Equator!

Hey everyone!

We have left Boston and are still currently in Quito, Ecuador. These past days have been extremely busy for we have been preparing for our presentations, giving lectures, meeting people, exploring Quito, and conducting interviews for the documentary. All in all, Brenna and I have received little sleep and are exhausted even though our research hasn't actually started yet.

Yesterday, we gave our presentations at FAO in Quito to various students, teachers, and doctors in the area. There, we met up with Daniella and Sofia, two others that are going on the research trip with us along the coast of Ecuador. Everyone was extremely knowledgeable and very interested in what we had to say. The conference was from 8am to about 6 pm with an hour for lunch. It was a very long day. I had to give my presentation in spanish and was extremely nervous since I really have not spoken spanish since high school. I managed to get through it. Brenna was great in presenting her project and the documentary. Though we were exhausted, our friend Karol and the staff at the executive lounge urged us to go out and explore Quito. It was a great night and Brenna and I met some great people. We even met up with a staff member from the hotel we are staying at. What a small world! Que mundo pequeno!

This morning at breakfast, Brenna and I prepared for our first interview for the documentary. At 10am today we had a meeting with FAO United Nations Ecuador representative Ian Charrett. We conducted the interview in English with him and he was very well spoken having been originally from Scotland. He touched upon various questions about agriculture, small farming, fair trade movement, organic farming, pesticides, and mangrove destruction. He told us that there has been an ultimate loss of knowledge in dealing with small farming and people do not realize the benefits of local resources. He also told us that people need to realize that shrimp CAN be produced organically and there needs to be a balance between ecosystem and industry. We also met with FAO representative Ricardo and talked to him about POPs, where they come from, and how they affect human health. We got a great start to the documentary.

Following the interviews today, we went to the equator monument, Middle of the Earth. It is about 30 minutes outside of Quito so it took a while by bus. Driving through northern Quito reminded me of the extensive poverty throughout all of Ecuador, something at the Marriott Brenna and I have yet to be exposed to. I find it unbelievable how independent young children are here. Everywhere you turn, you see children walking through traffic, up and down the streets trying to sell newspapers, scratch tickets, or fruit.

Once we got to the monument, we took lots of photos, had lunch, and bought tickets to a museum down the road. The museum was great and we loved the equator demonstrations. They showed us how an egg could balance on a nail and how it was difficult to walk in a straight line with our arms out due to our position. The museum was also full of amazing paintings done by Cristibal Ortega, a famous artist of Ecuador.

Culture note: if you get a drink to go, they put it in a plastic bag....

-Ben