More bananas!

It's been a while. Right now I'm livin' it up in Quito on a pseudo-vacation, that is, a vacation from Machala! I had very good intentions of going to a conference about the introduction of a food security survey here in EC, but those plans went down the drain fast! I blame it on the 170 cable channels in my hotel room. Another reason I decided to flee Machala was that the family I live with was planning another trip to San Isabel for the weekend (Thurs-Sunday). I really did n't want to go, and the family won't allow me to stay in t he house when they're away (for good reason). At times I get overwhelmed living in their house--it's constant mayhem there. As one of my friends pointed out, however, this is the most intimate look I'll have at Ecuadorian life. Very true. I need to step back once and a while and remind my self of that.

Hopefully I won't need to justify a pseudo-vacation to Fulbright--I doubt I will. Seems like they help us out when we need help, dole out the payments, and let us do our own thing. I like this deal. Oh! And for those of you who were wondering (LM), I finally got my payment and am all set on the money front. Phew! They just announced our 'Mandatory Orientation' in Quito from October 30-31st. This cracks me up, since all of us have been in Ecuador for at least a month by now! It'll be nice to hang with the other FB'ers--we're spread out all over the country--Quito, Cuenca, Loja, Machala, Guayaquil, Puyo, and a few are somewhere out in the Amazon (here the Amazon region is referred to as 'el oriente').

On a fun note, Host Father's friend, Javier, is a nature guide and has offered to take me to the oriente. I plan on going next weekend. Before I leave South America I am going to find a flippin' anaconda. Mark my words! I didn't watch Jeff Corwin and Brady Barr all those years for nothin'! I'd also like to see some sort of wildlife--maybe a jaguar or a sloth. Sloths are so cool. Have you ever seen one climb up a tree? They really know how to kick it properly. Indeed.

On a less fun note, my project is finally underway. Well, sort of :-)
I've been slacking a bit but have managed to do about 25 interviews with banana farm workers--pre-tests, if you will. Believe it or not, I've learned alot about the banana industry. I'm inserting pictures to show the ins and outs of cultivating bananas. The process is almost identical in every farm, unless the farm is considered 'organic' (I should clarify: according to farmers that I've spoken with, organic farms use pesticides, but at a 'minimal' level- -whatever that means). Depending on the size of the farm, several (7-10) workers go out into the farm to cut down the bananas from the trees . The system is incredibly organized! Each banana tree is labeled with a colored tag. Different colors indicate different maturation stages of the bananas. On the 'dia del embarque', which is usually one or twice a week per farm, workers go out and find those trees with bananas that are ready to be picked and cut (as indicated by the tag). O ne worker bends the banana tree with all his might, while another worker forcibly cuts the banana bunch off the tree. The bananas are then inspected by the workers and those with marks or disease are thrown out (actually, they're thrown on the ground for others to grab and eat--really!).

Each section of the farm has its own system where bananas are loaded onto a pulley system of sorts and pulled into the processing part of the farm. Here's where the fun part begins. Bananas are sprayed with chemicals and pressurized water to rid the bananas of bugs and marks. When I was observing this process, I saw that the majority of workers were not wearing gloves, masks, or protective gear while exposing themselves to these chemicals. I asked the owner of the farm why the workers weren't wearing protective gear. He said that he urges the workers to wear the gear, but in fact, the workers don't want to bother with it (hmmm, ok). However, during the time of an inspection, workers don their gear--head to toe.

After the bananas are sprayed, they are transferred to a pool of water to continue the cleansing process. He re, workers cut the 'coruna' (top part) of the bananas and cont inue the inspection process. Unacceptable bananas are thrown into the reject pile, otherwise known as the 'rechazo'. This giant pile of bananas isn't exported to the US or Europe, rather, it is taken by truck and sold in the Sierra region.

Some of the rechazo is also given as gifts or used by the owner and
his/her family for food. These Ecuadorians sure do like th eir bananas--I never realized that a banana could be utilized in so many different ways. Sometimes my family even uses the peel for making banana cookies! Anyway, after the bananas are done bathing in the pool, they are taken out, weighed, inspected again, and packed up. Bananas headed to Europe are packed in airtight bags within a box, while bananas headed to the US are not packed in airtight bags, due to the shorter transport time. The workers then load up the boxes in a giant truc k that heads for the Port, where bananas are loaded onto a boat th at heads out for Europe or the US. In all, a very organized process that involves alot of work and manual labor.

Now ya'll are schooled in bananas. But that's only the beginning! :-)

(PS: Below is the cockroach that I slept with. Hey, if it's good for you.....)