(Learning to) Expect the Unexpected

When you live in Ecuador, sometimes you just have to expect the unexpected. Going with the flow, rolling with the punches . . . these are important skills here. One day you may end up feeding lions and an Andean bear, another day you might find yourself at an Ecuadorian rock concert. Then one day your friend might tell you something like, “There’s a problem with the police. Watch your step, my friend.” Then you might check the news and find out that the National Police decided to go on strike and fire tear gas at the President because he supported a new austerity law that limits some of the benefits that they enjoy. Then the government might declare a State of Emergency, and the day might end with a televised military assault on the police hospital in order to get the President out of his hospital room. This is all true. I did not make one bit of it up. I promise. Really.

Sometimes good things also happen unexpectedly. Sometime just before the police began lobbing tear gas at El Presidente, I received an email saying that one of my grant proposals (submitted in December) was accepted! Whoever Mohamed Bin Zayed is, he is our new favorite person in Dubai, and probably in the whole United Arab Emirates for that matter. Thanks to his generous donation of oil money to species conservation, we FINALLY have funding for my project, and I am excited that I will be able to pay for the equipment, lab fees, and a small stipend for our living expenses. It’s such a relief to know that we won’t be going into more debt while we are here doing my research. However, it also adds more pressure to find the frogs! We spent all day Saturday looking at the known sites and at some new sites for Atelopus at Mazan, and still did not have success.

Okay, get this. On Sunday, Brad and I started the day by attending church. We hadn’t decided which church to go to (Cuenca is famous for how many churches there are in the city) so we drove to the central historical district, parked the car, and went to Santo Domingo because it was the closest. We walked into the church and found a seat near the middle. We were soon joined by a few more people, then a few more, and then a few more until there were more people in the pew than could possibly sit, or kneel, or worship in comfort. So we got a program and waited patiently for mass to start.

We were unaware, but this particular Sunday happened to be the fiesta for “La Morenica del Rosario.” Mary was regaled in through the middle aisle with a mariachi band and fireworks. They passed out posters of Mary, and the songs and readings were related to the festival. We were unable to follow along in the program outlined by the archdiocese because the readings were completely different. The priest walked up and down the aisle as he gave the homily, making eye contact with all of his parishioners. He again walked down the center aisle to give communion to everyone. We felt very welcome at the church, held hands with our neighbors to pray, offered the sign of peace to those around us, and the lady next to me tried to explain the celebration. Then everyone held up their posters of Mary and the priest blessed them with Holy water. The experience was so different from anything that we had experienced at home, but also really beautiful.

Afterwards, we went to Cajas to do some more field work. I’d been feeling pretty down about my work because I hadn’t been able to find the species that I’m looking for. Many of the wetlands are dry, and without wetlands I cannot find the tadpoles that I am looking for. To get to the site, we had to convince several rangers that we had official permission (the permit is still sitting at the park office, waiting for the signature of the director). After some hours of hiking and searching, we caught 15 tadpoles at 4000m! We gave thanks to Jesus on the spot.

If you can possibly believe it, we still have two more things to tell you about. So . . . Brad went to the public hospital on Monday, and he was asked by one of the doctors if he was available for a surgery at a private hospital the following day. You see, it seems that the doctor’s surgical assistant injured her shoulder and will be out of operative action for some time. Brad was asked to be the assistant for the surgery, and it was hard to say no in front of the five other people listening to the conversation. After he spent the morning being a surgical assistant in Spanish, we had some lunch and drove over to the site where our friend, Ernesto, is building his zoo. He knows several pools that are good spots for tadpoles in and around his land, so we went in hope of keeping Sunday’s momentum going. We were not disappointed, and we collected 30 more tadpoles at about 2600 meters.

The real fun for the day came as we were attempting to leave the zoo. The property is situated on a hill that overlooks the city, and the dirt road up to it is quite steep. We forgot to mention that it had been thunderstorming off and on all afternoon, making the dirt road a muddy mess. After our car fishtailed sideways on a bad turn, we called Ernesto for help. The photo clearly demonstrates the difficulty of the driving conditions, but we were able to get our car safely down the hill. Ernesto’s truck went sideways on the same turn, so then we helped him navigate his way down. Chelsea is reminded daily of the Jurassic Park ride that used to be at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. What people go to an amusement park for in America is just the daily commute for us here in Ecuador.

Finally, yesterday (Wednesday) Jose and I did some field work while Brad worked in the hospital. This was the first time I've ever done field work by motorcycle. Just imagine me hanging on for dear life on the back of a motorcycle, tadpole nets flapping in the wind, as we rode through the Andes. The view was spectacular, we managed to catch 15 more tadpoles, and Jose gave me a short lesson on using our new camera. I'm making progress, and you can expect to see better photos!