Notes from the TTS 19 Travel Journalists...

From Isabelle:

Guayasamin Museum Visit

The eyes were what struck me. They bugged out of their shallow, waxy sockets as if they were yearning to be free. I was in Guaysamin´s museum in Quito, Ecuador. Guaysamin was a famous artist who is known for portraying the suffering of Latin America in his large oil canvas paintings. His most well known work is the "Ternura." It shows a mother with black, wild hair and a weary expression cradling her son, who is peering out from her protective embrace. It represents Guayasamin as a child and his mother. Both are shown with protruding ribcages, which represents his family´s poverty.
The piece with the eyes that struck me is called "The Waiting." It consists of several different canvases, all aligned down a wall. One or two emaciated men take up each canvas. The background is black, for death, and the bodies of the men are white, which depicts fading hope. Although Guayasamin used a limited color scheme ad fairly abstract style, the emotion expressed is analogous to that of a striking photograph. The men are Jewish, waiting in concentration camps during the Holocaust. Their weary, pleading expression was captured in their eyes alone. Through a series of finite, thoughtful brushstrokes, the passion Guayasamin felt was portrayed so clearly that it came through to me like a jolt of electricity through the starving, nameless man´s eyes.

Rose Plantation Visit

Before my visit to the rose plantation, I had a very particular view of roses in my mind. They belonged in bouquets, gripped behind an anxious boy´s back as he waited for his sweetheart to answer the door. I had never considered that eight days before the boy purchased the roses, they were sitting in a vat of chemicals in a warehouse much like the one I visited in Ecuador.

Javier Burvano, the director of quality control, gave us a tour. It is one of more than 30 rose plantations in the area, and produces an average of 40,000 roses per day. With 200 workers and 40 greenhouses, they consider themselves to be a medium sized facility. Although the plantation is certified by the Rainforest Alliance, Javier admitted to us that they are "mostly organic," referring to the fact that they use synthetic chemicals on occasion. However, all of the greenhouses we passed through had "peligroso" signs on the doors stating the times of the last fumigation.
Workers around us were clad in protective gear as they handled the roses; gas masks, raincoats, and thick gloves. Roses around them were soaking in the harsh smelling chemicals. When I inquired about the health of the workers, Javier said that while he had never gotten sick, some workers do experience various symptoms. In our research, we found that these problems can include headaches, cataracts, several types of cancers, infertility, and miscarriages. He also explained that if employes prick their fingers on a rose thorn, the chemical pesticides can enter their bloodstream and damage their heath. Employees are paid minimum wage, about 220 dollars per month, and are deducted 40 cents for each rose they miscategorize or damage. Javier confidently shook his head "No," when asked is that salary was enough to live on. While the health of workers and the environment is a concern, the rose plantations in Ecuador provide many jobs. Roses make up a valuable third of Ecuador´s exports and are an important part of the economy. It was a bit disheartening to see something that I think of as so pure produced in such an industrial setting- it seems so contradictory. The rose business responds to demand. For example, Russians demand long stems and big flowers. Roses bound for Russia are cut to 90 centimeter stems while those shipped to the U.S. are cut to 70 centimeters. If everyone demanded truly organic and sustainable flowers, plantations would have no choice but to produce them.

From Kay:

Rose Plantation

The pungent smell of chemicals assaulted my nose as I took my first step into the processing center of the rose plantation. For a plantation that claimed to use organic chemicals, the smell was sure harsh on the senses. Chemicals are used on the roses while they are growing to avoid a brown edge on the petals, as well as to eliminate bugs. Once the roses are cut, even more chemicals are used to keep them fresh and beautiful. As I watched the harvested roses move from vats of what smelled like chlorine, straight into workers' hands, I had to wonder - is this really safe? We were told that the chemicals are short lasting, but what does that really mean? They can`t possibly be so quick to fade that, in the minute it takes the roses to get to the hands of the men and women sorting them, the chemicals are ineffective. Maybe it was just the headache I had after five minutes, but I didn't get a good feeling about the plantation. Organic can mean anything, depending on how you look at it, and the plantation we visited would definitely not be my first pick of jobs. In fact, when Director of Quality, Javier Bruvano, was asked if he would want his kids to work here, he responded "No." He wanted them to continue their education and find careers. We should know we have a problem when, in the beginning, our lovely smelling gifts to sweethearts are tainted by the sour fumes of chemicals.

A Trip to Quito

After a trip to an old cathedral, our class headed to Independence Square. When we arrived, gathered on the steps of a museum and had a quick lesson on the history of Quito. Our concentration was tested, as there was a protest going on outside of a government building just across the square. It was unreal, learning about the history of a city, sitting in the center of that very city, and observing a peaceful protest. Also, as we were in an urban area for the first time, everyone pulled out their money and bought an ice cream bar - a refreshing break!

From Bobbi:

My glimpse of The Traveling School

I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. Many of you may have heard that I recently injured myself. On Sunday, I tripped over a hammock and fractured my jaw and a bone in my chin. I am not able to stay on this semester for the time being, I have to go back to Bozeman this weekend to receive physical therapy. While this breaks my heart, I am so incredibly lucky to have spent the past 15 days with TTS19. Getting into the TTS routine is something that you cannot understand unless you are a part of it. If you know enough about TTS, I am sure you feel apart of it. The past 15 days have blown me away. Before I arrived in Ecuador, I did not realize how empowering TTS is. The fact that 21 WOMEN can travel around the world together- camping, volunteering, hiking, learning, engaging in other cultures, learning to accept people for who they are, and bonding as a group that will always be a family of girls. This was my glimpse of The Traveling School. Once again, I am heart-broken to leave, but I want anyone that is reading this to know that your daughter is one of the luckiest girls I know to be a part of such an inspiring program. Thank you for getting them to South America. Every girl on this trip has a gigantic heart, and I promise you they are having the experience of a lifetime as we speak. To the parents of Lucy, Stacy, Katie, Tate, Payton, Livvy, Izzy, Emily, Brianne, Sarah, Erica, Helen, Ina, Mary-Katherine, and Kay, please know that your daughters are strong, and are learning to become adventurous, genuine, intelligent and inspiring girls. They are in good hands, and I appreciate each and every one of them. Go TTS19! -Bobbi

From Helen:

Oyacachi

Waking-up to my watch alarm at 6:15 am to a wet Thermarest was not my favorite. Neither was discovering that one of my two tent-mates had shared my pillow with me all night. My hair stuck out at impossible angles- at least, that is what I assumed from looking at Tate and Kay. However, when the tent was opened, and then the rain fly zipped away, I was greeted by the cloud forest rising up from the fish bowl that was the indigenous village on the edge of the rain forest, disappearing into the Andes. Overnight, the oppressive drizzle and fog from the day before had lifted, revealing a vista of dense vegetation and waterfalls. My grogginess evaporated like I wish the damp would. It was not just the most beautiful place I had ever woken up in, it was more the realization that I had just woken up in a cloud forest in Ecuador.

Rose Plantation

Until my eyes adjusted to the dim light of the warehouse processing center of the rose plantation we toured, roses came from quaint gardens. Then I blinked and that romantic view of flowers dissolved. An Ecuadorian worker inspected rose after rose, efficiently sorting them into groups. It looked like monotonous and boring work. The roses on his left were the best of the harvest, while the ones closest to me were too diseased, ugly, or short to export. Around him, a dozen other workers were engaged in the same tasks, routinely sorting hundreds of roses. I realized that this rose plantation was much more a factory than a farm. A farm, in my rural Tennessee opinion, should smell like its crops. However, the only fragrance reaching my nose was the not-so-sweet smell of chemicals. This, was a rose factory.
Continuing on the tour of the processing center, I observed the flowers soon to be be brushing some sweetheart´s nose dunked in giant vat of a pungent, unknown liquid. The worker doing the dunking was dressed in a red plastic apron that covered all skin not protected by his rubber boots and gloves. Most disturbing was the gas mask he wore over his nose and mouth. A few minutes later Javier, our guide and the director of quality at this plantatin, explained that the fertilizers and other chemicals they used were "mostly organic." If the organic flowers sold in grocery stores back in the US had undergone similar chemical processes, I would be sure to wash my hands after handling them. Next time I see a bouquet of Ecuadorian roses for sale, I won´t be imagining a garden and a single farmer delicately picking them. I will instead imagine a rose plantation in this northern province of Ecuador with 40 greenhouses and a processing center churning out 40,000 a day of a product about as natural as CoolWhip.

From Erica:

Rose Plantation

Our noses were greeted by the sweet smell of freshly cut flowers as we walked through the side entrance of the rose plantation processing building. However, this pleasant smell would not last long. As we walked further into the building, my nose detected the astringent smell of chlorine, among other chemicals. Our guide said that the tubs of water that we passed were for keeping the flowers hydrated between harvest and processing. From the smell of things, they contained more than just water. After touring the processing building, we walked through some of the plantation´s 40 greenhouses. During our tour, the familiar floral scent I associate with roses was strangely absent from the greenhouses. I noticed a sign outside of one that read:

Caution Fumigation

Chemical: Acrobat

Toxicity: IV

Earlier, our guide told us that this plantation was organic. However, my definition of organic does not include fumigation as an acceptable form of pest control. Maybe it was a trick of the mind, but I began to feel the onset of a headache. Once I regathered my thoughts, I began to ask questions. What is the significance of an organic label if the facility can cause headaches within one hour? Where is the romance in the smell of chemicals?

Ultimate Frisbee in a llama pasture

After being allowed to sleep in half an hour, we put on our exercise clothes and headed out to an ultimate Frisbee field. Well actually, the field was more like a pasture. A llama pasture. All the girls played fiercely, while in the back of our minds we were were very aware of the possibility of being spit on by a llama. And by the end of the game everyone returned to the hacienda unscathed.

From Lucy:

Rose Plantation

"Organic," he said as we stepped into the rose classification room, surrounded by workers in plastic suits, rubber boots, gloves, and gas masks. They wore thick gloves, not risking a finger prick from the "organically" treated roses. "Well, mostly organic," clarified Javier, our guide and the director of quality at the rose plantation we toured. Mostly organic? The United States has a strict set of guidelines and policies outlining the specifications that must be met in order to become certified organic. These guidelines include a rule against synthetic chemicals. However, this plantation used the term in a far different way. At the plantation, about 40,000 roses are exported daily, double that amount around Valentine´s Day. In order to keep these precious roses free of parasites and diseases, the flowers are fumigated in pesticides. After this process, humans are restricted from entering the green house for 6 hours. These chemicals cause skin diseases, miscarriages, and other major complications. Despite this, the plantation uses the term organic to characterize its cultivation process. What struck me was the diversity in bud sizes and stem length of the various roses. Javier explained that the longer and larger roses are for Russian clients, who demand 90 cm stems. He then compared a Russia bound rose to an American one, and the difference was drastic. The American clients, for whatever reason, demand small buds and only 70 cm long stems. What the clients demand, the plantation produces. If a plantation cannot conform and produce what the client requests, they will lose that business, and consequently, a huge source of income. What if the clients demanded truly organic roses? The chemicals used during the rose cultivation process are potent and dangerous. The only way to keep the workers and the environment healthy is to demand organic roses. What we request, they produce, so let us begin the movement toward safe, fresh, and chemical-free roses. After all, who want a skin disease for Valentine´s Day?

From Livy:

Rose Plantation

As I step into the large, cool warehouse at the rose plantation we toured in northern Ecuador, I am hit first by the commotion of workers packing, classifying, and unwrapping roses and then by the strong, sting of chemicals as I take in my first breath. The ruckus is increased ten-fold by rapid, Spanish chatter and festive Latin music blasting from the loudspeakers. We meet Javier Bruvano, Director of Quality at this rose plantation, who shows us the long, delicate process of rose cultivation. First, Bruvano demonstrates how the cut roses are wrapped in a Maya, a piece of heavy netting that bundles 25 roses, before being placed in a tub of cool water mixed with harsh-smelling chemicals to help preserve the delicate beauties. After this, the roses are classified based on size and appearance. As we walk through the warehouse, I notice that many of the employees don rubber gloves, boots, aprons, paper masks, and some even wear gas masks. Bruvano tells us that the chemicals can harm humans if they breath the pungent vapors for too long. Although he doesn't elaborate on the inhalation of the chemicals, he does add that if you prick yourself with the thorn of a rose the chemicals could make their way into your bloodstream. As for the health effects, he says to ask a doctor, but research shows that exposure can result in headaches, irritated eyes, cataracts, respiratory and neurological symptoms, and some women have trouble getting pregnant of have miscarriages. After touring the processing warehouse, Javier leads us to the greenhouses- long white tents containing rows and rows of this prickly plant. As he stops to tell us more about how the rose is grown, I notice a young man in yellow rubber boots wipe the sweat from his brow while shoveling a manure trench around the entire greenhouse. Javier then tells us that the average wage for rose plantation workers is $292 per month. When asked if one is able to live off of this wage, Javier replies simply, "No." As the tour progresses, Javier laughs bitterly and tells us that it is more 'comfy' for the plantation owners to pay the workers less, but it is not so 'comfy' for the workers. Ont top of low wages, if a worker wrongly classifies a rose, 40 cents per bad flower is docked from their already meager paycheck. The 200 employees here, an average-sized plantation when compared to the many flower farms in Ecuador, are not required to wear any type of protection from the harmful chemicals, but most do so by choice. The employees work long weeks for little pay in harsh conditions to send the biggest and best roses all over the world and particularly the United States- so what can we do? You as a consumer have more power than you might think. The market of roses revolves around supply and demand. Americans tend to buy roses with a stem of about 70 cm while Russians prefer roses with a stem of about 90 cm. Javier even shows us the height difference of the roses sent to the different countries. Obviously, these Ecuadorian plantations grow what the people want. If the Russian market demands a bigger bloom, the rose plantations supply it. If the US were to demand flowers grown at a plantation that was healthy for the workers, their wages, and the environment? Perhaps our equatorial partners could supply that too.

From Brianne:

Rose Plantation

At the rose farm we toured, employees dress in bright yellow jumpsuits to protect themselves from water and chemicals that could harm their skin. I thought it was crazy that they give the biggest, healthiest, and most beautiful roses to the United States and Russia while keeping the sick and not-so-pretty flowers here in Ecuador to sell at the local markets. The workers at this farms are led to believe they grow their flowers organically but as an outsider looking, the fumigation signs clearly state when it is and is not safe to enter the greenhouses. The workers know if they get pricked with a thorn the chemicals can get into their bloodstream. The plantation grows what is demanded by their clients. I think that most buyers do not know the processes that roses go through or that humans are being exposed to harmful substances. Rose plantations provide many jobs for locals but the pay is not enough for them to live off of and most of the employees at this rose farm do not have a second job. If more Americans and Russians wanted organic roses and fair wages to plantation workers, perhaps we could put an end to using harmful pesticides on beautiful roses that just sit in a vase in our kitchens looking pretty for a few days until they die.

The Equator

After a long walk down dirt roads, we arrived at the equator. I hopped back and forth between the southern and northern hemisphere. At one point, I did the splits and my body was exactly centered on the equator. After learning a lot about the equator, we headed back to our hostel but took a different path. We met a local working in a garden who said "All you girls are so pretty and we have nothing like y´all here."

From Emily:

Rose Plantation
Compared to his rubber boots, gas mask and apron, his thumb seemed naked, inappropriate in a way I couldn't decipher. My eyes darted away from the man as I saw his head look up, and for some reason I felt like I had caught a glimpse of something not meant for my eyes. Regardless, my eyes greedily drank the image of his exposed thumb and felt the strange sense of adrenaline pulse through my hand as I jotted down my observation. Notebook in hand, I tried to look as inconspicuous as possible as I observed the short frame of an Ecuadorian male as he innocently dunked a dozen beautiful roses into a vat of unidentified chemicals. I tried to hide my cringe as the flowers emerged from the churning brown bin. Drips of foul smelling liquid trickled down a pathway of thorns onto the worker´s exposed right thumb, which protruded from his rubber glove.

I found myself distracted by the attire of the other workers and as Javier Burvano, our tour guide and director of quality for the rose farm, discussed the different flower market demands, I grew distraught with questions about the pesticides used here. Throughout the rest of the tour, I scanned Javier's answers to our questions and with every bit of information, I grew more concerned. We've read that chemicals used at rose plantations can cause environmental problems and health effects such as infertility, miscarriages, rashes, headaches, throat problems, and cancer. Javier mentioned that a prick of the finger could ultimately channel pesticides directly into the bloodstream, all the while sustaining a confident smile and outward pride for the questionably "organic" farm. As our tour came to an end, so did my anger towards Ecuadorian regulations. After three hours of observing workers and being appalled by the chemical processes, I realized the power of consumers. A new awakening in my thought process released an array of questions. If Russia and the United States, the two largest rose consumers, didn't demand 40,000 clean cut and precise roses every single day, would the workers at this rose farm find a less effective, but better alternative to pesticides? If consumers took a moment to erase the flower hot line contact from their smart phones and simply started demanding truly organic roses, who knows? Maybe Ecuadorian workers making $292 a month would dramatically benefit from the change in market demand. If only it were as simple as that.