Alan & Devon

This was written at the end of May 2010. I am just now “refinding” it, and actually posting it. Enjoy!

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Well, goodness, we never did write anything about the last half of our trip. In lieu of that, we did keep track of some amazing things we said (by mistake), read, or were said to us.

GOOD GAFFES
Devon, intending to ask about the cost of dice, asks the cashier, “How much do the fingers cost?”
(I made this error again when, playing Fill or Bust, I instructed my host- family to “roll the fingers” on the table)

A fellow extranjero (foreigner) who was with us, looked at the imposing bank of clouds on the horizon, and (as if to foster speculation and strike a bet) asked one of our guides, “When are you going to cry?” The guide’s eyebrows went up, then he got a good chuckle in. He knew our friend meant to ask him, “When is it going to rain?”

Devon was relating the story of staying in the jungle to host-brother Santi. She said, “We slept in some cabinas.” Turns out cabinas are the phone booths where people make long-distance calls. Cabanas are the cabins we actually slept in.

Another extranjero friend of ours was excited to play a game. He mistakenly offered that we “make a juice of cards,” rather than play a game of cards.

Devon was describing an aspect of a visualization Alan had led earlier that day, a part where he helped people become open and relaxed in their bodies. She quoted that he instructed people to “open their men.” (She meant to say he had helped them “open their shoulders.”)

Okay, Devon continued on and made a good gaffe in English. Speaking about the need for anti-nausea medicine (called “meclazine”), she very earnestly said that they would definitely need to pick up some “mescalin” that day.

MISUNDERSTANDINGS
This is one in English. Alan was on the phone to Nena, the director of Waaponi (the organization we worked with), about 5 days before the training.
“Where are you right now?” she asked.
“Oh, we are on the bus from China,” said Alan. (He actually said Tena, in central/eastern Ecuador, but she heard China.)
“China!!?!?!?” exclaimed Nena.
“Yes! We will take the bus to Banos (Ecuador) and stay there tonight.”
We didn’t fully straighten this out until we arrived in Cuenca and talked with Nena in person .

SIGNS:
“Pepe y Roni’s” (a pizza place)

A sign in English at some hot springs: “These pools are restricted to people who have consumed alcohol.”
(We believe the intention was to restrict tourists who had had alcohol from entering the hot springs.)

ERRORS WE MADE FACILITATING:
Well, whereas I took the cake with funny errors in casual conversation, Alan seemed to heighten his accidental comedic prowess for the workshops:
“And now, you may feel.”
(Alan intended to say: “And now, you may have a seat.”)

As some point, when Alan was instructing everyone to walk about the room comfortably, people started repeating the word he had said for “comfortable” and giggling. We are still not sure if it was because Alan’s pronunciation of the word comfortable made it sound like he had said “commode” (oops!), or “como yo” (which would have encouraged people to walk like him…)

Alan was encouraging people at the end of the first day of a training to end it with a big cheer. He wanted to encourage them to yell “loudly,” but he ended up excitedly telling them to “Yell rudely! Very RUDELY! Here we go…” Luckily folks understood his intention!

Devon explains she will be leading scissors (rather than workshops).

Alan asks for rice with glasses (rather than lentils).

Devon explains she has medicine for the refridgerator (intending to mean she has medicine that needs to be refridgerated).

In Spanish class, Alan attempts the command  ”Don’t eat” but says “Don’t eat yourself.”

Papa (potato) can also be translated as the Pope. An English translation on a menu reads “Popes join themselves sea breams…”

¨Vv-zun.¨ All is dark in Mindo. It is 9pm, and we are in an internet cafe. Becuase of the nightly torrential rains, the power for the entire (pequeno) pueblo has gone out. Last night, we arrived just as the rain made rivers of the paved road. Tonight, the vendedora tells us the electricians won´t work on the power until tomorrow. Stepping out into the night, we notice that a few tiendas have not closed their garage doors but have lit up their cash register with candles, so we happily stock up with some food and water. After our first night, we switched out our raincoats and shoes for ponchos and wellies, and have begun to understand that our raincoats and shoes will not actually dry out as long as we remain in Mindo.

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This western subtropical forest is a wonder. All stages of the life cycle are ever present, ever contrasting, ever interdependent. Frutas litter the ground and support birds and butterflies of brilliant diversity. Vines crawl and hang, and giant fronds shade. Dew and moss make for slick stones. Dying plants become part of the soft forest floor. Fat centipedes and red-bottomed grass hoppers take their time. Decomposition, composition, decomposition, composition.

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We absorb the sun like the mariposas on the rocks to our right. We are sitting waistdeep in a rivulet, amidst swirling pools of chilly mountain stream. We spread our wings horizontally before the sky, and wave them with gratitude. A guide helped us tune into the naturaleza at 6am this morning, walking us slowly through the lush forest home of Mindo birds. From there, we two hiked further in, until we came to this ravine. We are in deep, held by moss, blessed by kind sun, cleansed by the mountain stream, and we are thankful.

* by Devon *

The night breeze is mild. We are smiling, sitting high on the wall of a rooftop terrace, appreciating the scene below. In the old section of town called La Rhonda, a band plays indigenous Andean music with electric instruments. Quitenos of all ages gather and dance and dance together. Musicians cheer ¨Para el dia de la Madre!¨Sons takes mothers’ hands and celebrate. A mime weaves his way through the crowd to solicit laughs. The songs galvanize the audience, and clapping their hands, they carry the spirit. I am especially taken by a woman who, closing her eyes, moves as if in water, leading herself with her scarf as if it were a skirt. We think about how nice it would be if Seattle hosted more outdoor, public events that brought together people of all ages to participate in music and dance.

Since arriving back in Quito, two things have turned our smiles to frowns. But not for long, don’t worry!

One, we lost our camera. Or it was stolen. We don’t know. We don’t have good luck with cameras. So, we no longer have photos from our amazing time with our host-family or in Mindo. Aaauuuggghhh…… ahem. All things in perspective.

Two, we have spent the majority of two days between the bed and the bathroom. That’s right, a bacteria bug GOT us. We don’t know which or when, but sure enough, the symptoms are all there. It is good to be in the home of friends.

Both situations have caused us to pause. Our travel plans stall, our expectations change. The thing is, we both realized we actually wanted to pause… needed to pause. Both of us hoped our trip could provide us with some more space and time to be, feel, reflect and connect. We’ve begun to connect more fully with this intention.

We left Mindo and arrived in Quito for the second time last night. We luckily had another homestay – in the home of Claudi, Andres and Julio (respectively: Mama Anita’s daughter, son-in-law, and ex-husband). This is the home where Alan spent a couple months during his time in South America two years ago.

We are now getting to share a little in la vida real of a young couple (similar ages to ourselves) in the city. Andres and Claudi are wonderful, full of energy (Claudi kind of trots wherever she goes, and Andres plays nightly soccer as late as midnight), completely generous (helping us with our laundry, phones, etc), humble (every “thank you” is met with the equivalent of “don’t worry about it” or “calm yourselves”), and more than a little mischevious.

In the evenings so far, we have eaten pizza, played an epic card game of Fill or Bust, watched the French film “Rumba,” watched the Japonese anime film “Totoro,” eaten strange cheese-laced crackers, and laughed and talked a lot.

We are on the spot, and we giggle and expand. We confusedly and excitedly execute the 3 salsa moves we know, while family members lovingly call out “Eso!” (meaning “That’s it!”) On the tiny barbecue patio floor, Anita, her brother Juan, her sisters-in-law Mary and Miche, and her teenage niece Gabi happily mix in and out of pairings, teaching us a Salsa, Merengue or Cumbia moves on the way. Gabi and her father Juan argue about traditional versus modern music, and which will bother the neighbors more. Miche wows everyone with her flare. Anita, Gabi and I crack up as we assemble the Macarena.

Earlier in the night, we ate fantastic churripan and steak, cooked on the grill by Santy. We laughed and were inspired when Anita and Santi used a blowdryer to rekindle the coals. Dancing in a circle all together around 12pm, it has been a very special night.

(April 27 – May 2nd)
We were received in Quito by our familia Ecuadoriana. The family I am speaking of was Alan’s host-family when last he was here. It is such a gift to have family here, and family they truly are. We feel especially loved and cared for by Mama Anita, our Ecuadoriana mom.

When we arrived, we were met at the airport by Mama Anita, host-brother Santi, and host-sister Claudi. We journied to Tumbaco, a rural suburb of Quito, where Anita and Santi live with grandpa Don Pepito and Anita’s relatives. The family and relatives live within a compound which was purchased and built by Don Pepito some 60 years ago. We ourselves have the privilege to sleep each night in the original structure, a canary yellow house with a hacienda-feel and numerous antiques and family relics.

We stayed in Tumbaco for 5 wonderful days. Each morning, we ate breakfast a la Anita, complete with freshly squeezed juice (of a different fruit each day) and rich conversation. Every morning, Anita helped us prepare for our activies. Our first day, Anita rode the buses with us to Quito (up, up, up the mountains- it´s a 400 meter difference and a climate change within a half-hour!) and we visited two churches in the old town and popped into a cafe for tasty empanadas and canalazos. Back in Tumbaco, we topped off our night with ¨hot wine,¨ at the invitation of Anita´s brothers and sister-in-laws. On Day 2, we spent our evening in the trendy La Mariscal with a cousin and good friend of Alan’s named Nathaly. Nathaly introduced us to her friends, and the entire group wowed us with their passion, English, social enterprises and generosity. On Day 3, we factored in more time to visit the Guayasamine museum, walked up the giant hill, and learned they were closed for Labor Day. Fortunately we had a fantastic barbecue to return home to that night. On Day 4, we were invited to “The Middle of the World,” a town named literally for its position on the equator, to feast and play card games with Nathaly and her parents. On Day 5 , we enjoyed lunch with Anita, Santy, Claudi, and Claudi’s husband Andres in Tumbaca, before we departed for Mindo.