Day 18 - Crunch Time

Ten page report due tomorrow. That’s all for now.

Day 17 - A Quick Inventory

I realized today that we have less than one week left in Ecuador, so I came up a list of ten things I have to do before I leave.

1. Find the waterfall that Marco told us about.
2. Catch the sunrise over Guayaquil on a clear day.
3. Finish my term project on fuel cells, and give a presentation.
4. Check out the iguana park in Guayaquil.
5. Spend a night out on the town with the Ecuadorian students.
6. Finish the puzzle the group has been working on in our downtime.
7. Climb the steps to the lighthouse at Malecón.
8. Pick up some traditional souvenirs.
9. Visit downtown Guayaquil.
10. Keep up with this blog.

Day 16 - A Global Education

Today, Professor Marco was a guest lecturer for our class. He talked about harvesting solar energy, and particularly the astronomy behind catching the sun’s rays. It’s fascinating to think about where the sun is in the sky and why, particularly along the Equator. No matter what time of year, the days here are always twelve hours. And the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn aren’t just trivial. Try revolving a globe around a light bulb, if you’re curious.

Day 13 - Welcome to Quito!

We just flew in to Quito for a weekend get-away. The capital city is completely different from Guayaquil. It’s twice as high as Denver, and you can really feel the difference in the air. Quito is truly in the mountains. Most of the city streets are steep like in San Francisco. Along the streets are colorful old buildings and churches, giving Quito a unique personality.

We had dinner in what they call “Gringoville,” which is a way of saying “tourist trap,” but it was refreshing and relaxing. (You know you’re in a tourist trap when you hear Bob Marley on repeat.) Tomorrow, we have an early morning for a day of exploring.

Jaime and Dr. Besser check out the equipment for the biomass experiments.

Day 12 - Taking Data

My group took data today on the fuel cell in the laboratory. We're going to use the data to design a fuel cell system for a home. The man who was teaching us about the equipment doesn't speak English, and I don't speak Spanish. One student in our group speaks enough English to translate, which is extra challenging in a technological setting. He did a great job, though, and it felt great when I finally understood the concepts. Now it's time to crunch those numeros!

Day 11 - Ecuador Wins!

After class, we watched the big soccer game against Argentina. We saw it on a little TV in one of the lounges on campus with another student in our class and his friends. It was a lot like watching sports in the US, only much more intense. The group was very animated, and they reacted to every single move. In the second half, Ecuador scored two goals, and everyone started jumping and cheering. It's cool to see an entire country support the same team so passionately. Ecuador ended up winning the game, 2-0!

Day 10 - Movie Night!

After working hard again all day, we took ourselves out to see Angels and Demons at the local mall. Lucky for us, it was in English with Spanish subtitles. It was a little refreshing to go back to our own culture for a couple hours. Great movie!

Tomorrow, there's a big soccer game between Ecuador and Argentina. The local students in the class are very excited, so we're going to see what all the fuss is about.

Day 9 - Lunes

The trip this weekend took a lot of our energy, and going back to class was exhausting for all of us. They have Mondays here, too. We learned about carbon sequestration, which is actually pretty interesting. We'll spend most of the week studying and working on our projects.

To unwind after a long day, we made fajitas for dinner!

Day 8 - Headed "Home"

We headed back to the ESPOL campus we call home here, but not before a quick lunch in a town on the way. We stopped at a little outdoor restaurant for some more ceviche. A bunch of bootleggers came over trying to sell us one-dollar DVDs. Professor Besser posed for a picture with one of them.

"Mi hermano perros," as Marco would say.

Ceviche!

Day 7 - Jet Skis and Sun

The rule to sunscreen here is: apply, and reapply. I learned this the hard way today. I greased up in the morning, before we went in the water. We drove to a public beach in a nearby town. After swimming for a while, a few of us rented jet skis. This turned into one of the most exciting experiences of the trip, and it was totally worth it. Lucky for us, we all made it back to shore with no harm.

Later, we went to lunch at a hotel where Marco's sister works. (Marco is the very witty ESPOL professor who joined us on this excursion.) The food was my first taste of real Ecuadorian cuisine, and it was delicious. We had seviche, which is a cool seafood stew with shrimp, fish, octopus, and lots of vegetables.

We spent the afternoon touring a few beach towns, and I spent the night regretting my sunburn. I better go apply some more aloe...

The sun sets over the ocean. We watched it from the cliffs.

Day 6 - A Trip to the Beaches

Today we took a trip out to the Ecuador's beaches for the weekend. We're staying at another ESPOL campus in a petroleum-themed town called Ancon. With no idea what to expect, we came prepared to rough it and live off the land. But to our surprise, we're living in a mansion on a cliff overlooking the most amazing beach I've ever seen.

The town is nice to walk in. Dogs play in the roads, and people smile as you see them. Along fences and walls, political murals advertise for upcoming elections. This region has a special spirit, and it really feels like another world, now. Most of all, it's very comfortable.

Days 4 and 5 - Busy, Busy, Busy

The past couple of days have been full of studying and exploring. Our projectos are keeping us busy, but not too busy to miss the sunrise. A few of us woke up extra early today to hike up to a plateau and watch the sunrise over Guayaquil. We didn't think to check the weather first, and it was too cloudy to see anything spectacular. On the bright side, we noticed a trail we hadn't taken, and we think it leads to the elusive waterfall. We'll take that another day.

Last night, we went to the Malecon, a large walkway along the river. The river is much wider than the Hudson, and we'll go back there during the day for some better photos. At the start of the walkway is a big lighthouse on top of 400 stairs, and along the walkway are all kinds of restaurants, monuments, and gardens. In the neighborhood of the Malecon is an iguana park. It's at the top of our list for the next trip into the city...

Colorful and delicious!

Day 3 - Fueling Ourselves

We started working on our group projects today. Each group is a mixture of students from the different schools, and we will have to design an alternative energy system to meet a specific need. My group is working with fuel cells used to power a residential home. The other two groups are studying biomass energy production and solar panels.

Our group took a trip to Laboratorio de Fuentes Renovables de Energia ESPOL (lab.FREE) to see a fuel cell in action. We will later use it to take data for our project.

Later in the day, we fired up the grill for some dinner. We grilled chicken and peppers, and served them with tomatoes, pasta, and pineapple. It turned into a feast, and it was delicious. Next time, we’ll make smores!

Rubén showed us how to run the fuel cell.

These “gatos” reminds me of my cats back home.

A photo from the hike

ESPOL stands for Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral.

Day 2 - First Day at ESPOL

Our “Sustainable Energy” class began this morning, and I can tell it will be enlightening. About half of the students are also from Stevens, and the rest are local ESPOL students, with the exception of one student from the University of Florida. Everyone was very friendly and excited to welcome us to their school. The course focuses on the social and economic aspects of the global energy crisis in addition to the engineering concepts behind various energy systems. I’m looking forward to learning more.

In the afternoon, a couple of us went on a hike. We found some hills with amazing views of Guayaquil, had a run-in with a donkey, and found a small, secluded pond. I’ve heard rumors that there is a waterfall somewhere in these hills, and it’s our goal to discover it before the end of the trip. More to follow tomorrow…

We’re staying in the suites on campus. They are both luxurious and rustic.

Day 1 - Bienvenidos!

Today was our first full day in Ecuador. We arrived late last night in Guayaquil after two quick flights and a long line at Passport Control. (The recent pandemic has everyone a bit uneasy; they gave us all medical masks to wear as we entered the country.)

Our accommodations are fantastic. We are staying in chalet-style houses on the ESPOL campus, where we will begin our class tomorrow. The houses are on a hill overlooking all of Guayaquil. Aside from a few local “roommates” (ants and spiders), the house feels like home. It’s even air conditioned, which is refreshing after a day in the Ecuadorian heat.

Outside the house, Ecuador is a little more foreign. The trees have a different shape to them, and the roosters wake up before my alarm. The language barely resembles what I remember studying in Spanish class five years ago, but I think my memory is starting to come back to me.

We spent most of the day settling in and gaining our bearings. Breakfast is early tomorrow, and class will last all morning. In the afternoon, I hope to explore and snap some photos of the beautiful scenery!