Cotacachi, La Calera, y Otavalo

What a great day! I visited a possible place for an internship today. There is a school in a community outside of Cotacachi called La Calera in which there is a school called Jose Vasconcelos. I got the grand tour of the aulas (classrooms) and the Teler (Fabric workshop). When the kids aren't in class they learn how to weave the products that the indigenous people make. What is cool about the school is that it is bilingual, Quichwa and Spanish. All 97 of the students are indigenous and speak both languages. I will be teaching English while I am there for 5 weeks. I think it would be interesting to research the history of bilingual education in the sierra. Apparently it is somewhat new that Quichwa is being taught in school. I had a great time and got to play some futbol with the girls before seeing the house that I will be staying in. It is literally across the street from the school. I will have my own room (with two beds) and a personal bathroom. There is a little internet cafe connected to the house that Inez Bonilla and Rodrigo (my campo parents) own. I am somewhat relieved because it means that I will be able to work on my monografía without having to go into town. I also met some of the local high school boys who had just come from a futbol tournament (Rodrigo coaches I believe). They were really nice and the taught me a little Quichwa. To say "my name is" it is "nyucakani Amy". I am pumped to learn more Quichwa. I will be teaching English while the children and locals can teach me Quichwa.

After seeing the house I headed into Cotacachi to the Plaza de las Mujeres where my future campo mom works. She is an advocate of womens' rights and works with abused women from the area. They are currently working on putting together a law that will punish men who are abusive. She is fantastic. I am in awe of everything that she is doing. I think I might look into helping out or learning more about the programs they offer. It is not what my internship will be about per se, but it will definitely add to the experience.

I headed into Otavalo which is the more well known pueblo. Lindsay came with me on the bus and stopped in Otavalo because that is where a possible internship is for her. It didn't go as well as mine. Apparently they didn't even know she was coming. I think she will be finding a different internship. Anyway, we walked around and shopped a bit. Otavalo is known for its artisan work, especially wool and alpaca clothing. I bought a burnt orange zip up wool sweater with a big rainbow colored sun in the middle. It is sweet! I also ended up getting a few more scarves. I cannot get enough of them and they are super cheap, only $2. We ate a a little cafe called Cafe Fruta. It was beautiful. We sat in a little atrium surrounded by flowers and birds. I unfortunately, did not bring my camera with because I did not want to loose it, but Lindsay did and took some pictures. When she puts them up I will save them and put them up on my blog. She took some of me and we took a few together. (I know that you want to see more pictures with me in them mom. :) When we were done we took a bus back to Quito which dropped us off in the bus station in the centro of Quito. Haha, we were told to get on a bus at a station in the northern part of Quito but Lindsay's dad couldn't find it so he pulled over at a gas station where a bus to Ibarra was parked. He asked if it went to Otavalo and Cotacachi and the guy said yes so we got on. A bus ride of an hour and half or so to Otavalo and Cotacachi is only $2. Not bad. It is really neat driving through the mountains too. Eye popping, awe-inspiring, gorgeous mountains with rivers and valleys. What a beautiful country this is.

I was really nervous about this trip because I didn't know what to expect but now that I have checked everything out I feel completely confident that La Calera is where I want to go for my internship. I am pumped!

On a side note, I got an email about staffing for this summer at camp and I am so excited. It is only the first draft but from the looks of it I will be hiking, kayaking, and canoeing. I cannot wait!