Reflection on the First Group Meeting

It's been ten days since the first meeting of our group of travelers, and I've (naturally) been starting to think a bit more about the trip. Learning some of the details in the meeting--particularly that we'd be snorkeling while in the Galapagos and spending time in a rural school--have helped me feel a bit more excitement amidst the trepidation. It seems like I'll be the least-experienced traveler in the group, which isn't really surprising...I'm not quite sure what to feel about it, though.

I learned a lot from Daniel Fernandez-Davila's presentation; how could I not? He was energetic, passionate, and knowledgeable about Ecuador's geography and demography. I loved how he brought in a relief map of South America to impress upon us how the Andes have shaped the continent's history. The moment Daniel mentioned the word cordillera, I was transported back to my 8th grade global studies class, when I first learned about the geography of Latin America. Putting my fingers on the cordillera helped me understand in a new way just how a mountain range can separate groups of people.

http://johomaps.com/sa/sa1.html

Daniel's discussion of the fall of the Incas also brought back memories for me. As he said, many people blame diseases, particularly smallpox, for the destruction of the Incan empire, but they neglect to consider other factors, such as enslavement. As a Spanish major in college, although I focused my studies primarily on peninsular literature, I took classes on Latin American culture and literature as well. For one of these classes, I read a book called Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias by Bartolomé de las Casas. De las Casas was a Spanish colonist who became a Dominican friar. Though it was not the popular view of his contemporaries, de las Casas spoke out against enslavement of and violence against native peoples. This book recounts the poor treatment of the indigenous peoples of the New World (specifically, those on the island of Hispaniola) by the Spanish colonists. This text has stuck in my memory for nearly a decade, as I believe it captures the complex interactions of the colonial period.

http://www.tower.com/brevisima-relacion-de-la-destruicion-las-indias-bartolome-casas-paperback/wapi/101316432

In the coming weeks, I hope to practice my Spanish speaking and reading skills a bit, as well as research more details about the story of Darwin's experiences on the HMS Beagle. More soon!