Every morning when I start something, Luis approaches me, inquires what I am doing, grumbles about it, then proceeds to tell me the correct way to do it. Today I told him we are amigos, he said, "No we are working comrades." I set up my video camera and just let it run to see what it would capture, it is actually pretty hilarious. You can see me attempting my broken Spanish and him laughing at me all along. The night guard (Segundo)then approaches and starts chatting with us, the conversation went like this (to be noted we were all laughing as we said this):
Luis: Get back to work!
Me: You are not my boss!
Luis: I will hit you with this! (Holding a large wooden block in his hand)
Me: No you won't!
Segundo: You should hit him with the rake you are holding like this! (Then demonstrates)
After that Segundo asks why I don't have a boyfriend and do I want an Ecuadorean one? Following that he told me I was pretty and that he wants a gringa wife. Oh boy! During these conversations I was preparing two beds for planting, both of the gentlemen promptly told me I was doing it wrong and re-did it.
This gave me a flashback to last year on the farm with Sonny. For those that need a refresher click here. I was so annoyed with him breathing down my back and re-doing all of my work, but this year it is totally different. Maybe I am more relaxed or maybe it is because I don't understand everything Luis is grumbling under his breath. I just keep thinking "He will be here long after I leave so if it makes him feel better then go for it." My ultimate goal is to have all of the beds planted by the time I leave, and if he needs to re-do all of my raking, then so be it. I hope I can take this relaxed attitude back to the States with me!
In the afternoon I painted 10 signs for the garden, see photo.
A tourist walking by asked "Is that organic, environmentally friendly paint?" I thought of a couple of replies:
"Yes they sell that kind of paint on every street corner here."
"No, I am inhaling deadly fumes as I paint this and will be pouring paint thinner straight down the drain which may possibly be going into the river."
"Yes I made it this morning from grinding up leaves and berries, then mixing it with my saliva."
Instead I went with "I am not sure." Of course it isn't. Here on a daily basis I am confronted with how difficult it is to be eco-friendly when you are not at home, nor have control over things. From the bleached napkins that are used at every meal to the non-organic food that is brought from Quito every week, to the phosphate based cleaners used at the lodge here. It is difficult and expensive I know to be environmentally friendly, but am I wrong in thinking an eco-lodge should be?
Tonight we received a lesson in "Punking & Waaking." These are dances that originated on the West Coast in the 70's. One of the volunteers here with the San Francisco group is a dance teacher and gave us an awesome lesson.
My least favorite part was at the end when we had to "cypher." This entails the group standing in a circle and each of us taking turns and dancing in the middle. Let's just say my white non-rhythm having self was shining bright! No I did not have the video running for this. It was a ton of fun and WeHo better be ready for my debut upon my return!
2 comments:
I think your 3rd response is hilarious and should have been the one you threw out!
You bring up good points about how and whether an eco-lodge can/should be really eco. The problem is of course that these 3rd world countries WERE 'eco' before 1st world civilization arrived...now, they cannot afford to be so. Ironic, no?
Being eco-friendly when there's a language, finance or supply barrier is really difficult. The sad part is, most native populations were using environmentally friendly stuff before they were colonized.
Not that they were perfect, but the push for modern materials was not very helpful.
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