From Quilotoa to Machu Picchu

As promised, I am attempting to update my blog more often this semester. After an amazing trip to the Galapagos, I returned to Quito to a very interesting set of midterm exams. Although I am at what is supposed to be the one of the best universities in Ecuador, I am still amazed at the difference in the quality of education. My classmates, who are extremely intelligent, and are all already involved in the professional sphere ( as doctors, lawyers, sociologists) cheat on exams and copy/paste entire paragraphs of text from articles into their papers without citing the original article. I think a lot of them spent their high school and college years learning my rote memorization and the masters program is structured really differently. It just makes me so thankful for the great educational system we have in the States.

Aside from more educational realizations, I also enjoyed one of my favorite weekends since I have arrived in Ecuador. For Carnaval, instead of enjoying parties on the beach, I spent the first part of my weekend in a small community about 2 hours from Quito called Langulo with my public health classmates. We went as part of a group of doctors who gave free medical exams while we provided a variety of public health interventions. My specific group was in charge of teaching children about hygiene. Each child made a sock puppet and then we taught them how to take care of their puppet and themselves by brushing their teeth, washing their face, washing their hands, etc. After Langulo I headed directly to Quilotoa to meet up with Amit, Hudson, Angella, and Ingrid. Quilotoa is volcanic crater lake and is known as one of Ecuador's "most staggering sights". It is a bit off the beaten path so it was a great place to get away for the weekend. We spent one day hiking around the rim of the crater and the following day hiking down to the water and back up. We stayed at an amazing little hostel called Cabanas Quilotoa where we recieved a delicious breakfast, dinner, and room to sleep in for $10. The views and company were spectacular! After arriving back in Quito I had about a week and a half of normalcy before my parents and friend from college, Jamie, arrived.

My parents visit was wonderful. I had a great time showing them my favorite parts of the city, enjoying my Mom's delicious Indian food, and listening to my Dad attempt to speak Spanish. Following a week in Ecuador, we headed to Peru to meet up with my little brother Nikilesh, and hike the Inca Trail. While the altitude in Cusco and on the trail proved to be a bit of a challenge, especially for Nikilesh, we enjoyed our 3 day hike (about 30 miles in total) to arrive on the 4th morning at the Sun gate with a spectacular view of Machu Picchu. We hiked in a group of 14 people from the US, Canada, and Japan. Our two guides (Ruben and Hugo) were extremely knowledgeable and encouraging throughout the trek. Ruben, our main guide, had an amazing accent and funny phrases that he loved to repeat in English over and over again. We trekked with the company SAS Travel(http://www.sastravelperu.com/) and I highly recommend them.
The food was delicious with hot tea every morning in our tents, garlic bread to snack on when we arrived at our campsite, and an amazing variety of veg and non-veg options at every meal. Despite the fact that we were hiking during the rainy season, it only rained for about 45 minutes throughout the four days. We were all pretty exhausted when we finally arrive at Machu Picchu, but I think that hiking for 3 days and being able to see other Incan ruins and absolutely breathtaking scenery along the way made the arrival even more amazing. For the last two days we were hiking on the actual Inca trail that has been used for hundred of years and has never been refurbished. If you are thinking of making the trip, I think trekking is definitely worth it!!!

Looking down on Machu Picchu with the Rao family

Machu Picchu!!!

The entire group after arriving in Machu Picchu

I arrived back in Quito two days ago and I think I have finally caught up on my missed sleep and lots of school work. Things are going to be quiet around here after having so many visitors but I know there are more adventures to come. Much love!

GALAPAGOS!

Mi vida equatoriana has continued to be filled with exciting adventures since I last wrote. For the first few weeks in February I enjoyed spending time with Anita and Jon (a friend of Anita's from UNC). We explored parts of historic Quito which included climbing the Basilica, a beautiful church containing 24 different chapels and a breathtaking view of historic Quito for those who can brave the practically nonexistent stairs and mesh platforms. Crowded around a laptop in the living room Hudson, Amit and I cheered on the Tar Heels to an amazing victory over Duke and just a few days later Amit's parents arrived for their week long trip to Ecuador. We spent Saturday roaming around the market in Otavalo and came back to Quito only in time to pack and get a few hours of sleep before Anita and Jon departed at 4:30 am for Buenos Aires and at 7 am I was on my way to the Galapagos with Amit and his family!

The Galapagos Islands are located over 1000 km from mainland Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. With 12 main islands and 12 minor islands, the Galapagos is an animal lovers paradise. I was a little nervous about spending 5 days on a boat but luckily the Yolita II turned out to be an amazing way to experience the Galapagos. Thanks in large part to our extremely friendly and knowledgeable guide, Washington, I learned so much about the different animals and ecosystems present in the Galapagos. Our daily itinerary was extremely variable as we traveled to four different islands but in general we had an early breakfast aboard the boat and then began the day with a "wet landing" (meaning we left our bigger boat in dinghy's that stopped 10-15 meters from the shore of an island and we waded through water to arrive at the shore). After arriving on any given island we spent anywhere from an hour to three hours traversing the island by foot with our guide Washington who pointed out and explained all the different animal species, land formations, and fun facts. We would then return to our boat in time for lunch or sometimes a morning snorkeling expedition. Snorkeling has to be one of my favorite parts of the trip. You feel as if you are part of the ocean. All kinds of gorgeous schools of fish, turtles, sea lions, and sharks, swim around you as if you were invisible. The water is crystal clear so you can see absolutely everything. After snorkeling and lunch we often had a few hours to relax on the boat. I spent the majority of my time reading Barack Obama's Dreams from my Father (which I highly recommend) and playing extremely intense games of scrabble with the Gupta family (in which Amit's mom blew us all out of the water in every single game). In the afternoon we would dock at a different part of the island and have time for snorkeling and swimming from the various beaches. In all honesty, words cannot describe how beautiful all of the islands are and how amazing it is to be so close to such unique wildlife. Instead of continuing to ramble on, I am just going to add loads of pictures with captions for all of you to see the beauty for yourselves.

Our Boat: Yolita II

The Beach of Santa Fe Island

Espanola Island with the Gupta Family

The infamous Blue Footed Boobies

By far my favorite..the baby sea lions

Land Iguana

Nazca Booby and Chick

Lonesome George-the only remaining Abingdon Island tortoise

Crab

Frigate Birds flying over our boat

Marine Iguana

Baby Sea Lion

Gigantic Cactus-Espanola Island

Just taking a nap

Amit and I-Santa Fe Island

One of 6 male Turtles at the Charles Darwin Research Station

Sunset-Floreana Island

Our Galapagos Itinerary

Day 1	BALTRA / SANTA CRUZ (Bachas Beach)
Day 2	PLAZAS / SANTA FE
Day 3	ESPANOLA (Punta Suarez / Gardner Bay)
Day 4	FLOREANA(Punta Cormorant / Post Office Bay)
Day 5	SANTA CRUZ (Charles Darwin Station / Highlands)

2009!!

It has been quite a while since my last post and I apologize for the delay in blogging. The end of last semester simply flew by and before I knew it I was on a whirlwind trip back to the States for medical school interviews, the holidays, and lots of snow and ice in Iowa! I arrived back in Quito on January 10th and moved into my new home. While I absolutely adored my host family and will always cherish the time I spent with them, it was time for a change. I currently live in an apartment with a fellow Rotary scholar (Peter) and a PhD candidate in public health (Darlene) who is studying water borne disease on the Ecuadorian coast. It was wonderful to be home for the holidays but a small taste of family made it hard to come back to Quito again. Luckily, part of the family came back with me! A day after I arrived in Quito I was back at the airport picking up Anita who is visiting Ecuador for a month on her way to spending a semester abroad in Mendoza, Argentina. We have gotten nice and cozy in my small bedroom and I already know how much I will miss her when she leaves in a few weeks.


Back in Quito, it only took my first bus ride to school to feel like I was back in the swing of things. The same cheerful old man who sells the Diario (daily newspaper) and Manuel and Jorge (my two favorite bus vendors) made me feel right at home. It was a bit strange to arrive at the University to be blinded by mini-skirts and popped collars (I strangely didn't see a lot of those back in Iowa). Luckily, I soon found familiar faces and began to settle back into my routine. This semester I am enrolled in 3 public health classes (Nutrition, Health Administration, and the Politics of Healthcare). Each of them is extremely unique and fascinating, and my professors are incredible, but I can already tell that I am in for a tough semester. I did however manage to create a better schedule for myself where I only go to the University 3 days a week and have Tuesdays and Thursdays open to spend my day at the Street clinic in the Camal market in the

South of Quito. It was really wonderful to return to the clinic after a few week lapse and hear the holiday stories of all the patients. They are really some of the most wonderful people I have had the opportunity to get to know in Quito. While attempting to take pictures for fundraising letters for the clinic, Juaquina (pictured left) requested an individual picture with each of us and is anxiously awaiting the printed copies. She sells the most delicious avocados in the market! Here is a view of the south of the city from the windows of CENIT (the organization that I volunteer for).

Aside from settling back into a routine at the clinic and school, I have managed to squeeze in a few weekend excursions. Anita, Amit, Peter and I ventured to Mitad del Mundo where we stood in both hemispheres at the same time and witnessed the phenomenon of water falling straight down a drain as oppose to spiraling in one direction or the other. Last weekend we also traveled back to Mindo to enjoy a weekend away from the city. We once again canopied through the cloud forest, visited the butterfly garden, and took a beautiful hike to La Cascada Reina (the queen waterfall). As much as I enjoy Quito, time away from the city is always greatly appreciated.

I have made a resolution to update my blog more frequently so you will be hearing more from Quito very soon!!!

Noviembre

On Tuesday night a group of 100 "gringos", as we Americans are fondly called here in Ecuador, gathered in Finn McCool's (an Irish pup) to anxiously await the results of the election. I can't describe how strange it is to be huddled in an Irish pub in Ecuador and for one of the first times in my life, feel a sense of pride and patriotism towards the US. It was amazing to see Obama take the stage as the next president and even more amazing when we walked outside the pub at 1 am and realized that no one else in Ecuador probably even knew what had happened.


Election night was a wake up call that it is already November! Where has the time gone? I am started to feel pressed for time as lots of 15 page papers in Spanish loom over me in the next few weeks. However, there is always still time for adventure and exploring. Two weekends ago I had the opportunity to travel to Timbopukura, an entirely indigenous community located in the province of Cotopaxi with my public health professor. Although we spent an hour of our journey standing precariously on the side of the highway due to a tire explosion, visiting the community was amazing! I spent the afternoon exploring and learning about agriculture and community medicine. Over the course of the next semester I am going to be implementing a mini public health initiative in this community. 70% of children under 5 in Ecuador have childhood onset anemia due to a lack of iron in the diet. The Ecuadorian Ministry of Health has decided to implement a nation wide project to provide an iron supplement in powdered form to mothers so they can give it to their children in an effort to diminish the percentage of anemia. My public health professor is very involved with the initiative and so I am going to implement a pilot study for the larger project in the community of Timbopukura. I am really looking forward to working with the community health aide, Alejandro, who lives in Timbopukura to implement the project. Alejandro not only provides all health services to the community, using both Western and traditional medicine, but he is also the community midwife. I know that I have a lot to learn from him about his community and indigenous health care in Ecuador.

Of course, not all travels are school related. Last weekend I ventured to Banos, the outdoor adventure capital of Ecuador. We rode bikes through the countryside to visit a series of waterfalls. The scenery was amazing, lush green mountains with gigantic waterfalls, but the bike riding itself was semi-terrifying experience due to broken brakes and cars zooming past at what felt like 80 miles an hour. Following a full day of bike riding and hiking we enjoyed an evening at "Cafe Hood" an extremely eccentric restaurant with Ganesh painted on one of the walls, Italian servers, and surprisingly delicious chicken curry sandwiches prepared by an Ecuadorian chef. Our weekend of adventure continued as we repelled down a series of waterfalls the following day which culminated in a 45 foot drop down the largest fall. Needless to say, I came back to Quito and could barely walk up the stairs from all of our activity.

A few random side notes:

1) I joined the salsa dancing club at USFQ and finally found the non Laguna beach student crowd. We are working on perfecting our rueda (salsa dancing in a circle where you continually switch partners) for a performance at school at the end of the semester.

2) I am teaching my almost 3 year old host sister some English but I don't think I am doing the best job because every time I ask her what color something is, her response is pink. Maybe she just likes the way the word sounds...

3) November 2nd, Dia de los Difuntos (All Soul's Day), is an important celebration in Ecuador. The day is filled with a variety of traditional foods, including colada morada, my new favorite drink. It is a cider like beverage but made from blueberries, blackberries, and pineapple. Delicious!

I miss you all and hope that all is well. Much love!

El Autobus

Every morning I take the green bus to Cumbaya. The hubbub begins in the station in Quito where the conductor of each bus screams to passengers to "Sube" (get on) before the next bus begins to inch forward, shoving the original bus out of the way. The bus is moving yet the conductors hang off the side like monkeys, pulling the straggling passengers on. As the bus jerks around the corner, it is to your advantage to find the nearest seat or you will be left standing, sharing the aisle with a series of characters who hope on and off each green bus that passes, selling their goods. As we round the first corner Manuel and Jorge are the first peddlers on board. Manuel always wears a navy blue hat and a brilliant smile as he lifts a wooden pole with stacks of sweet and salty peanuts hanging from it. Just behind him follows Jorge who sells " 6 caramelitos por ese garganta que duele. Tengo naranja, fresa..." (6 caramels for your sore throat. I have orange, strawberry) he belts as he walks down the aisle, slyly placing the cough drops at an enticing distance in front of each passengers face. We make a right on Eloy Alfaro and a left up the hill. Then, my favorite seller hops on board. I don't know his name but he can't be older than seventeen. He jumps on the bus with six ice cream cones in hand. As he passes down the aisle he offers "helados" in the most deep throated nasal voice I have ever heard. I've never seen anyone buy a helado at 8 am but I hope his business picks up during the day. We race along passing the Panaderia, flower stall and rug washing stand before swerving around the round about, with a statue of a man riding his bike, and we are out of the city. We race the green bus next to us to see who can get their card stamped first by the lady who sits in her tiny green stand on the side of the road. The conductor practically hurls himself out of the bus to get the stamp and makes a mad dash to keep up with the bust as it moves away. We follow the curves of the road down the valley and if I'm lucky, I catch a glimpse of snow-capped Cotopaxi just before balancing myself close to one of the doors so I can hop off at my stop as the bus pulls away, billowing clouds of smoke behind it.

Aside from riding the bus back and forth from school, life in Ecuador has continued to become busier. My class workload has begun to pick up quite a bit and since all of my reading is in Spanish I find it takes me much longer than expected. I have also begun to get involved with a few other activities. I attended my first Rotaract meeting in Quito and I am really excited about being involved with them for the year. Rotaract is essentially the university level of Rotary. There are some wonderful club members who have been so kind to all of the "gringos". One girl in particular, Maria Fernanda (Ma Fer), has gone out of her way to take care of us. Two weekends ago she took us to Papallacta, amazing thermal hot springs that are located about an hour outside of Quito.
We spent hours soaking in the hot springs before heading back to the south of Quito for a very traditional lunch at Ma Fer's parents restaurant. This past weekend we spent Sunday wandering around Parque Metropolitana, a beautiful park in the north of Quito enjoying lots of fresh air and people watching. In the afternoon we visited a museum called Capilla del Hombre which houses the art work of the indigeneous Ecuadorian painter Guayasamin. His art work, marked as expressionist, reflects the pain and misery that the larger part of humanity has endured, and denounces the violence that every human being has had to live with. The paintings and sculptures were extremely poignant and powerful.

While not spending time with lovely new friends exploring Quito, I have continued to enjoy spending time with my host family and traveling. Located in the middle of the cloud forest, everything in Mindo is lush and green. I spent my weekend enjoying a butterfly garden with Carolina blue butterflies,A few weekends ago I visited Mindo, a lovely little town about 3 hours from Quito by bus, taking a cable car to see waterfalls, hiking, and zip lining through the cloud forest. I have to say it is one of my favorite things that I have done so far in Ecuador, I felt like I was flying!

Somos Equatorianos

A week and a half ago I had a true cultural experience: sitting in the stands as the Ecuador national team played Bolivia in soccer. We somehow managed to be in the "rowdy" section in the stadium. Before the game even started, a gigantic Ecuadorian flag emerged that covered our entire section. Every time Ecuador scored during the game we were essentially showered in beer because excited fans just threw their cups everywhere. Needless to say, Ecuador won the game and we all had a great time!

The following weekend I took my first trip out of the city to Otavalo, a small town two hours north of Quito that is known for the indigenous craft market that occurs on Saturday mornings. We arrived on Friday evening but only began to explore on Saturday. The market was quite a sight. It is centered in the main square of the town but sprawls onto various streets and alleys. From chickens, to scarves, to jewelry, to hammocks, the market had almost everything you could want! I spent a good few hours simply wandering through the various stalls admiring the beautiful embroidery and vibrant colors. Following our shopping stint, we wandered away from the center of town to find a tree called El Lechero.
According to ancient legend, the tree has healing powers and can cure ailments. While the tree was majestic, the surrounding scenery was simply breathtaking. We were lucky to catch a few minutes of sunshine before the clouds rolled in, covering the surrounding mountain tops. While we sat peacefully enjoying the scenery we suddenly realized that a large group of people with go carts had gathered at the top of the hill. We wandered over and asked a policeman what was going on, only to find out that a go cart race all the way down the hill, around some of the scariest curves I have ever seen, was about to begin. We hitched a ride with the race officials back down to Otavalo to witness the festivities. The streets were lined with people in anticipation of the race. I have no idea how they actually stayed on the carts because their mechanism of steering was simply leaning to one side or the other. It was quite a sight! We returned to Otavalo and thanks to the Lonely Planet, found a delicious pie shop that served hot apple, pineapple, blackberry, strawberry, and chocolate pies. It was the perfect way to end the afternoon!


On Sunday a few of us ventured about 15 km out
of Otavalo to Laguna Mojada. We had originally
thought about hiking but thank goodness we decided to take a taxi. The 15 km distance was essentially completely vertical and took almost 40 minutes by car. The Laguna originated from a volcano that erupted and left a basin that slowly filled with water. Although it was quite chilly, the crisp air was the perfect escape from the city crowds and pollution of Quito!

Since returning from Otavalo life has continued to be very busy. On Monday evening the Rotary clubs of Quito hosted the Rotary International President, Dong Kurn Lee. There are currently 5 Ambassadorial Scholars in Quito and we attended the event together. It is very interesting to note the huge differences between Rotary in Ecuador and Rotary in the States. I expected quite a few of the differences, especially in terms of the social/economic status of Rotarians here, but I don't think I quite anticipated the political influence that Rotary has. While the Rotary International president was addressing the crowd, everyone suddenly stood up to signal the arrival of the vice president of Ecuador. It was crazy! The dinner turned out to be better than expected as we were able to meet quite a few members of the Quito Rotaract club who seem to be active. I hope to be able to get involved with some of their projects soon.

I hope everyone is well and that I hear from you soon! Much love!

Una Semana

Hola todos! I've been in Quito for just over a week and I am slowly adjusting to life here. I live in the Northern part of Quito very close to the soccer stadium. My host family is wonderful. My host parents, Cecilia and Hernan, are both biochemists. Hernan works as a professor and Cecilia runs the family lab which is just down the street from my house. They have four children, but only the youngest and oldest live at the house. The oldest, Adolfo, is a plastic surgeon who just returned from training in Argentina and is trying to establish himself in Quito so he lives at my house with his wife, Judi, and two adorable children, Michaela (pictured above) is two and a half and Jose Matias, a very happy 5 month old. It is nice to have a family and a home to return to after classes.

Aside from life at mi casa, classes at the University started last week. La Universidad de San Francisco Quito is so beautiful! The entire campus has open hallways which overlook small grassy courtyards. Thankfully the campus is small so I know my way around pretty well. The University is actually located in Cumbaya, which is about 40 minutes by bus from Quito, in the next valley over. It has taken me a few days to adjust to the commute, but I have begun to enjoy the time on the bus to people watch or simply take in the gorgeous mountains which surround Quito on all sides. I am currently enrolled in five classes at the university: three public health classes (global health, occupational health, and a community health practicum), Andean Anthropology, and an Ecuadorian short story class. Thus far, they all seem incredibly interesting and challenging, especially the public health classes. My fellow public health classmates have all already started their professional lives so I am a bit intimidated by them!

Last weekend I went on my first Ecuadorian excursion. I packed a picnic with a few new friends (including a fellow Ambassadorial Scholar) and we ventured out to the Teleferico. The Teleferico is a cable car ride that takes passengers up to an elevation of 4050 m and overlooks the entire city of Quito. Although it was freezing at the top, the view was breath taking. For now, it is time for class again. I miss everyone and hope to hear from you soon!!!!

con amor, priyanka