Potentially one of the best days in Ecuador so far. It began bright and early as SJ, Margaret, Luz, Liz and I ventured to the gym hoping to do a spinning class. Much to our dismay, step was the only class offered. We tried for about 10 minutes to step but the moves were too complicated and the language barrier didn’t help our cause. We returned to the hostel and had SJ (who turned 24 today) teach another turbokick class on the roof of the hostel. We finished up with some abs and then I ran around the city to look for birthday gifts and get learn my way around. I returned to a breakfast of eggs, manderines, coffee, tomato juice, and bread.
After showering I sat on the roof/terrace and enjoyed one of the most gorgeous days we have seen here so far. With crisp air, sun shining, and Chimborazo in the skyline, I enjoyed reading and journaling before heading out for our day in a small village doing cultural exchanges and giving a consultation presentation…or so we thought. Upon arriving we were told to wait for a bit while our lunch was prepared. During this time we took gorgeous pictures of the scenery, pigs, llamas and so on. A local woman, Paula, fixed us a bean soup with rice, vegetables, and a meatloaf like main dish. The woman who prepared our food then shower us her garden which was where all of our food came from. We then were able to pet her llama which proceeded to seemingly try to kiss us and then kicked at one of our friends. We witness Paula moving her sheep to a new plot of grass and then she ushered us up to her coops. We saw a rabbit coop and a cuy coop. Enthusiastically, we accepted her offer to sit on her donkey, which I was afraid would break with our weight on it. After our adventures on the land we sat inside until Manuel arrived and showed us around the community. He walked us through town and up a huge hill to a beautiful view of the countryside and the surrounding mountains. After returning we realized they were not prepared for our consultation presentation, yet another time this trip there was a miscommunication. Therefore, we just looked at one of the artisan’s goods of hand knitted scarves, hats, mittens, sweaters, and ponchos. Her stunning work took us a while to pick through but we all walked away happy with new purchases. It was hard to buy winter garb in July but with it being so cold outside it seemed like a wise purchase. We then waited inside for our bus to arrive and this wait turned into a two hour conversation around the fire as the other half of our group came to pick us up much later than expected. However, this time together was welcomed because it allowed for intriguing conversations about the future, money, development work, society, self, and our roles in the world. Returning to Riobamba, we ate our for SJ’s bday and now I am back at the hostel writing by the fire. What a full and fun day. It was such a treat to learn so much about this small community and have an even better taste of the culture here.
Hasta Luego,
Cate
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