La Casa de Las Mujeres y El Fin De La Semana

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My days have been full of discovery, adventure, and new faces since I last wrote. Last week I visited "La Casa de Las Mujeres" in Quito. It is a jail full of women and children who have been accused of being in possession of drogas. Others have been charged with killing their novios/husbands. We brought gifts for the women, because they have so little. There are about 20-30 foreigners there, including a woman named Zoe who used to work for BBC in Ireland. She has been there for over three years and tells a story of being "set-up" with drogas here in Quito. I am convinced she speaks the truth. There were young women from NY, CA, Germany. . . many who have had to learn Spanish in jail but were so happy to have someone there to speak their native language. Most will admit to being in possession of drugs, pero a few continue to deny their charges depite the years passing (most claim to have been set-up). The most disconcerning part of the few hours I spent in the jail were the numerous children who live at La Casa with their mothers. Many of them were born in jail and many have nowhere else to go. The conditions at the jail were entirely unsuitable for these women, let alone their children! I was thoroughly impacted by this experience and I wish I could have listened to more stories than the two hours allowed.

I spent the first part of the weekend enjoying the Yamor festival in Otavalo, which consisted of a parade, music, dancing, and una fiesta. My favorite part of the experience was the well-known mercado on Saturday. The city was full of colors, life, people, and music. I enjoyed meeting the vendors, other travellers, locals, and visitors from Ecuador. Mi espanol is improving, but many of the people around me speak ingles, so it can be difficult to learn.

I returned to Quito to watch a futbol game between Liga and Barcelona (they tied 1-1). A director at the Academia had free tickets to a suite. Due to troubles finding each other at the stadium (without cell phones :>) we only managed to see the 2nd half, but it was worth the time spent talking our way into the gates and practicing our espanol asking numerous strangers to borrow their cell phones.

After the game, we went to la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world), where we experienced strange physical changes that only happen at the middle of the world. For example, you can balance an egg on a nail. Also, water does not swirl when it is drained (If you flush a toilet, the water goes straight down). We visited a museo 200m north of a big monument that marks an area that was thought to be the middle of the world by French scientists a few hundred years ago. The real middle of the world is in this museum. We had a guide who talked about the indigenous people of Ecuador and the spiritual meaning of la mitad del mundo. It was definitely worth a visit.

I have been here only a week and time has flown by. I feel at home with my host family and I have seen a lot in only a few dias.

Hasta Luego :>

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Comments

[Will]

Middle of the World
Whoa, I thought toilets swirled because of the way the water shot down or something, never thought about that..... craaazy.