Classes have continued to be good for the most part. I totally yelled at my teacher the other day :) Somedays classes are super hard!! My teacher has a bad habit of whenever I mispronounce or make even the smallest mistake, he reteaches the entire lesson. Gah, I'm a beginner I am going to make mistakes, I don't need the entire lesson a second time!! Ok ok, I didn't yell yell at him but I was very unhappy with him. Anyway, I'm still progressing and learning but geez the days are so full! I tell my teacher everyday that I don't need so much homework because I have 7 hours of class and by the time I get home I just want to review, but I haven't had time lately because he gives me gobs and gobs and gobs of homework. But I am doing my best to stick up for myself and what I want out of my classes.
We have been on some awesome fieldtrips! Let's see... we have been to El Centro Historico, Jardin Botanical, Museo de Agua (seriously, the water museum), Vivarium (snake house!!!!), Museo de Guayasamin (famous Ecuadoriann painter), Iglesia Basilica (HUGE Catholic church), Museo de Banco Central (history of Ecuador), Museo de Amazonicas, and Barrio Guapulo (near Guayasamin's house).
If you haven't already, check out my pictures to get a better idea of what my fieldtrips included. Some highlights: I saw 2 real shrunken human heads at the Amazonicas museum, I taught my teachers all about Rainbow Boas at the Vivarium, I climbed to the top of the Basilica on crazy ladders that would never have been legal in the US (you really have to see the pics), I waited out a rainstorm on Guayasamin's backporch...here in Ecuador you are allowed to touch things and walk in areas that would never be allowed in the US, I love it :)
I have also done a LOT in my “free time.” I took an evening trip to Papallacta, natural hotsprings, with 3 other students...danced the night away at an Ecuadorian discoteca, took salsa and cooking lessons, all in the first week.
The first weekend I boarded a bus and headed out to Cotopaxi, a local volcano. We females were under the impression that the trip would be hiking 'around' Cotopaxi but we quickly discovered that we were indeed climbing the mountain. That is awesome considering I hadn't even acclimated to Quito yet. (again I refer you to my pictures) We made it to El Refugio at 15,793 feet...which I would like to point out is higher than the summit of Mt Hood. We then ran/leaped our way back down the snowy slopes to our waiting truck in a matter of minutes. It was an amazing trip.
Valerie and I headed back that same night to discover in the morning that we had a new student moving into our house and I was being kicked out of my room! My Mamma came up to my room and declared that she was moving into my room “in 5 minutes.” So I frantically threw all of my belongings into Valerie's rooom and then spent the rest of the day reorganizing our new shared room. Neither of us slept well that night in our double bed. Despite having to share a room, I LOVED having a new sister because all of a sudden my host mother actually starting talking TO me instead of to Valerie about me. She actually asked me to translate things for our new sister, Anja. Sadly Anja no longer lives with us (though I do have my room back to myself again!!) which means that my host family has gone back to seeing through me. It's ok though, sometimes I force myself into conversations and jump up and down and frantically wave my hands until they see me ;) (just kidding about the jumping and waving in case you didn't catch the sarcasm there)
The next week was Obama week! Wow, you wouldn't even believe the excitement here! I organized a party in the evening (by organized I mean I wrote down “obama party” on a piece of paper and had people sign up...) and then the school had a little party for us during the actual inauguration. We all got out of class and set up a viewing party in the main sitting room and the school provided beer and Ecuadorian snacks. It was an awesome time. Also you can imagine that our Spanish was awesome after that ;)
Oh wow, last week was Cuy Week as well! Cuy is Quicha for guinea pig. On Friday a bunch of students and teachers boarded a bus for a town 45 minutes from Quito and we feasted on guinea pig. It wasn't particularly tasty...very greasy and didn't actually have much meat. (Once again, you HAVE to see my pictures) My friend Ingrie all of a sudden got really sick thinking about what she was eating, but the rest of us did a fairly decent job at cleaning our guinea pig carcasses. What a solid South American adventure.
The real fun was this last weekend! (there are not enough exlamation marks in all of the world to express my excitement about this weekend) I went to Mindo, up north in the cloud forest, with a bunch of girls from the school. I went up early early early Saturday morning with my good friend Ingrie, from Canada, and we secured a hostel for all of us and then headed out to repel down a waterfall :)
It was just the 2 of us and our 2 guides in our group. The real adventure part of the experience was just getting to the waterfall. First we hopped in a truck and paid a guy to drop us in the middle of the cloud forest where we then set off on foot up the mountain...across creeks, through thick sucking mud, all under searing hot sun (which was new to me since it rains daily in Quito). We stopped to try some fresh fruit which turned out to be huge orange lemons (apparently I made an awesome sour face) and my guide explained that if you find a fruit you don't know, you put it on your tongue and if you salvate a lot then it is bad (as in poisonous)...um, I think I just won't put it in my mouth thanks.
It took us a good hour of crossing skinny slick bamboo “bridges,” scaling mud cliffs, and hardcore hiking before we got to the bottom of the waterfall. Haha, I think Ingrie about peed her pants when she saw how steep and tall the waterfall was. We climbed to the top and then practiced repeling down a short mud cliff, it was pretty funny. At that point we learned that the second “guide” wwas actually just our guide's friend who had never repelled, so he had a practice as well before we headed over to the waterfall.
Our guide's friend, Fernando, headed down first (sans helmet) and then held the line for me as I repelled down. All the lines were much stiffer than I expected and everything was super sturdy. I was rather disappointed because I wanted more freedom to make big leaps down the waterfall :) but really it was still a great awesome time. When I got to the bottom I hung out with Fernando as we watched Ingrie get ready. He and I chatted in Spanish (hard over the noise of the waterfall) and then he asked me out (to go dancing!) of course I said yes (who can say no to dancing?...especially with good looking latin dancers?) so now Ingrie (and the ENTIRE school) jokes that I have an Ecuadorian boyfriend.
After surviving the waterfall we headed back to our amazing hostel ($8 a night got us a room and an incredible breakfast....and the hostel had hot water, an English speaking owner, good beds and mosquito nets, and beautiful views of the forest) to shower before heading back to the main street to pick up the other girls at the bus stop.
The next day we all headed out to zipline through the canopy. Wow. Seriously, if you haven't looked at my pictures yet...go do it!!!!
Ziplining was incredible. You can bet when they asked who wanted to go first, I was already at the top of the ladder :) We did 11 lines as a group, and then I did 2 extra by myself as the end. I did the first few solo, and then did “superman” with a guide which involves facing away from the guide with your legs around their waist and your arms out in front of you...I had an awesome view of the bottom of a gorge. I did the extra 2 lines because I wanted to do “mariposa” too. (mariposa: butterfly) This move involves facing the guide and then flipping upside down :) It was amazing, so much fun. On one other line they shook the cable so that you bounced up and down in mid air. I literally screamed with laughter, it was insane fun.
Today I became famous. No, seriously!! I was in a documentary for the Travel Channel!! Our school was invited and basically we spent the day on a train being filmed. In the morning we pretended to 'arrive' back at the station on the train and I got to be one of the 4 people to get off the train with the actor dude. We had to do it about 6 times, it was pretty hilarious. He was great fun, joking with us and even yelled at us at one point and we thought he was totally serious...clearly he was not. Sad for you all, the show (Essential Ecuador) will only be showing in Europe, Africa, and Asia. They might put some clips on youtube, so I'll let you know if I find anything out. Anyway it was good fun, and they fed us and gave us presents so it was totally worth it.
This weekend I am heading to Otovalo, a local indigenous market (and maybe a different one on Thursday). I am quite certain that it is also going to be awesome.
I am sad though, because my closest friend out here is leaving for her volunteer position in Columbia this weekend. I will miss her because she is most similar to me...but no worries, we get new students here all the time, and one of the boys who left last week is coming back next week.
Hey I was in a bus accident today!! It was very similar to the last bus incident, but this time we actually hit a taxi! And this time I was sitting, so my knee slammed into the seat in front of me. Once again we were lucky and no one was seriously injured, just more bruises!! My thumb is almost better, though it is still a little tender to the touch-atleast it is normal color again :) No worries once again, because one of the other students is a nurse so she looks out for us!
One of the men in our group got held up at knife-point outside the mall by our school, but it was at night (I don't go out alone at night, and certainly not over by the mall!!) but he actually fought off the guy and chased him away with his umbrella. It was a pretty insane story. Just so you know the area where my school is located is absolutely safe during the day. I am very comfortable, safe and happy here. (But wait...MALL...seriously...nicer than the mall back home, it almost blew my mind the first time I saw it.)
Gosh, this is already book length so I'd better wrap it up. You know me, I could talk and talk forever because I am super excited about everything out here. I'm sure you can tell that I am having a great time and falling in love with everything and everyone here, I can certainly see why so many people never leave Ecuador!
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