Friday, June 19

Ponchos
When I arrived at the Terán home, Matilda and Carmen were working with ponchos. They asked me to cut apart red ponchos. Once they had all been cut, Matilda, Carmen and I began to groom red and white ponchos by picking any little twigs out by hand. Matilda and I continued with this task and Doña Carmen began to fix ponchos that had strings sticking out or little holes from mistakes made while weaving. I believe Carmen told me the red ponchos are to sell in Spain, but I’m not sure.
The prices for ponchos are: $12 – adults; $9 – for kids; $5 – really small

While we were cleaning ponchos, Michi – the female cat – flipped. Literally, she pounced on José Pepe, and somehow, she ended up a foot off the ground, doing a back flip. It was quite possibly the funniest thing I’ve ever seen! I wish I had it on tape; it would be a winner on America’s Funniest Home Videos. When she flipped, she landed on the poncho I was cleaning. I didn’t know what had happened; just saw a kitty flying at me. She meowed and took off running. When I looked up to figure out what had just occurred, apparently, my face was aghast. Matilda and Carmen found it funny, making the moment even more hilarious. We laughed for a good 5 minutes. When Olga came back, they each had to tell her the story, with more laughing each time. It was a good moment!

Olga makes and embroiders shirts for indigenous women. Prices vary depending on the difficulty of the embroidering. A shirt with roses and more colors costs more: $25, while a smaller and simpler shirt costs less: $20. I was a bit shocked by the prices. I honestly expected them to be more expensive for the amount of time and effort that goes into them. Also, I know that traditional indigenous clothing has gotten really expensive, so I expected it to be more costly. I suppose that is expensive, though, for people who may only make $10 in a day at the market.

Olga works the machine with a foot pedal and changes the color of the thread by hand. She has to guide the cloth by hand to make sure the machine embroiders the proper area. I was a bit surprised to see Olga use 2 Singer machines to do the shirt embroidering.
Olga said it takes approximately 1 day to embroider 1 shirt using the machine. If the shirt is more complicated, it takes longer.

Olga makes her own shirts, so she has quite a few. She said she likes that she can make whatever she wants. She even has some designs that are just for her, not to sell. She also makes all of Matilda and Carmen’s shirts. When she has time, she helps Carmen, but she mostly makes shirts.
She has several scraps with example patterns in all kinds of designs: peacocks, snails, rabbits, strawberries, symbols of the church (for her, not for sale), flowers, people, etc.

Olga taught me – or tried to, rather – how to embroider. I was so excited at the prospect of making Grandma proud, but I don´t think my ¨work¨would elicit that emoition... Let’s just say it was pretty rough. I had difficulty keeping a steady rhythm with my foot, as the pedal seemed to stick often. Olga had to help me get started and restarted (and restarted…) by spinning the wheel on the machine (the one I was supposed to be spinning with my foot). Once I got going, though, I did alright for a while. I was really bad at guiding the cloth when I first began, but then I got a better feel for the pace and motion, and I did a little better. My work is pretty bad, but I did improve as I did more. That gives me hope that maybe, with lots of practice, I could be decent.
It was fun when Olga was teaching me because everyone kept stopping in to see what was going on and how the gringo was doing. It wasn’t in a harsh manner, though. They were just curious how I was doing, surprised/excited that I really am willing to try everything they do.

In Ecuador, floras de pensamientos (pansies) are used as medicine for headaches. A family buys pansies when they are little, plants them around the house, and then they can used them whenever they are needed. It’s an interesting home remedy.

I met Diego, a cousin/neighbor. He helped Olga think of words to teach me in Quichua. Then, they asked me what words were in English. They were disappointed that we don’t have a name for Diego and that Matilda and Olga are the same. I told them that Michael is Miguel, and they got this mischievous look on their faces, like they were going to call Stuckart Miguel the next time they saw him. It was fun to share the learning experience. I like being a student, but teaching is fun, too.

While waiting for Jason, I also met Segundo. He lives in the corner white house that serves as the meeting point for Jason and me. While I was waiting, Segundo began a conversation with me. He told me that he lived in Boston and LA, and he wants to practice his English. He was really nice and interested in what we are doing. Either the people here are better at faking than at home, or most people are genuinely interested in/excited for us. I told Segundo we were here to study Inti Raymi and its effect on textiles. Like everyone else, he wanted to know if I danced. I told him, “Yes, I like to dance, but I don’t know this kind of dancing.” His response was, “The dancing of Inti Raymi is like a Pow-Wow but different.” (After seeing Inti Raymi dancing, I agree)

Quichua
Diego, Olga, and Matilda asked if I knew any words in Quichua, and I said yes (the first 2 on the list). Then, they asked if I was interested in learning Quichua. I said yes, but just a little because it’s hard. This is what they taught me:
Pacha mama – whole world; mother earth
Taita – father
ñaña – hermana
guyoki – hermano
churi – hijo
kayacama – hasta mañana
guting shamugi – vendra otra vez
alipunja – buenos dias
alichishi - buenos tardes
alitota – buenas nochas
shepay shepay – go (cats)
chukshi – go (dog)
Now you can see why I said it is difficult…