Its been FOREVER since I have written and I apologize! Ive been all over Ecuador so I have a lot of stories.
Life with my new family has been a little dull, so Ive had to attept to spice it up by exploring Quito, though I definitely still dont feel like I know it very well. I have been doing some pilates (our teacher is the only woman Ive seen who wears cute workout clothes... seriously. they need some lulu lemon here for sure). October 8th was Audrys birthday so we had a delicious cake at school and learned the "Ecuadorian way" to cute cake. You make a circle in the middle (thats the part the birthday girl/boy gets) and then cut the rest in pieces. Then there are no points so the cake cant fall over. I still found it to be very difficult on my birthday. Anyways, that night her family have a really cute party for her. It was just Audrys fam, Eva, Liz, Marcello and me and we had dinner and cake and then talked for awhile. Thursday night we actually went out to celebrate and went to a really cool restaurant called "La Boca de Lobo" ie the mouth of the wolf. It was really funky and I definitely want to bring Mom and Dad there. We went out dancing afterwards and it was super fun but it definitely catered to gringos. They played the YMCA song haha. it was GREAT. The only problem to that night is for the first time since senior year of high school, I had a CURFEW. A CURFEW! Do you hear these words? I hope not because they are terrible. Olga first told me to be home at midnight (let me just remind you we didnt even have school on friday) and I pushed it back to one. (I know Im such a rebel haha). Anyways the dancing was still fun even though I had a curfew.
Saturday night of that weekend I wanted to go out but it seemed like nobody was so when Olga told me the "primos" were coming, I was down. Now lets just imagine what we think of when people say the "cousins" are coming. I think of people my age coming to hang out. NO! I WAS TRICKED. My 18 year old sister went out with her boyfriend and I stayed home with Olga and her friends/family to play 31, a card game and I had to put in money. It wasnt very MUCH money, but thats not the point at all! Ugh i was so angry. tricky lady. anyways, the Sunday before we left for the coast, we went to a soccer game (Ecuador vs. Chile-- it was for the eliminary round to go to south africa for the world cup) and that made up for it. It was a DAY LONG event but it was fun. We got there around noon and I bought a THREE DOLAR jersey. so cheap LOVE IT! We went into the stadium and hung around cheering and chanting with all the locals all afternoon long. Faba got us the tickets and I definitely think he purposely put us in the section with the rowdy fans. It was great! The game started at 4:50pm. It had rained the whole time we were waiting so we were all cold and wet, but it was still awesome! Ecuador won (i forget the score... woops) and afterwards I met up with my old host family. I miss them so much!
Monday was my birthday and my awesome directors brought cake for the group. It was delicious! We had class all day, went over ISP topics, and had a test... lovely birthday present NOT lol). Everyone said happy birthday to me yay and that afternoon, for the fourth time, I went to get my cense and ACTUALLY got it (thats the national ID card... its just like in the US going to get your license. A ROYAL PAIN IN THE BUTT) Anyways for my birthday, someone wanted to be nice to me and let me get it. That night, my family and I celebrated my sister and my birthday. She got a really cute rabbit from her boyfriend (Olga wasnt so keen on the idea but thats okay) and they gave me a cute bag! It was very useful for my trip to the coast too! We had pizza and cake and Eva came over too. Not the 21st birthday most people are used to but thats okay. Ive decided Im recelebrating when I get home. :)
We left for the coast Tuesday morning on a 10 am flight to Guayaquil. It was only 35 minutes which was MUCH better than taking a 10 hour bus ride. We went to lunch and to a museum and then to a talk on recycling that lasted almost 3 hours. I think we all learned the information from that talk in the third grade, but thats okay. We went to dinner in some neighborhood and then went back to the hotel to hang out. Little did we know that after the bus dropped us off for dinner, our directors headed to Leonores daugthers birthday dinner. They took an unmarked cab and were held up at gunpoint and the robbers stole $1000 (think about that value in American and multiply in by ten... thats the worth here because the economy is much lower). Anyways, we found out the next morning and Faba had a shiner and it was not a fun situation.
Wednesday afternoon we headed up the coast and were dropped off at our villages. Eva and I went to Cadeate. Our family was amazing and I think we had one of the wealthier families. Our 28 year old mom, Nancy, had her own perfumeria, and our 32 year old dad, Jugo, worked in a panaderia. Cadeate is known for bread so we (well Eva mostly) ate a LOT of bread. She didnt like a lot fo the food, so I was forced to eat some of it because leaving food on your plate while staying in a poor town isnt really acceptable. anyways we went running there, went to the beach a lot, talked to the town people and watched a lot of soccer. We had three younger sisters and they were so cute. It was a little weird though to see Nancy looking through my youngest sisters hair, FOR LICE. She acted like nothing was wrong. I told Eva and we both FREAKED OUT. I forgot to mention this: Thursday afternoon we went swimming and I was the only one in the water. I dove under a wave because I thought it was huge, but it definitely was NOT. I pretty much got in a fight with the sand. It was sad and a broke my face... or rather skinned my nose and forehead and my sisters and eva were afraid to look at me for a day. I think im better now though haha.
We left on Sunday afternoon and took a bus an hour and a half north to Alandaluz, and ecological resort that was on the beach and gorgeous! We hung out there while each one of use had ISP interviews trying to decide what we would do. I think I am headed south to Loja for the month to do community outreach with disabled people. I guess I would work with a therapist and go to peoples houses (they dont have transportation to get to a clinic so we go to them) to work with them. It should be interesting and hopefully help me decide about physical therapy or nursing. Well see.
Anywho, we made it back after a very carsick bus ride to Manta airport and then a bumpy flight back to Quito. I have the day off to write two essays and do whatever else I want. Its nice to be back in a city where I can eat as little as I want and have a real place to stay (without roosters and trucks blaring in my ears in the morning) but I definitely miss the coast. Hopefully I didnt forget to mention too many things. I now have SKYPE at my HOUSE YESSS!!! So people should skype me. its much much cheaper than calling. my sn is mecua13. miss you all!
maddie
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
jungle fun
The jungle was AWESOME! I felt like I was in a movie the whole time because the scenery was so beautiful. Now if I could just do something about the humidity and the bugs, I think it would be PERFECT. Here´s the scoop on what we did:
We left Monday morning from the Alston at 9am. We stopped at some hot springs on our long drive. I think I could have stayed there ALL day. Literally. They are heated naturally by volcanoes and Faba said the origin is 125 degrees F. INTENSE. Don´t worry, the pools weren´t that hot. Apparently some girl a few years back stayed in the hot pool too long and because these hotsprings are at 10,000 feet or so, they cause low blood pressure and she fainted! We were actually smart and followed directions, ie went in the freezing cold pool every ten minutes or so... I cheated a bit. I only stuck my feet in, but that counts, doesn´t it? We had DELICIOUS pb&j sandwhiches for lunch with apples and oranges... yum yum! and then headed back on the road.
The first night at Aliñahui (one of the lodges we stayed in) was the rainiest. It DOWNPOURED. It was sort of cool to have the thunder and lightning because we just sat around and chatted while lying in hammocks. Not too hard of a life. Plus the rain got rid of the millions of bugs... at least for a little while.
Tuesday morning rolled around and after... GETTING TO SERVE OURSELVES (this is big news because normally we don´t get to and they give us mounds of rice)... we headed to Arajuno Jungle Lodge via motorized canoes to drop our stuff. Then we went to a small community called Santa Bárbara to spend time with the community. I guess we were supposed to teach the kids math, but we were given colored pencils and packets with pictures of numbers so we all told the kids to color. They loved it though haha. Then, lets just imagine 85 degrees F and probably 90% humidity shall we, now lets spend three hours painting in it. AHH. We painted the outside of the school and the school desks and although it was one of the sweatiest and most dehydrated moments of my life, it was well well worth it. They school looked GREAT (what can I say, apparently we are amazing painters) and the desks will be in shape for at least a few years. The community had recently been given sets of plates, cups, bowls, and silverware, and Tom, the owner of the Arajuno Jungle Lodge, had recently given them a class on sanitizing things and how to serve food to tourists. We had Talapia (I think that´s how you spell it... it´s a kind of fish) some cabbage salad and yuca and it was DELICIOUS. And becuase there were full ribcages of bones in the fish, it forced me to slow down (mom...don´t try giving me fish with that many bones at home. it won´t work haha). Afterwards, we went on a walk to see the community. We were supposed to play the kiddos in soccer (they probably would have kicked our behinds MAJORLY) but we were all too exhausted so we went back to the Arajuno Jungle Lodge (Arajuno is the name of the river) and went swimming. Best feeling ever!
Tom, the owner, has a pet monkey named Mona. She is only one and a half years old and she is AWESOME. She definitely reminds me of a two year old spoiled brat sometimse, but, she was still a monkey that we got to hold and play with. I´ll put up pics so you can see her. Tom´s place was really nice. He has four cabins and they seem like swiss family robinson. its great. Anyway we hung around his place for the afternoon and played scattagories at night. I can´t believe it, but i´d never played before!
Wednesday we had an incredible speaker come take us on a nature hike. He spoke about ahh the word is blanking my mind, subsistent farming?? but pretty much that we should learn to grow our own food and stop feeding the large national companies that hurt the world. It was a great talk and mom and dad, I think we need to plant more food. Or maybe at least buy local. Now I just sound like a ecuadorian-turned-hippy haha. But you should have heard his talk. It makes total sense.
Wednesday afternoon we were back at Aliñahui and went on a nature hike with another guy and then had an hour to spend solo in the jungle. Now, y´all know me and you probably think of me as a fairly outdoorsy person. Well, at least I think of myself as a fairly outdoorsy person. But, when I sat down in the jungle and there were bugs crawling all around me, I decided that sitting was just not going to work because the bugs, even with my 36% DEET bug repellent on, loved me. So (Mom, you´ll love this) I did YOGA. haha. It was great. A little difficult in non-stretchy jungle pants and big boots, but it worked.
Finally, on Friday we came back to the big city. I LOVED the Jungle. Audry is thinking about doing her ISP there and helping Tom start a medicinal garden, but I don´t think I could stand being that sweaty and sticky and buggy all the time (my hands stuck to my face from the humidity... yuck). I wish I could spend another month there because it´s AMAZING. If you get a chance, go to Tena, or just somewhere in the jungle.
I am now with my new family. The last night in the jungle I caught the stomach virus that 6 or 7 other people in the group had, but I am now better! My mom´s name is Olga, and my sister´s name is Carolina. She is 17 but is turning 18 on, get this, OCTOBER 13th!!! How random is it that we have the SAME birthday! I like her a lot. Last night, Olga, Carolina, her boyfriend Daniel, and Daniel´s mom and I went to see a comedian but the tickets were sold out so instead we went to the cine and saw Mr. Woodcock. Billy Bob Thornton was a great actor but the plot was just sad. Mom would have walked out, no doubt. So now I´m at my host family´s. I guess my dad, Tito, works in Guayaquil and rarely comes home. I dunno what´s up with that but I like having an all-girl house.
Lastly, Aunt Jane: THANKS for the facebook happy birthday! I LOVED IT! And my friends think it´s great that you have facebook haha.
I miss you all and hope all is well at home, even with the horrible financial stuff going on. Yuck. Ooh to end on good news, Faba has lots of connections and he´s getting the group tickets to the Ecuador vs. Chile soccer game on October 12th. It´s a huge huge game. NOT A BAD BIRTHDAY PRESENT, EH?? SO STOKED!
We left Monday morning from the Alston at 9am. We stopped at some hot springs on our long drive. I think I could have stayed there ALL day. Literally. They are heated naturally by volcanoes and Faba said the origin is 125 degrees F. INTENSE. Don´t worry, the pools weren´t that hot. Apparently some girl a few years back stayed in the hot pool too long and because these hotsprings are at 10,000 feet or so, they cause low blood pressure and she fainted! We were actually smart and followed directions, ie went in the freezing cold pool every ten minutes or so... I cheated a bit. I only stuck my feet in, but that counts, doesn´t it? We had DELICIOUS pb&j sandwhiches for lunch with apples and oranges... yum yum! and then headed back on the road.
The first night at Aliñahui (one of the lodges we stayed in) was the rainiest. It DOWNPOURED. It was sort of cool to have the thunder and lightning because we just sat around and chatted while lying in hammocks. Not too hard of a life. Plus the rain got rid of the millions of bugs... at least for a little while.
Tuesday morning rolled around and after... GETTING TO SERVE OURSELVES (this is big news because normally we don´t get to and they give us mounds of rice)... we headed to Arajuno Jungle Lodge via motorized canoes to drop our stuff. Then we went to a small community called Santa Bárbara to spend time with the community. I guess we were supposed to teach the kids math, but we were given colored pencils and packets with pictures of numbers so we all told the kids to color. They loved it though haha. Then, lets just imagine 85 degrees F and probably 90% humidity shall we, now lets spend three hours painting in it. AHH. We painted the outside of the school and the school desks and although it was one of the sweatiest and most dehydrated moments of my life, it was well well worth it. They school looked GREAT (what can I say, apparently we are amazing painters) and the desks will be in shape for at least a few years. The community had recently been given sets of plates, cups, bowls, and silverware, and Tom, the owner of the Arajuno Jungle Lodge, had recently given them a class on sanitizing things and how to serve food to tourists. We had Talapia (I think that´s how you spell it... it´s a kind of fish) some cabbage salad and yuca and it was DELICIOUS. And becuase there were full ribcages of bones in the fish, it forced me to slow down (mom...don´t try giving me fish with that many bones at home. it won´t work haha). Afterwards, we went on a walk to see the community. We were supposed to play the kiddos in soccer (they probably would have kicked our behinds MAJORLY) but we were all too exhausted so we went back to the Arajuno Jungle Lodge (Arajuno is the name of the river) and went swimming. Best feeling ever!
Tom, the owner, has a pet monkey named Mona. She is only one and a half years old and she is AWESOME. She definitely reminds me of a two year old spoiled brat sometimse, but, she was still a monkey that we got to hold and play with. I´ll put up pics so you can see her. Tom´s place was really nice. He has four cabins and they seem like swiss family robinson. its great. Anyway we hung around his place for the afternoon and played scattagories at night. I can´t believe it, but i´d never played before!
Wednesday we had an incredible speaker come take us on a nature hike. He spoke about ahh the word is blanking my mind, subsistent farming?? but pretty much that we should learn to grow our own food and stop feeding the large national companies that hurt the world. It was a great talk and mom and dad, I think we need to plant more food. Or maybe at least buy local. Now I just sound like a ecuadorian-turned-hippy haha. But you should have heard his talk. It makes total sense.
Wednesday afternoon we were back at Aliñahui and went on a nature hike with another guy and then had an hour to spend solo in the jungle. Now, y´all know me and you probably think of me as a fairly outdoorsy person. Well, at least I think of myself as a fairly outdoorsy person. But, when I sat down in the jungle and there were bugs crawling all around me, I decided that sitting was just not going to work because the bugs, even with my 36% DEET bug repellent on, loved me. So (Mom, you´ll love this) I did YOGA. haha. It was great. A little difficult in non-stretchy jungle pants and big boots, but it worked.
Finally, on Friday we came back to the big city. I LOVED the Jungle. Audry is thinking about doing her ISP there and helping Tom start a medicinal garden, but I don´t think I could stand being that sweaty and sticky and buggy all the time (my hands stuck to my face from the humidity... yuck). I wish I could spend another month there because it´s AMAZING. If you get a chance, go to Tena, or just somewhere in the jungle.
I am now with my new family. The last night in the jungle I caught the stomach virus that 6 or 7 other people in the group had, but I am now better! My mom´s name is Olga, and my sister´s name is Carolina. She is 17 but is turning 18 on, get this, OCTOBER 13th!!! How random is it that we have the SAME birthday! I like her a lot. Last night, Olga, Carolina, her boyfriend Daniel, and Daniel´s mom and I went to see a comedian but the tickets were sold out so instead we went to the cine and saw Mr. Woodcock. Billy Bob Thornton was a great actor but the plot was just sad. Mom would have walked out, no doubt. So now I´m at my host family´s. I guess my dad, Tito, works in Guayaquil and rarely comes home. I dunno what´s up with that but I like having an all-girl house.
Lastly, Aunt Jane: THANKS for the facebook happy birthday! I LOVED IT! And my friends think it´s great that you have facebook haha.
I miss you all and hope all is well at home, even with the horrible financial stuff going on. Yuck. Ooh to end on good news, Faba has lots of connections and he´s getting the group tickets to the Ecuador vs. Chile soccer game on October 12th. It´s a huge huge game. NOT A BAD BIRTHDAY PRESENT, EH?? SO STOKED!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
"I thought I´d seen it all"
We were informed at the beginning of our intensive Spanish month that the last Friday of classes, we would have to do a 20-minute Spanish presentation on a topic of our choice, but it had to be something we had covered in our Talleres class (therefore, something to do with Ecuadorian history or current affairs in Ecuador). My professora, Jacqueline, didn´t make it sound too intense and said we could start on Thursday, when we would be given an hour to work on it. So, Thursday rolls around, and we decide we want to do something with the life story of Rumiñahui BECAUSE Sarah Heimlich (an awesome but crazy girl in my class) has ´I´ll Make a Man Out of You´ from Mulan, on her computer, and we LOVE this song. So, Ashley, Hilary and I start writing the "story" of Rumiñahui, half CREATIVELY made-up, and half actual facts haha, and Sarah and Alec start writing the lyrics to the Spanish/Rumiñahui version of this song. It was fabulous, let´s just say that. Thursday afternoon, Alec, Sarah and Ashley finished up the lyrics to not only "I´ll Make a Man out of You", but also Spanish/Rumiñahui lyrics to the Little Mermaid´s "Part of Your World" and Aladin´s "A Whole New World". On Friday, after I had finished the "story", we practiced and made DANCES to our little skit as well. Let´s just say, we jumped around like horrible ballerinas, pretended like we were warriors, colored a face on a small rock to make the "stone face" and pretended to fight a lot of people, while wearing scarves on our heads to look like warrior band things (they really just looked rediculous). It was FABULOUS! As Faba said afterwards, "I thought I´d seen it all" and really, he has seen a LOT in his life, so we obviously made an impact :) haha. I had so much fun, and in reality, I learned so much about Rumiñahui, I can now easily explain the story, in Spanish or English, to any who wants to know. Just give me the a-okay, and i´ll tellyou the best darn story of Rumiñahui there is!
Anyways, Friday is NOT over yet! Friday afternoon, Mamita, Antony and I went on a search for jungle pants in Sangolquí and found some near the market. They were a whole $8 and they are EXTREMELY attractive. They are navy blue with white stripes and cargo pockets. Y´all should be jealous, that´s all I can say.
Mamita and I had taken naps and therefore left a little late, so by the time we got back to the house it was already 6:15 and we were supposed to be at the end-of-the-month fiesta at SEVEN. Don´t worry folks, we are on Ecuadorian time here. I put on my blue dress from Spain and my mom, dad, sister, and antony went to the fiesta. We had dinner and Lisa played three songs (one in Spanish, can you believe that!). She is an amazing artist, can I just say that. Then it was time to dance! I love to dance, but don´t love it when I am being judged. Let´s just say us folk in Gig Harbor don´t take a lot of dance lessons and therefore are not so great at dancing to Ecuadorian salsa and marengue music. Ie I AM NOT so great at Ecuadorian crazy funky dance. But, my sister tried to teach me (I am a failure, what can I say). Eventually, around 10pm, a lot of the family members had left and we decided to dance GRINGO style (ie. have very little rhythm, jump around like crazy people, and just have fun). I swear, my sister thought I was crazy. While we were Gringo-dancing, she stayed on the dance floor, but definitely did not partake in our bad-dancing-party. It was fun though, so I´m glad I exposed her haha. I went home with my family around 11:30pm (Antony had passed out on mamita´s shoulder around 9pm) and I went straight to bed. Lol, I´m such a party animal.
Saturday morning, the fam was semi-loud so I couldn´t sleep past 8 or so. I got up and hung out until about 12pm when I went to San Luis to meet Eva so we could search for thank-you presents. It is a lot more difficult than one would think. Eva wanted to print a picture of the family, so we went to a photo-developing place. You would be AMAZED at how many options there are on those digital photo things, especially how many frames there are! AHH! It took awhile and then we found out each photo would cost FIFTY CENTS ($0.50) unless she got 50 pictures and then the 50 prints would cost $10.00. Is that not rediculous! I have been educated: Shutterfly is definitely the way to go.
I went home for lunch and we had PIZZA HUT, which in Ecuador is seen as GODLY. It tastes pretty much the same as at home, which, when you have it once in awhile, does taste pretty delicious. But here it is GODLY. After that I took a cab into the boonies to Eva´s house. She lives in a MANSION. I live in a nice Ecuadorian house that I love. She lives in a nice American house, if you know what I mean. We made cookies and brownies for our families. It is much more difficult to cook at 9000 feet. The brownies were good, but they stuck to the pan, so they didn´t LOOK so good haha.
It is now Sunday morning. I woke up at 7:30am after going to bed at midnight. I don´t know why I can´t sleep in here... it´s very very strange. The sky is clear, blue and it looks deceptively warm out, but I know it most likely is not :( I am leaving at 3:30pm to go to Quito for the night and then to the JUNGLE until Friday!!! We have a lot planned, but the rivers are flooding so we might not be able to travel the rivers and might have to stay at the lodge. I hope they go down though! If we can travel, we will go by motorized canoes to a school to teach them math (I don´t know who thinks of these crazy ideas) and then to play soccer with them yay! I have a feeling we might get our butts kicked by elementary school kids. We also are going to have an art session with clay yay and are going to a building with a disco-ball in the middle (ie a discoteca i guess...)
It should be interesting who wins the fight with my luggage today. I have a feeling that I might lose. Wish me tons of luck though! Chao!
madz
Anyways, Friday is NOT over yet! Friday afternoon, Mamita, Antony and I went on a search for jungle pants in Sangolquí and found some near the market. They were a whole $8 and they are EXTREMELY attractive. They are navy blue with white stripes and cargo pockets. Y´all should be jealous, that´s all I can say.
Mamita and I had taken naps and therefore left a little late, so by the time we got back to the house it was already 6:15 and we were supposed to be at the end-of-the-month fiesta at SEVEN. Don´t worry folks, we are on Ecuadorian time here. I put on my blue dress from Spain and my mom, dad, sister, and antony went to the fiesta. We had dinner and Lisa played three songs (one in Spanish, can you believe that!). She is an amazing artist, can I just say that. Then it was time to dance! I love to dance, but don´t love it when I am being judged. Let´s just say us folk in Gig Harbor don´t take a lot of dance lessons and therefore are not so great at dancing to Ecuadorian salsa and marengue music. Ie I AM NOT so great at Ecuadorian crazy funky dance. But, my sister tried to teach me (I am a failure, what can I say). Eventually, around 10pm, a lot of the family members had left and we decided to dance GRINGO style (ie. have very little rhythm, jump around like crazy people, and just have fun). I swear, my sister thought I was crazy. While we were Gringo-dancing, she stayed on the dance floor, but definitely did not partake in our bad-dancing-party. It was fun though, so I´m glad I exposed her haha. I went home with my family around 11:30pm (Antony had passed out on mamita´s shoulder around 9pm) and I went straight to bed. Lol, I´m such a party animal.
Saturday morning, the fam was semi-loud so I couldn´t sleep past 8 or so. I got up and hung out until about 12pm when I went to San Luis to meet Eva so we could search for thank-you presents. It is a lot more difficult than one would think. Eva wanted to print a picture of the family, so we went to a photo-developing place. You would be AMAZED at how many options there are on those digital photo things, especially how many frames there are! AHH! It took awhile and then we found out each photo would cost FIFTY CENTS ($0.50) unless she got 50 pictures and then the 50 prints would cost $10.00. Is that not rediculous! I have been educated: Shutterfly is definitely the way to go.
I went home for lunch and we had PIZZA HUT, which in Ecuador is seen as GODLY. It tastes pretty much the same as at home, which, when you have it once in awhile, does taste pretty delicious. But here it is GODLY. After that I took a cab into the boonies to Eva´s house. She lives in a MANSION. I live in a nice Ecuadorian house that I love. She lives in a nice American house, if you know what I mean. We made cookies and brownies for our families. It is much more difficult to cook at 9000 feet. The brownies were good, but they stuck to the pan, so they didn´t LOOK so good haha.
It is now Sunday morning. I woke up at 7:30am after going to bed at midnight. I don´t know why I can´t sleep in here... it´s very very strange. The sky is clear, blue and it looks deceptively warm out, but I know it most likely is not :( I am leaving at 3:30pm to go to Quito for the night and then to the JUNGLE until Friday!!! We have a lot planned, but the rivers are flooding so we might not be able to travel the rivers and might have to stay at the lodge. I hope they go down though! If we can travel, we will go by motorized canoes to a school to teach them math (I don´t know who thinks of these crazy ideas) and then to play soccer with them yay! I have a feeling we might get our butts kicked by elementary school kids. We also are going to have an art session with clay yay and are going to a building with a disco-ball in the middle (ie a discoteca i guess...)
It should be interesting who wins the fight with my luggage today. I have a feeling that I might lose. Wish me tons of luck though! Chao!
madz
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Can´t Believe A Month Has Passed
I cannot believe I was in the Seatac Airport exactly one month and two days ago at 4:30 in the morning. It seems SO LONG AGO! And the even weirder thing is that I´m leaving Sangolquí on Sunday. I´m really sad to leave my fam (I actually am, no lie at all. This is a first for host families) but VERY excited to go to the oriente and to meet my new Quito host family!
The past week I have spent a LOT of time studying at San Luis, the mall nearby, at la café de la vaca. It has free wireless (ie my friends love it) and I can study and get actual coffee. We did learn though that the milk is a little iffy by itself... it was disgusting to be more precise. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons I went to the vaca. We have now learned that around 3:30pm every single friggin day, there is a DOWNPOUR (ie. a TROPICAL THUNDER STORM) so you better be prepared. Therefore, even if the sun is shining so brightly through the bathroom window that I can barely see, I now bring my rain jacket. I find it to be a very smart decision when the rain starts to drench my friends. Don´t worry, I only laugh inside.
I forgot to inform you all of last weekend, AFTER the fun camping incident. Saturday morning I got home and slept only until 11:30am. I decided I should get up because we were going to Adolfo´s for lunch. We went, but neither I nor my fam new many of the people there because it was mostly friends of Joy (Adolfo´s wife). I asked my parents if I could meet my friends at the movies and they were kind enough to drop me at San Luis (honestly, I think they wanted to leave too, but it was extremely kind of them to do so). Libby and Audrey and their host brother´s and I went to "busqueda..." something or other. It was about a 17 year old girl who goes to Paris to vacation with a friend and gets kidnapped to be sold as a prostitute. Lets just say I am MUCH more cautious after seeing that movie because it does relate to me a little bit (I am only 20 and I am traveling abroad with lots of creepy guys all around... scary haha). We went to coffee and then I came home and relaxed for the night. Sunday morning I played in a women´s basketball league with my sister and our team was HORRIBLE. Although we could have easily lost 40 to 4 (and you know how I am with my competitiveness), I held my cool and now realize it was a great workout. That afternoon I met up with Libby and Audrey again. I met them at Quito FEST. There was about a two hour line but we snuck to the front and that line took about 2 mintes (it was a secret all girls line, otherwise known as we are sneaky people and know how to cut haha). Friday at QuitoFest had been all HARD ROCK bands, so I passed. Then there was an EXTREME storm on Saturday and the power went out and there was a lot of thunder and lightning so the concert was cancelled. Sunday was reggae and r&b and I LOVED IT. the music was great, the people were fun but not too crazy, and I didn´t see the cruza roja helping anyone (that´s good!). I took some pics too. It was great because the performers actually looked like they were having the time of their life, and they were big time artists too.
Anyways, that´s my life for now! Hope y´all are having fun wherever in the world you might be. chao for now
madz
The past week I have spent a LOT of time studying at San Luis, the mall nearby, at la café de la vaca. It has free wireless (ie my friends love it) and I can study and get actual coffee. We did learn though that the milk is a little iffy by itself... it was disgusting to be more precise. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons I went to the vaca. We have now learned that around 3:30pm every single friggin day, there is a DOWNPOUR (ie. a TROPICAL THUNDER STORM) so you better be prepared. Therefore, even if the sun is shining so brightly through the bathroom window that I can barely see, I now bring my rain jacket. I find it to be a very smart decision when the rain starts to drench my friends. Don´t worry, I only laugh inside.
I forgot to inform you all of last weekend, AFTER the fun camping incident. Saturday morning I got home and slept only until 11:30am. I decided I should get up because we were going to Adolfo´s for lunch. We went, but neither I nor my fam new many of the people there because it was mostly friends of Joy (Adolfo´s wife). I asked my parents if I could meet my friends at the movies and they were kind enough to drop me at San Luis (honestly, I think they wanted to leave too, but it was extremely kind of them to do so). Libby and Audrey and their host brother´s and I went to "busqueda..." something or other. It was about a 17 year old girl who goes to Paris to vacation with a friend and gets kidnapped to be sold as a prostitute. Lets just say I am MUCH more cautious after seeing that movie because it does relate to me a little bit (I am only 20 and I am traveling abroad with lots of creepy guys all around... scary haha). We went to coffee and then I came home and relaxed for the night. Sunday morning I played in a women´s basketball league with my sister and our team was HORRIBLE. Although we could have easily lost 40 to 4 (and you know how I am with my competitiveness), I held my cool and now realize it was a great workout. That afternoon I met up with Libby and Audrey again. I met them at Quito FEST. There was about a two hour line but we snuck to the front and that line took about 2 mintes (it was a secret all girls line, otherwise known as we are sneaky people and know how to cut haha). Friday at QuitoFest had been all HARD ROCK bands, so I passed. Then there was an EXTREME storm on Saturday and the power went out and there was a lot of thunder and lightning so the concert was cancelled. Sunday was reggae and r&b and I LOVED IT. the music was great, the people were fun but not too crazy, and I didn´t see the cruza roja helping anyone (that´s good!). I took some pics too. It was great because the performers actually looked like they were having the time of their life, and they were big time artists too.
Anyways, that´s my life for now! Hope y´all are having fun wherever in the world you might be. chao for now
madz
Saturday, September 20, 2008
I DO know how to have fun
Main topic of this blog: Ecuadorian "camping"
So, last night was, to say the least, an adventure. It made me realize how much I appreciate growing up in the Great Northwest and knowing how to camp and backpack farther than 100 m from a house. Also, a new rule I made for life: once past the age of 13, you are not allowed to sleep in tents when there is a house within 100 m. I like my new rule.
So the story goes like this: On thursday night, my host brother, Galo, invited me to go camping with him, his girlfriend (who´s really nice and awesome by the way), and a bunch of their friends so of course I said yes. He said we would leave around 6, so I got home at 5 thinking I had plenty of time to take a quick nap and get ready. BUT, he wasn´t there. Mamita told me that he had left, and I should grab a jacket and we would go. So, while wearing JEANS, a T-SHIRT, and tennis shoes (the same outfit I wore to go to a museum in Quito earlier that day), I grabbed a jacket, raincoat and hat, and we left. When I texted Jenny telling her I was wearing jeans to go camping in someone´s backyard, she said "I´m sure it will be a once in a lifetime experience!" This is when I should have known something was fishy (who goes camping in jeans???) Although all of the friends were supposedly my age, they seemed younger... I´m not sure why. Maybe it´s a cultural thing? One of the guys looked like Josh Hartnett and I definitely didn´t mind that haha.
The first part of the night was really fun: We got to the house around 7 pm after stopping to get meat and food and hung out for awhile. I learned how to play the Ecuadorian card game ´cuarenta´(i.e. 40) and my partner and I won! YAY! The guys tried to start a fire with a bunch of coals and it took them almost an hour. It was quite hilarious. Once they got it started, they cooked the meat (there was SO MUCH MEAT. Whenever they bbq here, there is ALWAYS extra!) We finished dinner around 11:30pm and decided to go outside and set up the tent and start a fire.
Here comes the good part: It was FREEZING cold outside, I was exhausted from getting up early and walking around Quito all day (ie I was not in a very good mood... Mom and Dad know about this aspect of my life quite well haha) and we didn´t have sleeping pads or blankets. Liz made a fire and I was sitting in the tent, which was about 10 feet from the fire, becuase I didn´t want my pants to get wet (wet=cold and cold=mad maddie). But, that was not okay. And I kept getting asked if I was okay and if I wanted to sit closer, and why was I sitting so far away. So, after about 10 minutes of the questions, I gave in and moved closer. At 1:15am, I looked at my watch and decided if they hadn´t gone to bed by 2:15am I would go on my own. Soooo, 2:15 rolls around and I decided to get in the very uncomfortable cold tent. I found out my rain jacket insulates heat very well, so I kept it on, and used the airplane blanket that Liz´s sister let me borrow, to keep me warm. Around 3:15am, everyone came to bed and a gained a sleeping bag for the ground, and another blanket to put over me. THANK GOODNESS. I was so happy becuase I didn´t wake up once after I fell asleep until everyone else got up. Do you know why I didn´t wake up once? Because we got up at 6:30 freakin AM to take someone home because she had to be there at 7am. I have to say though, once I got home, my bed was like heaven. It was the most comfortable thing I have been in for a long time (I think my judgement was slurred a little bit from the lack of sleep).
I forgot to note that I texted pat around 3:30am telling him how cold and angry I was haha and then this morning he laughed at me and when I talked to Dad tonight (mom had relayed the story to him), he said that "I sure know how to have fun!" It´s true though. Jenny and Dad were right, it was a once in a lifetime experience, and I DO know how to have fun!
So, last night was, to say the least, an adventure. It made me realize how much I appreciate growing up in the Great Northwest and knowing how to camp and backpack farther than 100 m from a house. Also, a new rule I made for life: once past the age of 13, you are not allowed to sleep in tents when there is a house within 100 m. I like my new rule.
So the story goes like this: On thursday night, my host brother, Galo, invited me to go camping with him, his girlfriend (who´s really nice and awesome by the way), and a bunch of their friends so of course I said yes. He said we would leave around 6, so I got home at 5 thinking I had plenty of time to take a quick nap and get ready. BUT, he wasn´t there. Mamita told me that he had left, and I should grab a jacket and we would go. So, while wearing JEANS, a T-SHIRT, and tennis shoes (the same outfit I wore to go to a museum in Quito earlier that day), I grabbed a jacket, raincoat and hat, and we left. When I texted Jenny telling her I was wearing jeans to go camping in someone´s backyard, she said "I´m sure it will be a once in a lifetime experience!" This is when I should have known something was fishy (who goes camping in jeans???) Although all of the friends were supposedly my age, they seemed younger... I´m not sure why. Maybe it´s a cultural thing? One of the guys looked like Josh Hartnett and I definitely didn´t mind that haha.
The first part of the night was really fun: We got to the house around 7 pm after stopping to get meat and food and hung out for awhile. I learned how to play the Ecuadorian card game ´cuarenta´(i.e. 40) and my partner and I won! YAY! The guys tried to start a fire with a bunch of coals and it took them almost an hour. It was quite hilarious. Once they got it started, they cooked the meat (there was SO MUCH MEAT. Whenever they bbq here, there is ALWAYS extra!) We finished dinner around 11:30pm and decided to go outside and set up the tent and start a fire.
Here comes the good part: It was FREEZING cold outside, I was exhausted from getting up early and walking around Quito all day (ie I was not in a very good mood... Mom and Dad know about this aspect of my life quite well haha) and we didn´t have sleeping pads or blankets. Liz made a fire and I was sitting in the tent, which was about 10 feet from the fire, becuase I didn´t want my pants to get wet (wet=cold and cold=mad maddie). But, that was not okay. And I kept getting asked if I was okay and if I wanted to sit closer, and why was I sitting so far away. So, after about 10 minutes of the questions, I gave in and moved closer. At 1:15am, I looked at my watch and decided if they hadn´t gone to bed by 2:15am I would go on my own. Soooo, 2:15 rolls around and I decided to get in the very uncomfortable cold tent. I found out my rain jacket insulates heat very well, so I kept it on, and used the airplane blanket that Liz´s sister let me borrow, to keep me warm. Around 3:15am, everyone came to bed and a gained a sleeping bag for the ground, and another blanket to put over me. THANK GOODNESS. I was so happy becuase I didn´t wake up once after I fell asleep until everyone else got up. Do you know why I didn´t wake up once? Because we got up at 6:30 freakin AM to take someone home because she had to be there at 7am. I have to say though, once I got home, my bed was like heaven. It was the most comfortable thing I have been in for a long time (I think my judgement was slurred a little bit from the lack of sleep).
I forgot to note that I texted pat around 3:30am telling him how cold and angry I was haha and then this morning he laughed at me and when I talked to Dad tonight (mom had relayed the story to him), he said that "I sure know how to have fun!" It´s true though. Jenny and Dad were right, it was a once in a lifetime experience, and I DO know how to have fun!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
INTAG!
I got back from Intag on Tuesday afternoon and it was SO MUCH FUN! I actually learned a lot too, about the mining situation there, and cultural differences, class differences, and biodiversity. But that´s not the fun stuff.
We left Saturday morning about 8 am and after walking into Intag on a trail for about an hour, got to the huts and the house at about 3 pm. We stayed in cabins and the girls shared two and the guys stayed in one. The first afternoon we heard a talk from Carlos, the director of DECOIN, a non-profit organization in Ecuador which I think is focused on protecting INTAG (which is an area of land), the indigenous groups who live there, and the biodiversity in Ecuador in general. He told us all about the mining situation there.
Pretty much, a Canadian company, Ascendente, was trying to put a mine in Intag, but the people there did not want it becuase it would have been extremely harmful to the watershed there and to the environment in general. Carlos got extremely involved so people were threatening him. I guess he had an anonymous source who called him 2 minutes before 19 police arrive at his door who had plans to take him to jail and kill him. Luckily, becuase of the tip, he was able to run for a few months until everything was settled. It was so crazy to hear the story first hand because it sounds like something out of a movie, but it was real! Ascendente has now been pushed away from digging the mine, but it sounds like this fight will continue for a long long while.
After his lecture, we had our first dinner at Intag. OMG the food was so good. All home grown, and they grow their own coffee!!! (don´t worry mom, i got 4 lbs that will be ready right about when you guys get here!! it´s SO GOOD) the food was all natural and so delicious.
on sunday, we were split into groups and my group had an art lesson. although it sounds silly, it was really fun. we had to draw leaves, but we weren´t allowed to look at the paper, only at the leaf. we had to follow the outline of the leaf... then we moved to people. i drew my friend audrey and she turned out looking like a monster pretty much. it was a very attractive drawing. lets just say i have NO idea how i drew such a good picture of mom when i was only in SECOND grade. i think my artist skills have sky-dived lol.
Monday, my group went on a 4 hr hike through the cloud forest. We saw some AWESOME stuff: poisonous snakes, weird insects that looked like thorns on a rose bush, salamanders, butterflys, and lots of waterfalls. It was actually a pretty hard hike, but really fun. I have TONS of pictures and filled my memory card. I´ll try to post them soon.
In the afternoon, a women´s group came. They make purses and other crafty things out of a plant from the rain forest. The purses were gorgeous and there were a ton of other things too. Waterbottle holders, place mats, bags, wallets, hot pads for the table, etc... and they were so inexpensive. it was insane and really cool to hear their story because normally women aren´t allowed to work and make money but have to stay at home and do things for their family (don´t get me started on my opinion of this lifestyle).
On Tuesday, we left and went to Otavalo, an indigenous city where there is a huge market. There was so much amazing stuff, but the annoying artisans make me so mad when they try to take advantage of me and up the price because I´m a gringo! I´m planning on going back during evals and buying a GORGEOUS hammock for denver... it´s gonna be GREAT!
I´m about to head to a puppet show that Faba, my academic director, suggested we go to. It´s at a café at the mall and has a political theme. I don´t think I´ve been to a puppet show since like third grade and this one is in Spanish, so it should be interesting. haha.
anyways, hope all is well.
chao!
We left Saturday morning about 8 am and after walking into Intag on a trail for about an hour, got to the huts and the house at about 3 pm. We stayed in cabins and the girls shared two and the guys stayed in one. The first afternoon we heard a talk from Carlos, the director of DECOIN, a non-profit organization in Ecuador which I think is focused on protecting INTAG (which is an area of land), the indigenous groups who live there, and the biodiversity in Ecuador in general. He told us all about the mining situation there.
Pretty much, a Canadian company, Ascendente, was trying to put a mine in Intag, but the people there did not want it becuase it would have been extremely harmful to the watershed there and to the environment in general. Carlos got extremely involved so people were threatening him. I guess he had an anonymous source who called him 2 minutes before 19 police arrive at his door who had plans to take him to jail and kill him. Luckily, becuase of the tip, he was able to run for a few months until everything was settled. It was so crazy to hear the story first hand because it sounds like something out of a movie, but it was real! Ascendente has now been pushed away from digging the mine, but it sounds like this fight will continue for a long long while.
After his lecture, we had our first dinner at Intag. OMG the food was so good. All home grown, and they grow their own coffee!!! (don´t worry mom, i got 4 lbs that will be ready right about when you guys get here!! it´s SO GOOD) the food was all natural and so delicious.
on sunday, we were split into groups and my group had an art lesson. although it sounds silly, it was really fun. we had to draw leaves, but we weren´t allowed to look at the paper, only at the leaf. we had to follow the outline of the leaf... then we moved to people. i drew my friend audrey and she turned out looking like a monster pretty much. it was a very attractive drawing. lets just say i have NO idea how i drew such a good picture of mom when i was only in SECOND grade. i think my artist skills have sky-dived lol.
Monday, my group went on a 4 hr hike through the cloud forest. We saw some AWESOME stuff: poisonous snakes, weird insects that looked like thorns on a rose bush, salamanders, butterflys, and lots of waterfalls. It was actually a pretty hard hike, but really fun. I have TONS of pictures and filled my memory card. I´ll try to post them soon.
In the afternoon, a women´s group came. They make purses and other crafty things out of a plant from the rain forest. The purses were gorgeous and there were a ton of other things too. Waterbottle holders, place mats, bags, wallets, hot pads for the table, etc... and they were so inexpensive. it was insane and really cool to hear their story because normally women aren´t allowed to work and make money but have to stay at home and do things for their family (don´t get me started on my opinion of this lifestyle).
On Tuesday, we left and went to Otavalo, an indigenous city where there is a huge market. There was so much amazing stuff, but the annoying artisans make me so mad when they try to take advantage of me and up the price because I´m a gringo! I´m planning on going back during evals and buying a GORGEOUS hammock for denver... it´s gonna be GREAT!
I´m about to head to a puppet show that Faba, my academic director, suggested we go to. It´s at a café at the mall and has a political theme. I don´t think I´ve been to a puppet show since like third grade and this one is in Spanish, so it should be interesting. haha.
anyways, hope all is well.
chao!
Friday, September 12, 2008
Before I enter the Big Bad cloud forest
HAPPY 19th BIRTHDAY BRO BRO!!!
I hope you go out and have a super fabulous time tonight with all your new hopefully cool friends who I´m sure know how to have an AWESOME TIME. Right? And for all you who don´t know, Pat´s new basketball number is 22! YAY!
Okay, on to me. I´m heading to Intag, which is a private ecologocial reserve in the cloud forest near Otavalo. IT´s GONNA BE AWESOME! I´m so excited to get out of the city for awhile, but mostly to see such sweet animals. Apparently there are REDICULOUSLY gorgeous birds there and there is like a bird-mating place really close by that is really unique because it´s so accessible and we are lucky enough to be able to go there! So, if you haven´t noticed, i´m STOKED. We leave tomorrow morning at 8am and come back Tuesday night around 6 pm (or that´s the plan at least). There are 2 waterfalls we can go in (although they are freezing :( but thats okay), hikes we can go on by ourselves, and apparently Faba (one of our directors) is going to tell ghost stories. Although the ghost stories sound rediculous, i have faith that they will be great! He gave a lecture today on ecological biodiversity in ecuador and had pictures at the end that he took. He had one of an alligator EATING a pirana (the fish that is). IT WAS SO AMAZING. I guess pirana´s are almost 99% vegetarian but if you are bleeding you shouldn´t go in the rivers because groups of pirana´s swarm and attack you and can be very dangerous. Just so you know that is.
More things I´ve learned in/about Ecuador:
*When riding the bus, if you want to look more like an Ecuadorian, fall a lot and ram into the seats when you are getting on (it´s not hard to do because the drivers are REDICULOUS). It´s normal actually. EVERYONE DOES IT.
*Whining is normal also. From ages 1 to 99, whining is taught and listened to (don´t worry, I won´t bring this tactic back to the states. I hate it!)
*When I am successful at bargaining, it makes me so happy!
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