Days 9 and 10

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Day 9: Otavalo

For breakfast, we had humitas, which is like cornbread with cheese in the middle, tea, and cranberry juice. At ACLAS, we had devotions, talked about our plans for the next week, and get on a bus to head to Otavalo! It is about a 2-hour drive, but we made a few stops along the way. We stopped at an overlook with a nice view and it was really windy! We stopped at a restaurant and had these really good biscuits they make there as well as mozzarella cheese with caramel. At another stop, there was a store, a nice view, and some llamas. For lunch, we had a short hike to a waterfall and I got a picture in front of it! We ate our packed lunch in a picnic area. Kim and I had a salad with potato sticks and meat on it, chips, and fruit-flavored oat milk. It was not my favorite but I was hungry. There were two puppies there with their mom that were so cute, but we were worried about what diseases and bugs they might have. Some people in our group did pet them though. Our last stop was at a little shop where they showed us some instruments and how they made them which was cool! We finally made it to our hotel and had some time to relax before dinner. Some of us played spoons but with shoes, and bull. We were sitting on the floor since we were a larger group and probably looked funny to anyone passing by. Dinner was three courses. We started with bread and ceviche, then soup with veggies. The main course was chicken, veggies, and thick french fries. Dessert was fruit with ice cream. I'm not sure exactly what it was but it was pretty good. After we ate, they had some live music for us which was really cool and it was very good! Then they had us try to dance along, but we were basically just walking in a circle while clapping along to the music. Then we had a short tour of the city and looked in a catholic church. It was a long day, so most of us were tired. It felt great to shower at the end of the day and go to bed early. The hotel was nice! There were a lot of plants. The windows of the room did face the middle of the hotel, not outside. Also, the sound carried so you could hear pretty much everything, but it did not really affect my sleep.



Day 10: Otavalo

We got to sleep in a little more this morning and were free to choose when we got up and how we spent our time. Most of us went to breakfast around 8:30. We had bread, fruit, eggs, tea/coffee, and pineapple juice, which was really good. Then we went out to the market! There were vendors lining the streets leading to the center. There were a lot of different options (blankets, ponchos, hammocks, bracelets, jewelry, rugs, bags, socks, alpaca products, instruments, magnets, notebooks, etc) and I wish I had endless funds to support buying one of everything. But alas I am a college student on a budget 😉 so I limited myself. It was really cool to see all the crafts that they made and wander around the seemingly endless rows of stalls. After we had done our shopping, some of us got ice cream that was just $1 for a scoop on a cone. Then we left the hotel and drove to lunch. The restaurant was right on the water of a lake and it was beautiful! We had three courses again: bread with ceviche and a savory butter as well as soup, the main dish was traditional with pork, beans, potatoes, and veggies, and dessert was ice cream. We spent time outside walking around and taking pictures. There was a swing that went over the edge of the lake! The drive back to ACLAS was about 2 hours and then Kim and I got a ride with Dr. Robalino because no one could pick us up and Uber wasn't working. We spent time relaxing, unpacking, and working on blogs before dinner. When Mama came home, we had corn with cheese and tea. She asked us about our trip and what we bought. After dinner, Kim and I watched some Friends (it's still available on Netflix here!), then spent some time alone before bed.



Relational Level Reflection:

In the market, we had time to walk around and find what we wanted to buy. As I mentioned, there were a lot of different options. Since there were so many vendors, there were a lot of repeats of items. So, we were advised to walk around and ask the price at different stands to find the best price before we bought it. This was a little exhausting because it meant we had to trace our steps a lot and try to remember where certain items were in a maze-like setup. However, it was fun to walk around and see everything and get a good deal. This was also a place where bartering happens. This is not something I am used to. Most places in the states have set prices that are not negotiable. Sometimes as yard sales this is a possibility, but in stores, the only way you'll get a lower price is if there is a sale or it is damaged. At first, I was a little nervous about doing this, especially since my Spanish is not good conversationally. Kim did say she would help me out, which I appreciated. But it actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. A lot of vendors spoke some English which helped. Also, they are used to bartering, so they are expecting it more than I was. I think the challenge was trying to estimate what the value of an item was and knowing when I was getting a good deal or if I was being ripped off. I didn't want to cheat them out of the product's worth, but I also didn't want to overpay. It ended up being kind of fun and I think if I did it more, I would get better and more comfortable with it. I think maybe this difference between Ecuador and America could be due to different cultural values. In the State, we value speed and efficiency. We want to know the cost upfront and we want to get the transaction done so that we can move onto our next task. The Culture Smart book (pages 140-145) mentions that when doing business, Ecuadorians value personal relationships and often have negotiations after your initial pitch. While this is referring more to more formal business meetings, I think it still applies to the interactions that take place in the market. One time when I asked the price of an instrument, instead of just telling me, the vendor started asking questions and tuning it so that I could hear what it sounded like. He did not get straight to the point but instead started a conversation with me. Also, I observed others in our group negotiating. Sometimes they got the price down a significant amount. They kept going back and forth with the price until they could agree on a price for a particular item. This is an example of the importance of negotiation. I found this experience interesting and surprisingly fun.

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