Stay Off the Road at Night

I've warned as many people as I can about the dangers of taking a night bus in Ecuador. Still, some people continue to choose to take them, and it's their choice. As I've said before, you can ride a night bus 100 times and never have any trouble, but if one time something goes wrong, you'll be wishing you hadn't. Not only can you be robbed or temporarily hijacked at night, but the drivers can fall asleep and the buses can roll off a cliff (which happened to another volunteer in my program.) And though I'd warned one of my closest friends here, Jamie about what happened on my bus back in September, last Friday night she was on a bus from Cuenca to Quito that got hijacked.

The coast is definitely considered more dangerous, but these things can still happen in the sierra. I still haven't even heard from her because her cell phones were stolen, but I've heard about what happened through other friends who saw her in Quito after it happened. The circumstances are similar to what happened to my friends and I in September, which I wrote about in a blog. I also wrote about what to do in a situation like this in an article with the Matador Network.

Basically, she was taking the bus up to Quito and three men with guns got on the bus, robbed everyone, and left them in a field. This time around, however, they actually fired the guns in the bus. But Jamie was fortunate too because she was able to hide money in her shirt and it wasn't discovered. She was traveling by herself, and I can't imagine what that must have been like all alone. I'd seen her just before she left that night, and though she left later in the afternoon, her plan was to spend the night in a town a couple of hours away, and I still don't know what happened to the original plan. If she'd told me she was going straight to Quito I'd have told her not to.

Being on both sides of this kind of incident now, I have a better appreciation for it. As a victim in something like a bus hijacking, you are the sole focus. You are there when it happens and when it's over, you are alone with your thoughts until other people start to hear about it. But the worst of it is behind you, and even though you might have some emotional things to deal with after, the guns can't touch you later on. As a friend though, I find myself just feeling awful about it, and it's a feeling that is lingering. Knowing exactly what it's like, I hate that she had to go through that. And I hate that there's nothing I can do, at least right now, while I'm still out of contact with her. It's the kind of feeling that tells you you really care for someone, and not being able to see them immediately only makes it worse. This is the kind of pain my family and friends must have been going through back home when it happened to me.

Jamie actually has a family here, and she was on her way to Quito to pick up her little sister who will be visiting for a month. So she'll have support that I didn't have. Also, she's been here almost 7 months and knows a lot of people in the community, as well as more about the culture and society. In my case, I'd just arrived in the country and other than the volunteers in my program at orientation, didn't really know anyone. So I'm hopeful that she'll be able to move on from this pretty quickly. And as bad as it sounds, she knew from my experience what it was like and what to expect, so she probably didn't have the same thoughts I'd had. Thoughts of whether or not we were being kidnapped by rebels or would we be killed, etc. The kind of thoughts that enter your head when your world's just been rocked.

So again, I can't stress this enough. Do not take the night buses in the country. It's just not worth it. You might have to kill a day traveling once in a while, or spend a little extra and fly, but at the end of the day you arrive in one piece with all of your things, and you don't have to have a story to scare people. And I just hope that my friend can feel the same way too.

The Countdown

With almost a month left until I leave Ecuador, a sort of countdown has begun. I've already finished one of my classes and will finish my other on Friday. I'll still have to give final exams and placement tests up until July 21st, however. There are still a number of things I want to do, and as such, I have to really take a look at just what I can get done. There's a town about an hour from Cuenca that is in a valley, so it's hotter and more relaxing. I want to go there if I have the chance. And I'm thinking of flying up to Quito a few days before my flight home to visit Quilotoa, a small village with a crater lake.

I don't think I'll be able to take a long trip into the jungle, unfortunately. But even with the time left, I'll be getting periods of time in the next few weeks where I have nothing to do for a few days at a time. So I've been talking with a couple of people about possibly going to the coast again, or even down to Mancora, Peru. It's about 8 hours away, and is supposed to be a cool beach town.

I also need to take care of my bank account and make sure I get an advance on my last paycheck so that I can pay my host family for July. The last thing I want to buy is a Panama hat, and maybe a couple of knick knacks for the family back home. If I can get all of that in my bag, that is. But the pinch is definitely on now that we come close to July. It's hard to believe that it's come to this, but it's reality and you just have to deal with it. I remember after being here for a month how it felt like so much time had gone by, and now with a month left I feel like there still so much left. But at the same time, I feel like I've seen and experienced almost all there is to do in this country. And that's obviously a lot of stuff. It's almost time to move on.

Military Coup in Honduras

This afternoon I went down to Millennium Plaza to watch the U.S.A vs. Brazil soccer game in the championship of the Confederations Cup. It was a good game, even though Brazil came from behind in the second half and won 3-2. But I was surprised to see a scrolling message on the bottom of the TV throughout the game. It seems that this morning there was a military coup in Honduras, and the president, Manuel Zelaya had to flee to Costa Rica. This is the first military coup in Central America since the Cold War.

On the TV, the message was encouraging people to protest outside the embassy and consulate of Honduras in Quito and Guayaquil, to support the democracy and the president. From what I read in an article on The New York Times Web site, President Zelaya had recently started the process for a referendum to allow himself to be elected again, even though the constitution only allows one term per president. The congress and supreme court ruled it unconstitutional, and this led to a series of events which led to the army taking over and kicking out the president this morning.

The coup d'etat has brought a lot of attention to leaders in the surround countries, and President Rafael Correa, of Ecuador, will be flying to Nicaragua as well for some kind of conference. I haven't heard any opinions from Ecuadorians yet, but based off of the messages shown during the game, it seems like the government wants people to think in favor of the ousted Honduran president. This is an interesting situation that will develop more over the coming days.

A New Volunteer in Cuenca

In about a half hour I'm going to meet a new volunteer from my program who will be in Cuenca for the summer. I don't know anything about her, but have been told that she'll be teaching at SECAP for two months. She's actually staying with one of my former students, who I interviewed a few months ago to be a host family. Lauren, who got back to Cuenca a couple of days ago from a vacation in the United States, will meet up with the new volunteer and my former student. It's kind of exciting to have a new face around, and hopefully we can drop some knowledge on her.

Last night was a despedida, or goodbye party for a teacher who's been in Cuenca for almost as long as I have. James, from New Jersey, was teaching at a language school here and will be leaving next week. Back when I first got to this city, I was sitting in a hostel bar doing my first lesson plan when he asked me if I was teaching. He'd just arrived to try to find work, and as it turns out he was friends with another volunteer here, who encouraged him to come down. He wound up working at a bar for a few months until he found steady work, but it all worked out in the end.

The party was at a bar that isn't opened yet, but will open in September. It's right on the river and is owned by two Americans. One of the owners just moved here after living in Costa Rica for 6 years. It was mostly guys at the party, but after paying $2 for all you can drink, it got pretty rowdy. I made my way through rum, sugarcane alcohol, and a shot of pure mescal. There was a piece of wood in the bottle, and later on I wound up chewing on it for a minute as it was passed around. I don't recommend this. Needless to say, we were all pretty "hechofunda," a word only used in Cuenca to mean something along the lines of "shitfaced."

So today I've been tired all day, but I'm ready to head out, if not to drink then to at least talk with the new volunteer. And it will be nice to see my former student again. But knowing this city, which is listed as the drunkest city in South America (based off of alcoholics per population), I'm sure I'll wind up having a cocktail or two. What a life.

This is the End

Tonight I will give the last lesson for my night class. I couldn't be more excited, as this night class was extremely challenging for me and I honestly did not enjoy it one bit. But even with the misery of going to that class every night, they were still students who wanted to learn. I didn't hate the students, I just didn't like the class, and the fact that I was teaching it. But last night the few students that showed up wanted to celebrate the end of the semester, so one of the students went to buy a pizza and some drinks. They wanted to go out, but I really wanted to finish the material before we did anything.

But this is the beginning of the end, in many respects. I still have my afternoon class for another week, and though we have final exams and second chance exams throughout July, the teaching part of the deal is nearly completed. I feel like with all of the good and bad times, it was a good experience that at the very least has taught me that my future doesn't lie in teaching English as a second language. I might be able to push through it for a year or two, but it is not my calling. And that's OK. It's a valuable lesson to have learned.

As much as I like being down here, I am ready for a change, and after hearing so many good things about Buenos Aires, I'm really excited to be going there. And now a friend from my program might be heading down around the same time as me for a little vacation before coming back to Ecuador. I need to do some more convincing, but I think she's sold. It'll be a nice transition to have someone with me the first week or so in Argentina.

A couple of nights ago my toilet randomly started leaking water around 2 in the morning, and it was so loud it sounded like it was raining in my room. So that kept me up for a good portion of the night, as well as soaking my bathroom floor, and in addition to the paranoia of bed bugs, I haven't been sleeping too well lately. Basically, I'm ready for a little comfort of the United States. Even if it's only for a few weeks.

Run On

Back in February I played Frisbee in the park with some other expats for the first time. While playing, I realized that I wasn't winded or affected in any way by the altitude. After that day, I decided to give running a try, since I had nothing better to do anyway and was no longer going to a gym. And I've never looked back. It was a bit slow to start, of course. But most things are like that when you train physically.

At first doing two laps around the park was draining, and once I stopped running I would be huffing and puffing for a minute or two. But eventually I worked up to be able to do two laps without a problem, and eventually three laps. Finally, my host mom suggested I run in a 10k in Cuenca, and with the encouragement of running with my friend Jamie, we completed it with ease. After that I started running longer routes in the mornings and pushing it further. A month after the 10k I did a 15k in Quito at even higher altitude. And again, though it was challenging, I completed it in good time and felt great about it. It's kind of like a Forrest Gump situation. Once I did a 10k, I figured I'd just keep running and do a 15k.

I'm still running, and I'd like to continue it when I get home and move to Argentina. For anyone who's known me long enough, this would be a complete change. I never used to like running, and in fact, I hated it. I'd run on elliptical machines at the gym, but that's about as far as it would go. To me, running was boring and difficult. So why is it that now I'm suddenly into running? I've thought about it, and if you ask me, it has something to do with the physical education system in the United States.

For one thing, unless you participate in Track and Field in middle or high school, the only time you're running outside of a particular sport is when you run "The Mile." It used to be one of the most dreaded events for me. Twice a year you're suddenly told to run as fast as you can in a loop four times, and this is supposed to determine how fit you are. Besides, a mile is a totally arbitrary measurement. If it was 5 yards less would we be in better shape, or in worse were it 5 yards more? Running for a longer distance might prove more than how far you can push it for 8 minutes. But without any training or preparation, the gym teachers judge whether or not you are in shape. Well, frankly, it doesn't work that way.

Running, as simple as it may seem, is actually more complex than that. Running in a couple of races, I've seen just how much preparation goes into these things. I'm obviously not an expert on the subject, but you pick things up quickly. For one thing, stretching is extremely important, and though they always had us stretch in gym, there was about as much oversight on what we did as there was on the executives of Enron. No one told us whether or not we were stretching well or progressing. Chalk it up to either lazy gym teachers or a general lack of concern with how kids are stretching.

Second, there are actual training regimens to follow. Sure, running on the fly might show what you're able to do at that moment, but aren't we told our whole lives to practice, study, train, get better? Isn't it much more enjoyable to set a goal and accomplish it? Running isn't the most thrilling sport, but I really enjoy setting a goal every morning and reaching it. I love playing sports like basketball, baseball, football, Frisbee, etc. But I suck at all of those, and never was able to make the teams. But you can't suck at running. You're just not as fast as the other guy. But you don't suck. This is not something that is taught to us as young children.

Third, you need to learn how to breath. Okay, obviously, we all breath independently of whether or not we think about it, but there's definitely a different way to breath when you run. Starting out running, you soon get the heart pumping faster than normal and need to take deeper breaths. But if you're like I used to be, I would almost freak out and breath too much, not regulating how much air I took in. I was focusing more on the fact that I had no breath than on how to deal with the air I had. I've learned since February to take slow, deep drags and take the air that I have, which isn't always easy considering I'm at high altitude. But it's necessary. As a person who used to have asthma, running was a terrible idea for me. But I grew out of it and was able to increase my lung capacity.

Basically, running is a nearly cost free activity that everyone could take part in if they had the proper education on it. It's obviously not for everyone, and can definitely get boring running around a track for 30 minutes, but that's why I switch it up every few days and run on the sidewalks. Why is it that only the fastest kids are encouraged to run Track? What about the other kids that aren't going to make the baseball team? Why should they just sit around on the couch? While the ultimate goal of running a race is to win or get the best time you can get, I think there's just as much pleasure in finishing. At least for someone like me, anyway, who doesn't even plan on winning.

Back home, I used to go to the gym all the time. While some people start lifting at the gym for a few weeks and then get bored, I went consistently for 5 years, except for a couple months in Spain when I had no membership. I stopping going to the gym when I got to Ecuador, and I guess to make up for it I've picked up running. And since I get into what I do, I've continued to do it about 5 times a week. I want to continue this for years to come, and I hope that I will be able to. But if a guy like me, who genuinely did everything he could to avoid straight out running, could pick up the sport, at high altitude no less, anyone could do it. And it's worth a shot.

Ecuadorian Skinheads

There's a group of skinheads in Cuenca called A.N.R. Without knowing what their politics are or what they really do, I do know that they spray paint their tag "A.N.R." as well as a swastika around different buildings in the city. They've always been around, but lately more and more are popping up, especially in the center. I don't know what they think they stand for, but it's a topic of conversation that has been coming up more and more recently.

The ironic thing about being an Ecuadorian skinhead is that if they are in fact in favor of Nazi beliefs, then that would essentially put them in the group of people hated by Nazis. There is a definite lack of education on the matter in these parts, and many people simply name their children Hitler, Stalin, or Trotsky simply because they are well known historical figures. But they don't know why they are famous, and don't even care to hear about their stories. One friend told me that a student he had was named Hitler, and know one in the class cared, as if it was another name like Jon. When he tried to explain, they weren't even listening.

But basically, as a Jew and grandchild of Holocaust survivors, I find it uncomfortable to live in a place where people can be so ignorant of such facts and continue to celebrate these world leaders as if they were heroic. Just last week I was witness to the consequences vicious attack from skinheads. This time, though, it was skinhead on skinhead violence. We don't know what brought on the fight, but 5 guys jumped another man on his motorcycle while he was at a red light and proceeded to beat the crap out of him. They were stomping is face in as he lay helpless by the curb, like something out of "American History X." They eventually ran away and left the man completely disoriented and bleeding badly, while traffic backed up and no one did anything.

These things can happen anywhere in the world, and gang violence is nothing new. But it is a little surprising when it takes place here in Cuenca, which is generally thought of as a peaceful city. It's an aggravation that you have to deal with because in reality, this happens everywhere, including the United States. I only hope that in the future the educational system will improve enough to teach what these things actually mean, and maybe defer some people from joining the ranks.