Chimborazo, Ecuador

The last time we wrote we were wrapping up our activities in Cuenca, saying goodbye to friends and trying to take advantage of every last minute there. Which included an over night trip in the National Park close to the city. This was, well, an interesting experience. One full of rain and cold, and not many birds (which is why we went), but the experience was a good reminder of not trying to do everything and now we laugh every time one of us mentions the word Cajas. I am sure it is nice there, sometimes….I think.
That being said we have really had a crazy week. We moved out of our lovely apartment Thursday morning and landed in a new town by 7 that night. Riobamba was the place we were hoping to meet up with Wiliber, a Just Us!/Jambi Kiwa friends when I worked there a couple summers ago, but because of carnival (which needs to be a whole other blog post) and schedules we ended up on our own on Friday. So we decided to take a chance and see if we could stand at 5000 metres on Ecuador’s largest mountain (the top also being the furthest point from the centre of the Earth), Chimborazo. We decided not to go the usually tourist route, which is a $35 taxi ride to the first refugee camp. So we hopped on a very busy public bus for $4 and headed to the hill. We were dropped off at the entrence of the park, although it felt more like another planet, as clouds brushed the barren ground. We eventually found the path to the park and meet the park wardens in their car, probably wondering what we were doing on our own. Anyway, to make a long story short, these two fellows decided to drive us up to the first refugee camp, pick us up an an houre and a half later and then drive us back to Riobamba, since that would be the time there shift was over. Needless to say we took them out for dinner and were completely thankful for their generosity. Wonderful people.
So a day of unknown turned into a wonderful day of snow (which we both loved, and really appreciated, I guess we are four season folks deep down), new friends and once again another adventure!

Riobamba, Ecuador

We stayed at the following hotel while visiting Riobamba during the night of January 31. It was painted bright green and pink on the outside (as you can see) and was very hard to miss. The hotel is located one block from the Riobamba Train Station, where the infamous trainride for El Nariz del Diablo (the Devil's Nose) departs.

Hotel Tren Dorado

Carabobo 22-35 and 10 de Agosto.

Riobamba, Ecuador

tel. 593.3.296.4890

fax. 593.3.296.4890

htrendorado@hotmail.com

Hasta Luego

I knew this was going to happen, I would get so wrapped up in activities here that our month would fly by and all of a sudden, I would have to figure out away to leave gracefully from my different schools and say goodbye to all the wonderful students I had the privilege of getting to know.

I decided to wrap up both my Spanish lessons and my volunteer position at San Jose this past week, and my CEDEI English class this Monday, as Phil and I need some time to visit both people and places here in Cuenca. As well, we need time to plan our next few adventures (some of which include Riobamba in the North, the Galapagos and a road trip down to Argentina!!).

On the left is a picture of the painting class/workshop were I spent most of my time at San Jose. Saying goodbye last week was bitter sweet. At one point, lines from my thesis were flying through my head as a small trauma was caused when saying goodbye to my good friend, German (in the blue plaid). German, generally, would sit next to me when we were painting and help me understand the conversation or at least try to make me feel a part of it, as I struggled to understand all the Spanish words flying around the active classroom. His warm hug in the morning (don’t worry my fellow teachers, a hug and a kiss is not only customary in this school among all staff and students but pretty much everyone you greet here in Cuenca!!), his understanding smile and our communal laughs over mixing paint colours or whatever will always be appreciated and remembered. Needless to say (and my thesis will confirm this) that the school and experience had a far greater impact on me then I probably did on them, but friendships are real and lasting and I can only feel grateful for the opportunity to get to know German, his fellow classmates (who are all individually amazing, and I could write so much more, but will not bore you at this time with the stories) and their professors in our paint workshop.

I know that Phil and I will stay in contact with our Spanish teacher, Julia, who has been an integral part of our time in Cuenca. Our English lessons with the children in her campo (country) community have also finished. We were able to fit in three classes with them, and Julia and I are looking for a teacher to take over next week. And finally, I will be able to wrap up my CEDEI class a little early when their replacement teacher joins me on Monday for the class/party (after a small quiz- I know, how nice). Here is a picture of a few of my students working on a (fun) reading assignment in the courtyard of the school.

Although our goodbyes have and will be hard as we leave this wonderful city, we have been so lucky to integrate ourselves in different facets of the community. And I really believe that it is not goodbye, but Hasta Luego.

Guitar Fabrication - Complete

On Friday, January 18, I finished building my guitar with Luis Uyaguari. It was an amazing feeling to put the strings on to the guitar and to listen to its first sounds. The guitar is a perfect souvenir to help me remember my time here in Cuenca. The sounds that it makes are full and bright, rich and clean, very warm and strong. This is a beautiful instrument. Mary and I are both excited to have it accompany us during the remainder of our trip and we laugh a little about how it will be transported from town to town. That Friday night when the guitar was finished, Luis and his family invited us over for dinner to celebrate. Uncles, aunts, grandmothers, daughters, nephews, mums, dads, kids, and friends were all there - all of the characters in this guitar making tale. It was a great way to compliment this unique experience. We drank wine and ate an extraordinarily large meal (Mary and I could barely move afterwards) and we all played music late into the evening. I will be visiting Luis randomly throughout our remaining time in Cuenca. I will also be creating a website for him to promote his beautiful guitars to a larger audience. We will remain good friends and both look forward to seeing each other in the future.

Weekend in the Campo

This weekend was the first time that we left the city since arriving in Cuenca on December 1st. On Saturday morning, Mary and I walked to meet Julia (Mary's teacher) and her husband at their house. We had made arrangements to visit their country home and drove for about 20 minutes outside of the city. When we arrived, we were reminded of how much we enjoy the fresh breeze and the calm sounds of the country. Their property was full of gardens and animals, trees and hills. We had a short breakfast (grilled plantains with ground peanuts and corn - costal dish) and we made our way to a small church to visit some children. We had purchased a few school supplies before leaving Cuenca (scissors, paper, markers, glue, etc) to donate during our visit. It was funny when we arrived, we were introduced to a group of parents as the english teachers from Canada and were shown to a small room in the community centre with 15 kids from the local area. The doors closed behind us, the kids stared at us, the two of us looked at each other with big smiles, realizing that we had to put together a lesson plan immediately. We spent 3 hours teaching these children english. We played a variety of games and sang songs; we left feeling very content with our impromtu teaching skills. We spent the rest of the afternoon with Julia and her husband, eating barbeque, listening to music, trading magic tricks and playing futball with some kids. We got a ride back to Cuenca with friend from the country home. That night we enjoyed a lovely dinner with Bob and Dorene from Canada.

This morning (Sunday) we woke up and went to the country home of Luis (my guitar maker) with his wife and son. Luis is from a small town about 40 km outside of Cuenca in a place called San Bartolome. It is a well-known village for guitar fabrication in Ecuador. There are 10 or 12 active guitar makers there. We visited the home where the family tradition began and wandered through the hills to a small farm where a family lived. We had brought some clothes and food. The 27 year-old woman had just had her 5th baby two days ago. The family was very pleasant and I was overwhelmed by their happiness. We spent some time with the kids who were building a pyrotechnical horse for the upcoming carnival in town. We left after a short time and climbed down the hill to the house where Luis grew up. It, at one time, housed eight brothers and sisters, including his mother and father. It may have been slightly bigger than 200 square feet. Afterwards, we climbed a steep hill that overlooked a town called Sigsig and we left around 3:30PM. On the way back to Cuenca, we visited a few small towns and when we were dropped off at our apartment, we thanked Luis and his family for the lovely day. Our weekend in the campo was beautiful. We will likely go back next weekend for another round of spontaneous english teaching.

Guitar Fabrication - Day 11

Today was the eleventh day working with Luis. The time has flown by and we have been following a fairly regular schedule. I usually arrive at his house at 8:30AM. We work until 1:00PM and then eat almuerzo (lunch) with the family. Gladys, Luis' wife, prepares a different soup, a meal with rice, meat and vegetables, and fresh fruit juice everyday. At 1:30PM we finish lunch and Luis takes a 1/2 hour siesta. I usually sit in the kitchen with Gladys and talk about many things for that 1/2 hour. What Canada is like for example, or what sort of things can be seen in the nearby National Park called Cajas, or why Ecuadorians use certain idioms in spanish. I enjoy my time with the family, they make me feel very at home. When Luis wakes up, we usually work until 4:30PM or so and I walk back down the hillside to our apartment. We have made lots of progress since my last write-up. As you can see in the picture, the guitar has been assembled (neck, sides, top, and bottom). Luis does not use any machines, everything is done by hand, and the assembly process is incredible. It requires tremendous patience and skill. Luis could do it with his eyes closed (38 years of experience). I am constantly impressed by his ability. Over the next week, we will be working on the bridge (where the strings are held on the soundboard) and the fretboard (where the strings are played). This portion of the fabrication process must be very precise in order for the guitar to have integrity. Yesterday, a friend of Luis' stopped by to measure my guitar. He is going to make a custom case for me. I am very excited for my guitar to be completed; I will however be quite sad when I say goodbye to Luis and his family.

My Schools

Life in Cuenca continues to treat us well, with opportunities to learn, experience new cultures and become involved with the community around every corner. This is especially true for me this week, as my daily routine has become whole. I have gotten myself involved with three different schools (I know big surprise). In the mornings, I am volunteering at an amazing school for children and adults with developmental disabilities. It reminds me of L’Arche communities, but within a school type format. The students take a variety of classes, many of which focus in the arts, but also math, reading, writing and an amazing baking class. They then sell their art and baked goods. I still have a lot to learn and figure out about how it all works, but for now I am busy trying to communicate and figure out where I am supposed to be and how I can be of some use.

I then head to Amauta, to continue my Spanish lessons with Julia, who is great and amazingly patient with me. I have a couple hours off to have lunch, do my homework and prepare for my third school, which is a paying job at CEDEI, a large English and Spanish school here in Cuenca. Right now, I am just teaching one English class for 75 minutes each day, to a group of five teenagers who are at an intermediate English level. I am enjoying the opportunity to use some of my teacher training and actually find it the easiest of the three (so far).

Phil continues to work on his guitar. The guitar is looking absolutely amazing - I guess I should have known we couldn’t be without a beautiful instrument for too long!