Today did more interviews of FODEMI staff and clients, although we were much better prepared yesterday than today. Then we went with an “asesor” (a loan officer) to visit a group of clients applying for a second loan and present FODEMI’s options to their community. This was an indigenous community up in the mountains. We got there by riding in a rickety truck through winding mountain roads. I road standing up in the back, holding on tight. Sometimes, the turns were so sharp that the driver would have to back up and change his angle a few times to make the turn. Also, the road was one lane, so multiple honks are required when coming around a blind curve. All told, I’d rate it pretty high on my list of most exciting drives. The scenery was gorgeous and the driving just precarious enough to keep a little adrenaline going, but not so much as to make one’s life flash before one’s eyes. It’s amazing how these little mountain communities seem to have no one in the, but when someone shows up to talk about lending money people seem to just come out from the woodwork. When we pulled up to this little concrete building there was no one there. I went inside for a few minutes, came back out, and sure enough dozens of villagers were gathered around.
The asesor that we traveled with gave his presentation, telling them how they could form community banks with shared responsibility and receive loans from FODEMI for their microenterprises. People were very excited to hear that they could receive money at relatively low interest (at least in comparison to the “money lenders” that often operate in these parts) and it seemed that some people were thinking of forming a group. We also interviewed a few current clients who professed that the loans they had received made a huge difference in their lives. As one client said, “You get a loan and buy a cow. In ten months, you pay off that loan, and you still have the cow that you didn’t have before.” Microfinance is raising people’s quality of life in this community.
Wednesday, June 6
June 4- That was, like, soooo awkward
We arrived at the Latacunga office of FODEMI and met for a while with the “jefe.” Then, thinking we were ready to start interviewing, they thrust us into a room full of about 20 clients applying for a second loan. Completely unprepared, Neil and I began clumsily asking questions. About three clients across the front row were very eager to answer our questions. But being unprepared, we were fumbling around trying to figure out what to ask and what not to ask in a situation where we had not expected to do interviews.
If things were a little awkward at first, they got much more so in a couple minutes. While trying to ask questions, a baby in the room with its mother started wailing. What’s a good way to deal with a crying baby? You give it milk of course. Only, this mother sitting directly in front of me didn’t pull a bottle out of the baby supplies bag, like most American mothers. She went for the more, natural, option. Yes, she just hiked up her shirt and started breastfeeding her little one right there in front of us.
I could hardly believe it. Now, as I looked back and forth between the clients that answered our questions, I felt compelled to somehow not look at her. This was made difficult as she was sitting right between two of the men who were answering the most questions. Then, another baby, a couple seats down the front row, started wailing. Yep, more of the same.
If things were a little awkward at first, they got much more so in a couple minutes. While trying to ask questions, a baby in the room with its mother started wailing. What’s a good way to deal with a crying baby? You give it milk of course. Only, this mother sitting directly in front of me didn’t pull a bottle out of the baby supplies bag, like most American mothers. She went for the more, natural, option. Yes, she just hiked up her shirt and started breastfeeding her little one right there in front of us.
I could hardly believe it. Now, as I looked back and forth between the clients that answered our questions, I felt compelled to somehow not look at her. This was made difficult as she was sitting right between two of the men who were answering the most questions. Then, another baby, a couple seats down the front row, started wailing. Yep, more of the same.
June 4- High speed passes
Today we traveled from Quito to Latacunga, via bus of course. Apparently, drivers in Ecuador like to pass a lot on two lane highways. They pass when American drivers wouldn’t even think about passing. It is not at all uncommon for one vehicle to pass another with a third vehicle coming from the other direction. The three vehicles will pass 3 abreast on a 2 lane road, with the passing vehicle on the inside and the other two moving partially into the shoulder. I’ve also always thought that the double pass is a rather bold move an well trafficked roads, particularly when there are large vehicles being passed. Well our bus driver passed three cars, a couple trucks, and a bus all in one move, while traffic was coming from the other direction. Drivers here are truly fearless.
Sunday, June 3
License Plates
I saw these at a restaurant in La Mariscal. I think Dad will particularly like the older Texas plate.
June 3: Ruca Pichincha
I'm sitting at a McDonalds in the mall near our apartment. That high school Spanish classic "Bailamos" is thumping in the speakers. But I was not here all day. Today, I climbed a volcano.
Yes, Neil and I actually climbed Ruca Pichincha, one of the two Pichincha peaks outside of Quito. It used to be one big volcano, but a eruption eons ago blew it into two peaks. Ruca's summit is at 15, 130 ft. Honestly, it was one of the most physically challenging things I've ever done. I got the hang of hiking up some steep hillsides, just take it slow and take breaks. We joined up with an English-speaking Swiss doing volunteer work in Ecuador. He was in the Swiss Army and later powered on up the mountain past us, but he was an enjoyable fellow while he hung around. I was pretty soon on the mountain-proper. After traversing some creeks, rocky spots and so on, we came to the sandy slopes. The sandy slopes are the "easy" way up (the hard way being climbing up the rocks, which for which you would need climbing gear). Imagine this: a beach, with soft, loose sand, on a 50-60 degree incline. With each step, I'd advance about half a step at best because my feet sunk back into the sand. Also, I was close to 15,000 ft. Catching my breath there was not a matter of going for 5-10 minutes, then taking a 30 second breather. No. I would count 30 steps, then try to suck in as much oxygen as possible while taking a break. Finally we got out of the pure sand, and traded that for a mixture or rocky outcroppings, sand, and a little ice. That was really no eaiser. We did finally reach the summit though. The picture of me sitting in the clouds shows that. Getting back down was not nearly as exhausting, but my backside sure took a toll as we basically had to slide on our butts out of some of the rock. The sand was much more fun going down. It was kinda like skiiing in hiking boots. We finally got back to Quito, and I've really never been so throughly exhausted. Having hardly had much of an appetite for food all day, Neil and I easily polished off super size pizza this evening.
I'm not sure when I'll be writing again. Tomorrow we venture to Latacunga, Ecuador for two weeks to work with FODEMI. According to our guidebook, "After 2-3 hours of walking around Latacunga, there really isn't much else to do there." I guess besides our work we'll be watching a lot of movies, and doing a lot of running to try to acclimatize. When we came down Ruca, we could see 19,347 ft. Cotopaxi looming about 50 km south.
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