We took this day for ourselves, after spending many, many days interviewing and writing reports. We were going to return to Cotacachi, but opted instead for Cayambe, a much larger and busier town, as it turns out. Cayambe is known for bizcochos--a kind of biscuit with a lot of shortening in it, very crispy and salty. So everywhere we went, we saw them advertised. We had already eaten some, so I passed. Cayambe was a bit farther afield than we have been before on our own. We had seen it driving into Otavalo and thought it was pretty. There is a lot of new construction. We found people to be very friendly there, very helpful. The city has a tourist office, where they explained our map and told us not to pay more than $3 for a ride to the tourist sites. The mountains around the town are pretty, too.
During the bus ride, we saw again how many people get on at one stop, distribute their merchandise to anyone who will accept it--a piece of gum or candy usually--then give their spiel at the front of the bus, sometimes very impassioned and go back down the aisles having guilted everyone into paying 25 to 50 cents for their piece of gum. Sometimes the people just give it back, but many people seem to reward a good performance. One lady promised to pray for everybody who would contribute to her bus fare to where she needed to go. I think it was more urgent than that sounds, but I don't yet have enough Spanish to understand the spiels.
Sometimes one person will start his or her spiel and another will get on the bus, walking through with ice creams or plastic cups full of watermelon or pineapple. The first person will wait until that one has finished to begin again. We have of course seen this in Chicago (although it is much more difficult than it used to be on the trains and impossible on the buses). It struck me again how difficult it is to earn enough money to support the family. When there are no jobs, low wages, and so many more people being born every year, the pressure is enormous.
Someone wrote about changing the economy to one of barter and sharing. Certainly there would be a different attitude toward money. I wonder what would happen? Would people only trade for the things they really need or want? Would there be as much waste? I don't know.
The application for the French Markets for the summer arrived. We will fill it out tomorrow and send it in. We've decided that we'll still be selling in fair trade markets, at least until Christmas. After that, or combined with that, we don't know.
We came back to Otavalo for a late vegetarian lunch in the patio. So pleasant there! We'll have to do it again tomorrow.
My class is tonight--I so look forward to these. I never know what new release from old pain and old patterns will come. Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage--these are constructed by the not-yet-developed minds of children. If only we can see them, we can remove them, these old imprisoning patterns. Every day I thank God for the possibility of changing my thoughts AND my reality.
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