Once the flight from Miami left for Quito, it still had not hit me that my study abroad adventure had begun. I knew going into this trip that the Ecuadorians do not view animals as Americans do and I felt prepared to accept that there are stray dogs because I was exposed to this same attitude in Mexico when I visited my relatives. When we finally arrived and were on our way to our hotel in Otavalo, I think the feeling finally settled in. It was when I looked up at the sky and could see the same stars I saw back in the rural areas of Illinois when I realized I was in Ecuador. I could not sleep on the way to the hotel because of the excitement.
The next morning, I was ecstatic when I heard we were able to go off to the market on our own. The beautiful town of Otavalo has so much to offer on Saturday mornings and we were lucky enough to be here just on time to see it! When I finally stepped outside and was able to take in the busy streets and shops, it reminded me a lot of Mexico. There were a large amount of people and although they all looked similar, there was a difference in their clothes. There were many women and men who wore traditional attire, or what I assume is the traditional attire, and others that wore more Americanized clothes. I could hear indigenous languages being spoken and smell different types of foods. The most unique street food I saw was a bucket full of shells. I assumed they were snails and the women selling them had many sauces laid out for customers to choose from. After buying countless alpaca scarves, my group and I went to lunch at a sandwich restaurant and I ate one of the most delicious sandwiches I’ve ever had. We left the market and traveled to a home-made museum in a small town. Once there, we learned about the four main indigenous groups in Ecuador and were able to see how scarves are made from sheep wool. The technique seemed to be very hard to learn, but it was an experience I will never forget. It was a beautiful technique and it was unfortunate to hear that these methods aren’t being used as much anymore.
We then went to another museum that makes the Ecuadorian traditional instrument, the pipettes, and actually saw a woman make them! She made it in a matter of minutes. She then demonstrated songs on different traditional instruments from other cultures. It was a unique experience that allowed us to learn about the different instruments and learn about where they are from. I found it interesting that the woman who made the pipettes knew how to play the other instruments from various cultures. After a demonstration of a traditional Ecuadorian folk song we left and made it back to the hotel safe and sound!
