Galapagos

Going to the Galapagos Islands was a once in a lifetime opportunity and an experience I will never forget.  The week we spent there was by far my favorite part of this entire trip.  We are extremely lucky to have been able to visit all of Ecuador's very unique ecosystem, including the Galapagos.  While I was packing the day before we left for the coast, my host mom came into my room to talk to me.  She picked up my snorkeling equipment with an amazed look on her face, like she had never seen anything like it before. She asked me if I was excited to go to the Galapagos.  I wanted to tell her that was a stupid question but just replied with a simple "sí!"  Then she told me she has never been to the Galapagos.  I asked her why and she told me it was because a trip there would cost way too much money.  Before she said that, I guess I assumed the Galapagos were a common vacationing spot for Ecuadorians, given the fact that it is so close.  When first arriving in the Galapagos, I was too overwhelmed by the crystal clear water and the bright blue skies to pay attention to the other tourists there.  However, I soon realized that English and German were the languages I heard most frequently.  After spending three weeks in Cuenca constantly surrounded by Spanish, I initially found the English to be refreshing.  But then I started thinking... why am I not hearing more Spanish?  On one of the island tours, I noticed a very small group of Ecuadorians taking a tour with a Spanish-speaking guide.  Every other tour I saw, however, consisted of English or German speakers, and almost all the tour guides spoke in English.  Hearing Germans and Ecuadorians converse in English was mind-blowing. I sat next to a German man on the flight back from the Galapagos who was looking at the pictures he took in the Galapagos on his iPad.  The flight attendant, who was Ecuadorian, complimented him on his pictures using words like "Nice!" and "Beautiful!" and the German responded in English.  It is interesting that the majority of the people that can afford to visit the Galapagos either speak English as a first language or as a second language, having learned it in school. This would suggest that people who are more "well-off" financially speak English and are the "winners" in globalization when it comes to global travel.  Part of the reason the cost of visiting the Galapagos is so high is to limit the amount of tourists. However, this inhibits the majority of the people from countries like Ecuador from visiting. While Ecuador does benefit from the money tourists spend visiting the Galapagos, the majority of its citizens (like my host family) end up as the "losers" in global travel.  It is sad to think that although the Galapagos are not too far from my host family, the closest they will probably ever get to the islands is by looking at pictures their host students bring back.