This is supposed to be an entry about her, about my expectations and fears of “officially” being a foreigner in the place I was born, about the dreams my consciousness keeps on building for the future, about the objective plans I have made for the coming years, about the confidence and security I convince myself to feel regarding the decisions I have made with my academic career, but ultimately, about finding my place between two worlds. These worlds are not only defined geographically, and yes, even if the U.S.A and Ecuador are the places I will be exploring, connecting, discovering, and defining, my search transcends the physical space and takes me to two subjective yet real worlds: one which I can see, touch, feel, and share with people around me, and the other one which only exists in my mind and that is shaped, defined, and made of idealizations–this world is ultimately made of the common: What if?
What if Riobamba (the city where my parents live) was a place where I could bike without the fear of getting crashed by an irresponsible car driver? What if St. Olaf (the college I go to) was a place where I could feel connected to and inherently excited about? What if instead of going out with my friends to waste our time, money, and oil by driving a car around and drinking cheap booze we could go camp far far away from the noisy city and watch the starts at night? What if I could entirely devote my time to do my homework and read for my classes at Olaf instead of longing for the mountains in Ecuador and going through Facebook pictures that remind me of that positive and idealized perception I have of the country that dictates my nationality? What if I could feel her company now? What if I could be right next to her and feel her enthusiasm, her courage, her willingness to live? What if, What if, What if...
The coalition between those two worlds has motivated me to embark in a new adventure and come to Ecuador to get a grasp of the reality experienced by my family, my friends with whom I grew up in Riobamba, and my own... which is merely the product of Youtube clips, Al Jazeera articles, The Guardian and El Comercio headlines, fb chats with my friend Diego, and the regular skype calls I have with my mom. I want to be informed rather than just opinionated about the socio-political situation in Ecuador, and what could be better than obtaining first hand information of the things that interest me while training for the bike race that will initiate me in the “professional” world of cross-country cycling? Yes!!! I am here to learn about this country and its people, but also to train for the Chimborazo Extremo bike race–a 40.5 km race that goes from Urbina (3600 m.a.s.l.) to the first refugee of the Chimborazo mountain located at 4800 m.a.s.l.
I will be living in Quito for the next four months, and while here I will try to immerse myself in the culture and have a legitimate “foreigner experience.” Through the program “Community Internships in Latin America,” which combines a home stay experience with an internship and a seminar that addresses local politics, ecological issues, racism, globalization, among others, I will take this opportunity to–somehow–get to know my own place. After five years of living abroad and studying in different environments, meeting people from different backgrounds, and exposing myself to other cultures–though, at this point it is difficult for me to really understand what “culture” really means–I have decided that it is time for me to come to the place where I was raised and really get to know Ecuador. In the same way, I think it is time for us to tell our own stories! With the rise of Rafael Correa as the President of Ecuador, the implementation of his “left wing” policies, and his irreverent and courageous attitude towards the conservative hegemonic powers of the world, Ecuador has been in the eye of the global media and I have the feeling that romantic and fictitious stories are being told by people who are not even able to spell Quito correctly, and I do not like this, I actually hate it!!! So, I am also here to have an objective experience of how things are happening and develop a critical understanding of the situation so that I can tell stories too.
Since now I do not really know where I belong, I will be telling this stories in english and spanish. I want my college friends to be part of this experience, quiero que mis amigos con los cuales crecí me den una mano en entender una realidad que ahora es incomoda y diferente para mi, I want my professors to keep on guiding me through this academic exploration, I want her to know this part of me, I want to explore with her... but above all I want to find my place between these two worlds.
Yes, this is where two worlds collide, and I love it!!!
What if Riobamba (the city where my parents live) was a place where I could bike without the fear of getting crashed by an irresponsible car driver? What if St. Olaf (the college I go to) was a place where I could feel connected to and inherently excited about? What if instead of going out with my friends to waste our time, money, and oil by driving a car around and drinking cheap booze we could go camp far far away from the noisy city and watch the starts at night? What if I could entirely devote my time to do my homework and read for my classes at Olaf instead of longing for the mountains in Ecuador and going through Facebook pictures that remind me of that positive and idealized perception I have of the country that dictates my nationality? What if I could feel her company now? What if I could be right next to her and feel her enthusiasm, her courage, her willingness to live? What if, What if, What if...
The coalition between those two worlds has motivated me to embark in a new adventure and come to Ecuador to get a grasp of the reality experienced by my family, my friends with whom I grew up in Riobamba, and my own... which is merely the product of Youtube clips, Al Jazeera articles, The Guardian and El Comercio headlines, fb chats with my friend Diego, and the regular skype calls I have with my mom. I want to be informed rather than just opinionated about the socio-political situation in Ecuador, and what could be better than obtaining first hand information of the things that interest me while training for the bike race that will initiate me in the “professional” world of cross-country cycling? Yes!!! I am here to learn about this country and its people, but also to train for the Chimborazo Extremo bike race–a 40.5 km race that goes from Urbina (3600 m.a.s.l.) to the first refugee of the Chimborazo mountain located at 4800 m.a.s.l.
I will be living in Quito for the next four months, and while here I will try to immerse myself in the culture and have a legitimate “foreigner experience.” Through the program “Community Internships in Latin America,” which combines a home stay experience with an internship and a seminar that addresses local politics, ecological issues, racism, globalization, among others, I will take this opportunity to–somehow–get to know my own place. After five years of living abroad and studying in different environments, meeting people from different backgrounds, and exposing myself to other cultures–though, at this point it is difficult for me to really understand what “culture” really means–I have decided that it is time for me to come to the place where I was raised and really get to know Ecuador. In the same way, I think it is time for us to tell our own stories! With the rise of Rafael Correa as the President of Ecuador, the implementation of his “left wing” policies, and his irreverent and courageous attitude towards the conservative hegemonic powers of the world, Ecuador has been in the eye of the global media and I have the feeling that romantic and fictitious stories are being told by people who are not even able to spell Quito correctly, and I do not like this, I actually hate it!!! So, I am also here to have an objective experience of how things are happening and develop a critical understanding of the situation so that I can tell stories too.
Since now I do not really know where I belong, I will be telling this stories in english and spanish. I want my college friends to be part of this experience, quiero que mis amigos con los cuales crecí me den una mano en entender una realidad que ahora es incomoda y diferente para mi, I want my professors to keep on guiding me through this academic exploration, I want her to know this part of me, I want to explore with her... but above all I want to find my place between these two worlds.
Yes, this is where two worlds collide, and I love it!!!