Back, bitten, and beat (check the alliteration!)

Well, all of the above are true- I left Bua this morning and am back in Quito, I am incredibly bitten (think feet that are red and bumpy from bite clusters, ankles that are swollen, a line of thick red bites on my lower back from a jumper bug in my pants the first week, more than 80 bites on my left arm and more than 60 on my right arm, bites on my neck up to my chin- the advantage is that I got a seat to myself on the bus from Bua to Santo Domingo, likely because people probably thought I had a communicable disease), and I am exhausted from my last night in Bua. It was super fun- we had plans to go see Batman, but because of complications it didn´t come out and we had to see Hancock- don´t waste your money, it´s terrible. Still, the Tsa´chilas don´t get into Sto Dmgo much and they really liked the movie. It was pretty sweet- I was with the Yanapuma agricultural specialist, Giovanny, who is a compañero but also my boss, as well as my host ´sister´ Elizabeth, and 2 other Tsa´chilas (2 of my favorites!) the father-son team of Freddy and Richard (43 and 17 respectively, and I swear they don´t all have such English names...) who were dressed in the traditional gear from the cena de despedida. It´s always cool for me be with the Tsa´chila outside of their environment (Bua) because it helps to break down the idealistic, romantic, all-tsa´chilas-and-indigenous-people-live-quaint-lives-in-the-country-without-western-influences stereotype and presents a much more modern, true indigenous identity. It´s an interesting struggle to maintain a traditional indigenous culture and also advance and progress in modern society, but I like spending time with the Tsa´chilas in both environments, proving to myself that my anthropology 101 images of rural, uninfluenced communities really isn´t realistic, and it doesn´t help anyone to maintain the image. But I digress.

After the movie we hit up a restaurant for a snack (no one was too hungry- we bought popcorn) and then hit up a discoteca suuuuuper early (815pm!) but it was really fun, dancing with the Tsa´chila who loooove to dance and with Giovanny, which was only weird when I thought about the fact that although we mostly work together, he´s kind of my superior, and it was like dancing with my boss. We got back late and I can´t sleep in anymore (believe it or not it has been more than a month since I woke up after 7am), but it was a good way to finish up my amazing time in Bua.

Project wise, I spent my time there going from finca to finca, spending various amounts of time with 20 members who had signed up to be part of the cacao project, getting to know their cacao, the diseases that affect it, and what kind of training or workshops they need/want to receive. I got a lot of information, and I´ve learned an incredible amount about the cacao producing process, as well as the process from cacao to cocoa to chocolate. Additionally, it´s cool to see the most preliminary, basic steps taking place that will hopefully, in a few years, lead to a cacao grower´s cooperative and their own centro de acopio, guaranteeing higher cacao prices and selling directly to international buyers (Ecuador has a very limited chocolate economy, though it would be ideal to sell and produce chocolate in Ecuador itself). I don´t know if I mentioned this before, but I learned that on average, cacao from producers like the ones I was working with goes through 16 hands before reaching the consumer, meaning that each step it goes through earns a little bit more, with the growers earning the lowest amount on the chain, though their work is the basis of the entire chain.

It´s weird to think that I´m ending the internship part of my time here, and embarking upon the traveling epoch. Alvaro comes on Monday, and we´ll spend the week (until Friday) in Quito as I finish up my cacao report in the office, and then I think we´ll hit up Mindo, the Quilotoa loop, and possibly (this might be me being unrealistic) the coast or Cuenca and Loja, further south. I have ruled out any Amazon trips this time because of a) the threat of mosquitos and b) a lack of vaccinations on Alvaro´s part. Thankfully, I have seen the future and I think I am destined to return to Bua and to Ecuador, and I can save the Oriente for a different trip. We might get close and do some rafting and mini-jungle tours in Tena, pero vamos a ver...

In other news, my birthday is on Wednesday, and as a birthday present to me, everyone could leave a comment because I like to receive comments, and it´s always sad to see that no one has left any comments on my posts...that was a blatant solicitation for more commenting action.

much love to everyone, and I hope all is well wherever you are!

M