November 6, 2007

It is now my fifth full day in Ecuador, and I’m just now beginning to feel a bit more settled. I made a concerted effort to unpack all of my belongings, settle in, and stow my luggage for the time being [those of you who know me well will understand the humor in this]. Though it may sound silly, I felt it was a necessary step in helping me adjust. It still hasn’t quite sunk in—the realization that I’m actually here in a different (yet familiar) part of the world, that I’m about to take an important step in my academic career, not to mention embark on an incredible and most likely emotionally charged personal journey. When I think about it, there really is a lot riding on this trip, and it’s all a bit overwhelming. Whatever the outcome, there is no question that it will be a transformative experience (an idea that touches on the notion of fieldwork as a rite of passage). So perhaps it’s better for the time being that mentally, at least, I’m still halfway between Minnesota and Ecuador.

A quick recap of my trip to date: I left Minneapolis/St. Paul on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 10:00am, accompanied by José Ricardo Suarez (an Ecuadorian studying public health at the UofM) and his girlfriend Nicky (also studying public health). Combined, we had a total of eight pieces of luggage, several of which were overweight, and far more carry on items than rightfully allowed. In my experience, this is par for course when traveling to Ecuador. Aside from a few raised eyebrows and some not so discreet comments concerning our excess carry on items, our flight was uneventful up to Quito.

For those of you unfamiliar with Ecuador, Quito is located in a valley in the Andes. While not the most difficult approach, it is one of the more challenging for pilots considering the surrounding mountains and the location of the airport, which is currently situated in the north side, right in the central part of the valley. That means that planes have to fly into the city, unlike most airports which are just on the outskirts. Imagine the damage and casualties if a plane were to have problems landing or taking off (and yes, it has happened). Now, the weather in Quito is such that the airport often reroutes flights to Guayaquil (a coastal city just southwest of Quito), mainly due to fog. I’ve never had much luck with flights, so it came as no surprise when the pilot announced we would be making a detour. This was at 11:00pm. Fortunately, Continental set us up in a decent hotel near the airport and allowed us to leave our checked luggage on the plane. We finally arrived in Quito Nov. 1 sometime around noon after a few minor delays (including the need to reroute due to the activity of a nearby volcano). As inconvenient as the whole experience was, I give Continental a lot of credit for the way in which they handled the situation. Of course, they have a lot of experience with this sort of thing in Ecuador.

Finally, Quito!! It’s amazing how different and yet so familiar things appear to me. Even though I was last here a little over a year ago, it’s always a bit of an adjustment. The narrow streets, congested traffic, manic driving, endless stream of buses and taxis, billowing exhaust, street vendors, acrobats and peddlers, crowded buildings and apartments built almost on top of one another, … it’s really quite a site. Probably very similar to cities in other parts of the world, I’d imagine (at least in Latin America). While the whole scene may appear somewhat chaotic and perhaps even distasteful to visitors, I think it has a certain charm. If nothing else, it has a certain rhythm that is distinctly Ecuadorian (or maybe just Latin American?—I haven’t traveled enough to know). In any case, I like Quito and could easily see myself staying here some time if I could. We’ll have to see how things unfold.

For fear of losing my audience, I think I’ll stop there for now. Suffice it to say that I’m well, and that I’ve spent the past few days settling in and attempting to get my project off the ground. I’ll be sure to keep you informed as to how things progress. Hope all is well wherever you may be. We’ll be in touch!

Pacho