The last month has been full of adventures. On October 27-28, we had Fulbright orientation and training in Quito. I flew in early on the 26th, and got to spend some quality time with the Browns, missionaries from Inca Link where I interned with two years ago. It is so nice having an extensive and strong support network in a new country. That night, several Fulbrighters got together for dinner to celebrate Haley’s birthday, the ETA in placed in Quito.
 |
| Dinner to celebrate Haley's birthday |
On Thursday the 27th, we had a series of lectures about Ecuadorian culture and current events and issues in the country that we should know about. All of the Fulbright ETAs and researchers were together for this part. It is really fun getting to know all of the Ecuadorian Fulbright grantees. I am considering publishing my notes from this day in another blog post because it was all very interesting. For lunch, we were joined by members of the Fulbright board and Ecuadorian students who are applying for Fulbright scholarships to attend graduate school in the United States. We also celebrated the Fulbright Program’s 70th birthday, and Fulbright Ecuador’s 60th birthday with a giant cake.
 |
| Happy Birthday, Fulbright! |
On Friday the 28th, the Fulbrighters took a field trip to Papallacta, a small town with thermal hot springs outside of Quito. We got to know the other grantees better while relaxing in the pools.
 |
| Our hike before getting in the pools |
 |
||||
Waterfall on the hike
 |
That night, several of us went to support a former Fulbrighter, Megan, on the opening night of her photo exhibition as the culmination of her grant. During her Fulbright grant, she studied the intersection of preserving culture and preserving the environment. She taught members of the Waorani tribe to take pictures, and gave them cameras to document their lives. The Waorani tribe lived secluded from the outside world until as recently as the 1950’s, and tradition still dictates many parts of their daily life. The Waorani live on a reserve in Yasuní National Park, which is also on a huge oil reserve. Several years ago, they wanted foreign investors to invest in the land so that they would not have to sell to oil companies for economic reasons, and therefore protect the jungle environment. This plan did not entirely work, and now the Waoroni are more concerned than ever with caring for their environment. Now that they have contact with the outside world, technology is gradually creeping into Waorani life, including using guns to hunt and wearing digital watches. The Fulbright project included celebrating the old tribal traditions that existed in harmony with the jungle environment. For example, hunting with a traditional blow-gun instead of a gun discourages overhunting and prevents wiping out species. Waorani tribe members were given cameras to document how their families and tribes live, and the photos were put on exhibit in Quito. Since we attended the opening night, members of the tribe in their traditional dress presented at the beginning of the event and even performed traditional songs and dances.
 |
| Standing outside the exhibit |
On Saturday, orientation was officially over, but some of the ETAs and I went to Otavalo, a small town outside of Quito known for its huge indigenous market. We spent the day shopping and bargaining, and then spent the night in Otavalo in a hostel owned by one of the Fulbright tutors. While at dinner, we were surprised by a musical performance of a group from Otavalo. They all played so many different instruments and sang so well together. One of the men even made bird calls with his mouth to simulate the birds in the jungle. We were so enthralled by their performance that we went up and talked to them afterwards, and bought a couple of CDs. They graciously talked to us and let us take a picture with them, and were very interested to hear what we were doing in Ecuador.
 |
| Our picture with the band |
No comments:
Post a Comment