The last couple weeks

Greetings! I hope this blog post finds you warm and happy! I’ve heard the weather back home has been pretty brutal. I think Minnesota even canceled classes yesterday. Since my last post I have been going to class and traveling a lot. After I returned from Banos I got sick…probably because I had too much fun. I had a fever and a cold, but thankfully both are gone now!

Last Friday was Bertha’s (my mom) birthday, so her mom came over and Alejandra and I made lunch for us. It was a good day to eat and relax with the family! That night we went to the discoteca and had fun dancing.
On Saturday, we were supposed to leave for Ambato for Carnaval around 3pm, but as it turned out we didn’t head out until about 8pm. One of her friends drove us; it is only about 2 hours away. Once we arrived we went to the house we were staying at and dropped off our stuff. We had to bring blankets and mattresses because the house wasn’t furnished…it was just rooms. It was nice, though. I liked Carnaval because everyone dresses their best and then heads out to party. You might ask, “What is the difference between this and every other weekend?” Well, the answer is this: the partying at Carnaval lasts for days. Literally. We partied all night and slept all day, then repeated the cycle. People would park their cars along the side of the road, turn up the music, and drink. There were also large parties that were held outdoors under a tent. These were especially fun because everyone was dancing (and there was an open bar too, after you paid the $20 cover). Carnaval was a blast, but very exhausting. There is a reason it only comes once a year!

On Wednesday the 25th I left with my class for an observational field trip. We went to the northern part of the country, to Pedro Moncayo, Cotacachi, and Otavalo. We got to learn about the flower industry, which is one of the top 3 industries in Ecuador. We visited a flower plantation that was of relatively high quality, but in general the flower plantations are very oppressive places to work and they are detrimental to the environment, the health of the workers, and the surrounding communities because of the large quantities of pesticides used. It was interesting to see firsthand where our Valentine’s Day and Mothers Day flowers come from. It also made me realize how important it is to assure that the flowers we buy come from high quality plantations that are worker-friendly and environmentally safe. As we were leaving they gave each person in the group a bouquet of 15 beautiful roses!
On Thursday we had the opportunity to experience the spiritual part of the indigenous world. We met with a shaman who led us on a walk through the woods. He explained to us the concept of man being unified with nature. We went on a “trust walk” through the woods with our eyes closed, being led by a classmate. The purpose was to better sense the spirit and personality of our surroundings. While our eyes were closed, he came to each of us and had us tell him the color of the flower he was holding, just by smelling it. At first I thought, “This is impossible!”, but it wasn’t that difficult, and I was correct! It was yellow. Supposedly because I guessed correctly I am a very logical thinker, and I would agree! He was very wise and incredibly interesting to talk to.

Today we got to experience firsthand the world of traditional medicine. We started out by going to the house of a “partera,” or indigenous midwife. The parteras often have no formal education, but they are certified by the state and the Red Cross. While there we learned about the medicinal uses of herbs and how they are used during pregnancy. Everything they needed was right in their backyard! And it was much more economical than occidental medicine, I’m sure. After that we observed a pregnant woman getting a checkup from the partera. She was 8 months pregnant and was having discomfort due to the positioning of the baby. This was easily remedied by physically moving the baby around in the womb, and then she was given some herbs with which to make tea, to settle it. How cool!

After that the parteras demonstrated for us a “Vertical Birth.” This is the only way that indigenous people give birth, and it is very different from what we are used to. Firstly, the birth ALWAYS takes place in the home of the mother, and all of the family is present for it. Second, the mother is never naked (or only in a gown) for any part of the process. An important aspect of the vertical birth is that the mother is warm and comfortable throughout the whole process. As you can guess, many different herbs are used too! When the baby is ready to come out, the mom kneels on the floor while her husband sits on the bed to support her while she gives birth. All in all, she is usually only kneeling for about 30 minutes. Of course, if anything were to go wrong throughout the process they would head to the hospital immediately. But I think this is an interesting way to bring a baby into the world…much more comfortable, at least. What a great thing to see!
This afternoon we went to a center called Jamba Huasi in Otavalo. This is a medical center that practices strictly traditional Andean medicine. We got to see a demonstration of diagnosing with a “cuy,” or guinea pig. The person doing the diagnosing takes a live cuy (pronounced qwee) and moves it all over the body of the patient. It was a little unnerving because she shakes it violently, but it’s all part of the practice. The idea is that the cuy dies when it finds something internally wrong with the patient. Once it dies, they dissect the cuy and examine it. The cuy will show (through its own body) the medical problems of the patient. And this is how they diagnose! Supposedly it can even detect cancer. The diagnosis turned out to be somewhat correct, and they offered herbal suggestions to remedy the problem. This concept was very foreign to us but I liked it a lot! I think that sometime while I’m here I will have it done to me. I’m not sick, but you never know! It only costs $8 and it’s a very unique experience.

As you can see, I have been a very busy girl! I have enjoyed my travels and I look forward to more when my family comes to visit in two weeks. I have two more weeks of class, a week of vacation, and then I start my internship! I am very excited to be working again, even if it’s unpaid, because believe it or not I really miss working! I can’t wait to start back at ACR again in the fall. Again, I hope everyone is doing well. I love to hear from you, so send me an email at lindsey.e.meyer@gmail.com to update me on what’s happening with you!