They keep looking at me like I'm fat here because I eat so much more then them. It's not that my portions are bigger, but I eat every hour when they just eat every 4 hours. And I think because I'm diabetic they think that if I eat ANY sugar, I'm a bad diabetic. My family told me that I'm the only diabetic that they've met that doesn't care about my diabetes. Which is UNTRUE and totally opposite of what I'm told in the US by my doc. I'm one of his BEST patients. I'm just used to having one desert a day like most Americans do (actually most Americans have about 10 a day), and I get embarrassed now eating the awesome deserts that the maid cooks up because they always give me "that look." You know, the one you give to your obese grandpa that should stop eating french fries after his 2nd triple bi-pass surgery, but is too set in his ways... I guess other people would just stop eating desert, but sorry no, I need to finish off my dinners with something sweet to feel full. So what do I do? Yep, I sneak into the kitchen when everyone leaves and eat some.
I think they actually tried to hide this week's desert from me! It's normally in plain sight on top of the oven, but the day after it was made, it wasn't there! It was hiding on top of the refrigerator! It's a delicious a banana meringue.
Yes I feel fat, but then look around at the people sitting on the bus with me, and realize that I'm still sitting pretty... and I'm in shape. Dang it feels good to be a triathlete!
It's been a few days since I've blogged, so I'll hit a few main points from the past few days:
1. In my Ju Jit Su class, I always stay after for about 1.5 hours (3 hours there all together) usually working with other people on their take downs because wrestling take downs are just a lot more effective than the stereotypical Ju Jit Su take downs. I help the professors and the more advanced students. In exchange, they help me with my submissions -- I hope this extra training will help me in the tournament I will be competing in early May. Well anyways, last class my professor asked me if I would teach a class in Quito for some of his students. They will be competing in a "no Kimono" tournament and it's a lot harder to do take downs without something to hang on to (which I've been doing my whole life in tight wrestling singlets). I think it sounds like an incredible opportunity to meet locals, make friends with common interests, and just get a great unique experience. The only thing is that it's at 8:00pm in Quito, which means I will need to take the bus there before it gets dark and wait an hour or two before the class, then take a taxi home after, which could cost $8-$10. He said he'd pay me $20 a class though, so that's a nice little bonus.
2. It's pretty great that we have technology in this world, especially Skype and Magic Jack. I'm sure all of you know about Skype and how it can be good for maintaining relationships (parents, friends, girl friend, etc), but I'll let you know about Magic Jack. It's great. You just pay $40 a year and it's through your internet. You can call anyone in the US (I'm not sure about other countries though) for that flat rate as many calls as you want. It doesn't matter where you live, but you can call the US; that's what we have here. The number shows up as some random Pennsylvania number, but who cares, it's so cheap and easy! I've heard of people buying it in the US just because it's so cheap; there's no reason not to. Anyway, thanks to Magic Jack, I've been able to call Mr. Vandevoort (a long time family friend) to tell me all about his job and industry in general, I was able to call the US for an interview this morning (which I STRESSED so much about -- I prepped for about 5 hours for a 20 minute interview, all of which was necessary) pray for me to succeed please, then called mom/dad for them to send me writing samples from my portable hard drive at home, and ALSO call my mentor for advice. Yes, all these calls where within 15 hours, and I didn't have to worry about how much it cost. It was just like calling from Naperville. Just dial the US number, no international code needed and the call goes through. Great.
3. I've already mentioned taxis in my blog before. This is a pride story though. Tonight, we went out to Quito and upon returning I bargained the taxi down a few dollars from the gringo rate ($12) to the normal rate ($10 -- which I still wasn't happy with, but we wanted to leave, so we took it). I learned from my last encounter though. I am always the last one dropped off because the guy should always be dropped off last just for security purposes, and I completely agree with that. The last time it happened though, the taxi driver pulled a bait and switch, and as soon as the girls were out of the cab, he made me pay more. Not this time though! I knew better and saw it coming, so I made a plan. Sure enough, when the girls left, he tried to bump the price up to $12 to take me back. I said no and told him that I already said $10. Although, I didn't want him leaving me there where I'd have to walk back to my house or have to call another cab, so I let on like I could still crumble and pay the $12. I said, "just take me back to my house." When he took me back though, I had him stop outside of the gated community where the security guard was positioned so that I was in plain view of someone with a gun who was on my side. I opened up the door, and as I did, I told him I'm only paying $10. I knew he had change for a 20 earlier because he said he did, so I said give me a $10 back. When he said it had to be $12, I told him it's going to be $10 or nothing at all. So with a grunt, he apprehensively brought out the $10 for change. Instantly, I snatched it and ran WITHOUT PAYING HIM ANYTHING!! He tries to steal from me, so I steal from him! That didn't really happen, but I did snatch the $10 and gave him the $20 in plain view of the security guard. I'm very proud of myself. I fought back with will and brains and was not taken advantage of... as much.
The day started off bright and early. I woke up and talked to Nicole at 6:30am. We were both drones, but it was nice to do before my trip on Saturday. I ended up finally being ready to go 5 minutes before I had to be at the school (7:30am), so instead of walking and being 25 minutes late, I called a taxi -- it is only $1.00...I got to school and we took off. Thank God I got to sleep for 1.5 hours during the drive or else I would have been dead. We arrived at this gorgeous rustic ranch way up in the mountains; imagine looking out from the doors and you see the "Corazon Volcano" looming over you with squares of farmland spanning all the way up its steeping slope with all different shades of green. You cock your head to the left and see one hill, then scan it to the right and come to realize you're in a valley of farm land with cattle, horses, turkeys, goats, and llamas scattered all about. This place is majestic and gave me an instant appreciation for all the agriculture majors at U of I. I never understood why they would want to stay on a farm, but now I do. It made me want to own a horse plantation when I'm older; I'll pass on the other animals.
We started out the day with a fantastic breakfast consisting of home made yogurt, fresh steaming bread with ahí, fruit, and some of the best soothing hot chocolate I've had in my life! I had about 3 cups. I forgot to mention my first impression of our guide/owner of the ranch -- Chitty. This man defined what "the most interesting man in the world" would look like. He was about 5'9," 30 years old with a short full, but trimmed beard. He glided through the glass doors and said ¡Bien Venidas! with a poncho draped across his shoulders and Chuck Noris's cow boy hat on.
After breakfast, we went outside and did a small tour. As soon as Chitty (the most interesting man in the world) started showing us around the ranch, one of the girls in our group, who was wearing those hiking sandals that are thick rubber on the bottom but only have Velcro straps on top, plopped her foot in some camouflage cow dung! The crevices of her toes were filled with a smooth vomit green left-overs of a cow's meal....Soon after that hilarious ordeal, we found our way to the rodeo ring that was "in the works." There, we participated in relay potato sack races and tug of war. The highlight of this section for me though was that they brought the cows in and we helped vaccinate them! As you can see in the video, I actually roped a cow around the neck like a real cow boy (well, maybe not exactly like them) and they injected it. It was so much fun! I want to do that for my birthday: grab some eat/drink, go to a farm, rope some cattle, horse around (pun intended), then barn dance at night!... It would be the best day/night ever.
Next, we walked up the side of the valley to where we started to set up our fire for our mid-afternoon snack (Choclo -- corn). While the other people who worked on the ranch were preparing everything, we all went for a guided walk around the property through the forrest and tall grass fields to see the donkeys, llamas, and alpacas. The whole time 1 out of 3 of their golden retrievers followed us around (Names: Like-oh, Brandon, and I forget the other one's name -- Brandon followed us around and Like-oh was the cute puppy that tramped around with the horses which seemed like they would stampede over him every time, but never did).
Chitty and his brother had 40 acres of land at about $20,000 per acre. It was plush prime land that included, hills, valleys, dirt plots, high grass fields, forests, and more. Within all this land, we moved from a leisurely stroll into a down hill run, and getting dirty/wet all the way through. OH, AND they had electric fence everywhere you turned to keep all the animals in. It's a great idea except for the fact that when giving tours and having to duck and dip around this wire to get around, it will probably lead to problems... I got shocked twice! And when I say shocked, I mean I know how a taser can take down a 300 pound man as if he were a new born child. My heart was hit by a freight train twice. I did it on purpose the first time to see what it would feel like, but the second time was completely unexpected. After about an hour out and about, we finished up the tour and were ready to get back to eat our Chocle (corn). Too soon after, we headed inside for lunch where we ate different sausages, potatoes with cheese and butter, and some fresh juice.
Later, we went outside and we did a mix of activities. When we fed the goats, I wasn't able to milk it because the mama goat was saving its milk for its child -- what a greedy mom! To provide for her child before me?! Who's ever heard of such a thing? Besides that disappointment, the best part of the afternoon was when I bare back rode a horse! We ran a little bit, then it started to rodeo buck so I punched it in the head (joke about the punching), and I was able to stay on until he calmed down.
As we finished up this portion of our trip, we hopped into our white gringo van (it would be white...) and swerved in and around roads avoiding pot holes, dogs, cows, and llamas to our next destination. For the night, we got to stay in an indigenous community! It was a very insightful experience. The whole community was in a huge valley surrounded by huge hills about the size of the Empire State Building. The hostel we stayed in was definitely the nicest building in the entire community and the amazing part about it was that they build it all by hand. They made the steps out of trees they cut down, the walls were covered with bamboo collected from the rivers, and the whole community constructed the cement foundation and wall. Every house was made out of cement because it's cheaper and better insulation. It really made me feel an appreciation for everything I have. These people are subsistence livers, just producing enough to survive. Every small plot of land had a mini garden and either a donkey, pick or cow. We walked around the community that night to get a view of it all... it just really showed me how great America has it and also how good it is where I am living in Cumbaya.
That night, we were fed their celebratory food, Cuy (ginny pig). You can see in the video the different stages of the cooking process. One of the girls in our group refused to eat them because she had pet ginny pigs all her life -- I don't blame her, I probably would have done the same thing. BUT I have never owned a ginny pig, so I tried it. Cuy is alright, but there is not a whole bunch of meat to them. It's literally a paper-thin piece of meat sandwiched in between the skin that you do not eat and the bone. I took it as a cultural experience. Even more culture then presented itself as the community's ethnic band and dancers entered our eating area and started to play their traditional music. The rest of the night we danced with the dance troop and enjoyed the music. Before going to bed, Zach (works for our program director), Kevin (lives by me in Cumbaya), and Liz (another girl in our group) had the opportunity to talk for 30 minutes with drunken indigenous teen about the word "gringo," his ability to speak English (next to none), jobs, and other random talking topics... you know the normal stuff you talk about when you're talking to someone who is drunk and their primary language isn't English or Spanish (Kechwa is their primary language). Finally, we were able to snuggle up in our beds and get to sleep for a few hours before we had to get up again.
Bright and early, we rose and had a nice breakfast. It wasn't long before we got put to work. It wasn't too much. We just had to hike down the riveen, cut some long prairie grass that was growing by the river (this green paradise looked like something out of "The Land Before Time." It was really cool). After we cut the crass, we put it on our backs and carried it all the way back up another Empire State Building tall riveen (there are two of these riveens -- one that the community is in, then one even lower where the river flows). It made me appreciate the old men and women who do this everyday. I'm not kidding, I saw 70 year old men and women both carrying 5-10 times as much as I was. I could barely see them under all the grass. They need the grass to feed to their livestock back at their homes. When we returned to the houses, we bought some souvenirs (including a sweet poncho that I'm going to wear camping) then headed to the Baños!
We arrived to an overflowing amount of sugar cane stands. Everyone was selling sugar cane, its products and anything else sweet. We all bought enough to quench our sweet tooth, then headed into a nice church, then off to get lunch. The lunch was the classiest I've had in Ecuador yet, and we spent about 2-2.5 hours there. I think I would have preferred to use that time exploring the place, but there wasn't really much I could do about that. After, we went on this cable car thing that zoomed us across a valley that had a raging river underneath it (this river eventually ran into the Amazon). It was a very exhilarating experience. Our last stop at the Baños was the zoo where we saw all different types of animals of Ecuador. My personal favorite where the parrots who talked to us, the turtles making babies, and the monkey who slapped Alexis in the face. Zoos can be EXTRA entertaining when they're not as controlled as the ones in the states! You're probably wondering why this place is called "Baños." Well, there is this "holy" waterfall that is blessed by the Virgin Mary. They say the water protects the community from the volcano when it erupts and the Virgin has performed many miracles there in history. The water from this waterfall then goes to fill pools (not exactly what you'd expect when you hear Baños -- no, not hot springs). The pools are filled with about 500 Ecuadorians and are pretty dirty by mid day when we got there, so we came to a unanimous consensus to skip the actual Baños.
Finally, I'm coming to the end of the day where we packed back into our gringo white bus and took the 2.5 hour ride home. I was exhausted and dirty from not showering this whole time, but had a huge smile on my face because it was fantastic!
Kisses on the cheek when you say hi/bye to people of the opposite sex. It's so friendly. (I think I've said this about every country that I've visited and everyone does it except us...)
Hang out/relaxation time after class at a local establishment
Cheap public transportation
Dish washer ferries
Extended family familiarity
Sun
Diversity of language
Things I wish were more/less common here:
Pure drinkable water from the tap
Less import tax
Thieves
Gates around neighborhoods and houses: there are some GORGEOUS houses here that you can't see at all because of the gates and barbed wire around them. Thanks to number 4...
Waiters who care (this could be wrong, but I've yet to see it. I'm sure there will be some great ones in the future!)
I wanted to do a blog, but I don't have as much time tonight because I want to get to bed soon. Here's a quick fun recap of my thoughts lately:
I'm a little mad because I realized I need to go to school on Fridays a lot of the time because it's required I put in hours on fridays working on my clay model projects. It's fun though, so I don't mind. I'm going to make my skull sculpture awesome!
I've been out once or twice since I've talked about going out last. And each time, I'm bringing Nicole up more and more into my conversations... I think that means something
Empanada Company is awesome. You should try it if you come to the Cumbayá area
Inclusive balcony get togethers can be fun and you can really improve your Spanish A LOT at them because you have the opportunity to hold a conversation for a long time without a ton of loud music making it hard to hear
There are always haters of what you're doing with your life. You just have to pity them and move on
I want to get started on my role in the Quito Barrio Outreach (ministry between St. Thomas back home and here in Ecuador) soon. Hopefully I can get ahold of people to start things up.
This is so much fun! I'm excited to see what the next day holds!! -- yes, this was the holy number 7 for a reason :)
Yesterday, you already saw my class schedule, I had Ju Jit Su today. After searching for my other 4 classes around the campus for 4 hours, it was time for my class. There were about 10 people in the class and 2 instructors. In the beginning, they had us say who we were and why we are taking the class. I said that I'm taking it because I wrestled before and it should be similar and fun. So after the 1.5 hour class, the 2 teachers asked if I wanted to spar with them.
What went on in my head: "let's see, my body is still adjusting to the altitude, I've never done Ju Jit Su before, they are the teachers so they are probably really good....of course I do!"
Thanks to years of wrestling and training by all those at Fox Valley, Martinez, and Waubonsie, I found myself on the mat with 2 other pros with the rest of the class just watching us in amazement. Don't get me wrong, I never made them tap, and they did make me tap a few times, but they didn't get it much! I was also doing some unique moves that I did in wrestling that I could tell they didn't see really before [Caldwell, you know when I straddle between people's legs then lift up their entire body so only their head is on the ground... yeah, they were confused by that]. I was proud. After the class, the main teacher told me that I need to help them with their take downs, so that should be fun in the coming weeks! The only thing I wasn't so thrilled with is that I will have to go to Quito to buy a $60-$70 kimono. I'll just treat it like my book expense for the class.
Later at night, I realized how disconnected I am from the US. This isn't necessarily a bad thing considering this is one of the reasons I decided to come to Ecuador instead of Europe. Europe is too much like the US and I hear too much about the US on the news there. Here, it's mostly Ecuadorian news and South American things. I'm actually going to start reading the daily newspaper to immerse myself more in the culture and better my Spanish vocab.
I say this because I was watching the news and they brought up the story about that CRAZY 22 year old (pretty fugly if I do say so myself) that killed the people who worked for the federal government. Then I heard Sarah Palin said after: "Don't retreat, instead RELOAD!" She has got to be the WORST politician alive. I bet that this fugly disgrace for a human being had a crush on her, saw her map of the people she wanted out of congress, and thought it'd be romantic. In my opinion, both need some major lessons about life (I'm keeping this PG rated) and I'm glad to be out of that mess. Then again, I'm saying that in a country that has had 9 presidents in the past 20 years.
Entonces, I'm looking forward to my first full day of classes tomorrow! Hopefully, my Spanish will improve that much more and I can learn to curse all politics in Spanish... business people are the ones who have the real power around the world any way. I'm going to stop this tangent.
For the past few posts, I admit, it has been a shock and awe method or writing. Although, I was very shocked and very at awe with everything that actually DID happen. Now that the world (not culture, world -- this is a different world) shock is smoothing out, I want to clarify that this place is absolutely INCREDIBLE!
Family:
I'm lucky enough to be living with the kindest well-off family. I'm fortunate to have internet, my own room, bathroom, and host parents who care about me. I get home cooked meals just about every night and it has all been some of the most delicious food I've tasted. There's a great mix of conversation between my host parents down to their grand children who are the cutest kids in the world. Seriously, I'll post some pictures of them at the bottom of this. Antonia (the oldest grandchild) speaks fluent English at 9 years old, and her 7 year old cousin speaks French. Why don't we have immersion schools like that in the US? I'll do that in the private sector and make millions... And finally we have Camille who is a 4 year old boy and has just as much, if not more energy that me as a kid. They all love Wii. We played for about 6 ours today -- the whole familia.
Friends:
The friends from U of I and Penn State are all amazing as well. They are all up to go out and have a great time and all have the goal of improving their Spanish. Thanks to one of them (JIll), I was able to meet Ana Sophia (who goes to U of I but is Ecuadorian) and her friends/cousins. The past two nights have been EVERYTHING I've wanted them to be: surrounded by real Ecuadorians, music, dance, hang out, improved Spanish... amazingness basically. And it's only going to get better!
Classes:
Here is my tentative schedule: Mon/Wed: Ju Jit Su Tues/Thurs: Advanced Conversational Spanish, Intro to Film, Ecology and Resources of Ecuador, intro to drawing Friday: No class
... enough said.
BUT, I am taking these for a reason. In the Spanish classes for exchange students, there will be all white people and getting better at speaking will actually be harder I think. I'm taking a variety of mixed classes that will basically all have Ecuadorians in them. This will hopefully help me make more local friends and improve my accent even faster!
Community Service:
I will be working with the Quito Barrio Outreach Ministry helping increase the cohesiveness between Ecuadorian and US boards of directors. Here is a description of the group:
"Quito Barrio Outreach is made up of two advisory boards.One is in the United Statesand the other is located in QuitoEcuador.Both boards are directed by Fr. Don Kenny, a catholic priest from the Chicago area who now lives in Quito.The U.S. Board coordinates the missions and support going to Quito.The Ecuador board provides direction, logistics and the continued implementation of the U.S. backed support.
Fr. Don Kenny assures joint decision making (goals, priorities, activities, programs) between the U.S. and Quito boards, driven by an understanding of the needs of the community.Programs are designed to become self-sustaining over time."
So por final, Ecuador is not all dangerous, hard, and out to get me. There are actually rainbows and daisies all around me.
Yesterday morning (Friday morning), I got up bright and early because I didn't want to be rushed again. I was going to be a good exchange student! Promptly, my backpack was packed, clothes on, and ready to go by 7:35. As I'm sitting down for my morning Frosted Flakes, Salomé (host mom) told me that María (program director) called and told her that I didn't have to be there until 9:00am today... greeeaaattt. I swallowed down my breakfast and was actually happy that I had some time to work out the bugs on this blog, answer e-mails (with my shirt on this time), and get other miscellaneous stuff done. I was productive.
At 8:55am, we drove over to the University where I saw our whole group outside. Apparently, there wasn't another day of orientation; we were going on more excursions. That was fantastic, but I just wasn't mentally prepared for that. My mind was already set that we'd be sitting all day. Therefore, throughout our travels, I was more tired than if I originally knew what was going on. I should probably read the itinerary more.
As we took off on another adventure, we walked through the park that you're not supposed to go to at night, visited the Botanical Garden, a Snake museum (gross), and a pre-colonial art museum. There is no way I could handle those snakes on a normal basis. There were some people who wanted to have pet snakes, hold them, and get close to the deadly ones. All I have to say is that I'm alive today because my ancestors avoided all forms of those disgustingly slimy serpientes and I will too.
At this point, going from the snake museum to the colonial art museum, I had no idea how I was going to get through the night later. Our group had planned to go to a salsa club that night and I have only been sleeping about 6 hours a night from all the excitement. Somehow though, I woke up as we arrived back in Cumbaya from Quito. I got home, threw on some cloths, ate while chatting with my gorgeous girlfriend via skype, and then took off for the night. If you guys ever want to have a good night, just talk to your girl/boy friend (or both?) before you go out, and they'll put a smile on your face -- it makes the night that much better!
If any of you know me well, you probably won't be surprised by this next part. Of course I didn't go with the big gringo group to the salsa club. I love all of them, but just wanted to get a more authentic experience. So, thankfully to Jill (a friend on the program) who had an Ecuadorian friend (Ana Sophia), we got to hang out with her and her cousins/friends before and throughout the night! It was so fun! For about 2 ours before we went out, we talked with Ana, and her friend David in Spanish at her apartment. We talked about everything from U of I, to relationships, to just normal messing around, first impressions of each other -- a lot of stuff. Later, when we were ready to leave, Ana called up her cousins and we all packed into a car to go to a club named "Love." Unfortunately, they didn't show us too much love when we got there; you needed to have a reservation and be 23. Both of which many of us did not have. So we walked 2 blocks down the street to a club named "Blues."
Compare and contrast US vs. Ecuador Most things: less expensive in Ecuador Electronics: More expensive in Ecuador (I'm thinking of selling my iPhone here for about $300-$400 here at the end of the semester) Cover at clubs: Same as any other city in the US...
So, I paid $10 to get into the club when the girls paid $5 -- pretty typical. When I walked in, a flashback from Turkey [SHOUT OUT TO THE BIZBROS] from Club IQ hit me like a kabob flavored brick! There were almost no people in the bar, the one random girl dancing from side to side on the dance floor, and neon lights everywhere. Normally I would have thought it to be just as shady as Club IQ from Istanbul, but they assured me it gets good at about 1:00am. And you know what? It did! We all just hung out, and I got to know Ana's cousin from Quito (Jorge) who's studying international business. I think we'll have lunch later to talk more. C'mon... you know me -- I always have to network...
The night was a success! Not much salsa though -- it was actually all techno here because it was more of a local club. But tonight, we're all going salsaing! Excited!
Ok, I need to go get some spanish music for my computer from my friend now. Have a great day everyone!
So I was sitting at my mac, you know, just minding my own business and checking my Facebook and answering e-mails without my shirt on -- I sometimes do that. And all of the sudden, I hear a light tap tap against the door, and my cute little host mom named Salomé walked in. I was a little embarrassed when I didn't have my shirt on, but that doesn't compare to what happened next.
She went on to say that she got a phone call from her neighbor who lives outside my window. This neighbor exclaimed, "Who is the naked man in your window?!" So she shut the blinks with a laugh and my cheeks were a bit blushed. I guess I didn't think about this considering I've been living in the 4th floor of the dorms at school for the past year and a half.
9 hours later, I got up bright and early. I was tranquilly taking a shower when all of the sudden I got another knock on my door. From the night before, I've learned that isn't good. Apparently, I was supposed to be at orientation at 8:00am and I was sitting dripping wet in the shower. Thanks to plenty of dysfunctional alarms in high school, I was able to get ready very fast and my friend's host mom gave us a ride to the university. We got there on time! Unfortunately, we two were the only ones from our Penn State/U of I group there. So, when they asked people to raise their hands when they announced schools, my gringo fingers where the only ones thrust into the air when they announced Illinois. It was cómico.
We then were introduced to the university and the Ecuadorian culture. Here are some fun facts that I learned:
Don't take pamphlets that people hand out. It's not because they want money in return... In reality, the MAJORITY of them have drugs on the paper that are absorbed in skin and then act as a date rape drug. It keeps you conscious but you have no idea what's going on - aka Blackout! They then get you to give them all of your money, write blank checks, and things like that.
Only take taxis that have a government marking on the door, letters on the wind shield, yellow license plate and taxi triangle on top of the car. I was surprised when I started noticing how many taxis didn't have these things! Let's try not to get kidnapped.
When you're walking on the sidewalk, you should walk next to the street instead of next to a wall on the other side. This prevents from someone pushing you up against a wall and taking your things (they can't do that if they push you into the street).
I learned a few more things, but those were the most interesting.
Oh yeah, bus drivers don't stop for men -- they simply slow to a crawl and expect you to jump on/off the bus. They stop for women though.
After orientation, something pretty crazy happened. I was walking down the street and I hear my name getting screamed out, "MICHAEL!" I look ahead to where it's being called, and who is it?! It's Stephanie McGinnis, my friend who introduced me to the salsa club in Champaign, and no, she's not on the trip with us! I guess those who have walked with me on the street on campus or in other counties in the past, this isn't a surprise. But, every time it happens in another country (and it has every time out of the country which is WEIRD). She is on another school trip helping out in a nearby town. A few of the students in my program live in that town and already met their group a few days before I got there.
The leader of their group then said, "You want to come with us to Quito?" and I explained, "YEP!" so I jumped onto the moving bus (see #5 above). We went shopping in Quito for a bit, then it got chilly and rained so we went home. Chilly ha! Welcome the equator. But seriously.
When I got home, I had a very classy 5 course meal that was delicious. Sean, there was a "cheese cake" that tasted like a mix of regular vanilla cake, flan, and cheese cake. I'll try to get the recipe, just remind me. I got a lot of practice with Spanish because Edwin's (home stay dad) parents were there and we talked for about 3 hours. I understood about 60% of it, and hopefully by the end of this semester that'll be closer to 90-100%!
That's just about it! Hope everyone is having fun back home. Have an adventure -- whether it ia real or in your mind. They're too fun to pass up!
This is my first video blog and full day in Quito! See how the altitude attacked my lungs, about the President's Palace, Cathedrals, cute little kids, great new friends and more!!!... and maybe a few mermaid stories. You'll just have to watch to find out!
Diesel bracelet = $130 (only bought for $15- thank god)
Aldo dog tag necklace = $30
Assortment of other bracelets = $30
Black H&M necklace = $10
Lessons learned from the day:
Place all valuables inside of suit case, locked up where people cannot easily access
Wrap soaps and other liquids in plastic bags for when they break in your checked luggage (I did!)
Before you go somewhere that speaks a different language than your own, write out and practice your common stories that you tell to your friends at home in that language so you can nail them abroad and look awesome.
Ecuadorians dance out of the womb
Bring a spare pair of cloths, your cleanliness products, and phone charger for when you miss your flight (see last post). You can then be clean and fresh to impress your host family the next day.
This has been the CRAZIEST first day of travels EVER. Are you sitting down? Don't worry, everything is alright. After our accident in the limo to the airport this morning I was still able to check-in on time with just a few bandages on my forehead. Luckily we left 3 hours early so that the police had time to file the accident report and arrest our driver for trying to plant foreign substances in my luggage.
As I went through security it wasn't so bad that I got pulled aside and frisked by the security guard guy because he was just a trainee and his pedi mustache was only half as long, black, and curled as most.
When I was waiting at the gate with Joy, a fellow foreign exchange student, the baby next to us threw up on my open lap top on the seat between us. Luckily, the baby was from South America and his vomit only smelled like natural Ginny Pig, which is SO much better than the McDonald's aftermath experienced in the States.
We finally boarded the plane, and I took my seat. Fortunately, I was at the window seat which was able to distract me from the 300ib guerrilla sitting next to me who hadn't showered in a month. A good view can solve almost anything! The delay only took 3 hours and when we finally took off, just one engine wasn't working at full capacity. After re-landing and loading a different air craft, we finally made it to Miami for our transfer. It's a darn shame we only missed it by 4 minutes!
Thanks to the airline's hospitality though, we got meal vouchers and a stay in a hotel. I went to a place called Corona Restaurant or something like that for a bite to eat. I should have known not to eat sea food in a place I haven't been before. Food poisoning... Just like when I came back from Amsterdam. I wish I hadn't thrown up in front of the immigration people, because then I wouldn't be stuck all night in this quarantine white room till the morning typing on my phone with numb thumbs trying to get the message to my family and girl friend that I'm still alive. We shouldn't have canceled my calling/texting so soon.
I do have some good news though! I was not in a limo accident, the driver did not try to plant drugs on me, I was frisked, but not by a TOTAL creep, a baby did not throw up on my lap top, I was not sitting next to a 300 ib smelly guerrilla man, we did not take off with a broken engine, only a part in the engine was broken then fixed before taking off, I am not sick, locked up in a lonely room. But, we were delayed 3 hours, missed our connecting flight by 4 minutes and am now sitting in my comped hotel room typing on my phone because my cheap butt won't pay for Internet. So it hasn't been a complete disaster. Just wanted to put it in perspective.
I'll let you all know when I get to Ecuador! Soon enough!
