Field Trip- Ichu Cruz

Our professors- Andrea and Alicia- teach an intensive two-week class on floral biology.  Amanda and I went with the class on a field trip one of the days to a small town called Ichu Cruz- we learned about flowers of the region.

We had fun talking to the other students and getting to know them.  I knew enough Spanish to ask people where they were from, what they were studying, what they wanted to do after school and so on-  the same types of questions we typically ask (in the U.S.)  when first meeting people. 

We stopped near a river to eat lunch...

The cool water felt sooooo good!

I find it really fascinating to see just how important mate really is to this culture.  Many people carry around a thermos of hot water, their mate/bombillo, and the yerba so they can drink it throughout the day-  it doesn't seem to matter how hot it is outside either.  

(A few days later I went back to this class to hear some friends from the lab talk about their work.  There were three or four mates being passed around- it seems that three or four people bring theirs to class and then share it with friends.   There are certain  unsaid "rules" about the whole mate sharing thing- you NEVER swirl the bombillo (straw/filter thing) and you don't take too long with it when you are sharing with a group.   A couple of girls I met during the field trip passed me a mate and I- the extranjero- didn't want to look like a fool so I immediately started drinking with a big gulp. It scalded my mouth and made my eyes water- I couldn't taste anything for two days and probably still looked like a fool.  At least now I now that I like mate con azucar (sugar) better than amargo (bitter) - it was the first time I tried it with sugar.)

 

We saw some wildlife.

We also saw a really neat church or shrine at the top of this hill.

I haven't taken any kind of botany class so not only was I learning new Spanish terms, but I was learning some new things about floral anatomy.

It was a really fun day- everyone was really nice.