On Friday, Garret and I took a field trip with our teacher to Mitad del Mundo, a monument marking the equator about an hour bus ride north of Quito. There is an impressive monument to the equator that, ironically, is not actually the equator exactly.
This is the original (but incorrectly placed) monument to the Equator.
The true equator (as measured by GPS) is actually a few hundred meters away and now the site of new museum. We visited the “real” equator with our teacher, Alexandra, who showed us a beautiful farm area near the tourist monument where we feasted on the view and maduros con queso before touring the museum.
The tour of the “real” equator area included various experiments demonstrating the unique gravitational properties of life on and near the equator. We watched water swirl down a plastic tub on the Equator itself, then a few steps to either side of it. We were shown that it does indeed swirl clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, and has no rotation at the equator… or were we just fooled? The Coriolis Effect, or the twisting motion given to moving fluids as a result of the rotation of the earth, is cited as the reason that the water swirled in different directions in the demonstration. (Science buffs, Wikipedia has a much more detailed report of the Coriolis Effect.) However, a closer examination of the matter makes it apparent that while the Coriolis Effect is real, the force it exerts would be way too small to notice on the amount of water found in a sink or toilet. It reserves its work for hurricane size brews, and is the real culprit behind why hurricanes swirl counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere weather systems swirl clockwise.
Turns out that what we saw was really just a little slight of hand. The container of water is likely to drain in any way that rotation is introduced (this force is much greater than the Coriolis Effect), especially if it is in a non-cylindrical shaped container. So the tour guide had only to fill the pan while facing away from us, then turn to face us (while holding the pan) to introduce the wanted rotation. You can read all about Coriolis Effect trickery here. And you really can travel virtually with us to the Equator today, as this website explains exactly how to “fake” being at the Equator with this water trick. Go ahead, try it at home today!
Other than witnessing a few little “magic” tricks, Garret and I were awarded certificates for being able to balance an egg on a nailhead directly on the Equator.
That’s about all to report from the middle of the earth. Wish you were all here with us!
Ecuadorian showers are a hoot. Hot water heaters are rarer than an issue of Amazing Spider-Man #1. Most showers do however have a little tankless electric water heater right before the shower nozzle. These little puppies add spice to life. There are really three possible scenarios when you step into an electrified shower.
Scenario 1:
You hop in the shower turn it on and instantly get nice warm water. This lasts approximately 20 seconds before the pressure increases and your shower goes from warm to tepid to cold. Pressure is never constant in Ecuador; plumbing, in even the newest buildings, is totally erratic. To get the flow rate to stay constant at the prescribed 5L/minute is near impossible. At 5L/minute your little 1500W 220V electric water heater is just right, hypothetically that is, because let’s be honest 5L/minute is like being baptized by a Catholic priest (It might feel good but it’s not getting you very wet).
Scenario 2:
You hop in the shower turn it on and instantly get nice warm water. This lasts approximately 80 seconds, just long enough to get totally soaped up and shampood. At this point the pressure drops. You stand there and stand there and stand there. Miraculously the pressure comes back, unfortunately it only drizzles out. You don’t know whether to curse or praise; however, you are so cold and blind you hug the shower wall in an effort to get the little bit coming out to land on your head. At this point you do curse because at 1L/minute your little 1500W 220V electric water heater is super efficient and it burns. You jump out of the shower, run to the kitchen and grab a pitcher, which you fill with cold water and let your shower drip hot water into at 1L/minute. Finally you can rinse off. Since the water pressure has returned by now it is quite easy, oh and cold.
Scenario 3:
You hop in the shower turn it on and instantly get a nice tingle around the crown of your head and toes. The electric current flowing through you is so nice and warm. It is like using dandruff shampoo on your whole body. The shower knob is metal and therefore turning off the shower presents a problem. Life sometimes is pain so you clench your teeth together, making sure your tongue is out of the way and reach for that metal knob.
My Dad taught my sister and I a secret “language” when we were kids, called Horse Latin, which we taught to only our bestest of friends for secret communications. It worked well in grade school to communicate secretly without the teacher understanding; and it continued to work well in college when my sister and I traveled in Italy together. It was convenient when we were on the busses and didn’t want other people to know we were Americans. Everyone would know we were foreigners for sure; but they probably wouldn’t place the sounds as English exactly. While I won’t give away all the secrets to how to speak the language, it involves adding the sound of an “i” blended with a “b”. Well I’ve found out that Ecuadorians have their own secret dialect within Spanish. They love to omit the final vowel from words and instead add “ita” to the end of many words, rendering them somehow more “amable” or sweet sounding. For instance, when someone was getting water, I heard them refer to it not as “agua”, but “aguita”. A piece of bread changes from “pan” to “panita”. So it was actually a term of endearment when a woman in the marketplace called me Gringita on Thursday.
We went on a field trip with our teachers and a few other students to the Saquisili Markets south of Quito on Thursday. The markets were actually five or six different markets in the same town. We started with the animal markets, and looked at all the pigs, ducks, chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs for sale. Apparently there are usually cows, llamas and other larger livestock for trade and sale, but due to some animal sicknesses there is a quarantine in effect right now on certain larger animals. We didn’t stay long in the animal market; I think the locals all knew we weren’t serious shoppers. Next we checked out the food markets, where there were mountains of bananas and other tropical fruits, potatoes, rice and other grains. Then there were the textile markets with clothing. Beautiful sweaters, gloves, hats and scarves that were handmade were on display, along with jewelry and other handmade souvenirs. Mixed in between al l of the major markets were smaller markets selling everything from furniture, hardware, DVD’s, and kitchen appliances. Later that evening, back in Quito, we went on a night field trip with our school. It was really nice to be out at night; it was the first time we’ve been out. Usually we’re home by dark, because of the petty crimes and muggings. Everyone we’ve met says to take Taxi’s after dark (which is always at 6:30 in this part of the world) to avoid problems, and we’ve taken their advice to heart. But on Thursday out with our teacher, we were able to wander the safe areas of town and take some beautiful pictures in the historic old town.
Friday marked the end of our second week of language classes. It’s starting to get easier, but I still have a long way to go. I can understand 90% of what my teachers say (they speak to us very s-l-o-w-l-y), 30% of most Ecuadorians, and roughly 0% of futbol announcers and other radio personalities. It’s actually easier for me to talk than to listen right now, because at least it is at my speed then! I can’t wait until this all gets easier. Next week Garret and I are going to start studying together with the same teacher, instead of each having our own. My head definitely hurts by the end of four hours of talking every day! It’s exciting to start recognizing and understanding more of the language though; which I have started to just while reading store signs and advertisements.
All in all, things are going really well. There’s only a few things I really miss about home. One of them is all the familiar foods—like watermelon and corn on the cob eaten on long summer nights. The other is probably hot showers with lots of water. We have hot water, but there is a delicately inverse relationship between pressure and temperature. Things I love about Quito are the abundance of wonderfully cheap and fresh juices (made in front of you in a blender), salsa music on the busses, and finding tons of like-minded runners in Parque Carolina this week (it is finally easy to breathe, and we even ran 7 miles this morning fairly painlessly).
Well, that’s probably enough random musings from a Gringita for one day.
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