Today I'm going to take a break from talking about teaching. There has been a cultural and societal events transpiring recently, and it's important to share all of that information as well!
First, I'll talk about our dinner the other night. Two days ago, two other girls that are staying in my home ran into my room telling me to come outside. They told me that Consquelo and her friend, Ofelia, were making dinner, and I needed to come watch. As soon as I stepped outside of my room, I saw a chicken get its head chopped off! They held him down, so I didn't see him run around without a head.. After, they stuck him in boiling water so they could take the feathers off. While Consquelo was cleaning the inside, she found three eggs! The shells were actually soft; it was the weirdest thing to feel! Our dinner that night was one of my favorites, though! I also found out later that she had just taken him from the street..extremely organic!
On a more serious note, there have been many political changes recently that are negatively impacting the people of the Galápagos Islands. The president of Ecuador made new laws in the past week that are going to change life on the island significantly. You see, everything in the Galapagos already costs double or triple the price of items on the mainland due to the cost of importing literally everything. For example, on the mainland a bottle of water costs $0.25, but on the islands it costs $0.80-$1.00. It has been this way for many years, but thankfully the people have created laws that do not allow for anyone other than indigenous people of the islands to have businesses on the islands. This helps to protect the jobs of the people here, as otherwise people from the mainland would bring items over for cheap and sell them for more, making none of the money go back into the economy of the islands.
However, this all changed last week. First of all, the president of Ecuador implemented a 50% tax on all wages to only the people of the islands. When everything costs so much already, the people will struggle to even afford rice and bananas, the staples of food here. Another law has been put in place that terminates the previous law not allowing people from the mainland to have businesses in the Galápagos; now, anyone is allowed to come here to sell souvenirs, open restaurants, and build hotels. In this law, there is also no protection for the land in the National Park (which is comprised of 95% of all of the islands). As soon as this law was enacted, construction has started for the building of a 7-acre five star hotel right behind the most remote beach in San Cristobal. This is all happening within a week of the laws; I can't imagine the long-term impact that it will have.
The people on the islands and on the mainland are outraged at these changes. For the last week, peaceful protests and marches have been occurring daily on all of the islands and in Guayaquil and Quito. Last night, two ministers from the mainland came to talk to the people, and 4,500 of the 7,000 people on San Cristobal gathered to meet at the airport and follow the ministers to where they would speak. Tomorrow, the entire country of Ecuador is going on strike. Schools and businesses will be closed. More importantly, though, is that no transportation will be running. The Ecuadorian government requires that transportation never ceases, so the fact that the entire country is on strike is going to send a huge message. There will be no taxis, no buses, no boats, no cruises, and no airplanes. The chain of reaction that this will have will have a huge impact, especially with the planes. Four volunteers are supposed to leave tomorrow, but they were told they can't leave until at least Monday.
Although I am slightly concerned about everyone's safety here, I find this whole experience very interesting. In the United States, I have never witnessed a protest by this many people in my lifetime, especially a peaceful one!
First, I'll talk about our dinner the other night. Two days ago, two other girls that are staying in my home ran into my room telling me to come outside. They told me that Consquelo and her friend, Ofelia, were making dinner, and I needed to come watch. As soon as I stepped outside of my room, I saw a chicken get its head chopped off! They held him down, so I didn't see him run around without a head.. After, they stuck him in boiling water so they could take the feathers off. While Consquelo was cleaning the inside, she found three eggs! The shells were actually soft; it was the weirdest thing to feel! Our dinner that night was one of my favorites, though! I also found out later that she had just taken him from the street..extremely organic!
On a more serious note, there have been many political changes recently that are negatively impacting the people of the Galápagos Islands. The president of Ecuador made new laws in the past week that are going to change life on the island significantly. You see, everything in the Galapagos already costs double or triple the price of items on the mainland due to the cost of importing literally everything. For example, on the mainland a bottle of water costs $0.25, but on the islands it costs $0.80-$1.00. It has been this way for many years, but thankfully the people have created laws that do not allow for anyone other than indigenous people of the islands to have businesses on the islands. This helps to protect the jobs of the people here, as otherwise people from the mainland would bring items over for cheap and sell them for more, making none of the money go back into the economy of the islands.
However, this all changed last week. First of all, the president of Ecuador implemented a 50% tax on all wages to only the people of the islands. When everything costs so much already, the people will struggle to even afford rice and bananas, the staples of food here. Another law has been put in place that terminates the previous law not allowing people from the mainland to have businesses in the Galápagos; now, anyone is allowed to come here to sell souvenirs, open restaurants, and build hotels. In this law, there is also no protection for the land in the National Park (which is comprised of 95% of all of the islands). As soon as this law was enacted, construction has started for the building of a 7-acre five star hotel right behind the most remote beach in San Cristobal. This is all happening within a week of the laws; I can't imagine the long-term impact that it will have.
The people on the islands and on the mainland are outraged at these changes. For the last week, peaceful protests and marches have been occurring daily on all of the islands and in Guayaquil and Quito. Last night, two ministers from the mainland came to talk to the people, and 4,500 of the 7,000 people on San Cristobal gathered to meet at the airport and follow the ministers to where they would speak. Tomorrow, the entire country of Ecuador is going on strike. Schools and businesses will be closed. More importantly, though, is that no transportation will be running. The Ecuadorian government requires that transportation never ceases, so the fact that the entire country is on strike is going to send a huge message. There will be no taxis, no buses, no boats, no cruises, and no airplanes. The chain of reaction that this will have will have a huge impact, especially with the planes. Four volunteers are supposed to leave tomorrow, but they were told they can't leave until at least Monday.
Although I am slightly concerned about everyone's safety here, I find this whole experience very interesting. In the United States, I have never witnessed a protest by this many people in my lifetime, especially a peaceful one!