2nd period:
Frankie: Were there parades and floats at Carnaval?
Yes Frankie, there were definitely floats and parades. Unfortunately, the crowd was so big and I was sort of far back from the street so I couldn’t see the parade very well, but I could see a bit from a distance. Here is a photo of some of what I managed to see:
Wesley: What kind of wildlife did you see while hiking?
While hiking in Ecuador, we mainly just passed through mountain villages with highland farms, so we saw farm animals like goats and sheep and horses. While in Colombia, it was more “wild” and I saw some neat birds and insects – and this crazy looking lizard:
Eli: Were there condos at the beach in Colombia?
Hey Eli, There are condos at many of the beaches throughout Colombia, but not in the beaches I went to. They only had small cabins and hammocks! Laura and I mostly slept in hammocks, because it was the cheapest option.
4th period:
Do children ride school buses to school? Or do they walk?
In the very rural villages, children walk. I’m not sure exactly but I would guess up to a mile or so. In the cities, the children probably ride buses just like we do in the States.
Jacob:
How did you participate in Carnaval in Colombia? What things did you do?
Well Jacob, Laura and I initially tried to get a look at the parades, and we saw a little bit, but after a while we gave up trying to see all the floats and dancers because we were too far back in the crowd. Plus it was really hot and we needed some shade! We wandered into a nearby side street where the locals were thowing a street party and grilling out, and we made many new friends there and ended up hanging out and dancing with them all afternoon!
Allison:
What exactly was Carnaval? What were they celebrating?
Carnaval is festive season to celebrate the days leading up to Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnival typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party. People often dress up as a representation of “turning over” daily life.
MaryAnn: How old was the cathedral in Quito?
I have no idea actually! I tried to look it up, and I couldn’t find the dates for the one we visited. I did find that the smaller Cathedral located in the main plaza was built in the mid 1500s… shows you how long Quito has been around!
Jennifer:
What kinds of things were sold in the open market that you went to? Was it mostly hand made traditional things?
Jennifer, it was in fact mostly hand-made traditional things. There was everything from clothing – sweaters, pants, socks, hats – to paintings and pottery, jewelry, purses, and even musical instruments.
Alicia:
We saw several folks in Ecuador wearing these dark hats. Is that kind of hat common for wearing in Ecuador? For men and women?
Yes, both men and women where these dark Bowler and Fedora hats. It is a very noted characteristic of these cultures. Here is some interesting history I found on the subject:
The story has it that, in the 1920s, a Bolivian outfitter accidentally ordered too many derby hats, and decided to market the surplus ones as women’s wear. Within a decade, they had caught on so tenaciously that an Italian millinery firm, Borsalino, began making bowlers specifically for export to the Andes. Now they are manufactured locally. Oddly, most wearers appear to favour a size that looks far too small for their heads to the western eye. The Aymara women believe the hats enhance fertility.
How are people recovering from the earthquake in Chile? Are they getting enough food?
That is a very good question. People are recovering slowly but surely. Where I live in Santiago, things are very much back to normal. However, in the southern towns, the damage is much worse, and most people are still waiting for government assistance. There is enough food and water for the most part. The major problems that still persist are with housing and infrastructural damage.
Westley:
Do you do a lot of hiking, generally? I'm wondering because the hills and mountains in Ecuador looked very steep and hard to hike.
Yes, Westly, I love hiking. I have spent a lot of time hiking in Chile and at home in the North Carolina mountains so I was eager to get to know the mountains of Ecaudor as well. You are right! The hills in both Colombia and Ecuador were VERY steep. I think someone with less hiking experience would not have enjoyed it as much as I did.
Matt:
Do you think that education in Ecuador and Colombia is similar to that of the US? And Chile?
Good question, Matt. It depends. The quality of education varies from neighborhood to neighborhood, town to town, just as it does in the US and Chile. I think the quality of education is directly correlated with the socio-economic status of the neighborhood in Ecuador and Colombia. I think school there is decent quality, but you find that many people only finish through 8th grade and even fewer go to college.
Elizabeth
Alyssa wonders if you found any caves while hiking?
Yes, in fact we did come across a cave while walking along the beach in Colombia. We could see bats sleeping on the ceiling of the cave. Bats scare me, so I was kind of freaked out!
Would you say that the market you went to is similar to our flea markets?
The idea is the same but the types of products you find are different. In Ecuador you will find new handicrafts and art whereas the flea markets in the US have more used and refurbished items like furniture and appliances and clothes…
Wyatt:
Were items very expensive in the market?
No! Everything in Ecuador is very cheap compared to the US.
Warren
Austin R. wants to know what you bought?
I bought a pair of pants in the Market for 5 dollars, a painting for 10 dollars, and a pair of handmade woven socks for 2 dollars! (Ecuadorians use dollars the same as we do!)
5th period:
Did you see anyone surfing at the beach in Colombia? Did you try any surfing? Don't the rocks make that dangerous?
I actually didn’t see any surfing in Colombia, which was disappointing because I really want to learn how to surf and I thought it might be possible while on vacation there. I know there are good places to surf in Colombia, we just didn’t happen to end up at any of those beaches.
Samone: How did you first hear about the earthquake in Chile?
I was in Ecuador at a hostel in a town called Banos, and I woke up on Saturday morning to my friend telling me that she had just read on the Internet that a huge earthquake had occurred in Chile and that several hundred people were estimated to be dead! I was very nervous and stressed and scared, and I immediately got on the phone to try to call my boyfriend and my friends in Santiago. I couldn’t get through to anyone because the phone lines were down. As the day went on, I became more and more upset, but little by little, my friends in Santiago were able to send emails saying they were ok. The hardest part was not being able to hear from Brendon, my boyfriend, for two whole days. Once he finally got phone service back, I was relieved to find out he and his town were just fine!
Seth J.: Did you find the hiking difficult? What did you take with you on your hiking trips?
The hiking was difficult, but great exercise! We only did hiking as day trips, and we would take with us lunch, water, and snacks, and of course our cameras to take pictures of the beautiful landscapes!
Logan:
Did you do any celebrating at Carnaval?
Yes, we had an excellent day at Carnaval. We danced in the streets, ate barbequed meat and corn on the cob, and made many new friends!
Makalla:
What was your favorite thing about travelling in Eduador? And in Colombia?
My favorite thing about both countries was getting to the local people. It feels good to be able to communicate with them, ask them about their daily lives, and share meals and other experiences with them. I became very close, for example, to the woman Hilda who ran our hostel in Quilatoa, Ecuador. She was about 75 years old and had lived in the highlands of Ecuador her entire life. She had some amazing stories and was an excellent hostess!
Noah P.,
Meghan wonders if the schools are small village type schools, or are they big schools like ours? And do they teach English in their schools?
In the villages, the schools are quite small with less than 100 people and with all the grades mixed together. In the cities, however, the schools are the same as ours I would imagine. Most schools in South America do teach English these days.
Drew R.: Did you fill up over the holidays on tacos and Mexican foods? Is there anything else you have missed about food while living in Chile?
YES! I ate at Chipotle Mexican grill about once a week on average! Aside from Mexican, I haven’t really missed any other foods because I cook for myself and all the other fruits and vegetables we’re used to you can find at the farmer’s market.
Austin D. wonders if school children take field trips like we do in the US. You may not know this. That's ok.
Austin, that’s a great question, but I’m not sure about that as far as the schools in Ecuador and Colombia. In Chile, however, the kids do take field trips – even in my classes, we take field trips to study some of the ecological concepts we are learning.
How did you travel from place to place while you were visiting Ecuador and Colombia?
That’s a great question too. We traveled by bus always. It was extremely cheap to travel by bus. On average, the cost of a bus ticket was one dollar for every hour of the trip. That means we could travel to a place ten hours away for only about 10 bucks!
GH:
How are the roads there? Are they paved?
In the highlands of Ecuador, the roads were most certainly NOT paved, and they were very high up and windy! It was scary at times. If you are scared of heights, I would not recommend a bus trip like that!
GH: We noticed that some streets in Cartegena were very narrow. Do automobiles travel on those narrow streets?
Haha, that is true and a very good observation. Despite the streets being narrow, cars do travel on them! It is all very chaotic… tons of pedestrians, tons of cars, tons of people selling things. It makes very a very exciting and interesting atmosphere
7th period questions:
The ocean at Playa Blanca looked so clear blue, Eric wonders if you could see fish?
I didn’t happen to see any Eric, but there were several people out a little bit farther who were snorkeling so I can imagine there were some really beautiful fish to see.
Do you know about the education system in Ecuador? Robin wonders if the children have a good education.
I think most people in Ecuador have access to basic education, but I’m not sure how it compares to the education in the US.
Hannah wants to hear more about the hiking that you did...things you saw, were others hiking too...how hard was it?
What was the highest elevation that you hiked to or went to in Ecuador?
On many of the trails, we passed several local people working on their farms or coming home from school, but we passed very few other travelers like us. It was nice to feel isolated up there in the mountains. The highest elevation we reached was around 13,000 feet. The air is much more thin up at that elevation, and at times if gave me a headache. We were also especially tired after all our hiking not only from the exercise but also from the altitude. Hiking up a hill is twice as hard at those elevations because there is less oxygen. We had to stop a lot to catch our breath.
Jacob P.:
We noticed that folks in Ecuador wore coats in the pictures. In the summer time, it is that cold?
Yes! It is cold all year round in those mountains, especially at night. When the sun comes out in the day, it’s pretty warm, but in the afternoon and at night, the temperature plummets!
What was the favorite part of your trip--the travelling itself or getting there?
My favorite part of the trip was what we experienced while in the places themselves, although navigating between towns in fun and challenging as well!
Sara:
What did you take with you on your trip? How did you carry all of your clothes?
We carried everything from town to town in backpacks. This is a picture of Laura with all her stuff! My backpack looked similar. Everything from our clothes to our books to our bath items were in those packs – very heavy!
MacKenzie:
What kind of game animals did they have in Ecuador and Colombia?
Apparently duck and dove hunting is big in Ecuador, especially along the coast, also partridges. There is also good dear hunting. In Colombia, I read that dove hunting is also popular. Also, jaguars, pumas, and ocelots are hunted in the Amazon regions of both countries as well as other “bush meat”.
Harrison:
Would it be possible for you to send pictures of Chile after the earthquake...how it looks now?
Here you go… these are some pictures I’ve taken on my trips to go help with the reconstruction.
Nicole Crisp:
Have you seen lots of people coming in to help after the earthquake?
Yes, lots of people – Chileans and foreigners – have been helping out with the reconstruction. I have been on two weekend trips to help build temporary housing for people whose homes were destroyed.
Abby:
Did you try different foods in Ecuador and Colombia?
Yes, great question. In Colombia we ate Patacones, which are fried plantain chips, and in Ecuador we ate several new fruits like maracuya!
Autumn:
Have you found a way to help folks that lost things in the earthquake?
There have been lots of clothing drives and collections of basic materials. I have also been going to help rebuild in the towns of Curico and Los Coipos on the weekends. It has been a very rewarding experience to help the families rebuild their houses.
