Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Question
If anyone knows an easier way for me to post pictures, uhum Mindy, please let me know. And what about videos?
I thought it about time I post som more pictures!The girls and I singing karoake in La Cueva. (It was Backstreet Boys, if you were curious.)
A genuine guy that we met in Atacames!
Let there be llamas!
Let there be llamas!
Of anyone reading my blog, Tony Lee will appreciate these next three pictures the most. They are of a festival I went to called the Mama Negra. It was epic. The above photo is of one of many of the pigs with chickens surrounding it that were part of the parade.
The Mama Negra herself (actually himself).
And finally, me getting a spiritual cleaning as I was pulled out of the crowd into the middle of the street and these white-painted men spun me around and spit aguardiente and wine all over me.
Christmas Eve and I'm wearing a tanktop
So today is Christmas Eve and I miss my little town of Beth…I mean Boise. My family(-ies) are all gathering together to share scrumptious foods and tell stories that they haven’t been able to share with one another about the months past. I’m missing the snow and the sweet taste of peppermint mocha with whip cream and red sprinkles straight from one of my favorite corporations, Starbucks. I miss my mommy and my fadre and my little butthead sister that, you know, I’ve actually come to love dearly over the years. I miss Krista’s intuitive sarcasm and Kevin’s humor that only comes out when he’s around just the right group of people. I miss Sarah’s nerdiness that you just wouldn’t expect from such a gorgeous, dolled up girl. I miss Theresa’s lame jokes (I know, can you believe it?) and that fact that her kids are just like her whether they can admit or not. And I miss Tyler because I have learned so much from him and I think he’s learned from me, too.
I miss all my friends who I know are just having a blast reuniting and celebrating after a tuff semester of college. And I miss all of you that were not specifically mentioned as well (including Thomas, Elmo, Romeo, Poopsie, Bear and Dora). Christmas just isn’t the same with the above mentioned, but you all should be comforted to know that I feel a part of my host family, and do not feel alone. We will be eating a feast tomorrow and the next day (including a turkey!) and we are doing a secret gift exchange and I chose tía Viva out of the hat, and any gift that I get her will just bring her to tears and it will be the cutest thing in the world (just ask my Dad and Theresa).
Next to the Christmas holidays, I am learning how to juggle. A bunch of the kids at Opción de Vida (where I volunteer to do laundry and what not for los niños de la calle) juggle for tips on the streets and they are so good! They’ve inspired me to pick up the hobby. They have taught me some tricks and you will all be dropping your jaws in aspiration by June (at least I hope).
I passed my classes at PUCE and am on break until February. I'm going to travel it up with a couple friends and get so used to not having any work to do that next semester will probably hurt at first. It's about 70 degrees outside right now and it doesn't feel like Christmas, despite the decorations that are all over the city. Today I am going to make some Christmas cookies for my family!
Merry Christmas to all! I think about you all all of the time!
Chao.
I miss all my friends who I know are just having a blast reuniting and celebrating after a tuff semester of college. And I miss all of you that were not specifically mentioned as well (including Thomas, Elmo, Romeo, Poopsie, Bear and Dora). Christmas just isn’t the same with the above mentioned, but you all should be comforted to know that I feel a part of my host family, and do not feel alone. We will be eating a feast tomorrow and the next day (including a turkey!) and we are doing a secret gift exchange and I chose tía Viva out of the hat, and any gift that I get her will just bring her to tears and it will be the cutest thing in the world (just ask my Dad and Theresa).
Next to the Christmas holidays, I am learning how to juggle. A bunch of the kids at Opción de Vida (where I volunteer to do laundry and what not for los niños de la calle) juggle for tips on the streets and they are so good! They’ve inspired me to pick up the hobby. They have taught me some tricks and you will all be dropping your jaws in aspiration by June (at least I hope).
I passed my classes at PUCE and am on break until February. I'm going to travel it up with a couple friends and get so used to not having any work to do that next semester will probably hurt at first. It's about 70 degrees outside right now and it doesn't feel like Christmas, despite the decorations that are all over the city. Today I am going to make some Christmas cookies for my family!
Merry Christmas to all! I think about you all all of the time!
Chao.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Observations
You know what I've found to be weird? Ecuadorians don't use very much pepper. In fact, I have yet to find a pepper shaker in my house. But the salt is not lacking. There is plenty of salt to dump on everything.
You know what's annoying? It's virtually impossible to come upon toilet paper in any bathroom besides my own. And what's more- I always forget to take toilet paper with me when I leave the house. I doubt any of you want to know what happens from there, when I've really gotta go, and there's no TP.
You know what's annoying? It's virtually impossible to come upon toilet paper in any bathroom besides my own. And what's more- I always forget to take toilet paper with me when I leave the house. I doubt any of you want to know what happens from there, when I've really gotta go, and there's no TP.
The PDAs here are out of hand. The people do not care whether they are on the street, in the computer lab sitting right next to me, or on the bus swaying about because there aren't any open seats. Everywhere seems to qualify as an appropriate place to make out. And it kind of grosses me out a little.
I think I've actually learned some Spanish. My pops and stepmom came to visit me and I felt like I had progressed with the language when they were with me. Thanks you two. You boosted my self esteem :)
This is all for now, folks. I will try my best to write more often.
CHAO.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Random Pictures
Whether you can tell or not, that is me crawling on the equator. I speak the truth. 
We went to a fútbol game in Quito, which Ecuador won 3-1. As you know, I was more focused on the food than on the game, even though the game was the most exciting sports festival I've ever been to. that hotdog you see had tomatoes and crumbled up potato chips on it! No one could resist...
This next photo is of a GIGANTIC statue on a hill called El Panecillo. If you could see the scale of this beastly saint, you'd be surprised.
Next is a photo of a meal that I ate, which I'm still drooling about. The yellow things are called llapingachos (potato patties with cheese), the white stuff is mote (an odd type of yummy corn), there's an onion-tomato salad, the things on the left are slices of fried plátano, there's a slice of avocado, and in the middle is fritada (chunks of pork). YUM.
We went rafting in Baños and the water was warm. It rained and I didn´t even know it until we stopped half way for a break.
Alrrrright.
Holas! ¡No he escribido por muchísimos años! Discúlpame, por favor, porque no tengo mucho tiempo para usar el internet. El miércoles pasado, yo empecé vacaciones. Me acabé el cuarto nivel de español, y en una semana, empezaré el quinto nivel. Estoy emocionada para seguir aprendiendo el idioma.
I will continue in English because I would like everyone to know what’s been going on without having to use an online translator, which by the way doesn’t work as well as we would hope that it would.
Winter is beginning here, which just means that it now rains everyday. But the thing about the weather is that I will wake up to a bright and shiny day, and will proceed to walk out the door in my jeans and a T-shirt. But by the time I get done with class in the afternoon, the sky is full of big black clouds, which wait to release their downpour until I’m no longer safely contained in the linguistics building. Because of the very indecisive weather patterns, I’ve learned that it is crucial to carry my umbrella and my rain jacket wherever and whenever I go, even if every bird is chirping along as if their day is going to continue on with blue skies and warm sunrays.
I don’t believe I’ve told you about Otavalo. All of the exchanges students at La Catolica got to go on a weekend trip to a town called Otavalo. In this town there is a gigantic market, known all throughout South America
. We took a bus for only two hours and arrived in this town on Saturday morning to find blocks upon blocks of vendors. They had everything from your typical alpaca wool sweaters, to handmade bracelets, to cool purses with llamas on them. They were also selling tons of jewelry made from a plant or root or something which is known as tagua. My good friend Ashley and I also found a panaderia (I know, right?), and we had a couple of delicious donuts for a midday snack. I must admit that I spent a good chunk of cash that afternoon!
Que mas mis amigos? Part of the study abroad program involves volunteer work. So, every Tuesday and Thursday I volunteer in the afternoons. On Tuesdays, I walk to el parque La Carolina to volunteer at a place called Opcion de Vida. This is a Christian based organization that offers services to los ninos de la calle. These are boys from the ages of 8 to 20 who are homeless and spend their days on the streets, either selling candies, or simply trying to survive. La Opcion de Vida offers these boys a good home cooked meal and showering facilities. In the laundry room, they each have a basket marked with their name, where they keep their clothes. My job is to either do their laundry, or help cook the food. I prefer to help in the kitchen, but I’ll do what needs to be done. Each day is different at La Opcion de Vida. Some days the boys get to play soccer, and other days they attend devotion and the pastor in charge talks with them. The boys are very sarcastic, and I think that they may actually like us, even though on our first day they asked us why we had come all the way from the U.S. to do their laundry. I said it was because someone’s got to do it.
On Thursdays, Ashley and I take an insane bus ride up to Las Casas Altas (which is a section of the city) to a placed called La Divina Voluntad. This is another religiously based organization, but it is much different. We walk down this steep hill through this poverty-ridden neighborhood to these big wooden doors. The moment we open the doors, hundreds of children flock to our sides, tugging at our jeans, attempting to crawl up our legs. La Divina Voluntad is a place where children go after they are done with school, to both eat lunch and work on their homework.
Before I continue, I must make something clear. In Ecuador, public education really sucks. Those who can afford it send their kids to private Catholic schools. Those who cannot afford it, send their kids to public schools that are less than perfect. There is a lack of qualified teachers and most kids don’t get the attention that they need. It is a painful sight to see, indeed. If you want a guaranteed job teaching, come here. But just as teachers are paid less than they should be in the U.S., teachers here aren’t bringing in the big bucks either.
Anyway, when we get to La Divina Voluntad, it is time for the kids to sit down and have lunch. Ashley and I have the option to eat the lunch too, but we have found that it can be risky. One time we ate spaghetti with a cheese-spinach omlette. It was a strange combo, but actually rather normal for this country. Another time we ate soup that had chicken feet in it. Not my favorite. The last time we went, we ate a soup that had pig hair in it. PIG HAIR. I ate all of it, not wanting to know whether or not the millions of specks that were shaped like eyelashes floating around in the soup were just an odd spice or worse. When I found out afterwards that it was the latter, I honestly felt pretty disgusted. From then on, I decided, I would look in the giant vat of soup before agreeing to eat a bowl.
After we eat lunch, we get pulled upstairs by the cute little kids to one of three classrooms. I like the middle group, who are all around 8 years old. I get to help them with their homework and use my Spanish at the same time. The nun that runs the place thinks she’s getting a good deal, but I know who’s winning in this situation. Ha, just kidding. But it is really rewarding to be able to help a child learn something new. They have to teach me too, though. For instance, they do multiplication and division in a completely different way down here! It took two hours of explanation from my host sister and mom before it all clicked and I finally understood how to work a simple division problem. I felt so lost, but so satisfied when I had got it down. Volunteering has been a learning experience for sure.
Have I told you all about how cool Ecuador is? It has everything! I live up in the mountains and volcanoes. I’d like to climb a mountain, especially Volcán Chimborazo which is the closest point to the sun because of the equatorial bulge, but I am very intimidated to do so seeing as I have never summated a mountain before in my life. Anyway, that is one part of Ecuador. We also have el Oriente, which is in the south east. This is where the Amazon River runs through and there is a bunch o
f rainforest. Then there are the beaches! Oh, the beaches. I went to a beach called Atacames last weekend and soaked in the incredibly powerful sun rays that honestly kind of freaked me out because of how strong they were, and I drank a “coco loco”, which was a drink served inside a gigantic coconut. Finally, Ecuador has the Galápagos Islands. Before I got here, I had no idea that this tiny country had so much to offer!
I will continue in English because I would like everyone to know what’s been going on without having to use an online translator, which by the way doesn’t work as well as we would hope that it would.
Winter is beginning here, which just means that it now rains everyday. But the thing about the weather is that I will wake up to a bright and shiny day, and will proceed to walk out the door in my jeans and a T-shirt. But by the time I get done with class in the afternoon, the sky is full of big black clouds, which wait to release their downpour until I’m no longer safely contained in the linguistics building. Because of the very indecisive weather patterns, I’ve learned that it is crucial to carry my umbrella and my rain jacket wherever and whenever I go, even if every bird is chirping along as if their day is going to continue on with blue skies and warm sunrays.
I don’t believe I’ve told you about Otavalo. All of the exchanges students at La Catolica got to go on a weekend trip to a town called Otavalo. In this town there is a gigantic market, known all throughout South America
. We took a bus for only two hours and arrived in this town on Saturday morning to find blocks upon blocks of vendors. They had everything from your typical alpaca wool sweaters, to handmade bracelets, to cool purses with llamas on them. They were also selling tons of jewelry made from a plant or root or something which is known as tagua. My good friend Ashley and I also found a panaderia (I know, right?), and we had a couple of delicious donuts for a midday snack. I must admit that I spent a good chunk of cash that afternoon!Que mas mis amigos? Part of the study abroad program involves volunteer work. So, every Tuesday and Thursday I volunteer in the afternoons. On Tuesdays, I walk to el parque La Carolina to volunteer at a place called Opcion de Vida. This is a Christian based organization that offers services to los ninos de la calle. These are boys from the ages of 8 to 20 who are homeless and spend their days on the streets, either selling candies, or simply trying to survive. La Opcion de Vida offers these boys a good home cooked meal and showering facilities. In the laundry room, they each have a basket marked with their name, where they keep their clothes. My job is to either do their laundry, or help cook the food. I prefer to help in the kitchen, but I’ll do what needs to be done. Each day is different at La Opcion de Vida. Some days the boys get to play soccer, and other days they attend devotion and the pastor in charge talks with them. The boys are very sarcastic, and I think that they may actually like us, even though on our first day they asked us why we had come all the way from the U.S. to do their laundry. I said it was because someone’s got to do it.
On Thursdays, Ashley and I take an insane bus ride up to Las Casas Altas (which is a section of the city) to a placed called La Divina Voluntad. This is another religiously based organization, but it is much different. We walk down this steep hill through this poverty-ridden neighborhood to these big wooden doors. The moment we open the doors, hundreds of children flock to our sides, tugging at our jeans, attempting to crawl up our legs. La Divina Voluntad is a place where children go after they are done with school, to both eat lunch and work on their homework.
Before I continue, I must make something clear. In Ecuador, public education really sucks. Those who can afford it send their kids to private Catholic schools. Those who cannot afford it, send their kids to public schools that are less than perfect. There is a lack of qualified teachers and most kids don’t get the attention that they need. It is a painful sight to see, indeed. If you want a guaranteed job teaching, come here. But just as teachers are paid less than they should be in the U.S., teachers here aren’t bringing in the big bucks either.
Anyway, when we get to La Divina Voluntad, it is time for the kids to sit down and have lunch. Ashley and I have the option to eat the lunch too, but we have found that it can be risky. One time we ate spaghetti with a cheese-spinach omlette. It was a strange combo, but actually rather normal for this country. Another time we ate soup that had chicken feet in it. Not my favorite. The last time we went, we ate a soup that had pig hair in it. PIG HAIR. I ate all of it, not wanting to know whether or not the millions of specks that were shaped like eyelashes floating around in the soup were just an odd spice or worse. When I found out afterwards that it was the latter, I honestly felt pretty disgusted. From then on, I decided, I would look in the giant vat of soup before agreeing to eat a bowl.
After we eat lunch, we get pulled upstairs by the cute little kids to one of three classrooms. I like the middle group, who are all around 8 years old. I get to help them with their homework and use my Spanish at the same time. The nun that runs the place thinks she’s getting a good deal, but I know who’s winning in this situation. Ha, just kidding. But it is really rewarding to be able to help a child learn something new. They have to teach me too, though. For instance, they do multiplication and division in a completely different way down here! It took two hours of explanation from my host sister and mom before it all clicked and I finally understood how to work a simple division problem. I felt so lost, but so satisfied when I had got it down. Volunteering has been a learning experience for sure.
Have I told you all about how cool Ecuador is? It has everything! I live up in the mountains and volcanoes. I’d like to climb a mountain, especially Volcán Chimborazo which is the closest point to the sun because of the equatorial bulge, but I am very intimidated to do so seeing as I have never summated a mountain before in my life. Anyway, that is one part of Ecuador. We also have el Oriente, which is in the south east. This is where the Amazon River runs through and there is a bunch o
f rainforest. Then there are the beaches! Oh, the beaches. I went to a beach called Atacames last weekend and soaked in the incredibly powerful sun rays that honestly kind of freaked me out because of how strong they were, and I drank a “coco loco”, which was a drink served inside a gigantic coconut. Finally, Ecuador has the Galápagos Islands. Before I got here, I had no idea that this tiny country had so much to offer! I miss you all very much and hope you are enjoying your lives without me, which I know is hard ;)
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Two.
This is a view from my roof. That mountain in the background is called Pinchincha. It´s a volcano.
Here is where I live! It´s the long city of Quito.
This is a view from this little pueblo called Yunguilla where I volunteered for a week. We were in a cloud forest! At about 4 every afternoon, clouds would roll in and blanket this town.
Mmmmm. We made a fatty vat of cheese.
We built that wall!
L to R: Me, Ashley, Emily, and David
One.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Oooooo Yeah.
I´ve pretty much been here a month. It shows in my waist line. The llapingachos are just too good and I have to have more than one. And the ice cream....oh the ice cream. There are heladerías on every corner. OH! And panaderías.....all the fresh bread I could ever want along with cake and donuts. I know where Í´m headed after this.
So I started classes and they are pretty simple. I have homework every day, and it´s helping with my Spanish, so I don´t mind.
There are at least 12 malls here. It disgusts me.
The public transportation here is amazing. I can take 5 different buses to school, all for 25 cents. I had to get over the fact that they spew out toxic gases which aren´t regulated by the government before I could appreciate that they take me whereever I want to go. The drivers are loco. And the road laws here aren´t followed by anyone, especially the bus drivers. Last week all the buses went on strike because they want to raise the price to 35 cents, which is quite the increase for the people in this city. Not to mention that 35 cents is a pain in the butt compared to simply paying a quarter. Anyway, you should all know that when I ride the bus I´m more worried about getting in a car crash than I am about anyone robbing me.
What else? The rain storms here are fantastic. It RAINS. And the thunder is much louder and frightening than I´ve heard before in my life. I think it´s because we´re at such a high altitude and the air is thinner, so the sound travels faster. Or some scientific explanation like that. I´m glad that I bought a rain coat before I left.
I didn´t want to write this next part, because I know my dad will be freaked out, but the second week I got here, two guys tried to rob me in broad daylight. My friends and I were sitting in this little heladería across the street from the school, and in walks two well dressed, older men. There were other customers stuffed in this small place, so with their addition, it felt even more crowded. Anyway, one was talking on his phone; the other stood there, jingling coins in his hands, appearing as if he was counting out a certain amount. This whole situation was right out of a handbook I had read before coming to this country, entitled "Safety Precautions". How appropriate. While my friends were chatting away, I sat there being Miss Paranoid, observing every movement of these hooligans. In less than a second, Mr. Coins "accidentally" dropped his change, while ChattyMcChat quickly tried to manuver his fat hand into my purse that was beside me. Don´t worry, they scurried out of there empty handed after I pulled my purse into my lap. My favorite part was that when they had walked a distance away, the fat one turned back and saw me glaring at him. My second favorite part was that not one of my friends had a clue as to what had just happened. So there you have it. Reading those "Safety Precautions" did me good. (I´m fine, Dad :D).
I really have learned a lot of Spanish since I got here, although it doesn´t show in my writing. But this is all for now, I must go to class.
¡Chao!
So I started classes and they are pretty simple. I have homework every day, and it´s helping with my Spanish, so I don´t mind.
There are at least 12 malls here. It disgusts me.
The public transportation here is amazing. I can take 5 different buses to school, all for 25 cents. I had to get over the fact that they spew out toxic gases which aren´t regulated by the government before I could appreciate that they take me whereever I want to go. The drivers are loco. And the road laws here aren´t followed by anyone, especially the bus drivers. Last week all the buses went on strike because they want to raise the price to 35 cents, which is quite the increase for the people in this city. Not to mention that 35 cents is a pain in the butt compared to simply paying a quarter. Anyway, you should all know that when I ride the bus I´m more worried about getting in a car crash than I am about anyone robbing me.
What else? The rain storms here are fantastic. It RAINS. And the thunder is much louder and frightening than I´ve heard before in my life. I think it´s because we´re at such a high altitude and the air is thinner, so the sound travels faster. Or some scientific explanation like that. I´m glad that I bought a rain coat before I left.
I didn´t want to write this next part, because I know my dad will be freaked out, but the second week I got here, two guys tried to rob me in broad daylight. My friends and I were sitting in this little heladería across the street from the school, and in walks two well dressed, older men. There were other customers stuffed in this small place, so with their addition, it felt even more crowded. Anyway, one was talking on his phone; the other stood there, jingling coins in his hands, appearing as if he was counting out a certain amount. This whole situation was right out of a handbook I had read before coming to this country, entitled "Safety Precautions". How appropriate. While my friends were chatting away, I sat there being Miss Paranoid, observing every movement of these hooligans. In less than a second, Mr. Coins "accidentally" dropped his change, while ChattyMcChat quickly tried to manuver his fat hand into my purse that was beside me. Don´t worry, they scurried out of there empty handed after I pulled my purse into my lap. My favorite part was that when they had walked a distance away, the fat one turned back and saw me glaring at him. My second favorite part was that not one of my friends had a clue as to what had just happened. So there you have it. Reading those "Safety Precautions" did me good. (I´m fine, Dad :D).
I really have learned a lot of Spanish since I got here, although it doesn´t show in my writing. But this is all for now, I must go to class.
¡Chao!
Friday, August 15, 2008
The First of Many
Hello all!!! So Ive been in Ecuador for two weeks now and it has truly been fantastic.
The second day I was here I went to the wedding of one of my many sobrinas (cousins), and it was quite the party. The actual wedding was just like any other Catholic wedding, what with the priest dude talking, us responding, and a choir singing along. Once the reception was over, me and the other two hundred friends and family members headed to a very fancy restaurant slash perfect place to have a party. The place was located in this small pueblo outside the big city. We got there and had waitors running around outside in this beatiful garden setting, serving chocolate covered strawberries and champange. It was surreal. I was standing there, feeling slightly light-headed due to the high elevation (10,000 feet), listening to these people that would sub as my family for a year, and I could hardly understand a word. I was having a great time being the only extranjera there.
Next, they hurded us up, and we went inside to find a proper table setting. Im talking like eight pieces of silverware. We ate Ecuadorian food like pigs, and were served red and white wine all the while. Hard A was served after, but I passed on that.
Once we were in the mood to just go take a nap, it was time to hit the dance floor. Let me tell you, it felt awesome to be the only one in the room who couldnt do the salsa. I was completely lost, but thankfully my chipper cousins all helped me out. In fact, I was pretty much forced to dance with them for two hours straight. I also got to dance with a really attractive Ecuadorian Ooooo. He happens to be my cousin, but whatever, right? I also got followed all night by a very drunk guy, but I just laughed it off because there really wasnt anything else I could do.
That wedding was a sweet way to start my trip in Ecuador because it showed me what the culture here is like. Lots of family, lots of laughing, and lots of drinking. Just my kind of place.
The second day I was here I went to the wedding of one of my many sobrinas (cousins), and it was quite the party. The actual wedding was just like any other Catholic wedding, what with the priest dude talking, us responding, and a choir singing along. Once the reception was over, me and the other two hundred friends and family members headed to a very fancy restaurant slash perfect place to have a party. The place was located in this small pueblo outside the big city. We got there and had waitors running around outside in this beatiful garden setting, serving chocolate covered strawberries and champange. It was surreal. I was standing there, feeling slightly light-headed due to the high elevation (10,000 feet), listening to these people that would sub as my family for a year, and I could hardly understand a word. I was having a great time being the only extranjera there.
Next, they hurded us up, and we went inside to find a proper table setting. Im talking like eight pieces of silverware. We ate Ecuadorian food like pigs, and were served red and white wine all the while. Hard A was served after, but I passed on that.
Once we were in the mood to just go take a nap, it was time to hit the dance floor. Let me tell you, it felt awesome to be the only one in the room who couldnt do the salsa. I was completely lost, but thankfully my chipper cousins all helped me out. In fact, I was pretty much forced to dance with them for two hours straight. I also got to dance with a really attractive Ecuadorian Ooooo. He happens to be my cousin, but whatever, right? I also got followed all night by a very drunk guy, but I just laughed it off because there really wasnt anything else I could do.
That wedding was a sweet way to start my trip in Ecuador because it showed me what the culture here is like. Lots of family, lots of laughing, and lots of drinking. Just my kind of place.
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