Quechua: The language of the Inca

Travelers to the Andean countries are often surprised to learn that in many areas, the most commonly spoken language is not Spanish, but Quechua. Once the official language of the Inca Empire, Quechua remains the dominant language in much of Peru, including the Sacred Valley. It is is also spoken in parts of Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina, although there are significant differences between dialects. All told, about 10 million people still speak Quechua as their primary language, although about 75 percent of these also speak Spanish. Because Quechua was not historically a written language, the spelling of Quechua words varies.

Quechua is related to Aymará, another important indigenous language in the region around Lake Titicaca. Some vocabulary words are shared between the two languages. Quite a few Quechua words have even entered the English language through Spanish, including coca, condor, gaucho, guano, jerky, llama, potato, puma, and quinoa.

Here are some useful phrases to practice if you are heading to Peru or other areas in which Quechua is spoken:

How are you? – Allillanchu? (also used as a way of saying hello)
I am fine. – Allillanmi.
Goodbye (until we meet again) –Tupananchiskama
Excuse me – Dispinsayuway
Please – Allichu
Thank you – Sulpayki (or Yusulpayki)
You’re welcome – Imamanta
Yes – Arí
No – Mana
What is your name? – Iman sutiyki?
My name is _____ – Sutiymi _______.

Toni Neubauer reflects on 20 years of READ Global

Founded by Myths and Mountains’ president, Dr. Antonia Neubauer, READ Global (www.READGlobal.org) isa non-profit organization committed to providing individuals in rural areas with access to knowledge, resources, and opportunities to create better futures for themselves and their families. To date, READ Global has established 57 Community Library and Resource Centers in Nepal, India, and Bhutan, reaching more than 1.8 million rural villagers.

The idea for the organization was born when Toni asked her guide on a trek in Nepal what he most desired for his village. His answer? A library. This year marks the 20th anniversary of READ Global’s first library. Here, Toni talks about the success of READ and how travel philanthropy can make a difference.

What does giving back mean to you?
I’m really an iconoclast when it comes to voluntourism. There’s a difference between pity and compassion. There are certain types of voluntourism that I really value, such as Doctors without Borders. I really do not like the kind of voluntourism where people are going in and deciding what’s needed. A great many of the projects that people from the West do are liabilities ultimately for the people for whom we’ve done them. They’re the ones who have to pay teachers or doctors, buy medications, and so on.

For me, the goal is to create independence, not dependence. America likes quick fixes. When you’re trying to change society, to create a village, there’s no quick fix. It takes time to really work with the villages. There are no cookie-cutter solutions. Each country is different. We work with each government differently. We contract directly with the villagers. Each libarary is its own nongovernmental organization. In addition, all of our READ program staff are from in-country.

Why libraries?
I had started a lot of other things before READ, but they were like Bandaids on the problem. The challenge is to leverage scarce funds and reach as many as possible. It’s not just about education, but also aboutoutmigration. Many of the villages we work with lacked education, medical care, roads, and water. In the back of my mind was the question:How do you make a village a viable place so that people live, thrive, and propser? How do you find an economic business that will truly sustain a farming village in the middle of nowhere with no resources?

To me, a library is a catalyst for development. If you build a school, it’s only for the students. A medical center is only used by the sick. Alibrary is for the whole village. Our aim is always to create a real livelihood. There’s the education piece, and the economic piece. In addition, the libraries all have meeting rooms. Our libraries connect these communities with various organizations to bring in all the pieces that make a village.

One of the things I’m most proud of is the Nepal Community Library Association, which grew out of our READ Community Library and Resource Centers. This is an organization that has the capacity to do really great things, and the potential to be quite a powerful player.

How does READ work?
Every READ village has to write a proposal, donate the land, and put in minimum of 15 to 20 percent of the funds. They come to us, we do not go to them. It’s extraordinarily participatory. It involves all aspects of the village.

In Nepal, during the Maoist revolt, all of the stakeholders in village had to sign an agreement to support the library. During the violence, schools were destroyed because they were run by the government, but nobody touched the libraries because they belonged to the villages.

Another key was not just to create a library, but to create an economic support system that would keep it operating and generate income for someof the villagers. One good example is the village of Tukche in Nepal, where we seeded a furniture factory. With income from the factory the village has built schools, dormitories, Red Cross facilities, and much more. They have $35,000 in savings in the bank from factory income.

This summer is the 60th anniversary of the Tibetan "Liberation" and the 3rd anniversary of the 2008 uprisings in Tibet. To forestall more unrest, the Chinese have closed Tibet to tourists from June 25 until at least the beginning of August, perhaps later.

Fortunately, a wonderful alternative exists for travelers. High in the snowcapped Indian Himalayas lies Ladakh, often called "Little Tibet." Ladakh boasts a culture and ecosystems similar to those of the neighboring Tibetan Autonomous Republic, as well as thriving Buddhist traditions and intact monasteries.

Summer is a time of festivals in Ladakh, including the Hemis and Dak Thok festivals celebrating the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, Padmasambhava (Guru Rimpoche). To experience these colorful celebrations, join us on our 'Festivals, Monasteries, People, and Waters' or 'Taste of Ladakh' trips. Spend time talking with the Ladakhis, get a sense of the vibrancy and exuberance of their monastic life, as well as their flourishing arts and culture, and gain an appreciation for the harsh life on the "top of the world" across the Himalayas.

Ladakh also played a pivotal role in preserving Tibetan Buddhism. When the 9th-century king Langdarma tried to wipe out Buddhism in Tibet, the religion survived in the west in what is now Ladakh. From there it later spread back into Tibet.

Visiting Ladakh now and Tibet after it reopens is a wonderful way to understand the similarities and contrasts of life in these two worlds.

Traveling with a family or multigenerational group involves a lot of coordination. Here are some tips for making the experience as smooth and easy as possible.

1. Lock in rates by booking a year in advance. Prices for hotel rooms and other services frequently rise from year to year, but by reserving early you can avoid many of the rate increases – sometimes we’ll be able to negotiate lower 2011 rates even if you’re not traveling until 2012.

2. Remember that larger groups need more rooms, meals, airline seats, and other spaces. The further in advance you can book, the more likely it is you’ll get what you want.

3. To keep hotel costs down for your group, consider booking triple and quad hotel rooms instead of singles and doubles.

4. Be flexible with your travel plans. Often shifting your arrival and departure dates by as little as a few days can get you significant discounts.

5. Remember that not everyone will want to do the same thing at all times, so choose itineraries that offer flexibility for different interests, such as lodge stays, adventure cruises, and other programs that include a wide range of activities.

 

 

Beth and Stu Finklestein took advantage of a school break to bring their daughter Julia and son Sam on a culture-filled Southeast Asia exploration.

Curiosity about the world and an openness to other cultures are among the greatest gifts you can give your children or grandchildren. What better way to do so than through travel? Family vacations are no longer just about camping trips, amusement parks, and beach resorts. These days families are seeking out special experiences in a wide range of destinations. Whether it’s trekking, a wildlife safari, or cultural exploration, travel is a great way for extended families to spend quality time together while creating memories to last a lifetime.

At Myths and Mountains we welcome the opportunity to work with families and other groups. Some of our itineraries are specifically designed for multigenerational appeal, such as our “Kids and the Equator” program in Ecuador. We’re also happy to customize itineraries to meet the needs of family groups – we’ve recently arranged everything from family reunions to the Galapagos to wildlife safaris in Africa to family gatherings at an Indian tea estate. No matter what your needs, we’ll work with you to create the experiences that fits your family’s ages and interests.

Advance planning is essential for larger groups. Book early to enable us to secure the hotel rooms and other reservations you need, particularly if you are traveling during busy periods such as school breaks.

 

 

Bob Weissman invited 31 of his nearest and dearest to join him on a holiday aboard the LEGEND ship in the Galapagos.

Every year our Myths and Mountains staff spend time traveling in our destinations, scouting hotels, researching new places to visit, and ensuring that our suppliers continue to maintain the high standards our travelers expect from us. Our operations coordinator, Julie Ganski, recently returned from her first Myths and Mountains site inspection trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos. She came home filled with enthusiasm for these amazing destinations. Here are some excerpts from her field reports:

Arriving at Cafe Cultura, our hotel in Quito, was mystical. It was drizzling rain, green and lush like entering a secret garden laden with a foggy mist. The room was gorgeous and enchanting, with fresh roses everywhere. From Quito we traveled north to the Equator and then on to Otavalo. The best thing about the journey was the surprises our guide showed us along the way. We stopped to sample chirimoya – an incredibly sweet fruit unlike anything I’d ever tasted – from a roadside vendor and hand-rolled pastries at the best bizcocho place in Ecuador. We also visited Huarmi Maki, a women's center in Peguche. It was really interesting to learn about the traditional food preparation, dress, and methods for weaving sheep and alpaca wool without machines. Upon arrival at the beautiful Hacienda Cusín, we enjoyed an afternoon horseback riding adventure in the lush green Andes.

Then it was on to the Galápagos. Our ship, the Legend, was extremely comfortable, and the itinerary was carefully planned and packed with activities, with at least two – sometimes three – excursions per day. Snorkeling was a dream come true – we swam with a giant sea turtle, a very pompous sea lion, sting rays, sharks, and of course, tons of fish! I was fascinated to gain a bit of insight into such a mysterious and intriguing underwater world.

On land, we had to laugh as we were charged by a baby sea lion on his way to the ocean. He swam around and posed for us in inches of water as we stood on the shore of the beach, putting on a sort of show, until a big barking male sea lion came over to pull him from the crowd – almost a "shame on you" kind of moment. We also saw another baby sea lion suckling milk from his mother. I could have watched them interact for hours. Still, some of the most interesting animals to observe were the giant tortoises. It's like witnessing a prehistoric creature – seeing a dinosaur in real time.

One of the best parts about the Legend was watching the wildlife at night. The ship has giant lights on both sides so you can watch birds and sea lions feeding, and also see an occasional ominous shark lurking in the water below. The richness of the islands, both the landscapes and unique wildlife, is hard to comprehend until you visit and experience it firsthand. The entire trip was quite a whirlwind, and unlike anything I'd ever dreamed. People kept commenting about the giant smile I couldn’t seem to wipe off my face.

Money often presents one of the biggest challenges in preparing for an international trip. Will your credit card work overseas? Can you use your ATM card? Should you carry lots of cash? It's always best to be prepared, so that you don't find yourself in a foreign country without the financial resources you need. You can count on Myths and Mountains to make sure you have all the information you need before you go.

In Bhutan and other Asian countries, things operate very differently than in North America. Just because the ATM in your bank at home works, does not mean that the ATM in Bhutan will accept your card. In fact, it won’t. Just because you have a platinum American Express Card does not mean that the antique store in Thimphu will allow you to buy that beautiful basket. In fact, it won’t. Bhutan will sometimes accept Visa, but no other credit cards, and travelers cannot use local ATMs. Myanmar does not accept any credit cards and has no ATMs at all. In other countries such as Nepal sometimes the ATM works – but invariably, when you need it most, it doesn’t!

For countries such as these, the best thing to do is to bring dollars in cash and change them into the local currency. If you are nervous about carrying a lot of money, break it into two packets and put them in separate parts of your travel gear. Then hope you remember where you put everything!

Sangay Wangchuk, the general manager of our Bhutan office, is full of useful insights for visitors to his country. Here are his thoughts and advice for anyone traveling to Bhutan.

1. Bhutanese time is not like Western time. When watches first came to Bhutan, the gadget was more jewelry than timepiece. Even today the Bhutanese relationship with time is an issue. For a Bhutanese it is always acceptable when someone walks in late. In fact, the Bhutanese joke that “Bhutan Standard Time” should really be called “Bhutan Stretchable Time.” People working in tourism are trying their best to be punctual, but it is always wise to be aware of the country's stretchable time.

 

1. Responsible travelers are more appreciated than misguidedly generous ones. The Bhutanese treat tourists as guests and would lay down their lives to protect them. Yet this custom can become diluted over time unless tourists take care to act responsibly. Being a responsible tourist is not difficult. Small acts and thoughts can help preserve Bhutanese culture. For example, it is wise not to flaunt wealth by giving items or money publicly. It is always better to have travelers as guests rather than as walking – albeit compassionate – banks.

 

1. Gross National Happiness is at the core of Bhutanese development. Gross National Happiness is the development philosophy coined by the fourth King of Bhutan, H.M. Jigme Singye Wangchuck, in the 1980s. To create happiness one must first create a good environment. Creating a good environment requires good policies that create equal socioeconomic opportunities and safeguard citizens' cultural heritage and rights. Finally, it means taking good care of our natural heritage and using it sustainably. That’s Gross National Happiness in a nutshell.

 

1. Personal relationships are more important than money. For most Bhutanese interpersonal connections are more important than money. Using the power of money to get things done in Bhutan is the wrong idea. People are willing to offer services to travelers because they are guests of the country. There is no expectation of remuneration attached.

 

1. An open, inquiring mind is key to understanding Bhutan. Bhutan is still an unexplored destination. There are many new discoveries in this small kingdom, and you need to ask questions to explore it. Bhutanese guides tend to be quite reticient and generally do not volunteer answers unbidden, but this is simply a matter of culture. If you have a question, please ask, and your guides will always do their best to answer.

Two new airports will radically alter travel in Bhutan in the next year, making it faster, easier, and more efficient to explore this remote mountain kingdom.

Presently, the only way to cross Bhutan from west to east is by driving a narrow, winding road dotted with hairpin turns and trucks and cars frantically trying to pass each other on blind mountain curves. Driving from one end of the country to the other on a tour takes about 13 days, so most travelers only go as far as Bumthang, in the middle of Bhutan, and then return west to Paro and fly out – a 10-day journey.

In about a year, though, all will be different. New airports are being constructed in both Bumthang and Trashigang in eastern Bhutan, shortening the cross-country journey. No longer will tourists drive to Bumthang and then return by the same route. Instead, they can drive there from Paro in 5 to 6 days, and then make the return trip by air.

Even more importantly, the new Yonphula Airstrip between Trashigang and Samdrup Jongkhar will open up the less-visited eastern towns of Mongar and Trashigang to tourists and make travel in Merak and Sakten, two communities still undiluted by Bhutan’s rapid economic growth, more accessible. Here in the east one can still get a sense of the traditional lives of Bhutan’s nomads. Tourists will be able to fly directly from Paro to Yonphula, tour the east and return to Paro, or even drive into Bhutan from Guwahati in India’s Assam state, visit these eastern areas, and then fly west and visit Thimphu before exiting Bhutan from Paro.

These infrastructure improvements are all part of Bhutan’s development plan, which depends heavily on increasing the number of tourists to this wonderful Shangri-La.

TsheringTenzin is the new field coordinator for READ Bhutan. He wrote an incrediblycharming piece about his first visit to Ura, the site of the first READ libraryin Bhutan.Do take a minute and read it – just wonderful.

- Toni

The nippy winter evanesces tardily delivering another spring; a season of great white hopes, aspiration and Love. Spring welcomes another year and it unfurls new set of dreams and hopes in every soul; it was a perfect hour to drive through the core of the peaceful dragon country in the Himalayas.

It was my first trip to Ura, Bumthang. It rained down the night out before my trip and I was apprehensive about the snowfall on the high snowcapped triplet peaks of Dochula, Pelala and Yotongla en route to Bumthang. It was a beautiful drive all through to Bumthang amidst the barren boisterous mountains, snowcapped peaks, meandering crystal rivers and smoking chimneys from an old house on a distant hill, an overloaded truck ferrying consumable and an old man clinging to his dear life to the crisscrossed ropes at the back of the truck. The ice clad road didn’t facilitate speedy drive. Just as well, I wanted to savor the feast, feast for my soul I feel the cold biting breeze on my face as I hum to ‘Island in the stream’ by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton whilst I tap my fingers on the wheel.

Ura is located at 2800-5000 meters above sea level and is south-eastern part district .Total area coverage is approximately 267 square kilometers. Its altitude ranges from with a total population of 195. I have also found from reliable sources that there are 10 villages with 10 Committees, about 229 households, 4 schools, one BHU (Basic Health Unit), 3 ORCs (Out Reach Clinics) and 6 VHW (Village Health Worker). There are 3 Gomdays (where Gomchens study and reside). The main livelihood of the people living in Ura is Agriculture. The cash crops available in Ura are potatoes and mushroom (Sangay Shamu/ Masutaki). And the food crops produced are Wheat, Barley and Sweet Buckwheat. Retailing and packaging of buckwheat is the proposed sustainability project for Ura.

The building community donated an age old two storied building to be refurbished as a READ CLRC. The structure would have been best alternate to film’ Texas Chainsaw massacre’ and it almost looked the same before READ Bhutan revamped the face of the structure. It is approximately 100-200 meters below the east-west national highway that links the western part of the country with eastern Districts which passes through Ura Gewog. It is a two storied typical Bhutanese design building with ample surrounding with bamboo mat fences. The ground floor is being used as a Day Care Center. M/s Pema Lhaden didn’t look like grade 10 literate to me. She flawlessly fits into a perfect description of a pretty Bhutanese highlander with rosy red cheeks. She takes care of the Day Care at free of cost for the children in the locality. She timidly answered few questions, hiding behind her friends. There were 19 students last year within the age group of 3-6 years old. After thorough inspection and cross checking of the report to the groundwork, I proceeded towards Ura School for a meeting with librarian and teaching faculties. Ura school is 5-10 minutes walk from our library.

Ura LMC Secretary, Mr. Karma Jurmin is an interesting character who deserves a mention. I was awed to find such an interesting man filled with witty sense of humour, zest for life, thirst for knowledge and entrepreneurship. As we strolled through the dry dusty feeder road towards Ura School, he crackled me up recalling his mothers words on his failure on every business attempt, “ you are enterprising, but you have a big mouth, shut your mouth and you will go far”, she said. I looked at him unbelievably and he reassured me with a childish grin, ‘’See I told you I have big mouth”.

The teacher and staffs of the Ura School were in a meeting since they had just gotten back from two month paid winter vacation, all thanks to Education System in Bhutan. There is nothing in line that could possibly shutout so called ‘paid Holiday’. Without disrupting the momentum of the annual meeting, I requested the librarian and vice principal out of the meeting to discuss on booklist in consultation with the school to assess suitable books for the community. The library had more than 5000-6000 books approximately, of which most are in tatters and taped. Few books might soon find its way to Museum.

After discussions on what kind of the book would be suitable for the READ library, due to time constraint from their end, because they were in the annual teachers meeting, they assured to fax the stock list in a day or two. My odyssey was still futile without getting a complete set of booklist which we can fill the first READ Library with. I spoke to the Vice -Principal and requested him to bring this up in his meeting with the different subject teachers and ask their suggestions and feedback on what kind of books would have been most suited in our library. We are still waiting for him to fax us the booklist. I also came to a realization that it is sheer waste of time and resource if the teachers make a random list if the books they think are suitable but are not readily available in market. I proposed that I will take a list of the available books of all kinds in the local book shops at the cheapest of the price and follow up with them. We can simultaneously supply books that are best for our READ Library and also available in town. Visiting various book shops helped me to compile catalogue of the books available in the town.

READ Bhutan has requested couple of times to READ Global, India and Kathmandu on a guideline for book selection and procurement. However we were unable to get anything concrete. A guide on book selection and procurement would be most appreciated and helpful for us to help the committee and community select books with ease.

With a smile of contentment on my face, I drove back home the next day through the same mesmerizing vale and iced peaks. My first trip to the First upcoming READ Library was generative, educational, informative and fertile. The impact is profound. The drive was tiring, but the experience eternal.

- Tshering Tenzin

 

For More Information Please Visit: READGlobal.org

Interested in our READ Bhutan journey? CLICK HERE to find out more!