Hello everyone who is still reading this even though I haven't posted anything in over a month... :)
So, in the past month of my life what have I been doing? Well thats a good question. The most part of it has been taken up by school work which is probably why there haven't been any good stories lately. I am, however, now all finished with my semester at USFQ as of last Tuesday. It feels very good being done as I was not accustomed to 15 week semesters anymore and it was getting very difficult to keep going by the end.
I did turn 21 on Tuesday as well! (Happy Birthday to me!) While I am already in a country where the official drinking age is 18 but I have met many a 15/16 year old who has no problems purchasing alcohol, we managed to ignore that for a night and party like I was in the US still and 21 was a special age. The best part about it actually was that all my friends got to go out to the bar with me even though I'm the oldest of them all. It was a wonderful time, if anyone wants actual stories just let me know. :)
Also using my birthday as an excuse I went out last weekend on an adventure in search of this paintball park in the forest. After getting lost in what I'm calling BFE Ecuador driving down half stone-paved roads for over an hour, we located the spot at the bottom of this big cliff. However, due to a lack of good machinery they couldn't get the paintball guns to work so that didn't happen. We did get two free games of laser tag while we waited though, so it was not a complete loss, and we had fun. Although boys against girls is a bad idea when the boys are all really tall and can shoot at you from over the walls. Needless to say we females got our buts kicked even though we had a greater number.
Today I'm spending cleaning my room and packing up for the next two weeks. My parents and Brian and Karen get here in just a few hours. I'm very excited to see everyone, especially for Christmas since I am not coming back to Michigan. Actually according to their online flight status they should be just in the air by now. The only thing I'm crossing my fingers for is some sunshine. We are technically in the rainy season still and the weather so far this week has been nothing to write home about. But I guess it's not a foot of snow. *shrug*
So for anyone who is interested here is my basic schedule from now until I get back home. I'm realizing very fast how little time I will have left in Quito, although the real reasons I came to this country are all in the next 2 months so I won't be complaining much.
Today - Jan 2: the family is here and we travel and do stuff
Jan 7- Jan 28: Travel the Amazon rainforest, two weeks doing research and one week of just travel, should be awesome!
Feb 3- Feb 15: Las Islas Galapagos! One week seminar with my bio boys and an extra 5 days on a yacht with all my other friends that I won't have seen since, well now.
Feb 16- March 3: free time travel around Ecuador? other South American countries? I haven't actually decided yet, but it shall be lots of fun!
March 4: return state side
March 4- 11?: Road trip with Nicholas! Destination unknown.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
The Ocean
So I know I’ve been bad at this blog thing recently like I knew I would inevitably do. I’m trying to redeem myself…
So this past weekend we went on a four day trip to the coast with my bio boys. (That’s what I call them now, although they don’t know it.) What I had imagined was sunny beaches, cocktails, mangrove forests, and new creatures. What I got were thick grey clouds, mud, fishermen, an island of birds, and some whales. It really was a nice trip but unexpected. It started and ended in the same fashion with a car ride of anywhere between 9-11 hours on some of the most terribly pot-hole covered roads I’ve ever seen in my life. Combine that with hairpin curves all the way out of the mountains and 85 degree heat and humidity once we hit relative sea level, and you can guess how much fun it really was. Our suburban has no air conditioning, no radio, not even a clock. Oh, and no decent shocks either. But once we got to see the ocean I was happy again. Our destination was the fishing port city of Puerto Lopez and we did get a hotel right across from the boardwalk. I also managed to get my own hotel room this time which was spectacular and allowed me some space away from the constant attack of testosterone. The boys were jealous. Hehe.
On the first day we took a tour out to the Isla de la Plata which is found about 70km off the coast and is part of the national park we were there to visit. While I had to endure a 2 hour bumpy boat ride (I get a little sea sick) it was totally worth it for the views and amazing wild life. I stood 3 feet from blue-footed boobies and their eggs!! If you don’t know what the boobies are, just Google them. They are some of the coolest sea birds that exist and are famous for being on the Galapagos but also on some other Pacific islands like the one we visited. They are not afraid of people and did nothing but squawk at us when we got too close to their nests. I also got to go snorkeling on a coral reef, jump off our tour boat into the water from about 15 feet in the air, fish for sea turtles with watermelon rind, and because of our awesome luck to watch 2 magnificent humpback whales playing in the ocean on the boat ride home. During the summer Puerto Lopez is famous for its whale watching, but it is quite rare to see them at this time of year. Top off that day with some really fresh sea food and it was a good day.
Day 2 we spent the morning on a beautiful beach that is part of the national park as well and would have perfect if it was only a little warmer and with some sunshine. I got to nap to the sound of the waves nonetheless and the boys played in the waves. After lunch we went to an area of the park that is ‘bosque seco’, dry forest, to take a guided archeological tour of the area and to check out the unique types of plants. There was also a sacred sulfur lagoon there that comes up out of the ground that we could have swam in and covered ourselves with mud, but we were all pretty cold and tired of the water, so we opted to just watch the other people frolic around.
On the last night we ran into another group of exchange students that we knew from USFQ who also happened to be on vacation in the same city for the weekend and went out for a night on the town. There was a search for a girly beach cocktail in a coconut but apparently this city was too fishy and not beachy enough to have coconuts as cups. We did get the drinks and the palm trees though, so it was a close second.
Other interesting facts of the trip:
-We got solicited by two different, but both very drunken, local men. The first was at 5:30am when we went to the beach to watch the fishermen. He invited us for a special boat ride and after a while of trying to be rid of him he then tried to sell us some pot. The second was late at night after our coconut search and this guy tried to rent us rooms in his special ‘hostal’ that was really his house for only a dollar. He also claimed to be Rafael Correa however, who is the current president of Ecuador.
- At the same small street festival where we found Correa we also ran into a dancing clown with a manikin attached to his chest and two Ecuadorian transvestites. I would not call this a country that’s really open to such things so it was quite an unusual sight.
That’s basically it for the past weekend, but just as a side note of my day today I took a Spanish exam in a bar. Our professor had promised us that some day we could do it so we simply walked to the nearest one directly across the street from the university, ordered some liters of Ecua beer and french fries and took the test. It was loads of fun but I wasn’t really able to pay much attention in my following class. I think my rainforest prof was curious as to why we kept laughing… ;)
Check out my two newest photo albums for shots from this trip and other random events:
"A little bit of everything Ecuadorian"
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015113&l=8e834&id=40901410
"Puerto Lopez and the Pacific Ocean"
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015116&l=b3512&id=40901410
So this past weekend we went on a four day trip to the coast with my bio boys. (That’s what I call them now, although they don’t know it.) What I had imagined was sunny beaches, cocktails, mangrove forests, and new creatures. What I got were thick grey clouds, mud, fishermen, an island of birds, and some whales. It really was a nice trip but unexpected. It started and ended in the same fashion with a car ride of anywhere between 9-11 hours on some of the most terribly pot-hole covered roads I’ve ever seen in my life. Combine that with hairpin curves all the way out of the mountains and 85 degree heat and humidity once we hit relative sea level, and you can guess how much fun it really was. Our suburban has no air conditioning, no radio, not even a clock. Oh, and no decent shocks either. But once we got to see the ocean I was happy again. Our destination was the fishing port city of Puerto Lopez and we did get a hotel right across from the boardwalk. I also managed to get my own hotel room this time which was spectacular and allowed me some space away from the constant attack of testosterone. The boys were jealous. Hehe.
On the first day we took a tour out to the Isla de la Plata which is found about 70km off the coast and is part of the national park we were there to visit. While I had to endure a 2 hour bumpy boat ride (I get a little sea sick) it was totally worth it for the views and amazing wild life. I stood 3 feet from blue-footed boobies and their eggs!! If you don’t know what the boobies are, just Google them. They are some of the coolest sea birds that exist and are famous for being on the Galapagos but also on some other Pacific islands like the one we visited. They are not afraid of people and did nothing but squawk at us when we got too close to their nests. I also got to go snorkeling on a coral reef, jump off our tour boat into the water from about 15 feet in the air, fish for sea turtles with watermelon rind, and because of our awesome luck to watch 2 magnificent humpback whales playing in the ocean on the boat ride home. During the summer Puerto Lopez is famous for its whale watching, but it is quite rare to see them at this time of year. Top off that day with some really fresh sea food and it was a good day.
Day 2 we spent the morning on a beautiful beach that is part of the national park as well and would have perfect if it was only a little warmer and with some sunshine. I got to nap to the sound of the waves nonetheless and the boys played in the waves. After lunch we went to an area of the park that is ‘bosque seco’, dry forest, to take a guided archeological tour of the area and to check out the unique types of plants. There was also a sacred sulfur lagoon there that comes up out of the ground that we could have swam in and covered ourselves with mud, but we were all pretty cold and tired of the water, so we opted to just watch the other people frolic around.
On the last night we ran into another group of exchange students that we knew from USFQ who also happened to be on vacation in the same city for the weekend and went out for a night on the town. There was a search for a girly beach cocktail in a coconut but apparently this city was too fishy and not beachy enough to have coconuts as cups. We did get the drinks and the palm trees though, so it was a close second.
Other interesting facts of the trip:
-We got solicited by two different, but both very drunken, local men. The first was at 5:30am when we went to the beach to watch the fishermen. He invited us for a special boat ride and after a while of trying to be rid of him he then tried to sell us some pot. The second was late at night after our coconut search and this guy tried to rent us rooms in his special ‘hostal’ that was really his house for only a dollar. He also claimed to be Rafael Correa however, who is the current president of Ecuador.
- At the same small street festival where we found Correa we also ran into a dancing clown with a manikin attached to his chest and two Ecuadorian transvestites. I would not call this a country that’s really open to such things so it was quite an unusual sight.
That’s basically it for the past weekend, but just as a side note of my day today I took a Spanish exam in a bar. Our professor had promised us that some day we could do it so we simply walked to the nearest one directly across the street from the university, ordered some liters of Ecua beer and french fries and took the test. It was loads of fun but I wasn’t really able to pay much attention in my following class. I think my rainforest prof was curious as to why we kept laughing… ;)
Check out my two newest photo albums for shots from this trip and other random events:
"A little bit of everything Ecuadorian"
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015113&l=8e834&id=40901410
"Puerto Lopez and the Pacific Ocean"
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015116&l=b3512&id=40901410
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The last few weeks...
Sorry that I haven't posted anything in a while. It's a combination of that I really haven't done too much worth writing about lately and that I've been really busy with school and stuff.
Out of the past two weekends I've had one completely free (way to boring for me since I have a four day weekend every week) and the other where I spent one afternoon wandering through some old and quite boring Quito museums with the kids from Kalamazoo and one day on my final Volcanology field trip. That was pretty cool as it was the only volcano we visited that has a big and beautiful snow cap, but we didn't get to hike up it and most of the times it was covered in clouds. Frankly, I'm not sad that I don't have any more required field trips for that class, they were fun but often more trouble than they were worth. Now I will have much more free time to do some independent traveling which I much prefer.
This coming weekend I am going with my fellow bio boys to the Ecuadorian coast. Its a four day trip that leaves on Thursday bright and early. That means 1) I don't have to go to any of my classes on Thursday, and 2) I will instead spend my day in our old ghetto car without a clock or a radio because it will be about an 11 hour drive. I do really hope the 2 days of traveling will be worth it though because it will be my first time seeing the Pacific Ocean and only my second time out of the Andes since I've been here. I'm really excited for this trip as my host mom told me that her past students have loved it. Crossing my fingers, knocking on wood, doing whatever I can do really that we have good weather and it doesn't rain all the time. Well, actually I'm getting used to the rain here as we have finally hit "winter", aka the rainy season. It rains almost every day, but if I'm lucky the mornings are still beautiful and the clouds don't roll in from the coast until mid-afternoon.
Ok, I promise that I will have more stories after this weekend but right now I have to get some school work done. I'm still having health problems now as it turns out that my small amount of anemia may not actually be my problem. I went this afternoon to a Neurologist to get his opinions and now I have to spend all day tomorrow (that I was going to spend working) at various clinics getting tests run. I'm sure that it will be a blast. I just hope that the final outcome will be one that allows me to discover my problem, seriously.
Out of the past two weekends I've had one completely free (way to boring for me since I have a four day weekend every week) and the other where I spent one afternoon wandering through some old and quite boring Quito museums with the kids from Kalamazoo and one day on my final Volcanology field trip. That was pretty cool as it was the only volcano we visited that has a big and beautiful snow cap, but we didn't get to hike up it and most of the times it was covered in clouds. Frankly, I'm not sad that I don't have any more required field trips for that class, they were fun but often more trouble than they were worth. Now I will have much more free time to do some independent traveling which I much prefer.
This coming weekend I am going with my fellow bio boys to the Ecuadorian coast. Its a four day trip that leaves on Thursday bright and early. That means 1) I don't have to go to any of my classes on Thursday, and 2) I will instead spend my day in our old ghetto car without a clock or a radio because it will be about an 11 hour drive. I do really hope the 2 days of traveling will be worth it though because it will be my first time seeing the Pacific Ocean and only my second time out of the Andes since I've been here. I'm really excited for this trip as my host mom told me that her past students have loved it. Crossing my fingers, knocking on wood, doing whatever I can do really that we have good weather and it doesn't rain all the time. Well, actually I'm getting used to the rain here as we have finally hit "winter", aka the rainy season. It rains almost every day, but if I'm lucky the mornings are still beautiful and the clouds don't roll in from the coast until mid-afternoon.
Ok, I promise that I will have more stories after this weekend but right now I have to get some school work done. I'm still having health problems now as it turns out that my small amount of anemia may not actually be my problem. I went this afternoon to a Neurologist to get his opinions and now I have to spend all day tomorrow (that I was going to spend working) at various clinics getting tests run. I'm sure that it will be a blast. I just hope that the final outcome will be one that allows me to discover my problem, seriously.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Photos
So, because I hate the way this blog program allows me to upload photos I have decided to stop trying. I have so far made 5 different facebook albums of some Ecuador photos. If you have a facebook account, go look at them, if not then follow the links below if you would like to see.
The first 3 are all from the very beginning of the trip but the last two are recent. Just so you know...
Ecuador Stuff 1
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013723&l=10298&id=40901410
Banos, Ecuador
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013724&l=74471&id=40901410
Otavalo, etc.
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013726&l=19810&id=40901410
Bosque and Birds
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014561&l=7a341&id=40901410
Misc. Bio Field Excursions
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014563&l=e0832&id=40901410
The first 3 are all from the very beginning of the trip but the last two are recent. Just so you know...
Ecuador Stuff 1
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013723&l=10298&id=40901410
Banos, Ecuador
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013724&l=74471&id=40901410
Otavalo, etc.
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013726&l=19810&id=40901410
Bosque and Birds
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014561&l=7a341&id=40901410
Misc. Bio Field Excursions
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014563&l=e0832&id=40901410
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Health update
Ok people, just to let people know in case you were worried about me (either through my previous blog posts or by talking with my parents...) I have finally figured out what my dizziness problems have been. I went to the doctor's last week and also had a blood test to check for sugar issues. As it turns out it is not a sugar problem (Thank God, I can still eat my Oreos, hehe) but an iron problem. It's called anemmia, at least I think that's how you spell it. To fix the problem I simply need to alter my diet to include more things like dark green vegetables and red meat. My host mom is taking it on with gusto as for breakfast I got a very special glass of spinach and orange juice. It was a lovely shade of green. However, I did have more energy today so I won't whine too much. :)
Basically, stop worrying. I'm not going to die and I'm not leaving Ecuador. Sorry to disappoint.
Chao!
Basically, stop worrying. I'm not going to die and I'm not leaving Ecuador. Sorry to disappoint.
Chao!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Quick update:
So, it has been raining here for the past week and looking at the forecast it will continue to do so through the weekend. I must say that being on the equator while it is constantly cold and wet doesn't do much for my spirits. On top of that I actually had school work to do this week. Leave it up to my professors to all have midterms the same week. I swear if I didn't have to speak Spanish all the time I would have thought I went back to Kalamazoo this week.
Last weekend I didn't do much besides visit another volcano, spend 8 hours in a bus and get a really bad farmers sunburn. But this weekend I'm excited. I have ahead of me the first trip with only our group of 4 biology students from Kalamazoo. It will be us and our crazy guide and his wife. Remember that guide I told you about from my bird watching field trip? The one who could climb trees and smoke a ciggarette at the same time? Yeah, that's him. We're going to have fun, all I have to do is pray it doesn't rain the whole time...
Last weekend I didn't do much besides visit another volcano, spend 8 hours in a bus and get a really bad farmers sunburn. But this weekend I'm excited. I have ahead of me the first trip with only our group of 4 biology students from Kalamazoo. It will be us and our crazy guide and his wife. Remember that guide I told you about from my bird watching field trip? The one who could climb trees and smoke a ciggarette at the same time? Yeah, that's him. We're going to have fun, all I have to do is pray it doesn't rain the whole time...
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Hail on the equator
Yeah, so the title kind of says it all but I just wanted to share my excitement that we got hail today. Hail, like ice falling from the sky, on the equator. I love the weather in this country, this morning it was bright sunny and probably 80 degrees, then all of a sudden it broke into a roaring thunderstorm. It was so loud we had to stop class because we couldn't hear the people right next to you talking. Also really cool is that on the bus ride back to Quito you can see so far over the valley that you can see where the clouds start and stop. Most of the sky was only partly cloudy and very colorful as the sun was just starting to set, but then there was the little section of thunderstorm where it was so dark gray I couldn't even see the mountains behind it. It gives a new meaning to the term isolated thundershower.
Maybe you just had to be there, but I was happy. :)
Maybe you just had to be there, but I was happy. :)
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Yeah...
So I'm starting to realize that this whole blog thing is turning into a once weekly sort of thing. I guess that's ok as most of the fun stuff that I want to talk about happens on the weekends. *shrug*
Well, this weekend is a little different as I didn't do anything really cool like go hiking in the rainforest again. I did have a day trip yesterday with my volcanology class but it was to a place called Cuicocha which I have already visited with my Kalamazoo group a few weeks ago. (its the volcano lagoon with the really cool islands in the middle, I'm sure that I talked about it at some point) I wouldn't have paid the $15 to go but it was a requirement for my class. Anyhoo, it would have been a fine time if it hadn't been for two things. Number one, that I only got 3.5 hours of sleep the night before (my fault, I know, but its just so hard to stop yourself from having fun and in all fairness we left at 6:30AM and I had to get up at least an hour before that). And number two that me and two of my other friends ended up getting stuck sitting outside of a closed museum for almost 2 hours trying to figure out what happend to the huge group of gringos that were just ahead of us. What happend was out giant group (filled 3 charter buses) split into two while half took a boat tour and the other half went to the museum. Well, there wasn't room on the boats for us and we missed to initial bus to the museum. So by the time we had walked up the hill the other group obviously realized that it was closed and went somewhere else. Where they ended up we may never know but we definately sat outside in the cold wind telling stupid stories hoping for everyone else to show up for quite a while. All in all, not a very productive day.
In other news due to today's national political elections, (Ecuador is voting to create an assembly to write a whole new constitution, my political science friends are in heaven) which are mandatory for all citizens, we have a wonderful thing here called the ley seca. In Spanish that means the dry law, AKA it is illegal to sell or consume alcohol in the country from last Friday at 12:00AM until tomorrow (Monday). As you can guess, we all went out and celebrated Thursday. It was my first time at a real dance club and it would have been a blast if I hadn't managed to pass out around 1AM. (I was NOT drunk) The best I can figure was I was dehydrated, but as I have continued to feel a dizzy from time to time over the past 3 days I'm thinking its something else. I think tomorrow I'm going to go see a doctor as my host Mom seems convinced I have a blood sugar problem. We'll see, all I'm hoping is that I'm not forbidden to eat sugar anymore because I'm not so sure I can survive this country right now without my oreos. :)
One more story to add to my random mix of happenings: Ever wondered what it would be like to be in Ecuador, home alone after dark, and in the bathroom when all power in the neighborhood goes out? Not so much fun and REALLY dark without even the street lamps outside to help. Thank God for my head lamp. hehe. But don't worry, it only lasted for about 5 minutes and I was just about to leave anyway, but let me tell you I was not very happy for those few minutes.
Now I sound pessimestic. Not everything that has happend this week has been bad, I swear. Its just that those little stories are more fun to share. I'll work this week on finding some happier ones.
Well, this weekend is a little different as I didn't do anything really cool like go hiking in the rainforest again. I did have a day trip yesterday with my volcanology class but it was to a place called Cuicocha which I have already visited with my Kalamazoo group a few weeks ago. (its the volcano lagoon with the really cool islands in the middle, I'm sure that I talked about it at some point) I wouldn't have paid the $15 to go but it was a requirement for my class. Anyhoo, it would have been a fine time if it hadn't been for two things. Number one, that I only got 3.5 hours of sleep the night before (my fault, I know, but its just so hard to stop yourself from having fun and in all fairness we left at 6:30AM and I had to get up at least an hour before that). And number two that me and two of my other friends ended up getting stuck sitting outside of a closed museum for almost 2 hours trying to figure out what happend to the huge group of gringos that were just ahead of us. What happend was out giant group (filled 3 charter buses) split into two while half took a boat tour and the other half went to the museum. Well, there wasn't room on the boats for us and we missed to initial bus to the museum. So by the time we had walked up the hill the other group obviously realized that it was closed and went somewhere else. Where they ended up we may never know but we definately sat outside in the cold wind telling stupid stories hoping for everyone else to show up for quite a while. All in all, not a very productive day.
In other news due to today's national political elections, (Ecuador is voting to create an assembly to write a whole new constitution, my political science friends are in heaven) which are mandatory for all citizens, we have a wonderful thing here called the ley seca. In Spanish that means the dry law, AKA it is illegal to sell or consume alcohol in the country from last Friday at 12:00AM until tomorrow (Monday). As you can guess, we all went out and celebrated Thursday. It was my first time at a real dance club and it would have been a blast if I hadn't managed to pass out around 1AM. (I was NOT drunk) The best I can figure was I was dehydrated, but as I have continued to feel a dizzy from time to time over the past 3 days I'm thinking its something else. I think tomorrow I'm going to go see a doctor as my host Mom seems convinced I have a blood sugar problem. We'll see, all I'm hoping is that I'm not forbidden to eat sugar anymore because I'm not so sure I can survive this country right now without my oreos. :)
One more story to add to my random mix of happenings: Ever wondered what it would be like to be in Ecuador, home alone after dark, and in the bathroom when all power in the neighborhood goes out? Not so much fun and REALLY dark without even the street lamps outside to help. Thank God for my head lamp. hehe. But don't worry, it only lasted for about 5 minutes and I was just about to leave anyway, but let me tell you I was not very happy for those few minutes.
Now I sound pessimestic. Not everything that has happend this week has been bad, I swear. Its just that those little stories are more fun to share. I'll work this week on finding some happier ones.
Monday, September 24, 2007
And then we saw some birds…
Once again this weekend I went on a field trip out side of Quito. This time it was just a biology trip, sponsored by Kalamazoo College so it didn’t cost us any more money (hooray!) but only included the four of us biology program kids from Kalamazoo and the rest of my Ornithology class. It was a three day adventure to several different ecosystems of the country to go bird watching. We went to the top of a mountain (for all you science people the ecosystem is called the páramo, above the tree line), a cloud forest, several rivers, an even a patch of rainforest past the western boundaries of the Andes. That was my first time in the country outside of the mountains, and let me tell you it is much warmer being on the equator and not at 9,000 + feet of altitude. There are also more bugs and poisonous snakes in the lowlands. I was a little disappointed actually because we were supposed to camp on Saturday but because of the presence of too many snakes we were forced instead to sleep with only our sleeping bags in one big room on the cement floor. If I wasn’t so completely worn out I might have had more trouble sleeping.
As it was, we woke up at 4:30am on Saturday and 5:00am on Sunday in order to watch the birds at their most active point as the sun rises. Saturday was really cool because we hiked into the midst of a cloud forest and watched a giant lek (basically a place were all the males of one species come together to show off for the girls in the hope of getting lucky) of beautiful bright red Andean Cock-of-the-Rocks (in Spanish they are called gallo de la peña, which I think sounds much better). The noise was fantastic. You can watch the video but in order to get the whole experience imagine me literally sitting in the middle of the vegetation in the dark watching the sun get brighter and the birds get louder and more numerous. Surround sound as you’ve never heard it.
While we went with the purpose of bird watching, which we did at every possibility stopping the bus anytime anything big flew over head and seeing a total of 82 different species, there were plenty of other activities that kept me plenty entertained when the birds got tiring. For example our two guides were hilarious. See the picture above where the two guys in red are climbing the giant tree in the rainforest, and then realize that the guy farthest up is smoking a cigarette and is at least 60. They were also very fond of practical jokes, not cool in the middle of the forest when you think you’re getting attacked by some very large insect and its really just a guy with a stick and quick reflexes. While our bus was very ghetto and we spent way more hours than I can count driving it over the mountains we did manage to have a full blown dance party inside (and for some on top) of the bus on Saturday night just because we were bored. That same bus, however, did break down for about a half an hour on the side of the highway on the way home. I made friends with the nearby donkey on the side of the road. And for food I ate my very first, and hopefully not last, banana picked straight off the plant. It was sooo good. Also Kalamazoo College bought me a $4.83 filet mignon at the restaurant Saturday night that we also at breakfast and lunch at the following day. Needless to say it was not very good and I’m pretty sure it was the same meat that was in my breakfast on Sunday.
Yeah, it was a good weekend and while I didn’t get to shower for three days I somehow still came back cleaner than last weekend…
As it was, we woke up at 4:30am on Saturday and 5:00am on Sunday in order to watch the birds at their most active point as the sun rises. Saturday was really cool because we hiked into the midst of a cloud forest and watched a giant lek (basically a place were all the males of one species come together to show off for the girls in the hope of getting lucky) of beautiful bright red Andean Cock-of-the-Rocks (in Spanish they are called gallo de la peña, which I think sounds much better). The noise was fantastic. You can watch the video but in order to get the whole experience imagine me literally sitting in the middle of the vegetation in the dark watching the sun get brighter and the birds get louder and more numerous. Surround sound as you’ve never heard it.
While we went with the purpose of bird watching, which we did at every possibility stopping the bus anytime anything big flew over head and seeing a total of 82 different species, there were plenty of other activities that kept me plenty entertained when the birds got tiring. For example our two guides were hilarious. See the picture above where the two guys in red are climbing the giant tree in the rainforest, and then realize that the guy farthest up is smoking a cigarette and is at least 60. They were also very fond of practical jokes, not cool in the middle of the forest when you think you’re getting attacked by some very large insect and its really just a guy with a stick and quick reflexes. While our bus was very ghetto and we spent way more hours than I can count driving it over the mountains we did manage to have a full blown dance party inside (and for some on top) of the bus on Saturday night just because we were bored. That same bus, however, did break down for about a half an hour on the side of the highway on the way home. I made friends with the nearby donkey on the side of the road. And for food I ate my very first, and hopefully not last, banana picked straight off the plant. It was sooo good. Also Kalamazoo College bought me a $4.83 filet mignon at the restaurant Saturday night that we also at breakfast and lunch at the following day. Needless to say it was not very good and I’m pretty sure it was the same meat that was in my breakfast on Sunday.
Yeah, it was a good weekend and while I didn’t get to shower for three days I somehow still came back cleaner than last weekend…
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
My first volcanos
Well, this weekend was definately an interesting one. It started out on Friday where I somehow ended up at my very first Ecuadorian house party. It was actually the birthday celebration of my host mother's cousin, who is only 25, and I'm still not sure what that makes him to me. *shrug* It was fun, but lasted past 3am. I also learned through a little bit of hands on experience that what we have been told about the stereotype that American women are "easy" is very true. I had no less than two guys giving it there best shot at becoming my Ecuadorian novio (boyfriend). Apparently there are a lot of people here who seem to think that the study abroad experience just isn't complete until you've dated an Ecua. We'll see about that one.
Okay, day 2: Saturday. The day was rather uneventful but the evening involved a very fun pizza party at one of my friend's house. He lives right next to the Quito airport (which by the way is in the center of the city). The entertainment of the night involved watching planes land and take off from his roof and trying to guess which ones will be loud enough to make the walls of the house shake. Some of those little planes surprise you. After the party some of us went to another of my friend's house to stay up all night in preparation for the following day's volcanology field trip. Basically that means we played lots of cards, watched a movie, and drank lots and lots of pepsi. (yes, I succeeded and did not sleep at all that night.)
On to Sunday. It begins at 3:30am when we met the rest of our class in Quito in order to climb into several 4 x 4 vehicles and begin the 1hour plus drive up to the peak of the volcano Guagua Pichincha which just borders the city of Quito. When we got up there it was very cold (I'm talking ice and a killer windchill) and very cloudy. In fact it was so cloudy that we could not see any of the promised sweet volcanic crater and very little of the sunrise that got us up so early. What we did get was very little oxygen and some eery views of jagged pointed rocks coming out of the fog that would make any horror movie's day.
Trip 2: still Sunday and only an hour after driving back down the first volcano. We next piled into two charter buses and continued to drive for more than 2 hours to volcano number two: Papallaka (spelling not sure on that one). This one is more in the jungle and was supposed to be nice and sunny and hot. It was: rainy and cold. However, after breaking open several volcanic rocks with hammers to satisfy our crazy professor, we went to this other location, I think on the side of the volcano somewhere. Next we proceeded to, for lack of a better word, bushwhack through, in, up and down this jungle river gorge. It was one of the most fun things I have done so far in this country as I got to climb through pristine bamboo forest where there existed no previous trail. The amount of mud that was stuck to my clothes could be measured in pounds. Well, maybe not quite, but we were really really dirty. It was great. Would have been a lot better with fewer people, but I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that more of our biology field trips will involve such activities. :)
Needless to say, by the time I got back on Sunday night I had little engery left for anything but taking a nice long hot shower and falling into bed. I love not having class on Mondays...
Okay, day 2: Saturday. The day was rather uneventful but the evening involved a very fun pizza party at one of my friend's house. He lives right next to the Quito airport (which by the way is in the center of the city). The entertainment of the night involved watching planes land and take off from his roof and trying to guess which ones will be loud enough to make the walls of the house shake. Some of those little planes surprise you. After the party some of us went to another of my friend's house to stay up all night in preparation for the following day's volcanology field trip. Basically that means we played lots of cards, watched a movie, and drank lots and lots of pepsi. (yes, I succeeded and did not sleep at all that night.)
On to Sunday. It begins at 3:30am when we met the rest of our class in Quito in order to climb into several 4 x 4 vehicles and begin the 1hour plus drive up to the peak of the volcano Guagua Pichincha which just borders the city of Quito. When we got up there it was very cold (I'm talking ice and a killer windchill) and very cloudy. In fact it was so cloudy that we could not see any of the promised sweet volcanic crater and very little of the sunrise that got us up so early. What we did get was very little oxygen and some eery views of jagged pointed rocks coming out of the fog that would make any horror movie's day.
Trip 2: still Sunday and only an hour after driving back down the first volcano. We next piled into two charter buses and continued to drive for more than 2 hours to volcano number two: Papallaka (spelling not sure on that one). This one is more in the jungle and was supposed to be nice and sunny and hot. It was: rainy and cold. However, after breaking open several volcanic rocks with hammers to satisfy our crazy professor, we went to this other location, I think on the side of the volcano somewhere. Next we proceeded to, for lack of a better word, bushwhack through, in, up and down this jungle river gorge. It was one of the most fun things I have done so far in this country as I got to climb through pristine bamboo forest where there existed no previous trail. The amount of mud that was stuck to my clothes could be measured in pounds. Well, maybe not quite, but we were really really dirty. It was great. Would have been a lot better with fewer people, but I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that more of our biology field trips will involve such activities. :)
Needless to say, by the time I got back on Sunday night I had little engery left for anything but taking a nice long hot shower and falling into bed. I love not having class on Mondays...
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Cultural experience
First of all I would like to add as a side note that this blog is collection of my thoughts and activities that I want to share with all of the people that can’t be here with me. This being said I apologize in advance (or maybe not if it has already occurred) for any spelling or grammatical errors that exist in my writing. Anyone who knows me well enough will understand, and given that I have little time to put together each entry and even less time to edit them, I think it will just be what it is. :)
Alright then, as far as time goes I’m hoping to get my computer connected to the internet line here in my house so that I will be able to use it a little more freely. However, this is a slow process that has been discussed in my house for about two weeks now and although I do seem to get a little closer everyday, has not yet happened. Therefore in order to send emails or post pictures I must wait for those rare opportunities when I can get my computer a wireless center, then pray that is works (the one at my university doesn’t like to half the time) and do everything I want to before my battery dies. This is why I tend to write only every few days and often in large clumps, like now. Ah, the things you take for granted in Kalamazoo... constant, free, and fast internet.
The day to day life around here is settling in. I have found a local coffee shop, corner mini market, and figured out most of the major bus or walking routes to get to my friends’ houses. I also have finally got all my classes figured out (took me long enough). My weekly schedule is class only Tuesday through Thursday giving me a four day weekend. Now, whether or not I find productive things to do with all this free time is yet to be seen, but I think I’m still getting spoiled. Don’t be too envious though as I have class for 6 straight hours on Tues. and Thurs. and only get to eat lunch in the form of whatever snacks I can buy between classes (usually candy, coke and empanadas). Other than school I spend my time either wandering around Quito or Cumbayá (where my university is) with my friends or sitting in my room at home reading, maybe doing homework, and avoiding being attacked by my little sister. I have a feeling that by the end I will have read a lot of books. I did buy two new ones in Spanish today though, one of them being Harry Potter 3. It’s the small pleasures that keep me going at the moment.
I’m also attempting to pass the time by finding some trip to take every weekend. So far, not counting the first, it has worked. My entire group of 16 Kalamazoo kids went this past weekend to various indigenous pueblos to see the more traditional side of Ecuadorian culture. It was a treat to say the least. Somehow in less than 48 hours we managed to do all of the following things: view a beautiful volcano complete with small village and lake; leave one of our classmates at this location and waste 45 minutes collecting her again; get spit on by an old indigenous shaman (the whole process lasted over an hour and “eliminates evil spirits”); watch a horde of small children in rainbow masks dance, sing and fight with each other; go to a weekly animal market and step in lots of poop; shop for trinkets at the largest artesian market in Ecuador; go to a traditional weaving workshop; go to a traditional wood carving workshop; shop in the city of everything leather; and spend 2 hours at a volcanic lagoon including small boat tour around the islands. Not particularly in that order, and I could have very well left something out, but you get the point.
I think the shaman was the most interesting. Two of our classmates volunteered to strip down to their underwear and be healed by a long tedious process that involved lots of being spit on with alcohol and aromatic oils, at least a half pack of cigarettes, four chicken eggs, some amazing fire blowing skills (think candles + alcohol spit), several bunches of tied herbs, and a really big volcanic rock. Take all of these items, combine most of them together, (everything got cleansed with smoke and alcohol before being applied to the body) and try to imagine the other 14 of us sitting around watching and trying our hardest to be respectful and not break out laughing. Like I said a once in a life time sight, too bad I don’t have pictures of that one.
This coming weekend I don’t have any major trips planned but I do think that I’m going to spend Saturday climbing the Pinchincha Volcano for the first of my many field trips for my volcanology class. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Ecuador has a ton of volcanoes. I think on a clear day you can see at least three of them just from the city of Quito. The Pinchincha peak is actually right behind my house, or more appropriately if you keep climbing the hill that I live on for a long time that mountain becomes the volcano after the first couple of peaks. It gets confusing as I live right in the midst of the Andes and there are a lot of mountains. For all the complaining that I do that Mt. Pleasant is so flat you would think that I’d love it here. I do, but I have also discovered that walking up hills takes a lot of energy (especially in the Ecuadorian sun) and driving buses around the mountains takes a lot longer than it does without them. I think in the end I’m most fond of mountains from afar. ;)
Alright then, as far as time goes I’m hoping to get my computer connected to the internet line here in my house so that I will be able to use it a little more freely. However, this is a slow process that has been discussed in my house for about two weeks now and although I do seem to get a little closer everyday, has not yet happened. Therefore in order to send emails or post pictures I must wait for those rare opportunities when I can get my computer a wireless center, then pray that is works (the one at my university doesn’t like to half the time) and do everything I want to before my battery dies. This is why I tend to write only every few days and often in large clumps, like now. Ah, the things you take for granted in Kalamazoo... constant, free, and fast internet.
The day to day life around here is settling in. I have found a local coffee shop, corner mini market, and figured out most of the major bus or walking routes to get to my friends’ houses. I also have finally got all my classes figured out (took me long enough). My weekly schedule is class only Tuesday through Thursday giving me a four day weekend. Now, whether or not I find productive things to do with all this free time is yet to be seen, but I think I’m still getting spoiled. Don’t be too envious though as I have class for 6 straight hours on Tues. and Thurs. and only get to eat lunch in the form of whatever snacks I can buy between classes (usually candy, coke and empanadas). Other than school I spend my time either wandering around Quito or Cumbayá (where my university is) with my friends or sitting in my room at home reading, maybe doing homework, and avoiding being attacked by my little sister. I have a feeling that by the end I will have read a lot of books. I did buy two new ones in Spanish today though, one of them being Harry Potter 3. It’s the small pleasures that keep me going at the moment.
I’m also attempting to pass the time by finding some trip to take every weekend. So far, not counting the first, it has worked. My entire group of 16 Kalamazoo kids went this past weekend to various indigenous pueblos to see the more traditional side of Ecuadorian culture. It was a treat to say the least. Somehow in less than 48 hours we managed to do all of the following things: view a beautiful volcano complete with small village and lake; leave one of our classmates at this location and waste 45 minutes collecting her again; get spit on by an old indigenous shaman (the whole process lasted over an hour and “eliminates evil spirits”); watch a horde of small children in rainbow masks dance, sing and fight with each other; go to a weekly animal market and step in lots of poop; shop for trinkets at the largest artesian market in Ecuador; go to a traditional weaving workshop; go to a traditional wood carving workshop; shop in the city of everything leather; and spend 2 hours at a volcanic lagoon including small boat tour around the islands. Not particularly in that order, and I could have very well left something out, but you get the point.
I think the shaman was the most interesting. Two of our classmates volunteered to strip down to their underwear and be healed by a long tedious process that involved lots of being spit on with alcohol and aromatic oils, at least a half pack of cigarettes, four chicken eggs, some amazing fire blowing skills (think candles + alcohol spit), several bunches of tied herbs, and a really big volcanic rock. Take all of these items, combine most of them together, (everything got cleansed with smoke and alcohol before being applied to the body) and try to imagine the other 14 of us sitting around watching and trying our hardest to be respectful and not break out laughing. Like I said a once in a life time sight, too bad I don’t have pictures of that one.
This coming weekend I don’t have any major trips planned but I do think that I’m going to spend Saturday climbing the Pinchincha Volcano for the first of my many field trips for my volcanology class. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Ecuador has a ton of volcanoes. I think on a clear day you can see at least three of them just from the city of Quito. The Pinchincha peak is actually right behind my house, or more appropriately if you keep climbing the hill that I live on for a long time that mountain becomes the volcano after the first couple of peaks. It gets confusing as I live right in the midst of the Andes and there are a lot of mountains. For all the complaining that I do that Mt. Pleasant is so flat you would think that I’d love it here. I do, but I have also discovered that walking up hills takes a lot of energy (especially in the Ecuadorian sun) and driving buses around the mountains takes a lot longer than it does without them. I think in the end I’m most fond of mountains from afar. ;)
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Monday, September 3, 2007
I just got back from my first exploration out of the city of Quito. Some friends and I went to the small city of Baños which is about a 3-4 hour bus ride south of Quito still in the midst of the mountains. It is a well know tourist town because of its active volcano, beautiful waterfalls, and hot spring baths (hence the name). However, in our less than two full days there we did not have the greatest weather. It was cold and raining for half of the time and foggy for the rest. However, we didn’t let the weather get us down too much. Most of Saturday was just chilly and foggy so we took advantage of the lack of precipitation and purchased an afternoon tour to some of the best waterfall sites around. We rode in a chiva, which you may have heard of before as a well know Latin American party vehicle, but if not, a chiva is basically a bus with rows of seats, no doors and a roof on top that you can ride on. It was loads of fun and we even got the driver to play one of our CD’s of reggaetón music which helped to liven up everyone’s spirits. We saw lots of waterfalls of all sorts of lengths and sizes along with some really cool tunnels through the mountains (which we rode on top of the chiva for). There were some spectacular views of the clouds weaving through the higher mountains. It was rare when you could find the top of any mountain, and every once in a while it would appear out of the mist much higher than I would have guessed. Some cool views that you just can’t portray on a camera.
While on this tour we also got the chance to do two other things. One was ride as a group across this sort of large metal basket that is suspended across a great river valley. It was really high off the ground when you got to the middle of the valley (I can’t give you a number of feet because I have nothing to compare it to, maybe one really tall building). Everyone in my group did this because it was simply a go there and come back experience, plus it only cost a buck. (Our entire chiva trip by the way, of about 4 hours, cost a grand total of $5 US. I love this country.) But there was another adventure option during our trip of which I was the only one to do. It was a sort of pendulum bungie jumping thing off of a bridge over one of the rivers. I decided that it wasn’t high enough for me to freak out in fear of heights, and it was one of those things that I just felt I couldn’t pass the opportunity to try once. It was only $10, and soooo worth it. I don’t think it’s really possible to describe, just that it was thrilling and didn’t last long enough. I don’t think I’ve ever had such an adrenaline rush before in my life, I was practically high for the next hour! See the video below that one of my companions took with my digital camera, hence the crappy quality. Note to concerned family members and friends: Don’t be upset with me for being reckless, I mean when else would I be able to do that? That’s one of the reasons that I’m traveling all over the country, to take advantage of everything that I can.
Besides this fun afternoon, the rest of our trip was spent hanging out in town and eating lots of really cheap and really wonderful food. For example, on Saturday morning all 10 of us went to this small breakfast joint. For $2 a person we got juice, hot chocolate, bread and cheese sandwiches, a fruit bowl, and 2 scrambled eggs with ham. Way more food than most of us could eat at 9:30am, not to mention a fantastic deal. The funny thing is that the restaurant apparently realized this also because when we went back the following morning for more then had upped the price by $0.50 and taken away one of the items. I laughed because I know it was because of us and we decided to go and try our luck elsewhere.
Interesting sights of the trip: 1) on the way to the bus stop in Quito we walked by a guy dressed in a squirrel costume riding a bicycle and holding a flag that said no smog. Rather hilarious to behold, but also a bit pathetic because this city is very highly polluted and I doubt that one squirrel on a bike is going to make any difference. 2) In Baños I saw my first sight of cooking cuy (a type of guinea pig considered a delicacy in these parts) which I did not eat, and also a guy walking across the street with literally a half cow on his back. Like a butcher shop worker with out the butcher shop. I tried real hard to get a picture of that one but they guy was too fast for me.
p.s. I am having problems getting the video and pictures to work, but will try again later. Look for updates...
While on this tour we also got the chance to do two other things. One was ride as a group across this sort of large metal basket that is suspended across a great river valley. It was really high off the ground when you got to the middle of the valley (I can’t give you a number of feet because I have nothing to compare it to, maybe one really tall building). Everyone in my group did this because it was simply a go there and come back experience, plus it only cost a buck. (Our entire chiva trip by the way, of about 4 hours, cost a grand total of $5 US. I love this country.) But there was another adventure option during our trip of which I was the only one to do. It was a sort of pendulum bungie jumping thing off of a bridge over one of the rivers. I decided that it wasn’t high enough for me to freak out in fear of heights, and it was one of those things that I just felt I couldn’t pass the opportunity to try once. It was only $10, and soooo worth it. I don’t think it’s really possible to describe, just that it was thrilling and didn’t last long enough. I don’t think I’ve ever had such an adrenaline rush before in my life, I was practically high for the next hour! See the video below that one of my companions took with my digital camera, hence the crappy quality. Note to concerned family members and friends: Don’t be upset with me for being reckless, I mean when else would I be able to do that? That’s one of the reasons that I’m traveling all over the country, to take advantage of everything that I can.
Besides this fun afternoon, the rest of our trip was spent hanging out in town and eating lots of really cheap and really wonderful food. For example, on Saturday morning all 10 of us went to this small breakfast joint. For $2 a person we got juice, hot chocolate, bread and cheese sandwiches, a fruit bowl, and 2 scrambled eggs with ham. Way more food than most of us could eat at 9:30am, not to mention a fantastic deal. The funny thing is that the restaurant apparently realized this also because when we went back the following morning for more then had upped the price by $0.50 and taken away one of the items. I laughed because I know it was because of us and we decided to go and try our luck elsewhere.
Interesting sights of the trip: 1) on the way to the bus stop in Quito we walked by a guy dressed in a squirrel costume riding a bicycle and holding a flag that said no smog. Rather hilarious to behold, but also a bit pathetic because this city is very highly polluted and I doubt that one squirrel on a bike is going to make any difference. 2) In Baños I saw my first sight of cooking cuy (a type of guinea pig considered a delicacy in these parts) which I did not eat, and also a guy walking across the street with literally a half cow on his back. Like a butcher shop worker with out the butcher shop. I tried real hard to get a picture of that one but they guy was too fast for me.
p.s. I am having problems getting the video and pictures to work, but will try again later. Look for updates...
Friday, August 31, 2007
Trip number one
This weekend I am going on a trip to the other Ecuadorian city of Banos (with the ~). When I get back I will have better stories to tell. Also I will tell you more about week one of my actual classes but that will just have to wait. It's better to hold you all in suspense for a little while... :)
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Okay, I am going to try this picture adding thing agian, but this time in small groups. These pictures are all of the inside of my host family's house. My room is the one with the teal walls, and if you look at some of the other pictures below (like the one of Paula in her beautiful pick sunglasses, or the one of my roses) you can piece together more of the building.
We eat most of our meals on that small plastic table in the kitchen, but it is actually more common to eat dinner (which is a very small meal) on my host parents' bed. They have a giant TV and I guess that would be the equivalent of us eating in the living room at home. Also note, all pieces of artwork you see on the walls are original paintings. I love just staring at them when no one is around... :)
Quote
Ok, my quote of the day, direct from the mouth of a USFQ professor during one of our orientation speaches about Ecuadorian politics. I think it about sums itself up.
"Ecuador, the country where the pizza arrives before the police."
A little unnerving, but probably true. You pretty much look out for each other around here.
"Ecuador, the country where the pizza arrives before the police."
A little unnerving, but probably true. You pretty much look out for each other around here.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Yeah...
Ok, I am sorry that the picutres below didn't work out quite like I wanted, but at least you can see something and I will try to fix them later...
I would have no real complaints right now if only this country would agree with my health. I apparently already have my first “ameba” (god, I can’t spell anymore, is there an o in that word? Oh well.) Basically I ate some mysterious thing that introduced an evil bacteria into my system. It would have been fine if I only had stomach problems, but no, I just had to pass out in the middle of my Spanish class on Friday. That was fun. Somehow I ended up on the floor with my classmates looking down at me and Russell holding my feet in the air. Then I got to have my first visit with the University clinic where I got to go to the emergency part and attempt to explain my symptoms in Spanish. It was entertaining none the less. I am now on really strong antibiotics and “resting” for a few days. For example I was supposed to go to class today for the last day of my intensive Spanish class and take an exam for it, but my host mother called the resident director and I didn’t have to go. Hehe. But I feel very relieved that this clinic exists, it doesn’t cost us anything except for the labs and drugs and it has everything. Seriously, 3 gynecologists, plastic surgeons, and even an eye glass place. We decided that it had to serve more than just the university…
Anyhoo, besides that small mishap in my week I love this country. The mountains are spectacular and the people that I have met so far have been very friendly. The city is just about as I expected, very large and very dirty. It does make me a little sad that I see so many poor people (children even!) in the street trying to sell or do anything for a buck. I have decided that for the moment it is most important to focus on my own well being and after I get that all figured out I will pay more attention to those around me, but it is a huge change from Mt. Pleasant, this is for sure. It is, as many people had told me previously, a city of the wealthy and the really not wealthy. For example, my family does not live in a very big house (they rent it) but my parents own 2 cars (one of them a Mercedes) and about 15 pieces of original artwork. I have also discovered that there isn’t much in the way of political correctness in this country. A few days ago my father compared the indigenous people to goats because they live in the mountains. It took me a few minutes to catch on to what he was talking about, but once I did I just didn’t know how to react. Apparently that’s the norm around here. *shrug* My father also owns two gun shops in Quito. He gets really excited about them and likes to show me how many he has in the house. There are parts of guns under my dresser and we found one in the couch the other day. There is even a bottle of tequila in my house shaped like a hand gun. The rest of the K kids think its pretty funny, but it makes me a little uncomfortable, especially since I have a 3 year old little sister.
It is also a lot colder than I thought it would be. Our house has no heat because there is no winter but in the nights and evenings (and it gets dark by 6:30) the temperature drops to the 40s or so. I am very grateful for my wool blanket on my bed, but I should have brought more of my sweaters. I’m in withdrawal…
I am learning how to get around the city a little by myself which is good. I think that in order not to go crazy with my little sister around all the time I need to become a little more independent. All I need is a good map of the city and a couple of friends and I think we would be fine. I have to say that I do enjoy having so many other kids from K here with me. Our final count is 16 people. But I get along with everyone else pretty well and we look after each other which is important.
I haven’t gone out to the bar or any disco techs yet, I was going to go this weekend but that is out of the question with my current state of health. I am however very looking forward to it. I really want to learn how to dance better and apparently beer here is only about a dollar. Food in general is really cheap. I think that the US needs a price adjustment. Also really cheap: flowers!! You can only guess how excited I am with all of the plants and flowers around here. Elana brought me roses last night because I was sick and she said that it cost here $3 for a dozen! I actually think that’s expensive for these parts. My family has promised to take me to a rose farm and if that happens one of my main goals will be accomplished! :)
I would have no real complaints right now if only this country would agree with my health. I apparently already have my first “ameba” (god, I can’t spell anymore, is there an o in that word? Oh well.) Basically I ate some mysterious thing that introduced an evil bacteria into my system. It would have been fine if I only had stomach problems, but no, I just had to pass out in the middle of my Spanish class on Friday. That was fun. Somehow I ended up on the floor with my classmates looking down at me and Russell holding my feet in the air. Then I got to have my first visit with the University clinic where I got to go to the emergency part and attempt to explain my symptoms in Spanish. It was entertaining none the less. I am now on really strong antibiotics and “resting” for a few days. For example I was supposed to go to class today for the last day of my intensive Spanish class and take an exam for it, but my host mother called the resident director and I didn’t have to go. Hehe. But I feel very relieved that this clinic exists, it doesn’t cost us anything except for the labs and drugs and it has everything. Seriously, 3 gynecologists, plastic surgeons, and even an eye glass place. We decided that it had to serve more than just the university…
Anyhoo, besides that small mishap in my week I love this country. The mountains are spectacular and the people that I have met so far have been very friendly. The city is just about as I expected, very large and very dirty. It does make me a little sad that I see so many poor people (children even!) in the street trying to sell or do anything for a buck. I have decided that for the moment it is most important to focus on my own well being and after I get that all figured out I will pay more attention to those around me, but it is a huge change from Mt. Pleasant, this is for sure. It is, as many people had told me previously, a city of the wealthy and the really not wealthy. For example, my family does not live in a very big house (they rent it) but my parents own 2 cars (one of them a Mercedes) and about 15 pieces of original artwork. I have also discovered that there isn’t much in the way of political correctness in this country. A few days ago my father compared the indigenous people to goats because they live in the mountains. It took me a few minutes to catch on to what he was talking about, but once I did I just didn’t know how to react. Apparently that’s the norm around here. *shrug* My father also owns two gun shops in Quito. He gets really excited about them and likes to show me how many he has in the house. There are parts of guns under my dresser and we found one in the couch the other day. There is even a bottle of tequila in my house shaped like a hand gun. The rest of the K kids think its pretty funny, but it makes me a little uncomfortable, especially since I have a 3 year old little sister.
It is also a lot colder than I thought it would be. Our house has no heat because there is no winter but in the nights and evenings (and it gets dark by 6:30) the temperature drops to the 40s or so. I am very grateful for my wool blanket on my bed, but I should have brought more of my sweaters. I’m in withdrawal…
I am learning how to get around the city a little by myself which is good. I think that in order not to go crazy with my little sister around all the time I need to become a little more independent. All I need is a good map of the city and a couple of friends and I think we would be fine. I have to say that I do enjoy having so many other kids from K here with me. Our final count is 16 people. But I get along with everyone else pretty well and we look after each other which is important.
I haven’t gone out to the bar or any disco techs yet, I was going to go this weekend but that is out of the question with my current state of health. I am however very looking forward to it. I really want to learn how to dance better and apparently beer here is only about a dollar. Food in general is really cheap. I think that the US needs a price adjustment. Also really cheap: flowers!! You can only guess how excited I am with all of the plants and flowers around here. Elana brought me roses last night because I was sick and she said that it cost here $3 for a dozen! I actually think that’s expensive for these parts. My family has promised to take me to a rose farm and if that happens one of my main goals will be accomplished! :)
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Week 1
Alright everyone, I appoligize for the tardiness of this post as it is thursday and I have officially been in Ecuador since saturday night but now is the first time that I have been able to locate easily accessed wireless internet! Celebrate with me!!! I'm sorry that I can't write a lot of detail as my computer has little battery life left, but now I can get here easily I can keep up better.
Okay, week one. So far I am having a great time. My host family is wonderful. I have two parents and only one sister who is only 3 years old. Her name is Paula Andrea. Completely adorable but there are definately times when I need to escape to the land of the adults where everything is not pink and covered in barney or looney toons. I also have a very friendly extended family that we do a lot of things with. One of my fellow K students is living with my host mother's parents and therefore we spend a lot of time together. Actually right now she is sitting at this table across from me. :)
My univeristy is very pretty. All of the students that go there are wealthy and therefore the grounds and very well maintained. For example, we have a giant pond, a fountain, and a Japanese pagoda. What they do with it I don't know, but it is pretty sweet. Right now I am taking a weeks worth of "intensive spanish" classes. Somehow or other I made it into the advanced level with only 5 other people. I guess I knew more than I thought I did. (only the students from Kalamazoo are in this class) Next week is when we have the true international student orientation and the beginning of classes. I am excited for that to begin because then I will have a schedule that I can get used to.
It takes me almost an hour to get from my house in the middle of Quito to the university in the bordering city of Cumbaya. I have to take three different buses, each of which costs me only 25 cents. There are lots of buses here, but that is good as it is the only form of public transportation that I have found so far and I want to be able to get places by myself. I do, however, find being in the buses more comforting than just being out on the street. Walking is not so dangerous, it's crossing the lanes of traffic that becomes the adventure. So far I have yet to see any signs of real traffic laws. Things such as speed limits and even traffic lanes are simply ignored. I have decided that if you can learn to drive here, you can drive anywhere. My host father used to live in Miami and he told me that he got his drivers license taken away because he got too many tickets, I wonder why. At least I have not found any dents in either of our cars (one of which is a gold Mercedes!). I'm taking that as a good sign.
Ok, I have to go now and finish registering for my classes, I'll try to think of more stories later.
Chao.
Okay, week one. So far I am having a great time. My host family is wonderful. I have two parents and only one sister who is only 3 years old. Her name is Paula Andrea. Completely adorable but there are definately times when I need to escape to the land of the adults where everything is not pink and covered in barney or looney toons. I also have a very friendly extended family that we do a lot of things with. One of my fellow K students is living with my host mother's parents and therefore we spend a lot of time together. Actually right now she is sitting at this table across from me. :)
My univeristy is very pretty. All of the students that go there are wealthy and therefore the grounds and very well maintained. For example, we have a giant pond, a fountain, and a Japanese pagoda. What they do with it I don't know, but it is pretty sweet. Right now I am taking a weeks worth of "intensive spanish" classes. Somehow or other I made it into the advanced level with only 5 other people. I guess I knew more than I thought I did. (only the students from Kalamazoo are in this class) Next week is when we have the true international student orientation and the beginning of classes. I am excited for that to begin because then I will have a schedule that I can get used to.
It takes me almost an hour to get from my house in the middle of Quito to the university in the bordering city of Cumbaya. I have to take three different buses, each of which costs me only 25 cents. There are lots of buses here, but that is good as it is the only form of public transportation that I have found so far and I want to be able to get places by myself. I do, however, find being in the buses more comforting than just being out on the street. Walking is not so dangerous, it's crossing the lanes of traffic that becomes the adventure. So far I have yet to see any signs of real traffic laws. Things such as speed limits and even traffic lanes are simply ignored. I have decided that if you can learn to drive here, you can drive anywhere. My host father used to live in Miami and he told me that he got his drivers license taken away because he got too many tickets, I wonder why. At least I have not found any dents in either of our cars (one of which is a gold Mercedes!). I'm taking that as a good sign.
Ok, I have to go now and finish registering for my classes, I'll try to think of more stories later.
Chao.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Almost there!
Ok people, as I write this I am sitting on the bed of the Best Western at the Chicago O'Hare airport. Today was already a completely exhausting day and I only made it as far as Chicago. One plane flight down and two to go. But by this time tomorrow evening I will be in Ecuador!!
The packing is done (I hope that nothing important got overlooked in the chaos of the last 24hrs)!! The suitcases have been repacked in an attempt to balance the weight, and now all I can think of is falling backwards into bed and passing out until next year. Combine today's amount of travel stress to the abuse that I put on my body from last week's wedding and I have no wonder why my eyes are blood shot again and my brain is mush.
Goal: sleep all day tomorrow on the planes. Attempt to arrive and great new host family with a happy and not dead tired Katie.
I'll keep my fingers crossed.
The packing is done (I hope that nothing important got overlooked in the chaos of the last 24hrs)!! The suitcases have been repacked in an attempt to balance the weight, and now all I can think of is falling backwards into bed and passing out until next year. Combine today's amount of travel stress to the abuse that I put on my body from last week's wedding and I have no wonder why my eyes are blood shot again and my brain is mush.
Goal: sleep all day tomorrow on the planes. Attempt to arrive and great new host family with a happy and not dead tired Katie.
I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Test... 1, 2, 3
Okay, in an attempt to keep in touch with everyone while I disappear for the next 6.5 months to South America (Ecuador in particular) I decided to create this little space on the web to share parts of my new adventure with those in other parts of the globe. It is only July now and I still have several large events and a lot of packing to do before I leave in August, but I work in baby steps and this is something at least. *shrug*
Now, let's see if this will actually work shall we?
Hasta luego amigos.
Now, let's see if this will actually work shall we?
Hasta luego amigos.
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