julesmatteson – GW Blogs from Abroad

The Halfway Mark

AdminApril 2, 2018

It has been a little more than 2 months since I got to Ecuador. I can’t believe how fast its gone by and how little I have felt homesick. I have fallen in love with the all the people in my life here, the city of Quito and all the beautiful nature at my disposal. However, there always comes a point in time when you are living in another country where the magic of it all starts to wear off a little - when you start to become disillusioned with things you once found fascinating or unique. There is something about the halfway mark.

By now, I have established routines, make local friends and connected with my host family and these are the things that have kept me grounded. But now that I am settled, the negative or maybe better said not-as-great aspects of the city have started to get to me. Little things like the never-ending traffic, cat-calling or randomly overpriced products are starting to upset me when they never used to before. I feel like this is an often un-talked about part of being abroad. We are conditioned to act like we love every part of being in the country we are in and if we criticize or do not like certain aspects of life abroad we are being ungrateful or judgmental. But what I am starting to come to terms with is that it’s okay to not be happy all the time. It’s okay to criticize, question or inquire about why things are the way there are. This is why we are here - to learn, to observe, and to begin to understand the context and systems that are at play.

The more I come to know about Ecuador, its history, politics, and people, the more I feel connected to it all. This knowledge has let me start to look deeper into the subtle differences that may sometimes to frustrate me. The traffic I sometimes can’t stand has now turned into research into why the government is investing in extractivism instead of public transport. The cat-calling I often hear has turned into debates on why machismo still permeates today. And those randomly over-priced products I begrudgingly buy has now turned into discussions about Ecuador's struggling economic model. I am learning to channel some of my disillusionments into research, actions, questions, and investigation that I hope will only enhance my knowledge and connection to this country. I truly love Ecuador and I am so grateful to be able live in a country so different from my own that I get to have these internal debates. I hope as I move past this halfway mark of my time here, past the initial honeymoon stage, I can use this curiosity to propel my Independent Study Project (ISP) that I will be beginning in a few weeks. I am excited to start to delve deeper into some of the topics that have surfaced through my experiences and use my observations to contribute to important global discussions surrounding Ecuador today.

Ecotourism: Helpful or Harmful?

AdminMarch 6, 2018December 14, 2018

By julesmatteson

One of the main components of my program is experiential learning. Through this pedagogical model, we are forced to get out of our conform zone and traditional classroom setting to experience new people or places that may challenge our beliefs more than through a textbook. One of the main topics we have been focusing on throughout all of my classes has been the “indigenous question” here in Ecuador. Ecuador is home to 14 indigenous nationalities, the largest of which is the Kichwa nationality. We have been studying the effects of development on Kichwa communities as well as their language and their traditional practices. After a few weeks of background information, it was time to travel to the Amazon, or “Oriente” as we say in Ecuador, to see first hand how Kichwa communities live. As we boarded the bus for our 5 day trip to an eco-lodge near the town of Tena on the Arajuno River, I couldn’t contain my excitement. I had always dreamed of going to the Amazon and it was finally coming true. Little did I know how uncomfortable some parts of this trip would make me feel.

On our second day there we boarded a motorized canoe to ride up the Arajuno River to the nearby Kichwa community of Mirador. We had been told that the community had invited us themselves when they heard we were coming to the eco-lodge but I hadn’t thought too much about it before we got there. When we arrived at Mirador, we were led to the community center which consisted of a large open-air shack surrounded by wooden benches. As we took our seats, I noticed the small group of women huddled together wearing what looked like traditional outfits with large, colorful jewelry and painted faces. As I continued to look around, I noticed more and more people coming from their houses to watch as the community center filled with gringos. But these people stood in sharp contrast with the women I noticed earlier. These people, men, women, children, emerged wearing typical “Western” clothing. Jeans, t-shirts, Adidas sneakers, Hollister sweaters.

Our tour guide soon announced that we would be learning about a few traditional practices and then watching a traditional Kichwa dance. The women dressed in ornate clothing began to take center stage, demonstrating how to make chicha (a fermented yuca drink) and showing us their traditional baskets. They then moved into a shamanic demonstration and then into the traditional dance. I tried my hardest to keep my attention focused on the presentation but I couldn’t help me notice the rest of the community huddled around watching us watch the women. The rest of the Mirador community, dressed like any other Quiteño or American, stood around taking videos on their smartphones and even chatting some in Spanish. As naive as it sounds now, it was just becoming clear that this was solely an ecotourism project.

Traditional Amazonian Kichwa foods- yuca, cacao, larvae- we ate at Mirador

The community of Mirador no longer follows these traditional practices, but merely puts on these presentations to demonstrate what traditional Kichwa communities used to look like. They are attempting to appeal to the Western desire to see “primitive” or “authentic” practices during visits to indigenous communities or developing countries. On one hand, this idea made me highly uncomfortable. I don’t want to be part of an industry that commodifies traditional practices and cultures or plays into new neocolonialist dynamics. But at the same time, this tourism strategy has helped the community build a school and pay for bilingual teachers. The ecotourism scheme has allowed the community to prosper without turning to the oil industry or extractives policies to raise money. In an increasingly globalized world, the idea of ecotourism is ever growing and it is difficult to say what the impacts are. I am still struggling to sort out my own thoughts about this experience and the ecotourism industry overall but I am coming to accept more and more that there are two sides to every coin. As I continue to travel throughout Ecuador, I will carry this experience with me and continue to challenge my beliefs, always being aware of the profound impacts of my actions.

Julia

On Being an American Abroad

AdminFebruary 5, 2018December 14, 2018

By julesmatteson

It has been nearly two weeks since President Trump remarkably denounced those from “shithole countries,” publicly and unwittingly shutting the door to an entire continent. From the moment I heard these disgraceful words, I have struggled to put my own thoughts together. How did we get here? Is this really happening? As the nation’s chief diplomat, the level of ignorance is simply astonishing. But what is has disheartened me even more in recent days, a feeling that compelled me to write this post, is that we have almost forgotten. It is hard to say what to attribute this to, is the 24-hour news cycle? Maybe our shortened attention spans? Or possibly (and most disturbingly) are we simply used to this behavior from our commander-in-chief? As Anderson Cooper so thoughtfully reported in a segment reacting to Trumps remarks, he quoted author James Baldwin who said, “ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” The ignorance, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and sexism that have always existed in this country on some level seem even more prevalent to me today, as they now hold a seat of power -creating justice’s most ferocious enemy.

As a student studying international development, these are issues that I look at every day. But they often feel far away. Far removed. We study these flaws in other nations, often without looking inward to dissect our own. It is only in recent months that I have almost felt a sense of shame to be an American, to judge others before judging ourselves. As I begin my semester abroad, in a place that Trump may also deem a “shithole country,” I am left wondering how I will become an ambassador of sorts for my country and my culture. How will I defend border walls, discrimination, climate change denial, and reckless diplomacy?

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