Day 20

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1) feliz dia de san valentin!
2) roses from host family and from our program, and we each got a secret person to write a valentine to. very cute!!
3) first anthropology class in ecuador. learned about history of ecuador w/ regards to people and demographics, currently there are 14 indigenous groups are they are recognized as nations in the constitution but still lots of issues
4) we had a somewhat unresolved discussion about anthropological observation bc i think many of us felt uncomfortable about it
5) went to local markets to experience (and observe?)! bought a lot of fruit, there was also cheese, meat, prepared food, traditional medicine, flowers
6) i bought flowers for my host family, pitahaya (small dragon fruit) for me, blueberries for my sick roommate, and also chirimoya for me. the chirimoya is delicious!! very unique flavors
7) afternoon was our debrief. its been a very long week since we didnt really have a weekend, and we've been doing so many new things! lots to think about as we combine our learning from US food systems with whats going on in ecuador
8) word of the day: spaces
9) dinner was llapingachos (reminds me of our mashed potato pancakes!) and quinoa soup, also jugo de papaya y maracuya! todo bueno
10) went on a little valentines day adventure with the host fam to the park where there were flowers in hearts to take pictures with and then to a nice view of an old church. lots of fun riding in the car with a 3 yr old :D







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