Happy 2011!

I am sure you have all partied and welcomed in the new year in fashion. The new year here in Togo has started well. We are in the midst of harmattan, the windy, chilly season when winds from the Sahel blow all over Togo. This makes for hazy (on some days very hazy conditions) because of all the dust, lots of wind and cold mornings and nights. I actually get to bundle up at night it is so cold. It is very dry, so that took some getting used to after the rainy season.

I am starting my SPA (Small Project Assistance) project in February, and so we've been planning the steps of the project. We will build a well and a school garden at the middle school. This is a village wide project, and so requires a lot of collaboration with village development officials, villages chiefs, professors at the middle school, etc. We're finding masons and workers to help build the well, women to prepare food, students to collect sand, and the list goes on. We are organized, and so everyone just needs to do their part and the project can succeed. The students in Environmental club are really excited about the school garden, and if everything goes to plan we should be planting in it in April!

I celebrated Christmas and New Years in village this year. Christmas eve was nice, I had dinner with some volunteers who live close to me at another volunteers house, and early Christmas morning I went back to my village for church. We made a big meal (rice, pork, spaghetti and pounded yams (fufu)) It was fun cooking with my host family and reminded me of preparing Christmas dinner at home. No christmas trees, or snow, or freezing cold...so different from Wisconsin for sure, but similar in other ways too. New Years was fun too. Everyone celebrates New Years. People cook ridiculous amounts of food (fufu, rice,pasta, salad) and usually splurge for some meat, pork, guinea fowl, and duck. People love sharing food during this time too, and so everywhere you go you are offered a plate of food and of course local beer, tchouk. Weeks before and after the celebration there are dances in each neighborhood called 'camo.' There is drumming and sometimes a flute, but everyone gets together, wears crazy outfits and dances and says ''Bonne annee, bonne fete, avec la sante on peut tout faire.'' (Happy new year, good party, one can do anything if they have health!) I remember last year being at the same dances, having just arrived in my village, and how much fun it was then, and still is now.

So, check out my picasa website, I just uploaded photos! I added two here. I am in one with a group of women I work, and we are going to build a well there soon. The other is from our enriched porridge formation we made at the clinic. Everyone loves porridge with soy, beans and peanuts for extra nutrition!

Hello everyone! I hope you are all enjoying fall. I know I am missing the fall colors of Wisconsin and apples, apples cider, and delicous hearty food. Enjoy it for me!

Things are still going well in Togo. I had a great informational meeting the other day about our well and school garden project. Over 130 people came, and we didn't offer food or beer or anything! I think it was because myself and my counterpart hand delivered all the invitations to the chiefs of villages and village leaders. Also, we were vague in the invitation to make people extra curious. We had a good response from this and so will do it again.

I've attached some pictures of my farm. I was given a small piece of land to experiment with different crops and techniques. I planted about ten rows of corn and peanuts and corn or corn and mucuna, a nitrogen fixing cover crop. Also I planted sweet potatoes (not quite like ours, more just like a potato that is sweet) and also made a permagarden, a permanent garden. This idea of a permagarden is that it is small, close to the house, and is primarily for the families consumption and thus a variety of things are planted. For the permagarden, it's the double digging (process of removing top soil and digging subsoil too to really loosen up the soil, making it easier for roots to penetrate the soil) and the addition of compost and ash that make the garden a success. I am really happy with how mine is looking, and you can see a difference between the corn I planted in the permagarden and the other corn I just planted. The hard part about convincing people to try to permagarden is that people (those who can afford it) rely on chemical fertilizers. Every time people see me in my garden they ask me, 'did you add fertiizer yet?' I would say yes, I added traditional/organic fertilizer, (compost) but when people eyed my yellow corn with small ears, I didn't feel I was doing any convincing. Chemical fertilizers work fast, and making compost is another task to do in the already busy rainy season. I'm going to try convincing people to make compost during dry season when there is more time. If I can get some people to try it, that would be great. We'll also be focusing on the permagarden for our school garden. I am currently in Lome where myself and three other volunteers just finished up a Farm to Market publication. Farm to Market is a PC Togo journal published quarterly. It is our job to search for articles written by other volunteers and staff, edit them, edit the French articles, and then format the articles in InDesign, a page making program. It is fun, but formatting and margin fixing can be tedious! I am learning a lot though.I've included an article I wrote for the June issue below.

Finally, a new training group of volunteers is arriving today. It is exciting, and reminds me that one year ago, it was me getting off that plane. All I can say is that time has flown, and I really enjoy life and work here.

Happy fall!

My farm to market article:

Participatory Approach for Community Action (PACA) is an awesome and easy activity to do in your community, whether you’re looking for project ideas or just wanting to know your community better. Getting people to talk about their own community will lead to great discussions where people are engaged and eager to participate. Plus, who better knows the community than the people in it? Recently in village, I did two PACA sessions with a women’s group and here’s how they went.

For the first session, we chose to make a community map. Some questions we posed to help in map making included, where do you go every day, what do you do there, and why? The women divided themselves into groups and drew two maps which were then discussed and differences gathered. Just by looking at the maps, the women concluded that there were not enough wells, which with dry season led to water scarcity. Ok, being in the north, this is a common problem, but what else could these maps tell us?

During the second PACA session two weeks later, we pulled out the maps and did a needs assessment. First, I asked for them to list all the positive things they saw on the maps. We quickly filled our flip chart with things like schools, the village dispensary, the market, trees, and farm land. Next, we made a list of things we didn’t have and things we are lacking in village. While lack of electricity and running water aren’t quick fixes, other items on the list were things that we, within our community and without outside help, could find a solution.

I’ll give two examples of problems we were able to solve. The second negative item on the list was disease, specifically diarreal related. Washing hands with soap can reduce diarrheal disease by 45% (data thanks to the April issue of National Geographic, all of which is about water and really captivating). So what’s the solution? We decided to make liquid soap in an upcoming meeting and to talk about why it is important to and how one should wash their hands. Farther down the list of negatives was a lack of edible leaves for making sauce like adema. I asked them why, and the women explained that insects came and routinely damaged their crops. Solution: Mixing up some natural pesticide solution using piment, garlic, neem leaves and soap, all things readily available in our village. It was very exciting doing this exercise, working together to find the principle concerns of the community and, even better, knowing that you, the volunteer, have the information (in this case liquid soap and natural pesticide recipes) to help solve their problems.

A final happy moment, while making the list of things our community is lacking, was when the women cited something negative that actually turned out to be something positive. The community needed money to buy cement to make compound floors with. I asked them what they do instead and they explained the process of pounding clay mixed with a little water so that it forms a decently, hard floor. (We had recently done this in my compound for my host sister). Even better, this activity is done by a party of women, who come together and help one another to complete the project. It’s no cement, but finding an alternative to something you don’t have or can’t afford using locally available resources is what PACA is all about. In this case, the resource was clay, but more importantly, the greatest resource is the people themselves.

Hello everyone! I hope you are all enjoying summer. Things are going great in Togo, and I'd like to share some things I've been up to.

Work related, I've started working at the village dispensary. They have no running water, but do have electricity which is essential for keeping vaccines cold in the refrigerator. Each Thursday I go to help weigh babies, something mothers try to do monthly to keep track of their babies weight gain. Mothers are given a little booklet with a graph designating curves for health weight gain, mediocre weight gain and unhealthy or lack of weight gain. I get really excited when I see a baby who is gaining weight well, following the highest curve, but it's hard to see some babies that aren't gaining much weight, or babies that are below the mediocre or even unhealthy weight gain curve. It's for this reason that we've started planting moringa trees (awesome protein, vitamin, potassium and calcium packed tree leaves) around the dispensary, and started to talk about nutrition for babies and mothers. Moringa leaf powder can be added to porridge and given to babies. My counterpart planted some moringa trees a few years ago, and we collected a ton of seeds this year, which is enabling us to start a lot of moringa projects. If you want more info about moringa, check out this website:

Trees for Life

Additonally, our community recently received funding for a Small Project Assistance project, funded by USAID and Peace Corps. The grant money will be used to construct a well at the middle school where currently there is no available drinking water and also to create a school/community garden, which will become permanetly fenced in at the school. We received the funds, but won't begin the project until February, during dry season when it is well digging season. Basically, funds will pay for cemeny, fencing, etc, and our community witll provide the work force as their contribution. It is our hope that the project will not only provide clean drinking water to students, but also that the availability of water and a fenced garden will enable our community to grow vegetables during the dry season, when it is otherwise impossible due to lack of water. We will also use the garden as a learning place to hold classes on organic gardening, and sustainable farming practices that hopefully people will then bring home and use in their own fields. More info on this project later!

The past few weeks our community has been really busy with traditional ceremonies and parties. First there was Evala, the annual men's wrestling festival. It is held only in our prefecture, Kozah, but all Kabiye through the country come to Kozah during this time. This was awesome, and I really enjoyed watching my friends wrestle. Pretty much all men from the age of 18 to 23 can wrestle and also want to wrestle. Younger boys are challenging each other in the courtyards of their houses constantly. The first day, my neighborhood fought against another neighborhood, then our neighborhoods joined together and fought against another, and fighting went on like this each day until the final where our village fought another village. I also got to see the president, Faure Gnassingbe, when he came to watch the final! It was a week of dancing, watching wrestling, eating and drinking local beer and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Also, if the young men have enough money, they buy a dog to wrestle, kill and eat to give them the strength to fight. Only a few of my friends did this, as dogs, along with all types of meat, are expensive.

Kondana (not sure on spelling here really) is the ceremony of 25 years. It is held to celebrate boys becoming men and is held every 5 years, so I was lucky to see it. Various ceremonies are held, offering of chickens and goats, and those men participating wear a thick silver band around their neck; and aren't supposed to leave their house until the final day of the ceremony, where they dance and run up a huge mound of dirt (it's really big) and bang a big piece of metal. Then there is drinking at each of the kondo's house, and you must remove your shoes and make a call before you are allowed to enter. I guess this is kind of hard to explain, but I hope you get the idea. I'll be putting up some pictures when I go to Lomé begining of September.

Finally, there is Akpema. Honestly, I've not even seen to much of this. Men's ceremonies and Evala greatly overshadow that of the girls, even though Kondana relies on women to dance with them, scream for and fan the men participating in the ceremony. I asked my friend if men show the same amount of support for the girls doing Akpema, and of course, the answer was no. The men do play drums for them though. Anyway, Akpema, is the girls coming of age ceremony, and traditionally, girls are to walk naked up a mountain. This year, apparently most girls refused to walk naked and so they wear small shorts, a bra and a silky cape to show them are participating in the festival. There are also the specific Akpema songs which they sing and dance.

Ok, that's about it! A long blog, so hopefully it's not too heavy. I'll make another update and upload more picutres when I am in Lomé the begining of September. Until then, be well!

Hello everyone! Hope all is well in the states!

Things have been going great in Togo. I've been busy in village with several projects. Now I'm in Lome working on editing Farm to Market, a quarterly newsletter for PC Togo and other PC countries. All volunteers and staff members can write articles about what they are doing in village. Myself and three others, one from the NRM program and two from SED, Small Enterprise Development are also working on the newsletter. It's really fun being in Lome, my first time in six months! There are a lot of great places to eat and fast internet! Money goes fast though with so many goodies (mainly some decent cheese) to buy. I've had a chance to upload a whole bunch of photos on picasa, the google form of webshots. You should be able to find them under my email, kkoralesky@gmail.com

In village I've been working on a few projects. We recently planted around 100 Moringa trees at the middle school. This was part of a sensibilisation about reforestation we did for the community with the environmental club. We presented a few participatory activities about the importance of trees and about all the wonderful amazing properties of Moringa. (Moringa is this really fast growing, edible nutritious tree, google it!) Later, the club presented a sketch about deforestation, so everyone got to laugh a little too. About 100 people came, mostly students, but for the most part people were pretty receptive to the new ideas. Apart from some people trying to steal trees at the end, the day was a success!

My work with the womens groupement has also been going well. We've made mango jam several times, recently made pommade (a thick body cream ) together which the women really like. It's easy to do, and you only need vegetable oil, soap and candles. We also hed several PACA, Participatory Assessment for Community Action, sessions which helped us to pinpoint some needs of the community. I really enjoyed doing this, all the women participated and were eager to discuss both positive and negative aspects of the community. We found out that children often suffer from diarrheal diseases, so in an upcoming session we will be making liquid soap and talking about the importance of hand washing- with soap! Additionally, women were concerned about a lack of edile leaves for making sauce. The reason why was because the insects came and routinely ate all the leaves. So, to address this problem we are making some natural pesticides using things like garilc, neem leaves (neem is tree whose leaves and seed can be used as a natural pesticide) piment (spicy peppers) and soap. All these resources can be found in our village, which makes making them easier and more accessible.

Well, that's all for now! Time to work on Farm to Market. I hope you enjoy the picturesm check them out! Until next time, hope you are enjoying summer!

Making pommade!

Hey everyone! I hope you are doing well. Things in Togo are going well also.

Rainy season has begun, and so everyone in village has been busy cultivating; preparing fields, and the first things in the ground are corn, peanuts and tomatoes.,Yams that were planted in March have germinated as well. It is the men who go to the fields and cultivate, ready the ground for planting, and then it is the women who plants things like corn and peanuts. There are a few tools that people use, mainly the hoe, (there is a larger and smaller version) a larger hoe called the daba, and a machete. For cultivating, men use the daba, a oval shaped shovel that is attatched to a short handle, maybe 2 and a half feet long, fixed at a 45 degree angle. The hoe is like this also, but a smaller shovel. Thus, all work is done bent over at the waist. Young children are expected to cultivate as well, you will see them marching off to the fields saturday morning with their father. It's hard work, but the fields look great when they are finished.

As I said, women go to plant corn and peanuts. As everything is done by hand, their technique for planting accurately and efficiently is amazing, and I learned a lot when I went with two of my host sisters to plant. You fill a small bowl with corn, and hold this in your left hand. In your right hand, you have a small hoe, or a stick, or a machete. You make a hole with the stick, and using only your left hand pick up two kernels of corn, throw it in the hole, then cover the hole again. This is done is three fast movements, make a hole, drop corn, cover. Make a hole, drop corn, cover. Over and over and over. The tricky part is holding the bowl of corn and picking up corn kernels at the same time. It takes some practice, but once you get the hang of it, it is really fun, and with two or three people you can really get a lot planted.

Aside from planting with my host family, I was given a small parcel of land to cultivate and do experiments with compost, different vegetables, and a nitrogen fixing cover crop called Mucuna. I've been cultivating it myself, and it feels really great to do that kind of work. I remember preparing beds at JenEhr, the farm in Wisonsin where I used to work, and it just brings me back. Here, I do all the bed preping with a small hoe. My family and neighbors have all been helping me also, giving me advice on how to best cultivate, make yam mounds and use the hoe. I feel like making this garden is really important for a couple reasons. One, I can plant different things that people normally don't plant, but will be beneficial for improving soil quality, or beneficial for their health, planting more vegetables. Also, I want people to see that I can make a garden. A lot of times if I try to do something that people here do daily, like cultivating, the response is 'oh, no, you can't.' At times this can be frustrating and make you feel bad. The whole 'I can't not being part of your vocabulary' idea I feel I grew up with in the states. So, I say, let me try. And they do. Afterall, I am here to learn too, and the only way I'll do that is by trying lots of different things.

Hello everyone!

First off, I want to say sorry for not writing for a few months. I've been busy in my village, adjusting to life there and haven't had as much time to write any blogs. Things are going great however. I've started an Envionmental Club at the middle school in my village and also started work with women's cooperatives. The kids in the Environmental Club are great, really motivated and hard working. I am really looking forward to work with the women's groupments, as I have really come to admire the women here and want to learn as much as I can from them. In the cooperative, we will be doing PACA, Participatory Analysis for Community Development, which is a method for figuring out the needs of a community by drawing a community map, making a seasonal work calendar or a daily schedule. Hopefully with this, we will be able to work more specifically with the communities needs.

Apart from work, life in village is great. We are nearly at the end of dry season so it is very hot, but it rained for the first time the other week. Kids were dancing and playing the rain and to be honest, I felt like doing the same, so I did. It felt really great. The well in our compound has been nearly empty for about a month. There is water early in the morning, but it is dirty. Yesterday, my host brothers went down into the well and lifted out a whole bunch of earth. There is more water now, but it is a murky brown color. Farmers and everyone are anxiously awaiting the rain.

Transportation in Togo is interesting to say the least. If you want to travel somewhere, you can go to a larger city where there is a car station, and as soon as you enter someone will say, C'est où? C'est où? Where are you going? Maybe you will be lucky and find a car right away that is about to leave, already packed full with bags, goats, baskets, and people sitting in their seats ready to go. But maybe you are not lucky, and you are the first one to arrive. Cars usually don't leave until they are full, as drivers want to make sure they will make enough money, or make the trip worthwhile. In that case, (my case last Thursday) you will sit in the car and wait. And wait. Then you will see the driver and ask him, when are we leaving? And he will say, right now, we are leaving right now get in the car. Twenty minutes later, you are still sitting in the car and you don't know where the driver has gone. Then a sheep, which has been sitting behind you, will try to escape from the car and jump into your lap in the process. Of course, everyone around thinks this is hilarious and will be laughing hysterically. Finally, the sheep put in it's place, the driver is back and the car is packed, four people in the back, four in the front for a two door car). Even though it's uncomfortable and kind of frustrating, it is one of the things about Togo that is exciting and well, you never know what will happen.

Happy New Year to everyone in the world! I hope all is going well with everyone!

I wanted to tell you about New Years here in Togo. Everyone celebrates New Years a lot, and in a very similar way that we do in the states. New Years Day everyone runs compound to compound saying 'Bonne Année In my village, the big party was actually the second of January, and the whole village came together to dance 'Camo' which is dancing around a circle to the rhythm of two drums. Everyone has castenetes that they dance with and play, and people grab bunches of leaves to dance around with. Every so often someone yells something, like Bonne année! and everyone responds in turn. Additionally, candy is everywhere and people come running up to you and put candy, wrapper and all in your mouth, saying Bonne Année! It was very fun. Later that night, there was a dance contest and one of my friends and a fourth grader who lives in my compound were finalists! It lasted about 3 hours, so the next day, everyone was very tired and just rested. We also ate a lot of great food. We had fresh fish, pork, rice, tomato sauce and salad. Of course, there was a lot of local bee, tchuck, which is made from millet. You drink as it's fermenting, so it actually reminds me a little of kombucha, for those of you who have drank or made that before.

Now everyone is back to work, and students are back to school. I am still getting settled into my house, and have been working on cleaning and organizing. I had to get a lock fixied on my door and tomorrow, am getting two moldy ceiling panels replaced with new ones. Daily chores (laundry, drawing water, burning trash, washing dishes) hanging out with my host family and speaking English in English Club with a group of high school students are the things I usually do weekly. I am still searching for a dog, but in the mean time can play with the adorable puppy my family got for Christmas! Until next time, have a good day!

Hey everyone, hope all is well in the states. Thanks for reading my blog even though I haven't made too many updates yet! Thanks also to my mom and brother for making a quick update for me, although they were too kind in saying I am fluent in French, I can get by, but I still have a lot to learn! Here is an update of what's been going on in Togo!

The end of training went well, and every trainee in the NRM (Natural Resources Management) program swore in! Yeah! Swearing in ceremony was very nice, everyone wore special outfits their host families made for them, and said a short speech in the local language of their village. There are a lot of great people in NRM, and our posts are throughout the country. My post is in the North of Togo, where there is one dry season and one wet season. (In the south there are two wet seasons). Dry season started around November and will last until March or April, until it really starts to rain again. It is dry and dusty,and Harmattan (dust in the air from the Sahara) makes it hard to see long distances.

I am practicing Kabiye, the local language spoken in my village and plan to get a tutor so I can really start to learn. I know how to greet people and say, I'm going here, or I'm going there, but that's pretty much it. Mowoki ('muhwoki', kind of like Milwaukee, actually) means 'I'm going'. I use this a lot. Good afternoon is nyana wisi (neeon -a-weesee) and if someone says this to you, you say, alafia! ('ah-la-feeah') This means all is well. It is tricky, there are 32 letters in the alphabet and a lot of words sounds very similar to me, so you really have to focus on the tones of words. But, as they say in Togo, ça va aller, it'll be fine!

My house is really great, and I am working on cleaning and organizing. I have a living room/kitchen, a bathroom which has a bucket flush toliet, a bedroom and a spare room. I have a big front porch which will be graeat to have meetings. There is a chalkboard there, so neighbor kids come and do their homework. It's test time in school here this week, and then everyone has a vacation for the holidays and returns to school January 4, just like in the states. I met with a group of high school students last week and had a English conversation club. It was great to talk with them, answer grammar questions, and we practiced some Kabiye too.

The first three months at post we're not required to do any projects, just get to know people, the community, and settle in. My post is great because it's close to Kara, a large city where there is internet, a great market every day and even a store where I can buy, if I really have the craving, things like ketchup, pringles and chocolate chip cookies. These items are expensive (1000 CFA, about 2 dollars for pringles) so thus far, I've held off. There are a lot of good things to eat here, as everyone has just harvested their corn, millet, sourghum and there are lots of vegetables at the market. One of my favorite things here is soja, Togolese tofu, and it is awesome. Women make it here and I learned how to make it during training. I like it because it has a cheese consistency, cheese being something I miss dearly from Wisconsin.

Anyway, I am going to pick up a skirt from the tailor now. Buying pagne (colorful cloth people makes clothes out of) and having dresses, shirts and skirts made is really fun! There are so many beautiful designs. I will say goodbye for now, and happy holidays, à la prochain!

Hello everyone,

Katie has asked me to update her blog. She has been really busy since swearing in earlier this month and moving to her post.

She said everything is going well and she is healthy and happy in a village in the north, near the city of Kara. It is dry and dusty there now, time of year of the Harmattan, the West African trade wind that blows south from the Sahara from November until February or March. She had a good Thanksgiving dinner with some of the other volunteers and has received all the letters and packages sent! Today, she was having some clothing made by a tailor while in Kara, where she has internet access, but her time to use it goes by really fast! She hopes to update her blog soon, herself.

She said her host family in her village is so kind and welcoming, and although she has pretty fluent French, she is looking forward to learning Kabye now as well.

Again, she says Hello to everyone and appreciates everyone’s letters and e-mails and packages. People magazines and candy are much appreciated!

Katie’s Mom

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay, internet is slow and hard to come by in Togo! Quick update: things are going great! I am here living with a Togolese family and attending training classes (french, technical, health, security, etc) everyday. I take bucket showers and wash my clothes by hand which is way harder than you might think, so I gladly accept the help of my sisters (there are six in my family)

Technical classes have been great; we learn all about how to grow crops like manioc, sweet yams, peanuts, corn, and other vegetables. Next week we will learn how to make improved cook stoves and about solar drying! It is hot here, but cools off nicely at night.

Food here is great; fresh, but very starch heavy. My first meal was pasta with rice; tofu (soja here) with tomato sauce. And a lot of it. When I think I have eaten all I possibly can, my mother and sisters say, but you hardly ate! The fruit is divine; pineapple, oranges and bananas are delicious. Two Togolese dishes are called pot and foufou. Pot is corn flour, mixed zith water to a mashed potato consistency, served with okra and fish sauce or spicy (pimont) sauce, a tasty treat! Foufou is the same consistency and usually sesrved with peanut sauce, but foufou is made with manioc or yams. The women pound the boiled manioc or yams until it sticks together.

I hope all is well in the states! That is all for now, thanks for reading and until next time!

Hello everyone!

It is officially "crunch" time as I prepare to leave for Peace Corps Togo this Thursday! I accepted my invitation to serve as a Natural Resources Management Volunteer in Togo in July, and for the past few weeks I've been home preparing to leave. Summer was great, but I've said good-bye's to a great farm job, family and friends and am excited to leave and begin training. I've decided to keep a blog and update it when I can during my time in Togo (three months training and two years service). I was hesitant at first, but think it will be the most effective and efficient method of keeping in touch with you all. So, thanks for reading. I hope blogs I post will be informative and fun to read, let me know if they are and if not I'll make improvements!

I sent in my online Peace Corps application early January, and have completed all steps including an interview, (February) medical and dental check-ups, (March) passport and visa applications (July) and more paperwork. The next step is staging in Philadelphia, where I will meet other volunteers from all around the United States. We have a one day orientation and the next day after receiving vaccinations, we fly to Lomé, (the capital city) Togo. The flight (Philadelphia-Paris-Lomé) will be about 13-14 hours total. Besides practicing French and reading about Togo, I've purchased a Solio solar powered charger, a swiss army knife and received a solar powered radio and crank flashlight as gifts from work. I'm updating my I-pod as I write, adding all the music I can think of that I'll want with me for the next few years. Packing will be a challenge (we're allowed 80 pounds) but will be fine.

As far as my assignment in Togo, I don't know any specifics yet. The program I work in is Natural Resources Management, more specifically Agricultural Productivity and Food Scarcity Issues. When we arrive, we have three months of language (French and local languages) technical and cultural training. After training, volunteers are sent to different sites, or villages (villages that have requested the aide of a Peace Corps volunteer) where we will work with community members on a project that will benefit members of the community, present and future. So, whatever it will be, I know I will learn a lot and get to work with some great people! That is all for now, I'm off to practice some French- á bientot!

I am leaving this country tomorrow but know one day I will come back. It's been an amazing experience, and I've been really lucky to do so many things, travel through Ecuador and also two other South American countries, Peru and Argentina. I started missing Ecuador weeks ago. Leaving is so bitter sweet; I am excited to go home and graduate and do something new, but I will really miss my life here. Even though I know I'm leaving tomorrow, my suitcases are packed, and I have been saying goodbye to my friends here all week, it is so surreal. I won't feel like I am going home until I am in my home in LaCrosse. And then, maybe it will hit me.

Of the two semesters I've been here, I've loved the second even more than the first, though the first was also good. This semester, I became very involved with my thesis project about organic food and sustainable agriculture in the sierra, around Quito and also of in the Northern Sierra of Ecuador. I had the opportunity to meet so many smart and interesting people, meet farmers, and I loved talking with them all. I realized, even though now my thesis is finished, the theme is never ending and there is still some much more to find out and to investigate. I am really looking forward to continuing research and learning about this topic. In Quito, people and children work everyday selling candies, gum, or shining your shoes. It's something that everyone sees everyday, but is seen as normal and is just a part of Ecuador. When I began my project I thought about this and asked myself; do these kids care if they eat organic food, or just care about eating food at all? So, I asked everyone I interviewed why organic food is important in Ecuador? Ecuador is a country that relies on agriculture for it's economy (shrimp, bananas, flowers) and poverty is one of the results of continued migration from the campo, the rural parts of Ecuador, to the city, where because of all the migration there are no jobs. Also, the fact is that still today, since the days of Spanish colonization hundreds of years ago, the indigenous people are Ecuador are still fighting for their right to own land and farm the way their ancestors did.

Besides working on my project, I will miss so much my everyday life in Quito. Taking the bus, buying chifles from a street vendor and eating great lunches from $1.50. My last week in Ecuador I became incredibly nostalgic for these things; the bus especially. Taking the bus (20 minute ride from Quito to Cumbaya) is an experience because of the people you see, the vendors who jump on and off the bus selling food and drink, the conversations between the bus drivers and the bus venders, salsa music blaring on the radio (even early in the morning) and of course the crazy driving. To this I say: It's best to not watch; trust the bus drivers who drive the route 30 times a day.

I will miss my favorite park, Parque Carolina. It's a huge park and it is full of people on the weekends; families, kids, soccer, basketball, volley games, flying kites, eating a snack, runners, and of course all the men who cat call at the gringas running by. I never let this stop me from running in the park and usually just gave a mean glare. Carolina proves how fit and health conscience Quitenos are; the fact is, no one is fat. No one. I remember seeing one over weight person; the reason why I remember is because it only happened once.

This brings up another idea about food. I've been a meat eater in Ecuador, and am very glad I made the decision to eat meat (I had stopped eating meat when I went to the University three years ago). My motto is: I will and want to try anything and everything and two, while I'm living in Ecuador, I'm going to eat like an Ecuadorian. So, I've tried guinea pig, cow feet, intestine....etc. All parts of the animal are used, which is the way it should be. I've also realized that being a vegetarian, making the decision to not eat animals for whatever reason, is an urban phenomenon. Though I'll probably return to a vegetarian diet in the states, this concept has become 100% clear to me. I never met an Ecuadorian vegetarian. If you say to an Ecuadorian, "I don't eat meat," the response usually is, "Why wouldn't you?" This kind of mentality exists through Ecuador, but in the rural parts of Ecuador and rural places through the world, eating animals is a fundamental part of diet and life; why wouldn't you eat animals? As I've mentioned before, picking up a bone out of your soup and chewing off the bone is completely acceptable. Kids aren't squemish about it either. I volunteered at a daycare where kids had no problems picking up a chicken bone from their soup and eating off the meat. This would never happen in the states for two reasons: 1) kids might choke on the bone and thus to avoid a lawsuit, would never even be given a chicken bone and 2) kids couldn't handle the bone aspect, being used to breaded boneless chicken nuggets. The point is, if you're going to eat meat, you should have no problem eating chicken off the bone (like it really is on the animal..) and you should be willing to eat any animal or part because really, what's the difference between one and the other?

I will leave Ecuador tomorrow, but have already starting thinking about when and how I can come back. I can only think of one thing I won't miss:

1) Our landlord: Bad, irresponsible, annoying landlords exist worldwide.

Thanks to everyone for reading, I really hoped you enjoyed! I hope to see you all soon in the US of A...let me know if you have any questions, want to see pictures or download some great salsa or merengue music from me!

Que les vaya super bien, les amo a todos, gracias por leer mi blog!

Katie

Hey everybody! Hope things are going well in the states, and because I know I am leaving so soon, I am already starting to miss Ecuador. This past weekend I had an awesome trip to Tena, the begining of the Amazon basin in Ecuador, with my Amazon societies class. We had the opportunity to stay with a community of the Huaorani tribe, an even though I left with a few mutant mosquito bites, not your Wisconsin mosquitoes, it was an amazing trip.

We left Thursday night and took the night bus to Tena, arriving around 3:30 am. From there, we met our cab driver, and basically hung out at his house where we waited to meet with a former student of my professor, who is Huaorani, and would take us to the community. It was raining, so riding in the back of the pick up truck was a little refreshing. From the cab drivers house, we drove for 2.5 hours out of Tena until we arrived at a river, and from there, we took an hour canoe ride, where we finally arrived in the village. This trip was a test in patience; we waited during the night in the cab drivers house for 3 hours, and then waited under a bridge for 3 hours waiting for the canoe. A good time to rest, talk, and just relax; we didn't have a strict plan to follow, which made the trip flow really well.

After arriving at the village, we ate lunch (we arrived around 4:00 so we were starving) and got to know the village. Fernando (our professors former student) came with his wife and two absolutely adorable children, around 1 and 2 years old. The 2 year old boy always seemed to be happy, and bathed in all the attention he recieved for being possibly the most adorable child on earth.

At night we feasted on fish, caught from the river and fried whole. Of course, all parts of the fish are eaten; tail, eyes, head, etc. The tail I would descibe as a "fish chip" crunchy and the eyes are also crunchy when fried. With this we had yuca (south american potato) and rice. We also brought our own food to share like rice, tuna and coffee; this trip wasn't a touristy thing with activities and meals all planned. Sharing food is part of Huaorani culture; that everyone is responsible for bringing one part of the meal and sharing among everyone.

Among walking through the forest and swimming in the river, it was a weekend to relax, enjoy everyone's company and also learn about the community. Evangelical missionaries arrived in the late 1950's, and achieved contact with the Huaorani tribe. The first five missionaries that arrived were killed by members of the Huaorani, but later missionaries estalbished contact and translated the bible into the Huaorani language. It's evident that every day the petroleum companies are encroaching on Huaorani territory, which is an established area in Ecuador, but the petroleum companies also work there. One Huaorani community we passed through had a cement basketball court with a zinc roof, built by the petroleum company. This looked odd and seemed ironic in the jungle of Ecuador, where trees are everywhere and everyone loves to play not basketball, but soccer.

This is a hard blog to write because I don't even know where to start in explaining about the tribe and what we learned, and what I've learned in the class I'm taking. So, this is hardly scratching the surface about the Huaorani themselves, the conflict of western culture in the jungle, and petroleum companies and the government of Ecuador. All I know is that being in the jungle, the hot and humid weather feels amazing, I love it, and feels especially amazing when a warm rain comes to cool you off.

hey everyone! Weeks continue to fly by here, but I wanted to write about some things that I do, or experience everyday, and will miss in the states. Check out webshots for a new album I just put up with some pictures of the university!

Bus Vendors

To get to the University, which is in Cumbayá, kind of a suburb of Quito, 20 minutes east of Quito itself, I walk to the bus station, about a 20 minute walk on a busy street, so pollution during rush hour can be pretty bad. The bus I take doesn't have a name, really, or at least I don't think, but most of the international students here call them "the big green buses." They are both big and green, and drivers tear through the streets and usually high tail it down the valley to Cumbayá. There is the bus driver and then usually a young guy, though I've seen a few women, who collects the fare (.25cents) and yells out the window "venga venga subetu a cumbaya tumbaco puembo..venga!!" (come on come on get on the bus, to cumbaby, tumbaco, come on!!) Leaving Quito, there are a number of people who jump on the bus trying to sell hard candy like Halls cough drops (really popular here), candied peanuts, habas (toast and salted fava beans) potato chips, and fresh fruits like pears, apples, and avocadoes. These treats are usually sold with ease, though those with the newspapers don't do as well.

In addition to these vendors, there are people who ride on the bus for a few minutes and take time to explain what they are selling and why. You can find a variety of things: toothbrushes, pirated dvd's and cd's, more candy, jewlery. To those people who aren't able to eat/digest pork easily, as the bus vendors starts his speel by saying, he has for you a remedy that consists of a combination of herbs exclusively from the jungle (including "uña de gato"=cat fingernail, though this is actually a part of a plant and "sangre de dragón" dragon blood, which comes from a tree). The cost is no more than a dollar for these things. Usually a least 1 person buys something, but today, I was quite surprised to see a man sell at least 4 sets of toothbrushes; adult and child size, and a pack of cotton swabs too, all for $1.

La Universidad de San Francisco de Quito: San Francisco of Quito University

I've been told by many Ecuadorians that USFQ is the best university in Ecuador. They have the best library, the most structured program and professors are required to go to class and have a silabus, something not required in other universities here. The university is good, but most international students agree that grading is easier, work load for classes is not nearly as much as their home universities, etc. A few weeks ago, there was some kind of student fair, in which a entrepreneurship class was required to sell something, anything, like food or palm readings to the university students, and the group that made the most money would win the contest. The funny thing is that during this entire week, it seemed the whole student population at USFQ didn't study. Loud booming music pounded through library walls and students attempted (poorly) to sing karaoke, making it very hard to do anything. I remember commenting to one of my friends, "is this a joke? does anyone study here??" Ecuadorian students leave the room when their cell phone rings, talk while teachers are lecturing, and ask teachers if they can turn in an assignment for the next class, on the day that it's due. As I said, these are my perceptions but many international students find the same cases. My experience at the university has been good and I have had some really great teachers which I am happy about, this year being my last year as an undergraduate!

Although there are scholarships available to students, it costs a couple thousands dollars to attend each semester, so students who have a substantial amount of resources, or their parents, can go there. The average USFQ girl wears heels and does her hair and makeup everyday for class. I don't understand how they walk so well, especially without slipping when it's rainy. After winter break, I noticed a lot of boys seems to have gotten in fights and broken their noses as they were bandaged up and their face bruised. But in fact, they had used their winter break to get plastic surgery on their nose. An easy mistake to make I guess...

Hey everyone! I just returned from an amazing spring break trip to Peru, located just south of Ecuador. My 4 friends and I from the university stayed for 3 days in Cusco, once capital city of the Incan civilization and made a 4 day trek to Machu Picchu, visiting villages, seeing amazing sites, and getting to know the llamas who carried our packs. I put up a whole bunch of pictures on webshots, so please go to the webshots site and do a search for: KatieKoralesky, and you can see my pictures!

Cusco:

Because of it's location, Cusco was known as the center of the world, which is what the word literally means. Today, though there remains churches built during the Spanish colonization and the Incan foundations of the characteristic carved rocks for walls, the town is full of tourists, and the city is made up of restaurants, camping shops, and internet cafes. One alley is called "Gringo alley" (Gringo is a foreigner, an American usually) where you encounter menu after menu being shoved in your face. We encountered many people from the states, but also from the Netherlands, France, and Canada. The flag of Cusco is almost identical to the Gay pride flag, that of a rainbow. This is because the Incans worshiped many aspects of nature, the rainbow being one of them.

We were able to see a number of processions for the holy week, including one of Good Friday which included somber music played by the military band and the carrying of a statue of the Virgin Mary to a church. Easter Sunday included a parade of the military, and also the university and some primary and secondary schools of Cusco. The raising of both the Peruvian flag (red and white) and the Cusqueñan flag (stripes of the rainbow) were raised, and though the ceremony was pretty intense, this didnt' stop vendors from selling Peruvian snacks like jello in a cup, crunchy but sweet noodle like crackers, fried chips and ice cream. Overall, Peruvian food is similar to that of Ecuadorian; potatoes and rice are a staple, though Alpaca meat (an animal similar to a llama, characteristic of the Andes region) is often served (I didn't the chance to try-apparently it's a bit like beef).

Cusco, because of the constant arrival of tourists, offers many restuarants offering whatever you like, but tend to be more expensive (maybe 5 to 8 dollars a meal, which is pricy here). My friends and I were lucky to find a great Chinese restaurant (there are a lot in Cusco actually, as there has always been a good number of Chinese immigrants) and an Israeli restaurant that offered soup, falafel plates, a juice called "limonana," a mint infused limeade and desert all for 9 soles, about 3 dollars. (When we arrived, 2.75 soles were equal to 1 American dollar, a week later, 2.7 soles to 1 American dollar)

Cusco is the place to see archaeological ruins in South America. We saw many Incan ruins, temples, water structues/irrigation just 40 minutes outside of Cusco. The characteristic, perfectly fit together smooth rocks you probably know were only made when constructing temples (to the Sun god, or to one of 3 important animals, the Condor (sky) the Puma (land) and the snake (underground). These smooth paved rocks and double doorways were made for royalty also. The Incans did make sacrifices, but not in such cruel manners as the Mayans or Aztecs of Mexico; as sometimes the losers of sporting events were sacrificed. The Incans sacrificed a llama every single day, which were then burned. They sometimes sacrified young girls, 12-15, when a natural disaster or something like a volcano eruptiong happened, in order to appease the Gods.

Lares Llama Trek:

Much of the information I learned about the Incan civilization and about Peru was from our awesome guide, Cynthia, during out trek. The Incans finally conquered the rest of small tribes of Peru in the 1400's, but the Incans themselves were soon conquered after the Spanish arrival in the 1530's. Many of the communities we saw on our trek only speak Quichua, the language of the Incas, which until Spanish arrival only existed orally, not in written form. This is why most of the information about the Incans exists because of Spanish accounts, from a Spanish point of view. Some of the communities we saw were very small, and nearly all the people are farmers, mostly potatoes and the coca leaf. Every morning with our breakfast we had coca leaf tea, which consists of adding coca leaves with hot water. The taste is simple, but helps with altitude sickness, to evade hunger, and has been used since the Incan time for medicinal purposes. The United States prohibits the coca leaf from being imported, because from the coca leaf cocaine is made. To Peruvian, Bolivian and Ecuadorian people, the coca leaf is not a drug, as they have used it for centuries for numerous things, not drugs. The Incans even offered it as a gift to la Pacha Mama, Mother Earth. Many t-shirts for sale present a huge picture of the coca leaf and say "La hoja de coca no es droga" which means in Spanish, "The coca leaf is not a drug."

The trek was amazing; one of the most amazing ways to see Peru. We never got sick of the valleys and Andes mountains that we traveled through. There was not shortage of llamas and alpacas grazing either; they are perfectly suited for a chilly mountain climate. The llamas that carried our things were shy, but extremely well handeled and trained by their llama handler, named Raymundo. The rest of the people on our trek were 2 horse handlers (there was an "emergency horse" for any of us who felt sick or lightheaded) and also the cook, Benancio, who made the most amazing food on the trek (the horses carried along a small gas tank)

Machu Picchu:

Finally, we arrived at Machu Picchu. It is known as the lost city of the Incas because the Spanish wrote no accounts of it, and after Incans travelled there, they were told not to tell anyone. Hiram Bingham, Yale professor, actaully discovered it by mistake in the early 1900's. It was a temple, a village where people lived and also an agricultural region, as the Incans used terraces the grow potatoes and the coca leaf. These ancient terraces are everywhere around Cusco, literally. Machu Picchu was much bigger than I thought, we stayed at the site for 6 hours, 2 or which were climbing "Huaya Picchu", the big tall mountain behind Machu Picchu. At first glance, Huaya Picchu (meaning "young mountain", Machu Picchu meaning "old mountain") looked very steep, but up close, not so bad. There are these very thin slippery steps that lead to the top, where there are some more ruins, and huge rocks at the top. There is a limit to 400 people to climb everyday, and you must sign out when you go the climb and sign back in when you return. We wondered what would happen if at the end of the day, a signature was missing. Our guide told us that more than 3,000 people visit Machu Picchu every day. Because the moutain itself and Machu Picchu have been sliding down at a rate of 1 cm a month, the Cultural Institute of Peru wants to put a limit of 2,000 visitors each day. Even though I had seen pictures of Machu Picchu before, it's really amazing to see the clouds break and reveal the lost city.

Hey everyone, sorry if you had trouble going to my webshots, I wrote the wrong address down, so sorry about that!

Now, just go to webshots.com and type in my name like this: KatieKoralesky, and you'll be to my webshots page! Anyway, another example of my lacking technological knowledge....enjoy!

I'm heading to Peru, the city of Cusco tommorow- will update about this trip soon when I return!

Hey everyone! I hope things are going well in the states.

I am sure all of you heard about what happened about a week ago today in Ecuador, and what became a problem between Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. Colombia crossed into Ecuador and bombed where members of the FARC, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, were hiding. They killed about 20 people, including the second commander of the FARC army. Ecuador states Colombia had violated Ecuador's soverignty as Colombia did not alert Ecuadorian authorities of this attack. Hugh Chavez, president of Venezuela, agreed with Correa, Ecuador's president, and demanded something more than just an apology from Colombia, and so sent troops to the border of Colombia. Later that same week, Correa and Chavez accepted an apology from Colombia's president Uribe, and all was settled. With all this happening, were things any different for that week in Quito?

No. Although everyone was talking about it and expressing their opinions, as Quitenos (residents of Quito) like to talk politics, nothing seemed to be different at all. People continued to get up and go to work and go to school. Correa is very popular with most people, although conservatives would like to see him out of the presidency. Though nothing was different in Quito, it's interesting politically, as Colombia, currently under a conservative U.S. supported president, is situated between Ecuador and Venezuela, which are more socialist leaning presidents who maintain the same ideas.

Living in Quito

I've been living on my own in Quito now for more than 3 months. I usually spend 50-60 dollars a month on groceries.

Here is what is comes down to: Ecuador also uses the US dollar.

12 eggs: 1.40

Loaf of bread: 1.67

Bag of chifles (banana potato chips): .91

Half gallon of milk: .81

Bag of organic lettuce: .80

5 large potatoes: .40

2/3 lb. of fresh chese: 2.41

Half lb. of spaghetti: .41

10 bananas: .25

A whole pineapple: .80

I head of broccoli: .30

Fruit and vegetables are very cheap. There is a little fruit shop next to my house where a woman sells all types of fruit. The grocery store I go to offers a 25% discount every wednesday an all produce, and features an internationaly food isle, where you can find granola, Campbells soup, Hunts ketchup, Prego spaghetti sauce and ACT II popcorn, basically American food.

When eating out, you can usually find restaurants that offer almuerzos (lunches) which include soup, a main plate, juice and desert, a ton of food, from 1.25 to 2.50.

Taking the busy every day costs .25 cents each time, while a usual taxi ride will cost 2 to 3 dollars, the fare starting at .36 cents when you get in. That's pretty much it! No more pictures yet, but I recently decided I'm going to Machu Picchu in Peru for spring break (2 weeks) so check for update then!

Hey everyone, I just updated some photos on webshots ( the address is listed on the right side of this page). I put pictues of a some farms I visited, vegetables and the Farm and Field Day I attended. For some reason, my computer doesn't allow me to easily upload pictures here on my blog, so please check out the webshots page!

This past week I had the chance to a lot of work on my project on organic food. I met with a professor who runs an Integrated Pest Management class at the university, went to see the farm the university students manage, and had the opportunity to go to Carchi, the northern most province of Ecuador, quite near Colombia. In Carchi, the Farm and Field School (an international farming education program) had a field day, in which the members of the school from the different towns of Carchi put together a program to teach and explain different sustainable farming techniques. The stations included information about the ecosystem of the area, how to deal with pests like the white worm, and how to go about choosing a good potato seed-nearly all farming in their region, high in the sierra, is potato farming.

The people in the school also put on a skit about the highly toxic pesticides use, which, some years ago was used by many in Carchi. Many farmers got sick and the environment was damanged, so now programs like the Field School offer information about farming alternatives to pesticides. The skit portrayed a man who wanted to spray his potato crop to eliminate a plague, but was unaware of the dangers of the pesticide; and so proceeded to open the pesticide bag with his mouth, mix the contents with his bare hands, and refuse to wear protective gear. His final lines were" my stomach..my head they hurt" and the he dropped to the ground. The skit was really funny, but now farmers in Carchi are aware of the dangers of pesticide use, for humans and the environment.

Carchi is very close to Colombia, and I was told that many youth in the villages are take part in guerrilla youth movements of the FARC, which is a deemed terrorist group by the United States and also Colombia, that resides in the Colombian jungle. The FARC has been getting a lot of attention lately because just recently 4 more hostages were released, and 2 months ago, 2 women were released. Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela has been the mediator of these releases. FARC stands for Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, is a marxist, Bolivarian inspired group, who claims to fight against strong Western influence in other countires including Colombia. It's a interesting situation, and most guide books and certainly our univeristy program tells students "stay clear of the north." I asked a farmer (though I know that situation would be different for an American) if things ever get rough or dangerous around the town and he said no, though he does notice includence from the FARC.

Finally, because we have internet in our house (well worth 40$ a month) I'm able to not only keep up with family and friends through skype, but also with the world news. Last semester, I didn't know what the hell was going on besides in Ecuador and at the university, so it's good to be back in the loop. CNN, the site I go to when I only want to know about American news, updates election news so regularly it's crazy. It must be really exciting to have such a close democratic race and I would have loved to see Obama when he came to Madison. It is funny, however, to be in a different country and see how much money and time and talk is put into the campaign. I usually laugh when I see updates about Hillary saying things like "shame on you barak" scolding, almost as if she is his mother. CNN en español also provides pretty up to date coverage, but it's interesting because they seek out hispanic interviews. If I see the a news title like "Obama, Clinto tangle/showdown/challenge/square dance... whatever in Texas" again...that's American politics I guess.

Para los estudiantes de español en Central:

!Hola, cómo están, y espero que todos vayan muy bien! Yo sé que hay muchisimo frio en Wisconsin, y aquí, en Quito, la capital de Ecuador, también estamos en la estación de invierno. ?Qué significa invierno en Quito? Bueno, no hay nieve, tampoco hay tanto frio, pero hay mucha lluvia y baja la temperatura, hasta 50 degrados F. Este invierno está bastante duro; hace una semana que he visto el sol. Ojalá que haya sol pronto. Además, en la costa de Ecuador, hay tanta lluvia que hay muchas inundaciones, y mucha gente tuvo que salir de su casa.

Mi hermana, Krysta Koralesky, me dijo que Uds. están estudiando los adjetivos. Hay unas palabras que he aprendido aquí, y ahora, las uso con frecuencia. Aquí hay unos ejemplos:

chevere: ("chev-er-ay") really cool, awesome Se usa así "La fiesta estuvo chevere" The dance was awesome.

Cuy: Una palabra en Quichua (language of the Andes Mountains region) Cuy : Guinea Pig "CU-E" and "Key-chua"

Tanta gente usa "siga no más" en los buses, en los restaurantes, etc. Eso quiere decir "Seguirse adelante" aunque "no más" literalmente significa "aguanta, parar" En ingles, No more. No más.

Dale: Give it to me, go for it

Mi comida favorita: Ahorita, Chifles. ("chee-flays") (Como papas fritas, (chips) pero lo hacen de plátano verde, (green banana)

!Esas palabras se utilizan muchisimo! Finalmente, unas cosas interesantes sobre Quito:

1. HALLS (medicina para la garganta, "cough drops") se llaman "caramelos" que significa "dulces" Entonces, todo el mundo se come HALLS como dulces. HALLS cough drops are enjoyed here as candy.

2. Pollo es bien popular: Se ve KFC por todas partes, y restaurantes parecidos son populares. KFC is really popular, so is chicken.

3. Para tomar/coger el bus, depende de la distancia que se viaja, pero usualmente cuesta .25 centavos. (It usually costs 25 cents to take the bus)

4. La gente es muy amable, y te quiere ayudar. Cuando me perdí, le pregunté a una mujer como llegar a la estación de los buses, y ella me explicó en manera muy detallada, y me llamaba "mi hija" (People are very nice, and are willing to help you. I got lost one time, so when I asked a women for help, she told me how to get to the bus station, and called me "my daughter" which is like an endearing term.

5. Dichos así, "mi hija, mi amor, mi vida, mi corazón" se usa bastante también. (Frases like my daughter,my love, my life, my heart, are used a lot here, as endearing.

Cada día en Quito es diferente, y aprendo algo nuevo, si estoy en bus, si estoy haciendo compras, lo que sea. Es tan interesante ponerte en otra cultura, y yo espero que algun día, Uds. tengan la oportunidad tener una experencia así.

Every day in Quito is different, I learn something new, if I am on the busy, shopping, whatever. It is so interesting to put yourself in another culture, and I hope that one day, you all have the oportunity to have an experience like that.

In English:

Hey, how are you, I hope you're all doing well. I know it's super cold in Wisconsin and here, in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador we're also in the winter season. What is winter like in Quito? Well, there is no snow, or cold, but a lot of rain and the temperature falls, to about 50 degress Fahrenheit. This winter is pretty hard; it's been a week since I've seen the sun! I hope the sun shows up soon. Also, in the coastal part of Ecuador, there is so much rain that there has been floods, and many people had to leave their homes.

My sister, Krysta, told me that you guys are studying adjectives. There are some words I have learned here, and now use a lot. Here are some examples.

Every day in Quito is different, I learn something new, if I am on the busy, shopping, whatever. It is so interesting to put yourself in another culture, and I hope that one day, you all have the opportunity to have an experience like that.

I'm let you know when I update webshots (Soon!)

Hey everybody! I hope all is well in the states. Things are going well here in Quito. This past week stuff has really picked up with my project and school work, so I am keeping busy. This semester I feel more like a resident than a tourist; I do not travel every weekend to do the touristy stuff nor do I feel the need to leave Quito every weekend.

Organic Food Project

This past week I went to 2 organic farms, one in Pifo, about an hour east of Quito and the other in Pulango, just outside of Pifo. The first farm I visited was great, about 15 acres and the farmer really knew his stuff, he recieved a doctoral degree in the states. He gave me a ton of info and also names of people he has worked with here, so I've got a lot more resources to contact. The farm was really beautiful, birds everywhere, which you don't normally see in Quito, and some really nice plants. Some very happy cows they have are used to make compost and to make cheese, butter and yogurt (yogurt is pretty big in Ecuador, although it is more the consistency of a smoothie, drinkable, no need for a spoon)

The second farm I visited is just begining to start a CSA membership, Community Supported Agriculture. The 2 young farmers, Ecuadorians, who are starting this project worked on a CSA in Maine, USA, for 2 months, so they are now trying to apply this idea here in Quito, and hopefully expand the idea. The farm was a lot smaller, and the farmers guessed it could support 13 families. They made a whole day of the meeting; we arrived, got to know the farm, "la compostera" where they make compost, about their chickens, and then sat and talked and sharted ideas about the farm and the CSA. Great to talk to people interested in this type of thing. One thing that reminas unanswered for me is the funds; how will this farm support itself, and could many small farms be capable of doing this? In other words, is it plausible?

CUY: Guinea Pig

Cuy is a Quichua word for Guinea Pig. (Quichua is spelled in a variety of ways. It is the indigenous language of the Andes region, still spoken, but by few, today) I am sure some of you have heard that cuy is eaten here in the Andes region, and is regarded as a celebratory food, used in festivals, when a child is born, etc. Last night, I had the opportunity to try it, so of course, I did. The meat is dark, and I don't want to use a cliche, but really, tastes a bit like chicken. I have heard it tastes more like rabbit, but I have never eaten that. It has a really nice flavour and is usually roasted. The skin has a rubbery texture, like gum, but is still flavorful. A friend brought some to our house, his maid had made some because he was named to be the godfather of her son; so this cuy was made to celebrate. You eat all parts of the cuy, including the eyes, tounge and crack the skull to eat the brain; nothing is wasted. No animal parts are wasted here. A few times, I've had soup, in which the foot (not the hoof) of an animal, like cow, is put in the soup. There is not meat on the foot; rather cartilage. This is a typical and special food, made on special occasions here. It has a good flavour, but I admit eating the cartilage is tricky; it has a rubbery texture, and it hard to bite off the food; for which, the accepted method is to pick up the foot with your hand out of the soup bowl, and eat. Little by little I am getting used to this.

Well, thats the new from Quito Ecuador. More updates about the project coming and as soon as I figure out how to put more pictures on my computer, I will upload some pictures!

Hey everyone! Believe it or not, Wisconsin actually made the news here the other night! The amazing amount of snow and back up on a highway in DANE county was on the news (CNN en español) I hope none of you were snowed in too much, and hopefully all the snow is at least something nice to look at!

The good times:

Things have been going well here in Quito, and getting busy again this semester. I am working on a senior thesis project about organic food in Ecuador. I am working with a professor at the University here, have an internship at FENOCIN, the Federation of field workers, indigenous people and afro-ecuadorians, that works with these people to promote pluri-cultural society, and sustainable agriculture. I'm planning to visit farms, organic companies, learn about certification here and about the organic movement here in Ecuador. I am excited to make this project really good, and learn a lot.

Last weekend I went to TENA, at the begining of the Amazon basin in Ecuador. Some friends and I went white water rafting which was really fun and the company we went with, River People, did an amazing job. Last weekend was also Carnaval, which is a celebration during the weekend before Ash Wednesday. It's basically a big party, there is a lot of food, drink, parades, etc. Kids and adults also "play carnaval" which means throwing water ballons, using squirt guns, spray foam and also eggs and flour at other people, tourists, are especially a target for this. On the walk through the city of TENA one afternoon, my friend and I got hit by water ballons, squirt guns, and had bottles of water dumped on us. We were still wet from rafting, so we didn't really care. I also got attacked with spray foam (really popular with little kids) a number of times. All in good fun though.

Almost all people leave Quito for this weekend and head to the beach or Guaranda or Ambato, towns were Carnaval is really big and popular.

Bad times:

I had really hoped it would never happen to me, but I was robbed two weeks ago, on the bus I have been taking everyday since August. Luckily, the only took my wallet which had my debit card, my censo (my ID here) and 6 dollars. I also had my computer in my backpack, so it could have been a lot worse. I always am trying to be really careful, but I forgot to pull the zippers of my backpack towards me. Instead, they were facing away, and on an incredibly crowded bus around rush hour time (when, if the doors of the bus can close easily, there is still room for 20 more people) it makes it all the easier for someone to grab something out of ones pack. Lucky they didn't steal much, I felt mostly stupid about this, although I also felt like a dying breed, as a lot of people, foreign students get things stolen. One roomate had here backpack stolen, another her phone stolen twice.

So, that was dissapointing, but I guess in times like this you really have to look at the positive side, which is what I'm trying to do, and busy myself with school, my project and friends. And that's the news from Quito, Ecuador. Take care everyone!

Well, I just put up some new pictures of the bull fights during fiestas de Quito and also a whole bunch for my trip to Galapagos! So check them out on my webshots page, the address is listed in my profile. I can also say I am writing this blog in my new apartment! Yes, after many phone calls and a bit of confusion our wireless internet has arrived! It will be really nice to have this resource in our house. So, lets all skype away! Miss you all and hope this new year and semester is starting off really well! Will write again soon!

This past semester I took a class called Ecology and Conservation of the Galapagos Islands. It was a really interesting course, and at the end, the class took a trip to the islands. It wasn't actually the whole class, but 9 gringas and 1 ecuadorian boy. We had a great time, despite me catching some throat infection, spending the first two days in the hostel bed, going to the hospital in Santa Cruz island, and getting some strong medication. The doctor I had was my saint of the Galapagos! So, after feeling good again, here is what I did there.

Chalres Darwin traveled to the islands when he was 22, stayed 5 weeks, and visited 5 islands. About 20 years later he wrote "The Origin of Species" the describe his theory of evolution, which holds true today. There are 4 populated islands, Santa Cruz, Isabela, Santiago and San Cristobal. We stayed mostly in Santa Cruz, which is the most developed, tourism having been prominent there for abotu 30 years. There are paved streets, a ton of restaurants and t-shirt shops, and a lot of tourists. A lot of english speaking people, which was kind of weird after being in Ecuador for months. Today there are a lot of cruise ships that make trips to islands and scuba dive or snorkel; there were some young student tourists like ourselves, but a fair number of older, retired folk.

We saw a ton of animals, who don't really scare when you walk by. This is something that makes Galapagos unique; and the fact that you have polar animals like sea lions hanging around marine iguanas, coming from a tropical climate and geckos and cacti, things you see in the desert. The sea lions like the swim around and then sun bathe the rest of the day. Watching marine iguanas swim is so cool, as they use only their tail to swim, their human like arms and legs at their sides. The pre-historic looking giant tortise, some who live to be 150 only have 1 defense, to breath loudly if they get nervous. One could sit for hours just watching these animals.

As part of the class, we were required to make a project, theme of our choice. I chose to investigate about the fisherman of Galapagos, as many men choose this as their occupation. The thing is that there are a lot of different organizations like the National Park of Galapagos or the Charles Darwin foundation that fight primarily for conservation of the species of Galapagos, including fish species and sea cucumber and lobster. These two things were overfished before the Marine Reserve was established and now only allows a certain number of boats, fishing in certain seasons only and small scale fishing, not industrial. Because of this, many fisherman think these foundations and conservationists are again them, as they believe they are doing what they can to make a living. Illegal fishing still happens, and I met a fisherman who used to do this. He said that now he is older, his ideas have changed and he realized that the laws that have been established are in the long term, good for the islands and the fisherman as well. So, an interesting subject, controversial, and not yet solved.

The trip to the islands was amazing, kind of like being in a desert in the middle of the ocean.

Hey everyone! I hope everything is going well in the states, and in snow covered cold Wisconsin! Today in Quito it is sunny and about 65 degrees. This is my first Christmas, or anticipation of Christmas that it has not been freezing cold and snowy! Because of this, it really doesn´t feel like it´s Christmas season to me, but in the malls there are decorations and lights, and lots of American Christmas music playing on the speakers!

The semester here is done, I finished all my finals awhile ago because I had to chance to go to Galápagos with a class for 10 days! I just returned yesterday, and despite having to stay in bed the first 2 days due to a throat infection, the trip was amazing and I saw so many cool plants and animals. When I get a chance to upload pictures I will write a blog about this trip.

I wanted to write a little about Fiestas de Quito, which just happened during the first week of December, the last day of fiestas being my birthday, December 6. Fiestas de Quito basically entail a celebration of the city of Quito, the founding of the city, and whenever someone yells ¡Viva Quito! there is the expected response of ¡Viva Quito!!! There is a lot of drinking, big parties, dancing in the street, chivas (´´cheevah´´,party buses) and bull fights.

I went to a party hosted by a popular club here called UIO (the vowels in Quito). It was held in a mall, and there was music, food, free bar, but tickets were 30 dollars. Most parties like this during fiestas cost this much. It was fun, but there was a ton of people. I also went to a bull fight, which was an experience. The corrida de toros, bull fights, kind of have the feel of a rodeo; a lot of people bring out their cowboy boots and hats, and sip, or indulge in beer and wine. In each corrida, there are six bulls, and a differente torero (bull fighter) for each bull, some from Spain, some born here in Ecuador. First, the bull is released and helpers agitate the bull by throwing small swords, or knives in the bulls back. Then the torero comes out, does the whole thing with the red cape, the bull charges, and yes, people yell ´´ole´´. Finally, the torero attempts to put a sword in the bulls back. After that, the bull collapses, and another helper guy comes on makes one quick stab in the back of the head, which should, or is supposed to kill the bull automatically.

At first I really didn´t want to go the bull fights. I ended up going, and the atmosphere in the stadium is really energetic and exciting. I am glad I did go, to see what it is like. I´ll never go again, because to me, the whole concept is pretty wrong. A lot of Ecuadorians say ´´No, it´s more of a tradition, etc´´ which is true, but it is a very Spanish tradition. About half of the Ecuadorians I know are in agreement with the bull fights, the other half don´t like them.

For my birthday, I had a small party at my house with some friends, which was nice and relaxing. It was weird because it wasn´t cold!

That´s it for now. This semester FLEW by, and I´m reall glad I am coming back next semester! I´ll be home soon and see many of you I hope! I will be updating lots of pictures over this winter break, so check out the webshots and blog again soon!

Hey everyone! I am sure it is nice and cold in Wisconsin, but here in Quito, Ecuador it is still nice and mid 60's every day! The sun shines in the morning, but the sad part is that it usually rains in the afternoon! This weather scheme is pretty much predictable every day, so it's kind of like we have all the seasons on Wisconsin in one day! I do think I will still be in a shock to feel the cold and see the snow of Wisconsin when I return!

I wanted to tell you all a bit about my experience in the jungle.

Tena is a city located in the southern oriente of Ecuador, or, in the South eastern part of Quito, the begining of the Amazon basin. I loved the hot humid heat of the jungle. This is what is great about Ecuador. You can travel for a few hours (to Tena, 5) and be in a totally different climate, a totally different world!

We arrived to TENA early friday morning, as we left Quito aruond 8:30. Friday morning after breakfast we met with a guide (we went through a tour operator) and traveled an hour outside of Tena, really in the jungle. There, we met a family, who also works with the tour guide company and houses travelers and tourists. Our accomodations were pretty basic, like camping, but the family was so kind and genuine, along with our guide Fernan.

The first day we hiked for a few hours through the jungle, which included having to climb up some small (15 feet) waterfalls! This was tricky, but really fun and exciting. So much green all the time! We saw a lot of butterflies, the really pretty blue kind you see associated with the jungle. Not so many animals, but sure was a lot of mosquitoes! These are not your average Wisconsin mosquitoes either, but the kind the bite and leave a blood spot, and the itch like hell!! I used a half a bottle of bug spray, but, it doesn't matter. I asked our guide about this, and why he wasn't getting bit at all. "Ohh the mosquitoes love the sweet tourist blood, our blood is more bitter."

Would I survive hunting for myself, using this dart thing in the jungle? It was really heavy!

The next day was followed by learning about gold panning, heading to a waterfall is swim around and then tubing down the river. It was kind of funny how we tubed, because we were 5 people (me, Sarah and Anouk, Fernan our guide and Alberto, our friend from Spain who did the same activities as us, so we got to know him). We tied 3 tubes together, Alberto and Fernana the captain in the front tube, sarah in one, anouk in the other and me in the middle, somehow hanging on. The river wasn't so lazy either- there was so rapids! So, this was pretty fun, if you can picture our situation.

We ate some really good food as well. Yuca, basically the latin american potatoe, is a tuber like vegetable that grows underground, but really tasty! We had it in soup and fried, yum. We also had chicken, that were harvested from the families chickens, that during the day were walking around, but later, well you know. Of course rice with every meal. For breakfast eggs with patacones, which I am currently obsessed with. Patacones are made from platano verde, green banana, and look like a green banana, before it has ripened. You slice the platano and then fry it. Add some salt and this slightly less sweet banana is so delicious. I can't wait to make them for myself! We also ate the sweetest bananans you have ever tasted, the peel bursting because the fruit was so ripe.

Our stay in the jungle was really nice, and I really missed the people and weather when I came back to Quito. You have to wonder about the tour operator though, and how the money the operators gains is divided among all the people who work for the operator. What does the familiy make, who we stayed with, and learned from, and who cooked for us, all day? The tour operator is called Amarongachi tours (Quichua for hunting ground of the anacanda, no we did not see one) We did not investiage this organization before booking the tour.

Hey Everyone! hope all is well in the states and you all had a good thanksgiving! This update is a little late, but I am going to tell you about my trip to Buenos Aires, that was actually in the begining of October.

My friends Sarah and I decided to go here because one of her friends is studying there, and I also have a friends teaching english there. I also met Leigh, a friend of Rachel's sister Sarah, who was also taking Spanish classes there. We stayed for 1 week.

Our hostel was located in downtown BA, a 20 minute walk to the Plaza de Mayo, and even closer to Calle Florida, Florida Street, a long street with plenty of shops.

PLAZA DE MAYO

Here there is a plaza and also the Rose House, Casa Rosasa. This government building was painted pink to ease tension between the countires opposing political parties, whose respective colors are red and white. The photo I have posted you can see the balcony, which faces the plaza de mayo. Eva Peron and her husband Juan Peron made many speeches to the people of Argentina from this balcony.

Plaza de Mayo is equally famous. Here, mothers of the disappeared, los desaparecidos, march every thursday afternoon, in protest of the brutal government and the gurra sucia, the dirty war, which happened in the years 1976 to 1979. The disappeared people could be sons and daughters, who opposed the government during that time, and for this, were kidnapped and "disappeared" which probably means killed, but still, there are many unanswered questions.

Buenos Aires, population 13 million, is made of many neighborhoods, barrios.

La BOCA

This neighborhood is known for it's colorful buildings, and also the Boca Juniors, the soccer team.

Palmero: A large neighborhood with good shopping, but had a very homey feel. The museum of Eva Peron is located here.

Recoleta: There is a ferria, a fair, here every Sunday with a lot of crafts, clothes, jewelry, and cups for yerba mate, which is a really popular herbal alternative to caffeine. Also, the cemetary where Eva is burried is here.

San Telmo: Really pretty colonial influenced buildings. Also a great ferria here every sunday with lots of antiques.

San Nicolas: In downtown Buenos Aires, where our hostel was, Plaza de Mayo, etc.

LA COMIDA: THE FOOD

Wine/Vino: Argentina, like chile, makes a lot of wine. You can find a nice bottle for 3 pesos, which equals 1 dollar.

Dulce de leche: the pastries in Argentina are amazing. Dulce de leche is condensed milk, but in a carmel consistency. add this with two nice cookies, and you have an Alfajor, a tasty treat very popular in Buenos Aires.

Carne/Meat: A typical Argentina dinner, around 10 or 11 at night, is meat, and more meat. I did try this, it was the first time eating meat in a while but I am glad I did, as food is a very important part of experiencing a culture. We had steak, the intestine, liver, and I tried blood sausage, which was a little much for me.

LA GENTE/THE PEOPLE

I was mistaken for being argentine 3 times. People asked me for directions, once in a restaurante "do you work here?", etc. It's nice to known you don't look horribly like a tourist sometimes, but this would NEVER happen in Ecuador. In Argentina, there is a strong influence and large population of italian and german immigrants, therefore, the race in Argentina is more white. I found the people to be friendly once you talked with them, but seemed a bit snobbish and New Yorkish, just walking on the street, very much into what they were doing, on their own agenda. For this, I started to miss Ecuador and there people there a bit toward the end. So, the trip was amazing, and really interesting to see a very different and more developed country in South America. Don't worry I am bringing home some dulce de leche!!

Hey everyone, here is my webshots address. I have posted 3 albums of photos, and hopefully later this week I will put pictures of Argentina. Enjoy!

http://community.webshots.com/user/KatieKoralesky

-katie

So enjoy these 2 updates! I am going to write about my trip to Argentina later this week. But I hope you enjoy! Also thanks to everyone for leaving comments! I love reading these and I am so happy that you guys read my blog! I hope everything is going really well in the states and you are enjoying fall! And oops, I made myself with a pina colada sideways....sorry, my computer skills are still maybe 60%, not passing. But that is me with a pina colada and my new haircut!

My friend Anouk and I went to the beach with two of our friends, Daniel, and Ricky, whose nickname is Colombia, because he is from there. We were able to stay in my friend Daniel's hotel, or hotel that his father is building which was really nice! Though it was kind of overcast the whole time, it was still very nice weather, we enjoyed yummy seafood and fresh fresh fruits and a new favorite food, patacones, or fried green bananas (platano verde).

Our hotel was in Tonsupa, which is a smaller beach town located west of Quito on the coast. There are a lot of towns on the coast, and we also visited Atacames, very touristy and larger than Tonsupa, and another small more remote beach called Mompiche, and finally, Casa Blanca. My favorite was Mompiche, it was not as crowded, and we were able to swim. The journey there was very long, and on a rough road, but very worth it.

In Tonsupa, where we spent most of our time, the beach is lined with bars full of tropical drinks. We tried some very delicious fruity beverages, and had some excellente Piña Coladas, of course with real coconut (coco) and pineapple (Piña). Other fruits that are popular are papaya, watermelon and of course bananas. Of course, there is a lot of seafood to choose from. Ceviche is a really popular dish in Ecuador and it is everywhere on the coast. Basically, it is marinated seafood, a mix of shrimp, fish, crab, etc, that can be marinated in a tomato sauce, or a salty broth. It is served cold, and apparently is the curve to any hangover ( "chuchagi" Chew-cha -gee). This was very good, and so fresh.

Basically, this was a really nice weekend to relax and enjoy friends and food. It was sad to head back to Quito on Sunday, as for me, it was really back to reality, after being in Argentina for 1 week and having the beach weekend.

There is a significant number of petroleum fields, or factories in and around the Coastal part of Ecuador. It was interesting to see these oil fields, and see the huge amount of smoke drifiting up into the air from the production. There are laws and restrictions in Ecuador to limit the amount of by-product, smoke,or exhaust that is produced from these oil fields, but they are rarely followed. My friend Daniel remarked, "They aren't followed because if you have the money, you have the power." It would be interesting to investiagte the politics of the petroleum industry here.

Also, there is not recycling in Ecuador, or practically none. I have yet to see a recycling bin in the university, in the mall, or on the street. In fact, garbage cans in general are lacking everywhere, so of course, litter is everywhere. When I am on the bus, people simply throw things out the window, or I'll be walking behind someone and they throw a wrapper on the ground. I was not expecting this when I came here, but it's intersting and troubling to see that reycling and littering is not a big concern, or something that most people accupy their mind with.

PLEASE do not me mad at me! I know I have been a very bad blogger, but I am going to make up for it right now with lots of update! I have been really busy the last few weeks, with a trip to ARGENTINA, and returning to mid term exams! Also, please check out my WEBSHOTS web page, I am uploading a lot of pictures today!

Lataguna (see pictures above, and also more on my WEBSHOTS!!)

Latacguna is a smaller city about 2 hours south of Quito, the capital of the province Cotopaxi, Cotopaxi is also one of the many volcanoes in Ecuador. Just yesterday I received an email about one volcano, near Banos named Tungurahua, that has had some recent increased activity. Maybe we will see an eruption?? Anyway, we arrived to Latacunga Friday afternoon and took another bus to the smaller and much more remote pueblos outside of Latacunga. My friends and I, Anouk and Sarah, felt more and more removed from the city we know, Quito, the farther we traveled. We drove in a bus up and the side of a mountain, the temperature decreasing steadily. We were really in the middle of nowhere. Surprisingly, my phone still worked. We finally arrived at Quilatoa, a very small town about 2 hours outside of Latacunga. We hopped off the bus right next to our hostel, where a woman was waiting, and greeted us. We were very happy to find a hostel so quickly- it was much colder and very windy at this higher elevation.

Everything was heated by fire, we had an oven/stove thing in our room, there was one in the main dining room, etc. It was very cozy, as around dinner time, all the guests (which were only 3 more people, one Ecuadorian and two French girls) met in the kitchen/dining room. We had some really nice food that the duena, the woman owner, of the hostel made; some chicken, rice, creamy vegetable soup, and bread with marmalade. Here we had the opportunity to talk with the owners of the hostel, and their childen. After dinner, we found ourselves very tired, as it had already been dark for awhile, but it was only 8.30 pm! More or less, when the sun goes down in the campo, or a rural area, people go to bed, because there isn't much else to do with no light! ( We did have electicity in the hostel)

ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS

Recently, the 30th of September, there were elections in all of Ecuador to elect an assembly of people, to re-write and reform the constitution. The only requirement for candidates: 18 years of age. There were over 150 candidates, even one person in my university! While we were in the hostel, I talked with a man who was going to Quito the next day to vote (everyone votes in their home town). I asked him who he would be voting for and he said without a doubt, Correa. He explained that before Correa, there weren't as many jobs for him and people like him who live in a rural area, but now, it is different, and he has work.

*The outcome of the assembly elections were very much in favor of Correa's party, which now holds 2/3 majority in the assembly. Some people are very happy, because they believe Correra will bring more jobs to people who need them and try to start programs to lessen the poverty, which in some areas of Ecuador is 70%. Correa is a socialist president, and is classified as part of the "New Socialism of the 21st Century" with other Latin American presidents like Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Evo Morales of Bolivia. One the other hand, some people do not like that Correa's party has won the assembly majority, as they think the country will take a turn for not only socialism, but communism. It is very interesting to learn about politics here, because there is such a wide range of opinions between people.

The rest of our trip this weekend was really great. Lago Quilatoa is a caldera, or now a lake where there used to be a volcano. Gorgeous! We hiked around, and took a truck to Zumbahua, another small town near Quilatoa. Saturday means the market, and this market was much more for the local people, we were the only white people. This market was a lot more crude and basic than Otavalo; bones lay all over the ground, left from people after finishing their lunch, chickens tied up under cooking stands, literally, to be cooked up next, and there was even a slaughtering station, where we saw sheep lined up to meet their fate right there. USDA standards of meat processing were probably not met here.

This trip, I really got to see some of the rural areas of Ecuador, that are so different than Quito, but are so interesting and beautiful. The people were kind and welcoming, and I really got the feeling we were far away from everything we knew; the Ecovia bus, the university, and Supermaxi (basically Wal-Mart in Ecuador). An amazing trip!

Baños is a small town (less than 20,000 residents) located 3 hours south of Quito. A relatively touristy town, Baños is a town for sports like biking, rafting, propeling down a waterfall and also for the natural hot springs in the town, as a result of volcano Tungurahua. The volcano recently erupted a few years ago, but tourism is still pretty popular in the town. This town seemed so small compared to huge Quito, which seems to stretch for miles and miles, probably because it does. Anyway, Baños felt very safe, all streets were well lit, and the street were small and one way, a very cute little town.

With my travel partners, Anouk (from Holland) and Sarah and Heather from the US, we met a rafting guide on the bus who showed us a nice hostel, Hostel Transylvania. It was very nice and clean with breakfast for 6$ a night. The owner had an adorable puppy called "gringo" (this word can be used for any foreigner...gringo, o I have been called a gringa, gringita is more endearing....etc) There were some other people from the UK and Israel staying there as well.

Saturday morning we rose early to start our bike trip. We rented bikes for the day, $5, and rode through and out of the town, for a ride of about 22 km heading south of the town. The ride was so scenic and beautiful, and mostly downhill which was nice. Besides lush looming hills on both sides of the road, there were many waterfalls, large and small. We rode, took pictures, and stopped in Rio Verde, a very small town for lunch at a little restaurant. Here, the four of us had a big almuerzo with chicken, rice, papas, salad and drinks for $7.16. Not bad. Just outside of Rio Verde there are two waterfalls that conjoin called San Miguel and Pilon del Diablo. I was so impressed by the awesome force of the waterfall; all the water rushing at once is so powerful and unending! We biked around more, hiking as well. This was a great but also tiring day! That night, there was a little celebration for the Virgen en la plaza, so we hung out here a bit. There was a band and some dancing. After dinner, we were in bed by 10:00pm!

Sunday morning we had plans to go the natural hot springs. I had never been to a hot spring, but Anouk and Sarah had in Chile and Costa Rica, and so were very exctied. When we arrived to the springs, however, it was something absolutely different than I had expected.

There were several pools of different temperature, but it looked very much like pools you would find in the states, made of concrete, which metal steps. We went around 9:30 in the morning, but the pools were already packed. The smell of sulfur combined with the yellowish/brownish murky water in the pools was, well, something you had to get used to. People of all ages running around in LESS than modest swimsuits, hair floating everywhere in the pool...an activity we planned to do for 3 hours lasted only 20 minutes. Besides the murkyness of the water, the temperature felt very nice. My friends and I were brave, and went to the hottest pool, also with the most people. I think we were the only gringas around, so either people thought we were crazy or, as I like to think, brave. Although the baños weren't what we were expecting, I maintain that I felt a lot better after leaving the pools, as I had a bit of a cold. Was it the magical healing power of the murky water....or just the healing power of time? I'll say a little of both.

Caña de azucar: Sugar Cane

Sugar cane is sold in nearly every shop here. We bought some to try, and you chew on these semi woody strips. The taste is like a very intense sugar water, very tasty.

Cuy:

A few of you have been asking if I have yet tried "cuy" or guinea pig, which is eaten here as a traditional food, but also prepared for tourists. We did not eat this, but we saw some roasting away. I've posted a picture for all those who want to see...who's hungry??

Baños is also famous for taffy, and this, like the sugar cane is sold in every shop. We tried some, and it also has a very nice flavour. It's hard to understand how each stand can sell the same exact thing. When we were leaving, 7 stands in a row,

selling taffy and sugar cane!

This weekend was really nice, my first away from Quito! It was very beautiul and though a little different than I expected still a great weekend spent!

Well I hope all is still well in the states! Here are two new blogs, the first about my trip two saturdays ago to Otavalo, and then the Los Baños!

OTAVALO

Otavalo is located in the northern highlands of Ecuador, about 2 hours north of Quito. My friends, Sarah, Anouk, Heather and I took a bus in the morning to visit one of the largests outdoor markets in Latin America. This annual saturday market has existed for many many years, as the Otavalo Indians have sold food, fruits, grains and vegetables, and also hand woven goods like blankets, scarves, shawls, ponchos, socks, etc. Earlier in the morning there is an animal market as well; when we arrived we saw women carrying chickens by the food in their hands, most likely, not meant to be new pets. Otavalo is the name of the town and also the name of the people who sell goods there; the people have much pride in their culture and dress as they have for years, men with black felt hats and ponchos with long hair in a ponytail, and women in traditional made dresses.

Otavalo was pretty touristy, a lot of foreigners, but also Ecuadorians shopping to pick up produce. I loved looking at all the fruits and vegetables; there was such a variety and some very strange things as well. We met a man from the UK who offered us to try a very strange looking fruit, which had a fuzzy texture, but was tasty and apparently is good for the digestive system. "What is this fruit," we asked the man and he simply said "I don't know," he said matter of fact. I liked his philosophy. So we ate it anyway, and no one had to make extra trips to the bathroom. Some fruits that were sold in market and are very popular here are:

Tomate de árbol: Tree tomato. This fruit grows in small trees, and looks like an apple, but more oval shaped. Most often made into juice, this is really tasty, kind of like an orange, citrisy flavour, but not as sharp as an orange.

Naranjilla: This small orange colored fruit, with tomato like skin, makes really nice juice as well, and has a very sweet orange flavour.

Guaybana: This is a fruit that looks like a lemon, but more oval shaped. The inside looks like a more pink pomegrante. It is also made more juice and also we had some nice Guaybana jam. I, the farmers market lover I am, decided to buy one to try, it has a peel, so I figured it would be safe to eat. Well, as soon as I opened it and took a little bite, I look at the fruit and see it's moving!! What a nice surprise to find a friendly worm also enjoying the fruit. Luckily I saw it soon, I spit out the fruit, and as far as I know, two weeks later, all is well with my stomach and digestive system. Close call, (don't freak out mom) next time I will be more careful.

I found Otavalo to be very touristy, and many things sold were marketed to foreigners. Things that simply say "Ecuador" on them just for the hell of it were popular as well. I bought some nice scarves for $1.50 each (haggling here is accepted of course) and also a scarf made of Alpaca wool (veyr soft, like a highland llama) All in all, every stand sold pretty much the same things, but all the goods were very beautiful. My friends and I had lunch as Casa de Frutas, a veggie friendly place we found in the Lonley Planet (thank you Sara Kuck!!) Also, everywhere in Ecuador stray dogs are very common. At this market, a lot of dogs walking around all the street food vendors, looking for scraps. Krysta, I gave one skinny mother dog some bread, so that made her day.

Hello everyone, I hope all is going well in the states!

I´ve been here in Ecuador for about one week, and I´ve learned a lot, seen a lot, and am starting to know my way around mi barrio, my neighborhood. Here are some highlights!

An interesting fact: December 6, o seis de diciembre is a very important date in Quito, as it marks the offical founding of the city. This day, I´m told, is a huge party day (and the 5th of December as well) that includes parties, parades, music and everything you would expect. How funny, becuase it is also my birthday. Whenever I tell this to Ecuadorians they are excited. So, no class for my birthday!

Important words and phrases

-Una parada- (para-da) a stop, like a bus stop

-Chevre, o ¡Que Chevre!- (chev-ray (like chevy truck, like a ray of sun) ¨chev-ray¨) a new word in the Spanish dictionary very popular in Ecuador which means ¨cool¨ or ¨how nice¨

My 13 year old sister, Dany, uses this word all the time.

Transportation in Ecuador:

Transportation here is something always exciting, and moving. Every day I take two buses to the University. There is not set schedule for the buses, they just come and go, pretty often actually. First, La Ecovia (red bus) and then a green bus to Cumbaya, the valley just outside of Quito where the University is. The red bus goes North to South through Quito on a main and very large and important street in Quito, called guess what? Seis de deciembre. La Ecovia is always very crowded, so much that sometimes you don´t need to hold onto anything, as all the people going to work or school or whatever are all smushed together and hold each other up.

The Green Bus (I am not sure if it has a name) picks up at the last stop ¨la última parada¨ for the Ecovia and goes to Cumbabya and other surrounding cities. This bus is always entertaining, as there is the bus driver (who, because he has the largest vehicle on the road basically rules it, and can pass cars and trucks as he pleases. There aren´t really lines on the road to Cumbaya either) Then there is another man who collets the money ($.25 per ride) and hangs out the door of bus yelling at people on the road or at a parada ¨A Cumbaya, A Quito, A Tumbaco¨´ or wherever the bus is going. Some of these men are VERY daring, jump off the bus to try and get riders, and hang off the side.

Taxis are also nice, as they are usually cheap, if the driver is legit and you establish a price before closing the door. 2 or 3 dollars for a 15-20 minute ride is the norm. My friends and I already had an experience where the taxista, taxi driver, already had the meter set at 3.50 when we entered! I told him to set it to zero, but he refused. He started to drive and I said ¨¡Para! ¡Para!¨ Stop! Stop! and we got out. All other taxi drivers I have had are nice.

Well, that´s it for now. I went to Otavalo, a large outdoor market, this past Saturday and plan to tell you about it later this week! Hasta luego!

Katie

¡Hola a todos!

Well everyone, I made it to Ecuador! I arrived late Friday night, around 12:00 at night. My host mother and father were there to pick up. I was very glad to arrive, as upon checking my luggage, I had to some how fit 9 pounds into my carry-on, already quite full. Apparently the scale I brought to Madison to check the 50 pound limit on my luggage was a bit off. Oh well, I was able to wear two jackets, carry extra shoes, and all was well. My mother, Marie Elena and my father, Francisco, o Pancho, both have been married before, so my family is big some days and other days not, as the children stay with both parents. Maria Elena y Pancho have one child together, Jose Maria, a very adorable boy who is about three years old. Then, Gabriela and Daniela are Maria Elena´s two daughers. I haven´t gotten to talk with them very much yet, as they were with their father this weekend. Pancho also has two children that I will meet this week! So, this past weekend I spent time mostly with Maria Elena, Pancho y José.

Our home is in a pretty big apartment in the northern part of Quito. We live on the 7th floor of a building and it is a pretty big space. What I´ve noticed is that most families who live in apartments or houses have a very nice dining room and sitting area for guests, and then apart from that, there are the bedrooms where the family lives. I have a room and a bathroom to myself which is nice, but it is a little apart from the rest of the families rooms. I have a great view of some of the Andes mountains and also the city. (will post picutres soon!) I don´t have internet at my house, so I will use the internet at the University mostly and also at some cafes.

Today we had some orientation at the University, which covered mostly ligistical things, some cultural aspects and also saftey issues. ¨´Don´t go here, don´t go there, and never never go there....¨ sort of thing. What is interesting however, is that my family lives next to a park called ´¨el parque Carolina¨ and my mother said that it is a nice, safe place to go. However, during the orientation today, the director said the park is dangerous at night. I recently went for a run in the park, during the day, and found it filled mostly with familes, cyclists, and a huge crowd of people doing aerobics. Take home message I guess for saftey issues is: use common sense, and look like you know where you are and what you´re doing.

This past weekend I got to experience some culture, as I went shopping with my family and also went out with some of their friends. We went to ¨´el mall Jadín,¨´ which is a mall very simliar to malls in the states, similar shops and similar food court. Later that night we went to one of my families friends houses, and then to a country club. The club was very nice, with a pool, golf, dining hall, and a common room. While the husbands played pool, I sat with the wives and had a mochacino. Although I didn´t say much this night and did a lot of listening, it still is good practice. I remember watching my mother talking very fast about something, and me trying to comprehend all the words, almost like speed reading, but instead of reading, what she was saying. I can understand pretty well, but still to form good, solid sentences is more difficult. Well, only with more time it will become easier! I will post pictures soon! Hope all is well in the states!