Time flies!! I only have two more weeks of classes in Quito, followed by a week of spring break...and then I move! Today I visited the community where I am going to be doing my internship. The name of the pueblo is Tocachi, and it´s about an hour and a half outside of Quito. It´s a very small little town... with no internet... What it does have is a school, a church, a police station with 2 policemen, a big soccer field, a little health center and a center for the elderly, along with a few convenience-type stores.
I´m not completely clear on what I´m going to be doing yet. Most students work with a grassroots organization on an existing project. The plan has been for me to develop my own programs with the youth in the community, since I originally didn´t want to teach English and am more interested in counseling/other issues surrounding education (I want to be a high school counselor eventually). The school was closed today for some reason, so I have to go back another day to speak with the director of the school... but tentatively the new plan is for me to help out in the school, most likely with English (since it seems the current English professor only knows a little). I´m also probably going to start an after school program with extra English help, music class, sports, art...whatever the kids are interested in. Also, there is a group of teenagers that meet on Saturdays that I´ll be able to work with and develop some kind of program with. There isn´t a high school in the town, so teenagers have to take a bus to a larger town...Hence, the only chance I´ll have to work with them is on Saturdays. The school in Tocachi goes through seventh grade.
Since the school was closed today, I spent most of the day with the family I´ll be living with. It´s going to be a completely different dynamic than the host family I´m with now. The dad actually works at CIMAS, my school in Quito, and isn´t around during the week. The parents are in their early thirties, and have three kids. 2 girls, about 13 and 11, and a 9 year old son. I´m really excited about the family...I think it will be really entertaining and fun to have kids around (I know you´re thinking, Chelsea? Excited to live with kids?) But actually, since there isn´t much to do in the town, the kids will keep me busy. I´m hoping to play a lot of volleyball and soccer! Also...I think my new host brother is looking forward to having an English speaker around. His computer games are all in English, and he needs me to translate them so he can pass to the next level. Today he was playing Grand Theft Auto 3 and The Simpsons...I have to say, translating Bart Simpson is kind of a challenge. I think the significance of "Eat my shorts, man" is lost in translation....
Pictures next week! Hope you all have a great weekend....keep in touch!! I love email!!!
chels
Friday, February 29, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Pensamientos (Thoughts)
Buenas tardes-
Don´t really have anything specific to tell you but thought I´d post anyway! I´m not sure why your comments (mom and Em) are coming through as anonymous but I´ll try to look into it. Although, given my level of technical knowledge, that might be fruitless.
The weather here has been RAINY ALL THE TIME. Boo. This is the coldest and rainiest (is that a word?) "winter" they´ve had in a long time..maybe ever. However, I laugh a little in my head everytime an Ecuadorian is complaining about the cold. I keep trying to tell them that they have no idea what cold is. But I guess there´s a little justification to the complaints, because houses don´t have heat..so it does get pretty chilly at night. But I won´t complain, because I know what it´s like at home.
Random fact: Chelsea is really hard to pronounce here. I get a confused look everytime someone asks for my name. I usually have to say, "como el equipo de Ingleterra" (like the soccer team from England)..then they get it. Maybe I´ll just cut out the confusion and start going by Juanita. Any other suggestions?
Also, my host mom loves dogs. We have 2 in the apartment. Well, one has to stay outside and is a huge Great Dane looking thing. I´m not sure what it is..Megan, I´ll send you a pic and you can tell me :). The other is this super old, really ugly (sorry) dog that is constantly trying to cough up hair balls. I think it wants to die. Hahah, maybe I´m a bit morbid. I think the rain is getting to my head. I´m pretty sure the dog was a stray, and my host family took it in (years ago). It´s name is Crispy, which I find very entertaining.
I´m going on Friday to visit Tocachi, the community I might work in for my internship. It´s about 1 1/2 north of Quito and potentially colder. I´ll let you know how it goes...And I promise I´ll try to get some pics of my house family and the apartment.
¡Chao!
Don´t really have anything specific to tell you but thought I´d post anyway! I´m not sure why your comments (mom and Em) are coming through as anonymous but I´ll try to look into it. Although, given my level of technical knowledge, that might be fruitless.
The weather here has been RAINY ALL THE TIME. Boo. This is the coldest and rainiest (is that a word?) "winter" they´ve had in a long time..maybe ever. However, I laugh a little in my head everytime an Ecuadorian is complaining about the cold. I keep trying to tell them that they have no idea what cold is. But I guess there´s a little justification to the complaints, because houses don´t have heat..so it does get pretty chilly at night. But I won´t complain, because I know what it´s like at home.
Random fact: Chelsea is really hard to pronounce here. I get a confused look everytime someone asks for my name. I usually have to say, "como el equipo de Ingleterra" (like the soccer team from England)..then they get it. Maybe I´ll just cut out the confusion and start going by Juanita. Any other suggestions?
Also, my host mom loves dogs. We have 2 in the apartment. Well, one has to stay outside and is a huge Great Dane looking thing. I´m not sure what it is..Megan, I´ll send you a pic and you can tell me :). The other is this super old, really ugly (sorry) dog that is constantly trying to cough up hair balls. I think it wants to die. Hahah, maybe I´m a bit morbid. I think the rain is getting to my head. I´m pretty sure the dog was a stray, and my host family took it in (years ago). It´s name is Crispy, which I find very entertaining.
I´m going on Friday to visit Tocachi, the community I might work in for my internship. It´s about 1 1/2 north of Quito and potentially colder. I´ll let you know how it goes...And I promise I´ll try to get some pics of my house family and the apartment.
¡Chao!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Hiking in the Andes
This past weekend I went hiking with 3 other girls from my program, a couple hours south of Quito. The hike is known as the Quilotoa loop and is supposed to be one of the best things to do in Ecuador. We were hiking a stretch from Chúgilan to Quilotoa, which is the opposite direction that most people go. That should have been a clue that it was going to be difficult. We also were going without a guide...something that's recommended.
We had to take a bus to Chugilan-- 2 hours of which was on unpaved roads right after the area recieved a lot of rain. It was rough... At one point everyone piled off the bus to make it lighter, in order to make it possible for the bus to pass through a particularly washed out stretch. Several other times I seriously thought the bus might fall off the mountain. But don't worry, I'm alive. However, please see my previous post about how good of a driver I really am :) .
When we FINALLY arrived to Chugilan, it was pouring and I felt like I had been repeatedly punched in the stomach for the previous 2 hours. Bleh. Saturday morning we left the hostal about 8 am in great moods. It was raining a little but we were confident...even though we really didn't know the way to Quilotoa. Luckily, for the first 3 hours or so of the hike, we were able to ask people working in the fields (mostly indigenous people) which direction to take.
After 3-4 hours...we had no idea where we were. We were literally standing in the middle of a mountain in the Andes with no clue which direction to take. We figured we had to climb the mountain in front of us but weren't sure if anything promising was on the other side. It was pretty clear at that point that we were not on the typical path listed in Lonely Planet. We were walking through people's farms and fields, nowhere near any type of road. We were lucky that whenever we did encounter someone, they were super helpful.... Although "helpful" consisted of pointing in a direction that hardly looked like it was on the way to civilization.
Side note: the 2 dogs that belonged to the hostel where we stayed in Chugilan were following us the entire way. We tried to make them head back after about an hour or so, but they were faithful companions. Not that they were showing us the way... Anyways, we had to cross a shoddy looking bridge at one point, and one of the dogs lacked the bravery to cross it. We debated what to do, because it was crying very loudly... But ultimately we continued on, bearing the knowledge that we could have led this dog to its death (since we weren't sure if it knew the way back). Fast forward 3 hours to the image of us lost on a mountain... not only were we thinking about the possibility of sleeping under a tree, we also were worried about the fate of the 2 dogs.
Eventually, after 6 hours, and 3000 feet higher, we (and the dog) reached Lake Quilotoa (our destination). It was like we had been wandering for days, we were so elated. I think we were a little delirious from exhaustion. Lake Quilotoa is actually in the crater of a volcano that last erupted in the 1700's. It was GORGEOUS (see pictures)... The hike was definitely vale la pena (worth the pain), and the scenery was absolutely incredible. We stayed at a hostel in Quilota, and hiked down to the lake to kayak on Sunday morning.
Side note 2: the dog that had hiked the entire 8 miles with us hung out around the hostel all afternoon, looking at us as if to say, "You loved me in the beginning and now you've abandoned me." (We had resorted to completely ignoring it in hopes to make it turn back). But, incredibly...... While we were eating dinner that night in the hostal, we saw BOTH dogs out the window. The cowardly one had decided to take his chances on the bridge (which really was not an issue at all) and made it to Quilotoa...which consequently made us feel like idiots for being worried, because clearly these dogs had made this trek before.
All in all, it was an exhausting but awesome weekend!!!!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
the Banana Republic
Just a few random things about Ecuador....
1. To anyone who has ever felt that their life was in danger while riding in a car with me... Come to Ecuador and you will realize that I am, in fact, an excellent driver. Seriously.
2. One of Ecuador´s main exports is flowers. You can buy 25 roses here for one dollar. ONE dollar!!!
3. Likewise, if you ever need 100 limes, you´ll only need to spend one dollar.
4. No employee in the public sector can make more than $4000 per month, or $48,000 per year..because that´s what the President makes.
5. Personal space in public does not exist. Riding a bus here feels like you´re in a mosh pit.
6. The president, Rafael Correa, is pretty controversial and generally described as either Socialist or Communist. I think it´s fair to say socialist is more accurate...
7. A taxi driver told me that the climate here ´es variable como las mujeres´ (is variable like women). ha. One minute it´s sunny and warm.... 5 minutes later the sky is dark, it´s 20 degrees cooler and raining. The other day it hailed. LOCO.
8. Milk is not refrigerated here.
9. I´m going to take salsa lessons!!!
1. To anyone who has ever felt that their life was in danger while riding in a car with me... Come to Ecuador and you will realize that I am, in fact, an excellent driver. Seriously.
2. One of Ecuador´s main exports is flowers. You can buy 25 roses here for one dollar. ONE dollar!!!
3. Likewise, if you ever need 100 limes, you´ll only need to spend one dollar.
4. No employee in the public sector can make more than $4000 per month, or $48,000 per year..because that´s what the President makes.
5. Personal space in public does not exist. Riding a bus here feels like you´re in a mosh pit.
6. The president, Rafael Correa, is pretty controversial and generally described as either Socialist or Communist. I think it´s fair to say socialist is more accurate...
7. A taxi driver told me that the climate here ´es variable como las mujeres´ (is variable like women). ha. One minute it´s sunny and warm.... 5 minutes later the sky is dark, it´s 20 degrees cooler and raining. The other day it hailed. LOCO.
8. Milk is not refrigerated here.
9. I´m going to take salsa lessons!!!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
mi abuelita
Buenos dìas
a mi familia..THANK YOU for calling yesterday!!! It was amazing to hear everyone´s voices!! I was so happy to hear how everything went so I could feel like I was there even more. It sounds like it was a wonderful service and exactly the way Grandma would have wanted it to be. Especially the root beer floats!!! I´m debating whether Ecuador has root beer or not, so that I can have one in memory.. I´ll keep hunting. My host family thought I was màs tranquila (more peaceful-calm) after I said I had talked to everyone. It´s so amazing that so many people could be there. Especially Jaime and Christi! I´m happy everyone got to meet her! I definitely felt like I was there in spirit.
Also, thanks for the comments. Charlie Bauer, I´m working on the plane ticket... don´t you worry!
I got about 12 hours of sleep last night so I´m feeling more refreshed today. I´m going to a family reunion this afternoon for the family of my host dad. I´ll keep up to date on what I´m up to.. I´m in an internet place at the mall near my house right now. Malls are exactly the same here as back home...I kind of feel like I´m in the U.S. The music is prodominantly American too. Also, it´s a beautiful day here, probably about 65 or 70?? I hope you all have a relaxing weekend...
I miss you all! Lots of love---
a mi familia..THANK YOU for calling yesterday!!! It was amazing to hear everyone´s voices!! I was so happy to hear how everything went so I could feel like I was there even more. It sounds like it was a wonderful service and exactly the way Grandma would have wanted it to be. Especially the root beer floats!!! I´m debating whether Ecuador has root beer or not, so that I can have one in memory.. I´ll keep hunting. My host family thought I was màs tranquila (more peaceful-calm) after I said I had talked to everyone. It´s so amazing that so many people could be there. Especially Jaime and Christi! I´m happy everyone got to meet her! I definitely felt like I was there in spirit.
Also, thanks for the comments. Charlie Bauer, I´m working on the plane ticket... don´t you worry!
I got about 12 hours of sleep last night so I´m feeling more refreshed today. I´m going to a family reunion this afternoon for the family of my host dad. I´ll keep up to date on what I´m up to.. I´m in an internet place at the mall near my house right now. Malls are exactly the same here as back home...I kind of feel like I´m in the U.S. The music is prodominantly American too. Also, it´s a beautiful day here, probably about 65 or 70?? I hope you all have a relaxing weekend...
I miss you all! Lots of love---
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Life
hola--
I hope these pictures give you guys a feel for where I am! I am really loving Ecuador, more so now that I've traveled outside of Quito. Baños is a tiny little town that's a hub for a lot of backpackers and tourists.. It was beautiful and I want to go back! Although.. the volcano right outside of town erupted last night after we left, so it might not be possible for awhile... My Spanish keeps getting better as well!
To the fam- I talked to mom & dad today and found out that Grandma Barnes passed away yesterday morning. It's really tough to be so far away and not be able to grieve with everyone else, but I'm surrounded by good people here- so please don't worry about me. Grandma had an amazingly full life, and it seems that we are all at peace with her death. Know that I'm thinking about you all constantly and wish that I could be there more than anything. Also, I have a cell phone now that should work so feel free to call me :) The number is 011 593 84209042 .. I love you guys
I hope these pictures give you guys a feel for where I am! I am really loving Ecuador, more so now that I've traveled outside of Quito. Baños is a tiny little town that's a hub for a lot of backpackers and tourists.. It was beautiful and I want to go back! Although.. the volcano right outside of town erupted last night after we left, so it might not be possible for awhile... My Spanish keeps getting better as well!
To the fam- I talked to mom & dad today and found out that Grandma Barnes passed away yesterday morning. It's really tough to be so far away and not be able to grieve with everyone else, but I'm surrounded by good people here- so please don't worry about me. Grandma had an amazingly full life, and it seems that we are all at peace with her death. Know that I'm thinking about you all constantly and wish that I could be there more than anything. Also, I have a cell phone now that should work so feel free to call me :) The number is 011 593 84209042 .. I love you guys
First Weekend trip to Los Bancos
These pics are from my first weekend in Ecuador when we went to Los Bancos
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