2011-04-20
She looked at me and then asked me whether I believed in God. I was shocked. I took a moment to take stock of the situation: an old Ecuadorian lady was asking me philosophical questions. I had just crawled through lava tubes and was returning the flashlights to her. And oh yes, I was on...
Read More2011-04-05
It is a bit funny to me how much time and effort is put into security in the United States. Although robberies do occur, they are often infrequent events where I live. From my experience, in Long Island, NY, a house robbery occurs maybe every few years. Then again, we have alarm systems, video cameras...
Read More2011-03-31
Welcome to my farm! After living here for a while, I have now become able to distinguish between different crops and their ages. (It’s a very important skill to have). Besides coffee, yucca, guava and papayas, we also have begun to grow carrots, radishes, lettuce and more garden types of food. We have orange trees...
Read More2011-03-16
I think this blog post should begin with an apology. I kind of gave my host family the impression that eating meat was a sin for Jews. I apologize to all the meat loving Jews for making my host family think that all Jews cannot eat meat. So I went to Church (again). Although this...
Read More2011-02-14
I saw a garbage truck in Apuela. My first thought was that it was not real. My second thought held such certainty that I almost could not believe that it was not true. I thought that the world had ended. I physically had to walk around the truck and touch it, both to confirm the...
Read More2011-02-06
I close my eyes and try not to take a deep breath. I feel the healing man hover above me, blowing tobacco filled smoke into my face. All I could think was, “Is blowing this smoke into my face really going to cleanse me? It seems so dirty.” I relax a little as the healing...
Read More2011-01-28
Usually I stay in the lab growing, cultivating, reproducing bacteria and fungi. However, recently I had the opportunity to visit the farms. Part of lab work is going outside and seeing results. Did the trichoderma (a bio-fungicide) work? Is the coffee healthier and stronger? So I went on one of these excursions to see how...
Read More2011-01-19
Take a look at my photo essay touring through the coffee factory.
Read More2011-01-11
This video was shot at Alberto’s house. Alberto’s family have a cuy (guinea pig) farm. On rare or special occasions they will prepare cuy to eat, as they did when I was there. The video depicts Alberto’s host father slaughtering the cuy and then his host mother removing the hair and the guts. ¡Buen Provecho!
Read More2011-01-09
I’m pretty much used to prayer services that are held in one’s home, because I am from an observant Jewish family in the US. It does not seem that weird to me if people want to gather together and create their own worship place. I just was not expecting it to happen in my house...
Read More2010-12-03
I was incredibly excited to go to the monthly meeting. Naturally, seeing all the Fellows that I had not been able to contact and to hear about their apprenticeships was a highlight, but the thing that I looked forward to having the chance to take a shower. After having previously been told that the shower...
Read More2010-12-02
You know how you run around the house making sure that you have everything you need and then you leave the house with a sense that you forgot something-something quite important? Well that happened to me. I left the house with a foreboding feeling that I forgot something. And I did. I forgot my shoes....
Read More2010-11-24
Take a look at a photo essay I put together introducing my new life in Ecuador: [slidepress gallery=’liza-david-1st-slideshow’] Note: Move your mouse over each photo to see the captions!
Read More2010-11-10
Let’s take a coffee farmer- we’ll call her Maria. She lives on and owns a coffee farm. On this farm she picks coffee beans. She then sells her coffee beans. For this venture, she has two options: She can sell her beans on the open market at a price that is below her household cost,...
Read More2010-10-14
On Saturday I did something a little different than usual- I went to Church. Well actually, I went to many Churches. But the most interesting and perhaps the most ironic part of the experience was that none of us (my host mother, my host sister and me) believe in the Catholic Doctrine—but I will get...
Read More2010-10-01
I am sitting in a lecture hall, surrounded by thirty-two new faces. The seat is slightly uncomfortable; I adjust myself. The speaker walks in, is introduced and begins to lecture. As I sit listening to the speaker discuss the concepts of change, development and freedom, I am struck with a strange notion. These are not...
Read More2010-09-21
It has been so exciting to finally start this journey. Before, it was an abstract idea; something to tell people offhandedly, “Oh yeah, I’m going to Ecuador”. And even now, the idea of going to Ecuador is only somewhat of a reality. After all, I am still in the United States, albeit I am across...
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