Out of the Field, Into the Office

Last day of interviews in the Alumbre! We went easy on ourselves today, getting the minimum and rolling out to have lunch. I'll be grateful to not make the 1.5 hour trip everyday down there, though I haven't made it the whole ride yet without falling asleep, so I can't complain that much.

A few highlights from interviews in the Alumbre:

These rapscallions thought it was a great idea to steal Trevor and Lauren's 50 m tape measure and PULL IT ALL OUT

Now comes the hard part: data analysis. Suffice it to say, seven people equals seven different interpretations of data; three groups equals three different rates of work, and 90 interviews equals nearly as many different units of measurements of inputs. We managed to wiggle out of doing a presentation on our work here at the universidad due to a conflict with a large potato conference (yes!), but we still have a presentation to USAID in Quito as well as a comprehensive report to produce.

Spanglish spreadsheet

Meanwhile, Albert and I managed to finish our data entry early this afternoon and headed to downtown Guaranda for a few errands. First stop, a store selling more chocolate from Salinas; I realized I had bought enough for family and friends, but there was no way it was making it home unless I too had some to delight in, so I ameliorated that problem. Next, I headed to a hair salon that Rosita had pointed out to me as a decent place to get a hair cut, just down from our most frequented spot in Guaranda, Tía (the grocery store). There were several people seemingly waiting in line when I went into the salon, but as soon as the chair emptied the woman gestured me up; I'm not sure if it was because of my gringo-ness, or because the others were there simply as a social occasion. Nonetheless, I managed to describe the deadness of the ends of my hair and my need to rid myself of them, and it worked! I didn't have my glasses on the whole time, so I had little clue whether she was doing what I wanted until the end. Great success, especially for $2.50.

We then headed to Siete Santos, a coffee shop just off the central plaza that we have decided would demolish all business of all coffee shops in Blacksburg should it decide to relocate. Upon entry, there is an atrium of sorts with full grown trees and plants as well as a surrounding balcony on the upper level. The walls are full of carved masks and coconuts and various paintings, with tables in the atrium as well as further back, giving a choice of either a jungle-effect atmosphere, or if you are feeling more moody, the cave-like space may be your place. Regardless of where you sit, the coffee is delicious, certainly the best I've had here. An added bonus with the espresso: a piece of Salinas-made chocolate. When I remember to take my camera, I shall try to photograph a bit of it, though the atmosphere I'm sure will escape all tricks of light and lens. 

Dinner was at Moazir's house tonight: rabbit! Delicious, and wonderful to pet a dog for once. 

I'll leave you with a few photos that haven't made a debut here yet, but are favorites from the 1500 I've taken thus far...

Just down the street from the hostel in Quito

Playing basketball in El Parque Carolina, Quito

Famous gallo of the youtube video, looking less fearsome here

An interesting interview of an Ecuadorian student at VT by John Boyer, professor of geography at VT about the Ecuadorian government: http://plaidavenger.com/international-interviews/all/