Thursday, September 30, 2010

A disturbing story from the newspaper

While reading the newspaper a few weeks ago, I came across a very troubling story. If you would like the Spanish version, you can find it here. If your Spanish isn't strong enough, don't worry. I paraphrase it below.

Headline: They took him from downtown to leave him in a landfill

German, a 72-year old homeless man, was living on the streets of downtown Machala. He had been living this way for many years. One day, a few weeks back, a municipal employee put German in a city car and told German "I'm taking you to a better place." He actually just drove him to middle of some banana fields on the outskirts of town and left him in a pile of garbage.

German pleaded with the workers and asked them how he would get back to the city. They just drove away.

Not knowing what to do next, he stayed in that spot for several hours. Eventually a police car stopped. He asked them to take back to the city but they refused. Instead, they just dropped him at the outskirts of another outlying neighborhood.

The municipal worker who initially "relocated" German to the banana fields said he didn't want the homeless person "affecting the decoration or revitalization of the city." The city worker continued "we don't have the intention to do harm to nobody. ... Machala doesn't have indigents that are from Machala. They are always from other places." He said that he planned on dropping the homeless man in El Guabo or Huaquillas or some other town so that he wouldn't hurt the image of Machala.

Once he was discovered on the outskirts of town, German was taken in by social services. He was given a shower and a hot meal at a city councilman's house before heading off to a hospital and then on to a senior citizen's facility.

The city worker who decided to leave the man in the banana fields was suspended for one month without pay, and his actions were condemned by the municipality. I heard one report that said he carried out the act because he had not been paid for several months.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

¡Happy Flag Day!

On this day in 1860, the color scheme for the Ecuadorian flag was officially adopted. To this day, September 26th is an important one in the national calendar.

Every school holds a formal ceremony called Juramento a La Bandera ("Swearing to the flag"). During the ceremony, the students in the oldest grade swear allegiance to the flag. Various speakers explain the significance of each color band. Take note that the yellow band on the flag is twice as wide as the other ones.

Yellow represents the country's natural wealth. Blue represents the ocean (and the sky). Red represents the blood and sacrifices made in the country's fight for freedom.



In the weeks leading up to the ceremony, the students practice marching so that they can get the steps down in time for the big day. And the job of holding the flag is a coveted one. The responsibility is given to the student with the highest grades (a kind of valedictorian, if you will).



Now, to finish the narrative of the Ecuadorian flag. If you look at the official flag, it doesn't just contain the three color bands. It also has a seal in the middle. This was added in the year 1900. To my knowledge, there is no holiday to commemorate the adoption of the seal on the flag.

If the Ecuadorian flag reminds you of the Colombian or Venezuelan flags, that is because they are based on the same design. After Simon Bolivar led the revolutions in South America, the three countries all belonged to the Gran Colombia. As an homage to the revolutionaries who inspired the struggle for independence, the countries adopted designs similar to the flag of Gran Colombia. The differences between the three are that the Ecuadorian flag has the seal of arms, the Venezuelan flag has stars, and the Colombian flag just has the tricolor bands.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Gusanito

We are entering the heart of fiesta season in Arenillas. The neighborhood celebrations are behind us as the entire city unites for its two main parties. This week, the fiestas partronales will kick off. They last for about ten days. Then everybody will spend the next three weeks gearing up for the fiestas de cantonizacion (celebrating the city's birthday), which start at the beginning of November.

The shift to municipal fiestas means a few things:

• Official work gets put on the back burner as the party-planning committee takes over
• Class gets replaced by marching band practice
• Beauty pageant pictures in the newspaper every week
• The arrival of the gusanito



Run by a group of Ecuadorian carnies, the gusanito (literally means "worm") is an amusement ride that appears at fiestas throughout the country. The worm squirms and swerves through the streets, offering the thrill of riding a reggaeton-blasting, light-flashing multipede around town.

It arrives a few days before the party gets going and sets up near the epicenter of fiesta activity. Then it skips town the day after the festivities come to a close. I have actually seen the full gusanito driving down the main coastal highway on its way to another town's fiestas. The image of the carny family, with all of its belongings stored in the various cars of the gusanito on its way to another gig is quite entertaining.

Just as entertaining as it is to see the entire gusanito family rolling down the Ecuadorian equivalent of I-75 is seeing the head car of the gusanito running errands in town. This morning, I caught the gusanito's head at the market.



Although I have yet to experience the thrill of the gusanito first-hand, it on my list of things to do before my service ends. Its location on the to-do list is right between drinking fresh goat milk and midnight fishing in the mangrove.

As we head to the heart of fiesta season, I should get plenty of chances to cross it off my to-do list.

Monday, September 20, 2010

For $4.35 today at the market ....

Four pounds of sweet potato
Four pounds of yucca
Two pounds of tomato
Two pounds of red onion
Two cucumbers
Four lemons
Two cloves of garlic

How much would that run me in the States?

Sunday, September 12, 2010

It's hard to get a good knish in Arenillas

Unless you make it yourself.



Last week, I made my first foray into the world of flaky dumplings. I, and my stomach, would call knish night quite successful. I think we'll do it again soon.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Trapped

When I arrived at the all girls elementary school a couple of days ago for an AREvista meeting, there was quite a bit of commotion.

In contrast to the boys elementary school down the street, things at the girls school are much more disciplined. But when I walked in, the girls were out of their classroom.

That's because they couldn't get in their classroom.

Before the school day began, some of the early-arriving students were horsing around. In the course of their playing, they slammed the door to their classroom shut. The janitor came by with the key to open the door, but the key broke, trapping for girls in the room.

Apparently, there is only one copy of the key. And there is no other way out of the room, as the windows are surrounded by steel bars.

The four students were locked in the room for two and half hours until the locksmith came by.

Immediately upon being let out, they all ran to the bathroom.

Monday, September 06, 2010

Where is Hank Hill?

To refill my kitchen gas tank only costs $1.60. But that only takes into account the monetary value the Ecuadorian government places on its heavily subsidized gas.

That $1.60 doesn't take into account headaches, frustration, cold meals, and lost time involved in navigating this bureaucratic nightmare.

My gas tank ran out three weeks ago. I finally got a refill a couple of days ago.

(To go directly to my struggles in replacing the gas tank, skip the next two paragraphs)

Gas tanks are a very heavily regulated industry in Ecuador for a variety of reasons. Although Ecuador is an OPEC nation, it doesn't have sufficient refining capacity to serve the needs of its citizens. So, most of the cooking gas tank gas is imported. Apparently there is some kind of issue with the shipments now because there are gas shortages throughout the country.

The other problem is much more local. Ecuador subsidizes the gas tank prices. Peru doesn't subsidize (or doesn't subsidize as much). This creates an arbitrage opportunity for people who live near the border. The government has tried to crack down on this by placing the military in charge of gas distribution and making sure that each gas purchase is officially registered so that no one is stockpiling.

When my gas tank ran out, I went to the local gas distributor to change the tanks, but they were closed. I tried this the next day, but it was the same story.

In the meantime, one of my neighbors let me borrow his gas tank.

On my third attempt, they told me that they were out of gas, but that I should come back the next day with my gas tank and a copy of my ID.

I did that, except they were already out of gas by the time I arrived.

So on my fifth attempt, the stars finally appeared to have aligned. I had my ID. They had gas tanks. When it was my turn in line, they asked me for something that would certify me as a resident of Arenillas. I showed them my ID. They said it wasn't good enough. I had to go to the local government office and get a signed document, attesting to my residence.

I go to the office, but they tell me that they can't do anything for me until the president of my neighborhood certifies me as a resident.

The president of my neighborhood is a doctor who practices in another city. He doesn't get back to Arenillas until 7:00 p.m., which is about when I get to his house.


Ian: Necesito un certificado que dice que vivo en esta ciudadela para que pueda conseguir un tanque de gas.
Presidente: Mejor que consigas algunas peladas.

(or for the direct translation)

Ian: I need to get a certificate that says I live here so I can get a gas tank.
Prez: Better that you get yourself a couple of broads.


He says that he'd like to help but he needs the secretary of the neighborhood to prepare the document.

I head to her house. She works in another city and doesn't get home until 10:30, which is well past my bed time. I leave my papers at her house and pick them up in the morning.

I pick up the papers and notice that the secretary had forgotten to sign them. I get the president's signature that night and leave the document at the secretary's house to pick it up the next day and take it over to the government office.

Unfortunately, the government's representative was out of the office. I would have to wait over the weekend. Monday morning, I swung by the government office, picked up the paper I need, and headed to the gas distributor. Much to my surprise, they had gas.

I paid the $1.60 and changed my tank. Now was that so hard?

Sunday, September 05, 2010

Hey, prehistoric forest



Yesterday, I took a trip up to the Puyango Petrified Forest. It contains one of the largest collections of petrified wood in the world and is just a couple of hours from my site.

Obviously, I had to go check it out at some point. But knowing that it's been there for millions years and probably wasn't going to change too much in my two years here, I was in no particular rush to get out there.

But it was definitely worth the visit.

The wood in the forest is between 60 million to 120 million years old. Petrified wood is fossilized wood. As the tour guide tried to explain to me: The lava flow from volcanic activity at the time (There's no active volcanoes in the vicinity. Don't worry, mom.) covered the forests. The lava buried the trees, and all the organic matter in the trees was converted into petrified wood. At one point in its history, the area was also covered by ocean because there are shellfish fossils.

The largest piece in the forest is this fifteen meter trunk that has naturally broken into several pieces.



It should be mentioned that the forest has only been a protected area for about twenty years now. Before it was declared a protected area, there was quite a bit of pillaging that occurred. Many residents in the area, and some in my site, have pieces of the petrified wood in their homes.

In addition to the petrified wood, the park also contains some pristine dry tropical forest and some of its rare tree species. The most majestic of those rare species is the Pretino. These trees are babies compared to the petrified ones. They're only 120-150 years old.



It is related to the previously fawned-over ceibo (part of the bombacacae family). Whereas the ceibo flower is white, the pretino gives off a pink/red flower. This should be happening in the next month. I will try to snap a picture of that.



Each ring signals about ten years of growth.

Richard, do I have a mark on my trunk?

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

That's not a tandem

It is clear that my neighbors do not understand what a tandem bicycle is.

From what I can gather, a tandem bicycle is one bike in which there are two seats and both riders pedal.

When my neighbors decide to go for a tandem bike ride down the street, they opt to tie two bikes together with a rope so that the lead bike is pulling and the back bike is just going along for the ride.

The guy on the back bike doesn't pedal at all. (I actually think his bike was broken, which was the impetus for this activity). The lead bike must provide enough momentum for the back bike to maintain its balance.

As you can imagine, the lead bike struggled to provide enough momentum to power both bikes. It ended in a crash every time.

I think of it as a combination of a tow truck and water skiing, except that instead of falling into water my neighbors are crashing onto the street.

I just hope these kids never get a hold of any copies of Jackass because they really don't need any ideas. These are the same kids that thought it was a good idea to see how hard they could tug on the power lines.