the return
so what did i do in saraguro? this entry will be for the 1st week and a half i was there...
i worked a little bit with la Fundación Kawsay, which you can check out at www.kawsay.org. the first part of the week i went around with a woman named Lorjia, who works with disabled people. so to explain a little, there is the town of Saraguro and then around it are different communities of campesinos (mestizos, mixed, farming people) and indigenous people. right now the foundation works with 5 representives in these communities who either work in the daycare with children with disabilities, or with teenagers, or visiting older people. they help in all kinds of areas, methods for helping language disabilities, down´s syndrome, etc. so Lorjia was going out for visits to these communities and i just sort of tagged along. which was awesome for me to see. one that sticks in my head was an older guy, around 75 years old who we went to see, and all these people live out in the country in the middle of absolutely beautiful nowhere. anyway he only spoke kichwa and so we sat there with the representative, who talked to him in kichwa, while he was weaving a fan for the fire, and surrounded by chickens. apparently he once had up to 200 chickens roaming around his house. i loved seeing a different world than the one i know.
turns out i love that world and i would gladly drop everything, buy a farm in saraguro, and live off the land. and find a husband.
the other work i did involved translating tourism packets. pretty straightforward.
during this time i stayed with 3 different families in 2 communities and loved them all. i learned about their food, their family life, their work, etc. i had a fantastic talk with one of the fathers. in order to start conversation, i just asked him if the majority of the people in the community were catholic and he ended up telling me his entire philosophy and how this indigenous community is trying to recover their andean roots, mentality, and religion and moving away from the catholocism implanted by the spaniards. and this is one of the reasons i love it so much, because the andean philosophy is deeply connected to the earth, because it gives them life, and therefore a deep respect of everything that is living, and everything IS living. and this is something i really connect to, sustainable living, respect for the earth and people, and is something that really isn´t present in the united states. or not widespread. and i´m not saying it´s widespread in ecuador, by no means, just that i listened to this man and almost cried because what he said was so beautiful.
so that´s a little of my experience in this week and a half.
Saraguro
i´d thought i´d give a quick update since i´ll be out of touch for another week in Saraguro.
however, i´m not sure what else to tell...my mom left for her galapogos trip after a short visit in cuenca. it was nice to be around someone familiar, someone who knows me.
tomorrow i leave for saraguro. i feel so lucky, blessed, fortunate, that i get to spend another week there. why do i love it so?
1. it is less touched by North American culture. Unlike Cuenca, it is more Ecuador and less United States.
2. to me, the people (the indigenous people specifically) are so beautiful. i could stare at these people all day. i feel like i have a crush on an entire population.
3. i really feel like these people´s worldview is more profound that what i see in the states. they respect the earth, they respect eachother, and they value the sun, the earth, their animals, their families, etc.
4. they´re so nice. might sound lame, but i just feel so welcome and comfortable around them. they´re fantastic.
this all refers to the indigenous culture of Saraguro. i really want this culture to be maintained and i want other people to know this culture. do i sniff a future here? perhaps. perhaps. we shall see.
so i´m a week more in Saraguro. then my program starts, which i hear is stressful and intense. can´t wait.
love to all
ps i love being a country that loves futbol
adventures
i´m back in cuenca. i´m sure for those of you who actually check my blog have given up by now since i´ve been completely out of sight and out of mind, maybe, but anyway here´s a quick update even i´m still all over the place until my other program starts june 26.
my mom has arrived safe and sound here in cuenca and we are visiting around.
i am in love. still with saraguro. for those of you who know me well enough, the best way to explain is that i love saraguro like i love greece.
so. with the group from ohio we left for the amazon, then to quito for a day, then mindo, then otavalo, then back to quito, from where everybody left. it was all interesting and beautiful, but a little rough with all of us traveling around together. i had an especially hard time, just being in the middle of things and not taking sides and just wanting everyone to get along. but anyway it was a good time, and i was sad to say goodbye to my fellow companions from cuenca-land. then i was off with 3 others to peru. only for 2 days. it was beautiful and nice but left with a terrible impression after being robbed quite willingly by 3 men who took advantange of me because i was alone, a woman, and a foreigner. anyway i´ve forgotten about it. just never cross the border again.
then i went to my beautiful saraguro. this i´ll have to explain in a separate entry. but i spent over a week there working through a Foundation, getting to know what they do and the projects they have. i fell in love with every indigenous Saraguro. unfortunately, they´re all married. i think i just have to meet some younger ones. so in another entry i´ll explain what i did and why the culture is beautiful and why i want to live there forever.
so i´m here in cuenca for a few days. and then off to saraguro again!!!!!! i´m so excited that i have the opportunity to return because next week is Inti Raymi, festival of the sun, and it´s a huge deal and it´s going to be fantastic. i can´t wait. and then, sigh, i return to cuenca and the busy stressful city life.
until then, regards, too bad the US was shamed but go Ecuador!!!!! ¡¡viva el futbol!
much love
