Week one in Ecuador!

We’ve arrived! After a week of waiting, longing and preparing we are finally in Ecuador and united with Wicho, our semester mate, and Nadino, our other semester leader.

We left Kroka at four in the morning on Monday in hopes of seeing the sunrise over Boston Harbor; however, due to traffic we missed it and had to take Nathan’s word that on the equinox the sun rises due east. Despite our lateness we had a fascinating navigation class on the beach and had time to walk the shore and soak up the power and magnificence of the ocean. The flights were easy and uneventful (just as they should be) and we used them as an opportunity to knit, write letters and catch up on sleep. We arrived in Quito late at night, but Wicho and Nadino had potato soup, popcorn and lemongrass tea waiting for us when we stumbled up to our home just past midnight.

Tuesday was our first real sleep-in of the semester – some of us stayed in bed till 8! The morning was truly magnificent with a slight breeze and a blue, blue sky dotted with perfect white clouds. From the Chozon, our common space, we can just see the snow-capped peak of Cotopaxi rising majestic above the surrounding mountains. After a scrumptious breakfast we went on a tour of Palugo, our basecamp here in Ecuador. Palugo is different from Kroka in that while Kroka is primarily a community and wilderness school, Palugo has many independent parts. There is an organic garden and CSA, one of the few in Ecuador. Then there are the Brown Swiss Cows which Francisco, the father here at Palugo, has lovingly bred to be the best in Ecuador. And lastly there is our part, the Nahual wilderness school. It is a beautiful place to live and learn, with enormous mountains surrounding us, the most magnificent outdoor kitchen in the world and the gentle mountain air caressing our faces.

Wednesday and Thursday we spent adapting to life in the Andes, getting to know Wicho, and learning about the culture and history of Ecuador. Wednesday we walked through thorns and past communities into Pifo, a small town near Palugo. There we bought rubber boots, ate a huge lunch and had the chance to walk around in pairs to practice our Spanish. Thursday we took a bus to Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, where we explored the historic section and Nicole taught us some of the history of Quito and of all of Ecuador. We saw some giant ornate churches,  watched street performers, and spent time walking around plazas and practicing our Spanish by asking random people “ Como se llama este arbol?”  (What is this tree called?) While most of the people we asked had no idea, it was a fun experience and in the end each pair collected the names of five different trees in the Plaza de Independencia.

Now we are settling into life on the equator, making knives and immersing ourselves in this place, so different from New England, as we grow as individuals and come together as a community.

Hasta Luego,

Mary Kate

Reflections

Silliness of my Mind

1# Little

Yellow

Diamonds

Illuminating my

Almond eyes.

            ~ I love you <3

2# Joyous

Antidote to

Calm my

Overflated

Bubble.

            ~ I love you <3

3# Crave

All that

Sing

Songs of

Adoration

Not

Dreading

Rejection but

Allowing.

           

            ~ I love you <3

4# Calling on

Endurance to

Let me

Love

All.

            ~ I love you <3

 ~ Emma

Reflecting back on our New Hampshire Farming Experience:
Onion

It is dark and cool here -  and tight. My shape presses up against others – firm, round and papery, fighting for space. I can feel the moisture below me and I reach for it, threading my pale roots through the rich soil. Upwards, my leaves push for sunlight, in amongst thick stems and grasses, seeking the warmth. Inside their hollow greenness I change it, storing it away inside myself for the long coldness that is coming. When my leaves will wither into brown nothingness and I will lie hidden, dormant, insulated by the earth around me waiting. Waiting for the the faintest stirrings of movement around me, of heat seeping slowly into the soil. For the cue to push up fresh leaves, soft and sensitive, in a burst of released energy. Stretching upwards, I soak up the light, forcing it into the beginnings of the ever growing kernels until, full and ripe, they are caught on the wind and flung away, ready to create  new life, and I, empty, slowly rot away.

~ Rosalie

Learning about the new composting toilets at Nahual

Laura and Elsbeth enjoying a class.

Meeting Palugo's chickens.

Meeting Nahual's gear room. The bikes on the wall will take the semester over the Andes. Ayra is ready to ride!

Team pyramid!

From the farm to city

Emma working on her knife

Mary Kate and Rose working on their knives.

Harrison and Nadino's son, Yachag, working on their chords.

Michael teaching students about Ecuador's ecology.