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.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
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!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
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.
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.
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