Hello INTAG
Again. Please excuse my absence. I have been frantically moving into a new apartment, learning a new job, and embarking on some ridiculous traveling excursions. Hopefully you have enjoyed the pictures I put up of some of my various travels. Anyway, for those of you still reading, thank you, and let's get rolling again.
So my new job basically places the reigns of an NGO in my (hopefully capable) hands. It's extremely rewarding, exciting, and meaningful work. Those are the pluses.
It's also ridiculously long hours, 8 to 9 every day, including most weekends, and I am probably going to get pretty lonely in Ecuador once everyone from my group (most obviously Ally) leaves the country in just two short months. Cannot even describe how tough the decision was for me, and I am still not sure I made the right one. Thus times like last week are incredibly invaluable to me, as they remind me of the main reasons why I am staying in this country for one more year.
Part of my program's job is to provide English educatiion for even the poorest people in Ecuador. Thus I hopped on a bus last Tuesday to head out to the community of INTAG-5 hours from pretty much anything resembling phone service or internet, and 2 hours from anything resembling what we in the states might call a "town."
My bus ride was the worst bus ride I have ever taken in my life. Some of the bumps in the road resulted in three or four foot separation from my seat. The road curled around a road about as wide as a sidewalk providing spectacular, though creepy, views of the valleys below. At about the two hour mark the fog hit, and big time. God bless SFO, but the blanket covering SF nightly is more akin to a tissue when up against INTAG fog. At least it provided some respite from the death defying drops that our bus's wheels poured loose gravel into.
At about hour 3 we reached the town of Apuela, which will become a major player later on in the INTAG story. I would say that Apuela's population is probably about the same as the attendance at a 2003 Tuesday afternoon Montreal Expos game. However, they did have a market with a bathroom, which also will be a major player later on in the story.
I finally landed at my destination, Cuellaje, about five hours after leaving Otavalo. A beautiful town square equipped with trees and an ecua-volley court greeted me immediately after climbing down from the bus. "Quaint" screamed in my ears as I searched for the word to describe my initial reaction.
Having not been able to get in touch with anyone in town before I got there, I only had a name on a sheet of paper. So I walked to the nearest inhabitant of Quaintland and asked him where I should go. He snorted and pointed, which as we all know is about as useful as somebody yelling "here" when you shout asking them what part of the house they are currently in.
After asking three people I finally found my destination. I knocked on the door and a viejita greeted me with a toothless smile. She went back to find her daughter and soon I greeted the first of many amazing people that I would encounter in Cuellaje, Ecuador. Ex-presidenta of one of INTAG's most dedicated organizations, DECOIN, Cecilia escorted immediately to a place where I could toss my bag and sat me down at a tiny table in the middle of a barely lit room.
We started chatting and she explained the plight that faces INTAG on a daily basis. Apparently INTAG sits on a lush coal mine and handfulls of mining companies are make some money. However, INTAG is no dummy. They realize that mining companies do not mean wondeful cash prizes for all of INTAG. They understand that mining companies will dig up ungodly amounts of trees, plants, and vegetation only to leave gaping holes throughout the INTAG valley. The mining companies have promised to keep their work ecologically sound, but INTAG continues to refuse. The mining companies offered better schools and resources, but INTAG still butts heads in an effort to maintain the beauty, remoteness, and tradition of the entire valley.
My conversation will Cecilia took about two hours.
Hello INTAG
More to come,
Kane
So my new job basically places the reigns of an NGO in my (hopefully capable) hands. It's extremely rewarding, exciting, and meaningful work. Those are the pluses.
It's also ridiculously long hours, 8 to 9 every day, including most weekends, and I am probably going to get pretty lonely in Ecuador once everyone from my group (most obviously Ally) leaves the country in just two short months. Cannot even describe how tough the decision was for me, and I am still not sure I made the right one. Thus times like last week are incredibly invaluable to me, as they remind me of the main reasons why I am staying in this country for one more year.
Part of my program's job is to provide English educatiion for even the poorest people in Ecuador. Thus I hopped on a bus last Tuesday to head out to the community of INTAG-5 hours from pretty much anything resembling phone service or internet, and 2 hours from anything resembling what we in the states might call a "town."
My bus ride was the worst bus ride I have ever taken in my life. Some of the bumps in the road resulted in three or four foot separation from my seat. The road curled around a road about as wide as a sidewalk providing spectacular, though creepy, views of the valleys below. At about the two hour mark the fog hit, and big time. God bless SFO, but the blanket covering SF nightly is more akin to a tissue when up against INTAG fog. At least it provided some respite from the death defying drops that our bus's wheels poured loose gravel into.
At about hour 3 we reached the town of Apuela, which will become a major player later on in the INTAG story. I would say that Apuela's population is probably about the same as the attendance at a 2003 Tuesday afternoon Montreal Expos game. However, they did have a market with a bathroom, which also will be a major player later on in the story.
I finally landed at my destination, Cuellaje, about five hours after leaving Otavalo. A beautiful town square equipped with trees and an ecua-volley court greeted me immediately after climbing down from the bus. "Quaint" screamed in my ears as I searched for the word to describe my initial reaction.
Having not been able to get in touch with anyone in town before I got there, I only had a name on a sheet of paper. So I walked to the nearest inhabitant of Quaintland and asked him where I should go. He snorted and pointed, which as we all know is about as useful as somebody yelling "here" when you shout asking them what part of the house they are currently in.
After asking three people I finally found my destination. I knocked on the door and a viejita greeted me with a toothless smile. She went back to find her daughter and soon I greeted the first of many amazing people that I would encounter in Cuellaje, Ecuador. Ex-presidenta of one of INTAG's most dedicated organizations, DECOIN, Cecilia escorted immediately to a place where I could toss my bag and sat me down at a tiny table in the middle of a barely lit room.
We started chatting and she explained the plight that faces INTAG on a daily basis. Apparently INTAG sits on a lush coal mine and handfulls of mining companies are make some money. However, INTAG is no dummy. They realize that mining companies do not mean wondeful cash prizes for all of INTAG. They understand that mining companies will dig up ungodly amounts of trees, plants, and vegetation only to leave gaping holes throughout the INTAG valley. The mining companies have promised to keep their work ecologically sound, but INTAG continues to refuse. The mining companies offered better schools and resources, but INTAG still butts heads in an effort to maintain the beauty, remoteness, and tradition of the entire valley.
My conversation will Cecilia took about two hours.
Hello INTAG
More to come,
Kane
posted by ecuadortraveler at 5:25 PM
4 Comments:
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http://findmadeleine.blogspot.com
Hey Big Guy. Just spent the past however long reading and catching up. Almost a repeat of the 24 marathon was the traveler marathon. great writing, amazing stories, terrible jokes, and makes me want to hop in the truck and drive south to quito. Hope all is well and know you are missed. I am going to take a cold shower this morning. Equivalent of pouring one out for you.
Another year of adventures in Ecuador. You'll do a fine job of leading the group.
Steves-You the man bro. How is the truck these days anyway?
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