Baños and Mindo

Two weekends ago me and a group of friends from the program made our way to Baños, a city about 4 hours away from Quito by bus.  Baños is known for their mineral hot springs generated by the local volcano.  I came down with a fever the Friday before we left, but nevertheless I still went!  With a bunch of tylenol in my pocket.  We did a bunch of fun things.  The Saturday we woke up to go on a 2 hour bike ride at 8:30am.  It was raining the whole weekend we were in Baños, but the bike ride was still nice.

Afterwards we were picked up by a party bus, and were taken to the spot along one of the rivers where we would take off for rafting!  It was class 3 and 4, and was a ton of fun minus being sick and stuck in the rain.  Our guides were characters, and messed with us but it was all in good fun.  We returned around 5 or so and rested, ate dinner, and went out to town.  It is a pretty developed area, with many foreigners both traveling, visiting, and those who have opened up restaraunts or businesses in the area.  I go to eat Thai food at a restaraunt owned by an Italian.

 We took a canopy back and forth across a waterfall and the forest, kind of scary but still super cool!

We ended our trip on Sunday with a 2 hour horse back ride up one of the mountains.

My horse´s name was Lucero

Overall it was a fun experience being away from the program and traveling on our own.  Next trip I plan on going to Esmereldas, a spot on the beach up north.  It´s suppose to be gorgeous!

This past weekend the program took us all to Mindo, which I read is the best place to go zip-lining.  It was an overall pretty mellow trip, which was nice just hanging out at the hostel which was situated in the forest alongside a river.  It is owned by a guy named Jonathan who graduated from HSU a few years ago, and decided to buy the hostel to save his Ecuadorian family´s business.  He´s been in Mindo, Ecuador for 6 months.

 On the way to Mindo we stopped at a nice vista point of a crater in a volcano near Mitad del Mundo.

Here I am overlooking another vista point of the ¨cloud forest¨ as they call it, on our way to Mindo.

We went to a chocolate factory and were able to see how the seeds were processed to make chocolate and utimatley the candy they sell, plus brownies and hot chocolate.

The day of Saturday we went on a 4 hour hike through the forest and got to see about 4 or 5 waterfalls.  We also took another canopy to get to the side of the forest where we hiked.  Here we are on it!

Although it was 4 hours, mostly upward, it wasn´t as bad of a hike as I thought it would be.  Being able to swim and everything made it much nicer too.  But we were all starving when we got back to the hostel around 3!

The last thing we were able to do was go zip-lining!  Only about 8 of us or so from the program went, it as only $15 to do it!  Super cheap in comparison to when I did it in Costa Rica, although the experience was much cooler in Costa Rica.  There was a bit more hiking involved, but it was amazing flying through the forest!  We also saw a tucan!  Probably can´t see him in this photo...

And finally here we all are in front of the hostel with Jonathan who is in the blue shirt.

Otavalo y La Mitad del Mundo

It has been a while since I last updated, and so much has happened and there have been so many things I have wanted to post about, I'll try my best!  We had our first over-night trip in Otavalo, the nearest indigenous population to Quito.  Known for their textiles and markets in general, I bought a good amount of stuff, and bargained! Successfully!  The small town (pueblo) was full of color and a more relaxed atmosphere. 

Here I am with two Otavalenas who sang for us in their indigenous language "Quechua" and are wearing their traditional clothing.  The scarf over one shoulder (girl on the right) means they are single, if it is covering both shoulders and tied in the middle of their chest, that means they are married.  I love their outfits, about $60 in total.

I chose to wake up at 5:30am to go with whoever else to visit the trade market they have here.  It use to be purely trade, with animal, grains, etc. but nowadays they accept money.  I asked how much for a live cuy (guinea pig) and they told me $10, and for a calf it was about $35.  Here I am lost in the heard of cows at this market.  Never had seen anything like this before!

We stopped at a beautiful view point of the Imbabura province, overlooking the San Pablo lake is the huge Imbabura volcano. 

We had a number of things to eat on our trip.  First we stopped in a town (I forget the name, there are so many!) that is known for "bizcochos" which are not very sweet but are kind of like shortbread, and you eat them with cheese and hot chocolate/coffee.  Delicious!

We also had typical dishes with salad, fish, etc.  This fish was kind of weird and rubbery though...I have never been so in love with fresh-juice (of all fruits you could imagine) made at home and also home-made ice cream/sorbert!

And then there's "cuy" or guinea pig.  Their traditional dish here.  It wasn't that bad, I just couldn't look it in the face while I was eating it.  Not much meat, kinda salty, but I ate it all.  Minus the intestines and brain...

Probably my favorite pueblo we visited was San Antonio en the Ibarra province.  This small town is notorious for it's wooden sculptures and crafts in general.  We got to talk to a couple of artists in the town, always great to hear about their work in their own words.  We also came across a sculpture fair where there were about 15 sculptures way bigger than me.  Never had seen such impressive wooden craftsmenship.

Two days ago we took a trip to La Mitad del Mundo (middle of the earth) where the equator runs through the town and you can step on it, put both feet in both hemispheres at the same time, museums, etc.  So here I am balancing on the equator.  The tower behind me has a ton of information on the numerous indigenous populations in Ecuador including their clothing, music, and customs.

Besides the tower and small museums, there is an area in the formation of a small town, all of which are shops, eaterys, bars, and in the middle there is a small plaza where they were holding music and traditional Ecuadorian folk dancing.  The dresses are so colorful and they always look like they are having a ton of fun!  We saw a short performance at my college here, and they pulled us in during the end to dance with them!  Didn't really know what to do, but just danced!

On the drive back from Otavalo to Quitio (less than an hour) it started to pour, with thunder and lightening, and some hail.  The streets were pretty flooded in some areas, came out of no where!  The weather in Quito is so bi-polar, it cleared up pretty nicely an hour or two later. 

So much more to happen in the next 6 weeks!  Which really, is a little amount of time.  I cannot believe it has already been a month, almost.  I still feel like a newbie, a foreigner walking the streets of Quito.  The bus system I've got down, loving the weather, and surrounded by the typical city-folk who have little to no time to even pass you a smile.  Exactly the same in SF.  The difference is, there are a ton of indigenous people walking around the city streets as well in their traditional attire.  Imagine if it was the same deal in SF, what it would be like! 

Felt a bit homesick this morning, nothing too extreme.  I wish I could have made it to Wyatt's graduation this past Thursday!  I need to see photos of my little man walking the stage.  I am craving some good Thai noodles from Mom's kitchen, probably the most dreadful factor of being homesick.  Not being able to have the food I want!  It's not bad here though, not like when I was in Spain and my diet consisted mostly of bread, cheese, and ham.  My mom here always asks what type of food I like, and I have become a huge fan of  "chicharon" which is pig skin and some meat here and there.  She said she'd make it for me, reminds me of Mom back home who always satisfies my cravings :) 

Until next time!

Rain or Shine

Well I've taken about 150 photos so far, and it's a pain to load each one of them on here but I will try to upload as many as I can handle.  The tour of the city last Friday went great, we visited mainly the historic part of Quito which is home to numerous old and european looking buildings.  It's kind of weird to write in English, I keep thinking in Spanish.  We returned today to visit the Museum of the City which held lots of old crafts and tools, and told the history of indigenous people and tuned into the post-colonial period.  This past weekend was tons of fun, filled with lots of dancing on my part.  From salsa to merengue to plain old American music, it was fun! 

This past Saturday we watched the Ecuador vs. Argentina game, although the winner was obvious, we cheered on with fellow Ecuadorians.  Score was 4-0, our lose.  We play Colombia on Sunday at a the Estadio Olimpico (Olympic Stadium) which is about 3 blocks from where I live.  I'm going to go.  Sunday I went to the Teleferico with a few friends, which brought us up to the top of Volcano Pichincha, it was freezing!  The view was amazing, and we got to see it at night coming back down, truly beautiful with a full moon above the city.  Turning around from the view of the city, was the view of the ongoing mountains.  It was so silent, in comparison the hustle and bustle of the city, it was peaceful and relaxing.  Definitely want to go back up there and spend a good few hours walking around, and taking photos, riding horses, whatever! 

Today I decided to go for a run and check out the gym that is close to my house.  There were some clouds in the sky but I didn't think too much of it.  Mind you it was been considerably warm and sunny since we first arrived here, two weeks ago.  It starts sprinkling a little, which it has done for a few seconds a couple days since I've been here.  I get to the gym, decide not to go because of the price, and continue on my run.  It begins raining, not that hard, so I'm fine.  But then it just keeps on raining, and raining, and finally I'm so drenched that I have to go home.  It got to a point where it was just hilarious, and all you can do is smile.  It reminded me of the time in Amsterdam when me and a few friends got caught in an enormous rain storm that broke our umbrellas, and actually kind of hurt as we ran back to our hostel.  So in comparison to that, this was fine.  It got sunny again within the hour, after the thunder and lighting had passed.  I had read about Quito's bi-polar weather, but it's way cooler when you experience it!

Okay, so here come some photos.

This is me at the view from the Virgen of Quito

The statue at the very top of the hill is the Virgen of Quito, where I'm standing in the previous photo.

Just to get an idea of the Andes mountains, picture these mountains surrounding all the city below

This is in old town Quito, Plaza of the Independence

I just like this photo, a true hole in the wall restaurant

Quito is known for it's wide range of culture, you can find completely different arquitecture blocks away from each other, and a wide variety of people, clothing, and language even.

La Ronda on the left, a quieter more artsy street where we found a cool hat store.  And a "typical" Ecuador street on the right, bustling with traffic and people.  Both are in Old Town though.

These are photos from the Museum of the City, with the program Director on the right.

 This case was devoted to Alexander Von Humboldt, who studied and lived in Ecuador for 5 years





And this is me about to board an antique carriage



Tomorrow I begin my internship teaching 3-5 year olds some basic English, super excited!  This Friday, we head to Otavalo, the closest ingidenous population to Quito, that is known for their production of textiles, I'm going to buy so much I already know.  But mostly for family and friends :)

La Universidad

The first couple days of class have gone smoothely, of course we have already been assigned homework, but it's nothing, at least not yet.  The hours of reading and presentations are just around the corner.  At the end of the program, all of us in level 3 will present something from our grammer class, on anything we chose. We'll present it to not only the students in the program, but the professors, and all of our families.  Should be scary but fun!  Scary mostly because it'll be in Spanish infront of a ton of native speakers.  The professors are great, Margarita, Fernando, and Ernesto.  Every class is only an hour, which is nice.  Finishing at noon, we have a couple hours to have lunch at home with our families (the main meal of the day) and then afterwards head to our internships or "trabajos sociales".  We were told what we were assigned today, I'll be working at a school that helps children who don't have the best resources and come from low-income families.  I'm not sure if it will be with just children or with students up to 12th grade.  Me and two other girls are doing this.  I think we start next week.


We finally received the schedule for our summer program!!!  That has lots of activities and trips that are all set up for us.  We have several over-night trips, and day trips with the group.  Food and transportation provided.  Already by the 4th day in this program here in Quito, I love it extreeeemely more than the USAC program I chose in Madrid.  Granted, that has no affect on my opinion of either country or experience.  This Humboldt program is basically just a lot better.


Yesterday I took the bus by myself for the first time, from a mall up in the Pichincha hills and just used common sense to figure out what bus, where, and when to get off.  I felt accomplished.  Although I did get a little scared at one point, when I thought it was going too far.  But it was fine!


Today me and a few others walked all the way from UTE (our university) down to La Carolina park, all down the Pichincha volcano/mountain which was about a 45 min walk.  Played frisbee, and had my first drink here in Quito.  Although they say you feel the effects faster and more intensely at a high altitude, I felt just the same as I would have back at sea level.  We then walked all the way to La Mariscal or Gringolandia as the locals call it because of all the tourists.  Gringo=white/foreigners.  I was told to never come here alone, its a prime spot for smugglers, robbers, and such.  I've been on high alert in general here, especially these first few days.  Took a taxi for the first time here, with a friend, but still I felt accomplished again.  There are all these small steps I have subconsiously set up for myself to adjust and find compfort in my new city.


Walking confidently (looking like you know where you're going, even if you are completely lost) is key, and of course asking for directions if needed.  Sometimes that's the only option!  One thing that you have to do here is yell "PARE!" which means stop, to the bus driver.  They basically stop wherever, often skipping marked bus stops if no one is waiting or has yelled "pare".  Still being self conscious of  my accent, this will be difficult for me to do, especially if I'm trying to keep a low profile.


The creepy stares and annoying whistles haven't been as bad as I thought they would be.  They do happen, but not to the extent that I thought.  Covering up is key to not getting whistled at of course.  The women here in general wear pretty conservative clothing, but nice shoes.  They are into heels here, which is hard to adjust to coming from Humboldt, sandal/no shoe capital of the world.  I want to go shopping.  But I'm restricting myself until at least a week or two has passed since my arrival.


We have a tour of the city this Friday with the program after a breakfast all together, which I'm looking forward to.  It's nice having a class all together as well, even though it's mostly lecture. 


One of the bad things about having a Net-Book is that they don't have CD things, so I can't watch any of the many DVDS my host family has...kind of a bummer.  Hulu has been funky too, but at least there's the Simpsons website.

Arrival

I flew into Quito, Ecuador last night along with the program director and a few other students around 9:30pm and got to the hotel where we ate dinner and pretty much fell to sleep right after, although by that time it was already almost 1am.  The flight went well, little turbulance, no movies, but I kept myself occupied with sleep and my Ecuador travel book where I noted a ton of things I want to do while here.  I don't think I will have the time or money to venture off into neighboring countries (I was REALLY hoping to go to Peru, but that'll call for another trip).  I am going to keep my travels to this country which in itself has so much to offer from the hot springs of the volano Tungurahua (which is incredibly active) located in Banos to the beaches of Guayaquil which reminds me of the Manu Chao song, "Guayaquil". 


Quito itself has much to offer, and I got to see a good part of it today via car rides.  My host mom Margot picked me up with her friend who lives very close and who also was picking up my friend Juan from the hotel.  They drove us around the grand park La Carolina which we are apparently very close to, I still need to walk about and figure out my surroundings.  I plan on taking runs there.  Her husband is Chileno (from Chile) and his name is Manuel, they have 3 children two of which are married and out of the house and their daughter Maria Jose (Moja) who is 22, still lives with them and is working.  Moja has been great with me, she took me out to the mall because she was shopping around for a birthday present for her boyfriend, and afterwards we went out to see a movie with two of her friends.  Super sweet girl, and the parents are great and warm and have already been calling me "mija" which means "my daughter" on more casual terms.  I think I ate some bad ice cream today that they had made but my stomach was able to handle it, thanks to multiple trips to Thailand. 

I have my own room, much bigger, with a bigger bed, in comparison to Spain.  I'm trying my hardest to not compare/contrast this experience with Spain because to each country their own.  It smells better in Quito than it did in Madrid, although it is a progressing third world country, kind of reminding me of Thailand a bit.  Large buildings and such but also run-downed abandonded buildings right next to them.  Not many stray dogs, which I was happy to see.  OH!  The family has an old Beagle dog that is 8 years old and makes funny snorting sounds all the time, her name is Moka.  She's kind of slow, but you can tell the family adores her. 

Last night I got uneasy vibes from driving around and seeing no women on the streets, actually barely anyone, minus the crowded bar areas in El Mariscal where many of the foreigners (and thieves) tend to hang out.  During the day however, plenty of women, men, and children walking about.  I was told to not walk home alone at night, which I have never taken very seriously until I got here.  I'm sure I will become more comfortable as the weeks past, but better safe than sorry!  It tends to get dark around 6 or 7, kind of a bummer since in California it was staying light until 9 or so.


I've been taking it easy (for the 20 hours I've been here) and plan to do so for the next couple days to adjust to the altitude.  I haven't experienced that much altitude sickness (headaches, nausea, tiredness) except for when I climb stairs or walk fast for long periods of time, because there is just not enough oxygen up here!  But I'll get used to it. 


I think I might have boughten a stolen phone from a store today...that's what my host parents think at least.  When they dial the number it doesn't work, but I am able to make calls.  I'm no good with that kind of stuff, maybe a new SIM card or something.  Everythin is closed on Sundays so I will check Monday after classes.  Monday I also get to find out what my internship will be!  We only have class from 9-12 in the morning, but Monday-Friday, which will make weekend trips difficult.  I want to make at least two trips to the coast, one to Guayaquil and the other to Canoa or Bahia de Caraquez.


Excited to discover the streets of Quito tomorrow, at least in my area, which I should actually locate on a map come to think of it.
Nos vemos!