February 2012 Archives

*Sorry I keep uploading in bulk but I don´t have a lot internet time here often so I´ve been updating the blog that my parents use to keep tabs on me first and coming here when time permits
2/22/12

To start off, personal experience has taught me that vacations are situations where expectations and reality often fail to match up. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it can be a great test of patience. A great example of this was how we expected to broad a bus at 10ish on Friday night and travel a maximum of 10 hours to arrive on the southern coast of Ecuador by 7am on Saturday. The first part of this plan went very well, but it became clear to me that our reality was going to be very different when I woke at around 7 the next morning to watch a twin mattress being shoved down the aisle of the bus as the bus driver promised we would be to the coast by noon. Other fun adventures of what turned into a 20 hour ride included a quick stop to pick up the owner of our rented house (yes, of course she was coming to vacation with us, it's actually perfectly normal here), the time our driver leaned out the window to ask a passerby where the coast was, and a terrifying double U turn that Had to take place when it was revealed that our bus didn't have the proper papers to be traveling through a port city. This last bit of excitement was also very confusing as nothing was explained to us until after the fact, so it was perfectly logical for those of us in the back of the bus to assume that our driver was in fact smuggling drugs in the mattress and that was why we were avoiding the police. The solution to the paperwork problem was for us to wait out the police on the side of the road... we'd already come 17 hours at this point so there was no turning back. When we rebounded the bus we were told if stopped again that our cover story was that we were bound for a religious conference on the coast because somehow that'd make the paperwork less important. Around this point most of us had hit the point of hysteria where everything is so ridiculous that laughter is the only solution to any of it, and no one will deny that those 20 hours in the bus were excellent bonding time.

Eventually we did arrive at our house at 5pm on Saturday afternoon and we discovered how fortunate we were to have the twin mattress because 15 person house it was definitely not. Factor in that La Duena, the owner, got her own room with a queen size bed and that we had to put up the bus drivers as well, and the number of beds vanished quickly. Of course considering the amount of time we spent in the house and the mattresses we were able to find, this wasn't a huge issue. We got to the beach that evening for a few hours and later got to go out and experience Carnaval, which, I probably should have mentioned earlier, is the Latin American version of Mardi Grasi. This is to say, it is a celebration of great equality that everyone is meant to enjoy and all the basic rules of society go out the window. It's really common for things such as eggs, flour and water to be thrown at people, but in our region the weapon on choice was karaoka. This charming foamy soap mixture is generally shot out of pressurized cans directly into your nearest gringo's eyes, or at least that was my experience. Fortunately the stuff doesn't stain and for the most part it's all in good fun, but after awhile one tires of the smell and the feeling of being covered in foam. We also had someone get thrown into the ocean by a group of locals and in general there was a lot of music on the beach and a general free for all in the streets. And this craziness goes on for 4 DAYS, but thankfully the beaches, where we spent most our time were generally pretty relaxing places, where only small children wielded cans of foam.

The rest of the trip involved lots of juggling the expectations of 20 some people, a third of whom were members of students' host family's with completely different and at times it seemed secret, plans for the trip. There was plenty of time on the beach, much seafood was consumed and many gringos were burned to the point that walking and sitting are still pretty painful operations. Our bus drivers, who were contracted to drive (and vacation) with us for the whole trip also kept things interesting. In the words of one of my classmates, "They're both nice guys and I'd drink a beer with them, but given the choice between hiring them or an unlicensed 12 year old who was a blind in one eye and prone to epileptic fits I'd have a hard time picking." While keeping in mind that this was moments after we were all thrown at least 3 feet off our seats after speeding over a speed bump the size of a small cow, this statement explains those two perfectly. The ride home, which HAD to begin 4:30am (thankfully we were on proper Ecuador time so actually left around 6am) on Tuesday, was pleasantly only 14 hours long. By then we were all sick of the heat so the water that got shot at our windows in most towns was welcome and the drivers only had to ask for directions once or twice and everyone remained calm when the bus was searched for a fugitive. SO to sum up (sorry this entry was kind of long) my vacation was a rather entertaining adventure and I hope I was able to convey that here.

2/14/12

-While it's only Tuesday I'm done with classes for the week!

-Wed-Fri I'll be traveling with my program to several more towns north of Quito to learn about internship opportunities involving working with kids.

-Then on Friday night I'll be setting off for 4 days of VACATION for Carnaval (Ecuadorian Marti Grasi)

-A group from my program has rented a bus and a house on the Beach

-I hear it snowed in the Midwest recently... so sad I'm missing out haha

O And on Sunday I attended a festival just outside of Quito and there I tried a bit of guinea pig. While it tasted a good, the presentation left a lot to be desired as it is cooked whole, with eyes and all other organs still intact. There is no way to pretend you don't know what you're eating haha. But now I can say I've tried it and the festival was also a grand adventure. There were lots of cool indigenous costumes on display, an Adanean rock band and lots and lots of people spraying each other with... I guess you'd call it canned soap foam (like silly string sort of). Me and a couple friends were essentially the only foreigner there and apparently that made us great targets for kids and adults with cans of foam. It was a lot of fun, though I sent the rest of the day slaving over an evil group essay, which was no fun at all.

Television

As I've mentioned before there are two TVs in my house here in Quito, one in my host mom's room and one in my sisters'. The difference in their programming choices are interesting to say the least. The girls like to watch comedies and game shows. There is a show solely devoted, from what I can gather, about all the various violent crime in Quito and Guayquil (the largest city in Ecuador). It's sort of like cops... I think. Every week night "Combate", the highest rated show in Ecuador, has two teams of young adults competing in strange competitions that range from, athletic type things like racing through a ropes course to being artistic in dance competitions. I recently learned the competitors occasionally are at risk to be voted off, but they don't seem to be competing for money or a grand prize from what I can tell. The main sitcom that I've seen here is called "Happy Couple" and it's sort of like King of Queens, in that it revolves around the life on one couple and their group of friends. I really appreciate their use of odd cover of famous American songs including the theme song to The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (guess someone forgot to properly copy right that one) and "Staying Alive"

My host-mom watches much more serious soap operas. The main one is called "The One She Cannot Love" and it takes places on a ranch owned by an evil wheelchair bound cowboy (who ALWAYS wears black- if you needed help knowing he was the villain), there are also several love triangles involving cowboys and servants, evil scheming aunts and recently the lead actress discovered she had a long lost rich father only to have him die within days of meeting her. Needless to say, while it's not exactly addicting it is VERY dramatic and entertaining. The amounts of broadcast time that the government purchases here is also rather surprising. I learn something new about the political goings on of Ecuador almost everyday thanks, to the government's 5- 10 minute newsbreaks. While the information needs to be taken with a grain of salt, as it's an election year here, the current administration has no friends in the mass media and several of our professors have suggested that the two factions are currently at war.

-Helped my little sisters learn handstands. (Addy and/or Bailey Bengtson we greatly could have used your help!)
- visited several possible internship sites in and north of Quito, all pertaining to the prevention and assistance of interfamilial violence
-visited an indigenous community and learned about the influence of machismo
-professor took us on several short unauthorized tourist ventures
-learned some basic salsa steps
-lost my cell phone...
-RAN for the first time in 25 days in the Parque Carolina
-got lost in Quito so many times in the span of 24hrs it's almost not funny
-learned the bus system better (hurray for perks being lost)
-nearly finished 2nd of 3 group essays

Quito Transportation
All the cars here are manual and there are so many in Quito that each vehicle can only be driven 6 days a week, it's called pica- y- placo. The public transport of choice here is the bus, though crime fairly common on the more crowded ones, it's only a quarter to ride and that includes a transfer from a station as well. There is always a person on the bus responsible for correcting fares when you get on or off the bus and they also tend to shout at pedestrians all the wonders of the places the bus is headed. Why you would here about how great the centro historico was and just hop on a bus going there I have yet to understand, but it seems like a exciting career choice if school doesn't pan out. Also the there are NO schedules for the buses, just 3 main systems with north-south routes, and telling their buses apart can be tough as they can be ANY color or size.

The taxi drivers here are especially crazy drivers and generally agree on a price before they let you in the cab. They tend to be a pretty chatty and friendly bunch, unless they feel you've lead them astray in directions and then will very seriously demand a higher fare. They also mark up the price a couple dollars if you look foreign and it's your responsibility to call them out on it and talk them down. If cabs aren't your cup of tea and you are a real Quito native you can also hitch a ride in the bed of a passing truck. There are speed bumps all over the place in the residential streets and I have no doubt they save live. At times it seems the only reason we slow down on the way to school is to survive the dreaded cement bumps. It appears the most liberating way to travel here is by motorcycle, for whom there are NO rules. They zip in and out of traffic at will and tend to ignore all signs or traffic flow. While most have the sense to wear helmets I can't help but assume there are a lot of fatal accidents involving this roadway rebels. There are virtually few bikes here in the city, as it is in no way biker friendly, but on Sundays there is a route open for folks to try to bike the 30k across Quito.

Because I would have to take 2 buses reach school, it is required that my family and I hire a taxi. Thankfully, there are 3 other host families in my neighborhood and one of them has an obscure connection (we think 2nd cousin) to Edwin, who happily drives us to and from school each day for $25 a month. He has good taste in music and is very easy to talk to, even while dodging through traffic at ridiculous speeds.

2/2/12

Week's Adventures (thus far)
- loooong walking tour through rural right outside the city
- first group essay and presentation were survived
- cooked quienwa soup for my Spanish class
- ate SO much Ecuadorian food in one sitting that it wasn't even funny
- explored my neighborhood

AND this was all before Friday, which we had off of classes. 16 or us from my program and Patricio (experienced trail guide and a host father) set of in a sketchy 15 passenger van to Coliplaxi, one of the tallest and more recently active volcanoes in Ecuador. After driving part way up the slope, we got out of the van to discover that despite being practically on the Equator it was COLD, with wind to put Morris to shame. Thankfully we were all pretty well prepared with layers, hats, gloves and sunglasses. Personally, I'm regretting having left my running tights in WI, but made do with sweatpants underneath my jeans. The elevation on Coliplaxi was literally breath taking. Our poor griengo lungs could only handle climbing less than 50 meters up the surprisingly beach like vertical incline before having to stop and rest. Despite that I'm in fairly good leg and lung shape, I can easily say that this was one of the most demanding physical things I have ever done. We stopped our climb at roughly the 5000 meter mark where there was a lodge marking the snowline. The view from this height was spectacular and the journey down was laughably easy.

After that fun physical challenge in lung strength we drove a couple hours to stay in a hostel by Quilatao, which is an enormous volcanic crater, where we planned to test our endurence. At 7am the next morning we set off to hike the entire mountainous circumference of the crater. Again the views were fantastic, like the cool part of being in a plane where you're high enough to see everything, but close enough to identify all of it. While we were not as high up as the day before we were often higher than or at the same level as the clouds. The route around the crater lead us up and down steep rocky mountain trails, through forests out of Jurassic park or Middle Earth and across sandy beach like (but waterless) slopes. I'm proud to say we completed the 12 miles in a little less than 5 hours. After lunch some of us made the questionable decision to hike down into the crater to look at the lagoon that fills it. While the lagoon was very pretty and worth seeing up close, the problem was having to hike the LOOOOOONG way back up, especially as lazier people rode by on mules. Needless to say, we all slept the entire ride back to Quito that evening. Overall it was an absolutely fantastic weekend.