For Nelson

I've been meaning to blog for a while, but Nelson finally called me out on not writing! So here's an update.

Today, I am sick. I woke up and decided that being around older people with older immune systems (let alone preparing them breakfast and lunch) was not the greatest way I could serve them. I subsequently told my host-cousin I was going back to bed and have been in it ever since. I slept until 11:30 and am on my second movie of the day. I know it might sound like I'm wasting a day, but I'd rather take this time to get better.

Last weekend, I went to a place called Baños. It was ...an adventure. I left volunteering early to head all the way to the south of Quito. I figured out how to get to the second bus station with the help of two other exchange students. I waited around for a bit; there were some scheduling changes with the folks with whom I was traveling. We got our tickets and headed out around 4. That put us in Baños pretty late, but we went out and had a great night. No Ecuadorian's asked me to dance, but that is perfectly fine with me.

We got up the next day and this began my adventure. We had a delicious breakfast at our hostel, then we went horseback riding. I had a hard time deciding if it was an ethical thing for me to do; I didn't like how the horses were dragging their feet or how they didn't get a water break the whole time we were out. I also didn't like that the guide would give them a smack on the hind legs with a thin branch to get them moving. Apparently, my horse was in a bad mood that day, according to my guide. And according to the fact that he kicked a friend's horse in the chest. We got to go see a cool waterfall, then we headed back. Some of the group went puenting, which is essentially bungee jumping without the bungee. I could never do it; I'm so proud of my friends who did.

At this point, I become super melodramatic. The wind blew some dust into my eye that didn't come out until we went to a clinic 4 hours later. More on that in a second. We went canyoning, which is repelling down waterfalls. It could have been a lot of fun for me, but I was mostly just crying and keeping my eye(s) closed because it hurt so much. It was cool to be lowered down a waterfall, but I wish I could have appreciated it more. After that, it was an adventure to the clinic for me. I really appreciate the people who were with me. While sand in the eye sounds like a pretty lame thing to freak out about, I was freaking out like you wouldn't believe. The doctor put some solution in my eye (and didn't poke me in the eye with a needle like I thought he was going to!), got a q-tip and removed the foul grain, as well as an eyelash. He prescribed some anti-inflammatory pills as well as drops (gotas) because the sand had irritated the surface of my eye. I went back to the hostel and slept until the next morning. Other folks went out for dinner, drinks, and a chiva (open bus with music) up the mountain. I was just glad to close my eyes.

The next morning, some of us went to check out the basilica in town, which was gorgeous. After that, we ran pretty late, but four of us took another chiva to see some of the waterfalls; they were absolutely stunning. We got to climb down a mountain and see a beautiful waterfall up close. The hike back up was intense, though! Our other friends rode bikes and went to a different waterfall; because of this, they arrived super close-to-late for our bus home. One of the people in our group did an awesome job stalling the bus for 15 minutes while people made their way. The bus ride home, after that, was restful. It was nice to get back to Quito.

Last night, I went bowling with my family and another exchange student who lives across the hall from me. It was fun. I scored a 44. Roughly. I got a strike on my first ball, and then proceeded to not knock down any pins for about 4 more frames. Yessss.

So, on the whole, I am tired. Mentally, physically. I am close to half way complete with my adventure here, and that scares me. It means that I have to start thinking about my future and I really don't like that. I am in a weird lull/funk and I hope to get out of it soon. Next weekend is Carnaval and so we have two days off from school; I don't really know where I'm going. We'll see! Sorry this isn't much of an entry, but it's still something, right?

A Few Things I've Learned the Hard Way

01. Just because I'm white doesn't mean I have privilege anymore.

02. The rays of the sun actually do burn more severely along the equator.

03. Just because it's wireless doesn't mean it's free.

04. Men will cat call you regardless of what you look like.

05. But not always.

06. A semester is a really long time.

07. The day you accidentally have more than $15 on you is the day you will get robbed.

08. In a city of nearly 3 million people, there are people who will return your belongings, even though all the cash is gone.

09. Professors will not always care that your first language is not the same as theirs.

10. "Mandatory" does not always mean mandatory.

11. Spanish. (a thing I am learning the hard way...)

12. Life moves forward even when you feel like you're moving sideways.

13. You can't always be known.

14. Things won't always be fixable with an prettily worded e-mail.

15. Just because you're different doesn't mean you should expect everyone accommodate you.

16. But there is always an opportunity for conversation and learning.

17. Holding grudges doesn't really get you anywhere.

18. When the orientation leader says that that tarantulas are not more afraid of you than you are of them, he is not kidding.

19. It doesn't do any good to be afraid.

20. "Things change. And friends leave. And life doesn't stop for anybody." [Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky]

Estoy loca como el tigre

Hola a todos J

I have two and half things to update you about!

½. Night out in La Mariscal

Now, you may or may not know this, but I don’t really do the club scene. That’s what study abroad is for, isn’t it? Doing things one normally wouldn’t? I went out to La Mariscal, aka Gringo Land, to hang out with some friends and enjoy some Ecuadorian nightlife. We were at a cool Beatles-themed bar called Strawberry Fields Forever. I had a really nice chat with one of the people who was there, and I really came out of my shell. We left around 11:30 or so to head over to another place called Bungalow? I kind of forgot. (No, it wasn’t *that* kind of night!) The $5 cover was worth it, as we got a free drink as well as a whole night of what I considered decent music. They played a bunch of songs that are popular in the U.S. as well as some Ecuadorian tunes I am growing to love. We danced until about 2:30 when we left La Mariscal. I got asked to dance by a mildly awkward, potentially older person. I promptly was my awkward self and we sort of danced while I maintained a safe distance. After one song, he told me “ya venga” (I’ll come back) and didn’t approach me for the rest of the night. I really wouldn’t have had it any other way. I got home and in bed by around 3:00 a.m. …

01. Day-trip to Papallacta

… to get up around 6:45 a.m. to head out to Papallacta! There are only two words I can use to describe Papallacta, and it’s really a phrase so it’s kind of like one word: hot springs. We’re talking natural baths of hot water, sometimes warmer than a hot tub. We had to get there first: the group of us who went met up around 8:30 a.m. at the bus stop where we get off to go to school, so it was easy. For a city of just under 3 million, Quito sure is quiet on a Saturday morning. Our $2.50 bus ride to Papallacta was so worth it. When we arrived, we hopped in “el balde” (the back of a pick-up truck) for a 2.7 km ride to the springs. The view around us was absolutely Stunning (upper-case denotation was very necessary). We got there, changed into our suits, put on about 50 layers of sunscreen collectively (which did me a fat lot of good!) and hung out in the first pool. After a while, we got too warm so we sat out for a bit before heading to some of the other pools (which got progressively warmer). Thankfully, the frigid river was right next to the hottest pool. One of my friends slipped on some rock and cut up his foot, but the medics were able to fix him up nicely. After he was all fixed up, we went and got some lunch. I had churrascos (some beef, avocado, rice, lentils,etc) and jugo de mora (blackberry juice but so much better). We went back to hang out in the springs for a bit before changing and heading back to Quito. The bus showed a disgusting film and I had to stand for most of the 90 minute drive, which was fine. At this point, I was sunburned and super tired, so it would have been nice to sit. Ah well! All in all, a relaxing and beautiful day at the hot springs!

02. First day of Volunteering

Today was my first day at La Fundacion de Abuelitos y Abuelitas de la Calle, which is an organization for elderly people, mostly with lonely low-income lives. I managed to get there on time while using a new bus route and not knowing exactly where to go. (Those who remember my early fear of the buses should be proud!) It started slowly in the morning around 8 a.m. but I was able to sit and chat with some abuelitas, Maria and Josefina. They are beautiful people. I hope to see them again on Wednesday, as well as meet some more folks. I spent the whole day in the kitchen helping prepare breakfast and lunch for about 100 people. It was easier than one might imagine to fit in to a system that many people already understand. I met some volunteers from Germany as well as a person from Wisconsin. She’s here before her study abroad experience in Chile. It was fun to spend time with her, as well as help the volunteer from Germany communicate with some of the Ecuadorian volunteers. She doesn’t speak much Spanish yet. Today for lunch was soup of angel hair pasta, rice/lentils/veggies, salad (aka lettuce, cucumber, & lime juice), a piece of fruit, and juice. It’s amazing to see the system these people have in place to serve the people who need it. It’s also amazing to think that all the food we used today was going to go to waste otherwise because it couldn’t be sold in the supermarket. I stayed around and helped to clean up the kitchen afterward as well. I put in 7 hours today, out of 200! Maybe each post I’ll let you know where I’m at in my service. J I am already looking forward to going back on Wednesday. I think it was good that I was able to help in the essential functions of the organization today, in order to feel like I wasn’t just coming in to hang out. Before I headed home (which took two buses instead of one, which was an adventure!) I bought an empanada that was made by a person who works with us, and all sales go right back to the organization. I liked that.

On another note, I have a cold. I love my host parents for how they are helping. My dad said that he’ll make sure to get some tissues when he’s at the supermarket next, and gave me some vitamin c tablets. My mom made me some limeade-tea-with-honey and gave me (what I think/hope was) a decongestant, or cold medicine. My body is stressed right now with that, intense sunburn, and some other things, but I think I’ll be alright!

Thanks for reading this whole thing! Love to you all.

Aventura #1

Hello, friends!

This past weekend, I took my first vacation in Ecuador! Eleven of us went to Mindo, which is about 2.5 hours west of Quito. I took a different bus line to get there, so I arrived at the station late. Thankfully, there were enough tickets left for me to get one with the group. My friend Cynthia was the only person I knew, but by the end of the weekend I felt pretty comfortable with everyone who was there. The ride to Mindo was windy, but gorgeous. We arrived and it was raining... and it didn't really stop for most of the weekend. The person who owned the hostel came and picked us all up in his van so we didn't need to walk in the rain. Mindo doesn't have street names, you see, so it would have been tricky to get there on our own anyway. We got settled in and then went out to dinner, in the rain. There went my straight hair! I looked like a hot mess the whole weekend. I shared mushroom pizza with some folks and we all decided the plan for the next day. We went out to a couple bars that night, and I really only liked the second one because it was more open and a little quieter. We got in pretty late, but were still prepared for our adventure the next day.

We got up and had breakfast at 8 then proceeded on to zip lining! $13 for 13 zip lines! We also didn't sign any waivers or anything, which is TOTALLY different compared to the US. We got into our harnesses and helmets, heard safety instructions, and got started! If you're on facebook, check out photos from my album called ¨So, I Only Have a 20...¨ (I´ll explain more about that title later!) Like I said, there were 11 of us, and we had two guides as well. The first guide went across, then it was our turn! The first cable was slower and steadier than many of the rest, so it was a good one with which to start. I went toward the end of the group, and I was only a little nervous the first time. After that, I just wanted to keep going ALL day. The hikes between the lines were a little stressful to my out-of-shape self, but I made it. Eventually, we were given the opportunity to try 2 different positions: the mariposa (butterfuly) or the Superman. The mariposa has your body in the shape of a Y with your body hanging upside down and your legs forming the top part of the Y. You and the guide go simultaneously and the guide holds your body in place, which I found quite comforting. I didn´t try the mariposa but I did do the Superman, twice! For this, you wrap your legs around the torso of the guide and cross your legs behind the guide´s back and put your arms out like you´re flying, like Superman does. I can´t even describe the view; gorgeous is an understatement.

After ziplining (remember, it was raining the whole time!), we decided to go tubing down the river. For starters, we´re cold and wet. Then we get in the river in this huge tube raft. I am wearing my bathing suit and a t-shirt. There are 4 of us in the raft, 2 guides to steer, and 1 guide to sit in the middle to grab us if we start to fall out. For an illustration of how intense this river was: a trip that normally takes 30 minutes took us 12. The river was going SO fast and the waves were huge. We went down a couple 2-3 foot drops (!) and slid over some rocks. It was QUITE an adventure, and while it was probably the craziest thing we did all weekend, it was an awesome time. One person fell out of the raft behind us, but thankfully she is alright and the third raft scooped her up into their raft. We rode home standing up in the back of a pick up truck. Cold. Wet. Slap happy.

We hung around, went out to eat, came back, went to the bar. (At this point, I had essentially run out of money. And everyone else only had 20s, which are about as helpful in Ecuador as a winter jacket.) We met some people from Germany at our hostel, invited them out, and talked to them in Spanish. Oddly enough, it helped me feel more comfortable in my language. We came back and some folks got up the next day to go bird watching. I chose not to because later this semester, I´m taking a trip to a biodiversity station in Tiputini, so I figured I would just see animals then. (And I didn´t have $8!) The few of us that didn´t go walked around Mindo (aka turned left not right down the main road). It was pretty. The other folks came back and we were going to try and go to the waterfall but we ended up not having enough time. Instead, we walked down the road to find access to the river. We hung out there for a while; some of us collected beautiful stones to bring home. We took our bus back to Quito, and I went home to my Ecuadorian family.

What I can say about traveling outside of Quito is that for the first time, I felt like I was enjoying my life here. I liked getting away from the noise, the hustle and bustle. I liked letting my guard down a little. I think traveling away from Quito is going to be how I learn to love Quito. We shall see. Love to you all!