MANINTHEMIDDLE: A Years Travels and Adventures at or Near The Equator

MANINTHEMIDDLE is an account of a year in living Ecuador from July 2011 to August 2012. The author, a resident of New Mexico, taught English at Escuela Politécnica Nacional, which is considered Ecuador's best technical university, and lived in the Old City of Quito, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. The journal relates the struggles of learning how to survive in a new culture, not the least of which picking up the language, as well as how to protect his belongings from the expert thieves and pickpockets that ply their ancient trade on the streets and public transports of the city. He relates his travels to various places around Ecuador using the country's extensive bus system. Some considerable time was spent visiting the Oriente, Ecuador's Amazon region, including living with a Kichwa family in Rukullakta, in Napo Province. The author also visited the infamous oil town of Lago Agrio, in Sucumbios Province, and stayed with a Cofán family in Dureno, near Lago Agrio, where he witnessed the environmental destruction caused by Texaco, Chevron, and Petroecuador. By the end of his stay the author has developed a deep affection for the country and its people. Viewing the materialism, violence, and superficiality of his native country from the perspective of living in Ecuador, he wonders about the effects of these values on the formation of his own personality, and entertains the idea of living in Ecuador on a more permanent basis.