Questions Arising!

Hello to Ecuador-trip parents! Some questions are coming up – and rightly so. We’re nearing the big day! Here are some answers to the ones I’m hearing about:

What is the emergency phone number (or way to get a hold of you) if we need to get a message to you or our child?

There are several routes for these communications. First, however, a short list of Key Things to Know regarding electronic- and tele-communications in Ecuador, in general and as they relate to the trip:

1. There are public phone booths everywhere. These are businesses set up by private citizens: They get ten phone lines put in, install some soundproof cabins and electronic meters, and start making a living. I call my wife every day from one of these when I travel to Ecuador, and talk to her for 20 minutes or so and pay about $2.00. They’re literally on every block in downtown Quito, and there are two in Mindo, a town that’s at most four hundred yards square. These are the only two places we’ll ever stay. If they don’t call, it’s not because they can’t.

2. There are Internet cafes everywhere. Some of the most rewarding and fruitful cultural exchanges I’ve ever seen on these trips have come between our students and the generally young, hip staff people in these cafes. I will update the blog daily from one, and every day will have chill time in it for students to make their way there. And make their way there they do. If they don’t write, it’s not because they can’t.

3. Cell phones, iPods, Blackberries, etc., are fine fodder for pickpockets and purse snatchers. Foreigners are already conspicuous enough in any big city without flashing their expensive electronics. There’s plenty to see and do, and to worry about, without throwing these pricey, easily-lost / stolen items into the mix.

Again, for these reasons, I do not recommend that students bring along their cell phones on the trip. I won’t keep them from bringing one, but neither will I alter the schedule or the pace if one is lost / stolen. My view is that they shouldn’t have had it on them to lose in the first place.

If students do not bring their phones, and even if they do, the channels for families to reach students, should the need arise, are these:

Families can call us at one of the hotels where we are staying, and the staff will get a message to us as soon as they can. However, they do not all speak English. The hotels where we will be staying are:

Feb. 13-14: Hostal Andalucía, Queseras del Medio E11-269 y
Andalucía, Quito, Ecuador. Phone number: DIAL THIS: (Number being found! Check back soon!)

Feb 15-16: Hotel Gallo de la Peña, Mindo, Ecuador.
Phone number: DIAL THIS: 011 593 9 3494 740

Feb 17-19: Hotel San Francisco de Quito, Sucre y Guayaquil, Quito, Ecuador.
Phone number: DIAL THIS: 011 593 02/2287-758
(Web site: www.sanfranciscodequito.com.ec)

Another possible route for emergencies (and I stress: emergencies) is through my wife, Janneke (pronounced “ya-nuh-kuh”, rhymes with “Hannukah”) van de Stadt. I will be talking to her at least once a day by phone, usually in the evening, and she can relay a message to me quickly should the above methods fail. She also speaks Spanish; if need be, she can make a call for you to our hotels.

Janneke van de Stadt
Business hours: 413-597-2268
Evenings, and mornings until about 8:00 AM: 413-458-1985

But I will be checking my email much more often than I will be speaking with my wife – at least twice a day, before we set out on the day’s adventures and once we’re home. Again, this is at the very least. The quickest way to get information to me might be to send me an email. My email address is jjohnson@lenoxps.org.

There is a philosophical debate to be had about cell phones on these trips, I suppose. I come down on the Fuddy-Duddy side of things. Class excursions to other countries happened long before the days of cell phones and instant access. Immediate twenty-four-hour-a-day accessibility is convenient, but it can get in the way, too. Students on these trips should, ideally, feel at least a twinge of “Oh my goodness, I am really far from home.” Cutting themselves off from their phones and their iPods would enhance that. There is some sacrifice of accessibility with this, but I would ask parents to please keep in mind that, while contacting us will not be a matter of minutes, if will still be only a matter of hours.

What shots do the kids need to get before they go off to Ecuador?

These decisions are best made by the students’ families in consultation with their doctor. But a great place to go to have that consultation is this:

Hillcrest International Travel Health Services
CHT (Certificate in Travel Health)
Hillcrest Family Health
165 Tor Court
Pittsfield, MA01201
413-499-2051

Make an appointment and go! They’re the experts, and different families decide on different levels of protection in terms of shots. But when I went, I can tell you that they gave me shots for typhoid and hepatitis. WE DO NOT NEED ANY SHOTS AGAINST TROPICAL DISEASES! We are not going below the “tropical diseases” elevation line.

Do we have the kids pack their own medicines (Tylenol, Midol, Tums, Stomach Medications, etc.) or will they be available to them through you?

School rules require that any medicines they bring be handled by me. They should be put in sealed, clear plastic bags with the students’ names on them and given to me.

How much cash do you think each child should bring with them at the start of the trip?

I learned a few things from students on these trips about how to spend money. Holy cow, some of them had holes in their pockets the size of soccer goals. But even they would have had a hard time getting rid of $100 between climbing aboard the bus and arriving at our hotel in Quito. We’ll be in airports, and will be given meals on our flights. There’s just not that much to spend it on, and there is no fee to be paid upon entering the country. I can’t see a good reason to have north of $100 on them, and even that makes my eyebrows go up a little. I’d think they’d be fine with $40. And once morning comes in Quito, there are ATMs popping up like mushrooms all over the city. Cash on hand for the trip should not need to be much.