Happy Birthday Grandma!!!
I´m getting into a routine here and it´s definitely taking some adjusting. We started classes this week, and we have great professors who are very well known and involved with different issues in Ecuador. Our days get long, since no one really follows a schedule here and the professors generally talk for as long as we´re still interested.
I find myself annoyed a lot, and I´m realizing how much I value my independence in the U.S. I´m so accustomed to making my own meals, coming and going when I want, etc. It´s difficult adjusting to a new family´s expecations and beliefs, although I´m keeping an open mind! My host mom is very religious and it´s a little dominating at times. It´s frustrating because they know that I am a Christian, yet I still feel like my host mom is trying to save me.
Conversation here is very roundabout. In the U.S. we are very direct with our speech and to the point. I often feel like I have the same conversation 5 times in a row, and the obvious is stated over and over....
I was surprised to find that the men here are respectful to women. In a lot of other Latin American countries men are very forward and vocal on the streets with catcalls, comments, etc... I´m sure a lot of you have experienced this!! However, we have 17 women in our group (out of 19) and no one has been catcalled or yelled at or anything. Quito is a pretty modern city and everyone pretty much goes about their business...
Next Monday and Tuesday are Carnival here (like Mardi Gras with water balloons) so we have a long weekend! I´ll try to get some pictures up next week...
Hasta pronto...
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Mi familia y Los Bancos
Buenas noches-
This is probably the longest I've ever gone without internet access! Thanks for the comments and emails! Where I left off... I met my family last Wednesday, and they are great. The family consists of Oswaldo, Cecilia and their two kids Fabian and Alexandra. Alexandra is working on her thesis in architecture and teaches online classes to indigenous people who don't have access to schools, while Fabian studies music at a University in Quito. They are pretty religious and consider themselves Pentecostal, although I went to church with Alexandra today and it was considered more of an interdemoninational (sp?) church. They are very welcoming and anxious to help me with my Spanish, which is great.
The group of students I am with took a trip this weekend to a pueblo about 2 1/2 hours away from Quito (with 2 staff members from our school). The drive was absolutely beautiful and went through the mountains on crazy winding roads that barely fit 2 passing vehicles. There was a rainbow that we literally drove through, it was a little kid's dream....well, mine too I guess. La hosteleria where we stayed was gorgeous..pictures to follow. We had the place to ourselves-- and we were literally in the clouds. On Friday we hiked to a waterfall and swam in the pool of water underneath. It was an amazing experience! I think we all forgot that we are here to study development and live simply...but nonetheless it was a relaxing weekend in a beautiful place.
There aren't many Americans in Ecuador, so we get stared at wherever we are. Although...the internet cafe where I currently am is in a part of town called Gringolandia..haha- but I did learn from my host sister that gringo isn't actually a derrogatory term but just used for all white people...hmm....
Yo deseo que todo esta bien en los Estados Unidos!
This is probably the longest I've ever gone without internet access! Thanks for the comments and emails! Where I left off... I met my family last Wednesday, and they are great. The family consists of Oswaldo, Cecilia and their two kids Fabian and Alexandra. Alexandra is working on her thesis in architecture and teaches online classes to indigenous people who don't have access to schools, while Fabian studies music at a University in Quito. They are pretty religious and consider themselves Pentecostal, although I went to church with Alexandra today and it was considered more of an interdemoninational (sp?) church. They are very welcoming and anxious to help me with my Spanish, which is great.
The group of students I am with took a trip this weekend to a pueblo about 2 1/2 hours away from Quito (with 2 staff members from our school). The drive was absolutely beautiful and went through the mountains on crazy winding roads that barely fit 2 passing vehicles. There was a rainbow that we literally drove through, it was a little kid's dream....well, mine too I guess. La hosteleria where we stayed was gorgeous..pictures to follow. We had the place to ourselves-- and we were literally in the clouds. On Friday we hiked to a waterfall and swam in the pool of water underneath. It was an amazing experience! I think we all forgot that we are here to study development and live simply...but nonetheless it was a relaxing weekend in a beautiful place.
There aren't many Americans in Ecuador, so we get stared at wherever we are. Although...the internet cafe where I currently am is in a part of town called Gringolandia..haha- but I did learn from my host sister that gringo isn't actually a derrogatory term but just used for all white people...hmm....
Yo deseo que todo esta bien en los Estados Unidos!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
¡Estoy aquí!
Hola a todos,
¡Estoy en Ecuador! Flights went well..Our group got picked up at the airport Monday night...We were dropped off at a hotel in Quito and given a sheet of instructions saying we would be picked up again on Wednesday a.m. So...its been great so far. I apologize for the lack of apostrophes...I cant find the button on this keyboard. Anyways, Quito is a beautiful city, plus sunny and warm! I had breakfast this morning (fresh fruit and pineapple juice) while sitting in the hotel looking out at mountains... Hows the weather at home?? I meet my host family tomorrow after our first day of orientation.
We were in a plaza today near the Presidential Palace and there was a large group of people sitting on the steps of the nearby church. They were protesting (silently, while sitting) the President for not allowing a group of students to graduate from police school. Apparently, about 300 out of 2,000 students werent allowed to graduate after a 15 month program...because they were too short. From what I can tell already, the Ecuadorians are all short...so we are guessing that the height cutoff?! is around 5 ft 3"..
Immediately after I wrote the previous paragraph, the same protesters walked by the door of the internet cafe with their signs. A noble cause.
I will update again once I meet Mososco, Cecilia, Alexandra y Fabian (mi familia ecuatoriana)
¡Hasta luego!
¡Estoy en Ecuador! Flights went well..Our group got picked up at the airport Monday night...We were dropped off at a hotel in Quito and given a sheet of instructions saying we would be picked up again on Wednesday a.m. So...its been great so far. I apologize for the lack of apostrophes...I cant find the button on this keyboard. Anyways, Quito is a beautiful city, plus sunny and warm! I had breakfast this morning (fresh fruit and pineapple juice) while sitting in the hotel looking out at mountains... Hows the weather at home?? I meet my host family tomorrow after our first day of orientation.
We were in a plaza today near the Presidential Palace and there was a large group of people sitting on the steps of the nearby church. They were protesting (silently, while sitting) the President for not allowing a group of students to graduate from police school. Apparently, about 300 out of 2,000 students werent allowed to graduate after a 15 month program...because they were too short. From what I can tell already, the Ecuadorians are all short...so we are guessing that the height cutoff?! is around 5 ft 3"..
Immediately after I wrote the previous paragraph, the same protesters walked by the door of the internet cafe with their signs. A noble cause.
I will update again once I meet Mososco, Cecilia, Alexandra y Fabian (mi familia ecuatoriana)
¡Hasta luego!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Contact Info
I leave for Ecuador in 10 days!! Thought I would post my address in case you want to send mail :) The address is for the school I'll be at in Quito-- their website is http://www.cimas.edu.ec
Address: Chelsea Barnes
c/o Fundación CIMAS del Ecuador
Ave. América N34-278 y Abelardo Moncayo
P.O. Box 17-21-942
Quito, Ecuador
Just a note...if you decide to send a package, please don't declare a commercial value for what's inside- just put zero! If not, it makes it hard to pick up the package.
Besos :)
Address: Chelsea Barnes
c/o Fundación CIMAS del Ecuador
Ave. América N34-278 y Abelardo Moncayo
P.O. Box 17-21-942
Quito, Ecuador
Just a note...if you decide to send a package, please don't declare a commercial value for what's inside- just put zero! If not, it makes it hard to pick up the package.
Besos :)
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