Post pending

Apologies to anyone checking here that I haven't written in a while. There are a number of reasons for this, but I plan to post something soon, so don't give up hope!

FC

How best to make a difference?

I've now been in Lima a week and half. It's a big city with as many people as London. Complicated in comparison to Quito, it took me a few days to get my bearings. It's winter here, which means that you might need a jumper if the sun isn't out. It never rains, but some days the sky is filled with coastal haze.

I'm staying with a very hospitable Peruvian family and will be doing some volunteer work for the next few weeks. My volunteer program has placed me at an under-resourced state school in a poor area of Lima. The school has children from the ages of 7 to 16; I have been working with the secondary classes. Conditions in the neighbourhood aren't quite as bad as in Nairobi slum I once visited, but it is poor.

Last week I quickly found that I could be most useful in the English and Mathematics lessons and so opted for those - my Spanish is not yet good enough to help effectively in other subjects. I enjoyed getting back into some easy maths and figured that if I coach operators in Spanish, the first year undergraduate tutorials in English should be no problem next year. People have told me that I am patient when teaching, and I do feel it is worthwhile. Maybe when my academic career is over, I will see if they are still crying out for maths or physics teachers.

The English classes suffer from the same fundamental problems as foreign languages in the UK: The students don't have a reason to learn English, because they don't see how it can impact their life. And, just as in the UK, a couple of hours a week is not enough to make real progress.

I had in an expectation that the school would be similar to my mind's picture of a poor African school, where all the children are well behaved - because they appreciate the value of education. I'm not sure why I had this expectation, but it was wrong - the discipline in the school could be a lot better. Having said this, I think the teachers are gen rally good, despite the low wages they receive.

All the children I have worked with so far seem to be able to read and write, and was thus awakened to one way in which South America and Africa are a world apart - in South American countries the literacy rate is generally 85% or higher, whilst in many African countries it is 30% or lower.

I think if I carry on helping in the way I have been so far, I will be dissatisfied with myslef when I leave. I have high standards about doing something worthwhile, perhaps unrealistically high. I want to do more: I might run some additional English classes after school for those that are keen. Or perhaps something to make a more permanent difference.

There are no computers in the school for the pupils to use, but they have lessons about computers in which they draw pictures of the various components and describe what they are used for. So one idea that came to mind was procuring some computers for the school. However, once I started to think about the practicalities of doing this a number of problems come to mind - there needs to be a secure place to keep them, a teacher that can maintain them, time in the timetable, subject matter to teach, etc.

A simpler plan, which could achieve the same result, might be to make an agreement with a nearby Internet cafe to secure regular timeslot for the pupils - eliminating many of the above problems. To make this a permanent would require money - not a huge amount, but a regular amount. It's still an early stage idea, and I need to think through the problems, but perhaps some of you will be hearing from me. Maybe let me know if you'd be prepared to commit a very small regular sum, knowing that might help me develop the idea. I'm aware that my time here will be over before I know it.

STOP PRESS: I just found out that the school may be getting a computer room soon despite what I said above. I think there will be oppurtunities to donate money there.

Thanks for the positive comments you've been sending me by email - it helps to know I'm not boring you - I'm still a little self conscious about the self obsessed nature of blogging!

Tengas suerte,

FC

Sierra a Costa, Ecuador a Perú

So, I have arrived safely in Peru. Tomorrow I fly to Lima. My route has taken me through:

Riobama - For a bike ride down volcan Chimboarzo (the highest in Ecuador, pic) and through indigenous valleys. Also for the start of the incredible 'Nariz del Diablo' - the most difficult railway in the world, descending down a vertical gorge (pic).
Cuenca - Pretty colonial city, Ecuador's third largest - but sedate and relaxed in comparison to Quito or even Riobama.
Machala - On Ecuador's southern coast. As you descend from the sierra to Machala, the change of climate hits you with the heat you expect of the equator. The sierra is temperate by comparison.
Tumbes - Dusty Peruvian border town with its share of con men and rip offs.
Mancora - Lovely Peruvian beach town full of surfers. I tried to surf a little but didn't have the same determination or energy to succeed as I has last time I tried surfing.

It's true what people say - travelling solo is actually very sociable -in a whole week I have only eaten alone twice. And I have made many friends along the way.

On the train ride from Riobama through some beautiful valleys, I had appreciated the juxtaposition of an indigenous girl chatting on her mobile phone with flashing lights. There are very few places untouched by the modern world - and I think the mobile phone may be the most ubiquitous of modern technology because the infrastructure needed to set up a network is realtively little.

There is a line between vigilance and paranoia - and at certain times during this journey I may have been on the wrong side of it. One example was at the bus station in Cuenca when I dropped a coin - I wouldn't accept it back from the nice girl trying to give it back to me. I was being hyper-vigilant given that my friend had had her bag stolen in the same place just a week ago. But when vigilance means that you trust no-one, it has overstepped the mark.

The border crossing was a particular source of anxiety. There were two possible routes to choose from, and having heard a number of horror stories about the coastal one, I was inclined to take the apparently easier inland one. But doing this, I would have missed Mancora. But in the dorm of my hostel in Cuenca, I chanced upon two other travellers who wanted to do the coastal crossing, and we joined forces.

The difficulty with this border is that the immigration offices for Peru and Ecuador are 5km apart, each inconveniently a couple of km from the border itself - and you have to get your passport stamped at both. Many con men and dodgy money changers operate in the area between these offices.

The key to a hassle free crossing was to get a direct bus over the border which waited for us at both immigration offices. Our 2 hour cross-border bus ride only cost $2, and there were only 4 passengers who crossed the border - so I found it hard to believe it was worth their while to wait for us, but they did. The bus tout was very helpful, coming into the immigration offices with us to make sure there were no problems. Why another company hasn't setup more expensive buses for tourists on this route that make everything easy, I don't know. I would have happily paid $10 to know everything would be smooth.


In my last post I mentioned "We shall meet twice in life". This was exemplified when a friendly Peruvian surf instructor whom I had met in Quito two weeks ago turned out to be staying in the room next to me in the Mancora hostel. My friends and his friends all passed an evening together and we agreed to conduct the whole evening in Spanish, despite the fact that he speaks good English. Spanish is easier after a drink or two, but harder after three or four! And the next day I got some free surf tuition.

Another gratifying outing for my Spanish was when I ended up translating at my hostel for an Australian couple.

The next challenge is to find a way to make myself useful as a helper at a school in Lima. Finding the right niche in which to help may require a little provacticity.

Chao amigos,

FC

The Lonely Planet ticklist

I'm a little stuck between a rock and hard place with this blog - some of you chastise me for not writing often enough - others chastise me for writing in English, other chastise me for having too much time on my hands. So I won't try and artfully craft a work of literary art this time.

The truth is you can't be doing and seeing things all the time, nor should you try. I have reached the stage in Quito where I don't need to be doing the sightseeing anymore - this is the transition from visiting a place to living in it. The Lonely Planet is not another ticklist for me to work my way through - I don't have a need to do and see and everything. The trick is to live in the present, enjoy experiences and relationships without worrying too much about what you could do or haven't done. Nice words, now to live by them. On the next leg of my journey to Peru I shall try to savour the experiences and the places without having to do all the sights.

I am travelling over land by bus to Peru next week. Hopefully I can get there without being robbed - three of my friends had things stolen last week, so vigilance is definitely on the cards.

I would like to stay here to get better at Spanish. The school is good; I do enjoy the learning, and meeting other students. And I am also starting to get to know the family better, another result of living and not visiting. But in other ways I am ready to leave Quito, for new challenges.

The Spanish school has a transitory feel to it with new people arriving and leaving all the time. It is sad to keep meeting people, making friends and parting, but this is unavoidable when travelling. A saying a friend told me recently: We shall meet twice in life, ...

This week I have been learning and reading a very little about South American politics and history. In particular, I am interested in the idea of a United States of South America. This was first proposed by Simon Bolivar in the 18th Century and is currently undergoing a revival in part due to Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela. He wants to move South America away from dependency on the world bank, the IMF, and the subsequent need to subscribe to the washington consensus.

In 2004, the countries in South America signed the Cusco Declaration - the intention being to build a union modelled on the EU, with open borders, free trade, and a single currency.

The more things I learn about, and the more I see of the world, the more I realise how little I know. But life is so short there will never be enough time to learn about everything of interest. Is it better to know a little about everything or a lot about a few things? I hope with my forthcoming PhD I picked the right specialism.

And the Lonely Planet is not infallible - I found a mistake in it when I discovered the climbing wall was not where they said it was. So perhaps I will get my name in the next edition in the list of contributors of corrections. Other things I did recently include: visiting the overrated market town of Quito, attending a local football match, straddling the Ecuador at the tourist musem with suspect scientific experiements, and ascending the cable car for a view of Quito. Tuesday was a national holiday for Labour day.

Will probably write next from Lima, in a couple of weeks.

FC

Salud, Deniro, Armor

In Ecuador, when you sneeze, there is a three tiered progression of what you say equivalent to "bless you" - but there are three words for consecutive occasions: Salud, Deniro, Amor.

Salud - health
At the weekend we visited Baños, a small town nestled under an active volcano, named after its thermal baths. With 12 students from the school going, the group was almost unmanageably big and there was a lot of waiting around for people. Contrary to foreign office advice, we didn't check the volcanic activity before we left.

The baths themselves came in different temperatures from scalding to pleasantly warm to freezing. Despite being packed, moving between the pools was a calming experience. In Baños there are wheelchair ramps on and off every pavement in the town - this was the first time I had seen this in Ecuador. From this, I deduced that there must be a belief in the healing properties of the baths, which calls to mind the gospel story of Jesus healing the crippled man at the baths (ref, anyone?). Whether my deduction is correct or not, the baths were certainly very good for the muscles after a day on mountain bikes.

Unlike some of the other students, I have have yet to fall foul of any nasty bugs in food.

Dinero - Money
In tourist towns such as Baños, all you need is a very little money and everything is easy. Our mountain bike tour took us east and downhill through breathtaking scenery, where the startling Andean valleys run into to the dense Amazonian jungle. Standing close to the bottom of the Cascada del Diablo (waterfall of the devil), you get soaked - but it is well worth it - being so close to the awesome power of the water is an almost spiritual experience. There are then vans on standby to drive you back up the hill - hence why everything is easy! The next day we all went rafting in the rapids lower down the river, where the massive waterfalls give way to the flatness of Amazon basin.

But cash can be a problem here. Cash machines dish out $20 notes, but in many contexts people won't accept anything bigger than a $5 - and small change is much more convenient. Consequently, one has to make a conscious effort to hoard change and break a note whenever the opportunity arises.

Amor - Love
Or Not? There a slightly unsettling phenomenon in Quito of "Gringohunters" - Locals who try to start a romantic relationship with tourists with the hope of being taken to a western country. (I suppose this could have fitted under Dinero, but I needed something for the Armor space!) But I think I am safe, as I don't think I am the type to fall for this - I intend to have more contact with locals in the coming weeks - It is the best way to practice my Spanish.

Enjoyable as all this tourism is, I am now starting to look forward to getting a little off the beaten track - both in the hopefully more challenging volunteering role I will be doing in Lima, and later, atop mountains in the Cordillera Blanca. Feeling settled here with the other students in the school, I am also starting to look forward to the next challenge of travelling solo to Lima - something I had earlier been apprehensive about.

Deseo te tener mucho Salud, Deniro y Amor,

FC

Subimos una montaña, ahora somos andinistos

This weekend a referendum took place in Ecuador on whether the constitution should be changed to try to reduce corruption. Interestingly, voting is compulsory, and no alcohol could be sold or consumed all weekend.

With the political instability of Ecuador, anything could happen. So it seemed a good weekend to get out of Quito. With a couple of German gringos (K and A) I headed 50 km south to climb Volcan Illiza. At 5118m, this would be the highest mountain I had ever climbed (pt. Lenana on Mount Kenya is 4985m). Given this, I was worried that my atitude to this trip might have been too relaxed. I needn't have been. As it turned out, I was the most prepared of anyone to climb the mountain.

On Friday (Viernes) night we were the only people in the hostel in the small town of Chaupi at 3800m . On Saturday (Sabado) we climbed to the refuge at 4600m. "A" then decided to climb the rest of the mountain that day with a big Ecuadorian party who were at the hut. He was pretty intent on it, despite our advice on acclimatisation and the daily weather patterns (clearer in the morning, wet in the afternoon) . Myself and K climbed a little higher then waited out the rest of the day at the hut.

Just after dark, the Ecuadorians and "A" returned, wet and cold, and about three hours late. A tricky scramble with a big inexperienced group does not make for a quick outing. The Ecuadorians wanted to descend to the town that evening. They set out down the path but soon returned, having decided that they had got wet and cold enough for one day. They were completely unprepared for a night in the hut, so we shared our clothes and food with them. Unsurprisingly "A" had a horrible headache and got no sleep.

The next day, myself and K ascended in the dry of the morning to the summit of Iliniza Norte. We had some great views, although the summit was cloudy. Ilinaza Norte sits hidden behind Illinza Sud which takes the brunt of the prevailing weather. Much of the time the southern sister has its own lenticular cloud and the associated extra snow makes it a technically difficult climb.

The route was not dissimilar to a Skye scramble with a small snow patches - except at 5 times the altitude. An enjoyable scramble, but not beyond our abilities. We were back at the hut in 4 hours - it had taken the other group 7. I was pleased that the altitude had not been a major problem. This bodes well for the later higher Peruvian peaks I plan to climb. Being in Quito at 2800m was definitely a good start, and the acclimatisation process above was just about sufficiently slow.

Overall it was great to get out of Quito and away from western malls and the such like - these are not what I came to south America for. In the rural areas, travelling on the chaos of the local buses it suddenly became much clearer that Ecuador is very much a developing nation. The cost of the weekend was incredible: Buses $4. Hostel $10. Hut (El Refugio) $8. Food $8. Return "taxi" up some of the mountain $8. Park fees $5. Total $43. In the Alps, the same would have cost $150+.

My Spanish is progressing, but not as fast as I would like. Some days progress is exciting and I come in after 6 hours of Spanish wanting to do more. Others days, lack of progress is frustrating, particularly when locals don't understand me. One of our teachers in particular is a real personality and enjoys telling us dirty jokes in Spanish! This week I will take some private lessons with the intention of speaking more than we get to in the group lessons. Soon I want to get to the stage where I can speak without thinking first - I need to start thinking in Spanish.

Andinisto is one of my favorite words so far - it means one who climbs in the Andes.

Hasta la proxima vez,

FC

The langauge barrier - Quito, Ecuador

So I changed my mind on having a blog. Puede ser, far from friends in an alien environment, it can be an outlet to express myself.

The journey here, although long and tiring, went fine with no problems. So here I am, in Quito, Ecuador - with 5 exciting months on this amazing continent ahead of me.

I'm not sure why I have this drive to set myself challenges. This language barrier is not going to be an easy one, but there really is no backing out of it now.

My expectations of what Spanish I had already learnt, and the rate at which I would progress were probably a little over optimistic. But one guy arrived here two weeks ago without a word of Spanish - and from what he says I’m fairly glad I didn’t attempt that! I can usually express myself on simple matters, but struggle to understand most of what is said back to me.

I've only had two days of lessons, but I can see that even with an easy language such as Spanish, there are no shortcuts, and no substitute for time and effort. I've upgraded to the intensive course with 6 hours per day - this is what most others seem to be doing. I only have a month, and I have a lot to learn. I’m hoping that even with this there will still be plenty of time to explore Quito and its environs.

“Solo Espagnol” is the mantra of the college. Whilst I understand the motivation behind this it does create some difficulties. The mantra applies to administrivia too and on the first day this left me with a feeling that I might be missing some important information! In the lessons I sometimes feel that time is wasted trying to explain new words with charades or roundabout descriptions using existing Spanish vocabulary. As a scientist, I think the way I learn requires an understanding of the how and why of things – and for now it can be difficult to get to the bottom of complex questions in Spanish. So whilst I appreciate Spanish only philosophy, I question whether for me, at my level, it is the ideal approach. However, I know it will only get better as I progress.

Despite the above gripes, the college, students and teachers are great, and I am sure my Spanish will come on leaps and bounds. It probably already has – though it may be hard to see this at the time. I seem to know more grammar than the other students in my group. But I have a lot of vocab to learn and I am wondering whether I this may be a weakness of mine. New words don’t stick as easily in my head as I would like. But perhaps there are just too many too quickly, and my expectations are again too high. I hope to find a procedure for fixing new vocab (suggestions welcome). Reading through lists doesn’t do it – I think it has to be used in context, repeatedly.

The language college has a great international feel with Swedes, Swiss, German, French Canadian, Americans, Australians - but no other Brits. I think perhaps this indicates something about our nation's attitude to languages.

Outwith lessons, English is the lingua franca between the students. For most of them it's not their first language and so they get some educational benefit by using it. For me, of course, using English is a hindrance to my progression in Spanish. In my first 48 hours I spoke no English to anyone. Not having any outlet to express oneself is mentally quite challenging. I think realistically, for my sanity, with my current and foreseeable level of Spanish, I will be using English with Los Gringos (and yes, Ben, I accept your disdain).

The family are nice, but there are not many opportunities to be social and practice my Spanish with them. They don’t naturally talk down to me - so I expect to be using “¿Peude abla mas despacio, por favor?” plenty more times! It’s a lot easier to understand the Spanish of the students, even those much better than me - so I must the effort to use Spanish with them whenever possible.

After reading the Lonely Planet’s over-cautious section on crime in Quito, one might be reluctant to ever set foot outside the front door - or travel on the buses, or visit the town center. Thankfully I got past this and with a little vigilance and sense am now confident enough to explore, though I have not had much time to do this as yet.

The person next to me in the internet café just googled “manifesta communista” – but of course it would be foolish to read anything about south American politics from such a single anecdote.

Quito is a great place from which to make excursions out. A number of plans are in the offing, and there will always be people up for doing stuff. It may even be possible to find a companion for the overland journey down to Lima.

Comments welcome, then I will know someone is reading this! I don’t expect later entries to be quite this long!
Asta luesta.

FC