When one procrastinates on packing...

One comes to try to do anything else that needs to be done in order not to pack. You might not know this about me, but I loathe packing. I also love to travel, so this strong dislike of putting everything into a bag, moving it, taking it out, putting it back in, moving it, unpacking and washing, is actually rather counterproductive. 

In approximately 7 hours I will be getting on a red-eye to head to New York to hang out with Rex, Bambi, and Jesus (girls from ultimate) and have a week of crazy adventures. I am really excited about this!

In other news, I went and visited LA for a few days. I stayed with Ben, as well as visiting with other SC people that we ran into. LA continues to amaze me at how mobile a person can be in the urban sprawl without a car or even a bike. Ben and I went to campus, visited areas close by (PS. Lindsey's pool party was really fun! Yeah for kiddie pools) as well as wandering around Old Town Pasadena. It was a really good 2 1/2 days.

Although, in the usual manner of things in my life, things never stopped. As soon as I got off the plane I met up with other Tahoe people who dropped me off at the car dealership to get my mom's car, then I drove straight to Zephyr Cove to go to the USC SCend Off BBQ. It was fun to see the band play and walk straight into the lake still playing. If I was a Song Girl (highly unlikely) I would have been really happy to get in the water, those sweaters must have been stiflingly hot. I also got to see Aggro, who was playing with the band! Then home for about 20 minutes and then I rode my bike to my grandma's house for yet another engagement party for my father. You would think with all this hoopla that this was their first wedding... at least the food was good and I got to talk with people I haven't seen in a really long time.

Last night I went to the Toby Keith concert with Kristen. This was absolutely hilarious actually. Toby Keith's music doesn't always appeal to me, but let's face it, seeing people of all ages drunkenly swaying and reveling in their nonconformity to sophisticated, higher educated lifestyles, it is pretty funny. Hearing thousands cheer when he says the word "redneck" or "bastards" is pretty funny. Also, I don't think that you could really get away with wearing cowboy 

hats and boots, beer belly baring shirts, and I Love Heifers T-shirts anywhere else (except where there is a cow within the next 10 miles). He also has a penchant for changing the lyrics of his own songs to be more offensive or crude... interesting insight I suppose. 

Now that I have wasted some more time... I really should get packing.

Real life is busy

Howdy!

Since I have been home I feel like it has only been nonstop action. I mean you can't really get more action packed than getting home from being in a third world country for 6 weeks and landing right in the middle of crazy drunken beach goers on the 4th of July. And things haven't slowed down since then. 

I went to the Journey, Heart, and Cheap Trick concert last week. I went with my best friend and her family, and some other friends. It was a blast to see different generations enjoying the same thing. Watching her Dad play the fake piano to "Don't Stop Believing" was hilarious. Then I saw Flogging Molly the week after. It was really fun seeing all my friends from high school, although I don't really need to be in a mosh pit again any time soon. I went rafting on the American River with the Bergs, and had a blast. 

I also spent the week alone because the rest of my family decided to peace out for different parts of the country leaving me with Riley and Buddy, the dogs. Riley is small, but Buddy is a large, one-eyed yellow lab who is a hand full. It was an interesting week between the dogs, the bear, and the attempted break-in. Yes, seriously. 

I have also managed to see The Dark Knight 3 times since it's release, which is just slightly ridiculous. I really liked it the first time, and it has not diminished in its entertainment value since then. It does make me think though, which is something that I think all movies should do. It's good. You should see it if you haven't.

More exciting things coming up... LA, New York, Dad's Wedding and school starting. Should be an interesting rest of summer!

Trip to Ecuador- Galapagos and Home

Hey there everyone!

I write this now from the comfort of my couch in Tahoe, and I can only reminisce about the adventures that I had in Ecuador. Continuing where I left off, it was our second day in the Galapagos. On this day we went up to the Giant Turtle Refuge and Breeding Center much higher on the island. We saw a lot of turtles, many that I know I could not pick up even if I tried. It was interesting learning all about them, and how they were almost eradicated by pirates and other companies for their oil for lamps and such. And now the turtles are threatened by many introduced species that we find harmless, like cats, dogs, and donkeys. It is interesting that they even survive now considering how slowly they move and that they evolved with no predators. 

We spent about an hour hiking around there as the weather slowly socked in, making everything misty. After that we were supposed to hike up to another small lake but the clouds had socked in so much and there was so much mud that I decided to take a nap in the van, which turned out to be a good idea because they couldn't even see the lake. We then hiked in a different area to a vista point with some rather sketchy broken stairs, and then down to a secluded beach where we hung out and played in the waves and then back to the hotel for some R&R and some dinner.

The next day was a full day of snorkeling and beaching. We got up early and collected our snorkel gear and got on the boat for a snorkel trip to Kicker Rock, a large rock sticking straight up out of the ocean about a mile and a half off-shore. Once there we jumped in the water and Andrea just about had a heart attack. Andrea was not flustered the entire trip until we got into water where she couldn't see the bottom. You could see the rock face slowly descending into darkness. There was also a ton of sea life! It was pretty amazing. Andrea held my hand almost the entire time. When, near the end of snorkeling, there were White-tip Reef Sharks below us, she completely lost it and got back in the boat.  After that we went to a totally secluded beach where there were the biggest horseflies I have ever seen, let alone been bitten by. There we had lunch and then we went to a shallow area to snorkel some more. Here we saw a sea turtle, tons of fish, and marine iguanas! They swim under the water and eat algae. Cool beans! Then back to the hotel.

Sunday was our day off so we slept in, hung out at the beach and then watched the Spain vs. Germany soccer game. I watched a movie from a hammock with a beer in hand. Good times. This was our last day on San Cristobal. The next day we travelled to the island of Floreana and the Isabella with snorkeling and pirate caves mixed in with the traveling. 

The next day we went horseback riding up the Sierra Negro volcano. I had a horse that liked to bite any horse that tried to pass him. I was laughing so hard that I almost couldn't keep my seat on the horse. We rode for about two hours and then got off at the top of the second largest caldera in the world. It was a fantastic view. Then we hiked down through old lava floes and saw the ocean from the top of an active volcano. It was spectacular. It was really good to hike and move after sitting on the horse, otherwise I don't think certain parts of me would have functioned the next day. 

Then the next morning a boat ride to the island of Baltra, a flight back to Guayaquil and then on to Costa Rica and Miami, then a frigid night on the airport floor, and an early flight to Dallas and then Reno to arrive back home in time for 4th of July festivities and family. 

All in all, it was a great trip, and I learned a lot. Not that I could put that all into words. This trip really made me appreciate everything that I have, and all the opportunities available to me living here in the US. Are there things that need to change? Yes. Are we perfect? Not by a long shot. But I would rather live here than live in Ecuador... too many bananas... and guinea pig...

Now back to real life...

Trip to Ecuador- More Adventuring...

Hola!

Today is another travel day, just like the day after my last update. After Banos, the group got up and left after breakfast where we stole fruit from the buffet for snacks on the bus. (How can you beat apple slices and Nutella?) We then drove 10 hours west across the country that is about the size of Nevada and ended in the small beach town/surf haven that is Montanita. Our first night here was a Saturday night so we went out. It's weird having cocktail stands and creepy surf hippies all over the place. It was a really fun night.

The next day we went whale watching, which wasn't so fun for the people who had had too much fun the night before. We went out of Puerto Lopez, about an hour north, then got into a ridiculously small boat. We actually got to see a lot of whales and one jumped out of the water about 20 yards from the boat. Sweet. After watching on a rather rough ocean for about an hour and a half, we went to a calmer area to snorkel and eat lunch. A couple people got sick, but after that zodiac snorkel trip in Hawaii a few years ago, I don't think anything could be as bad as that. Andrea and I napped. Went snorkelling, then back to shore to eat some lunch and chill out for the rest of the day.

Surfing was what occupied our time for the next two days. We had to go through some lessons, which once again my balance proved to be lacking slightly. After doing some running in the sand, because the locals think that the ocean is freezing this time of year but its really nice, we got in the water. On the first day I almost got the hang of it. Unlike many of the girls on the trip, I had no problems with the paddling part, just the getting my feet on the board part. After the first day we went back to Montanita and shopped and hung out in the sun throwing a frisbee. The second day was more overcast, but the whole group was out to have a beach day and I caught some sweet waves from my spot in the intermediate group. Andrea made it into the advanced group... darn it. Then we played some volleyball, some ultimate, and played in the surf. 

Montanita was really relaxing and a great way to end our stay in mainland Ecuador. The next morning we drove to Guayaquil and hung out at the hostal while people caught various flights. This morning we flew out of Guayaquil to San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands. It was sad to say goodbye to the people that we have been hanging out with, and working and playing with for the last 5 weeks, but being here now is worth it. Right after getting off the plane we had the strangest baggage claim I have ever seen, then straight to the hotel and 20 minutes later in swimsuits and off hiking to the Galapagos museum and overviews. We got to chill out with a creepy Darwin statue, and check out some cool stuff, then we walked down to the rocky shore and went snorkelling. There were a lot of sea lions and they aren't afraid to swim with you, as close as 2 feet away! And we saw tons of fish and various other forms of sea life as well as blue footed boobies. And all the hard-core stuff comes in the next couple days. It is going to be exciting. Tomorrow is hiking to a lake and seeing the giant tortoise refuge. 

Hasta luego!

Trip to Ecuador- Adventuring...

Hello all!

This is my first update since the project, and man oh man have we been busy since my last update. I am tired, but having an absolute blast. We have also had real beds and showers since then also, makes life much easier, and cleaner...

After leaving Quito we stopped in Sigsipamba, where we rode mountain bikes and rock climbed. Andrea and I were in the group that did the mountain bike riding first. ISV (the group we are travelling with) is pretty militant about safety, so we wore helmets, elbow pads, knee pads, and gloves, of the gardening variety. We looked like road warriors. The first downhill was pretty sweet, it was fast and required manuvering, which was difficult for some of the people who hadn't really ridden bikes before. The rest of the ride was down cobblestone streets, basically making my arms feel like a sewing machine, and ended on an old railroad track going through tunnels. That was cool. Then we had lunch and switch to rock climbing. This was one of my favorite activities, I almost made it to the top of two 5.9 climbs. I just didn't have enough upper body strength. When I get home I gotta work on my guns.

Then we got back on the bus and drove to Tambopaxi Lodge in Cotopaxi National Park. One of the highest active volcanoes in the world at 5800ish meters and it is capped by a glacier.  The lodge itself was at 4400 meters, higher than any point in the lower 48 states. The hydration really helped adjusting to the altitude, but it was a strain on my bladder. :) The next day we went to climb the glacier. The weather was cold and snowy, and made me really glad for all my gear, except for the leaky rain jacket. We went nice and slow from the parking lot at 4600 meters to the refuge point at 4900 meters. Then we went up to the glacier, put on cramp-ons and roped up and went all the way to 5100 meters! We had to turn back at that point due to glacier conditions being prone to avalanching, but it was really sweet. Some of the other people in the group had altitude sickness and others had colds. Being all about safety and health, they were put in a separate room to try to keep everyone healthy. The food was really good, the fire was warm, and there were no roosters to wake you before light. It was good.

The next morning we drove from Cotopaxi in the highlands, to Banos in the jungle on the eastern side of the Andes. We got off the bus and hoped straight on bikes to go down the Avenue of the Waterfalls. It was a really tame ride, but really pretty. We rode a super sketchy gondola across the canyon to get a great view of the river and waterfalls. I know that if Dad had been there we definitely would not have been allowed on, but it was only $1... then we continued riding, ate some lunch where Andrea ate some cake that had milk in it which proved to fatal to her digestive tract later. Then we went white water rafting. Andrea and I were in the most extreme boat due to people and locations. I was a little nervous at first, but it proved to be a blast. It was all girls in the boat and our guide, Patricio, was absolutely hilarious. "Faster malas chicas, faster!" He purposely flipped the boat and we got to row on top upside down for awhile, and when we went over some of the bigger rapids he would jump really high in the air and come crashing down in the middle of the boat. It was good. We then went to stay in jungle cabins for the night. Andrea saw her lunch again on the ride there. She went to sleep and the rest of us ate dinner and hung around the campfire for a fake shaman demonstration and funny stories.

The next morning we woke up after another night under mosquito netting and went on jungle hike. We went to a hidden waterfall and went swimming and tromping through the river and on the muddy trails. It was really fun. When we got back and I took off my boots and got attacked my little black flies. So now I am covered in fly bites, especially around my ankles, and they itch like crazy, but I think I can manage. Everywhere else that had bugspray was fine... darn those boots. At the end of the day we went down the river to some dugout canoes and spent the night in more jungle huts with mosquito nets. We had a talent show where we performed a traditional Kichwa dance complete with crazy foliage outfits. We then danced for a bit and went to bed.

Then we transfered to a hotel in Banos, warm showers again! We went for a horseback ride up into the old volcano flows, lahars, and drank from a natural spring that tasted like sparkling water. It was cool. We actually got to canter, and not just trot, and I didn't looke like a complete idiot getting bounced around in the saddle. I will have to thank Francie Cole for that one. We then had dinner and met with the other ISV group, the north bound tour, and talked with them about their experiences on the coast, which is where we are headed next. We then went out bar hopping, listening to some crazy music and walking in the rain. That was really fun also and then we came back and hit the sack to get ready for another very full day.

This morning we woke up to some pouring rain and I worried about whether our day of puenting and canyoning would be cancelled or not. Not to fear, no one stops for weather here. Our group went puenting first, which turned out to be a good thing because the group that went canyoning first became icicles in the river. Puenting is basically bridge jumping, which means you jump off one side of a bridge, which was 150 feet about the river, and pendulum out with a rope that is securely attatched to the opposite side, like a giant swing. Andrea and I both went off backwards like jumping and doing a backflip, which was really cool, although now I have bruises from the harnesses. Yes, incase you were wondering, we are hardcore. There were two girls in our group where were afraid of heights and bridges, respectively, and they both jumped. It was really neat to watch people conquer their fears, or do something in spite of their fears. Then lunch and switch groups to go canyoning. We got to put on wet wetsuits which was a little chilly at first, but after going out in the warm sunshine, it felt good. The weather changes here very quickly. Canyoning is basically rapelling down waterfalls, or using a rope to descend from the top of a canyon to the bottom. Andrea and I had already had experience from  summer camp, so it was pretty easy to get the techique and we had a minimum of slips and crashing into the rock. The last waterfall was by far the coolest. You go over the edge of a rock and then lower yourself down freestyle, not touching any rock, 150 feet. It was spectactular. Then back to the hotel for a nap, because after all this back to back activity my body hurts... 

Then dinner and maybe some hotspring action later tonight and then tomorrow morning we drive for 10 hours to Montanita, a small city on the coast where we will be surfing, whale watching, and snorkeling. Hopefully there will be no bugs. I am sick of itching. The group dynamic is really cool actually because about 70% of the people are really experienced outdoors and really active in their regular lives (there is a guy who does triathalons and is training for an iron man) and there are about 30% who have never done anything like this and everything is a new experience (like the girl who can't swim, barely rides a bike, and had only sat on a horse before). It really makes me appreciate all the experience and worldliness that both Andrea and I have had growing up. We are by far the most well travelled, culture conscious, and independent people here. I am really excited for the next few days and later our Galapagos Island excusion!

Hope all is well in other areas of the world!

Trip to Ecuador- Out of the Jungle

Hola!

 

I am back from the jungle. I have now had a shower and a real bed and feel much rested and relaxed after another week in the Amazon. While still in the Kichwa (not Quichua, bad Katie) community I continued to teach the Kindergardeners. I made up some songs about animals in english in spanish and that was far more effective at teaching them than anything else, and it was fun. I also translated the hokey pokey, more or less, and that was absolutely hilarious to watch. I also helped teach the high school kids and tutored math. Yes, I know, I tutored a girl in algebraic equations in spanish and she finally got all the steps. The education system in the schools needs a lot of help. She was trying to do problems like (x -4)squared without knowing how to multiply positive and negative numbers. It was a long afternoon, but we worked through it with the aid of my spanish dictionary.

 

While I was doing that, Andrea and everyone else went fishing. We ate the small fish for dinner that night. It was sweet. Andrea was one of the few that actually caught fish. I think she had an extra edge from her tutoring from Boppa. Andrea and I have some of the fewest bugbites in the group, I will also attribute this to Boppa and his insistence ever since I can remember about long pants and long sleeves. Funny that I didn{t appreciate the importance of that until now. Some of the girls that were wearing shorts and sitting in the mud got some fungus on their skin. Eww! It got cleared up quickly by medicinal plants from our garden though. It was really cool to see the actual application and use of all the work that we had put in. 

 

On our last night there the community threw us a going away party. In the big meeting area they thanked us and I had to make a speech thanking them for all their support and openness and help in spanish, which was a little nerve-wracking. Then we got to watch grown-ups do the native dances, and a native band perform music and we all danced. One of our 14 year old neighbors was the singer, we made him nervous but he was really good. I danced with a lot of the kindergardeners. It was really cute. Then at the end we got a demonstration of the shaman techniques. Andrea was "cleaned" by Roberto. We got some cool pictures.

 

It was a really interesting and eye-opening experience talking to them about medical care, money, and family, because their situation is so different. Roberto's 4 year old was really sick, and he had to beg and borrow money to pay the hospital to care for him to save his life, for $300. It's amazing how far money can go here, and how little is needed to really help. When we gave out donation items like school supplies, clothing and food, people were so grateful. Even leaving our used sheets and rubber work boots they were grateful for. It's amazing how happy they are with so little living off the land with their loving families and community. It was a truly amazing experience.

 

The next morning we left in a small sketchy van and headed back to Quito to start the adventure part of the trip. The road here were mostly dirt and the driver was texting while driving. He also refused to stop for bathroom breaks, so by the time we were in Quito there were a few of the girls who had to make an escape and jump out of the van door at a red light and then walked to the hotel. It was a close call there. I am glad that he is not the driver for the rest of the trip. There are now 27 of us as opposed to the 10 of us on project. We have a bigger bus to go around on. 

 

After finally arriving in Quito we had yet another orientation meeting and then got on a bus to go to the Equator monument. There is the old Kitoo, a sun-worshipping people that had ancient ruin on the equator line, which they verified with GPS 12 years ago. We got to see some shrunken heads, some buildings from the 1800's and some sweet burial sites. Then we got to do experiments on the equator line with balancing an egg, water running out of a sink, it moves in opposite directions in different hemispheres (clockwise in the southern, and counter-clockwise in northern) even moving the basin 10 feet away from the equator line. You also could not hold your fingers together when someone was trying to pull them apart. Trippy. We then went to see the monument that was built in the 1750's when French explorers made the equator line only 200 meters off just by judging by the stars. We had a party later that night to welcome everyone and today we get to go to Otavalo, the biggest local market in South America, aka souvenier heaven.

 

More updates to come. Tomorrow we get to go climbing and bike riding, then on Monday we get to climb Cotopaxi, the glacier on the volcano! This group looks like it is going to be fun even though it is much bigger. I am really excited about the rest of the trip, it's nonstop action.

Trip to Ecuador- Campococha

Hello everyone!

It´s been a while since I updated, mostly because we have been in the middle of the Amazon for the last week. We are staying in a Quichua (native group) community near the Arajunto river. It´s really nice for a small community. There are 6 of us in one cabin and 4 in the other. We are working with another volunteer organization called New Horizons, who make our food and help translate and stuff like that. Being able to speak spanish relatively well is a huge advantage out here. The spanish lessons and review have definitely helped a lot. Our living accomodations are nice. We have bunk beds with mosquito netting and a short walk to flushing toilets and running water. The cabin also has electricity which is a mixed blessing because of all the bugs it attracts. We have been bathing in the river, when it isn´t raining too hard, and we are picking up our desperately needed laundry today. We all smell horrible from the mixture of sweat and bugspray.

The work we are doing is community building. Firstly we cleared land and built a large garden area for medicinal plants. We had to go in the selva, or jungle, and gather large bamboo and carry them back to the community and then split them with machetes and make stakes and cross parts to build a fence. We also shoveled and toted sand to areas that were muddy, like the dishwashing station for the elementary school. We have also gone on a few excursions and one all day hike deep into the jungle to gather plants for the garden, as well as experience the rainforest. It´s been really interesting. One of our guides, Roberto, is training to be a shaman and his knowledge of plants, animals and weather patterns is really impressive. Many of the people are endlessly accomodating and more than willing to help. Many of the community members are very shy, especially the women, so sometimes it is hard to talk to other people. Their holdiday on June 5th, Family Day, really helped us get to know more people and experience the culture. I had to do a native dance to help the kindergarden class that I have been teaching. (There is a video of it). I have been teaching english to kindergardener´s, like trying to nail jell-o to a tree, and high school students, which is much more satistfying. It is also strange to be surrounded by women who are my age or younger who are already married and have children.

Our group is meshing well, which is good for all the heavy work we have been doing, and I have learned a lot about the culture and history of Ecuador. The bananas have gone down in quantity for the moment, but yucca, a root has definitely risen. They eat it like the Irish eat potatoes. I have also eaten ants that taste like lemon, and had some really strong alcohol that that native people take before they enter the jungle for strength, but that stuff was nasty and strong, no wonder. 

On our days off we went to the Cavernas, an underground river and cave system where natives hid from the conquistadors and where shamans have rituals and there is some mud that people use to cleanse themselves. It was fun and muddy and wet and dirty and I have never been so glad to have a headlamp in my entire life. (Really good gift Dad-Analisa) We swam in the outdoor part of the river which they had outfitted with a waterslide. We also went to a zoolike park called Amazonicas where they have rescued animals or pets that the police have confiscated and they try to rehabilitate them and return them to the jungle. They also patrol to stop poachers. We got to get really really close to several types of monkeys (one jumped on Andrea), ocelots, capybaras, macaws, an anaconda, and various other jungle creatures. That was fun. 

We have played soccer with the kids in the mud and on hard ground, made chocolate (the whole process from plant to product), made Chicha (a native yucca alcohol), been to a dance party, met some other volunteers from France, collected supplies for artisans, planted a garden, and had barely enough food because the portions are so different. The mosquitos got bad when it didn´t rain for two days after a few days of heavy rain. Apparently my blood is like mosquito crack because they have been biting me through my clothing a little. It´s been fun and a great learning experience so far. I will be really excited when I get to get back to Quito and get a real shower, clean clothes, and cold drinks.

Trip to Ecuador- Into the Amazon

Hola amigos,

 

I have now been in Ecaudor for almost a week. In ways it seems much longer and much shorter than that. Tomorrow Andrea, who arrived safely in Quito despite confusion about flight times and luggage losses, and I are headed to our volunteer projects. We will be spending two weeks in the Amazon jungle in a small community called Campococha, near the city of Tena in the south-east of Ecuador (incase you feel like looking it up). We will be staying in small cabin-huts and will be using mostquito nets to sleep. Apparently there are monkeys who try to take your things, especially food, and snakes, spiders and other insects that like to make their way under your bed and in your boots. There will be more on this first had in the next update.

 

I, for one, am really excited about this portion of the trip because besides working really hard to give the community things it needs to succeed, we get to interact with a culture, language and psychology that is totally different from our western perspective. Also doing a full hard days labor, seeing a completely new place, exploring and discovering things about the world around me and myself can not possibly be a bad thing.

 

The last few days I have been busy, as I sure every day will be. Yesterday we climbed up to the TeleferiQo, a tram that goes to the top of the mountains near Quito (4,100m or 13,451ft) and despite going through a cloud on the way up, the weather miraculously cleared at the top where the view of Quito was spectactular. I have been to mountains before, but this was unlike anything else I had ever seen. You could see the city nestled in the valley running north to south and mountains surrounding the whole thing, and in the gaps you can see the areas beyond, cities and greenery. The cloud was behind us so we couldn´t see the volcano, but we will get to see it later in the trip.

 

After coming down from the TeleferiQo we had a "clase de cockteles" where we went to a bar and learned to make drinks (cocktails) local to Ecuador or South America. Most of them were really good. (Yes, I wrote them down so I could remember them after drinking them, and yes, we can make them in the US).

 

Today we went back to the old city after our last spanish class to see the things we couldn´t when it was pouring rain. We could finally see the sun today! It was beautiful and sunny. I did remember to put on extra sunscreen. The city is beautiful in the sunlight. Although the rivers in the streets was pretty cool. We saw more churches and what the locals do. There were a lot more people outside, understandably.

 

Laundry is done, bags are packed, snacks have been bought. We are now ready to head out, for real now.

 

Interesting facts:

The local alcohol is peñas which is minimum 140 proof (it´s knid of like the moonshine of Ecuador)

The expression T.I.E. (This is Ecuador) is used a lot due to things being late, unmarked, moved, changed, or closed without notice.

It is more common to have a pet tarantula than a pet cat because indiginous people believe that cats cause asthma and allergies.

 

I think that is all that I have for the moment-

 

Buenos noches,

 

Katie

Trip to Ecuador- Quito 2

Hola!

Still in Quito. Over halfway done with the spanish lessons portion of this excursion. My spanish is getting much better, in that I understand almost all of what people here are saying and can make myself understood. I continue to use the wrong form of the verb, despite how I try, I propbably sound like a kindergardener, but at least I can order what I want.

Speaking of food... still bananas with every meal. Fried bananas are by far the best. We get banana soup tonight, so that should be interesting. With spanish classes today we went to a local market with all local growers, etc. Basically like a huge farmer's market that happens everyday. We got to try lots of new fruits and veggies. Despite me having travelled to tropical areas before I has still not had a lot of these fruits. They were pretty delicious though. There was also a meat market there, and oh man! there is no way that place would pass a health inspection. There was no refrigeration and meat all over the place. It was also really cheap. The flower market was cool too, $1.50 for a dozen roses. Seriously. We got some for out host mom. 

It's been raining pretty much constantly since we got here, which we are told is not normal for this time of year. They say 'global warming' a lot when discussing the weather. Which I don't know if it is true or not, but is certainly interesting. Despite the weather we went into the old town yesterday, which where the conquitadores and colonials set up the city. We visited the Basilica and a couple other churches as well as the government buildings. It was pouring rain. The streets were basically rivers and because its so steep it looks like a waterfall coming down the street towards you. We were wet and a little cold, but it was still really fun.

There are currently more Canadians in the group than Americans. It's really funny to hear their slang. I learned that a "soaker" is when you step into a puddle and your foot gets completely wet. So "I got soakers today" means that I got more than one soaker. This caused a lot of confusion and laughter. 

Most of the people going to the same volunteer project as me are here already. We are headed to the middle of the Amazon jungle (in Ecuador, not the middle middle) where it is much warmer than here and Quito and has a lot of mosquitos. The monkeys there are apparently pretty intense and will steal your food, cameras, whatever else if you leave it out. There is a 7 hours bus ride there from Quito, which we will undertake on Saturday. I am really looking forward to going. 

Interesting facts:
Guinea pigs are not only a delicacy to eat, but are also used by indigenous people for medicine when then are alive. They rub them all over the sick person (It's really weird).
Being gay was outlawed until 10 years ago.
It is cheaper to call the US than an Ecuadorian cell phone. 

Adios!

Trip to Ecuador- Quito

As a beginning to this blog, I thought I would begin with my latest adventure, a volunteering trip to Ecuador with my sister, these are the emails that I sent home... Enjoy!

Hello all!

 

Yes,  I made it here safe and sound. The flights from Reno>Dallas>Miami (stay overnight in a hotel) Miami>San Jose, Costa Rica>Quito, Ecuador all went swimmingly. Despite the airlines in South America being far less stringent about being on time than the airlines in the US, the flights were good. I either slept or read the entire time, usually the former.

 

I am staying with my host family very close to downtown Quito, the big tourist area, right where the spanish school is. It´s less than a 5 minute walk, which is really nice as some other groups have a 25-30 minute walk. My family is really nice, the Dad is from the states, Washington, and the Mom is from Quito. They have a 5 year-old daughter who I taught how to play War and the beginnings of Egyptian Rat Screw. I was very proud of my communication skills. She kept trying to cheat, which reminded me greatly of Abigail when I taught her to play. Shows you that children are pretty much the same all across the world.

 

Both parents speak english fluently, which is convient for my other roomates, who do not speak spanish well. Our first classes were today, I got put in the advanced group, which is not saying much because more than half the group doing the spanish lessons are from Canada and have never learned spanish at all. It´s been fun though. We also had a salsa lesson. All those years of dance finally paid off, whoo hoo! I was not completely awkward.

 

The food has been good so far, a lot of bananas. We´re supposed to have banana soup tonight for dinner. And we had fried bananas for lunch with rice and a beet salad as well as fresh bananas with banana ice cream. I might have to learn to cook some of this food. And I might have to take a break from bananas when I get home. (Andrea, you should be fine food-wise here.) I have also not had any problems with the altitude or the water, we are crossing our fingers that that doesn´t change. Also, no mosquitos... yet.

 

Interesting facts for the day:

Ecuadorians play a form of golf where instead of hitting a ball, they hit off a live chicken´s head! No joke.

There are drug dealers on the corner by our apartment, but only at night, during the day it´s a cute old lady.

 

I will continue to update, I don´t miss you guys too much yet. :)

 

Adios,

 

Katie