New Old Scene

Dear reader, 

I had expressed, in previous blogs, my intention to continue writing in this space, even after returning from Ecuador. South America is never far off, my return flight to Quito is in December, but I think that an opportunity to share some perspective has most definitely presented itself with my return to the states. The transition process of returning from a country like Ecuador creates a very unique opportunity to comment on several different subjects. I can´t guarantee that the publications of this new series of blogs will be as frequent as those I wrote in Ecuador (my free time is much more limited now), nor can I make any promises as to the intrigue produced by these new blogs (I don´t know that they´ll be anywhere near as exciting or enlightening as those I wrote in Ecuador), but I will make my very best effort to only write on topics of interest. So, should you choose to follow these new blogs of mine, I hope you will not be disappointed. You may have noticed that I made some changes to the layout of the blog space, I hope this new simple format makes the entries much easier to read (with new material comes a new design). Among other things, I hope to comment on the contrasts that I notice between Latin America and the US (for example, ever thought it was interesting that the US isn't referred to as Anglo America?). Fortunately, I have been given the opportunity to teach Spanish at ISU again, and I would also like to discuss my teaching experiences there in the coming semester. Apart from these engagements, I am hoping that other writing opportunities will present themselves during my time spent back here in the US of A. Anyhow, if you stick with me, I'll stick with you. Let's see where we can go with this, if anywhere.

Thanks,

Chris

Return to the Land of the North: Welcome back, from the TSA

Being in Miami Airport is like still being in Latin America, sort of. I say this because practically everyone speaks Spanish and you hear it everywhere. That's about where the similarities to Latin America end.  Up until this point, I've been thoroughly annoyed with me reentry/Miami Airport experience.

First off, I really dislike Miami, the people here tend to be rude as hell. As I said in my earlier entry, Miami is a ridiculously huge airport (I think I've walked about a mile and a half). Really, the size of the airport isn't the actual source of my irritation, it's, once again, the TSA that has managed to get under my skin.

First off, you have to walk about a mile to get to customs, this walk comes complete with a bunch of signs reminding you that you're walking in the direction of "Passport Control" (aka HELL). Once you get to HELL, get to have the most miserable government employees in the world yell at you, "Move to this line, step forward, follow the yellow dots, do a hand stand, whistle the Star-Spangled Banner, etc. etc. All of that is just to get them to let you back in the country. 

Once I got through he wonderful experience of passing through the passport verification process, I got to meet my new favorite TSA agent. From the moment I saw this guy and he started talking, I wanted to tell him, "There's something about your face that makes me want to punch it." Instead of doing that, I decided I try to accomplish reentry to the country and answer all of this guy's stupid, and I mean stupid, questions.  

Here is the rundown of the interrogation:
TSA Moron: Where you been?
Me: Quito, Ecuador
TSA Moron: Are you sure that's where you have been? 
Me: Yes 
TSA Moron: How long were you there? 
Me: 8 months
TSA Moron: There are a lot of good things in Quito, but there are also a lot of bad things. My job is to find the bad things. So, you bringing any bad things for me? 
Me: No
TSA Moron: What were you doing in Ecuador? 
Me: Volunteer work for a foundation called Yachana
TSA Moron: And how long were you in Ecuador? (second time he asks me this, as if I were going to slip up and tell him something different)
Me: 8 months 
TSA Moron: Okay, so were you in Ecuador as a missionary?
Me: No
TSA Moron: So who were you working for? 
Me: a volunteer foundation called Yachana (this is where I almost lost my temper) 
TSA Moron: So that's not and NGO? You know, a Non Government Organization. 
Me: I know, and no. 
TSA Moron: Okay, follow the yellow dots, welcome back.
Me: [Mumble not nice things under my breath]

Fun times, huh?  Aside from that lovely experience, here is a list of observations that I have made so far:
1. Hearing English on TV, over intercoms and in the form of chatter from people is a bit overwhelming. I don't know if it is the contrast with having heard Spanish for the past eight months, but Americans sound loud! 
2. Americans, it's diet time! I have noticed how much bigger people are.
3. Marketing is attacking me from all sides! 
4. There are a lot of people here! 
5. This place is big! 
6. In the news, they're discussing the latest attempted terrorist attack, which is scary and depressing. :-( I haven't heard a thing about terrorism for 8 months. 
7. I was strangely annoyed by some guy who was trying to make friendly conversation (he was complaining about the wait for HELL).
8. Things are expensive! I was going to buy a drink, but not for $3 bucks. 
9. Aside from the guy that tried to make annoying conversation, everyone seems very unfriendly and I feel just the same.
10. This air conditioning is freezing me out! 
11. MIA Wifi isn't free and I'm not paying $4 bucks for 30 mins of net. 
12. They're talking about things I have no clue about on the news. 

I'm sorry if I seem very negative, I'm sure positive things will happen eventually. I think, up until now, I've had negative experiences because I'm in a lousy airport.

Return to the Land of the North: Plane ride UIO-MIA

Here I am in the plane. The boarding process amused me because of a chance meeting with an old "elitist" lady. These older wealthy Latin Americans (I call them the old elite, ancianos del elite) never cease to amaze me. She asked me if I was Argentine and I told her no, but I could be a "Kirchnerista" (someone who supports Argentine president Christina Kirchner). Her response to that was, "Es por eso que estamos en semejante situación en América Latina, por los jóvenes que creen en fantasmas" (That's why we're in this kind of situation in Latin America, because of the young people who believe in ghosts). She may have been referring to Ernesto Guevara, but something gave me the impression that she was more talking about her frustration with the fact that the rich Latinos, such as herself, are losing their ability to continue increasing their wealth through corruption and exploitation of the working class. Big surprise, when I got on the plane, I saw she was seated in business class.

Flights to and from Latin America are interesting because they're bilingual. Everything  is said first in English, then repeated in Spanish. Sometimes the translations aren't exactly word for word, but the general idea is the same.  One thing that's rather amusing about these English/Spanish flights is that you get to watch the flight attendants play the Latino or Gringo Guessing Game. I can just imagine the thoughts going through their minds, "Hmm, this guy must be gringo because he's white, but, then again, there are white Latinos." Then you can observe their next, better play it safe, move, "Buenos días, good morning." When they served the meals it was, "Buen provecho, enjoy!" From there, it depended on me, to speak Spanish or English, I opted for Spanish (may as well hang on to it as long as I can).

Back to the Land of the North

I'm on the first leg of my flight back to the land of the north. I'm sitting in the tiny Quito airport (you don't have to worry about which gate your flight leaves from because there's only one) waiting on a flight that heads to Miami at 09:45 and lands after four hours. There isn't much of interest to speak of at this point, except for the convenience of this little bity airport.  As I explained in my first ever Ecuador blog, Quito's airport is very dangerous due to the fact that it's smack dab in the middle of the city. On the other hand, I love it because of the facts that we got here in 15 minutes and it's so small that it's easy. If you've ever been in one of these huge international airports (my friend Mark calls Chicago's O' Hare, "O' Hell") then you know what I mean when I say that they're ridiculous. Those airports, like the Miami one that I'm flying to, are like small cities, they have their own zip codes and they're impossible to navigate. Let me tell you, I'm looking forward to getting lost in MIA today, not! Give me my tiny UIO any day.

No Contaron Con Mi Astucia (They Didn't Count on My Intellect)

One of Ecuador's main attractions is alpaca! I say that half jokingly, but, at the same time, it's true (I'll explain later). You can go to almost any part of Ecuador and find an artisan market full of gifts made by indigenous ecuadorians. In the selva, the artisan crafts consist mostly of decorative jewelry (bracelets, necklaces, etc.). Now, where the real goods are, at least for most tourists, seems to be in the mountain regions.  The majority of artisan goods that come from the sierra are mass produced by the Otavaleños,  Quichuas, named so because they're originally from Otavalo. The manufacturing and distributing of their products is a huge enterprise, not only in Ecuador, but all over the world.  Alpaca, that seems to be the unifying theme of all of the markets where the Otavlaeño artisan goods are found. If you go to the Mercado Artesanal (Artisan Market) of Quito, you will find nearly a hundred little stands, all selling pretty much the same things. You've got sweaters, hats, gloves, scarfs, pants, and so on, all available in a variety of colored alpaca fur. You can even get a sweater made of alpaca with alpacas on it! It's funny because, while it is cold in many parts of Ecuador, especially in the mountains, this gear would be suitable for the Arctic Circle!  Fortunately, not everything is made of alpaca, and you can find some decent stuff, if you have time to look. With everything being the same in every stand (not a good marketing strategy from what I remember in my studies), I arrive at my next point, bargaining. The time concern doesn't only depend on looking. Another very important part of going to an Otavaleño market, apart from sifting past the alpaca, is bargaining. It's called "regatear", or, as my friend Mónica likes to call it, "pelear" (fight), and it is not only accepted, but expected.  Why am I telling you about all of this? Well, this past week I spent a couple of days at the market, buying gifts to take back to the states, and I got some good stuff! As el Chapulín Colorodo, from a hugely famous Mexican comedy show, would say, "No contaron con mi astucia," (they didn't count on my intellect). I went to the market with my secret weapon, Mónica!  Mónica not only has a couple of friends at the Mercado Artesanal, she also loves to pelear. With her help, I made out like a bandit, and I only bought a couple of alpaca things! Now I've got all my gifts ready to go, they're currently passing from a conveyor belt to the airplane. Let's hope American doesn't lose my bag!