Farms, Fiestas, and Films

As part of Natalie’s agricultural studies this semester, she is taking a series of field trips to markets, farms, and other destinations with her grandfather Gene, who organizes the outings using his many connections. Gene seems to be having a great time participating in his granddaughter’s education and Jens, too, when he gets the chance to go along.


If you’d like to learn about their adventures, I recommend Natalie’s blog at http://nat-travels.blogspot.com/. At the moment, she’s in Latacunga, having joined a friend of a Westtown friend at a big festival called “Fiestas de la Mama Negra.” We look forward to her report when she returns on Friday.

Last evening, we joined Helen at a showing of an Ecuadorian film called “Qué Tan Lejos” at Helen and Gene’s church, put on by the Spanish-speaking congregation (mostly Ecuadorians). The movie is about two young women – one Ecuadorian and the other Spanish – traveling through Ecuador at a time when a general strike has shut down most transportation and businesses. I found the discussion after the viewing very interesting and educational about Ecuador and Ecuadorians. For example, the group discussed the stunning beauty of their country and how it takes an outsider to remind them of that. Here are a couple of pictures I took today during our afternoon walk.



The group also talked about one of the movie’s themes, emigration from Ecuador, particularly to Spain. I was interested to hear their perspectives on why people go, how it changes them, what it does to families, and to what extent the emigrees’ dreams are fulfilled.

I hadn’t realized how extensive this migration was, although I was aware that Ecuadorians are the fourth largest Latino group in New York after Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Mexicans. The topic was particularly pertinent to us, as earlier in the day, Helen and Gene had had a lengthy luncheon with an Ecuadorian from the indigenous population who’s been in Spain for 15 years and is back for a visit. We learned that he’s living a much more comfortable life in Spain than he would have lived here, but he and his family live with negative factors such as prejudice and separation from their home communities. Also yesterday, our neighbor's sister (not of the indigenous Ecuadorian population) arrived from Spain after 10 years there. She decided to come back with her family for various economic, social, and educational reasons. I wonder how the adjustment will go for each family member, especially her school-aged children.

Speaking of adjustment, Caleb continues to work hard in school. You remember his class’s wish list for their homeroom? He reported that some items have trickled in, notably toilet paper. (I had forgotten that that was on the list!) After school/work today, we went on another exploratory hike in the Parque Metropolitano, which I enjoyed a great deal. In the picture below, Jens is explaining to Caleb how some Latino men express their love through graffiti. (Click on the photo to make it larger.)



-Spee