Sunday

Apparently, two of the girls from our group broke into Joe’s room through the window and drank his three liters of water, so, with the exception of Joe, who looked terrible the next morning, everyone was up and ready to go by 8:30.  We checked out and went out to breakfast, which was fantastic and wonderfully cheap ($3.00).  It makes me wonder how the people of Ecuador make money.  We caught the 10 Am bus back to Quito and it’s been a lounge day with the families ever since.  I do believe we had pancakes for dinner also.  Also, the total for the trip, with the bus ($3.50) and cab ($5.00) back and also I bought a shirt ($10.00), two chap sticks cuz I lost the first ($8.00) and entrance to a club ($2.00), ended up being: $93.50.  Not too bad for the experience of a lifetime. 

Saturday Part Three

After our day of intense adventure that somehow happened without planning anything, we were all quite hungry and went to get dinner.  While man people stopped at a place with chickens roasting in the window, Ben, Dobson, Andrew, Bobby and I went to try one of the local Ecuadorian delicacies: Cuy.  We ordered a plate ($3.00 each), and it came whole.  It was really sweet meat and the skin was really crispy.  However, you could see the feet and teeth and such.  By the way, cuy is Spanish for guinea pig.  We all decided to meet the others for a different dinner ($2.00) and desert ($0.75).  We also brought the head with us and put it down on their table hehe.  Basically, the rest of the night is what you would expect form college kids in a country with a legal drinking age of 18.

Saturday Part Two

After putting our stuff away, we grabbed lunch ($4.75) to decide what we wanted to do that day.  We had compared the prices of several different activities and companies, and, after some small disagreements, we all settled on bridge jumping and canyoneering.  We did both with the same company, so it was $34.00 each.   At twelve thirty we went to get our rides.  We all hoped into the back of a pickup truck and they took us to the San Francisco Bridge in the middle of Baños.  We were fitted with our harnesses and ready to go.  First I’d just like to describe the scene:  this bride is 100 meters off of a river in the middle of huge mountains.  Basically, it was gorgeous, and I was excited to jump off of it. They needed someone to go with a client from a different group, so I volunteered.  With my bungee cord fully attached, I did a running dive off the edge.  It was pretty great, no big deal.  After swing for four of five times, they started to lover me down to the cliff on the edge of the river.  Basically, it was the best view ever.  The only bad part was the walk up the mountain afterwards.  After everyone had jumped, we all piled back into our pickup and headed up the mountain where we received wet suits and shoes.  On the way we randomly stopped on the side of the road and told three other guys from Chile to get in.  That made 17 people in the same truck.  Oh how I love the sketchiness of Ecuador.  Anyway, I was talking about wetsuits.  See, the problem with that is that no one had brought their swimsuits so a lot of clothing got really wet, because apparently what canyoneering means is repelling down hundred foot waterfalls.  BEST THING EVER.   Total spent so far: $56.25

Saturday Part One

I was required to get up at 4:30 in the morning in order to make the 5:15 cab ($5.00) to get to the bus station by 6:15.  We had planned a trip to Baños, a small town about three and a half hours away from Quito, and we wanted to get there early.  We somehow managed to get bus tickets for al twelve of us for $3.50 each, and we someone found an unmarked bus at the wrong terminal that worked.  Or something.  I’m not really sure.  But, whatever the case, we definitely had a full coach bus to ourselves for a while and it was great.  Also, the bus had a bathroom.  I mention this because many people in our group needed to pee, mostly because you had to pay to use the bus station bathroom, but it’s a tricky thing to do when the bus is moving.  When Je was in the bathroom, I do believe we hit the largest bump of the trip.  We all hear CRASH “FUCK!” and some more undetermined words.  We were all already laughing when Joe, attempting to leave the bathroom, experienced the second largest bump of the trip.  Poor boy.  He caught himself a little on Bobby’s seat and threw up a little bit on his stuff.  I’m sure we all would have been polite enough to be concerned how hard he’d hit his head it we all weren’t already dyeing of laughter.  Except for Bobby.  He didn’t see the funny.   When we got to the city, we had a bit of trouble finding our hotel, but, when we did, we were quite happy.  See, the thing is that were are poor college students trying to make this happen as cheaply as possible.  We found a room that would be $9.00 each for the night.  We weren’t expecting to be pleased.  However, the Santa Clara was actually really cute and nice.  We were all quite happy.  Total spent so far: $17.50

Friday Part Two

The Cloud Forest is exactly what it sounds like.  It’s a forest that’s on a mountain, so it’s in the clouds. It’s quite beautiful, as one might expect.  Anyway, we hiked up some really steep hills and such, saw some snakes, and finally made it to this house.  It turns out this is the house of Creepy Biology Guy.  If I haven’t mentioned him before, he’s a guy who accompanied us on al our rainforest outings to film them for “science.”  Also, he talks either way too much or not at all, hence the creepy.  Anyway, it was his house, which was really neat cuz it was right on top of this mountain.  He gave us a lecture about ancient styles of Ecuadorian music and instruments, including pan flues, other flues, some pipes, and guitar and such.  Then, some people in the group decided to go on a hike.  Remembering what that world entailed in the Amazon, I said “never again!” and stayed behind with another group.  Due to this, the most adventurous part of my day was being the third girl to be stuck in the bathroom.  The door wouldn’t open, in my defense.  Anyway, we experimented with the instruments, went for a small walk, and generally lazed around until they got back.  Then, once again it was back to the bus and onward to Quito.  Upon arrival, I asked Medlin something I’ve been wanting to ask her the whole trip: if she would accompany me to Dominoes Pizza.  It was delicious.  However, they didn’t’ change the crust here lie they did at home, and they didn’t have jalapeños.  Therefore, even though it was worth the hurried and frantic walk home in the dark of Quito, it didn’t satisfy my craving.  Gummy worms down, dominoes pizza, cream cheese wantons, and key lime pie to go (hint hint mommy).

Friday Part One

Today we took a day trip.  Ben, who got out of the awful trip yesterday didn’t hear what time we were supposed to be at school, and, as a result, showed up an hour early.  Grand.  Catherine, of course, invited herself when we went out to breakfast, as the day just kept getting better.  She also told us that our mothers didn’t love us because they didn’t pack us lunch.  The funny thing about that being they aren’t supposed to pack us lunch.  Anyway, we all met up and waited for departure.  Once again we found ourselves in an electric blue upholstered coach bus and about two hours of driving ahead of us.  Our first stop: the equator.  First thing we did was visiting this really neat private bug collection that’s there for some reason and we got to hold Heracles Beetles and it was FANTASTIC!  THEY’RE SO COOL.  Also, there were a bunch of really big bugs in the Amazon, it turns out.  In the middle of the park, there’s a really huge monument and a gold line to show where each hemisphere of the world is.  We all took turns straddling the line and feeling pretty pro about ourselves.  Then, we all piled back into the bus.  Our second stop: the real equator.  Yay GPS!  At least they admitted their mistake.  Anyway, we all had to take more pictures, of course, to replace the ones we hastily deleted out of embarrassment.  This place was more like a museum with tons of science experiments and such.  One that I thought was really cool is how water spins opposite directions on other sides of the world, but on the equator, it doesn’t spin at all.  Another one is that if you close your eyes, it’s incredibly hard to balance on that sneaky little line.  There were a bunch of others too, but those were the neatest.  We then saw some authentic indigenous house examples and a bunch of bugs/animals native to Ecuador including that fish that everyone knows about that’s the reason you don’t pee in the Amazon River.   Then they let us off the tour into the gift shop, because Ecuador is really Disney World in disguise, and we hoped back onto the bus destined for the Cloud Forest.   Also, we stopped at a gas station where FINALLY I was able to locate Trolli gummy worms.  One craving down, three to go.  

Thursday

Surprise outing!  That means, “Surprise!  You won’t be home when you told you’re family you would be because we’re inconsiderate and also, you’ll be home much later than you should have been and you’ll be in a bad mood!  Yay!”  So, we went to a battered women’s shelter.  It was sad, it took three hours longer than they said, I forgot my Excedrin, and it smelled like fish.  That’s all that needs to be said about that.  Also, I Skyped many people, like Derek and Carrie, and then I went to bed. 

Wednesday

Lot’s of school happened today, and we had to come back for more at 6 due to the existence of a cultural ballet.  It was…interesting.  Not bad, at all, but not what I expected either.  There were a lot of really neat costumes which I thought would be much too warm to dance in but apparently I’m mistaken.  Also, there were dances that described different aspects of the culture such as family, community, religion, parties, gender roles, and so on.  We got free scarves, and that made it all worth it.  Also, that was the day that the inside-joke about me stalking Althea came about, so I suppose that’s important.  The only thing I found really obnoxious about the dance was that they guy who wrote it put himself in it.  Fine.  Whatever.  He can be a Tommy Wisseu from The Room, but he only put himself in important positions such as, I don’t know, JESUS.  The night came to a beautiful end as we were trying to catch our Taxis back and Catherine says, “Shelby, can I share a taxi with you because I live by you now?” O.o

Tuesday

We had our second essay today, and it happens that things do not get easier after time.  It was just as awful as the first, but, it meant that we didn’t have morning session class, which was nice.  To make things even better, the afternoon class was an art lecture that no one listened to.  So, it was almost like we didn’t really have school today.  Except we did.  Anyway, it was Joe’s birthday and we wished to celebrate as a class.  So, nineteen of the twenty-one of us met at 8:30 in Plaza Foch.  However, because we are a special small group, Ben, Allison, Joe, Andrew, Dobson, Spencer, and I went to dinner around six at the class nominated favorite restaurant, Tomate, for pre-gaming purposes.  I have yet to decide if this favoritism has to do with the food or the two for $1.69 beers.  Anyway, Dobson and I fit right in with our beer colored ice-tea.  It was a hardcore party with several discotheques involved, and let’s just say that many people showed up late to class the next morning.  Dobson and I were early.  Ha. 

Monday

Today was mostly a really boing day. We returned to Quito around eleven in the morning from the rainforest. It was once again a grueling half hour flight. Somehow, though, people still needed very badly to pee once we arrived, which seems like they should have known before… Ben, Allison, and I needed to find a taxi back to our houses because, even though we live about five minutes from the airport, we were exhausted from our excursion, which is to say we are lazy. We asked a price from a taxi at the airport and received an answer of four dollars. Upon hearing this, we grabbed our bags and walked across the street to a taxi not affiliated with the airport. After paying our 75-cent taxi cost, we all went home to various activities. I know most people fell asleep right away, however, I had yet to begin the homework. Knowing this, I proceeded to write all of my blogs for the amazon before starting it. Then, I took a shower and got ready for bed. However, these plans were not to be, and Ben then showed up and we went to Joe’s house to study for the huge test on Tuesday. I got in bed at 11. Gah.

Sunday

It rained in the rainforest on Sunday. Imagine that. We had to switch activities with the other group, which we all found hilarious due to both the hike and the bus ride in the rain. We were pretty vindictive. Anyway, we got into another canoe, took another small hike, and then went to visit a shaman. He did this ritual on us where he smoked a lot of stuff and supposedly cleansed us of our evil spirits. It’s my suspicion, however, that he just gets worshiped for being high as a kite all the time. But whatever. Then we tried our talents with blowguns and spears. There were targets and each of us took turns. Turns out I can use a blowgun. Turns out I can’t throw a spear. After such adventures, we visited a tree. It reminded me quit a bit of the home tree in the movie Avatar, as it was HUGE. Trees don’t get very big in the Amazon due to all the competition, but I couldn’t even see the top of this one. It was beautiful! We also took turns climbing vines hanging from it like Tarzan cuz apparently that’s a real thing. Then, we got into the canoes and went back for lunch and free time till dinner. The rest of the time really was just about hanging out and such, and it was quite enjoyable. All except for the part of the night where we found a tarantula.

Saturday Part Two

Lunch was some food that I don’t remember and then we were given the awful news: the rest of the day was not, in fact, for napping. WHAT? We had to split into two groups and actually do activities. No one was pleased, except for Yolanda. She looked just peachy. My group, it turns out, was in for a hike. Yes, more physical activity. I did mention how I’m not in shape, yes? And, since we were hiking through the rainforest, both those godforsaken boots and long pants were needed. I LOVE ECUADOR. So, we all piled into the canoe and set off. The first thing we did upon arriving at a sketchy tail was getting on a double decker bus and take a tour. I’m not gonna lie, it was awesome. It’s pretty much gorgeous and it all smells so good! We even got to eat this fruit that didn’t know existed, but I like it so I better be able to find it later. We stopped several times for our tour guide to explain things. One time, we stopped overlooking the huge expanse of forest wen we were on a hill. We all just sat in silence until this huge awful roar was hear, followed by small animal screams. And they wanted us to hike. Which we did eventually. We got off by an even sketchier trail and dove in. I would just like to take a moment to reiterate this: I hike through the Amazon Rainforest. IT WAS SO COOL! We had to hike through small little rivers, up hills down hills, over fallen trees, while all the while trying to see absolutely everything. It was also really muddy cuz it’s the rainforest, so that made things really tricky. Also, our tour guide, who we dubbed Rambo, was much quicker than the rest of us, as we were all about to pass out from heat exhaustion and stuff. We even saw this tree that looked like a lamp post because it was so smooth. It was weird. And we saw a poison dart frog and a lot of other really neat stuff. When we finally reached the end of our excursion, I was more drenched with sweat then I’ve ever been in my life, and that includes after moshing. Everyone just dripped from being sopping we. So gross. But so worth it. Also, the only thing I could really think about the whole time was how I was living Lost, which was funny cuz then we ran into a group of British tourists doing trail reconstruction and I SAW CHARLIE. Not really but pretty close. It made my life, no big deal. So yeah. With a feeling of accomplishment, we got into our canoe and headed back down the river, during sunset. Yeah, we deserved that view.

Saturday Part One

It turns out we were not vacationing after all. Alberto had signed us up to work on a community project with the local high school, most of which speak Quitchwa. The thing about humidity is that it makes you feel sticky all the time. You take a cold shower, and you still feel sticky. You put on shorts to no avail. You put on sunscreen and bug spray? It just gets worse. This about sums up how comfortable the rainforest was for us. We were required to wear these huge rubber boots. I’m glad for it now do to all the mud and other such things were encountered, but at the time I could only think about how hot my feet were. That, paired with the long pants we were supposed to wear, made manual labor on an unusually hot day not my first choice activity. But, apparently, my opinion doesn’t matter. After breakfast we hiked to the high school to receive our assignments. Upon arrival, all of us were unhappy and ungodly sweaty. It was grand. We then got paired up with our partners, three high school kids to one of us. I was with three guys, one of which who looks astonishingly like a native version of my cousin Erik. Anyway, I ended up getting really lucky. Our job was to build this small wall thing, so basically I shoveled dirt for four hours. It wasn’t bad considering most people in my group had to lug ten-pound bags of sand up three hundred stairs over and over again. I’m not complaining. But they were. Plus, the guys I was with really enjoyed breaks, so I didn’t have to work for very long at a time. We all seemed to get along pretty well when it came to laziness. At around one, we all stopped and had lunch, while the high school kids tried to practice their English on us. It was just as confusing as the other way around. As we were sitting at lunch, and I’m told this happened to multiple girls, all three of my partners, along with KC’s partners asked me to be their girlfriend. My first reaction was “wait, what?” while I figured out what that meant in Spanish. Then, when I actually knew what was happening, I found myself thinking, “Well…multiracial babies ARE beautiful…” if only they weren’t all fifteen. KIDDING. Anyway, then we proceeded to play soccer against them, which didn’t go as badly as it did against the kindergarteners, despite the fact that our teams only footwear was a collection of rubber boots. After the game was finished (I think we lost), we walked back to home base. And took a shower. Which didn’t help. My socks were soaked. It was gross because I only brought two pairs of sock. I, however, was one of the more well off people due to the fact that I mistrust hot temperatures and so packed shorts and short sleeve shirts while everyone else did as they were told. Ha.

Friday Part Two

So we got our roommate assignments, and most people have three to a room. Not me. I am paired with legitimately the only person on this trip that I really can’t handle. Of course. So, we take our bags along the raised platform to our nice cabin life structure. The first thing Catherine says is “oh, what bed do you want?” Then upon seeing there is a window, immediately retracts her statement with “Never mind! I want this one,” while rushing to claim it with her things. It’s just like rooming with Matt. (Love you dear brother.) The next thing she proceeds to tell me it this: “I’m sorry but I wanted to let you know that I have a bubbly tummy.” Great. What does that even mean? She elaborates further: “Which means I’m very gaseous.” OH. I SEE. And her parting statement as she heads into the bathroom, a smile on her face: “Even my cat have Irritable Bowel Syndrome.” Needless to say, I used the bathroom in our room close to never, and, due to the fact that in Latin America the water pressure sucks, we are supposed to throw toilet paper in the garbage can. The whole room smelt comparable to a hot day at the State Fair. When we started getting ready for bed, she found a spider. Ok. So I will be the first to admit that I can’t stand spiders. Catherine wins, however. It’s eleven at night and she walks next door to get Ben. She asks him to kill it but he wants to let t go outside alive. They argue, he releases the spider, she goes back to washing her face, etc. This sequence of events takes place THREE TIMES IN A ROW. That first night I go to bed thinking I can do it, it’s only for a few nights, and then I won’t have to deal with her anymore. That is until she as to get up to go to the bathroom at one in the morning. Not only does she talk to herself the entire time, but also she then spies a bug and screams. Then: “We have cockroaches!” About five minutes later she asks me if she woke me up. I think she woke the entire rainforest up. She continues to talk to herself, whether asleep or not, I have no idea, until approximately three in the morning when I decide that I need some alone time because it would ruin my trip to end up in jail for murder and head to the outdoors. The good experience that came from this is that I am the only student who got to watch the sunrise over the Amazon. And I got to see it three mornings in a row!

Friday Part One

The day started out about as good as a day can when you wake up in the morning and realize you don’t have to go to school. I packed, ate breakfast with my family, and hitched a ride with Ben to the airport. So far so good. That’s when I realize that lessons I have learned traveling elsewhere also apply to my life now. The situation being referenced this time? A Mexican Minute has nothing on an Ecuadorian Minute. Our plane was four hours late. Just because. The flight was like twenty minutes long, and so it was just kinda ridiculous. Also, it was a tiny plane that had a lot of rocking. Not my favorite flight. But. Then we met the bus and took it to the river. It turns out the only way we can get to where we’re staying is by canoe, and the trip is about two and a half hours long. SURPRISE. It’s probably one of the most legitimate things I’ve ever done in my life, considering the river is one of the largest tributaries of the Amazon River, and there was rainforest on both sides. Upon reaching our destination, we all realize that we will actually be staying IN the rainforest. There are small wood houses all connected by raised wooden platforms. Quite fancy. And gorgeous. I’ve never seen so many flowers in my life! The only downside thus far was the crotchety old people we were sharing the resort with, and a bitchy parrot names Yolanda who found please in the screams of college students. Even dinner was fantastic, and this time, we were all prepared for the three-course meal idea. So yummy. We were then introduced to the program and given our schedules for the morning. It all went downhill from there.

Thursday

School seemed very long today, and it turns out that it was! Yay! After class, our group took a trip to TeleferiQo, which is this gondola that goes up the side of one of the mountains. The view is pretty darn fantastic. Since the cars were really slow, it took like twenty minutes to get up there, but it was worth it. The view was spectacular! Unfortunately, the whole trip reminded m just how out of shape I really am do to the high altitude and uphill pathways. They just kept getting higher! But yeah, it was neat. Plus, we could take horses for a ride around the mountain which some students did and that was neat. After returning, once again on a bus, Maddie and I scoped out the market in Quite and that was also quite an experience. We then proceeded to return to my house and then go out with everyone again which basically meant we wanted dessert. We had chocolate cake and ice cream.

Wednesday

This is the street the school is on and such.

Today was pretty uneventful except for that we had our first large essay test. Grand. Then we had class for a long time, and then we had a lecture on the biodiversity in Ecuador, and THEN we went to this part of Quito that was really sketchy to visit the house of this artist who may or may not have dies in mysterious ways. He was apparently really important in Latin America and had kind of a Pablo Picasso influence. Some of his stuff was quite neat, if not just really creepy. He also built this church to mankind, apparently, which we of course go to go visit for another hour and a half our. NEAT. But actually it kind of was, except I was really just worried about where to buy a new hairdryer. No such luck thus far. We then al piled once again onto a city bus and made our way back to the school. That night, we all went out and had a party. Before leaving, my host parents gave me a new key, and my dad gave me a lesson on how to use it. He took great care to explain, and I was like “So don’t break it?” And he was like “yeah don’t do that again” and I was like ”Glad you speak English.” KC, Madeline, and I went and ate pizza and we met everyone else up after that. We ended up going to a Discothèque, which I guess is an experience that everyone can have once, but never needs again. I returned home successfully, key intact.

A Taste of the Amazon

So. Quite clearly I will post a much more detIled account of my days in the amazon rainfors
Eat in the days to come, but here's just I little smaple of what's been happening. Were staying in an indigenous village on a tributary of the amazon. We travel by canoe, and it's one of the most levitate things I've ever seen in my life. It's almost pretty enough to make one forget how consistently uncomfortable they are due to the hot and extremely humid weather paired with the overabundance of insects who eat people. But. What does make up for such things is the fact that we all have a hammoc on our decks.

Tuesday

Today was a pleasant day.  It’s really too bad sarcasm doesn’t exist in writing.  I woke up to many a dog at like four.  And so it began.  I took a shower with cold water, and then my hair dryer broke.  GRAND.  Patricio then informed me that I would be taking the bus.  Hopes dashed.  THEN Ben wasn’t at his house.  THEN we had school.  Quetriste.  But it got better.  School lasted only until ten twenty five, after which I paid my credit card bills and we all departed on yet another city bus for about an hour to the destination of our day trip.  We ended up in the old part of Quito, and that was really cool.  The architecture is quite splendid, and there isn’t as much random trash lying around.  However, the streets are even more narrow, and therefore, crossing them is even more perilous.  But, we all survived I do believe, and we had some adventures.  Our first stop was this random museum that used to be a hospital that really didn’t look like it existed but then it did and that was cool.  And then we ate lunch, mostly because everyone was complaining.  Like me.  After food we took a tour of this church.  So.  If you’ve ever read anything at all about Quito, I’ll bet you’ve read about this building.  It’s supposedly one of the most beautiful churches in all of South America, and I definitely wouldn’t doubt that statement.  The details are incredibly, and in that building is more gold than I have ever seen in my entire life, and that includes the animated movie Eldorado.  It was actually quite amazing and I’m not ashamed to admit that a lot of staring happened.  Next, we checked out this statue that represented the Andean Countries independence from Spain.  Then, we went to the president’s house, and that was nice.  It provided a great view of the plaza, and I’m sure I would have loved it tonses had I not been ready to fall asleep standing up.  The bus ride back was quite uneventful except for the fact that we were two hours late.  People were upset.  I was one of them.  Maddie and I then bought dessert and took a cab to her house where I proceeded to mooch off of their wireless Internet like no other.  Later, I took a cab back to my house and ate dinner with my host mommy who now calls me “mi amor.”  That’s always a self-esteem boost.  Then I too another shower due to the fact that I will no longer be able to dry my hair in the morning.  YAY.  

Monday

We went to Chota, which is a community of Afro-Ecuadorian people. We visited the school and they had a show all ready for us with dancers and what not and then they came and chose a few of us and we had to go dance with them and it was really interesting… but the best part is this: they wanted to play soccer against us. The thing you have to understand about Chota is this: the entire Ecuadorian World Cup team comes from this village. So, picture a team of three-foot kindergarteners against a team of six foot St. Olaf varsity and intermural soccer players. We got destroyed. It was embarrassing. But, it was a really interesting place to visit, and probably my favorite of the side trips thus far. Plus, I think I’d like to come back sometime and help with their English program. That would be really neat. So, we continued on our way back to Quito where we were picked up and at dinner tonight I had like an hour long conversation with my host mom about organ donations, overly processed food, and obesity (her daughter is on a diet) and how she has A+. And, I am happy to report that Patricio is giving me a ride to school tomorrow, which means that I will avoid the bus system yet again. Shelby 3, Public Transportation 0.

Sunday

They informed us Saturday afternoon that we may be forced to attend Church with our families in the morning. This worried me all the way until I fell asleep at eight again. See, when I told my host mom in Quito that I wasn’t Catholic, she did the “tsk tsk” noise, and when I told her I was agnostic, she didn’t speak to me for hours. I was like PLEASE CONTINUE TO FEED ME. She did. Anyway, we ended up not going to church and having a late breakfast instead and by late I mean eight in the morning cuz twelve hours of sleep is apparently just not enough. Then, we went to Cotacotchi and continued to shop more. It’s a town that specializes in leather, and that’s all I’m gonna say about that one. Plus, we went to this lake and took a boat ride cuz apparently lakes are a really big deal in Ecuador. I dunno. Lastly, we ended our night by going to this huge hotel that was basically just like little houses in a garden and was completely wonderful and luxurious and grand. We got steak for dinner and we got to dance and sig and walk around. My friends and I took a hike and apparently they forgot to tell us that there are a heard of wild horses and a pack of wild alpacas as well. SURPRISE. Photos were taken. Unfortunately, I had a migraine and had to retire early (like 8...see a pattern?), but they sent me tea and I got to take shower where water pressure and heat were actual things and that was great.

Saturday

Breakfast Saturday morning was quite yummy. I never knew that Latin-Americans love their bread so much, but they do and I’m forever glad. The van picked us up, and off we went to the largest market in South America, the market of Otavalo, which, coincidently, is the only thing I read in my Ecuador book before arriving. Basically, think of every Mexican market ever, and then times it by the size of space. IT WAS HUGE. And there really weren’t as many tourists as I was expecting, o be honest. I spent a lot of money. Probably more then I’ve ever spent in one day in my life. That’s actually a huge exaggeration and not true at all. BUT. I bought a lot of things, cuz everything was so cheap!! For example, I got two pounds of blackberries for ONE DOLLAR. WHAT?! Also, I ate them all, which is hilarious cuz I’m one of he only people who hasn’t gotten sick on the trip yet. Ha. But yeah. We had like three hours to shop and Maddie and I got lost, but I got almost everyone’s presents out of the way, so that was worth the hmm where is the bus? feeling that lasted for like half an hour. After that we went and ate a “light lunch” which in Ecuador means a three-course meal, and headed back to our host families. Now, I have to say, as a family, we’ve been to a lot of really cool and unbelievable beautiful places. However, the area where the Runatupari live rivals all of them. There are mountains in every direction and green hills and valleys and gorges and they live IN THE MIDDLE OF IT. It’s great, basically. Except for the spiders. So, then I sat outside and did the huge amount of homework I had. So. Here’s the thing. I didn’t really realize that this would be like school. But it is, and that idea is both unexpected and unwelcome. SO MUCH HOMEWORK. But, it was actually ok in this case because one of the dogs came and curled up with me for the entirety of the time that I was reading. I felt loved, and the need for a shower. At dinner, we did our assignment and asked our host mom all about how tourism affected their culture and she said it didn’t except they could sell things in the market instead of traveling out of the country and I’m like…but…you speak Spanish… o.O

More Friday

After that neat adventure, we drove for a while longer to the city of Cotecotchi. It is t this time tat I feel I must recognize and applaud our bus driver. There were several times when we almost tipped over of hit things of crashed into a truck full of pigs and I was like OH GOD THIS IS IT but we never actually hit anything. I say this now specifically because the indigenous communities were in the mountains with unpaved roads and an absurd amount of cattle just chilin where we wanted to drive. Plus, the roads were one lane. That’s got to be tricky with a huge bus and oncoming traffic. At night. Just saying. Go Rodrigo! Anyway, it was like seven at night and I met my indigenous host family. They are super nice and have six kids, all of whom were absolutely adorable. The food was great except that I didn’t realize that it’s part of the culture to eat soup as an appetizer so here are Katie, Allison, and I encouraging one another to eat it all, like you can do it! All the while the mom keeps refilling our bowls. Finally, we all have finished, and she brings out the main course. We didn’t make that mistake again. Also, while I’ve been here, I’ve eaten so many fruits that I didn’t even know existed. It’s the weirdest thing. I miss pineapple. So then we spoke with them for a bit about agriculture and what they can grow at what altitude. Then, we all went to bed at the extremely late hour of 8:30. Please don’t judge me.

Friday

Upon leaving school on Friday, we were greeting with an electric blue coach bus. Not something you see everyday. Or ever. This was our home for the next several days. After a few hours of driving (and picking up Paige who missed her flight TWICE and ended up being three days late (how does that even happen?!)), we visited a flower farm. Ok. So. I have previously been informed that I’m a nerd, both in the past and on this trip when someone asked me the difference between an alpaca and a llama and I went into great detain about vertebra structure (looking back on that incident I really should have just said nothing), but I have always wondered how flowers get to the places they get to. NOW I KNOW. Ecuador is one of the largest exporter of flowers in the world. The temperate climate and high altitude are apparently great for roses, which they grow like thirty colors of. We got to see every step in the process of growing, harvesting, prepping, packaging, and shipping said flowers. Suffice to say, I got to use the macro view on the camera.

Thursday

Ben’s mom drove us to school on Friday, which was fantastic, mostly because I’m just too lazy to figure out the bus system on my own. The public transportation here is great…and awful. This city is just so darn confusing and everything looks the same and you can’t even use mountains as landmarks cuz they’re everywhere. Gah. But. I still enjoy it. Anyway, so Thursday night I went out with everyone. It was raining (as always) and we waited for the bus for like twenty minuets before finally deciding to take a cab. Like I said, great and not. See, the buses get you everywhere, but a bus to where we live in north Quito is really rare. It’s frustrating. But cabs only cost like two dollars anyway and between the three of us, it was basically bus fare. SO. We all went to Foch Plaza, which is by the school. Ben got us lost at fist because, like I said, everything looks the same. It’s actually a rally interesting dynamic hanging out with everyone because the drinking age in Ecuador is 18, and I guess I’ve never before experienced my peers sitting down in the restraint and ordering beer. That took a bit of getting used to. But, I did find out that the coke here is made with sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, and is therefore fantastic and my new addiction. Coke the pop, to clarify. Then, after restraint exploring and the like, everyone went to a discotheque except for KC and I due to the fact that we were lazy and tired. So, we shared a bad back home and all was well until my key broke and died and fiascos happened.

¡Más!

Today was very similar to yesterday in terms of school: I was equally as tired and equally as English.  However, I did have one of those great idea moments that some people mistake for Jesus moments.  There was a point during the second lecture that I realized I didn´t care about the finicial crisis and rates of disemployment and the other innerworking of economics.  See, this realization in itself is rather common.  It was the shock that came after when I realized that I understood what the Professora was saying, no matter how boring I found it that kinda blew my mind.  Plus, I had a really in depth conversation with my host mom about politics and how hard it is to become famous and how actors don´t make movies but vise versa and how Leonardo DeCaprio just isn´t good.  It was nice! As far as I know, I am supposed to go out with my friends Ben and Joe and Allison tonight, but it is raining like always.  That makes outside seem unappealing.  Tomorrow I leave for the indiginous community of Otevallo, the largest indiginous marked in all of South America.  JOY!

Quito

SO.  I started to write this blog in Spanish, I really did.  But.  Then I dreamt in Spanish (not well, I might add), and that was the end of that.  Therefore, here you all go in easy o understand English.  I shall start from the beginning.  Last night I arrived in Quito to fierce customs official and jet lag.  GREAT.  Not to mention my family lives RIGHT NEXT TO THE AIRPORT.  Yay noise.  Not to mention that everyone in Quito owns at lease one dog that doesn’t sleep at night, and they are a rather chatty group.  Suffice to say, sleep occurs in small doses.  However, all of this is easily made up for in the fact that I have a fantastic family.  Lupe, the mom, is really nice and a rather talented cook.  Patricio is the dad and he never lets me carry anything.  Last but certainly not least, Veronica is their middle-aged daughter WHO SPEAKS ENGLISH.  I win!  I have my own bedroom upstairs (their house is really net in a traditional way) and a queen-sized bed.  It’s pretty great. 

This morning I had school and that was school.  There was a lecture in economics and the fiscal crisis facing Ecuador at the moment.  I fell asleep six times and had to be kicked awake by Benjamin, the boy who lives next door to me.  He missed the first few times.  Allison was upset.  But.  All in all I suppose the academia was rather successful, as I can already feel the migraine coming on.  However, the best part of the day was when Lupe and Ben’s host mom took up for a tour of the city.

QUITO.  If there is one thing that I’ve learned on this trip so far, it’s that U.S. citizens need to stop bitching about carbon emissions and realize how good they have it.  I do believe I am developing black lung.  No, but actually.  What I learned is that there isn’t one Quito.  It’s actually three different cities: the north, south, and central.  There differ not only in location but in building and street style as well.  For example, central Quito has=s all the churches.  SO MANY CHURCHES.  But that’s because it’s the part that Spain conquered and developed.  And the cool thing about Quito is that the entire city is situated in the valley of this huge mountain range.  But you can’t see the whole thing.  It’s literally the largest city I’ve ever been in.   You can’t even see all of it at one time!  It’s kinda fantastic. 

Things I like about Quito:

Lots of eating

The mountains

The architecture

Things I don’t like about Quito:

The drivers are worse than those in Grand Rapids

SO MANY STRAY DOGS

Pollution

Spanish

Crime (all houses are located behind protective walls and have bars over the window. I must open three different doors to get into ours.  Plus, we’re pretty much supposed to expect to be mugged when we walk outside.  Joy.  Sadly, I am embracing the fanny pack.  Sorry, I mean security belt.  Love you mom.)

Side note:  All the graveyards are above ground O.o