There are many theories and ideas as to what exactly runs the world. It could be anything; love, money, respect, power—the list is infinite. But to the indigenous people of Quito, Ecuador, it is the genuine appreciation for “Pachi Mama,” or Mother Earth. The Keene State College Honors Program had the opportunity to learn about their perception of the world during their trip to Ecuador from May 14 to June 1.
Honors students must maintain a grade point average of at least 3.5. The program is strictly exclusive to KSC and is not affiliated with any national societies. Instructed by Skye Stephenson and Dottie Morris, the Global Engagement course educated the 15 honors students during the semester about the specific country they were traveling to.
Contributed Photo: Junior Shae Cole works with children in Ecuador at a “minga” with the indigenous university architecture students. A minga is a communal work done to benefit the community.
“We learned about some of the geography in Ecuador, the history,” said junior Hersch Rothmel. “We also learned about ethnocentrism, so like, how we’re from America and mostly white and how that was going to affect the way we perceive the people of Ecuador and how they perceive us.”
The honors students also learned details about the indigenous people of Ecuador, including their struggles, according to junior Shaelyn Cole.
The first segment of their excursion was spent in Quito, the capital of Ecuador.
A welcoming ceremony was presented to them the first day.
“It was absolutely beautiful. Everyone held hands and said what they were thankful for and a prayer to mother earth, which they call ‘Pachi Mama,’” said Rothmel.
The students lent their hands to indigenous students by helping renovate an intercultural university in Quito.
Their campus, however, is nothing like a traditional American university. A meetinghouse and tiny little shack rooms is all it contains. Indigenous architecture students worked alongside the honors students. They took this time to interact with one another and educate them about their philosophies.
“They gave us lectures about what cosmovision is, which is their world view. And they told us a lot about what they struggle with politically as indigenous people and what they struggle with socially,” Rothmel said. “They talked about what they’re trying to do for marginalized people within Ecuador.”
After the renovation project, Cole and Rothmel detailed how they all played soccer in a nearby field, talking and laughing while listening to music of the locals.
“Something that really stuck out to me was, you see that they’re in poverty,” Cole said.
“They don’t have as much as us. When they see us they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re American, you have everything! You must be so happy to be American!’ But they’re the happiest people you will ever meet. They go out of their way to talk to you and ask you how you are. When you think of things like that, you don’t think they’d be so happy and so thankful for everything because we take a lot of it for granted.”
The honors students also visited the sights in Quito, such as a tour of Colonial Quito where the Spanish first colonized. They traveled to Otavalo, which is a wealthy city filled with artisans, tradesmen, and plenty of tourists. But what seemed to be the highlight of the trip was the Intag Cloud Forest Reserve.
“I thought it was the best part because in the Intag, they’re fighting against copper mining companies. They live in these cloud forests which only make up 2.5% of the global topography. They’ve been in constant battle of resisting the copper mining because not only would it displace thousands of people, but it would destroy one of the most amazing and diverse ecosystems in the world,” Rothmel said.
Cole said she is normally not one to hike, but hiking for hours in the Intag was an amazing experience.
“We saw the most beautiful birds, we saw all these different insects you’d never see. And the waterfalls – I swam in the waterfalls and I never thought I’d do that,” she said.
Aside from a semester’s worth of education paired with the experience a textbook can’t offer, the students brought home life lessons that will stay with them forever.
“The last day was surreal,” Rothmel said.
“I think the biggest thing I took out of the trip was having conversations with people is the best way to learn about anything. When you really sit down and talk to people and learn about their experiences, it just puts a whole new light on it that no theory or political stance can offer.
“You can get so detached reading stuff, and you really get to thinking you know everything, but when you go out and you actually experience it, and you actually learn from people, and talk about them and their experiences, you never stop questioning. And it opens up so many doors. Just listen to people’s experiences.”
Kattey Ortiz can be contacted at kortiz@keene-equinox.com