Well, it’s official. I’m definitely going.
After a long period of struggling, the red tape things/semi-irrational grant requirements look like they’re gonna be OK. Which is good, because, for a while, I thought I wasn’t going to get to go, even with the grant award.
And I just bought my plane ticket. Even if something goes wrong with my paperwork or whatever, and I can’t do the ASU program, I’m definitely getting on that plane.
I’m leaving town on June 2, and I won’t be back until September 13. So I’ll be spending a total of 105 days in the country. After a couple of months, I might have to cross the border into Peru or something in order to avoid buying a rather expensive visa (US citizens are limited to 90 days’ stay without the visa. You could get lucky and get an extension in an immigration office, but, according to what the Ecuadorian Consulate guy told me, “the extension is at the discretion of the granting official.” I tend not to be lucky in these things, I find. )
So now I have a little under 3 weeks to do all of the following:
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Sell my stuff
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Move the stuff I’m not selling to a friend’s place
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Straighten out various bureaucratic issues that could prevent me from getting my grant money.
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The usual stuff that takes up my time–teaching and research
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Other little things that seem trivial, but if you don’t do them, the consequences can be awful. Like, making sure my mail gets held, making sure my course registration gets recognized at my home institution, finding out about whatever bills I’d be getting in June or July and paying them before I go, finding somewhere to leave my car and bike, etc.
Yow! I’m very excited about going to Ecuador, but right now, the stress of getting ready to leave–and of making sure I can go on this program–is giving me a major headache. Only 19 days to go!!
I’ll be spending a little time in Quito during my coursework, some time in the Otovalo region, and a bunch of time in the Upper Rio Napo Valley. I’ve got 4 days before my classwork starts to adjust to Quito’s altitude and to see the city. And I’ve got 19 days to travel independantly after the course is over.
What I’d really love to do is just travel through some of the Amazon river system from Ecuador to the Atlantic Ocean. But I don’t think I have the money for that, unfortunately. Not that travelling the length of the Amazon system really requires all that much cash, but it requires more than I have. And then there’s always the problem of making sure I can come back to the US. Which I’m not sure I’ll be all that eager to do so soon, anyway, so…hmm…let me think about that. 
[quoteI went with a small group of about 6 travelers and we explored most of the country over the course of a month. We basically did a big loop of something like this: Quito - Tena - Amazon - Banos - San Pablo - Riobamba - Cuenca - Guayaquil Machalilla - Otavalo - and back to Quito. I have plenty of pictures that I’d be happy to share with you. [/quote]
That sounds like a really neat trip. I’d love to see your photos.
Yes, though I’m not fluent. I understand spoken and written Spanish really well, and I used to speak and write in it fairly decently, too. I’m a bit rusty, though, and I made the mistake of learning Portuguese. Sometimes I feel like my Portuguese displaced my Spanish. There are times now when I try to speak Spanish, but what comes out of my mouth is almost pure Portuguese! I’ve been told I’ll get my Spanish language facility back after only a week or two in Ecuador. I hope people who say that to me are right.
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How much traveling experience do you have? Have you been to South America? -/quote]
I have some travelling experience, though probably not as much as a lot of Dopers do (even sven comes to mind, here.) And I’ve been to South America before. I spent last summer in Brazil. Six weeks of my stay was taken up with coursework, but I had 8 weeks free (2 before my classes and 6 afterwards) to travel around however I liked. So I did that.
No, no, no. Not at all. The more specific the recommendations you have, the more they help me. After all, I have to decide what to pack, right?
I’ve got one of those. I got it to go to Brazil with. It’s truly a thing of beauty and comfort when packed correctly. I’ll make sure to bring it this time around, too.
In re: the clothing recommendations:
I have polypropylene and wool long underwear. Will that do, or is there some reason that the long underwear really ought to be silk?
The only bathing suit I have at the moment is the bikini I picked up in Brazil. Should I go with that, or are beach- and pool-goers a bit more modest in Ecuador?
I found in Brazil, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic, dressing well is much more important than it is here. The standard for dressing up for special occasions is higher, too. People seem to interperet looking well-dressed and made-up as a major sign of both self-respect and respect for others. I know that officials in Brazil will simply refuse to deal with people who wear shorts, for example. I also found that, in general, even random people on the street were much nicer when I was dressed up. People in Mexico seem to do themselves up every time they’re even thinking of leaving the house, even if it’s just to pop in at the local diner for a Coke. If I go around looking like my usual student-ey, nerdy gringa self–T-shirt, jeans, no makeup–will people respect me and be willing to interact with me? Should I dress up when I go to get a visa extension?
In the Dominican Republic, there’s no such thing as a woman who doesn’t wear heels. Should I pack a serious pair of tacones altos? How about baggy vs. tight clothing? In the DR, there is not a woman under, say, 60 who would wear a loose-fitting T-shirt anywhere but in her own bedroom. And even then she might prefer something skimpier and tighter. Will I stick out if I have loose-fitting clothing that seems to me to be comfortably modest?
Oh, wow. The jungle is loud. I didn’t expect that. But, now that I think of it, I really probably should have.
I usually bring a pair of earplugs along just so I can sleep through the comings and goings of my dorm-mates in the youth hostels, anyway.
Ooh–that’s a good one, too. I hadn’t thought of that. Thanks.
Yeah, that’s kind of my feeling, too.
Oh, cool!
Those sound really neat. I’ll have to see if I can taste them, too.
Thanks for the tip. I’ll definitely do that.
Hey–are there any other foods you tried there that you particularly liked? Is there fresh acai in Ecuadorian rainforests?
I’d love to talk with you more about Ecuador. Could you tell me some of your stories from your travels there? I feel like I have a ton to learn about the place, but I don’t know where to start asking quesions. And I’d love to see your pictures. Thanks for all your help. If you have any other suggestions, tips, or other pieces of advice, I’d be more than happy to hear them.
You can be my sherpa on this journey, too, only you’d have some serious hauling stuff up mountains this time. Brazil would’ve been a softer gig.