More People In The Market

After looking back through the pictures of the markets, we decided to share a few more people pictures. In some cases we could just stand still and "let the pictures walk to us". The woman who has long since abandoned her dentist was obviously delighted with a chick she had for sale.

Young people the world over like to do the "pose" thing. This young lady did so when she saw me about to take her picture.

When the baby is hungry; feed it! That holds true when you are riding the market taxi.

Sometimes feeding the baby is a matter of stopping the selling, raising the apron and taking care of business.

Babies go along for the entire day. Mom often carries the baby AND heavy loads of produce at the same time. We were amazed at the fact that you seldom heard a baby cry.

Life in the small farming villages is tough duty in a lot of ways. First, working the fields is all done by hand including carrying out the crop at harvest time. The two pictures above and below show the "village taxis". The truck is just filled with people who come bailing out once the truck reaches the market. The picture above shows the line of "taxies" where the village people load and unload

And finally, just a street view of the activity in the picture below.

Market Products in Riobamba and Alausi

So what do you want to buy or eat? The market products from Riobamba and Alausi and posted today. The picture above give an idea of the fruit and vegetables available

The picture above is worth a click to enlarge it to full screen. This husband and wife bought a sheep and a little pig. The wife found it easier to carry the pig than to lead it by the rope. The pig looks comfortable enough.

Although Ecuadorian food is somewhat bland, there are spices available. However, compared to our experience in the Middle East, the spice stalls are very small.

Grinding various grains into flour is done in the market. I think we are looking at a millet grain.

MJ and Debra are looking at big cakes of brown sugar. At first we thought it was home made soap.

There are mostly live chickens in the fowl section. There was a small pen of ducks as is shown above.

Both husband and wife come home from the market with a sheep. We happened to take the picture as the lead sheep was making a lot of noise.

Although it is too cold and the elevation is too high to raise bananas, they were plentiful in the market. A stalk of ripe bananas were selling for a dollar.

Some creative items were for sale as well. The animal "feed pans" below were made of old tires. Click on the picture to see the detailed work.

Don't know the price of eggs, but they were plentiful. The three of us had a breakfast of two eggs, coffee, juice, bread and cheese for a total cost for all of us of $5.

The most disgusting thing in the market to us, was the small animals that looked like huge rats being roasted over a grill. The head, including the teeth, and most other body parts were clearly visable. Many locals say this is the best meat around. No chance we can get this meat past our minds, let alone our mouth!!!

An then there is the traditional roast pig. The "good" interior meat goes for other dishes. What is left here is the outer layer of fat which a kind of "crackling". Hard roasted pig fat is considered a good "finger food". we enjoyed watching people walk up and take a bit when the vendor wasn't looking.

The People of The Street Market in Riobamba

We are having considerable difficulty downloading pictures today. The pictures are from the street market in Riobamba, some three hours away from Puyo by bus. In this posting we are looking at the people of the market.
The Riobamba market is one of the largest street markets we have seen anywhere in the world. At least 29 city blocks of markety are located here. We were told there is another market in another part of the city as well.
The delight in seeing a rabbit is obvious. What is not know is why these women are so pleased with the creature.


The baby needs a drink. It is much easier for dad to provide the drink instead of unstrapping the baby. Child care is not an issue for these women because the baby goes with mom every where. The women below trade information or advice. The market is for more than just buying and selling.

The people in the Riobamba area are known for the colorful dress. The women especially were bright, multicolors. The fedora hat is a standard item for all women. In the pictures, you will notice several styles and colors. We don't know why the differences.

The picture below shows a great deal of living and probably wisdom in the face. We were able to capture several such pictures.

Back From Weekend Trip

We just got home a few minutes ago from Riobamba and Alausi. Pictures of the "train ride" and the market in Riobamba will follow for several days this week. We need some time to download the pictures and sort which ones will be posted. Some 100 pictures to work through.

Student Day Off To The Parks

Just a short note today. Today is "students day off to somewhere day". Different classes went different places such as parks pools, or recreation area.
In our case, we reviewed school budget with an eye towards establishing some kind of teacher salary schedule that recognizes both education of teachers and experience of teachers. Looks like we have a ways to go on that one.

Esperanza School: This and That

Thought we would do a misc. picture blog today. There are times when there is a bit here and a bit there that is a bit interesting. The first two pictures show two 7th grade students who were sent out of class for whatever reason. I came along with the camera and started taking pictures. They scrambled like crazy to find some way to hide but the flat wall provided no cover. The one decided to look through the window to look "normal" while the other one hid behind the first. Now how normal is that!!!

The picture below is of the second grade. The teacher wanted a class photo and so I was pressed into service. Notice how "normal" they are in that there is a monkey in every group.

Finally, during teacher recognition week, the 4th grade along with a parent or two planned a surprise for the teacher. The boys with the rose hid behind their back was cute. The teacher was also served lunch.

Puyo Market - Products

The posting today (delayed a day because of internet problems here) features the products of the Puyo market. It is obvious that this area produces more than rain forests and wood. The picture above is only a small part of the bananas in the market. Bananas are eaten many different ways. We still are not into roasted bananas over a grill.

The rivers bring in things like this huge live turtle. I am sure he was a good soup meal for some family.

We have eaten a lot of fresh pineapple. This cost about a dollar each.

The root and leaf vegatables are very plentiful. We eat fresh radishes all the time. Amazing how a huge radish can be woody like in the midwest, but they never have a strong taste.

Fresh meat is another issue. We just have a problem buying fresh meat after seeing how it is handled and is out in the open air for hours at a time.

A comment on our last blog posting asked about the US dollar being used at the market. Yes, the US dollar is not olny used at the market, it IS the currency of this country. They were looking for some economic stablity and went to our money system several years ago. And now with the value of the US dollar taking a nosedive --- well so much for stability.

Puyo Market (Part I)

We have begun to look locally for things we have not done or seen yet. Yesterday we were in Shell (about 5 miles away). A blog about that trip later.

This morning we went to the Sunday morning Puyo market. Had not made that trip yet. The pictures today are the PEOPLE of the market. The next posting will be about the products of the market.
The picture above shows that not everyone thinks having their picture taken is the highlight of their morning. The lady with the folded arms was sending a strong message.
This market is actually very large. Many of the vendors are indiginous people from the area around Puyo.

MJ is buying some locally made jewelry. Most of the jewelry is made from various kinds of seeds.

When one gets too old to carry the heavy stuff, there is always a way to do it. Not sure my neck could take this load even now.

The kids are really something! This little gal was really IN TO her cotton candy!

The ladies above were obviously old hands at this market stuff. A wide variety of dress is evident around the market.

Mothers with babies and young children bring them to the market as a matter of fact. This mother was very pleased when we showed her the picture on our viewer. Kids are always cute!

More Cultural Differences

In the teacher class yesterday, we did a presentation on cultural differences between the US and Ecuador. This was done in chart form to minimize language and translation difficulties. Such topics as time, people relationships and communications were discussed.

There seemed to be a number of surprises. For example, the fact that we view people and ideas separately in the US while here they are viewed the same. Viewing them separately allows us to accept the person while rejecting their ideas. “He is a good guy, but he has some strange ideas” is not a possible conclusion here. The view that people and ideas are one in the same causes people here to be very careful in disagreeing openly with another person for to do so is step one in severing the relationship.

In the US we are a lot more individualistic. Here the person is always viewed as part of a group be it family, social, or work group. You have to be careful what you say because it reflects on the group. An outspoken person in the US can be viewed as just that, while his or her remarks are not viewed as a reflection on the family or other group.

All of the above causes communications to take on a totally different characteristic here. It is difficult to get straight “yes” and “no” answers especially if the question is a bit sensitive. Communication with “the boss” is especially troublesome. You must not challenge the boss. In the US, many leaders expect to have probing questions raised to help clarify their thinking and their decisions. A boss who never allows questions is viewed as some sort of low self-esteem individual in the US.

Finally, the receiving of visitors under any conditions and at any time here is viewed as a must. When I suggested that people other than very close friends and immediate family should call first to see if a visit was OK, they were surprised. When I went farther and said a visit request might be turned down because one was busy, they were horrified. No matter what your plans or how busy you are, you never turn down a caller.

Seems the leaders of our government might do well to research some of the sensitivities of communicating with other cultures. If we were to do so, maybe our image in the world could be improved.

Teacher Day Assembly

After experiencing download difficulties yesterday, we are posting pictures from the Teacher Day celebration held this past Monday. As usual, our assemblies are held outside as shown in the above picture. The day was "sponsored by the student queen and family of the school. Apparently a contest is held early in the school year and a school queen is selected. This year the queen was in 4th grade. This appears to be a fairly expensive thing for the winning family.

Some of our female teachers were called forward to participate in a game in which they collect clothing and other things you wear from students. They each selected a student in advance to "dress" with these things. The winner got a small prize. The winner had approximately 14 additional items on including several jackets.

A professional clown team was hired from another city. They were very good as they held the attention of the entire school for about 90 minutes with all kinds of silly games.

At the end of the assembly for students, teachers were gathered around a three person band for traditional music. The trio was really very good.

Finally, the teachers were each presented with a gift from the queen and her family. the bottom picture shows this presentation.

The entire assembly event was a full two hours. It was plain, simple fun and a nice way to honor teachers.

Teachers Day Out (Part II)

The bridge over the river Napo is pictured here. I thought at first it was a footbridge. I believe this is the last bridge crossing for some time. Few people have cars so the traffic is not a problem on a single lane bridge.

In Tena, later in the day, we saw a guy selling crabs out of a cart. You could smell them before you could see them.

The teachers group did what all staff do on an outing. Relax, be silly and have a good time. The swimming was in a river at Tena.

Some people just wanted to lay back and relax. No problem with doing that either.

You were allowed to bring immediate family along on the trip. This teacher brought her two children.

It was too hot to play volleyball on a near by sand court. So, playing in the river was the next best thing.

Today we had another half day of teacher day celebration at the school. Tomorrow some pictures from that event. (We just have got to learn how to celebrate more in the US!)

Life On The River

The "locals" above are their own advertisement for the easy lifestyle in many places in the rain forest. This series of pictures was taken in the river village of Misahualli Friday. This is one of the places the "teachers day out" included. This village was once the entry point to large Indian land area. The river had huge canoes that were used to ship things in and out. Today, it is only a small tourist town with one company giving motorized canoe trips up and down the river. It is out of the way and even the tourist trade is down from years back. The monkeys are just around town and down by the river looking for a handout.

The canoes hold 12 people. The trip down and back up the river was very pleasant under sunny skies.

Of course, a true tourist area has to have connections. The canoe people take you down river and stop at an Indian village where a good tour was given. A dollar tour goes a long ways.

You can audition for life as an Indian hunter. The guy in the red shirt tried out using a dart blow-gun. The target was a fruit pictured below. This guy may not be a perfect shot, but if the dart had poison on it, you will just have to take your chances. (I did just nip the skin of the fruit.)


Ok, it is confession time. Actually, my first shot was a little wild. I hit one of the teachers in the forehead. (See below) He is so hard headed, it didn't even phase him. Just look at his smile.

The picture above shows one white Indian that apparently has been lost for some time. We think she thinks she is some sort of "queen of the jungle". Nobody had the heart to tell her otherwise.

The scenery a long the river is spectacular looking in any direction. Misahualli is at the fork of two rivers. This means below the village the river is much larger.

Additional posting of this trip will follow.

National Teacher Weekend

This is Thursday and the end of the work week. We seem to often have four day work weeks. Tomorrow is national teacher day and the schools are closed. We will be going with our teacher group to some kind of outdoor activity near Tena. We will be taking our school bus which is more of a coach bus.
Tonight, the parent social committee is hosting a dinner at a restaurant for all teachers. The school basically shut down after 10:30 today as kids hosted parties in the individual classroom. (make that a three and a half day week)
Saturday and Sunday we still hope to make the trip to Riobamba(three hours by bus) and take the tourist train up and down the Devils Nose. The train goes back and forth on what is essentially switch backs by going forward and backward. In so doing, it climbs a steep mountain wall. This was once the railroad that connected Quito to the pacific coast cities.
It has been some time since we posted pictures. Readers who only look at pictures will be back in luck in a few days.

Beginning To Look At Conclusions

With the final weeks of our stay here beginning to appear, it is time to look at some wrap-up activities. One of those activities is our visit with the senior pastor this coming Friday evening. The agenda we have created includes questions he may have, what we have accomplished and what we believe to be next steps for improvement of the school.
Accomplishments include a staff created mission and vision statement, A process for creating academic standards, a system of monitoring high school student daily performance and a five page written discipline policy. We have been assured that a board (Junta) system of managing the school will be created with a 5 person board.

Things on the “to do list” include a more comprehensive system of communicating with parents. Most importantly the communication can be just plain information and even good things going on at the school. Communicating with parents now is only a “problem-centered approach.
An entrance exam system needs to be created. It must be more than who can afford the tuition.
We have a high percentage of dysfunctional families where the students are hindered in their school work because of family issues. We need a systematic approach to counseling.
A solid academic program for grades 7 through 10 is badly needed. Junior high and high school students are still treated as “big elementary” students.
How teachers spend their time is now a critical issue. Being required to watch parents play basketball and soccer doesn’t add academic value to students. Teachers now have much more academic responsibility and they seem to run out of time quickly.
We have no system of facilities maintenance and repair. A relatively new facility is beginning to show a lot of wear.
And finally, here even more than most places, putting words into action is a constant problem. Teachers are rightly concerned that we have written a lot of words that may go no farther. I spoke with the Director yesterday about this concern.
Any reader with talents in the above mentioned areas should contact us for continued efforts here next year.

Problem Solving & Higher Levels of Thinking

This next week we were going to review six levels of thinking for teachers. The levels begin with recall at the simplest level and extent to evaluating and creating at the highest level. We see nearly all textbooks (workbook style texts) written at the recall level. We have mentioned before we live in a rote memory culture.
With the ease of information retrieval these days on the internet (even here), how important is recall and the rote memory of facts that can be so easily looked up. Any person with a blackberry on their belt has the internet on their person all the time.
Information in the world is said to be doubling every few years. Some experts believe information will double several times each year in the near future. So under these conditions, what information should be memorized? Yet at the same time a non-reading culture like Ecuador gets more out of touch with the modern world each day. Yes, they become more dependent on the informationally advanced countries who value problem solving.
Our reason for teaching higher levels of thinking is so problem solving becomes a tool possessed by all students. In this culture it is possessed by very few. What you know is clearly in second place to who you know.
So, should we spend time attempting to teach teachers how to teach higher levels of thinking?

A change of Heart

It has been interesting to note the change of attitude of our junior high and high school students. Seems that being called to a meeting of all your teachers and your parents can bring "the fear of God" to students.
The degree of "on task" has risen significantly in the last two days. Now we will see how long this lasts. Secondly, bad class room habits are so firmly entrenched that it will take the remainder of the school year to begin to change some very bad habits.
All we can say is that it is a good start. Teachers appreciate the new attitude and can see that they do have the power to bring about change. This point is very significant because I heard tones of despair for much of the school year until now. We hope we can eventually kill the "well what can we do?" attitude of teachers.

Debriefing

Today we spent an hour visiting with teachers about their parent meetings yesterday. Reviewing how a new approach worked listing both the positives and the negatives is not done here in the school. This was done in an hour meeting which is supposed to be devoted to English instruction for teachers.
Because it was a new experience, it started off slow. As we asked some leading questions, the discussion took off and at times became fairly animated. We eventually came up with the positives, the negatives and several suggestions for changes next time. This also gave us an opportunity to congratulate the staff on a taking a new system and following it through to a successful completion. It is always good to use opportunities like this for encouraging the troops. Moreover, we hope that parents saw this experience as a positive thing to help their children. Hopefully, a debriefing will become a standard practice when new approaches are tried.

Home Run! (We Think)

With a fair amount of frustration being a part of our life on a regular basis, it is great when one feels a home run has been hit. This is one of those days.
From the beginning, we were told by teachers that confrontations with parents were too plentiful and that parents sort of ran the school. Of course, no school can be successful under these conditions. It has taken a number of months to figure out what the problem is and then to find a solution.
The old game of “divide and conquer” was far too prevalent. Teachers feeling isolated and dealing with complaining parents felt helpless. Moreover, there was no systematic documentation of student shortcomings.
During the month of April we designed a grid where the students were listed on one side and the days of the month across the top. Teachers were to note on the grid any student deficiencies in (1) homework not done, (2) books or necessary materials not brought to class and (3) any problems in class such as discipline problems or just not being at all engaged in the class. We applied this system to seventh through tenth grades.
The results were amazing. First, the collective situation was much worse than we imagined. Secondly, as I collected the information and returned a summary copy to teachers each week, they could sense a collective effort to define and document the problem.
Letters were sent to parents of the worst collective offenders to show up for a meeting with the group of teachers for their child. Also, the child was required to attend this session and explain him/herself. This series of conferences happened today.
Early reports are most encouraging. Parents were upset with their children, not the teachers. Parents were happy to see a systematic approach to a problem of poor effort on the part of their children. Teachers were encouraged to feel the support of parents and end the feelings of isolation they had long felt. We expect a much better effort on the part of all students in the future. Home run!

Physical Environment Changes The Thinking

Several events recently have reminded us how the physical environment shapes one’s outlook on life. Many factors that we view as “set” are really comparative in nature and are determined by our environment. I offer the following examples.

Living in a climate where the temperature normally varies by 10 degrees and on extreme days varies by 14 degrees from the hottest to the coldest can totally reshape your thinking about “hot” and “cold”. Monday we had a “cold” and rainy day. It was about 70 degrees with rain and breezy conditions. I was glad I had put on a long sleeved shirt. I didn’t laugh quite as hard at the locals for wearing heavy jackets most of the day. I also begin to feel some discomfort as we approach 80 degrees on other days. And 82 degrees is just plain bad news.

In Florida we live on totally level land. Here we are surrounded by mountains which on clear days show us snow-capped peaks. We don’t know the definition of level and rugged any more. Readers in northeast Iowa might find it strange that we consider Allamakee County as “flat land” now.

The third example has to do with rain. We live in an area that averages just short of a half inch of rain every day. We recently had three days without any rain. We began to refer to that time as our “dry stretch”. The definition of “normal” has now come to mean rain some time in the past twenty four hours.

And finally, the physical climate explanation for health problems is alive and well in a different way here. A cold with a runny nose can be blamed on a severe change in temperatures from 80 to 70 degrees. The body can only tolerate so much, you know.