting good!), the movie started skipping. How does a movie on TV skip? Well, here in Ecuador, apparently the TV channels play movies via a DVD player and are somehow broadcast for all to see. I kid you not, at the end of the movie, you could tell that someone had pressed the stop button because there it was in the top right-hand corner of the screen!

Yesterday I did a little bit of shopping at a mall that puts some US malls to shame – they even have a Dunkin’ Donuts! Clothes here are ridiculously expensive – there are literally organized excursions to Miami that people here in Ecuador can take to go shopping because things are so much cheaper in the States! (Of course, there is only a small percentage of the Ecuadorian population that can afford to do this, but nonetheless…) I then walked across the street to Carolina Park, which on Sunday afternoons is full of people playing soccer, using paddleboats and having picnics with their families. There was another mini-environmental fair with a concert stage, so I checked that out and then went back over to the eco-fair at the convention center (also located in the park). I met up with the woman Galindo introduced me to on Friday evening, and we toured the fair with her friends, who all work for various governmental offices and NGOs. I had a great time getting to explore the fair in more depth, as there were booths from small communities like Yunguilla, but also booths about municipal projects in Quito (we got to learn all about the water purification system here, although I’m still not convinced that I, as a foreigner with a weak stomach, can drink the tap water) and from private sector companies that manufacture green cleaning products, green roofs, etc. Quito is installing a bike-share program (although it appears to be nowhere close to as accessible as Capital Bikeshare in DC), so we also got to ride some bikes around the top level of the convention center! 

Photography exhibit in Carolina Park about the devastation caused by oil extraction in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Chevron -- Clean-up the Amazon

The highlight of the afternoon, however, was getting to ask these women questions about el buen vivir. Their answers and opinions gave me lots to think about (they were of the opinion that not all Ecuadorians are even aware of el buen vivir and one blatantly stated that she did not feel like she was living el buen vivir because of security issues in Quito), and I’m excited to hopefully keep in touch because I know they’ll continue to be helpful in my research. We went out for pizza after visiting the fair, and I was reminded of one of the main reasons why I love this country – the people are so friendly and kind!

Quito Bikeshare at the eco-fair

If you’re reading this from the States, I apologize for the awfully hot (and in the case of DC, stormy) weather you’ve been experiencing! The highs since I’ve been here have usually been in the mid-60s, although if it’s sunny, it can feel a bit warmer (and you get sunburnt in 2 minutes). It gets pretty chilly at night (mid-40s-50s), and I wear a sweatshirt to bed because there’s no heat, but I guess I shouldn’t complain because I think it’s definitely better than 100 degree heat! I’m sure I’ll get my share of hot weather when I’m back in Indiana for 3 weeks in August, though.

Paddle boats in Carolina Park

This weekend was at times full of cultural differences, and I struggled not to get upset when I felt like my friends were being close-minded or not doing things the way that I felt like they should be done. I know that this is all part of living in a different country with a different culture, but it still takes some getting used to. I have a busy, but exciting, week of lectures, debates and film screenings at FLACSO ahead. The deadline for my mid-summer report is also approaching, so I have some writing to do as well. Hope everyone is well! Chao! -Maggie

Llapingachos, a fried egg, rice & Fiora Vanti apple soda -- a deliciously Ecuadorian meal!