Weekend Adventures (a post full of pictures!)

It's been quite an exciting past few days!

It all started with a day trip all the GAIAS exchange students took on Friday to the Palguillo Paramo Reserve (Alpine Cloud Forest). We took two buses up to the reserve located at 14,100ft. The last 30min of the bus ride was pretty crazy. Very very steep and narrow gravel/dirt roads with tight turns and steep drop offs (no guard rail of course). Our bus driver did a great job but we definitely got bumped around QUITE a bit! At one point the bus started sliding backwards making us all just a little nervous!

But the view at the top was amazing, though cold (32 degrees) and very very windy:

This short clip was taken at the top. I was trying to show how crazy windy/cold it was but I'm not sure this really does it justice.

High alpine plants covered in ice

At the top! We were standing in the clouds so it's hard to get a sense of how high it was!

The reserve is approximately 843 acres and located on the Eastern slopes of the Andes mountains. Where I'm standing is where the continental divide is so rain water falling on my right flows to the Amazon and rain water falling on my left goes to the ocean (so cool!). 

The area is really diverse and our 10K trek down was breathtaking (at some points, literally, as we did have some uphill parts!). Luckily as we got lower we got out of the wicked wind and got a bit warmer. Some pics:

Master's students!

 You put this plant under your tongue to help with altitude sickness (tasted pretty good!)

 There were lakes everywhere (though you couldn't always see them through the fog/mist/clouds!)

We ate lunch to the right of this lake!

This little guy is endangered I guess - a rare find to see him! 

 This gooey stuff Jac is peeling off protects the plant's inside leaves but you can rub it on your hands and it makes them really soft!

Near the bottom of our hike 10 kilometers down by another lake (and feeling a bit warmer!)

At this point we were all pretty chilly, wet (it was raining), muddy, and tired. Luckily, we got to end our day at the Papallacta Thermal Hot Springs (apparently the best in Ecuador). The views were amazing and the very hot water made us feel lots better:

We were all tired and tried to get some sleep Friday night. On Saturday Christina and Shelby invited me to go with them (and their host Mom) to Otavalo. This is a HUGE market in a small town about an hour and a half from here. We ate lunch at a 300yr old hacienda (which the family still visits) and then headed to the market. I got a fun multicolored lined hoodie (thank goodness I live in Portland where people will think it's "cool" and "hip" as opposed to completely odd!). Quito also has a smaller (but apparently slightly cheaper) market that I will probably get a couple more things at soon.

Our lunch: Cheese/potato/avacado soup (soup is very popular here and very good!) and chochos (the white bean - used to make many native dishes) 

 A shot of the front of the Hacienda 

A picture (hopefully discreetly) from the car of women in Otavalo in traditional dress and a man in a Panama hat (traditionally Ecuadorian hat)

 Two of the hundreds of stands at the market

We ended the day by going out for a couple drinks in Cumbaya and relaxing. Today has been filled with sleeping, eating, homework, ice cream (!), and the like. I can't believe I've been here two weeks!!

Class

So the most frequent question I got asked before I left was, "What are you doing in Ecuador?". I always said that I was taking classes, doing service, and living with two host families (one in Quito/Cumbaya for a month and one in the Galapagos for three months). But I never could answer exactly what my classes were all about (because that was inevitably the next question).

However, I started class on Wednesday and it's a bit clearer. I have two required classes plus an optional Spanish class. Right now I'm taking one class called "Organization, development, environment, and volunteerism". It's basically a social and political economics class focused on Ecuador. I'm in the class here in Cumbaya and then I'll take a break and work at my service placement. I'll finish the class from late Nov-mid December after having experienced more of the culture.

The other class I'll only take for three weeks in October and it's a political ecology class. I still don't know exactly what it will be like but I think it will be interesting.

Then I have a 2hr Spanish class each day which is muy helpful! I've never had formal class so it's really great. It's making me more confident which I need. I'm not sure how that will work in the Galapagos but I'll get about 11 classes here before I go.

This doesn't sound like too many classes but it's about 4hrs/day, plus I'll be doing around 15-20hrs/week of service on the Galapagos. Additionally, we all still have about 65pgs of summer papers to finish. Yet, it's still WAY less work then back home - it's nice :) I can spend time with my host family, practice Spanish, relax.....

It also means after class I can go with friends to get one of these:

Mango margarita 

(2 for 1 happy hour special at the Mexican restaurant near camps!)

Yum! :)

Some thoughts about Ecuador

So I've been here over a week and I thought I'd share my top 5 general impressions I've had so far. This post has lots of words but I would have loved to have read something like this before I went so, here goes:

1) The weather -- it's so true that Quito goes through multiple seasons in one day. Even though it's only 68-70 if the sun is out it's hot in jeans and a short sleeve shirt. But in the afternoon, if it rains, the temperature drops so fast and you need a hoodie and raincoat. Layers are key! For example, the two pictures below were taken about 3 hours apart today (the locations are 2min from each other - both on campus):

       About 11am                                                                           About 2pm just before the thunderstorm

This is completely typical for a day.

2) Sense of time -- It's true that time is different here. Classes are apparently on time (US time) but in general everything else is more like "island time". I'm good at this - I know how to be late :) For example, if a party is at 8pm, don't show up until at least 9:30pm or you'll be the only one there! A new meaning to fashionably late. This is also because interruptions are normal. I'm really good at this too :) No problem fitting in there!

3) Sense of family -- Family is very important. On Sunday I went to a big family bbq which was fun and interesting. I learned a lot as I met over 25 family members on my host Dad's side. Every time someone comes the whole family gets up and greets the person near the door. Women & women and women & men kiss on the check, men & men shake or do that macho back slapping hug. This means there is quite a bit of kissing and hugging - even if you don't know the person! It's also very rude not greet people in general -- so if you're home and someone comes home you are expected to say hello and talk to them for a bit (not all that crazy). Every time you go into a room you are suppose to greet everyone in the room too (more formal then the US). Kids live with their parents through college, in general, and family, in general, lives near each other. Most of the families I've met are also a bit bigger then in the US.

4) Altitude -- It's high here for sure. Maybe someone from Colorado wouldn't notice but for me, especially coming from Portland, being at over 9,000ft is very different. My skin, lips, and eyes are super dry. I bought a very large thing of lotion today to help that. I can also feel it when I walk fast or climb a lot of stairs (or try to talk fast while walking but that only happens if I speak English!).

5) Food -- Oh I already know I'm going to miss the fruit here when I leave. I've already tried at least three new fruits already. I've had papaya for breakfast a lot and fruit juice every morning (mixed with milk, actually). The granola and granola bars also have HUGE chunks of fruit. It's both hard and easy to be pescatarian/vegetarian. At home/on campus it's pretty easy (gluten free is easier too since there is a lot of rice options). But in restaurants in the city it's much harder. Lots of chicken, pork, tongue of _____, etc. Even some 'vegetarian' options are actually cooked in chicken broth and might even have chunks of chicken in them. You just have to learn where to go. Also, it's typical to eat dinner between 8-10pm. Tonight it was 9:45pm, last night it was 10:30pm, the night before 9:15pm. It's really supper. "Dinner" is more lunch which is good to remember. Trail mix and beef jerky are also foreign concepts here (my host brother loved both of these things when he was in the US).

Anyway- just some initial impressions and thoughts! Not trying to compare - just noticing :) I'm still in the honeymoon stage I'm sure so everything is still great. (Even my "frustration" with speaking Spanish is at a minimum, especially now with my host brother who is fluent in English.).

I mess up every single day, several times a day. I say things wrong, I do things wrong, I get confused, I act very high context (this is definitely a low context society - ie: minimal explanation, lots of assumptions, etc), I get lost, I act typical 'gringa', etc. It's good for me :) Hopefully I don't do anything too insulting as I learn!

The Middle of the World (mitad del mundo)

Today we went to the equator! Incredible and so cool! I actually had no idea the equator was so awesome. I thought I was just going to stand on a line and have my picture taken (although I did that too, see below):

However, lots of cool things happen on the equator. Remember in school when you learned about the Coriolis effect (no? see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_effect#Intuitive_explanation). Basically, the forces from the Northern hemisphere are going counter clockwise and the forces in the Southern hemisphere are going clockwise. When they hit the equator they cancel out and bounce back towards the poles so all kinds of cool things happen:

- There aren't any tornados at the equator
- You are two pounds lighter on the equator
- There is less gravity at the equator actually making you a little weaker (we did an experiment with this - it sounds crazy but it's true)
- You can balance an egg on a nail head if you are right on the equator (this is awesome)
- However, it's harder for us to balance (we all closed our eyes and tried to walk in a straight line on the equator- surprisingly difficult!)
- When you drain water there is no vortex/spinning (just ten ft in either direction you see a vortex when you drain water - so neat!)

There are other cool things too -who knew the equator was so fun!?

That's all for now. All this traveling around and speaking/reading/trying to understand Spanish has made me muy cansada (very tired)! Dormir!

Mi familia de acogida (My host family)!

I made it to my host families house (pics below)! Since they have wireless (YAY!), a quick update.

First I had to make it through one of the craziest taxi rides ever. Think monsoon style rain, intense hail, cobblestone roads with no drain system, and steep, narrow, winding hills. Water was literally gushing onto the streets from every direction. Note that stop signs, stop lights, and lanes are all really more "optional" here then the law. I couldn't help but laugh.... it was nuts!

My host Mom and Dad picked me up really fast. My host mother is Janeth and I think her husband's name is Xavier (need to check). They also have a son whose name is Juan (he's 20) but I haven't met him yet.

They are very very nice as far as I can tell. Xavier is at work (I think?) until 9pm so Janeth has been showing me everything. She speaks a little English and I speak a little Spanish and we're both really great at pointing :) I don't think her husband really speaks English.

I managed to ask if I could drink the water (no, they have a jug of  bottled water), if the toilet paper went in the trash or the toilet (trash, of course),  and if she was taking me to my orientation at the university tomorrow at 7:30am. That's a lot of questions for someone who doesn't speak much Spanish (though the toilet paper question was really me just dragging her into the bathroom and pointing a lot :-P)! It's challenging but good. Staying at someone's house in general can be a little awkward and adding a big language barrier does make it harder to make sure I'm not being rude or what not.

They have a beautiful house though. I snuck a picture of the living room and a couple of my bedroom (complete with my own - I think? - bathroom)!

It's a stark contrast to some of the intense poverty just a few minutes away. 

She was also so super sweet and gave me some crackers: 

I think I confused her about whether I was hungry now or whether I could wait til nine when her husband came home. "Ahora" (meaning 'now') and "hora" (meaning "hour") are just so similar!!

Lastly, just for fun, here is the picture of the three girls who got in before midnight last night. They'd all been up for almost 24 hours when this was taken and it's still really cute (from l to r: Shelby, Jacquie, and Sarah): 

Hasta luego!

Rough night

It was both an awesome night and a rough night yesterday evening.

The good:


The rest of the Portland ladies arrived! We now have all seven of us safely in Quito with all our bags and belongings! Woohoo!!

The bad:


Poor Amy's flight got so delayed. She was suppose to be in at 10pm but didn't get off the ground until 2hrs after she was supposed to. Then it was foggy and the Quito airport was closed so her plane had to circle for 45min. Crazy. She didn't get in until just after 2am.

The ugly:


The inevitable happened..... Montezuma's revenge has struck: Christina, Elysse, and I ate something that didn't agree with us at all. At 2:30am Elysse starting throwing up. It hit Christina about 3 hours later and me an hour after that. The other two are in rough shape though hopefully, slowly, on the upswing. We've got Gatorade and bread and are relaxing in the hostel while the other girls do a walking tour. I didn't get so sick and have been feeling significantly better over the past hour! I think it might even be shower time!

We head out to meet our host families in a couple hours - should be exciting! Hopefully all will be feeling up to par (or at least a bit better) by then!

Last day of relaxation

Today was a really relaxing day. Christina and Elysse had to finish papers so I took it easy and did some work on the computer, watched a great thunderstorm roll through town, and spent time working on my Spanish. My view was pretty awesome, to say the least:

Tomorrow afternoon we meet our host families! I just got an email - apparently my host family had an emergency so now I'm with someone new. I was originally with Elysse but now I'll be by myself - probably the quickest way to learn Spanish! There is a husband and wife and "Juan" who is 20. No animals and no smoking. I'm excited!!

Some other interesting info about Ecuador....

Can you guess what the white things are in this picture (I'll give you a hint, you are looking down at the ground at the entranceway to a house):

If you guessed vertebrae you're right! Apparently in Quito vertebrae of animals and humans used to line the entrance to houses. Something about protection and hierarchy although I can't quite remember the exact reason. Still pretty crazy.

I'd upload some more pics but I've lost most of my internet for now. 

Buenas noches! 

Hola!

I'm officially in Quito, Ecuador! A very quick recap of my experience so far:

Aug 14: Traveled from PDX to Houston and Houston to Quito! Didn't get in til after 1am after quite the adventure getting though customs, finding my taxi driver, and trying to understand rapid Spanish in the wee hours of the morning.

Aug 15: Christina met me at the hostel and we went up the highest gondola in the world! It's about 4,100m (over 13,000ft). Walking and talking was a challenge - my "resting" heart rate was about 90bpm. Amazing views though:

We then went to lunch in Old Town and Christina managed to find me a vegetarian option (thank goodness she is fluent!). Naps were in order in the afternoon and then we had dinner at our awesome hostel!

Aug 16 (today!): Had a nice relaxing morning! Elysse arrived last night so she and I went on a walking tour of Old Quito done by the hostel. It was awesome - saw lots of very neat things. We had to be careful though - Quito is very dangerous for tourists. We've met many people at the hostel who have had their cameras stolen, purses snatched, etc. We carry almost nothing. Here's a pic of us on the tour:

We had lunch out and have been taking it easy tonight. Quito is at over 9,000ft so climbing the hills and stairs around the city can be tiring! 

All in all it's been an awesome two days! I've met amazing people, eaten delicious (cheap!) food, and seen lots! 

Look for more exciting posts, pictures, and cool info about Ecuador soon!