Sure, Ecuador is a beautiful country. It has the Galapagos, the Amazon, the Andes, nice beaches, and incredible wildlife. But it also has extreme poverty. About 75% of the population of this country is poor. Many live on less than $2 a day. There´s not a day that goes by where I don´t pass either a beggar or a person who´s living is selling little candies on the street. For most Ecuadorians, life is rough.

My third day here I was surprised to see a boy around the age of 12 sleeping on the sidewalk in the rain near my building. Then as the days went by  and I explored the city I noticed more homeless people, many of them mothers with children, or just children. Finding work is difficult, especially with little or no education…and many never get a proper education because they simply can´t afford it. This is why you find people selling goods on the street. For many it is their only income. There are street vendors for just about everything…food, toys, shoes, underwear, clothes hangers…you name it and somewhere not too far there is a street vender for it. They don´t make nearly enough but it´s something. Many children don´t go to school and work in order to help their family. It is not uncommon to see a 5 year old girl on the street selling gum. I was eating with some friends in Baños once and a little boy came inside the cafe and asked my friend for a piece of her sandwich. On numerous occasions children have come up to me and asked for money. In Quito, there were 4 kids (most likely siblings) walking around one of the main plazas with shoe shining kits. Their clothes, little hands, and faces were covered with shoe cleaning oils/liquids. The oldest was maybe 8 and the youngest was about 3 years old. No adult was around. Someone asked if they could take a picture of them, the kids then put out their little hands and said ¨money¨ perhaps the only word they know in English. The 3 year old had been sitting the whole time and then one of the older kids made him get up. He was obviously tired. It looked like it was time for them to go. The 3 year old got up and started crying because he didn´t want to carry his shoe shining kit. Right then, I felt my heart break. I felt so helpless. I feel like no matter how many times I give charity the problem will continue…and one can only give so much.

It breaks my heart to see Ecuadorians like this. These are my people…people who I share a common background with. Within their faces, I see my own. I can give and give but at the end of the day there will still be hunger and poverty. I hate this feeling of helplessness. This will certainly not be my last visit to Ecuador. I will work hard and in the future I will come back and help my people, especially the children. Maybe establish an organization of some sort for them…perhaps scholarships, or a shelter, or run food drives. I don´t know…anything to make their lives a little easier. Children should not have to work. They should be able to go to school and have fun. Sure, there are some organizations and help already out there for these people but it´s certainly not enough and the government isn´t doing enough either. I can`t get rid of poverty but I can only hope that when I give someone some change (change can go a long way here) maybe just maybe they won´t be hungry, at least for that moment, maybe even for that day.

    Oh the things I do! This weekend I along with 8 other international students spent three days exploring the beaches and islands along the Ruta del Sol (around Machililla). We had an amazing guide who took us snorkeling. We took a small yacht out to the ocean and jumped off by some rocky islands. The water was maybe 15 feet deep…now that may not seem like that much but for someone like me who does not know how to swim, that´s pretty terrifying. I was given a life jacket of course and although I was always floating, I had some moments of panic…but I survived! I was able to see some schools of fish and coral. Underwater life is truly amazing. I´m glad I was able to get a peek of it.

I have been to Salinas and Montañita (the more popular beaches in Ecuador), but none compare with the beauty I saw this weekend. I even got the chance to see blue-footed boobies! This was one of the best trips I´ve been on so far.  It was a very relaxing…and much needed trip. The first day we bathed in mud in an extinct crater of a volcano…it was quite the experience. The mud was incredibly soft and felt good against my skin. We then got a fifteen minute full body massage with aloe (straight from the plant!). After that we hopped in a thermal bath. I was told the hot water was heated by the center of the earth…I don´t know how that works exactly but boy did it feel good. The second day of the trip was mostly snorkeling and visiting beaches. The last day was zip lining. This was also a first for me. We did four zip lines and I had trouble stoping on two of them. On one occasion I collided with one of the guides. It was painful only because I fell on my back which had been sunburned…other than that it was really fun. I love getting my adrenaline going…the rush is great. I guess that explains why I throw myself in deep waters when I can´t even swim!

I was surprised to find out that in Ecuador you don´t wait until everone has received their plate of food to start eating. You just eat. I remember the first couple of times I ate with my host mother she would give me my plate and say go ahead eat while she went into the kitchen to get her plate. At first, I was very confused. Is she testing my manners? Is this some kind of trick? I decided to wait until she came back with her plate to start eating. Then when I went out to eat with friends, I noticed the waiter brought the food out one by one. Sometimes it would be a good couple of minutes before the next person got their plate of food. That was when I realized you are expected to start eating as soon as you get your plate. Ecuadorians are more concerned about their food getting cold than eating at the same time with everyone at the table. I´m still not used to this, but I must say on days when I´m really hungry, I don´t mind this custom at all. I dig right in and am more than happy to!

On Thursday I decided it would be a good idea to go see I Am Legend at the IMAX with a friend. Classes were canceled that evening because of a big march that was to take place on the street 9 de octubre. The mayor of Guayaquil was calling all Guayaquileños to this march to protest against the president. To get to the IMAX, I had to pass 9 de octubre. My host mother warned me that it would be crowded and to be careful. I didn´t think it would be that bad. I actually thought that it would be kind of cool to see a protest in Ecuador, so me and my friend walked towards the march to get to the IMAX. Worst mistake ever. There must have been a couple of hundred thousand people. They were waving flags, holding up signs, dressed in white and light blue (colors of Guayaquil), and chanting. We could hardly walk. I am actually surprised we didn´t get trampled. It seemed my friend and I were going the complete opposite direction of the march. We had to walk through the march and they had to walk passed us. It was a bad clash. People were shoving and pushing. At one point I didn´t know if I was going to make it out of this sea of people. We finally saw an opening on a sidewalk and eventually made it past the march. I was tired and had other people´s sweat on me (that´s how little room there was to walk). It was pretty disgusting, but quite the experience. What should have been a 15 minute walk to the IMAX ended up being almost an hour. I only hoped the movie was worth it…it wasn´t really. I was however in awe of how many people came together for that march. I have never seen so much pride in a crowd of people like that…I wonder if the march accomplished what it hoped to…if not, at the very least, their voices were heard.

     I can now say I´ve been to the Andes. Today we drove up to the mountains and went on a short hike to Cojitambo Peak. I was short of breath as soon as I got off the bus and started walking. I almost forgot I was at such high altitiude. Breathing very heavily, I managed to climb up a cliff. It was difficult but boy was it worth it! You could see everything from there…the small towns and villages…and more mountains. The view was amazing! It was almost surreal. I will never understand how my ancestors traveled up these mountains without cars…and with all their belongings at that! You had to be extremely strong and intelligent to figure out how to get up there in those days. While by the Andes, I saw quite a few bushes with white flowers hanging down. Something told me these weren´t just any bushes. They looked familiar and I remembered reading up on them, but I couldn´t remember their purpose. The guide then told us that some people use the flowers as medicine and some indigenous people use it as a way to tell the future. Then that´s when I remembered, it´s a hallucinogenic. The flowers are called Floripondio. I find it quite interesting that some people use it as medicine…I wonder what it is supposed to cure?

     The small cities and villages  by the mountains, particularly Cuenca, are very different from places in the coast like Guayaquil. The people in Cuenca have different traditions, foods, and accents. The closer you get to the mountains the more indians you see. It´s quite a sight. The women dress in colorful skirts and ponchos. They wear panama-like hats and if they are carrying groceries, they have it in a sling across their back. It´s beautiful. I look at them in admiration and I think about how different I am. Then I realize I´m actually not that different at all. When I look closely I can see we share basic features…similar shape face, small eyes, similar nose, straight dark hair. It´s kind of amazing. Yesterday I went in a shop and tried on one of the hats they wear…I saw my reflection and thought wow all I need is a poncho and I´ll fit right in! No one would think I´m not from here. Everyday I seem to be learning a little more about myself. I wonder what tomorrow holds.

      I arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador around midnight on Thursday, January 3rd. It has been pretty much raining everyday since, and when it rains, it pours! I have never seen it rain so much so frequently. At times the sun comes out and it is extremely hot and very humid. (Apparently the winter is Ecuador´s hot and rainy season). Umbrellas are a must. Also, when wearing flip flops it is important to walk with caution in the rain. I´ve almost slipped numerous times already.

     I live with my host family (a mother and her 27-year-old son) by the Guayas River across the street from the Malecon 2000. It´s a very nice area. On the Malecon there is a shopping center (where I got a spiffy bracelet!), various restaurants, fast food places, parks, and an IMAX theatre. I believe it´s the only one in the country. I actually want to go see a movie later…it only costs $3.70! I´ve been to a few malls already and I was surprised to hear American music playing in all of them! It´s everywhere!…from Sheryl Crow to Rihanna. At times it´s a bit comforting to hear music from home. Other times, I just get annoyed and don´t want to hear anything American (from the United States). I´m in another country to learn about another culture…which is actually the culture of my heritage. My parents were born and raised in Ecuador. They spent most of their time in Guayaquil. Since this is my first visit to Ecuador I am trying to learn as much about my roots as I possibly can. I sometimes get a little overwhelmed with emotions…I feel a sense of pride, at times scared, a little homesick, adventurous…but it is always exciting! So far, I love Guayaquil…it´s people, it´s palm trees, the vendors, the cheap (although at times a bit sketchy) taxis, my campus, the food! This is such a wonderful experience and I´m glad I decided to study abroad here. I got to get ready for classes later…they start today! I hope all goes well.