This book is one of the rare learning resources available to native English speakers who want to communicate in the indigenous language of the northern Andes as it is spoken every day by the Kichwa Otavalo people (runakuna) of Ecuador. You don’t have to know a word of Spanish or enroll in an expensive university course to learn enough about their culture and Kichwa language to enjoy simple social exchanges with the people who are world-famous for their summer solstice celebration of Inti Raymi. Gringos Learn Kichwa started as a course manual that accompanies Mama Urku’s beginner-level Kichwa language course. The book and course rely 100% on English language-only learning resource materials and English language-only instruction. In three years, the course manual evolved into one of the few stand-alone Kichwa language instruction resources created exclusively for any native English-speaking tourists; visiting academic researchers; nonprofit organizational staff, volunteers and interns; exchange students; and foreign residents (“expats”) who want to communicate in the mother tongue of half the population of the province. THE BOOK INCLUDES: Free audio recordings by local native Kichwa speakers of all vocabulary inside the book - Introduction to the challenging structure and grammar of Kichwa in ways that make it very easy for native-English speakers to slowly build a solid foundation of understanding - How to conjugate any Kichwa verb in four tenses (present, continuous, past, future) - A dictionary of the most common 800 Kichwa words used by indigenous people living in Cotacachi and Otavalo - Basic social greetings and phrases used at meals and gatherings in rural Kichwa communities - Names of numbers, colors and members of a family - Brief introductions to the history, culture and struggles of the rural Kichwa Otavalo people - How to support the preservation and revitalization of this endangered indigenous language - Links to the great songs and musicians of Otavalo - Links to more Kichwa-learning resources in English - Links to Kichwa-learning resources in Spanish Mama Urku has lived with Kichwa-speaking indigenous families in Ecuador with the primary goal of learning to speak their language. Her book prepares native English speakers to understand enough about Kichwa language and culture that they will be successful when they are ready to learn more of the language directly from recommended native Kichwa-speaking teachers.