Otavalo

I am building this page to collect my stories about Otavalo and to help visitors learn about the city and the area. Right now most of the people who visit just come for the market on Saturday, so I want to give them some reasons to stay longer, meet more people, help the children and the local economy. I have travelled to over thirty countries and I have decided to stay in Ecuador for a while to try to help the children and the others here. I chose Otavalo because it is in a beautiful location with a near perfect climate and because I kept meeting friendly people and seeing the possibilities for many projects I have wanted to start for a long time.

The city is famous for its indigenous people and its outdoor markets. Tourists from many parts of the world visit regularly. The day I started this file I wrote this:

Before I ever went to Otavalo, when I was on the bus to Ibarra, I met two students from the village, Liseth and Fernanda. Later I when I went to visit a highschool, the Republica del Ecuador, I heard this voice from behind me, "Steve! Steve!" It turned out to be them. They remembered me and my name as well. They introduced me to their English teacher, Ruby, and I spent the next two and a half hours visiting her classes. Since then I have been back several times. So far I have written about Mario and a classmate, Patricia, but my file on Patricia is not finished.

-- Go see the statue of the "virgen" in the cave. The cave has a big underground river coming out of it. Why they decided to put this statue in there and lock up the cave entrance I really don't know. I think it would be a fun place for kids and it could be a good tourist attraction if they would open it up, but now it is locked up and you have to look at the "virgen" through a metal gate. It is interesting to see, though, and there is also a whole in the street in front of it where people can get fresh water and where people bring their cars and trucks to use the water for a free car wash. I drank some water from it one day when I saw a family filling their buckets there and I didn't get sick!

-- Visit Carlos and his family where they make the rainsticks. -- Walk around till you find the creeks in Otavalo and look at how filthy and polluted they are. And see how the local people throw all their trash over the bridge. It is easy to see the rats running around.

And think about how beautiful the creek areas could be, with park benches, paths and picnic tables.

- Go out around 9 at night and walk over to the 24 de Mayo food market where you will see about 10 homeless people sleeping on the ground.

- Go to the Plaza de Ponchos around 9 and you will probably see the three boys I have been trying to help by feeding them some nights, letting them wash in my place etc.

Go to almost any school and offer to volunteer to help with English. I can introduce you to many people in several schools.

Go to INFA - a big day care center and after school care place for poor families. There are about 200 children and some teens there. They don't have many adults working there and kids are often getting hurt, feeling lonely and crying alone with no one to hug them, talk to them, listen to them etc. You can teach them some English or just

Volunteer at the local Maria Montessori school. The school is happy to have volunteers visit and help out. The school is right next door to INFA.

Volunteering - Go to any of the nearby communities and offer to teach some English.

One day I went up into the mountains with a highschool class. We were supposed to meet at 7 in the morning. I got there a little late because there was no shower in my hotel room. It took a while to convince the staff member that there really wasn't any hot water. He assured me that there was hot water and said I just had to let it run for a while. But I had let it run for about ten minutes. Then he tried the kitchen and found there was hot water there. I said there must be two systems then but he tried to tell me it was all one system. Eventually he agreed there was no hot water in my room and he told me I could take a shower in his room.

When I got to the school I saw a couple of the students I knew. They told me it was very cold where we were going. Since I only had my shorts and a short sleeved shirt, I decided to go back to my hotel for my jacket. I ran back thinking I didn't want to miss the bus, but that turned out not to be necessary. We didn't leave for about another 45 minutes. I might have suspected this since I am in South America!

One of the students, Patricia, wanted to bring a male friend. She asked the teacher but the teacher wouldn't let her. Then Patricia asked me if I could talk to the teacher, but I knew this wouldn't do any good and I hadn't even met the teacher before. The students had invited me and their English teacher said it was okay, but I only knew her and not this teacher. The English teacher assured me it wouldn't be a problem for me to go, but I felt a little worried till she said it was okay. So feeling bad for Patricia I waited along with the other students. Evidently we were waiting for two students who never came. I was told all the students had to come or they would be punished by losing points off their grade. This is normal for Ecuador. Students here are almost never given any choices. Sometimes they even have to do extra things on Saturdays and will be punished if they don't.

At about 7:45 we finally left. We were on the way to a place called Mojanda. It is high up in the mountains. The city of Otavalo itself is at about 8,000 feet high and the place we went must be at least another thousand feet up. We rode in the back of a truck that I could best describe as a cattle truck. There were about 40 of us standing and sitting in various positions. As we rode up the bumpy, rocky, winding road we would be thrown into each other and the highschool females would scream and laugh. After about 30 minutes of this we arrived at our destination. A beautiful, clear, very cold lake in the middle of the mountain tops. Some people say there is an underground community that lives inside the mountains. So this adds a little mystery to the site.

Some of the students put up tents, some went for hikes in different directions. I went around visiting the sites and looking to see what was going on inside the tents. In each tent I found about 6 or 7 people sitting, laying, and talking. One group of students was smoking and was a little afraid I would tell their teacher. So I told them if they paid me I would keep quiet! The teacher actually thought they were drinking alcohol, but jokingly I told her they were just smoking marijuana, nothing else, which made the other students laugh.

Later we all met for barbecued meat and steamed potatoes. And something called mole which I think is kernels of corn that has been soaked for a very long time till they gets quite large. And, it seems to me, till it loses all its taste!

Around two in the afternoon we started walking down the mountain. At first I had a hard time believing the truck was not coming back for us. But after I walked for an hour I believed it! The students had to carry everything back to town with them. Like the dirty grill, the big cooking pot, big enough for a two year old to take a bath in, and the left over potatoes. I imagined how students in other countries would complain if they had to do that.

The students were walking faster than I wanted to so I stayed behind and to take in the scenery. I love to be in the mountains. I much prefer it over the beach. At one point I decided to get off the road and try another route. This turned out to be more of an adventure than I expected. At a couple spots the ground was flat and the water from the mountains made something of a marsh with little creeks everywhere. The ground was wet no matter which way I went so there was no way to avoid getting wet shoes. I found some nice little water falls though and also came upon a group of cows. To my surprise the cows didn't run off. I sat and watched them for a while then walked along the creekbed in between them and continued on my way.

At another point the brush was getting very thick and it was taking me a long time to get through it. I started feeling a little afraid I wouldn't ever get back to the village by night and had visions of sleeping next to a cow to stay warm. Eventually I followed a cow path which lead to a clearing through which I saw a car. I headed that way to find that I was back on the road again. I was hoping my side trip had actually cut off some time but when I was pieces of potatoes on the road I knew that I was not in front of the group, but I was behind them.

I walked for about an hour more on the road then started getting bored with even the beauty of the mountains. So I ran a little and walked a little. I would run for 50 or so steps then walk for a while till I caught my breath. Being all down hill it was pretty easy to run. The hard part was the cobblestone road under my feet. After another half hour or so I met some of the students. I walked with them for a while then stopped to rest and talk to boy who was watching his family's cows. Then I ran and caught up to them again and we walked together for about a half hour. Then a pick up truck came by and we got a ride in the back. Along the way we picked up more students till it was full. Then we passed some more students and I felt bad for them because there was no more room. Two or three students were sitting on the edge of the pickup. I was afraid they would get thrown off the back if we hit a big bump, but everyone made it down to town alive. The next day though I had a very bad sunburn and almost one week later now my nose is still peeling!

For being such a beautiful place, I was surprised not to see more tourists. I think I only saw about 4 "gringos" all day. I heard it costs about 10 dollars to have a taxi take you up and wait a few hours while you walk around. I also heard that some people go up there and camp over night, but this is not recommended if you are alone. I'd recommend figuring out some way to take a bike up there so you could coast down as fast as slow as you want. I am not sure if anyone is offering this yet, but if I hear about it I will post the information later.

For a long time I have wanted to do something for children, especially poor ones. Last week I had the idea of renting some space in Otavalo, buying a computer and inviting the kids to come use it for free. I also want to have books and wood, hammer, nails, paint, etc. I will teach them some English and if I can get all the permits I will invite backpackers to stay there and spend time with the kids. Each day the kids could have a chance to learn a little English or German or French or Dutch etc. If the concept works, they could have the basics of five or more languages by the time they are 15.

I have been told there are at least ten kids sleeping on the streets each night and there is no orphanage. I have heard they are starting to steal, sniff glue, get in fights etc. So I'd like to slowly start to get to know them and then eventually have a place they can go outside of the city. This was the idea that the guy in Australia had. He took street kids from Sydney and put them on farms in the country and where they are much happier.

July 18 - Last week I taught some 11 and 12 year olds how to say "Excuse me, what's your name?" and "Where are you from?" Then the next day we went outside to the Plaza de Ponchos and practiced. They did very well and showed a lot of self-confidence and had a lot of fun and were all smiles when we finished. We talked to people from the USA, Holland and France. I have started getting some children over to

July 6 - For the past two nights now I have made a big pot of rice and lentils for a few homeless children and teens. Last night there were two new boys. I was disturbed to see how much they were fighting. One hit another one in the mouth with the back of his hand. I am not sure what happened but they all seemed very much on the edge all the time and also smelled of glue. I didn't really know what to say to them last night. It was a bit awkward. I tried to talk to them a little about their lives and families but didn't make much progress. One said he came from Quito and he left home because his mother had been hitting him, which is not hard to believe here. I try to remind myself it will take time to get them to open up, if the do at all, and not to expect too much too quickly. I want to gradually develop a relationship with them and then invite them to do things during the day like build things, pick up trash etc. I am not sure yet what I will do but feeding them dinner seems to be a start. They seemed very appreciative, but I don't think it is good for people's self-esteem to just get something for nothing, so to speak, so I am afraid they won't want to keep coming for just free food, or that they will take it for granted and not appreciate it, so I want to get them to help me out with some projects in exchange for my helping them. I also want to get them to help me start making beds for themselves, finding a place we can make into shelter for them etc. But this will all take time and I want to go very slowly since I really have no idea what I am doing or what I will be getting myself into. Still I know that I need to do something. When I sit there and look into their eyes, and it is like we are searching each other for something to say or for some answers to questions we don't even know how to put into words, I get an impression which doesn't leave me. The boy that was hit in the mouth just looked at me after he was hit. And I only looked back. I didn't know what to say or do. Maybe with time I will feel more able to say or do something. But last night I just watched. I don't feel any sense of influence or authority with them yet. I want to be respected and have influence in this way, but for now I could only watch. One of the other boys laughed but it wasn't funny at all. He might have been laughing because he was a bit high on the fumes from the glue. Or it might have been his way of dealing with the tension. I really don't know. But last night I was a little more of their individual personalities.

I saw, for example, that Cecilia's little brother, Giovanni, had much more self-confidence than I saw the first night. Cecilia was not there, by the way. And I think this changed things a little. I think the males were a little less aggressive when she was there. But maybe it was the new boys who changed things. At any rate, last night was much different than the first night when Cecilia had been the most talkative. Anyhow, Giovanni, was the one who came up to me when I was walking home. I had been waiting at the hotel door where I saw them the night before, but after waiting till 9 I decided they weren't coming. But then Giovanni saw me and yelled for his friends to come over. So we sat in the Plaza de Ponchos and ate. As it happened the power went out just as we started serving. But I also happened to have my flashlight with me. So I used it to light up the pot. I let them serve themselves because I didn't feel comfortable serving them as if I were the one who controlled how much they got. Then later Giovanni asked if he could have more and when I said sure he did something interesting. He started to fill his cup, then he filled all the other boys cups first before finishing filling his. He was joking a lot, saying things I didn't understand. He was teasing the boy who had hit the other one. Then he teased him a bit too much and found himself being chased around. Then he got his hat tossed up in a tree and was tackled and held down. It was partly playful, but a bit too violent for my taste. With time, maybe, just maybe I can lead them away from this kind of thing. But I don't know what I will be able to do. I won't know what I will and won't be able to do unless I try I guess. So that is what I plan to do.

This morning I went out early, around six, and while I was walking thru the Plaza of Ponchos I saw Giovanni sticking his head up from inside some pieces of cardboard. He saw me and looked surprised. I said good morning and kept walking because I felt a little awkward and didn't want to invade his privacy.

Then I walked over to the big empty house which they are going to make into a cultural center. I heard they are putting a library in it also. I heard people talking inside so I assume they had slept there, but they were adult voices, not the voices of children or teenagers.

Then I walked back past Giovanni and he saw me again. This time Abran was awake, too. I asked them if they wanted something to eat and they said yes.

On the way to my place I saw two women dressed up in nun's costumes. I decided to talk to them about Abran and the others. They told me they work in the home for the old people but it is only for old people not young people. They said there was no place for the young people to sleep. But they said there were some places called comedors, which I guess is like dining halls, where poor people of all ages could go. They pointed to the one next to the church, but they didn't take me all the way there since they were in a hurry to get to the morning mass in the church. They answered all of my questions but it seemed they were a little uncomfortable with them and they would rather not think about people like Abran. And they didn't offer me any encouragement or any type of support for what I am trying to do, not even emotional support. They just kept walking then hurried into the church, where I am sure they felt much safer since they just have to sit and pray. I am feeling a little cynical as you might have noticed. I am thinking that it is easier to run a home for old people because they are more obedient.

After I had made them some breakfast and we ate it in the plaza I asked if they wanted to wash up. They said yes so I told them to wait a few minutes while I heated up some water. I don't have a hot water tank so if I want hot water I have to heat it up on the gas stove top in a big pot. When I went back to meet them G was gone. I asked where he was and they said he left, he doesn't like washing. lol.

So the other two came with me and they went upstairs on the roof terrace and washed up then came down about a half hour later and said thank you.

While they were washing I was working on making a table out of bamboo and some pieces of wood from the old bread shelves. I asked them if they wanted to help so they said yes. I had them do a few little things then they watched me as I tried to screw some boards together. I kept breaking the screws (they are very cheap screws, one or two cents each) and a couple times I swore by saying something like hijo de puta, which means son of a bitch, or mierda, which means shit. I laughed and so did they. When I had come to a stopping point I started to clean things up and put away my tools and they helped me. They were very humble and quiet and whispering a little between themselves, for example when William was looking at my drill bit set and saw how small some of them were and he showed Abran.

At first William didn't want to use the cordless drill, but Abran did and I think William did later too. I noticed there were more nails to pull out and I asked if they wanted to pull some more out but they didn't show interest in that and I didn't put any pressure on them. I just mentioned it once and kept pointing away the tools. I said something about seeing them tomorrow and Abran told me he would not be around because there was some kind of thing in Ibarra, Something like a parade or something. He was telling me like he thought it might be interesting for me to see. He also said he was going to see his mother, but then William corrected him and said it is your sister. Maybe William thought it wouldn't be good to let me know he had a mother in Ibarra because I might think Abran should go live there or something. I really don't know. But anyhow I felt satisfied with the progress I am seeing. I was a little afraid to let them know where I live and invite them in. Afraid of what my neighbors would say etc. but I keep thinking of how the book said the guy in Australia took "massive" risks. My eyes are getting a little watery now, and they did after the boys left today when I thought about what had happened over the course of the morning. It is a small, but big step.

Since I have come to Otavalo I have met a lot of very friendly, helpful people. The people are what make the difference here. It is nice to be in a place where more often than not people actually are helpful and not just trying to sell you something. I suppose this is generally true of small communities, but the people here have been especially helpful. Many people also still say hello to you when you when they pass by and the little old ladies who work in the family owned stores often say "Que te vaya bien" (this is something like "I hope things go well for you") when they thank you for buying something. This is a small, thing, but it is nice since they usually seem to really mean it.

I met Ana Lucia when I was visiting a private English school on my first or second visit here. She had come to pick up her daughter. Ana Lucia lived in Canada for several years and worked at a travel agency where she was on the phone all day speaking in English , so as a result her English is nearly perfect. She is one of the only people here who is a native Spanish speaker but has very good English. She has been very helpful. One day she walked down to the municipal building with me to help me find out about the permits I need. Another day she let me use her Internet. Now she is teaching a little English at the place where I met her. The last time we talked, yesterday (July 5) she and I talked about a three way partnership between me, her, her boss, Javier, at the school. Javier wants to expand his school and possibly put in an Internet cafe. I like this idea because I am so frustrated with the Internet cafes here. They charge too much, sometimes the staff has not been friendly and they won't let me use my computer to update my websites. I want to have a place where poor kids can use the Internet for free and I also want to be able to use it myself. And I also like to teach English. Ana Lucia says Javier is one of the only people she trusts in Otavalo so this is a good sign.

Atahualpa is a friend of Cherie. He and his family have a clothing business. They make close in a nearby town called Peguche and sell them in the store below my apartment and some times exports them. He has been really friendly and helpful. For example, he helped me get the place I now have by talking to the manager for me and then calling me when I was in Quito to let me know everything was okay. He also helped me get a good price on the rent. He is about 28. When ever I go in his shop he says, "Sientate, Steve, descansa un rato." Sit down, rest a while. He is very positive but not to the point of being fake. The other day he told me he might ride his bicycle to Bolivia. He said he likes adventures. Something else we have in common is that he doesn't believe in religion. He said he was raised Catholic but then he learned about Charles Darwin. It was encouraging to hear this, since most of the people are still teaching their children what the Spanish forcefully imposed on the indigenous people when they invaded South America, killing millions in the process. July 9 - The other day he told me that he learned how to make tie-dye clothes from a German traveler. I can see he likes to learn new things and try new things.

July 18 - I want to say thanks to Atahualpa for being such a good listener. I was upset the other day about something and he helped me feel much better.

July 22 - Today Atahualpa offered to introduce me to the mayor and ask him to give me a letter saying that it is okay for me to be helping the boys and letting them stay with me. While I was there I also met Toa

Toa is part of the family that owns Chukito's hostal where Anita stayed last week. She told me about an association of local women which she helped start. It is called Kury Pachamama - Madre Tierra de Oro, which I would translate as Mother of Golden Earth. This is an association started by Toa and a few other local women to help the local artesians in the clothing industry. Now they have formed something like a credit union for small businesses.

Toa told me that her mother lives in a community near Cotacachi named Turucu and she likes to have foreign visitors stay with her and she just charges for the food.

I just checked google and there isn't any info on Chukito's yet, so I am going to put some basic info here:

5 dollars per person for private bath, hot water and cable television. In August they will also have suites available.

July 18 - I met Carlos when walking around one day. His whole family of 8 children work everyday making rain sticks and other things from bamboo. When he saw me he gave me a big smile and came out from his workshop to talk to me. We talked for about the next two hours even though he was trying to get a big shipment of something like 1,000 rainsticks out the next day. He showed me how they make the rainsticks and introduced me to his whole family. Then we tried to get an old laptop computer of his to work with no luck. Then I practiced a little English with some of his kids. When I left he offered me a rainstick but I felt bad taking one since I knew he could sell it. I told him I would rather have some bamboo poles that he wasn't going to use since I want to make beds and things out of them. He had a whole pile of ones that he didn't want so he let me take one and he said I could come back for more anytime. Since then I have seen him many times and have helped his kids with English both at my place and at his. He kept offering me rainsticks so finally I accepted on and hung it on my wall. He also said he would help me get a phone line. I have heard it can take 3 months if you don't have friends in the phone company! My plan is to help him and other families get websites for their products and selling them over the Internet. Some of the things they make here are really beautiful.

Cherie is the mother of Sasha. I met Sasha first and she introduced me to Cherie a few minutes later. We instantly hit it off and have since been friends. She is originally from California but has lived in Ecuador for years and is now becoming a resident. She is a massage therapist and is making a guide book to Otavalo. She also wants to help organize tours around the area. She has been very, very helpful in showing me around, introducing me to people etc.

July 18 - Cherie is mad at me now for some unknown reasons. She resents helping me get my apartment. She has been very negative, judgmental, critical etc. so I can understand more why Sasha cuts and has tried to kill herself. The last time I talked to Cherie I felt judged, attacked, untrusted, resented, misunderstood and lectured to. But I realize that people who don't love children will never understand me and the things I do. I realize I am not a typical person, but the children and teenagers here like me and most of the local people here have been great, so her negativity has not discouraged me as much as it would have otherwise. But it still bothered me a lot the last time I saw her. I am hoping, though, that we can talk and reach some kind of understanding. I am trying to label my own feelings and that has helped me not feel resentful towards her. I realize she is a product of her environment, the USA, which has been a toxic place for so many people.

Edison was one of the first people I really talked to in Otavalo. He told me about an idea he had to start a foundation, what they call non-profit organizations here in Ecuador. He wanted me to give him some money, about 1,400 dollars, to help him start it. He said he wanted to help the poor and homeless children here. He told me there was no orphanage here. We talked many times and I came very close to giving him the money, but on the day I was actually on my way to give him a check, I met Sasha, who I had seen in his cafe once before, but hadn't talked to. Sasha was passing out little advertisements for Edison's cafe. I talked to Sasha and she told me she used to work for him but was now just helping him for free. We talked for a while then she introduced me to her mother, Cherie. Then Cherie introduced me to lots of people around the town and I decided to talk more people before I gave any money to Edison. Though Edison had a lot of good ideas, I became concerned about his motives, and I felt lectured to when I talked to him so I decided to try to do something on my own.

I met Frank one morning when I was out for a walk. Cherie had told me about him. We went to visit him but he wasn't there that day. Cherie said, "He has little red truck, so if you ever see it parked outside, you know he is there. I saw his "little red truck", actually an old Toyota Land Cruiser, so I walked in and saw him standing there with his long, blonde, braided pony tail and said "You must be Frank!"

He invited me to sit down and we had a little chat while he waited for his film crew to show up. He was making a film about two local musicians. He is the owner of two hotels in Otavalo now. We were talking in the Alishungu hotel, which he designed and build himself. It is really a beautiful place but much out of my price range! I was surprised to see such a place in a small town in Ecuador. It looked more like something you would find in a wealthy area of New England in the USA. Here is the home page for the hotel if you want to take a look.

When his film crew arrived he invited me to ride with them to pick up the musicians then go to the cemetery where they would shoot part of the film. This sounded interesting so of course I accepted the offer.

At the house of one of the musicians I met the grandmother, a tiny indigenous woman with wrinkled skin but a welcoming smile, and then we then we loaded up the instruments and the power generator and headed towards the cemetery. The reason we were going there is because one of the musician's mothers had died of cancer, as Frank's mother had, and he was going to shoot part of the film in front of her gravestone.

Frank has a link to site called the Mojanda Foundation which seems to be helping with a school in a nearby community. Here is something I copied from that website. I was encouraged to see that the school is trying to use Montessori ideas.

Laura is the manager of the building I am renting in. She has also been very helpful. When I told her about my idea to help the poor children she immediately offered to help. I think she also gave me a little better price on the rent because Atahualpa had already told her I was going to do something like this. Laura also speaks English pretty well and is very enthusiastic about learning it. She is taking a class at night and invited me to visit, which I have done. One sad thing is that Laura has two children who she says don't love her. She said this is because they resent her for living in Germany while they were growing up. Like many parents she thought she would be helping the family by going someplace where she would make more money. Now Laura says that she doesn't really consider them her children anymore and instead she wants to adopt some other children or help other children in some way as a sort of replacement for her own children. To me this is very sad, but I am encouraged to see her wanting to help children. Laura is very religious and believes there is a reason for everything so this seems to help her not be bitter about her children. At the same time I am not sure this approach is helping her get closer to them either. It might help more if she apologized to them, but she has been very helpful to me and she hasn't asked my opinion so I will accept her as she is and appreciate the good things about her.

Ruby is the first English teacher I met at one of the highschools here. She has been very friendly towards me and has always welcomed me in her classes. She tries very hard to teach English and she seems to be very patient with the students. When she gets frustrated with them I think it is because she really wants them to learn English and not many have much of a desire to by this point in their lives. For years they have been taught grammar and taught to memorize and repeat and copy things they don't understand so they know they aren't really learning anything. There is not much she can do at this point, but she is trying.

During the last week of classes before summer break I watched some students give presentations in her class. Ruby smiled and laughed in a way which showed me she really enjoys teaching and enjoys the students. Some teachers watch the students with disapproving faces during presentations like this but not Ruby. So I admire her for this and I thanked her sincerely for welcoming me into her classes. Because of her open mindedness the first day I met her I have met many students at the school and have had many enjoyable and interesting experiences, like the trip to Mojanda.

Tim just moved to Otavalo to start a rafting business on a river that I never heard of before, which is called Intag. Tim is 21 and came to Ecuador with his family when he 10 years old. He has been a river guide for about 5 years already. He is originally from Ireland. He and his family have been rafting guides in a place called Tena, Ecuador, which is where a friend of mine, Dan Dixon, who I met at Crossroads Hostal in Quito, where I stayed for about three months, also lives and is a river guide for part of the year. Tim told me he knows Dan and Dan was one of Tim's instructors. Tim's family decided to open an office here in Otavalo since they were already giving tours on the river Intag.

Right now he is paying 20 dollars a monthly for a room here and he is sleeping on the floor like I was the first two weeks! I told him about my bamboo and rope bed idea and he said he liked the idea and he may become on of my first customers. The river Intag is about two hours from Otavalo by public bus and the ride costs about $2.50 each way. There are waterfalls and hot springs near the river so it sounds like a beautiful place. If you want to go there yourself and just stay for a while the closest town is Apuela and you get off the bus at a the hot springs Nangulbi. Rooms in cabins are about 5 dollars, but during July to September it is a good idea to book in advance.

Tim had Jehovah's witness propaganda out on the table when I met him and an open bible on the couch which his neighbors loaned him, so I asked if he was a Jehovah's witness. He said yes because he grew up with it but he wasn't sure about it. He said religions cause a lot of wars and he didn't try to convert me or preach to me like some insecure American university students who I met the other day who came to Ecuador to try to teach people about the bible. He also listened to some criticisms I have about religion and didn't get defensive so we got along fine. He also offered to let me use his phone line to connect my computer to the Internet till I get my own phone line in exchange for me helping him with his website, which he said isn't even listed in the search engines yet. I asked him how he got a phone so quickly and he said his neighbor is his friend and helped him get it "straight away." If I have trouble getting my phone line I am going to go meet this neighbor!

There was a year end party in one school and the 14 year olds were drinking wine. They offered me some and I walked around the school drinking it. I note this because this would be unheard of in a school in the USA, which is supposed to be the land of the free.

After about 12 years of public school where English is required every year, most students can't have a basic conversation in English such as "What is your name, where are you from, how do you like Ecuador how old are you?" Many, if not most, high school students can not count to twenty in English without making mistakes. This is typical of what I have seen in schools in all the cities I have seen in Ecuador. I have more notes on education in various countries and in Ecuador.

One highschool was let out early one day so they could try to kill the rats. The students told me there have been rats coming in the first floor classrooms.

In many ways the students have more freedom than those in schools in other countries. They are certainly happier and more cooperative and less deliberately hurtful than students from places like the USA, England and Australia.

To my surprise there is a school in Otavalo which is based on the Bahai beliefs. I visited the school and liked some things about it. I was able to take the students outside and sit on the grass to have a conversation, for example - something that was nearly impossible in Quito. I met a very nice teacher from Columbia who had a lot of patience, but some of the teachers just seemed like regular teachers - threatening the children etc. One day I heard the kindergartners being taught to sing what sounded very much like Christian type songs.

I met two volunteers from Canada who told me a little about the Bahai beliefs. Here are some notes I made the night we talked:

As is often the case, the main church is the most visible building in town. There are other churches, but right now I will write about the one near the central park and the municipal offices. For now I will just say a couple things. First, as soon as you go through the huge wood, carved doors, you are reminded of the money spent on building and maintaining the church. For example, you see the alter all painted in gold. You also see the needlessly high ceilings. Recently I wondered why so many churches have such high ceilings. My conclusion was so that you would feel small. Obviously, I am not a fan of churches, nor of religion in general. One thing I want to do is show people here that you can do good things and not go to church and not have any religion at all. I have been told the church isn't doing much to help the poor children here. So I want to make people more aware of what the church is and isn't doing. For example, I am sure it isn't really educating anyone about other religions and beliefs. My theory is that children and teenagers need to know about more than just the local religions and beliefs so they can make intelligent choices about what to believe, not just be brainwashed.

To me it is especially sad to see the indigenous people walking voluntarily into a building which represents the people who came over from Spain and killed millions of their relatives. I wonder what their ancestors who were killed, slaughtered really, would say. Going into Catholic churches doesn't seem like a good way to honor those who were killed by the Spanish Catholics in the past. I prefer the Indigenous beliefs in Mother earth and Father sun and I hope to help the local people get a little closer to nature and a little further from the Catholic beliefs about the supposed virgins and the judgmental, punitive god etc.

Now I glance up to my own page here and see that the two Canadians who called themselves members of the Bahai belief system said "Don't create disunity." I suppose I am creating disunity by criticizing the Catholic church will be causing some people here to resent me and not want to help me, but I wouldn't feel integritous if I didn't criticize the church. The unity I would like to see is the same one John Lennon talked about - a world of no religions at all. To me, religions are of one of the great dividers to humanity, and an obstacle to human advancement.

I am not really sure what the churches do here except preach to the people once a week and collect their money, but I will try to keep an open mind and form some alliances just the same with anyone who wants to help the children.

One funny thing I have to write about is the Neon boy in the main church. There is a statue of a child in a glass box lit up by blue neon lights. Why they picked blue neon lights I really don't know! But it is something I have never seen in any other church in the world! If you walk around the church you are bound to see him along with lots of other statues. In the future I hope to have children and teenagers take tourists into the church to show them things like this.

Some times this place is so frustrating. Yesterday, for example, I went to the internet cafe where I usually go to update my websites. The woman working there said I couldn't connect my laptop anymore. I asked why and she said it was a new rule by the owner. I asked why and she said she didn't know. This is so typical here. People make rules and expect other people to follow them without even given them an explanation. And most people get accustomed to this and never even question things.

So now I don't know of any place in the whole town where I can connect my laptop and update my sites. In another cafe I was able to connect my computer but for some reason the owner decided to block the file transfer program I used, called FTP. Evidently he thinks it can shut down the entire network, but I have used the same program all over the world, so he really doesn't know what he is talking about. But I have found in most cases, not just here really, but it seems especially here, there is no point in trying to talk to anyone with any kind of power. Neither reason nor anyone else's feelings seem to matter. Rules are made and then enforced blindly.

Cars or pick up trucks drive by slowly with big loudspeakers on them blasting some kind of advertisement or sometimes some kind of public service announcement. For example, one time when the main water pipe was broken for three days or something the mayor had this kind of truck drive around the streets apologizing.

- I have never seen so many people that look alike. Same height, same weight, same clothes, same shoes, same hair. Both males and females braid their hair and put it in pony tails.

- The females wear necklaces of gold colored beads, about 10 rows of them. The day I wrote this I added: I wonder how many of the teenagers are starting to want to wear something different. So I will go to a highschool today and see what I can learn.

- Police-type people in blue and white army suits. Look more like painters who have been painting blue walls and gotten a lot of paint all over their white clothes! I am wondering why the blue and white. I look around and can't tell what it is supposed to blend in with! One of them has a braided pony tail.

- the indians can't go into discotheques on saturday nights or if they do they have to pay double.

the mestizos call the Indians "longos"
--

Sunday morning walk - 8 am met Humberto and his friends. He said this is my grandfather but later asked him what his name was. was speaking a little in German, Italian, English. has been to Europe

Confirmation party - the music is so loud it hurts my ears... Bienvenido a mi confirmación.

This is something I copied from their website, but I haven't actually visited the school yet.

Through the support of The Mojanda Foundation, our little rural community of Mojandita de Curuvi has had a kindergarten for seven years now. This year, the kindergarten - named the Betti Sachs Kindergarten - has 21 students between three and five years of age. As Mojandita is an indigenous, rural community, the kindergarten children also reflect their indigenous Otavalan roots; about half are indigenous Otavalans while the other half are mestizos, meaning of mixed indigenous and European ancestry. Many speak Quichua in addition to Spanish. The parents are subsistence-level farmers, who have many times expressed their desire for the improved education of their children. Since families here have very scarce economic resources, it has been difficult to realize many of the improvements that they seek. It is an important community and Mojanda Foundation goal to improve the educational process and experience for the children of Mojandita.

In establishing the kindergarten, Betti and Diego have tried to focus on the pedagogy of Maria Montessori whose approach to early childhood education has earned worldwide acclaim. Montessori-style education is based on providing children with a relaxed but structured environment in which each child has the independence to choose and direct many of their daily educational activities. The children are permitted to choose their own materials and activities during at least a good portion of the school day, with the guidance of their teachers whenever needed. Allowing children this level of independence is contrary to the rigid, rote- memorization required by traditional curricula. In addition, these regimented methods discourage creativity and critical thinking. It is easy to think of times in our own schooling in which it felt good to be able to decide what and how to do a certain project or classroom assignment. Oftentimes, children in rural public schools in Ecuador are reprimanded for using their own creative ideas and solutions when they do not produce an identical result to that which the teacher requires.

In order to continue to integrate more Montessori philosophy, creativity and child-oriented education into the kindergarten, a number of things are needed. All kindergartens need materials and this is certainly the case in a Montessori classroom. Along with allowing children the opportunity to initiate their own school activities, Montessori-style education requires having access to enough well-designed and durable hands-on materials for the children to choose from and to be able to vary these offerings over the school year. Additionally, the kindergarten is in constant need of very basic materials such as notebooks, paper, pencils, markers, paints, crayons and books. The yearly purchase of school supplies is very costly for poor families, many of whom earn little more than one hundred dollars a month. In some regions, children do not attend school because their families cannot buy the required supplies.

Another important part of changing the rigid educational model is providing teacher training. The teachers here in the countryside have been educated in the traditional memorization-based system already described, even though they are interested in learning about the alternative approaches described in the new education law. It is very difficult for a teacher to feel comfortable and in control in a Montessori classroom when they have not been previously taught how to interact with children in this type of setting. Thus, training programs for the kindergarten teachers are necessary in order to allow the teachers to feel that they can effectively utilize the child-oriented techniques of Montessori education.

By Benjamin Goldstein, 2004, Mojandita, Ecuador

(A 2003 graduate of Brown University, Ben has been volunteering with the Mojanda Foundation for the 2003-2004 school year, teaching kindergarten, English and basic computers skills to the children of Mojandita.)

From http://www.casamojanda.com/education.html

When someone walks past someone who is eating they often say "Buen provecho" which means bon appetite.