...

I'M HOME!!!

Final Thoughts

Things I’m going to miss about Ecuador:
1. One ecuadorian in particular…
2. My other ecuadorian ñaños: Carlos, Pablo, Dianita, Gaby…
3. Seeing the Andes mountains every day
4. 25-cent bus rides and $1 taxi rides
5. Locro
6. Having someone make my bed every day (yea…I’m spoiled)
7. Having exotic good looks
8. Fruit: Tomate de árbol, mora, chirimoya
9. Fresh juice at every meal
10. Bus callers and vendors
11. Fútbol
12. Empanadas de verde
13. Never paying more than $10 for pretty much anything
14. Cute little kids who stare at me, play peek-a-boo with me, or try to touch my hair on the bus
15. Braces when you’re 20=not a big deal
16. Traveling all the time
17. Being 20 minutes late=totally acceptable

Things I’m not going to miss about Ecuador
1. Riding the Ecovía or the Trole
2. The men who tell me I’m hermosa or call me their amor
3. Eating chicken, rice, and bananas for every meal
4. Pollution
5. Poverty
6. USFQ (sorry!)

Things I miss about the States
1. My mom
2. My family and friends
3. Food: spaghetti and meatballs, mashed potatoes, chocolate chip pancakes, hash browns, grilled cheese
4. Doing my own laundry
5. Showers with consistent water temp and pressure

Peru/Machu Picchu

For part of this week (May 9 to May 13) I went to Peru with Kelsey to see Machu Picchu. Here’s the rundown of how it went…

Day 1: Kelsey and I flew from Quito to Lima and then Lima to Cusco. When we got to the airport, we wanted to take a cab to our hostal, but our cab driver Alfonso wound up being associated with a travel agency, so he drove us there and helped us set up our entire trip: transportation to and from Machu Picchu, a hostal in Aguas Calientes, a tour guide for Machu Picchu, and a tour of ruins around Cusco for when we came back. I was a little worried that we were getting taken for a ride, but he gave us a good price. After that, we settled into our hostal and explored Cusco a bit and saw the temple of the sun.

Day 2: We woke up at 5:30. We had to leave at 6 to catch our train from Poroy to Aguas Calientes. The train no longer runs from Cusco because it was damaging people’s houses. Anyway, Alfonso picked us up at the hostal and drove us to Poroy. We then took the train to Aguas Calientes, the town closest to Machu Picchu. From there, we went to our hostal, had lunch, wandered around the town a bit, and took a nap. After that, we went to the hot springs in Aguas Calients, which were very relaxing. After that, we went back to our hostal and waited for our guide to brief us on Machu Picchu. He came around 6:30 and told us if we wanted to hike up to Machu Picchu we had to leave the hostal by 4 am. So, we grabbed some dinner (including alpaca meat) and went straight to bed.

Day 3: We woke up at 3:30 so we could leave the hostal by 4 as suggested. The hike up to Machu Picchu is not exactly what my body wanted me to be doing that early, so I got sick half way up. Despite my very slow pace, we made it up before sunrise and before the first tourist bus, which was our goal. The reason we wanted to get there so early was so we could get a number for Wayna Picchu. Wayna Picchu is a mountain that overlooks Machu Picchu, and only the first 400 people are allowed up. So, we got in to Machu Picchu, got our numbers for Wayna Picchu (245 and 246), and explored the ruins for a bit. At 8am we had a guided tour of Machu Picchu, and we started our climb of Wayna Picchu at 10:30. Wayna Picchu was pretty sweet. The climb itself was quite the lower body work out, but it wasn’t too hard in general. I don’t know where my fear of heights went, but I had no problem climbing ladders and standing on top of slanty rocks at the top of the mountain. It was pretty cool. On the way up, we met a Sikh (priestess) from Santa Fe and a world traveler from Austria. They were pretty cool, and the four of us went to the temple of the moon on the other side of the mountain. We took forever getting back because it started raining, but it was all worth it. After that adventure, Kelsey and I were done with Machu Picchu, so we went back down to Aguas Calientes, grabbed some dinner, and caught our train back. This train only went to Ollataitambo, so we had to take a taxi to Cusco. It only cost $7 for about an hour and a half.

Day 4: We had a tour of Valle Sagrado (sacred valley) with Alfonso. He picked us up around 8:30 and drove us everywhere. First we went to Tipon, Inca ruins. Then we went to a market in Pisaq. Finally, we went to a weaving compound. The place had the whole weaving process: the llamas and alpacas, the dyeing process, the weavers (indigenous people using traditional patterns), and the finished products. It was pretty cool. After that, Alfonso drove us to the airport. We flew from Cusco to Lima, had a 6 hour layover in Lima, and then flew to Quito. We got into Quito at 3am. Needless to say, I slept a lot when I got home.

Mindo

This past weekend, I went to Mindo with Kelsey, Amy, and Lacy. We left early Saturday morning and got to Mindo around 10. We checked into our hostal, which was basically a tree house. It was awesome!! After we grabbed some lunch, we did canopy zip lines. I was terrified, but it was really fun. After that, we went tubing, also a little scary but very fun. After we got all dried off, we got some ice cream and chilled out in the park. We wound up watching this group of children playing. They were adorable!! After that, we attempted to eat dinner at this hummingbird place with two med students (Jennifer and Justin) who were in the room next to us at the hostal, but the place was closed. So, we ate with them in town. We also ran into one of Kelsey’s friends Ben who joined us on our adventures the next day.

On Sunday, we had left to eat breakfast at the butterfly house. Along the way, we were joined by three stray dogs, which we named Buddy, Pancakes, and Loco. After a fantastic breakfast of pancakes for some and French toast for me and Justin, we went to see the butterflies, which were really cool. We saw several cocoons hatch right in front of us, and we all eventually got a butterfly or two to land on us. After the butterflies, we went to buy our bus tickets back, but the bus we wanted was full, so we wound up having to take a later bus home. After buying our tickets and grabbing some lunch and banana splits, we went in search of somewhere to swim. After a long walk with Buddy, we found a calmer part of the river. Most people swam a bit; Lacy and I just stuck our feet in and got eaten alive by the bugs. On our way back we hitched a ride in the back of a pickup truck, and Buddy ran all the way home.

Inca Trail/Cuenca/Ingapirca

As soon as we got back from the Galapagos, Kelsey and I had to immediately start getting ready for this camping trip. We literally got off the plane, dropped our stuff at Kelsey’s place, and took a bus to the Mariscal to find a place to rent a tent and such. While we were searching for this camping store, it started pouring. We eventually found it, and rented two sleeping bags, two mats, a tent, and a huge backpack for us to share. After that, we went to Supermaxi to buy food: peanut butter, bread, water, gatorade, candy, and fruit. Then, I went home to pack. About two hours later, Kelsey showed up at my door and we caught a cab to Cumbayá. From there, we met the rest of the group and took a bus (overnight) to Alausí. We ate breakfast there, I bought a hat and some gloves, and we took pickup trucks to Achupallas. After eating lunch and waiting for longer than we should have for our burros, we started the hike on the Inca Trail. We eventually made it to a tambo and set up camp. The next day, we were supposed to make it to San José and take trucks from there to Ingapirca (Inca ruins), but one student got lost. So, we had to set up camp in these huts we found while the guide went and looked for him. They eventually found him, and he was fine. The next day, we set out for San José, but it took longer than we thought, so we wound up bagging Ingapirca for the day and just going to Cuenca. The next day, we spent some time exploring Cuenca, and then went to Ingapirca. From there, we took trucks to Tambo, and caught a bus to Quito. Overall, the hiking was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be, but it’s definitely an accomplishment for the books.

Galapgaos

Kelsey and I went to the Galapagos for part of Semana Santa (April 9-14). I had an amazing time!! Below is the rundown of the trip...

Day 1:
I met Kelsey at the airport bright and early and we caught our flight to Guayaquil (a city in sourthern Ecuador) and then to the island San Cristóbal. The temperature when we stepped off the plane was 91 degrees Fahrenheit. We had to pay $100 cash to get into the islands because they’re a national park. I didn’t have that much in cash, so they kept my passport while someone from our tour drove me into town to an ATM. After that, I went back to the airport, met some other passengers and our guide, and took a small bus to the dock. From there, we took inflatables to our boat, the Millennium. After we got settled in and had some lunch on the boat, we went back to the island to go to the Interpretation Center, which was like a museum of the islands. After that we spent some time hanging out and shopping on the island. Then, we went back to the boat and ate dinner. A few of the passengers and I played poker that night. One passenger Bryan taught me, Kelsey, and another passenger Justina how to play Texas Hold ’Em. I got pretty good by the end of the night. As we slept, the boat went to the island Española. It was really bumpy, but I slept through it just fine.

Day 2:
In the morning, we went to a beach on Española where there were a whole bunch of sea lions, birds, and marine iguanas. After that, we went snorkeling and I saw a whole bunch of fish, a sea lion, a penguin (barely), and a pelican. Then we went back to the boat to eat lunch. After lunch, we went to a different side of Española where there were more animals. We saw blue footed boobies, nasca boobies, waved albatrosses (which were a big deal, according to our guide), tropical birds, a hawk, and more iguanas and sea lions. After that, we went back to the boat and hung out, ate dinner, played some more cards, and went to bed.

Day 3:
In the morning, we went on a hike of the island Floreana. We saw a crap load of animals there: crabs, sea lions, flamingos, blue footed boobies, rays, and sharks. After that hike, we went back to the boat and went snorkeling again. This time was way better. I saw even more fish, sharks, turtles, and sea lions. After lunch, we went to Post Office Bay. People leave letters and post cards in this barrel so that people pick them up and mail them or hand deliver them when they get home. I picked up a post card for Heyworth, IL and a letter for Green Bay, WI. I hope they can wait until May. :) We also went swimming at the beach there. After that, we just hung out on the boat. There were a whole bunch of frigate birds flying with the boat for a good half hour. It was pretty sweet. After dinner, the boat went to the island Santa Cruz, where we spent the next day.

Day 4:
Today, instead of doing the boat activities, I went scuba diving with a scuba shop in Santa Cruz. I saw a crap load of animals: lots of sharks, one turtle, one sea lion, a bunch of eels, a few dolphins, and a whole lot of fish. My first dive was just me and the instructor while the more advanced divers went somewhere else with a divemaster, but on the second dive I got to go with them because my instructor said I did a really good job: I breathe efficiently and I control my buoyancy really well. So, that felt pretty cool. :) After my scuba adventure, I went back to the island and ran into Kelsey—thankfully because I had the only key to the hostal (we stayed in Santa Cruz for the rest of the trip). She had to go back to the boat for something, and wound up being gone for a while. So, I hung out with one of the guys from the scuba shop. After Kelsey came back, he showed us around the island. While we were looking for a place to eat, we ran into a bunch of our friends from USFQ who were there with their volcanology class. So, we hung out with them for a while and then called it a day.

Day 5:
In the morning, we went to the Charles Darwin Center to see the giant tortoises and lonely George. Kelsey had gone with the group the day before and made an excellent tour guide. We actually got to go in the pen with five of the giant tortoises. It was pretty cool. After that, we went to Tortuga Bay, a really sweet beach. I had a lot of fun just chatting with Kelsey and enjoy the scenery. After that, we did some shopping at the little stores in town and ate very well at a cute little Italian restaurant. Then, we just hung out and went to bed.

Day 6:
We flew home. :(

Tiputini

This past weekend I went to Tiputini Biological Station in the Amazon. It was amazing!! We left early Friday morning and basically traveled all day. We took a twenty five minute plane ride to a town called Coca, a two hour canoe (with a motor) ride to some military-type base, got our stuff x-rayed and our passports checked, took a two hour bus ride in a safari-style bus, and then took another two hour canoe ride to the station. Needless to say, it was pretty isolated. The station has a dining area, cabins (no walls, just screens), an air-conditioned library, some classrooms and labs, a gazebo-type deal with hammocks, two docks for swimming, a volleyball court, and a whole bunch of trails. It was super humid, so much that they have special boxes in the library to keep expensive electronics because otherwise they stop working after a day or two. On Friday night, a few of us took a swim in the river. Other than that, we just ate dinner and got settled in.

On Saturday, we went on guided tours of the area. First, we had to get rubber calf-high boots which made us all look super-stylin. I was in a group with Josh, Andy, Ryan, Rick, and Amy. Our guide was José, who was an interesting guy as you will see. Our first trip was a hike through the trails just to see different plants and animals. We saw all sorts of frogs, toads, monkeys, and insects. A few of the highlights: seeing mating monkeys, eating ants, and letting fire ants bite our fingers (I did not participate in that last one). That lasted all morning. After a nap in the hammock cabin and a great lunch, we went on the lagoon/canopy tower hike. We trekked for a short while to get to this river bank, we all piled into a slightly jank canoe, and José paddled us around a lagoon where we saw a whole bunch of birds. Andy was terrified and it was hilarious. Then we hiked to a canopy tower. We climbed it and saw a whole bunch of birds, and a howler monkey. One the way back from the canopy, José showed us a vine that looked like male genitalia, and someone in our group brought some back for another girl as a joke. While we were waiting for our boat to take us back to camp, José taught us some useful phrases in Kichua and some dirty ones in Spanish (the latter of which was at the request of some members of the group). After that hike, we chilled a bit more, napped, ate dinner, and went on a night float. For the night float, we slowly and quietly took the canoe down the river and looked for animals. All we saw was a dwarf caiman (small alligator/crocodile), but it was pretty sweet.

On Sunday, I went on a canopy walk with my hiking group. We hiked for a bit, saw a few cool plants (including one that turns your tongue blue and one that gives you mosquito bite-like bumps) and a bull spider. Then we got to the canopy walkways, which were basically rope bridges attached to trees and a canopy tower. There was one optional part at the end of one of the bridges where you had to climb a ladder up a tree to a platform, and only Amy and I were brave enough to do it. It was awesome, except for the sweat bees and ants. After that, I took another nap and ate lunch. After lunch, we went on another boat trip. On the way to our first stop, we saw a sloth, which is supposedly very rare. Later, we fished for piranhas. I failed miserably, but Kelsey and Andy caught a total of four piranhas. Then, we floated down the river in life jackets. It was amazing. I got way ahead of the group and got to see a whole bunch of birds and just take in the rain forest. After the float, we had some more down time until dinner. Dinner was amazing: sweet corn, green beans, barbecued chicken breast, real mashed potatoes, and chocolate cake. It made me really homesick. I started tearing up when I ate the mashed potatoes and the cake. After dinner, we had a presentation on the camera trap program that they just finished at Tiputini. Basically, they set up motion/heat sensitive cameras to take pictures of the animals that you often don’t get to see, like peccaries, tapiers, ocelots, and jaguars. After that, a few of us went on a night hike with some of the students who are studying at Tipuntini. We only saw a tarantula, but it was really cool to experience the rain forest at night.

Then, on Monday we went home, taking the same long journey it took us to get there. We got to Coca with plenty of time to spare, so we just hung out at this resort type place on the dock. There, we saw all sorts of monkeys. They weren’t afraid of humans, so they climbed all over us. It was awesome. We finally arrived in Quito, just in time to head to Mulligan’s to watch the b-ball game…let’s not talk about that. Overall, it was a fantastic weekend!

Mom and Pete come to visit

This past week my mom and my brother Pete came to visit me in Ecuador. They arrived Saturday the 28th at night. I met them at the airport, we took the shuttle to their hotel together, and I took a taxi home. On Sunday, we went to the Brasil v. Ecuador fútbol game. It was crazy. We got there two and a half hours before the game started and there were no seats, so we stood the whole time; we also got rained on for part of the time. But the game was awesome!

On Monday, we attempted to go the Museo del Banco Central, but it was closed. So, Pete and Mom wound up coming to campus with me for a meeting I had for my Tiputini trip. We ate on campus, and they wandered around while I was at my meeting. After that, we went to Museo Mindalae (Ecuadorian artisan crafts) and the artisan market.
On Tuesday, we had lunch with my host family, Mom took a walk with Juli around my neighborhood, they came with me to the travel agent, and Pete and I went bowling with Deanna, Lacy, and a bunch of my Ecuadorian friends.

On Wednesday, I went to class while Mom and Pete took a tour of the city and went to Mitad del Mundo. After that, we grabbed dinner and went to the Ballet Folclórico Jacchigua. It was basically a blend of traditional dances with choreography meant to tell the story of the indigenous people of Ecuador. It was set, of course, to a live band. It was pretty much awesome.

On Thursday, the three of us went to Cotopaxi. It was super clear out, and we could see a whole bunch of volcanoes while we were driving to Cotopaxi. Pete and I climbed up to the first refuge (just shy of the snow line) and played in the snow. It was pretty sweet. When we got back to the hotel, I had to say good bye because I was leaving for Tiputini Friday morning and couldn’t come with them to the airport.

Tumbaco y Guachalá

This weekend I had two field trips. First, I went to Tumbaco with my ecology class. It's just the next town over from Cumbayá, where my university is. We went to this commune type thing based on sustainability. They grow organic fruits and vegetables, raise free range chickens, make their own soap, use solar energy to heat their water, and trade among themselves and local artisans for anything else they need. It was pretty sweet. It really made me think about the way we see our resources.
Then I went to Guachalá with my program and two students from Georgetown. It's the oldest hacienda in Ecuador. It was gorgeous. It had massive gardens that made me feel like I was in "The Secret Garden." I spent some time wandering around the gardens, napping in a hammock in the green house/pool area, and riding a horse through the property. It was awesome.

Dad's Visit

Like I wrote in my birthday post, my dad came to visit me this week. On Monday, we went to the Teleférico and to a Liga soccer game. On Tuesday, we went to Mitad del Mundo and had lunch with my host family. Yesterday (Wednesday) we went on a tour of Cotopaxi, which was awesome! My dad got to the highest altitude in his life. We also had a nice lunch together in a little restaurant in the middle of nowhere. I think that was my favorite part because we talked about a lot of things. He left very early this morning. It was a short visit, but I enjoyed it, and I think he did too!

The Big Two-Oh in Ecuador

My birthday has been super fantastic here. On Thursday, Andrés, Carlos, Jero, Juan Andrés, Deanna, Lacy, and I went bowling and then had dinner at CCI (a mall). It was the first time Deanna and Lacy met my Ecuadorian friends and the first time we all met Juan Andrés (Andy’s best friend). On Friday, we went to CEA (Católicos en Acción—the group of Catholic university students that Kelsey and I go to on Fridays), and they gave me a birthday card and a welcome to the group bookmark.

Saturday was the best. First, Kelsey and I tried and failed to find a book we need for our lit class. Then we made our way to Mall el Jardín and met up with Deanna and Andrés. Carlos and Jero met us there shortly thereafter. The six of us then headed to karaoke. We sang “Livin la vida loca,” “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” “Everybody” (yes, by the Backstreet Boys), “Hit Me Baby One More Time,” and “Barbie Girl,” along with some latina songs I don’t know. From there, we went for dinner in Quicentro (a different mall). They surprised me with birthday cake—complete with candles. They also proceeded to try to get frosting all over me. Lacy had a field trip for her geology class but met us at Quicentro, as did Pablo from CEA. After dinner, Kelsey, Pablo, Andy, and I went to the airport to pick up my dad. Eventually, my dad showed up and met my friends. They left, and he and I took the shuttle to his hotel. From there, I took a taxi home. When I got home, I found a really sweet card that (I found out) Kelsey had bought, snuck around the group throughout the day so that they could all sign it, and put in my bag while I was in the bathroom. I was so happy/touched that I cried.

Today (my actual birthday), Dad, Meche, Gonzalo, and I went out for lunch in centro histórico. Some of the roads were closed because apparently Prince Charles is visiting Ecuador. We stopped to watch his limo drive by. The restaurant where we ate lunch was kind of funny because their logo is someone in the traditional semana santa parade garb, which looks a lot like the KKK outfit. For dessert, someone dressed as such came out with a torta de maiz with a candle in it for me. My dad found it quite entertaining.

Overall, I had a fantastic birthday. I love my friends so much, and I’m very glad to have my dad here for the occasion.

Cotopaxi y Baños

This weekend I went on a field trip with my friend Deanna’s volcanology class. We left Saturday morning and went first to Cotopaxi, a 5897 meter high volcano in the province of the same name. It was gorgeous. The weather was almost perfect: way clearer than it usually is. We first ran down this hill-type-thing to look at some solidified lava and what it did to the earth. Climbing back up the hill sucked, so much so that I wound up not being able to climb to the snowline of the volcano, but it was still pretty sweet. I got some amazing pictures. After Cotopaxi, we took a bus to Baños, a popular tourist city at the base of the volcano Tungurahua and about 3 hours from Quito. We were all pretty beat by the time we got there, so we just got food and went to bed.

We woke up around 5am on Sunday to go to the Pailón del Diablo (Devil’s Hollow). It was super sweet. We hiked around for a while and saw a really sweet waterfall and some more evidence of ancient volcanic activity. After that excursion, we returned to the hostal, had breakfast, explored the city a little bit, and headed to the bus back to Quito. We really didn’t get a chance to see that much of Baños, so we’re planning on coming back for another weekend. After an hour on the bus, we stopped to check out an area that was taken out by pyroclastic flow and talk about the logistics/politics of living in an area that’s in danger should an eruption occur.

Overall, I really enjoyed the trip. There were some girls who were really whiny. I don’t mean to over-generalize, but so far USFQ kids have given me the impression of being spoiled and snotty. As it was described to me in orientation, USFQ is the Laguna Beach of Quito. The girls on this trip did nothing at all to change that opinion. They wore fashionable clothes (not appropriate for hiking and climbing), checked their makeup and hair all the time, smoked while hiking or when they were specifically told not to, and constantly whined about everything. It really got on my nerves. For example, the Pailón del Diablo excursion was optional, and these girls decided to come and then complain about it the whole time: how early it was, how hard the hike was, how long we dilly dallied to look at the volcanic sites (which was the whole point). Also, we had to wait in line to get onto the bridge to see the waterfall b/c there could only be five (we did seven) people on the bridge at once. My two friends and I had been patiently waiting for the seven people on the bridge to take their pictures and whatnot, when a group of these girls cuts in front of us. Luckily, there were four of them, so we still got on the bridge next, but I don’t know where they got off feeling entitled to get in line in front of us. I was not happy with them at all. I’m super glad that I hang out with Ecuadorians that I met outside of school. The people I’ve met who go to different universities in Quito have been super nice: not at all like the people at USFQ. They're actually normal people.

Carnaval--Parte 2

I'm back from Carnaval, and it was a blast...for the most part.

On Saturday we took a five hour bus ride to Guaranda. There was a parade going on, so we wandered around the city looking for our hostal, while getting sprayed with carioca, foam spray a bit like silly string, and squirt guns. That's carnaval for you. It really wasn't that big of a deal. We got to our hostal, had lunch in the restaurant down stairs and went to explore the city, during which we got foamed and sprayed a lot of course. Then, we took a taxi up to a monument, enjoyed the view of the city, and pet a donkey. After that, we took a taxi back to our hostal, napped, and ate dinner. After dinner, we went to a parade, met some gringos there, and went with them to a dance, which was super fun.

On Sunday, we went to Guaranda's big Carnaval parade. Little did we know it would run on Ecuadorian time, so we were standing around waiting for the parade to start and there was nothing better for the locals to do than to have carioca fights. So, we all got completely covered in foam, including in my eyes. To top it all off, it started to rain, and we all got really cold. So, after the parade, we headed back to the hostal, grabbed some lunch, and tried to find the bus to Ambato, which was quite the adventure. The buses couldn't get to the terminal because of all the festival traffic, so we just and to stand on the street that went out of town and hope the right bus would pass us. While we were wandering around looking for the bus, a bunch of guys sprayed us with a hose, completely soaking us. By that point we were all more than ready to get the you-know-what out of Guaranda. Once we got to Ambato, we basically hung out in our over priced hotel because we were all cold, wet, and tired.

On Monday, we went to a market in Ambato, up to another monument to see views of the city and the surrounding volcanoes, to a fair/expo, and then back to our hotel. During that time we did not get sprayed at all. Afterward, we went to Ambato's big Carnaval parade, which was very pretty and civilized. At the end of the parade, people started busting out the carioca, but it was definitely not as bad as Guaranda. After the parade, we headed back to our hotel and conked out.

Today, we took a bus back to Quito. And that's how my first Carnaval in Latin America went.

Carnaval--Parte 1

Carnaval has been quite the experience so far. Even though the famed pre-Lent festival is technically just this weekend (through Tuesday), there have been plenty of shenanigans the whole month. For example, someone threw a water balloon at me from a bus when I was walking home. Nico, my five-year-old host nephew, threatened to shoot me with his water gun until Meche told him, "No hagas carnaval a la Patricia." And today, I was riding in a taxi with the window down, and someone in a passing car sprayed this pink foam stuff at me. Such actions are supposed to be illegal and thus have calmed down in recent years, but they definitely still go on. Apparently they target gringos, and I can't really blend in, so this weekend might be an adventure. I'm going to two cities famous for their Carnaval celebrations: Guaranda and Ambato. I've been told that people get eggs thrown at them in Guaranda, so I'll try to be careful. More on that when I get back...

The Adventure that was Puerto Lopez

I went to Puerto Loopez this weekend on the west coast of Ecuador in the province of Manabí. The bus ride was supposed to take 11 hours each way. Our plan was to leave Quito at 7pm, get to Puerto Lopez early Saturday morning. I was going to SCUBA dive all day Saturday and part of Sunday. My friends were going to snorkel, take a tour of the national park Isla de La Plata, and enjoy the beach. We were going to leave Puerto Lopez late Sunday afternoon, get home early Monday morning in time to go to class, tired of course, but that was okay with us. The weekend did not go as planned.

First, Kelsey and I miscalculated the traffic in Quito on a Friday night and almost missed our bus. We had given ourselves a 40 minute cushion to find the bus terminal and whatnot; we ended up arriving 25 minutes after the bus was supposed to leave. Luckily, our friends were already there, and they stalled the bus for us.

Then, around 9pm, we heard, "No hay paso a Santo Domingo," which means that the bus couldn't get to Santo Domingo, the next destination on the route. About a half an hour later we got to a big line of trucks and buses. The driver then informed us that we would be spending the night on the bus...in the middle of the highway. When I woke up that morning, we found out that there had been a landslide.

We tried to convince our bus driver to go back to Quito, but he had to get the bus to Puerto Lopez eventually, and it was cheaper for him to wait out the repairs than to go back to Quito. After waiting a total of twenty hours, we finally crossed the landslide. It was definitely not safe to cross--probably one of the scariest moments of my life.

About 9 hours later (around 5am), we arrived in Puerto Lopez, checked into our hostal and got 2 hours of sleep.

Sunday during the day, Kelsey and I continued with our plans. The other two girls went home, and I don't blame them. It had been a lot to handle already. Anyway, at 8:00am, Kelsey and I went to the SCUBA shop. I found out that I couldn't do all four dives necessary for open water certification in one day, so I was going to have to settle for plain old scuba diver certification. That means I would do all my skills in two dives and have to do two "pleasure dives" with an instructor to get open water certified. That was fine with me, I was just glad I was going to be able to dive. Kelsey went on a guided hiking/snorkeling tour of Isla de la Plata while I went diving.

The day was amazing. On the boat ride over to Isla de la Plata, I saw two groups of dolphins. There had to have been at least a hundred of them. The captain slowed down the boat and we sat out on the bow and watched the dolphins swim along side the boat. It was breath taking. I was so close that I got splashed in the face when one of them came up for air.

The dives were also really sweet. We did one dive down to 10 meters and one to 6. I saw a whole bunch of fish: angelfish, blue angelfish, a fish that looked like a mud skipper, some kind of bright yellow fish, a puffer fish, a few eels, starfish, and a few manta rays. This was all among massive brain coral formations. It was amazing!

After the dives, I went back and got my logbook all filled out. Then, Kelsey and I got dinner, ran back to our hostal to grab our stuff, and ran to the bus station just in time. The bus ride was just fine, and I fell asleep. When I woke up around 7am, we were stopped and Kelsey informed me that there were four landslides on our route. We were explaining to some women on the bus what happened on our way there, and Kelsey wanted to show them pictures of the first landslide only to find that her camera was gone. Apparently, someone had stolen it while she was sleeping, even though it was in her backpack under her feet. We searched the entire bus and even got the bus driver to go through everyone's luggage, but it was gone. Someone must have taken it and left before we realized it was gone. She lost all her pictures of Isla de la Plata.

In the end, we waited 7 hours for them to clear the four landslides, none of which were as massive as the one we had to traverse on the way there. So, we got home around 3pm, when we had intended to get home around 5 or 6am.

So, that's 5 landslides, 54 hours on a bus, 2 hours of sleep in a bed, 1 robbery, and 2 SCUBA dives. What a weekend!

Otavalo

Last Saturday, I went to an artisan market in Otavalo. I had to wake up at 5:30am to catch the first bus out at 7:15. It felt like we were going to miss the bus because everyone in the group arrived at different times and we had to find each other in the bus station. But in true Ecuadorian style, the bus didn't leave on time, so we were fine.
The market was overwhelming in a good way. There were easily a thousand booths there. I bought a blanket, a sweater, a skirt, a scarf, two bags, a soccer jersey, two necklaces, and a few gifts for my family. Needless to say, I spent a lot of money. Nevertheless, I want to go back and buy a few more things.

Centro Histórico

On Saturday, I went to the centro histórico (historical center) of Quito. It has some original Inca buildings, a bunch of churches, and some museums. To get there, we took the Trole and then walked a bit. The Trole was super crowded, and someone managed to steal my camera. :( Then, after we had been at the centro histórico for maybe a half an hour, it started raining, and then it started pouring. So, we wound up cutting the day a bit short and heading home via taxi. So, the day kinda sucked.

La Playa

Last weekend I went to the coast, specifically to La Playa Casablanca in El Same, Esmeraldas (a province). To get there, I had to take a trolley and then walk to the bus station in Quito, ride a fairly nice bus for eight hours to Atacames (another city), and ride in the back of a pickup truck for about fifteen minutes to our hotel/resort. We traveled in two groups based on class schedule, so several people were there before I got there. Before I got there, two girls almost drowned in a rip tide. So, obviously, we did not go too far out when we went in the ocean. Despite that, I really enjoyed the beach. It was gorgeous, the weather was perfect, and the waves weren't too rough. It reminded me of being in North Carolina where my family vacations every summer. I thought it was pretty cool to be hanging out in a bathing suit in January.

Getting home was a bit of an adventure. The woman who was supposed to drive us back to Atacames misunderstood us and was a bit late picking us up. Plus, we had the bus schedule wrong, so when we got to the bus station, we had to wait two hours for the next bus. So, a couple of us wandered around Atacames, taking one last look at the ocean and checking out the local shops. I liked hanging out there for that short amount of time, but I'm very glad we did not stay there the whole weekend. It was a bit sketchy, dirty, and crowded.

The Ecuator

On Sunday, I went to the equator! First, we went to Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world) where the French calculated the equator to be. They were wrong, but it was still fun. We ate an Ecuadorian fruit called guaba that grows in big green pods with cottony edible chunks inside, went inside the monument to a museum full of indegenous artifacts, and watched some traditional dancing. We ate lunch there; Kelsey and I ate cuy (guinea pig) which is traditional food in Ecuador. It came whole: head, ears, teeth, whiskers, claws, and all. It tasted like chicken. :D

After that, we went to the actual equator, as calcuated by the indegenous people of Ecuador thousands of years before the French and confirmed by US Army GPS. We went on a tour, which included a few indegenous domiciles, live cuy, a blow dart challange, native animals, shrunken heads, and demonstrations of some scientific properties of the equator. Some of these demonstrations included water going straight down the drain and balancing an egg on a nail. It was sweet!

Protests, protests everywhere

On Thursday, the president of Ecuador Rafael Correa gave his State of the Union address. Many people in Ecuador do not like Correa because of his left-leaning views, alliances (or at least friendships) with Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela, and his lack of action against Colombia. So, there were several protests this week. I only saw one. It was for women's rights and was very peaceful.

Similarly, this week is the inauguration of Obama. I'm interested to see how much impact this historic day is going to have in Ecuador. On a related note, I want to encourage all of you to visit The Virtual March for Equality. This is an issue that is very important to me. Even though I'm in Ecuador, I still care about injustice in the US. ...That's all for my soapbox for now.

Blackout, classes

So, there was a total blackout of all of Quito last night. The lights went out for about half an hour around six and then came back on. They went out for another half hour around eight. Meche tells me the electricians are on strike. Luckily, after the first time it happened, Juli was still around and gave me a candle and some matches for the second time. Unfortunately, they were the most jank matches I’ve ever seen, and their pilot light was out, so I couldn’t light one from the stove. By some strange stroke of luck, there were some souvenir matchbooks on the bulletin board in my room, so by the light of my cell phone I was able to safely light the candle. Unfortunately, I just finished the book I was reading (which was fabulous, by the way), so I entertained myself playing purble place and mahjong on my computer.

This week has gone pretty well. I finally picked my classes. I’m taking human ecology, north and south: processes of colonialization (which I will learn is not the same as colonialism), and two gringo literature classes. They’re all pretty small classes. The gringo classes have less than 10 people and the other two around 25. So, I have to talk in class, which is both a blessing because I need to improve my speaking skills and a curse because I’ll actually have to work (oh no!). The ecology and history classes also have a lot of reading, but I haven’t had too much trouble with comprehension. I come across lots of words I don’t know, but I can get the gist of the readings without looking all of them up.

Enferma.

Tengo gripe. :(

Other adventures of the first week

I've had some interesting experiences this week besides starting classes and taking the Teleférico. First, I had some issues with transportation. I'm supposed to take a bus from my neighborhood to near the bus station, walk to about four blocks the bus station, and take another bus from the bus station to the university, and the reverse on the way back. The first day of classes, Meche drove me to the bus station, and the maid left me with vague instructions as to where to catch the bus that would take me back to my neighborhood. So, I got sufficiently lost on the way home and wound up taking a taxi. Thursday went off without a hitch. Friday, I got lost again. I caught the right bus, but it took a slightly different route, probably because it was closer to rush hour. It went under the intersection where I usually get off the bus, and I wasn't familiar enough with the other cross streets to recognize it until we got to the end of the line. So, I had to take another bus back to my neighborhood. Despite the many warnings I have gotten about how dangerous Quito can be, everyone I've asked for help when I was lost has been very friendly and accommodating. Luckily, I have only had problems with getting home from the university, so I haven't been late to classes or anything like that because of my troubles.

While on the note of transportation, driving here makes me a bit nervous. Regulations like lane markings and stop signs are merely suggestions. Also, pedestrians definitely do not have the right of way, even in crosswalks. It is quite the contrast to MSU, where pedestrians rule the road.

I've also been able to experience the nightlife in Quito. On Thursday, I went to a welcome party for international students in the Mariscal, an area with a lot of bars and clubs. It is sometimes called Gringolandia because there are a lot of foreigners. That day, the name seemed to fit but, when a bunch of MSU students and I went back on Friday, gringos only comprised maybe 15% of the people there. Meche says that it used to be a lot more touristy, but it has gotten better in the past few years.

It's also been a little hard for me to adjust to having a maid. Because she wasn't here the first weekend I was, I assumed she got weekends off, but apparently she was on vacation that week and actually comes every day. She cooks every meal, tidies my room and makes my bed every day, and does my laundry. She has also helped me get around Quito a bit.

This week I also met most of Meche and Gonzalo's family. I've met each of their three kids and five out of eight grandkids. One of their daughters Lorena lives very close to them, so she and her kids come over a lot. She has twin boys Nico and Sebas and a daughter Gabby. I think the boys are around four years old and Gabby is about nine. The boys come over a lot when Lore is at work. They're super cute and very energetic, and they seem to have gotten used to me. I've only met Gabby once, but she was really sweet and quite interested in my saxophone and pictures of back home.

Classes

Classes started this week on Wednesday. At USFQ, students get the first week and a half to arrange their schedules. As such, I went to many different classes this week to figure out what classes I should take. I went to sociology (gender and society), two EAI (Spanish for international students aka Gringo) lit classes, an actual lit class (oral Ecuadorian histories), history (North and South: processes of colonialism), human ecology, and cultural anthropology. I still want to try one more class called Andean anthropology.

I decided I didn't want to take sociology, oral Ecuadorian histories, or cultural anthropology. The focus of the sociology class was not what I thought it would be and would have been a lot of work for something I don't find all that interesting. I think the lit class would have been over my head, plus it fulfills the same requirements as the history class, which I really liked. And the anthropology class was too generic: I wanted an anthro class specifically about South America or Ecuador, which is more like the Andean anthropology class.

I really like all the other classes. One of the EAI's is half reading hispanic (as in Spanish and Latin American) lit and half learning about Ecuador and Quito. The other EAI is half Latin American lit and half Cuban lit, which we will connect to Cuba's history and politics. The history class is pretty self-explanatory: comparing the English colonies with Spanish colonies during the colonial age and now. Also, the class is about half gringos, and the professor made a point to say that no one should be embarrassed to participate in class, which I thought was cool. The human ecology class is pretty sweet: the subject matter is intriguing, and I like the professor a lot so far. Although I haven't been to the Andean anthropology class, I have read they syllabus and talked to people who are in it and it seems quite interesting and we have an optional field trip into rural Ecuador to see what we've learned in real life. Because of the way the schedule works out, I have to pick four of these five classes, a decision I have yet to make.

Teleferica

Today almost all of the MSU/USFQ students went up Pichincha, the mountain just to the west of Quito, in a cable car system called the Teleférica. It was amazing. The cable car took us most of the way up, and you can walk a bit farther. The view was fantastic. When we were about halfway to the top (from where the cable car left us) we took a horse tour of part of the mountain and saw a small waterfall. During the tour we could hear thunder, but we were so high up that we were above the storm. By the end of the tour, I was pretty tired, but we all wanted to get as far up as we could, so we kept climbing. This was a bit of a physical challange for me because I'm still acclilmating to the altitude, I think moreso than everyone else. So, I had to go slowly and take breaks. By the time we got as high as we could on acutal trails, it was starting to get dark and foggy: time to go back. I had to walk a lot slower than everyone else to get down, so one other girl (Jackie) and I would up getting separated from the group. By the time we made it back to where the horses had been, it was so foggy that Jackie thought we were lost. Not soon after that, we met a few policemen/soldiers who walked us the rest of the way back. It was quite an adventure.

Orientacion, lluvia, y celular

Today I got my first taste of typical Quiteño weather. In the morning, it was chilly--around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Then it got hot, and then it rained. Luckily, I was already out shopping and had bought an umbrella when it started raining. More on that later...

The first order of business today was the international student orientation at the university. My host mom Meche drove me there and dropped me off, doing her best to point out the bus stops I would be using when I eventually have to get myself to school. Orientation went well. We listened to talks about safety, health, culture, and politics, and took a tour of campus, which is small but gorgeous.

When I got home, I played with Meche's grandsons and watched the Spanish (as in from Spain) version of Wheel of Fortune.

Later, I went to the mall with our maid-type lady Juli. The mall is about a twenty minute walk from the house--not a big deal. There, I bought an umbrella, some toiletrees, and a cell phone. I let Juli do most of the talking at the cell phone store, so I really don't know how the service works. From what I gather, it's basically pay as you go. By the time I left the mall, it was pouring rain, so I got to put my new umbrella to good use. When we were about halfway home, Meche called Juli to see where we were and then she came to pick us up.

After dinner, Meche and I had a very musical night. First, she insisted that I play my saxophone for her. Then, she played the accordion for me. Next, we both played the piano. Finally, she played some CD's for me of traditional Ecuadorian and Latino music, including a CD of my host dad Gonzalo's band. I had a lot of fun, and I feel as though Meche and I really connected through our mutual love of music.

Tomorrow I have to go to the migration police to register my visa and get my "Censo" (ID for foreigners), and classes start on Wednesday.

I made it!

I write this post from Quito!! Everything went as smoothly as could be expected. I sat next to a girl from band and one of her acquaintances on the plane. I met a girl from Crystal Lake (the town just south of McHenry) in the line for customs. It made me a lot more comfortable to be with other people going through the same experience as me.

My host mom is very nice. We had tea and snacks and chatted a bit once I got settled in. She was very pleased to hear that I'm Catholic and that I want to go to Mass with her tomorrow. She also said that I spoke Spanish very well, which put me at ease because I was quite nervous about the language barrier.

I like the house so far. It is a normal size for a city setting and I get my own room and bathroom. It is also only a block or two from a bus stop that serves many bus lines, including the one that I will take to the university. I'm very excited that I have internet access in the house, something the coordinator of the program said was rare. So, I'll be able to check my facebook frequently and I'll have access to Skype whenever I'm home.

Well, I'm off to unpack and get some rest.

The adventure begins...

For all of you who don't know, I'm spending this semester in Ecuador studying at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. I've been preparing for this trip all semester. I applied for my visa and got several vaccines this fall. Over break, I went to the consulate in Chicago to get my visa (after waiting for three hours), did some shopping, packed, and said goodbye to my family. This past week I have been in Orlando for the Capitol One Bowl with the marching band. Today, I flew to Miami, and I depart tomorrow afternoon for Quito. I'll be staying with a host family, who should be picking me up from the airport tomorrow. I'm nervous and excited for this big change. I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow, so wish me luck!