Asia and South America: an Epilogue

Before I went to Asia, I had never been to a third-world country (I had made a few quick trips to Mexico, but only to locations that were heavily touristed by Americans and were practically "America-lite"). Like most people, I imagined third-world countries to be full of poverty, which meant millions of homeless and hungry people begging on the streets; crime-filled cities that are unsafe at night; corrupt police looking for any way to make a buck off of scared tourists. Oddly enough, because of all of this, I wanted to see a third-world country, not because I thought it would be fun to have beggars grabbing at my clothes or police demanding bribes from me, but because I wanted an experience so foreign from my own life and environment.

After traveling the last two years, I can say that I was exposed to very foreign environments in every country I visited, even the modern countries like Korea and Japan (and even European countries that I visited in college). But of course there is something special to being somewhere that adds an economic foreignness (and yes, foreignness is a word!) to the cultural foreignness. In Cambodia, Malaysia, Peru, and Ecuador, I was exposed to and met people who have never known the kind of wealth I have lived with, and probably cannot even fathom such wealth. Let's take a look at a few stats provided to me after a few minutes of research on wikipedia:

• Cambodia is currently ranked as the poorest country in Asia, with the average Cambodian making $2,400 per year (what I made in a month in South Korea). 
• One-third of the Peruvian population is considered "poor", with 10% living in poverty.
• 17% of Ecuadorians live in poverty
• Approx. 21% of Malaysians live in poverty

Through my travels in these countries, I did see poor people. I saw one-room homes made out of cheap wood and corrugated metal that housed families of 12. I saw people living in homes with dirt floors. I saw communities with little electricity and poor plumbing. I saw children with filthy faces and tattered clothes. These people were living in conditions that I do not wish to live in. I like my nice, stable home with plenty of electricity to power my laptop, cell phone, iPod, e-reader, several lamps, fan, and air conditioning all at the same time. I like hot showers and plumbing that is strong enough to handle the flushing of toilet paper. I like being able to throw my dirty clothes into a big, white box and have it wash my clothes better than my own hands can. 

Something shocking occurred to me, though, that surprised me about these third-world countries. It wasn't the fact that I never dealt with greedy, corrupt police (a pleasant surprise, though I am aware that it happens in many countries), or that I nor my travel companions were never victims of any crime (I have heard accounts from other travelers in the same countries, but theft seemed just as prevalent as it is in any European city). The surprise was that these poor people don't seem to need much. Or maybe they don't need anything at all. Even though these people were living in conditions I would consider rough and unfavorable, they were not hungry (compared to 15% of Americans who are "food insecure"), they were not homeless (very rarely did we see beggars on the streets, nothing compared to any American city), and they were not lacking family. They didn't even seem to be lacking happiness (the people of Cambodia and Malaysia seemed an awful lot happier than South Koreans, who hold one of the highest suicide rates in the world) or basic education (93% of Peruvians and Ecuadorians and 88% of Malaysians are literate). And with the exception of people living in remote areas, they are provided with affordable health care (something millions of Americans are without). Most people even seen to have cell phones! 

So these observations made me think, and are still making me think, about the ideas of poverty and wealth, about family, about what we need compared to what we want, and about technology and whether its advancements do equal better living. Are our lives better than those in Cambodia because we have smart phones and the internet at our disposal and 1,000 channels on television? One could argue that we have more access to all the world's knowledge because of this, but let's be honest, we're not exactly taking advantage of that, are we?! America also grows enough food to feed the country several times over, and yet 15% of the population is not properly fed, compared to the Peruvians and Ecuadorians who all seem healthy and well-fed (the Inca Empire was one of the very few civilizations in the world's history that was able to eradicate hunger, something that seems to continue today). 

I'm not trying to argue that life in those countries is better than in the U.S., or that poverty in those countries is not still a hard life. But I am saying that maybe aspects of their lives is better than ours. Maybe it's worth noticing that they seem to value family more than us; that although very few of them are rich, they are not starving and homeless; that although they do not have the technology we have, they don't seem any less happy. 

One last thing that has been on my mind over the last few months is the power of choice. Growing up in America, in my family, I was given the incredible gift of choice to do whatever I want with my life. If I wanted to be an engineer, a doctor, a musician, a businessman, I could (and still can) study for these occupations and work my way towards a career. If I want to live in the big city, I can. And if I want to live in the countryside, I can. However, many people in the world are not given this gift. Many people are born into an occupation, or are born into a region that they will never be able to leave. I know for most people of my culture and society, that sounds like a lifelong imprisonment. But then I wonder about this gift we are given, and I am starting to think that maybe it's a double-edged sword. Although I am so grateful that I have been able to choose a career for myself out of the endless list of occupations available, I also look at my peers in my generation, and I realize that this seems to be a generation and an era of indecision. I look at how many of my friends and peers have college degrees and no idea what to do with their lives. How the average college student changes their major four times. How we can have 1,000 channels available to us on television, but not find what we want to watch. How presidential candidates will campaign for 18 months and people will still be unsure of who they will vote for. Or the fact that there is always something bigger and better than what we have so we cannot be satisfied with our current belongings. How often do we find ourselves in a "crisis" because we cannot choose between two great things available to us? Talk about first-world problems! 

Millions of people around the world are not given nearly as many choices as us, and in many situations are given only one choice. They're going to be a farmer, they're going to marry this woman, they're going to live in this town, and that's that. These may not be things they prefer, but they deal with it, and they are still capable of being happy. And hey, they never have to deal with the stress of deciding! Now all of that being said, if someone offered to take away my power of choice, I'd say "Hell no!" But what I have come to realize is that our world (the first-world) is not universally better than theirs (the third-world). We don't have it all right while they have it all wrong. Our lives aren't necessarily any happier than theirs, or more fulfilling, or healthier. Everything is relative. If we were put in a third-world environment and told to live like those people, it would be very, very hard for us, and probably very unhappy, because we would have things we like taken away. But those people born into such environments find happiness, they manage to smile everyday. And it's because it's what they know. Just as people 100 years ago were able to be happy without electricity and appliances and fast transportation because they were living in the best conditions they knew, people in poverty today are in a similar situation.

Before I conclude my thoughts, I want to make it clear that I do still believe there is real poverty in the world, poverty that entails homelessness, starvation, disease, and illiteracy. And those poverty-stricken communities should be helped and supported by the global community. But the purpose of sharing this entry with you all is to say that my travels have shown me that money does not equal happiness, that technological advancements do not equal progress, and that the privileged lives we live in the first-world are not necessarily better than other lives in the world. I have become more aware that some things in my life are not necessary for my happiness. At the same time, I have become a lot more appreciative of many "little" things in my life, like hot water, internet access, and strong plumbing. 

Two and a Half Weeks at the Middle of the World

After nearly two months exploring Peru from the southern border at Lake Titicaca to the far north, from the vast desert coast to the dramatic Andes and the lush Amazon, we finally made our way across the border into Ecuador. By the time our experience at the ranch ended, we were tired of the desert, and frankly, a bit tired of Peru. We had heard so many wonderful things about Ecuador that it took no convincing at all for us to head straight there from the ranch.

I may have mentioned in past posts that the entire coastline of Peru is painted with just one color: the drabbest shade of brown imaginable. From top to bottom,  it is dry, dusty, and a bit depressing. However, once we crossed the border into Ecuador, everything changed! Browns became sprinkled with green, and soon, the browns disappeared and our eyes were accosted by the boldest greens of grass, palms, trees, and the lushest signs of life. And instantly, our spirits were lifted, morale boosted, and excited once again to be traveling.

Our first stop was a town called Baños, set in the Andes mountains halfway up the country. Before this point, we had never stayed in one town for more than 3 nights because we always exhausted the cheap things to do in that amount of time. But we spent 5 nights in Baños (and could have spent more) because this town and its surrounding area was so spectacular. It's not a large town, but has so much life and culture to it. It is thriving with tourism, but never felt like a touristy spot. We never had to fight off aggressive vendors or tour groups desperately trying to sell their goods and services. 

On our first day, we were planning on doing a hike with an American couple we met at our hostel, until we walked past a tour office that was advertising white water rafting trips. Just out of curiosity, we asked about prices, and a half-day trip was only $20! Drew and Julie, the American couple, became very excited, jumping up and down, saying we should do it. I normally have a hard time paying for rafting since I spent three summers being paid to go rafting, but $20 is hard to pass up. So we signed up and had a blast. The water was huge, so forceful that you could hear the stones on the river bed rolling in a deep and crackling sound like perpetual thunder. 

That night we went to one of the many hot springs in town. Baños (which is Spanish for "baths" or "bathrooms") got its name because of all of the hot springs. The four of us took a nice and VERY hot dip in the very crowded pools shared by tourists and locals. Unfortunately we were all required to wear shower caps, which really hampered our coolness levels. 

For the next three days, Mary and I cycled along the highway with amazing views of waterfall after waterfall, and also did two hikes up the surrounding mountains. The town is in a bowl with steep peaks surrounding it. So there are dozens of hikes to be taken in the area, all offering spectacular views of the town and other mountains, including a volcano that erupted in 1999. 

One of the best things about Baños is that less than a block from our hostel was a bakery. And in said bakery were donuts with chocolate icing. And these donuts became a normal part of our breakfasts! 

After 5 glorious days, we headed south to the city of Cuenca, Ecuador's 2nd largest city, also located in the Andes. It is hands down the most attractive city I saw in South America. Everywhere we went, my jaw was dropped at the sight of not just a beautiful landscape surrounding the city, but stunning architecture that offered the vibe of a European city. Old cathedrals were scattered throughout the city, and the streets were lined with 100 year old apartments and shops that reminded me of photos I've seen of the French Corridor in New Orleans, with balconies along the 2nd stories, lined with flower pot after flower pot. We found a hostel in a nice part of town that was a little out of our price range. So when the lady who ran the hostel could see we were not interested in renting a room from her, she offered us a private room for $5 per person but warned us that it had just been painted and we'd have to sleep with paint fumes, to which I replied, "I love the smell of paint!" So for three nights we had a wonderfully scented cheap room! 

On day 2 in Cuenca, we took a bus one hour out of the city to a national park called Cajas, situated quite high up in elevation (about 4000m, over 12,000ft). It was kind of a mystical place, with few trees and many small shrubs and grasses on rocky terrain and lakes and streams all around. We saw only about 7 other visitors, so we practically had the place to ourselves (well, us and grazing llamas). We spent about 4 hours hiking around the park until we found ourselves at the end of the park boundaries at the highway, where we hitched a ride back to Cuenca. 

On day 3 in Cuenca, we took a 2 hour bus ride out of the city to Ecuadors largest site of Inca ruins called Ingapirca. Half of the ruins date back to a pre-Inca period, and the other half were built by the Inca empire, including a tall sun temple for religious purposes. For free, Mary and I were given an English tour by a local man who was nothing but charming and very educational. Again, we almost had the entire park to ourselves as there were very few visitors there. 

Because Ecuador is on the equator, we expected a very hot country. But since Cuenca and Baños are located so high up in the mountains, we were experiencing some cool temperatures. Hoping to feel a little more warmth on our skin (and work more on our tans), we headed to the coast to get that Ecuador warmth. We found a town called Puerto Lopez which is situated next to a national park called Machcalilla. We were disappointed, however, to arrive and find it only slightly warm and drizzly. Nonetheless, we still had a great time taking a full-day tour out to an island called Isla de Plata, also called the "poor man's Galapagos" due to the bird species that are only found on this island and the Galapagos, but a sliver of the price of the Galapagos. On our way to the island, our boat stopped a few times for some humpback whale watching, where we were able to get great views of these massive creatures breaching and slamming their tales repeatedly on the water's surface. Once at the island, we took a guided hike around for some bird watching, mostly of blue-footed boobies and frigates. Because there are no predators on the island, the birds are easy to approach. At one point, two blue-footed boobies were in the middle of our path and would not move out of our way, so we skirted around them, coming within a foot away. On our way back from the island, our boat stopped for 30 minutes of snorkeling, where we were able to see some beautiful, multicolored fish.

The weather in Puerto Lopez ruined the beach vibe, so we decided to head back to the mountains to a volcano called Quilotoa, that we had heard great reviews of. We stayed in a small, sleepy town outside the mountain in a funky old hostel run by the sweetest little man (and I mean little, he was maybe 5 feet tall, as is common with many of the indigenous people living in the mountains). Everyone in town was dressed in the traditional garments that you would see in a National Geographic article on the Andes, and Spanish is for most of them not their native tongue. Instead, they speak Quechua, which was the language of the Incas. 

We spent most of a day at the top of the volcano, where a lake has formed in the crater from where it once erupted. We walked down into the crater to the lake, where we both jumped in for a quick and very chilly dip. The sun felt so good up there at the high elevation, even though the air was crisp. We ended up getting that sunshine and tan that we had hoped for on the coast. And we can now say we have swam in a volcano!

The next day, we left the sleepy town for the big city of Quito, Ecuador's capital which lies on the equator. This was our last stop as I was soon heading home. We only spent a few days there, which were pretty laid back. We spent our first full day walking around the city, stopping at a large park for a few hours of slack lining and hanging out with some 18 year old boys who wanted to practice their English. We then went to a delicious Hare Krishna restaurant that was recommended to us by the boys, followed by a walk through the historic old town (which was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in the 1970s). Old Town contains buildings and cathedrals built by the Spanish in the 1600s during their colonization of the region and have been restored over the last few decades. On the main cathedral, rather than having gargoyles or angels decorating the outside walls, instead they have statues of local Ecuadorian animals such as turtles, monkeys, anteaters, pumas, and iguanas. They were a surprising and cool added touch to separate this cathedral from all others that I've seen around the world. 

The next day, which was my final day in Quito, we took a long bus ride to the northern end of the city to visit a monument on the equator. A large statue with a globe-like sphere on the top is in the middle of this monument park, with a yellow line painted to mark the line between the northern and southern hemispheres. During some earlier research we did of the monument, we read that the line is actually about 800 feet off from the equator, but we figured we were close enough and enjoyed taking photos of ourselves strattling the "equator". 

That night, I flew home from the Quito airport. About two weeks earlier, while in Baños, Mary and I both decided it was time to end our travels soon. We were both tired of traveling, and missing our respective homes and our friends/family there. It was a very tough decision for us to make, as this would mean we would be going to different places, but in our hearts, it felt like the right thing to do. We enjoyed our final 2 weeks together exploring this beautiful country, and had more fun and happy times in those 2 weeks than probably any other 2 week stretch during our year and a half relationship. 

Though it made me sad to leave, I am also happy to be home. It's great not living out of a backpack, not living in hostels and cooking in kitchens where nobody cleans their dirty dishes, not using dirty bathrooms that often have no toilet paper (TP was like gold on our trip, we were always collecting stashes of it whenever possible), not taking showers that are supposed to have "agua caliente" (hot water) but actually are luke warm at best, not taking long bus rides every 3 or 4 days, not always worrying about being pick-pocketed or robbed, not always worrying about finding clean water to drink,  and not drinking gross, instant coffee (despite being in the thick of some of the world's finest coffee plantations, the cheaper option of Nescafe instant coffee is what everyone in Ecuador and Peru drinks). And the big thing both Mary and I are ready for is stability in our lives. It was almost two years ago that I moved to Korea, and since then I have been traveling, constantly making new friends for short periods of time, and heading to other places. It gets exhausting after a while, and I am now ready to be in one place, find a high school Social Studies position, be with the same friends for more than a few months, and plant my roots. We met many travelers who were taking one or two year long trips through the Americas, and though it seems to be working out well for them, I have learned that it's not the life I want. Though I do plan to continue traveling throughout my life, I have no desire to take trips lasting several months/years. I'm happy to once again have a place to call home. 

Hopefully I will soon land a teaching job here in Portland and begin a whole new adventure. I plan to use my trips abroad in my lessons as a Social Studies teacher. While all Social Studies teachers teach about the world, very few of them have seen much of the world. I would like to think this gives me an advantage as a desirable candidate for teaching jobs, and look forward to sharing my worldly experiences with my students. 

Rafting in Banos

Banos

Banos

Cuenca

Cuenca

Cajas National Park

Cajas National Park

Cajas National Park

Ingapirca Ruins

Ingapirca Ruins

Whale Watching

Isla de Plata

Frigates on Isla de Plata

Blue-footed Boobies on Isla de Plata

Quilotoa Volcano

A Cathedral in Quito