Videos

         The first is the video that my team worked on. Right now I'm translating the script so that we can get english subtitles, but basically it is about a fisherman in Bahía and his struggle to get by.
         The second video is the first episode of our cooking show that the girls from Texas and I made. It shows how to make "niños envueltos", those heavenly pancakes with banana and cheese. Enjoy!

¿Que és lo que más le gusto? (What did you like the best?)

            This is what a lady asked me while I was standing in line at the Quito airport for my boarding pass. I think she was doing some sort of tourism survey. She asked me my nationality, age, and if I spoke spanish well. I told her I did and she still tried to refrase some questions in english for me. How cute. She asked what I had done here, and it felt like I had to give my experience in a nutshell. Most nutshells don't involve talk about localism and imperialism, btu I couldn't resist. She asked me what I like the most, and immediately I thought of how warm people are here. I told her it's just easier to smile at strangers and to feel la "alegría latina". I'll miss that. She asked me what I liked the least, and the first thing I thought of was the fact that there's no toilet paper anywhere. I wasn't used to the fact that you had to carry your own to most places, even to some restaurants. The good definitely outweighs the inconvenient, though.

Some of us after Keneshia's hip hop lesson :)

            Other things I'll miss: Hearing salsa in the street, in cabs, in stores, etc. I'll miss the fresh fruit juice that I still drink with eyes wide open after tasting the freshness. I'll miss hearing spanish being spoken at the dinner table and outside my room. I'll miss those kisses on the cheek. I don't know if I'll miss people telling me "provecho" every time they see me eating something, but we'll see. Also, I'll never forget those quirky food melanges: Yoghurt and pan de yuca, bananas and cheese pancakes, oatmeal drink, spaghetti with rice (for the die hard carb fans), and platanos mixed into EVERYTHING.

@ The film presentation

 Today I met with Ale and Jorge literally just before leaving for the airport so that they could help me organize my thoughts about doing a Tanner presentation at Wellesley in the Fall about the program. This program was not what I thought it would be. Just with any service project, I didn't feel useful at times and felt as if I weren't really making a difference. I knew that I would not appreciate and learn more from my experiences until I would actually leave Bahía. Now I have learned the importance of being a role model and just being there for others. After saying goodbye to Crystal at 4 am on Saturday, I couldn't go back to sleep because my mind was overflowing with thoughts from the project. After two hours I decided to write them down and the thoughts flowed into a list of topics I wanted to cover in my presentation. I'm glad I'm writing them down now and that I got feedback from Ale and Jorge before I left because my ideas are fresh in my mind right now. Some topics jumped right out at me, such as socioeconomic class and opportunities. Others were harder to talk about, such as gender relations, because they weren't as prominent. The kids in the workshop got along, and the girls shared leadership roles with the boys. I sensed mutual respect, which is awesome.
          Right now I'm sitting in the terminal waiting for my flight to Lima, Peru which connects to L.A. then Seattle. I'm getting a haircut right after I land. I'll stop writing now because there are toddlers having a wrestling match right behind me so ciao for now!

Char

Sustainability

            Before coming to Bahía, I didn't think that sustainability would be on my mind so much here. The people here do live such healthier lives than in the U.S., though. Watching this 20 minute video made me feel so angry yet happy to have lived in a place where people use what they NEED, recycle, and don't need to buy a new grill every year. Just by living in the house with Doña Mariana, I have seen it. First of all, the people here don't really buy dog food. They give them leftovers. Even though we try as hard as we can to finish what we area given, we still have left overs. Rarely does any one go back for seconds. If Doña has left over plantains from breakfast, they will be in the soup for lunch. When no one eats the bananas, she makes her delicious platano pancakes. Instead of throwing away the cream from warmed up milk, she makes healthier butter out of it. This way of live even affects how long we shower. Now we are all saying how surprised we are that a 30 minute shower can turn into a 5 minute shower. Once we were told that our water could run out, we became conscious of it. Why hasn't this idea hit us on a global scale? I mean, we shower and flush with drinking water. Why hasn't any one hit us over the head yet? 

In front of a sustainability mural in Bahía. You don't see these where I'm from.

           People make plant pots out of old buckets. There's also a guy who drives around in a truck and pays to collect junk, if there is any at all. I do wonder what the dump around this area is like and how it affects the environment. Things do just feel cleaner here. There are no factories spewing dark clouds of dioxin nor are there strips of fast food joints that seem to have taken over the rest of the world. People own restaurants, but often times they are just downstairs from their homes. The money goes straight to them and the costs are not externalized (these terms come from the video)The only thing, though, that the kids buy over and over again are cell phones. This video made me think a lot about perceived obsolescence and how people keep buying new cell phones or lap tops because in 5 years, they feel as if their old ones are useless.

           This place is pretty clean too. You don't see a lot of garbage laying around. Also, when you go to buy a coke in a glass bottle at the grocery store, they make it so that you have to return the bottle. This also makes me think of how in France it shocked me at first that they actually charged for plastic bags. You were encouraged to bring your own. In the U.S. they hand them out like candy. Any way, watch this video. It makes sense why the U.S. is all about consumption and how the notion of "fashion" is just a way of getting people to buy new things and to never be satisfied with what they have. I hope this video makes you more conscious about what consumption means to you. Next time you go shopping, ask yourself if you really NEED or if if someone else has told you that you do.
            

Bats and Ferris Wheels...an Adrenaline Overload

Rosa! I'll miss her hearty laugh and scary stories :)

            Last Saturday was the MOST eventful day I've had in a long, long time. Nelda and I continued the interviews, first with Rosa. I love Rosa so much...she is so cool! She is 21 and worked on the cameras for the film. This is her second year and has such a hearty, fun personality. Her interview was to the point, but then after Vicente came we somehow started talking about scary Ecuadorian folk stories. They were legit scary. Vicente told us about how the grim reaper appeared late one night to his father and asked if him if he knew where someone was. I don't believe in these kinds of stories but the way in which they were telling them and taking on the personalities of the characters in their stories was incredibly unsettling and powerful. They included their family members in these stories, which made them feel more real. Nelda and I started tearing up because I'm going to admit it: we were SCARED! But then we just laughed at ourselves at the same time. Sometimes really early in the morning I do hear shrill screams, and Vicente told a story about a figure who wonders around the town screaming. Such CHILLS to start the day! Adrenaline overdose #1.
          For lunch Doña made us ceviche, which we haven't had in a while and I love it because it's a seafood/lime soup, basically. Then they blew us away with a dessert, which we don't usually have. Strawberry and banana crepes with vanilla ice cream have never been so appealing after eating jello on rare occasions. After lunch we headed over to the yacht club because Keneshia was teaching us a hip hop dance. We got there and there was some confusion regarding the dance space, so naturally I headed for the nearest chair and watched part of the Costa Rica vs. Colombia fútbol game, which the latter won. Watching soccer is so boring to me because it's such a game of defense. I miss playing it though. Anyway we got to our dance space which was right next to the ocean, and Keneshia asked us if we wanted to dance to 'Look at me now' or 'Move move shake shake'. I was the only one who would want  a Pitbull song so we ended up with the first one. It's amazing how quickly she came up with a dance in her head, and could adjust it to different songs. We learned it in an hour and a half just for fun, then recorded it to show her parents.
          At 5 we stopped by the surfer dudes' house and confirmed our surfing lesson was a go. I was a little hesitant to get in the ocean before dinner, but luckily we kept going with the spontaneous feelings of the day. We walked to the beach, which was completely covered because it was high tide and the waves crashed against the rocks. We looked at ourselves and thought "are we really doing this?" Yes. The were really nice and helped us into the water. We felt at ease as soon as we passed the rocks and walked into the water, which was pretty shallow. There were fish swimming around us, and something bit Meghan in the back but she was fine after that. The sunset was gorgeous, and all four of us each got 6 tries on the surf board. They let us use the bigger one because it floated more easily. I managed to stand up, which was a feat in itself for me but I could fell backward because I'm used to leaning back for water skiing. We went home and had rice for dinner. Rice, again.
        Then we took cabs to another part of Bahía where I thought there was going to be a church dance. That's what they told us. Nope! It was a full fledged carnival. No churches involved. We got onto a ferris wheel that sounded as if it were going to collapse any second with the screeching of the motor. We got onto it and got oil on our hands. The oil should have been on the motor, not my hands. It was fun but I have never been on a ferris wheel that went 300 miles per hour that had a motor that sounded like a car screeching to a halt. Adrenaline rush #2. Then we went to Alejandro's house to wash the oil off ourselves. Nelda and I went to the bathroom and we're the only bilingual students so the other girls were left with Alejandro's family AKA awkward silence. We also went through sketchy dark allies filled with dogs in order to get there. Adrenaline rush #3.
          We went to go dance and the speakers were blasting to reggaeton and latin pop with a huge screen playing J. Lo and Don Omar videos. The hosts of the dance party kept yelling stuff about the opposing soccer teams, Barcelona and Emelec. I got a Barcelona shirt because more people told me too, and I thought I'd try out a yellow shirt. Alejandro and his friends were very protective of us. Going out in Latin America is definitely as safe for a group of girls as it is in the U.S. It doesn't help that we are bigger than everyone and whiter so we stand out like a sore thumb. I have never felt exotic here because I've blended well in the U.S., Mexico, and Europe, but these people always stare at us when we walk by. We left at 12 45 and came home to our apartment.

This is what we look like when we DON'T have a bat in our apartment. 

          Jettie said she has never been so grateful to be in our apartment when suddenly, someone opens the door and screams "There's a BAT in the apartment!". ADRENALINE OVERLOAD! We were all screaming like crazy and I realized the door was open so as I was screaming/running towards it to close it, I tripped on the rug. The bat fell onto the floor and we were in the same room. I flipped out and opened the door, then Jettie and Crystal (the bat wranglers) told us to calm down and the trapped it. At the end of the night Jettie and I talked about this super eventful day that had to carry onto the next night with the grand finally involving a BAT. Oh, we also took cute pictures of ourselves on photobooth for the first time. This day just seemed like a huge day to check things off the list before leaving Ecuador next week. Check check check!

Less than a week left in Bahía

Getting the props ready for the fisherman story

            So we have finished filming the three short films. In total it took about a week. Now Jorge has to edit them before we present on Wednesday. We also filmed a cooking show, with which we showed how to cook Niños envueltos (those pancakes with cheese and banana I've mentioned). What a success. On Wednesday we had a poker night, which I surprisingly won. It was the first time I'd won at cards. We had popsicle sticks instead of money so you know things got pretty serious.

          Yesterday the girls and I interviewed some of the students in our apartment, and still have more to do. It was great talking to the five of them because they all sounded so grateful that the Project came to Bahía. One common theme I got from talking to them was that they appreciated learning more about "responsibility" and "punctuality." One of the young men we interviewed has to wake up at 2 am on some days to work with his family selling chickens at the market. So for him, shooting the films at 6 am was no problem because he had already been up for four hours. I was confused as to why the kids called him a zombie until I learned about this. It still took me a while to realize this because this guy is always so happy when he talks to the girls and I. When we asked him what people think of him being involved in film making, he said that some people made fun of him and asked why he is doing it if he isn't gaining anything. But he knew he is gaining skills that he can use in the future whether technological or leadership skills.

Fritada

           The kids also used the words "brindar" (to give, provide...to me it almost has the connotation of giving a blessing) and "encariñar" (to become attached). I have never really heard these words being used in real life before, so it felt special that they were using them to describe how much our work has meant to them and how they don't want us to leave. Another guy talked about how he realized that this Project can expose hidden talents. Some of these kids find it hard to even write basic sentences, yet ended up working on scripts. They also appreciate the level of discipline the instructors had. All of these things made me wonder what life is like in their schools and at home. Their parents supported them and allowed them to take part in the Project, but some are reluctant to let their kids go off to school in Quito, which is 7 hours away and is sadly where things mostly happen. That's where the schools are. The lack of knowledge of the resources or opportunities that these kids have is astounding.

David!

          Last night we had fritada for dinner. Basically, it's like a salad made of plantain chips, tomato, cold pork, and lettuce. We didn't think we'd each get one, but SURPRISE! It was a feat in itself to just even finish one. I couldn't, even though I love plantain chips. I always joke around, saying that they can't be nearly as unhealthy as potato chips because I even have to add salt to them. Right? :P After dinner we enjoyed the late night breeze with some Pilseners and sang some cheesy but good songs at a bon fire on the beach. I can't believe we're leaving on Thursday for good! On Wednesday we have the short film screenings (they are about 3 minutes each), so more on that later.