Time for a sun break...
I´m in the town of Montañita, and it´s probably one of the most unique cities I´ve ever been in. Lonely Planet describes this place as having a laid-back ethos that means the end of the road for some.. which is completely true. I think a lot of people have come here and never left. Everyone that lives here is either in the hostel business or makes hemp jewelry to sell on the street. There are a ton of people with dredlocks, and everyone surfs. Also, just about every building is a hostel with a restaurant or bar underneath. The buildings are all 3 or 4 stories tall and have straw roofs-- it makes the whole town look like Swiss Family Robinson, it´s a bunch of tree houses!
The sun is STRONG here!!! Aka I´m sunburnt... which is why I´m taking a break in the shade right now. I played beach volleyball with some Montañita people yesterday which was awesome. Oh, and there are a million batido stands (smoothies), which cost 1.00$. Fresh fruit smoothies, sun, huge waves... this place is addicting!
I´ll be back in the mountains tomorrow night, and I´m planning on getting some pictures up at some point on Saturday. This weekend I´ll be packing up to head to my internship!!
love from the gringa roja :)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
okay the mouse stopped working so I´m now trying to post using only the keyboard and tab button. ah, I think I´m becoming more patient in this country. If you´re not patient you go crazy. Alright, well I´ll post later this week if I find myself needing some shade... Hope you are all well!
Lots of love!!!
Chelsea (as in the soccer team from England) Marie
Lots of love!!!
Chelsea (as in the soccer team from England) Marie
la playa
Hola!!
I´m finally discovering that Ecuador is in fact, on the Equator (aka hot climate)!!! I´m on the coast in a sleepy little beach town called Puerto Lopez. The town only has power after 2pm, so we´re taking a sun break in the only place in town that has electricity right now... The culture on the coast is worlds different than in Quito. I´ll write much more about it when I´m back in Quito this weekend, but I wanted to check in and say that I am alive and well under the sun. Tomorrow we are going to Montañita, a beach town known for surfing, an hour south of Puerto Lopez. We´ll be there until Friday when we head back up the coast and fly from Manta to Quito (a 30 minute flight). It´s amazing how different a place can be after only flying for 30 minutes. It´s hot, humid, and I´m getting tons of bug bites!!! (And taking my malaria meds)- But it´s vale la pena (worth the pain), because it´s so beautiful and the ocean is probably my favorite place to be in the world.
I´m finally discovering that Ecuador is in fact, on the Equator (aka hot climate)!!! I´m on the coast in a sleepy little beach town called Puerto Lopez. The town only has power after 2pm, so we´re taking a sun break in the only place in town that has electricity right now... The culture on the coast is worlds different than in Quito. I´ll write much more about it when I´m back in Quito this weekend, but I wanted to check in and say that I am alive and well under the sun. Tomorrow we are going to Montañita, a beach town known for surfing, an hour south of Puerto Lopez. We´ll be there until Friday when we head back up the coast and fly from Manta to Quito (a 30 minute flight). It´s amazing how different a place can be after only flying for 30 minutes. It´s hot, humid, and I´m getting tons of bug bites!!! (And taking my malaria meds)- But it´s vale la pena (worth the pain), because it´s so beautiful and the ocean is probably my favorite place to be in the world.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
mi casa
This is the apartment where I live! And Crispy, the dog...this picture doesn't really do her justice..
Monday, March 10, 2008
Postre and Salsa
buenas tardes!!
We're all on the same time zone now! So, thought I'd give you a little taste of life in Quito by telling you what I did this weekend!! We didn't have class on Friday, which was super nice. Random side note, I have way more of a sweet tooth in Ecuador than in the U.S. I am always looking for a good postre (dessert) here... It's a little disappointing to be honest; this country has AMAZING bread, but the dessert always falls just a little bit short. So my friend Dan and I (one of the 2 guys on my program) went to this chocolate cafe on Friday afternoon in search of something sweet!! I had fruit and fondue, and it was soo good!!! I got a huge selection of delicious fruit (bananas, apples, strawberries, pineapple, grapes), accompanied by dark and milk dipping chocolate. All for under 3.00$$.
Friday night a few of us went to a club called Ramon Antigua. We've become friends with a couple guys who play in a salsa band and who play on Friday and Saturday nights at this club. I LOVE salsa dancing. I wish dancing (that requires more ability than shaking your butt to rap music) were a bigger part of U.S. culture...but there are actually quite a few places to go salsa dancing in Minneapolis, which I'm going to have to take advantage of.
Saturday we had a big "family" dinner, because one of my host cousins is moving to Australia. My host sister made lasagna, which was DELICIOUS. I had been craving Italian food, and was sooo excited to eat lasagna. We also had postre de tres leches for dessert, which is a delicious cake (for those of you who haven't had the great fortune of trying it). I've learned how to make it, so feel free to request some when I'm back in the country!! I went to a bar with my host cousins on Saturday night called Flashback. They only played 80's music, and it was pretty entertaining. I felt like I was in the movie the Wedding Singer...People go crazy for old American music here.
Sunday I went to the inauguration of the new building my host sister's church built. The new sanctuary holds 4500 people and during the service it was standing room only. It was pretty incredible!!
Since it's our last week of classes, I have 2 papers to write this week and an exam. Then next week I'll be at the beach!!!
Hope you all have a wonderful week!
We're all on the same time zone now! So, thought I'd give you a little taste of life in Quito by telling you what I did this weekend!! We didn't have class on Friday, which was super nice. Random side note, I have way more of a sweet tooth in Ecuador than in the U.S. I am always looking for a good postre (dessert) here... It's a little disappointing to be honest; this country has AMAZING bread, but the dessert always falls just a little bit short. So my friend Dan and I (one of the 2 guys on my program) went to this chocolate cafe on Friday afternoon in search of something sweet!! I had fruit and fondue, and it was soo good!!! I got a huge selection of delicious fruit (bananas, apples, strawberries, pineapple, grapes), accompanied by dark and milk dipping chocolate. All for under 3.00$$.
Friday night a few of us went to a club called Ramon Antigua. We've become friends with a couple guys who play in a salsa band and who play on Friday and Saturday nights at this club. I LOVE salsa dancing. I wish dancing (that requires more ability than shaking your butt to rap music) were a bigger part of U.S. culture...but there are actually quite a few places to go salsa dancing in Minneapolis, which I'm going to have to take advantage of.
Saturday we had a big "family" dinner, because one of my host cousins is moving to Australia. My host sister made lasagna, which was DELICIOUS. I had been craving Italian food, and was sooo excited to eat lasagna. We also had postre de tres leches for dessert, which is a delicious cake (for those of you who haven't had the great fortune of trying it). I've learned how to make it, so feel free to request some when I'm back in the country!! I went to a bar with my host cousins on Saturday night called Flashback. They only played 80's music, and it was pretty entertaining. I felt like I was in the movie the Wedding Singer...People go crazy for old American music here.
Sunday I went to the inauguration of the new building my host sister's church built. The new sanctuary holds 4500 people and during the service it was standing room only. It was pretty incredible!!
Since it's our last week of classes, I have 2 papers to write this week and an exam. Then next week I'll be at the beach!!!
Hope you all have a wonderful week!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Politics Schmalitics
First, I can't believe Hillary won Texas and Ohio!!! Blah. The democrats need to stop being schizo soon and choose a candidate. We pretty much all support Obama down here (students from the U.S., Ecuadorians)...and had a group groaning session this morning when we saw the news. Does anyone know if Edwards has endorsed a candidate yet?
In other news...Brett Farve retired???? Wow. Were the flags in Wisconsin lowered to half-mast in mourning??
Also, no need to worry, Ecuador is not going to war. Apparently we don't have the military power here to put up a fight...maybe in part because everyone is so short and little here??? Hahah, no but really, relations between Colombia and Ecuador are perhaps a little tense but there won't be any military action. But I thought these pictures (above) were entertaining...Who's team would you rather be on?? Bush is with the Colombian president... the other is of Ecuadorian pres. Correa (left) and Hugo Chavez.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Dum...Dum Dum Dum DUMMMM ¿guerra?
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/03/01/colombia.rebel/index.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/03/03/ecuador.colombia/index.html
A little excitement here in Ecuador....
There´s some political tension happening here between Ecuador/Venezuela and Colombia. Over the weekend, the number 2 Colombian rebel and more than a dozen other Colombians were killed on Ecuadorian soil by the Colombian government (this is my understanding of what happened). Ecuador and Venezuela (Correa, the president here, and Chavez are buds) are upset, because Colombia didn´t have permission to enter, or kill, on Ecuadorian land. Both Ecuador and Venezuela have closed embassies in Colombia and ordered troops to the borders.... Also, the U.S. supports the Colombian president, so this could tighten relationships further between the U.S. and Venezuela, as well as Ecuador... And I thought I was in a peaceful country!! I´ll keep you posted! (But no need to worry!)
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/03/03/ecuador.colombia/index.html
A little excitement here in Ecuador....
There´s some political tension happening here between Ecuador/Venezuela and Colombia. Over the weekend, the number 2 Colombian rebel and more than a dozen other Colombians were killed on Ecuadorian soil by the Colombian government (this is my understanding of what happened). Ecuador and Venezuela (Correa, the president here, and Chavez are buds) are upset, because Colombia didn´t have permission to enter, or kill, on Ecuadorian land. Both Ecuador and Venezuela have closed embassies in Colombia and ordered troops to the borders.... Also, the U.S. supports the Colombian president, so this could tighten relationships further between the U.S. and Venezuela, as well as Ecuador... And I thought I was in a peaceful country!! I´ll keep you posted! (But no need to worry!)
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