Heaven, Hell, and Here

Alrighty guys, it's official that I am going to heaven! I know this because of a fateful moment spent this morning at the alter of La Iglesias de Compañia, gazing at two staircases that sat at the back of an imaginary congregation. We each had to pick a staircase, and one would lead to heaven, the other to hell. I chose the left, along with a few of my other fortunate classmates, and indeed, the left was the right choice (hahaha).

Regardless of the afterlife, Quito is absolutely beautiful. The churches are filled with gold, but I think that despite the surrounding poverty, such a paradox is both respected and expected here. I am sitting on the roof of our lovely hotel staring out at the houses that coat the hills surrounding the downtown. They look like Lego blocks and are watched over by an enormous guardian angel that sits atop the pasillo.

Taren and the fantastic photographer, Patrick on the Pasillo

We went to the equator today, so I can now officially say that I have been to the middle of the world. My peers and I were stunned when our tour guide proved to us that a toilet, if located at the very equator, would not flush in a circular motion. For all of you familiar with the Coriolis effect, this is the same reason why passing a sobriety test (by walking in a straight line) is much easier far from the equator than close to it...don't ask me the science behind that, I am just telling you what I heard.  After the tour, we all got to witness a traditional dance of the indigenous Amazonians. When the sole male dancer walked to the crowd with his hands extended, I thought he merely wanted a high five...no, not so much, he wanted two people to come and dance with him. Let us just say that Nikki and I have bright futures as indigenous dancers if nothing else works out for us.

We ate lunch at 3:00, which felt incredibly late, but is apparently incredibly common in Ecuador. We have the evening to do as we please, so I am feeling some good food and salsa dancing with my fabulous companions...so I think I will go get on that...

Title 1

This is it, the first post from Ecuador. Hola from Hotel San Francisco! This is one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in...the sort of romantically adorable destination that honeymooners would die for.  There are flowers EVERYWHERE, which, because I love flowers so much, is a definite bonus. I am sitting here in a bed that looks over a winding staircase (so Harry Potteresque, right?), I am alone because both of my roommates are not here, I have no wi-fi (so hopefully this gets posted eventually), there are sirens outside, and I am so so happy (or i should say, muy contente, and there you have the extent of my Spanish).

The flight over here was lovely.  I sat next to a man (se llama Marco) from Quito, and spent the entire time talking to him in broken Spanish and English. I have him to thank for my ability to carry on a basic conversation now (muy muy lento, claro) and now have a list of must-dos for all over Ecuador. I also got several severe warnings to NEVER go out at night. Marco loves soccer and is a civil engineer, and the fact that we could communicate so well knowing so very little of each other's languages absolutely fascinates me!

Almost everyone from the group is here now, and I am happy that I will get to spend the next month with them, as a considerable amount of bonding has gone down among our sleep-deprived and hungry selves. Um so, breakfast is in a few hours, and I want to sleep, so buenas noches, world, I am so excited to see what tomorrow brings!

...But you should

There was a moment back in Fall quarter when I spontaneously ducked into University of Washington's Study Abroad Fair wondering if I could get myself a ticket to France.  Then I passed by the Ecuador table...

Let's just say that sustainability science + creative writing + Galapagos Islands = there was no way I was going to France.  Do what I must, I was going to Ecuador to build bamboo houses/composting toilets and then to write about what an amazing experience it is.  Two quarters away is now only two days away.  It's really happening: 14 of my peers, 2 profs, TA, and I are going to be in Ecuador. 

This is the preface to the saga of a bunch of college students tromping around and building composting toilets in the equatorial sunshine.  Our mission is to promote sustainability in a country that needs it desperately while having plenty of fun along the way.

And like our professor Chuck Henry says, when it comes to how a composting toilet is made, "the bacteria don't care."  So at least we have the automatic insurance that our work will help someone.  And maybe the bacteria don't care, but you should, because there is just too much to miss out on by not following our adventures.