Sunday was dedicated to the family from that of the Holy Mother Mary at church to Jorge and folks at dinner. The morning began early with a visit to Advent St. Nicholas Church, a small international, English-speaking church. My father and I sang in the choir complete with a seven-minute rehearsal before the service. Then the Marken family recited the Advent Lighting reading as Daniel and I lit the four candles. Yes, indeed only a few more days until Christmas; no more candles to light but Christ’s! The service was enjoyable and certainly traditional but amazingly ecumenical. People from all over the world and from various faith backgrounds participated in worship and the cookie/coffee hour afterward.
I really appreciated the “Adult Forum” after church that focused in part on discussing the results of Coppenhagen. I have a good idea of various effects climate change is affecting my friends in East Africa, but the weather reports and dire circumstances of this Latin American country are just as grave. One gentleman offered an article by a Chilean editor who stated that climate control had to start much deeper than mere practices and reductions of production. The change must come with an attitude change about growth. The idea and goal of growth is causing ever-higher amounts of pollution. Why do we seek to grow when sustainability might be just as beneficial to our lives and more so in time to come? From here we must think about reaching a happy medium by finding a level of sustainability for “developing” nations and an acceptable compromise for those who over produce. The world “developing” is even a misnomer and cause for confusion if sustainability is a new goal. How far does a nation need to develop? How much motivation and self-worth does development and growth provide?
After church and the multiple conversations with diplomats, retired engineers turned photographers, and schoolteachers, we traveled north to the equator. Traveling is unique anywhere I travel. Even folks from Spokane, a wintery city, have a much different mindset than those in the winter-windyland of Casper. Picture Quito as a cross between San Francisco and Kigali, Rwanda. There are tremendously steep inclines that wind around and around the various hills of Quito. Taxis do not mind such topographical challenges though; they go 60 mph regardless, up or down the hills. Thankfully, taxis do not include motorcyclist, or not many, so only a few brave souls swerve in and out of traffic. Stop signs read PARE, which in theory read STOP but in reality mean HONK or SPEED UP. Even the buses, which have their own lane, go mock speed until 3 meters before the bus stop. If one is not holding on to a rail or seating down with hands braced, one’s face would be kissing the windshield, or 20 of your new, closest friends. Finally, though the roads are good and traffic moves fairly smoothly from lane to lane (open space to open space) the rationing of electricity created automatic gridlock. I think the police guard hired on 25 new officers just to man the major intersections and direct traffic.
So we traveled in a friend’s car to the equator, enjoyed a buffet of traditional Ecuadorian food including plantains, cold shrimp/tomato soup, and fresh avocados. Don’t worry RU, they had potatoes and rice, too, so you and Daniel could have had a pleasant meal together. (I skipped the flan.) Oddly enough, we saw another family from our delayed airline enjoying the buffet. I didn’t say hi but I somehow felt like recommending a dish to my flying companions. The equator has a large monument with a world on top and several dozen touristy, market shops around. The equator must create a magnet between “local” art and me because I bought my first Ecuadorian purchase at a lovely gallery. We took a long taxi ride home in time for a bit of down time then dinner prep. Oh my dinner!
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