Yikes, lots of stuff has started up that is making me feel slightly overwhelmed at the prospect of December.
First off, on Friday we received news that our 3rd grade teacher was quitting and that Friday was also her last day. Whoa! Um, thanks for the notice. Aunt Patti came into the office and just says “Um, Lauren. Can I ask you a big favor. Like…a really big favor?” Looks like I am now the only English teacher for all 160 kids! Aunt Patti has to step in a be the 3rd grade teacher so that leaves me to get English done alone. While part of me is excited about the increased responsibilities, more of me is terrified. It was a lot of work when Aunt Patti and I were sharing responsibilities so I don’t know how it’s going to be alone. I mean she’s obviously not going anywhere, but the training wheels are coming off! I think December will be a little crazy for the next 2 weeks but then over Christmas break I’ll have sometime to think about how I’ll structure my solo teaching style.
The other source of anxiety is of course the never ending business school saga. I swear I have been applying to school for a year, ha. I’d love to fast forward to February and just have all the decisions out of the way. I really hate waiting. In the meantime, I’ve started to look into scholarship opportunities and have started writing essays for those. It never ends!!
And then of course there is just the general life stress of being in a different country. My Spanish is coming along, but I still cannot fully express myself (not that I was expecting that in just 2 months) which is a bit isolating at times. It’s hard to make friends when you don’t have much to say. It seems my Spanish is much better with some people than others. For example, last night in the cab home from Quito (we went out dancing for the fiestas) I was talking to Vilma and the words were just flowing and she understood me. But then today at church and lunch it was like I had never spoken a word of Spanish in my life, which was frustrating.
Fortunately, most days are positive and I’m not filled with so much anxiety, but today is feeling overwhelming! Just gotta dive in head first. Here’s to hoping for a smooth week ahead….
Somehow I managed to have more Thanksgiving dinners in a country that doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving than I normally do at home.
The first Thanksgiving was actually at the school. The perks of having an American own the school – Thanksgiving for all the kids! The afternoon “dinner” went really well and the kids seemed so happy. We set up a bunch of tables in the church really long so all 160 odd kids could sit down to dinner together. Each class made their own salads and strawberry desserts and then we made potatoes and lemonade for everyone (we squeezed about a zillion lemons). Then we had chicken delivered. It could have been really chaotic but it actually went really smoothly. Good times.
Then that night Tia, Tio and I were invited to a dinner at a friend of the family’s house. This woman was married to an American so she has celebrated Thanksgiving for many years. We had so much delicious food it was ridiculous. Turkey, cranberry sauce (yay! it’s impossible to find here … her nephew brought it from the States), fancy stuffing, cajun rice, green beans, and on and on. We were so full after dinner, but then it was time for postre! Aunt Patti and I had made pumpkin pies, but there was also flan, apple tort and quiche (um…quiche for dessert? I dunno about that). Miguel had to roll Aunt Patti and I out of the house. So stuffed.
My final Thanksgiving was on Friday. I had originally proposed having Thanksgiving on Friday with the family because I didn’t think we’d be having any other Thanksgivings. Aunt Patti made meatloaf and then I made garlic mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and my mom’s cranberry / jell-o / pineapple / grape recipe. Cooking here involves about 800 more steps, but overall everything turned out tasty. At the house was me, Tia, Tio, Anita & her baby (takes care of the school and church grounds), Michi, Maykol and Christian (friend from church). We ate at 11p but I think everyone enjoyed it! The Jell-o was a big hit.
All in all a great Thanksgiving. I’m thankful to be here in Ecuador with a loving family and a welcoming community. It has been a great 7 weeks and I know the coming months will continue to be full of excitement and adventure. I hope that I continue to be of help to Aunt Patti and that I can leave everything I touch a little better than it was when I came.
This past weekend was the annual walk to El Quinche. I believe it is a Catholic tradition where people from all over the area walk to visit the Virgin of El Quinche. I suppose it’s a pilgrimage. However, I found out that my family likes to do it “for sport” every year (since we’re not Catholic). Since I’m not one to turn down new experiences I agreed to go without thinking much about how far 30-odd kilometers might be. Turns out I signed up for a 20 mile walk in the middle of the night. Crazy. It was fun I suppose, but I wouldn’t do it again (no offense Tia!). I’m just not built for distances like that…my knees don’t like it! And I didn’t like seeing dead dogs along the side of the road.
Here’s a little video (I tried to use the “movie creator” with my Flip Video this time…so all the little clips run together). You’ll notice I sound progressively irritable throughout the night. Ha. I can’t help it…I like to sleep at night! All in good fun.
(hmm, upon further inspection I did not add the title or credits correctly. sorry, but I don’t have the heart to re-upload with corrections. internet is slow for video!)
I’m a little behind on updating the blog, but ever since I got back from Tena on Monday it has been very busy getting back into my routine! I was in Tena from Thursday night until Monday morning and it was a lot of fun! It was great to see where Marisa lives and also see the town where the other church is.
On Thursday after class, Tia Patti took me into Quito to pick up my video camera from FINCA and to drop me off at the bus station. We didn’t realize that the south of Quito would have no lights when we went (Ecuador is rationing electricity right now due to low rain levels … more on that some other time) so it was a bit chaotic. I eventually was able to hop on an 8pm bus and off I went to Tena! In retrospect this was actually a little overwhelming because Tia and I showed up at the station, bought my ticket and then I had to rush off to the buses by myself. The bus was not in the spot they said it would be in and the buses were labeled funny. But at the time I was just excited and feeling adventurous so I just asked around “A Tena? A Tena?” and eventually found my way.
The ride was sort of long from Quito (much faster to go from Tumbaco) and the movie on the bus was maybe the worse Japanese film I’ve ever seen. I may or may not have dozed off a bit (I KNOW Mom, you don’t want me sleeping on random buses taking me across the Ecuadorian countryside. Sorry.) and eventually I arrived in Tena around 1:00am. Marisa was waiting for me at the gym that she owns. This past weekend she was in the process of finding a permanent place to live but since she got robbed on Wednesday she was a little short of funds so we just slept at the gym. No problem for me, although it took a little getting used to sleeping on massage tables.
Video of Marisa’s gym:
Friday involved breakfast at friends of the church, a motorcycle tour with Tio Miguel (he happened to be in town that day), exploring Tena and seeing Marisa teach some classes. At night we went out to the fairs since it was a celebration weekend in Tena. The food was great and cheap. Afterward we sat at a little restaurant next to the river and I met some of Marisa’s friends. I loved the weather in Tena because it’s HOT.
Video of Tena rivers:
Saturday we went to Misahualli, which is a town further into the jungle. We watched the monkeys jump on people and steal stuff and it was generally a good time. Here’s a video of Marisa and a monkey:
At night we once again went to the fairs and gorged ourselves on deliciousness and wandered around Tena. Video evidence of gorging:
Again we ran into some of Marisa’s friends (Tena is small so you just keep seeing the same people over and over) and one of them arranged for me to go rafting on Sunday with some other gringas. Rafting on Sunday was SO fun. I have never been white water rafting (that’s what it’s called right?) and so going down a river in the jungle of Ecuador was awesome.
The rafting group was myself, an American girl who volunteers in Tena, two European girls and our 3 guides. Two of them were in the raft with us and one was in a kayak sort of checking out the rapids. I was a little nervous at first since all the instructions came at me rapid fire in Spanish, but I quickly learned that I just needed to know when to paddle forward (adelante!), backward (atras!) and when I need to hop inside the raft (adentro!!). The river was beautiful, just jungle beauty all around. We played some “juegos” which involved balancing precariously on the edge of the raft, sitting all on one side to make a “wheely boat” and making a pyramid one time when the raft flipped. One time we hit a hole and all fell out and I got caught under the raft and I may have panicked slightly … but I just frantically paddled about until I found air. Yikes! But most of it wasn’t that dangerous or scary. Just awesome.
I wish I had pictures from the day but obviously cameras aren’t great for water. We were on the water for about 5 hours. We stopped and had some snacks in a little cave and our guides painted us up like warriors. It was fun. Somehow one of the European girls is sort of dating one of the guides (??) so it was more like a day with friends rather than a formal guided trip. Very fun.
At night I was covered in mosquito bites and very burnt. I met Marisa at Maykol’s family’s house (Maykol is my cousin Michi’s husband) and his mom made us a delicious dinner. I was grateful. I shortly fell asleep on the floor while everyone watched videos.
And then Monday morning I came home! I really liked Tena and I look forward to going again. Tio Miguel goes frequently and it’s fun to visit with Marisa.
I can’t believe I’ve already been in Ecuador for a month! That was fast. It was quite the month filled with ups and downs. As I mentioned before I seemed to get sick a lot before, but I think I’m done with that. I recovered from my terrible cold solely from going to those hot boxes (no medicine) so that tells me my immune system is adjusted. I know generally what my stomach likes to eat, I know better than to go frolicking in the sun midday and the altitude doesn’t bother me anymore. Here’s to a healthy 5 months ahead!
As for general life, I like it here. I love staying with a part of my family that I haven’t seen in years. They take great care of me and make sure I’m not lonely. My Spanish is getting better every day – if it is 5 times better than it is now by the end of my stay here I think I’ll be pretty happy with my progress! I feel like I’m starting to hit my stride at the school and can see exactly how I am useful for Aunt Patti. She has so much to do so I’m happy to be of assistance. I finally have a written down assignment at FINCA which is great so I know exactly what to be chugging along doing there as well. FINCA is still slightly terrifying due to all the Spanish, but I’m just trying to take it one Wednesday at a time.
This weekend I’m finally going to Tena! It’s good I didn’t end up going over the 4 day weekend because that’s when I (and the rest of Quito) got that cold so it wouldn’t have been as fun. I’m heading out after class on Thursday and coming back Monday afternoon. Marisa is back in Tena so she will be my guide and there are supposed to be some festivals going on. I’m excited to check out a new part of Ecuador and see Marisa’s business that she’s been working on there. I’m also excited because it’s HOT in Tena. It’s generally pretty warm here, but I think the weather is more consistent throughout the day there.
I’m also sort of looking forward to being away from internet access (aside from not being able to Skype Justin). Ever since I submitted my MBA apps I’m obsessed with checking MBA blogs, checking the status of my application, checking my e-mail. I need to cool it. I am so impatient, but I need to get over that because it will be several weeks / months until I hear anything. Heading to the jungle will be a good distraction.
Got exciting news from Breanna today that she is going to come down for her spring break in March. And maybe Lindsey too! That will be a lot of fun. She’ll be here the week right before Justin gets here. Now if only my mom (hint, hint) would come in February I think I’d be quite pleased…
Well, after another bout with sickness (I swear, my hearty immune system is no match for Quito) I am finally feeling good again. Just about everyone in our house caught “la gripe” which is a cold and man were we sick. I got it first sometime on Saturday and I stayed sick all the way until about yesterday. I still have a bit of a cough, but I’m worlds better than I was a few days ago. Tia Patti is sick, Janella is sick (Marisa’s friend who is staying with us this week) and Tio Miguel was a little sick. Turns out most of Quito was sick this weekend so I don’t feel as bad bringing the plague into the house.
But I must give a shout out to the amazing medicine that cured us: hot boxes! Tia Patti calls them cahones or something, but I’m not sure how to spell that. Either way. Tia Patti has this great friend who let us go to her house the past few days and use her sauna-like hot boxes. However, these are not your typical saunas. Instead these boxes look more like you are getting into a magic trick. Essentially it is a one person sized crate with a front door and a whole cut out of the top. When you enter the little door you lock yourself in and then stick your head out the top. Inside, the box has hot steam pumping in it and a bunch of dried eucalyptus and other soothing plants inside to give a medicinal feel. You stay in the little box letting your body sweat and sweat until you can’t stand it (normally 15 min the first time, 6 min the subsequent times) and then you get out, pour cold water all over yourself and repeat. You do this over and over for about an hour. You drink some water and teas in between and put honey on your face (natural exfoliate) but you mainly focus on sweating, breathing eucalyptus and pouring cold water on yourself.
After the hour is over Tia Patti’s friend insists we put all our clothes back on without drying off. Ick, but she says drying yourself off makes you weak. She has us drink some juice (ew, the juice today was orange juice and nettles – blech!!) and off we go. And sure enough, after just one day of doing this and a good night’s sleep I was almost 100% better. I did it again today and I basically feel cured. Amazing.
Not sure what the weekend has in store, but you better believe it doesn’t include getting sick again! I’m done with that. No more wet hair, no more lack of socks, no more sleeping in shorts and a tee. I am staying warm, dry and healthy!
Today was Day of the Dead here in Ecuador. I didn’t know much about the holiday and to be honest thought it was only celebrated in Mexico. The holiday is essentially a day to honor loved ones who have passed away. Traditional aspects of the day include gathering at the cemetery, eating food and cleaning up the gravesite. The traditional foods include colada morada and guagua de pan which I have a picture of in the post below. Some people are very traditional about the day and spend all day at the cemetery, but in general as Tia Patti put it “It’s just an excuse to have a 4 day weekend.”
Either way, we went to the cemetery today to visit my cousin Muriel’s grave site. The cemetery was different than I expected. Everyone is above ground! I understand they do this in New Orleans because it’s basically below sea level, but here we’re some 10,000 feet above. I guess it’s more “economical” to stack everyone on top of each other, and I’ll be honest it gives sort of a pretty effect. I’ve included some videos below to give you a sense. The day was not as serious as I thought it would be, it was actually rather festive.
This first video is a shot of us walking into the cemetery. Gives you a sense of all the people that were there:
This next video is Maykol scaling the wall to put flowers up on Muriel’s tomb:
And this last video is me enjoying some colada morada, que rico!
Ah, I think I have finally established a schedule here. I like having some sort of routine so I don’t feel so frantic all the time. My week is now set up where I teach with Tia Patti every day except Wednesdays. On Wednesdays I head into Quito and volunteer with FINCA. And then in the late afternoons Monday through Thursday I have my Spanish class at the university. Perfectly filled days!
This was my first week really spending any time in the FINCA office. Tuesday was mainly giving me information to read, looking over existing and future marketing creative and meeting some people in the office. I’ll admit that Tuesday was HARD. I was thinking maybe I’d be working more with the other two non-FINCA employees who speak English and Spanish fluently (one woman is from England here for 6 weeks, one guy is Canadian here as a contractor until at least May) so that I would have some help. Nope. As of right now I am only working with the Marketing Director who speaks only Spanish. It took all my brain power to concentrate on what she was telling me and to try to respond in some reasonable fashion. I was about done by lunch time. Ha.
Since Tuesday was more of a “set up” day I came back to FINCA on Wednesday, but actually had an opportunity to go out into the barrios and visit some bancos comunales (I wanted to include a photo of the meetings but my iPhoto doesn’t seem to be caught up with my uploaded photos. Boo. Another time). FINCA uses the village banking system where they give a loan to a group of people and they are all held responsible to one another. The meetings were really great and nicely enough the English woman was with us so she could translate things I wasn’t following. It was interesting hearing the loan officer from FINCA give her opinion on the village banking method, what she finds effective about microfinance and what she would improve. And of course at each meeting they were super hospitable and made little snacks for us which I thought was nice. I got to try my first colada morada and guagua de pan which are the traditional foods for the upcoming holiday on Monday – El Dia de los Muertos.
Speaking of the holiday, we get both Monday and Tuesday off here so it sounds like I’ll get a chance to go to Tena! Tena is the jungle and where my cousin Marisa lives. I didn’t get a chance to go there last time I was here so I’m looking forward to the trip.
In general everything is starting to feel a bit more familiar and I’m happy to have this opportunity. Each day I feel a little more welcomed into the community. This evening when I was walking home a car was driving past in the opposite direction when all of a sudden a loud, high voice called out “Hola Miss Lauren!!” and there was one of our students waving her little head and hand out the window at me. It was great.
Ever since I’ve gotten here, Tia Patti keeps teasing me (yet sort of serious) about things that surprise me here. For instance, we went to the hospital yesterday to visit my cousin Marisa and I was surprised to see an ambulance pull up to the door with a sick patient and all us visitors were able to just stand around and gawk. I expressed my surprise, and Tia Patti told me that it’s more “real life here.” Which made reply with, “Well, then what do I have back home?”
There were a few other instances like this, such as being surprised by the seeds in my grapes (ok, I’ve HAD seeded grapes, it’s just been awhile. Give me a break, Tia!) or the ability for everyone to run to the scene of a car accident, rather than leaving it to medical professionals.
What I’m assuming Tia Patti really means is that she feels us Americans live a sheltered, charmed life. (note: Yes, Tia Patti is American and from Michigan, but she has lived here for about 35 years which makes her more Ecuadorian than American these days. And don’t get her started on the fact that we’re called “Americans” …) I’ve gotten this same impression from other foreigners … that we’re all “Ugly Americans” who have no sense of the world and have no desire to learn about it. And to be honest, this sort of bugs me. I wish we didn’t have such a bad rap.
Opinions I Find Justified:
We Could Get Out More - I think there definitely could be a greater emphasis on experiencing other cultures from a younger age. And that means traveling to countries outside of our comfort zone (read: not Europe) so that we can develop compassion and an understanding of who we share this world with. That and it’s just awesome to learn about other countries.
The Language Thing - We really need to get on this. I suspect kids younger than me are catching on to the necessity of speaking multiple languages, but from where I stand we are greatly behind. It pains me to meet people my age from other countries working on their 3rd and 4th languages. I really think we need to stop thinking of language as a “nice to have” and start emphasizing it as a “must have.”
Arrogance - Yes, yes there are plenty of arrogant Americans who refuse to culturally adapt. I have seen time and time again an American tourist not being able to communicate in the country’s language and rather than trying to figure out the translation of what they need, they just shout their English louder (because SOMEONE must speak English here, right??). This refusal to try to adapt is obviously obnoxious and presumptuous.
Things I Don’t Find Justified:
Intellectually Incurious – I’m repeatedly surprised when people are taken aback by a genuinely curious American. In my Spanish class today, which consists of students from China, Russia, Switzerland, Canada and the US, I think our Ecuadorian teacher was actually surprised that me and my American classmate were the only two who knew things about Ecuador. Why? From what I can tell, the other classmates aren’t spending any time with the Ecuadorian people while they are here. They have international jobs or are just students and stick with each other. While me and the other American are in Ecuadorian schools all day. Seems obvious to me that we would know the most, but she was nonetheless surprised.
We’re All the Same – I really hate the sweeping generalizations. All Americans must live in big houses and take up lots of space and talk really loud and are scared of foreigners and have lots of money and drive big cars, right?
Charmed Life - I understand that the U.S. is a country with immense wealth. That’s not to be argued. But to say that there is no poverty in the U.S.? That our country knows no “hardships”? It seems unfair. Yes, poverty looks DIFFERENT in the U.S. than it does in Ecuador, but we have it nonetheless. No, not everyone is educated. No, not everyone has lots of disposable income. No, not everyone is healthy and well-fed. You probably haven’t met one of these people because they can’t afford to travel to your country.
I don’t think we’re perfect, but I don’t think we deserve all the criticism either.
It’s generally pretty warm here, but I think the weather is more consistent throughout the day there.
