An earthquake started off my weekend

When you move to a new country, you hope to become a part of them; their culture, their food, their way of doing things, generally, part of their good. I doubt anyone wishes to be caught up in the ugly; the poverty, disease, crime, prejudices and biases. In a new country, we want to attend more baby showers, weddings and if possible never have to be part of a friend’s funeral. We can be prepared, we can take precaution, but we can never be assured of unpleasant happenings. Natural disasters are such one thing and Mother Nature is a big part of the equation.

Shortly before 9 AM Saturday morning, during one of those sleeping-in weekends, I was woken up by the most violent shaking and my name being shouted out. I have felt the earth move twice before and so even in my groggy state I instantly knew that we were experiencing an earthquake.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Quito earthquake of October 29 was a magnitude 4.0 at a depth of 3 km, 17 km NE of Quito. Additionally, local reports say that the 20 seconds quake epicenter was at the valley of Cambayo. As I scrambled downstairs for safety, the entire house [a concrete structure] shook like a leaf and it felt like someone kept pulling the floor off my feet.

As fast as it had started, it came to an end and then the phones started ringing as friends called to check if everyone was okay. Local news reported no injuries, but the Secretaria Nacional de Gestión de Riesgos reported that many landslides had been triggered in regions closer to the epicentre. Cracks in houses were also reported.

Map courtesy of USGS

About three hours later some friends called that they were stuck in the office as the bridge connecting the two valleys over Rio Chicho in Tumbaco was closed to allow inspection. As I write this, this bridge remains closed.

Yesterday’s event left me curious about earthquakes in Ecuador. I hit the internet in search of information and History.com didn’t disappoint. It appears that Quito has been the site of many powerful earthquakes through the years: The city’s history of earthquakes in modern times began with a monster tremor on February 4, 1797. Not only did an estimated 40,000 people in the city perish, but the quake activated the Cotopaxi volcano which in turn led to lava raining down on the town of Ambato. [Cotopaxi, rising to 5,897 m and located 28 km south of Quito is a continuously active volcano].

On March 22, 1859, the city suffered one of its worst when a tremor killed 5,000 people and destroyed some of the most famous buildings in South America including the Government Palace, the Archepiscopal Palace, the Chapel of El Sagrario and the Temple of the Augustines.

Following this disaster, Quito was not hit again by a major earthquake until August 1949, when a tremor south of the city killed 6,000 and left 100,000 people homeless.

Even though I know that earthquakes are quite a frequent occurrence in Ecuador, terremoto, Spanish for earthquake, is one noun I would have been fine not learning. Sadly, I also now understand that victims of earthquakes around the world never really get to know what hit them!

Ecuador: Culture

Examining what constitutes Ecuadorian culture, I’ve come to the conclusion that if you were a short-term visitor, your viewpoint of this country’s culture would highly depend on whom you socially relate to or spend time with. The security guard who catcalls when I walk past the gate, the British-educated university professor, the rich housewife with a trail of help [maid, nanny, driver], these help themselves, or even the expatriate who hardly associates outside their gated community.


EstherWambui/Photos
A view of Quito from Basilica del Voto National

I’ve observed that Ecuador’s culture is as complex and as diverse as its natural environment, sometimes seeming to be locked in a push-pull struggle for dominance. From what I’ve seen of this small country, her cultures intermingle, sometimes to a smooth blend, while other times each culture appears to be striving to maintain its own identity and history, to hopefully map a path into the future. Quito particularly is a clear example of this; from the North’s modern high rises to the Old Town (Centro Histórico) colonial architecture, suit clad professionals walking beside traditionally-dressed indigenous women with baskets or babies strapped to their backs, each day presents these contrasts.

EstherWambui/Photos
An Otavaleña walks through the market.
Notice her style - hair, necklace, blouse and skirts of those in front of her.

With a population of more than 13.7 million (UN, 2010), Ecuador is a multiethnic and multicultural nation, its culture mirroring the demographics of the country itself, a rich amalgamation of various ethnic influences. Like much of South America, Ecuadorian culture blends the influences of Spanish colonialism with the resilient traditions of pre-Columbian peoples.

Ecuador’s largest ethnic groups are the Mestizos (those of mixed Spanish and Amerindian ancestry) and constitute just over 65 per cent of the current population. Amerindians are second in numbers and account for approximately a quarter of the population. Whites are mainly Creoles, unmixed descendants of Spanish colonists, and form 7 per cent of the Ecuadorian population. A small minority of Afro-Ecuadorians, about 3 per cent, constitute the remainder (Ecuador.org).


Esther Wambui/Photos
A Tsáchila guide takes us through
the traditions of the tribe.

Thus, it goes without saying that the national culture is also a mixture of both European and Amerindian influences, infused with various other elements inherited through the descendants of the country’s African slaves. In addition to the national culture, many of the existing indigenous communities also practice their own native cultures and nowhere is this more visible than in Catholicism, their main religion.

Due to Ecuador´s compact size but diverse nature, one can experience a number of these various, distinct cultures within a day. Travelling just a few hours on the road brings you to entirely new communities with their own customs. For example, two and a half hours drive gets me to Otavalo, the most fascinating handicraft market I’ve ever been to, where indigenous Otavaleños, by their distinctive dress and crafts, proudly showcase traditional Ecuadorian culture. Another three hours from Quito to the West of the Andes takes me to Santo Domingo, home to the Tsáchila, an ethnic tribe whose men dye their hair red (like the Maasai of East Africa). A few more hours’ drive from Santo Domingo gets you to Esmeraldas, the north-western part of Ecuador, where majority of the people are Afro-Ecuadorians.

As you can see, my work is cut out for me and for the next few weeks, maybe months, I’ll serve piecemeals of Ecuador; Its peoples, their dress, food, religion, customary beliefs, attitudes, goals, and values that make this wonderful country what it is today - a place I’m enjoying living in.

Relearning old habits, in and around Quito

Buenos dias, Buenas, Hola, are words casually thrown your way as you walk around Quito, often times not within the city, but around it. Come to think of it, this may not be as casual since greeters always spare moments to catch your eye. The complete opposite of Toronto, where one of the first lessons I learnt was to as much as possible avoid eye contact with strangers.

So, here I’m in Quito, learning again how to greet strangers, and even go further with new acquaintances where a double peck on the cheek is the norm. I lost this great way of connecting with strangers after immigration. Torontonians are generally very physically distant. They might shake your hand and occasionally give you the curt smile, and will probably go further and say a word or two if you’re walking a pet or carrying a baby. Even neighbours often opt for the wave.

Here I’m Afro, yeah that’s what Ecuadorians call black people and people of African descent. I really like the title because it sounds so relevant and even more so for the fact that I now mostly spot an afro, as I haven’t yet found someone to braid my hair. I also haven’t seen a single Afro with permed hair!

Last week, I attempted my first bus ride into Quito, alone, and none of the people I know thinks that was a good idea. Apparently there are as many pickpockets as there are passengers, if that’s even possible. At this I tell people that I’ve been through the “School of Life of Nairobi, Durban and Johannesburg” and can generally apply safety measures. The buses are pretty clean, very inexpensive (USD 0.25 for a single ride) and the music played at a normal volume. What worried me was the break-neck speed the bus travelled at, through the snaky, winding hills.

Interestingly although unspoken, in many cases it’s okay to be late, fashionably late at least. And while making an appointment, I’ve learnt to ask, “Three o’clock normal time or Ecuadorian time?” It’s like that “African time” thing.

Here, guys are not discreet about admiring a woman. Though annoying, I’m not bothered any more when guys hoot or whistle at me. It means they are appreciating what they see. It’s very cultural. I recently complained to my 60 year old friend about this habit, and her comment was, "enjoy the attention, it stops".

Unbelievably, people here still do ask for and get rides from strangers. Although I’ll not be accepting any such rides, it’s nice to see that in a city that is not left out of crime circles, some amount of trust still remains.

I know now that although this is a very free society, it is also very formal in an odd way. Titles are very important here. If you’re not addressing people in relation to their marital status (senor, senora, senorita), then it’s always their education. We have that in Kenya too particularly with doctors/professors. The difference here is that even lawyers, journalists and architects go by their titles. And when you look deep into this, it’s a carryover habit from colonial times thus a big class marker.

Remember lunch hour[s] for workers, I lost that in Canada where lunch hour is either half hour or 15 minutes often spent eating at your desk. The lunch hour in Quito runs anywhere between one to two hours, this seems to me like half a day. But, this is a downside when you are being attended to and those serving you expect you to take a break as well. For instance, that same day I took a bus into Quito, I was going to have some paper work done. Come 12:30 PM, the guy serving me looked at his watch, said it was lunchtime and I should come back after two hours. He only needed 10 minutes more to finish with me and I couldn’t persuade him to delay lunch.

Of all my re-education, I am particularly glad that this is a rather relaxed, laid back culture - no rush except with drivers. This is very meaningful to me because although I am not a nervous person, my family has complained that since emigrating, I have become a tad bit “uptight and rushed”. Like excess weight, this is a description I seriously want to shed, and thus as I go along, I’m working to adopt and enjoy the Ecuadorian pace.