Can one day of adventure make up for a not-so-exciting week?

Already, I’m falling behind in my goal to write once a week. It’s just too difficult to keep up with! And it’s not like I really did anything very exciting last week anyway. Mostly I hung around the house, except Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons when I went to “work”. However, I didn’t really do much there, either. Right now I’m supposed to proctor placement exams (remember classes start the 18^th) and grade them, but last week the coordinator I work with did most of it for me.

I think the biggest thing to happen was on Sunday. Sunday for my family, and I think a lot of families in Ecuador but I’m not sure, is family day. My family usually spends Sunday being active and/or having an adventure. This past Sunday was definitely Family Adventure Day. We drove to the southern part of Quito, near the Panecillo [a giant Virgin Mary statue; she is the patron saint of Quito], to a beautiful overlook call El Cinto. Here there’s a church located down the side of the mountain; I believe it was called “el cinto de la virgen” but I can’t remember. There were a lot of people around attending church, selling food, etc. From this overlook you could see the path the lava takes when Pichincha decides to erupt. It’s an active volcano, although I believe there’s only been ash lately. Everything was extremely green, and you could see little pueblitos down in the valley.

Afterwards, my family decided to drive down into the valley. We passed through one of the little pueblitos and kept going for about an hour. The country was extremely beautiful, but the road was pretty terrible, as it wasn’t paved. There were a ton of little places to eat advertising fresh trout (trucha), chicken (pollo), and guinea pig (cuy). Every so often we would stop at one of these places and my dad would ask how much far to the “aguas termales”. I had no idea what these were, and was really afraid we were driving all this way for some special drink. If I didn’t like it, I was going to feel really terrible after all the effort.

Finally, we reached a fork in the road with an entrance gate to Urauco. After paying the entry fee, we drove on for another 10 minutes. At the end of the road were some natural pools, one heated by water from Pichincha. This was what was meant by “aguas termales”. Unfortunately, none of us had brought swimwear, so I just looked at the pools. Really, just looking at them was nice too because they were nestled in a valley between some mountains and thus surrounded by greenery.

But this was not the end of the adventure, of course. Apparently there were some very pretty waterfalls up in these mountains surrounding the pools. So naturally, we were going to climb the mountain to look at the waterfalls. Having only gotten 2 hours of sleep the night before, because I was hanging out with another WT volunteer and some Ecuadorians, this did not initially sound like an awesome idea. However, the waterfalls were definitely worth it. Not gonna lie, I was pretty scared during some of the climbing as parts were really steep and you had to hold onto ropes to keep your balance. But my family kept encouraging me, and I was doing better then Chiqui (the family Chihuahua, he always comes out with us on Sunday), so it wasn’t too bad. The scenery was beautiful, and it was lightly raining/misting so it was nice and cool.

After we returned from our mountain trek, Ariel stripped down to his undies and swam in the heated pool while the rest of debated whether to eat at the pools or at one of the little stands along the drive back. My family really wanted me to try the trout, so somewhere along the road was decided as best. Unfortunately, as we drove back, we discovered none of the places advertising trout actually had any. I suspect this was back it was already about 2:30, and most of the people were eating as we drove up. Eventually we had to settle for chicken in the little pueblito we’d passed through on the way up. I think my family was a little sad about this, but I thought the soup was good so it was fine with me.

So that was my big adventure for the week. This week I’ve been basically doing the same as last week, although I did hang out with another WT volunteer (Emily M) on Monday before work. Luckily, I’ve actually been doing work at work this week, too, so I’m not as bored. Yesterday the U.S. played Ecuador in a soccer game, so that was also fun to listen to while working. (Ecuador won, naturally.) Tomorrow, my dad is taking me and Emily M to meet a tattoo artist that he knows (he’s the cousin of my dad’s nephew), so that’ll be interesting. If I can find a symbol of Ecuador that I like, I will be getting another tattoo while here. But I have a year, so I’m not in a big hurry to get that done.  So yeah, that’s about all I’ve got for now. Hopefully I’ll actually remember to write again on Sunday. It looks like I may climb Pichincha with Emily M or hit up Otavalo again. Who knows, it’s only Wednesday.

Some more fun facts about Ecuador:

1) Despite $20s being large bills, ATMs here usually only dispense 2 $10s and the rest of your cash in $20s. However, I got lucky yesterday and got all $10s.

2) Chocolate chips don’t exist here. You’d have to crush a chocolate bar, essentially.

3) The rainy season seems to be starting. You can usually expect it rain every afternoon now around 2 – 3 if you’re in Quito.

4) Smashing your finger in a car door hurts just as much here as it does in the States. (OK, so that one wasn’t really about Ecuador. I just had to mention that my finger is still bruised and swollen from shutting it in a car door Saturday night. But luckily I can use it again to type.)

Last week of orientation

My goal for this year (where this blog is concerned): write once a week. Quite honestly, I hate writing. Journaling, blogging, essays…I hate all kinds of writing. Usually I have some good ideas up in my head, but when I actually sit down and try to write, I discover that I don’t want to commit my thoughts to paper. I’m sure there are a number of reasons behind this, but because it’s not something I’ve needed to change, I haven’t bothered to figure out what they are.

Anyway, this past week was the last week with all 41 volunteers in Quito, so naturally, I tried to spend more time out of the house with people. I’ve been hanging out at home with my family a lot – not necessarily a bad thing – so I figured I should try to get out while everyone was still here. On Wednesday, I went out to Ladies Nights with a lot of the WT ladies. It was a lot of fun to just hang out with the girls until 10 when the club allows guys in.

On Friday we had our final practice English class. I don’t know if I explained this, so let me back up for a second: for the past 2 weeks, everyone’s been practice teaching at different SECAP locations. We were divided into groups of 5 – except my group, which had 6 – and assigned one of 3 locations. Over the course of 2 weeks, the groups rotated so everybody taught at least twice. (With the exception of one group because they didn’t even students for the first couple of days.) These classes were free to the students. Friday was the last day with our class, so my group took our students to the giant KFC right across the street from our SECAP location. It was a lot of fun; they bought us chicken and we gave them their certificates saying they’d completed 26 (or 20 if they’d missed some classes) hours of English. After everyone had exchanged numbers/e-mail addresses/Facebook names, they took us to a nearby bar where we hung out and danced for an hour until we realized we had to get to the big WT group dinner. The group dinner was also a lot of fun. It was at a pizzeria called Al Forno in La Mariscal. We sat at two long tables, so it was hard to talk to everyone.  A couple of the guys brought roses for everybody, which was really sweet. After dinner, a lot of us went out dancing in La Mariscal.

On Saturday (with a few exceptions), everyone not placed in Quito scattered to the four winds.  Meanwhile, I went to Parque Itchimba with some of the remaining Quito people to see a concert. Of course I didn’t understand any of the music, but it was fun anyway. There were tons of people around, so it reminded me a little bit of ACL. I spent the rest of the weekend with my family.

My family, quite honestly, is amazing. Saturday night they took me to get hot dogs at this little stand near our house. We then ate them at a really pretty scenic overlook where we watched the clouds and fog roll in. After we drove down to Guapolo to see a church that we had seen from above. (Unfortunately, it was closed, but all the pretty antique streets were worth it anyway.) On Sunday, we met up with some of their friends in Parque Carolina. While my mom, her friend Mary, and Mary’s husband did zumba, my dad and I took my brother and his friend to go ride on the ponies. Soon it started to rain, so instead we drove about 30 minutes east of Quito where there were all these gorgeous flower stands. (I didn’t take my camera with me, so I have no pictures.) After some flower plants were purchased, we returned to Quito where we bought some KFC chicken for lunch. We brought it home, and my dad made fries and rice to go with it. In case anyone’s wondering, KFC here is a bit spicier than in the States. Finally, around 7, we drove the family friends home. They live in south Quito, so it’s difficult to get back – especially at night – when you don’t have a car. I got to see a lot of new scenery in Quito that I hadn’t seen before. Let there be no doubt: Quito at night is gorgeous.

Now there are 10 people (myself included) left in the capital. 5 are placed at CEC with me and 4 are placed at SECAP. CEC (Centro de Educación Continua) is part of a larger university called Escuela Politénica Nacional. From what I’ve been told, CEC is one of the best institutions for learning English in the country. Certainly it’s one of the best places to work, as the administration is well organized. (Yes, this means I can expect to be paid on time for the most part.)

Classes at CEC are organized in 8-week cycles with a 1 ½ weeks – 2 weeks in between each cycle. The next cycle begins October 18. Until then, I’m scheduled to work 4 pm – 8 pm doing administrative work (e.g. proctoring placement exams, putting together students packets, etc.)  I don’t know what level(s) or at what times I’ll be teaching yet. Before the start of each cycle, which is usually a Tuesday, there is a teacher meeting, usually that Monday, where the teachers are told their class level(s) and times. I do know, however, that I should not receive anything below Intermediate. (The levels are as follows: Beginner, Basic 1, Basic 2, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, Advanced 1, Advanced 2, Academic 1, Academic 2, Academic 3, Academic 4.) Once I actually know what I have, I can post it.

Anyway, now that it’s taken me an hour to write all of this, and I think I’ve included everything, I’m going to go eat lunch. Some more fun facts about life in Ecuador:

1) Most people here are pretty short. For example, I am taller than my host dad.

2) People here drive like madmen. Sometimes they’re in 2 lanes. At night they’ll run red lights (although this is also a bit of a safety habit too. Why wait at a corner like a sitting duck if there are no cars?)

3) Public college is free, but can also be difficult to get into.

4) The form of currency is the dollar. However, stores and restaurants do not always have change for a $10. If it’s a $20 (which is what you get when you go the ATM), forget it. You have to go to a big chain like Supermaxi (a grocery store) to break it.

5) House photos!

It was raining outside, so I had to hang up my clothes in my room.

Table where the family eats breakfast and almuerzo.

No dishwasher. Gas stove/oven. 

Chiqui, the family dog. He's an attention whore.

Where clothes get hung up to dry. My room is the window on the right, all the way at the end.

My mom is a beautician, and will occasionally have clients in the house.

Where the car is (usually) parked + the door to the outside world.

Living room/family room. The picture hanging under the clock is of my brother when he was younger in a little tux.

I can't seem to get a good picture of my bathroom because the lighting sucks. But that's the shower on the left.

Otavalo Saturday

I think I will try to make it a habit to blog once a week. I actually loath journaling of any kind, so if I actually manage to keep this goal, be amazed.

Yesterday I went to Otavalo with a large group of friends. Otavalo is a small town about 2 hours outside of Quito with a large outdoor market. The majority of the items for sale are handmade (I saw a few toys that were being resold, so I don't want to say everything is. But it's about 99.99%.) Instead of having a huge market square, the stalls wind up and down the streets, around existing buildings, and spanning quite a bit of the small town.

Everything is extremely colorful, and bargaining is expected. Some examples of stalls:

To get to Otavalo, we took a bus for $2.20 (each way). The ride was pretty tedious and boring, but the sights out the window were amazing. Probably the best part was seeing a Jesus statute riding in the back of a pickup. (Mom claims it's St. Francis of Assisi.)

Overall, it was a really fun day. I left Otavalo with 2 new scarves, a handmade owl hat, 2 Simpsons fingerpuppets, and 5 friendship-looking bracelets for $20.

Now, however, I'm in a rush to get out the door. So if I remember more to write about later, I will.

First blog post!

Hello everyone! As you may or may not have figured out, I finally have internet in my house. For those of you unfamiliar with Ecua-time, when the internet company said they would come hook up the internet (which I'm paying for, not my host family) last Monday, they really meant today.

But let's not dwell on this one frustrating point of Ecuadorian culture, because there are so many other points that are awesome! Because I'm sick today, I'm not really going to be very detailed about everything that's happened in the 2 weeks I've been here. So if you want to know more, you'll have to e-mail me.

Let's begin with getting here, because that was quite an adventure in itself. I flew from Miami to Bogota, Colombia. The airport was very interesting, and certainly let me know I wasn't in the U.S. anymore. They checked every passenger's ID as they came off the plane while drug dogs and policemen roamed everywhere in the airport. Then the group almost missed our flight to Quito because the airline changed the flight number and gate at the last second. We flew into Quito and began to land, only to abort the landing feet from the airport because the wind was too strong. I would say that was scary, but I was more concerned with not getting sick from all the strong turbulence. Because we couldn't land, we flew to Guayaquil, Ecuador. (It's south/southwest, on the coast. It's also the biggest city in Ecuador.) After waiting for hours at the Guayaquil airport, we finally were boarded back on the airplane, we took us safely to Quito. By the time we reached the hotel, it was 5 am.

I met my host family the next day. Honestly, with no exaggeration, I think I have the best host family. My parents are Gonzalo, a professional pasta chef, and Maria, a beautician. This means I eat soo much tasty food and get free haircuts. I also have a 6-year-old brother, Ariel. Ariel has the most energy I've ever seen in a child (even after working at CCY). He's really bright, and has beaten me at chess 3 times now. Gonzalo is usually home during the day while Maria is usually at the peluqueria. They're both really sweet, and I'm really excited to spend the next year with them.

In fact, my first Sunday in Quito, Chiara (a volunteer living with me during Orientation) and I went with the family to San Vincente to visit Maria's family. San Vincente is about an hour and a half east of Quito. We went to church (my first Roman Catholic service) before having almuerzo at Maria's dad's house with the family. Her family is huge, but really friendly. After almuerzo we drove to the family plot to harvest potatoes. In case you've never harvested potatoes before, it can be really difficult. I stupidly had not put on sunscreen, so I got a nice little sunburn. (Because of the elevation and proximity to the equator, the sun is a lot stronger here.) However, I thoroughly enjoyed this experience. The family joked around a lot and seemed really amused by Chiara and me. Somehow they even talked me into trying Pilsener beer. (I hate beer, for those of you who don't know.)

Last Friday, all the WorldTeach volunteers (41 in total) received a salsa lesson. These were really fun. The instructor was really energetic, and it was pretty funny watching some people. After, a lot of us went out salsa dancing, which was also a lot of fun. If I can afford it, I'd like to continue taking salsa lessons this year. The next day, I - and my giant blisters - went to Centro Historico with some friends. Centro Historico is the historical area in downtown Quito. There are tons of churches, monuments, and other important buildings in this area. We had a Quito native with us - one of the volunteer's host brother - who told us a lot about the different places.

Earlier this week, I went with my family to visit another historical site in Quito - la Virgen. This is a giant statue of the Virgin Mary that stands on one of the giant hills over-looking the city. At night it's lit up by purple flood lights. You can go up in the statue and see all of Quito. Quito, by the way, is a huge, sprawling city. Google Earth it if you want to see for yourself. (If you want to see where I'm living, search "La Floresta," my barrio. Finding my address is too difficult.) Anyway, it was absolutely gorgeous. We went at night so I could see all of Quito lit up underneath the full moon.

Finally, to end with some interesting tidbits about daily life here:
1) I carry everything important - cell phone, money, copy of my passport - in my bra here. Pickpockets and thieves are simply too rampant. I can't trust putting things in my bag.
2) The plumbing system in Ecuador can't handle toilet paper. So when you use the bathroom, you have to throw any and all toilet paper into a trash can right next to the toilet.
3) Having a washing machine and hot water (both of which I have) here is a big deal. This is probably another reason why I love my family.
4) When you get sick, like I am now, oregano tea and natural remedies are preferred. So I've had to drink a lot of bad-tasting tea. :-(
5) Pretty much everything here, save electronics, is really cheap. I'm already starting to think of $4 as too expensive for lunch. (The normal price for almuerzo is around $2-$2.50 and includes soup, juice, and an entree with rice, some kind of vegetable, and some kind of meat.)