Among the bones of cormorants
About a week ago I received an email from the study abroad mailing list that stated one option for our assignment while abroad can be maintaining a blog. At first I thought it was a great idea, my mom is already forcing me has suggested to me that I keep a blog, so that would be less work for me. Kill two birds with one stone, or another appropriately cruel metaphor. Then I actually started to think about it, do I really want to link this blog to Willamette's website? I'm not sure my blog is the kind they want as an example to the rest of the student body, it's a bit...unorthodox shall we say? I'm thinking mainly of the k-pop.
Nevertheless, their prodding has prompted me to actually want to post some information about Ecuador.
The República del Ecuador is located to the southwest of Columbia and to the north of Peru with the equator cutting through its middle (hence the name).
Ecuador is about the size of the state of Nevada, but due to the extreme changes in geography it has four distinct regions, each with their own climate, flora and fauna. La Costa is the low-lying area in the west which includes the Pacific shoreline. La Sierra is the middle area, in the mountains where, due to the altitude, it remains temperate year-round, despite being so close to the equator. El Oriente or La Amazonía is the amazonian basin to the east. (Why has the font changed to italics? I can't fix it) Then there is the Región Insular which includes the Galapágos. All this diversity in geology aids the biodiversity present in Ecuador which is one of the most noted in the world, they are discovering new species like this looker everyday
In terms of people about 65% of the population identifies themselves as mestizos which is mixture of Spanish and Amerindian, 25% are Amerindian (of which there are 11 different groups), 7% caucasian and/or other, and 3% are descendants of Africans brought over as slaves. 95% of the population is Roman Catholic the remaining 5% being comprised of about 4% Protestant and 1% other. The majority of people live in either la Costa or la Sierra, Guayaquil being the largest city followed by the capital Quito (where I will be living). The official language is Spanish, but indigenous languages are spoken as well, especially Quechua, which was the language of the Incan empire. Okay two trivia facts and then I need to help paint Daniel and Kiley's new house: the currency of the Ecuador is the U.S. dollar and the national hat is the Panama hat (the name is a misnomer, the iconic hat is actually made in Ecuador). Okay, that's it for now.
Nevertheless, their prodding has prompted me to actually want to post some information about Ecuador.
The República del Ecuador is located to the southwest of Columbia and to the north of Peru with the equator cutting through its middle (hence the name).
Ecuador is about the size of the state of Nevada, but due to the extreme changes in geography it has four distinct regions, each with their own climate, flora and fauna. La Costa is the low-lying area in the west which includes the Pacific shoreline. La Sierra is the middle area, in the mountains where, due to the altitude, it remains temperate year-round, despite being so close to the equator. El Oriente or La Amazonía is the amazonian basin to the east. (Why has the font changed to italics? I can't fix it) Then there is the Región Insular which includes the Galapágos. All this diversity in geology aids the biodiversity present in Ecuador which is one of the most noted in the world, they are discovering new species like this looker everyday
In terms of people about 65% of the population identifies themselves as mestizos which is mixture of Spanish and Amerindian, 25% are Amerindian (of which there are 11 different groups), 7% caucasian and/or other, and 3% are descendants of Africans brought over as slaves. 95% of the population is Roman Catholic the remaining 5% being comprised of about 4% Protestant and 1% other. The majority of people live in either la Costa or la Sierra, Guayaquil being the largest city followed by the capital Quito (where I will be living). The official language is Spanish, but indigenous languages are spoken as well, especially Quechua, which was the language of the Incan empire. Okay two trivia facts and then I need to help paint Daniel and Kiley's new house: the currency of the Ecuador is the U.S. dollar and the national hat is the Panama hat (the name is a misnomer, the iconic hat is actually made in Ecuador). Okay, that's it for now.