Nancy Germeshausen Klavans Cultural Bridge Fellowship: Quito Summer 2006

One of the main missions I had in coming to Ecuador was to not only work in a grassroots organization but to also try to absorb and understand and live the life of an Ecuadorian as best as I could. Bahar, my friend who is here from George Washington University working at El Baca Ortiz a government pediatrics hospital had the same sentiments. We could have easily taken cabs daily to and from work but it is not what is done here. Our first experience in taking the bus was when our host family Cris (by the way check out where she works it is very cool and she does some incredible work for Ecuador and eco tourism http://www.ecuadornatureexpeditions.com) and her mother decided to take us to the center that I talked about in my last blog. Being with Ecuadorians I wanted to blend in as much as possible and yes the height may be a bit of a detractor but as we ventured more and more I realized that there really is a variety of looks in Quito (so maybe i don´t stand out that much).

As we were roaming the centre, I was struck by how many people were out in the streets enjoying the weather. Trying my hardest to not appear touristy I was walking casually and very subtly glancing at the beautiful historic colonial churches. It was perhaps this lack of attention that led me to step foot first into an uncovered light (the colonial city has tons of lights on the ground that are lit up at night) that was filled with a combination of sewage and well you can fill in the rest. I didn’t want to be too obvious so I quickly pulled my ankle and foot out and kept walking. What probably gave me away was the smell. It was horrendous. For a while as we kept touring around I kept getting wiffs of the odour and at first hadn’t realized the smell was emanating from my foot but that was made very clear to me by Cris, her mother and Bahar (you´ll be delighted to know that the pants, shoes and socks in question have been thoroughly disinfected).

Bahar had her fill of stories too. Our second bus experience was on our way to work the first day last week. As we boarded oh so confidently handing over our money, we made our way to find an empty seat. But as I was struggling to hold onto the handle bar and get my grip I heard a commotion behind me. I turned around to find my good old Iranian doctor friend Bahar sprawled across the people in the seats in front of me. She had a look of shock on her face. It truly took me a good 10 seconds to register what happened before I could help her up. Needless to say that these two mishaps definitely gave us away. We have vowed to be able to master being able to navigate across the very bumpy buses without holding anything as that is a good sign of us truly blending in to Quito.

Work has been very interesting. E-dúcate is one social venture that is part of a large network of companies started by Nathalie. Other businesses range from consulting to SME´s in Quito and social protection. I am currently working on producing a policy framework on immigrant children and social inclusion. The office environment is very busy and bustling. People come in at around 8:30 and don’t leave till about 7. You can definitely feel the energy of how much everyone is excited to be working for an organization that is immersed in bettering Ecuador.

On occasion you do notice the poverty that is present in Ecuador with young (possibly 4 years old) children in the streets selling a variety of products including candy, soap or vegetables. On the whole though there is no visible homelessness that you often see in the US. However, one morning before heading to work I went with Bahar to the El Baca Ortiz, the hospital she works in, and it was very clear that there was a shortage in medical care within the capital. The waiting lounge was packed and pouring out the door. Children were everywhere waiting for care. Many were suffering from what seemed like orthopaedic problems. From what Bahar has told me of her time there, most everyone is definitely poor. It reminded me of a show I saw on TV before I came here of parents bringing in their children daily to hopefully have the chance to see a doctor and to be admitted. I do hope to go in with her one day and visit the various wards.

While we were here our host sister Cris asked if we could tutor her niece and nephew in English. Neither of us had ever taught English before but our first experience teaching Benjamin and Nathalie last week was wonderful! They are so excited to learn new words and expressions. It is also a great chance for me to keep learning in Spanish as we continually exchange meanings of words. I definitely tip my hat to teachers, it is a difficult job that is often not recognized enough. I have been enjoying our daily lessons so much I wonder if maybe its time for a fourth degree as a teacher 😉

I think I´ve filled your time enough…

So till next time…

P.S. sorry for the lack of pictures but unfortunately we have no cord for the camera to upload pics on to the computer so unless I get one soon I will send a batch of pics upon return to the US.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 3rd, 2006 at 2:57 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.