The last week had been very relaxing while fun and exciting at the same time!!! I was busy with all my classes which are going well. We learned how to do some things in the dark room for photography so that was pretty exciting! I cant wait to actually get to develop film, not like today where you just have to plug in a cord and you have all your pictures!
Anyways it has taken me soo long to write my next post because a few friends of mine and myself went away this weekend to a small town called Mindo. It was soo amazing, I actually think i liked the town better than Quito because i felt alot safer and the people were a little bit more layed back!
So we left Saturday morning and took 2 busses to get to the bus to take us to Mindo. We bought our tickets for the two hour ride and got on the bus. Being Gringos we all sat together and were waiting for the bus to take off when some people said we were in their seats! We had no idea that there would be actual seats on a bus so i got out of the seat, found my ticket and was all the way in the back away from my friends. It was the longest bus ride due to a strange man who kept having the need to fall on my shoulder while sleeping. but we finally got to our stop and all that was around was a small general store and lots of chickens. We asked a man near a truck what to do next and he simply told us for 50 cents a person he would take us so we climbed in the bed of his truck and discovered a small town hidden in the midst of the jungle!!! While he was bringing us into to town though because it was such a small town everyone was stairing at us and it felt like in the olden days when a stranger would arrive to a town and evryone would know about it in 30 secs! lol.... On our first day we went zip lining in the canopy of the jungle! it was extremely fun, although very scary at first! after a while though i get to do fun rides with the guides, one called superman where my legs were wrapped around his waist and i was soaring like superman and the other was called mariposa (butterfly) where i was ziplining hanging from the guide upside down! its kind of weird to explain but there will be pics on facebook soon!!! It was really cool though to glide over the trees and vegetation and see everything!!! That night while we ate our dinner at this small place the towns very modern catholic church had there service outside! they pulled all the benches outside and lined them up in the street and the pastor preached from the front porch! Then after the mass everyone in the town migrated to a concert that was going on in the street as well. It was some famous women who was pretty good. We went to the concert and caught poster that she threw into the crowd and then later got them signed! It was pretty fun!!! After the concert we went back to the hostal and attempter to go to sleep but there was about 100 rooster in the town of Mindo including many in the back yard of where we were staying and they liked to cock-a-doodle-do every minute which really affects how you sleep!!! so as of now im not a huge fan of roosters!
But the next morning I got up early and took pictures for my photography class and then we all went to this area where we went hiking through and swimming in 5 different waterfalls! Not only the waterfalls but it was sooo neat and interesting to see all the different flowers and vegetation! I took lots of pics!!! But the waterfalls were also extremely gorgeous, we climbed up smaller ones and small under others! It was such a great experience! After seeing all the waterfalls we hiked back to the cable carrier that brings you across a huge dip in the jungle and somehow it had broke! But thank goodness that after waiting for 45 minutes it got fixed and we didnt have to hike back! but because we had to wait we were late for checking out of the hostal but they didnt care at all!
It was a great weekend and we had tons of fun exploring the jungle and all its midden adventures! Next weekend the entire Kalamazoo program is going to a town called Otavalo! I will tell you what its like after i have experienced its wonders!!!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
SCHOOL TIME!!!
I just finished my first two days of class and i would say they went pretty well, I think i am really going to like my volcanology class (study of volcanoes) we get to/ have to go on 3 or 4 field trips and each one sounds soo cool. We will go explore different volcanoes and do other fun stuff in the area and each one is only going to cost 25 dollars which includes our travel and such! I also think im really going to like my photography class, it is going to cost me alot of money but in the end i think it will be worth it! My school is really nice and their are always a ton of students all over campus now that classes have already started. You can tell though that only the wealthier kids go to this school though because every one dresses up really nice for class always have really nice things lol. Nothing like in the United States where you can roll out of bed and go to class in your hoodie and sweat pants.
On Tuesday I didnt have class and so i went to el mercado (market) with my padres and it was amazing! It was alot like a farmers market only multiply the amount of produce by 20. Each family or group that was selling food had huge truck loads and piles of food. it was amazing! We bought soo much fresh and veggies. The amount we bought would probably cost 100 dollars and i dont think they paid much more than 20 if that!!!! The bag of oranges that we bought was GINORMOUS! standing up it probably came almost to my waist and was about 2 feet wide! And we will probably finish that bag this week because we have fresh orange juice every morning! :-)
The food here is still pretty good, i havent had anything that i didnt like. And I guarantee that Im eating much healthier food even though they eat alot of starches because we always have fresh food, and fresh juice or water with everymeal. There isnt any frozen or boxed foods!! Although something that they dont eat ofter here is peanut butter and i was having a horrible craving for some so today before i came home i stopped at the supermaxi and bought some peabut butter!!! which was expensive but well worth it. When i got home and had tea and toast i was very excited to lather my bread in peanut butter!!!
Hope you are all enjoying your cheap peanut butter as much as im enjoying mine!!!
Hasta Luego!
On Tuesday I didnt have class and so i went to el mercado (market) with my padres and it was amazing! It was alot like a farmers market only multiply the amount of produce by 20. Each family or group that was selling food had huge truck loads and piles of food. it was amazing! We bought soo much fresh and veggies. The amount we bought would probably cost 100 dollars and i dont think they paid much more than 20 if that!!!! The bag of oranges that we bought was GINORMOUS! standing up it probably came almost to my waist and was about 2 feet wide! And we will probably finish that bag this week because we have fresh orange juice every morning! :-)
The food here is still pretty good, i havent had anything that i didnt like. And I guarantee that Im eating much healthier food even though they eat alot of starches because we always have fresh food, and fresh juice or water with everymeal. There isnt any frozen or boxed foods!! Although something that they dont eat ofter here is peanut butter and i was having a horrible craving for some so today before i came home i stopped at the supermaxi and bought some peabut butter!!! which was expensive but well worth it. When i got home and had tea and toast i was very excited to lather my bread in peanut butter!!!
Hope you are all enjoying your cheap peanut butter as much as im enjoying mine!!!
Hasta Luego!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
A typical weekend in Ecuador? I think not!!!
WOW!!! what a weekend i have had. I ended class on Friday then went to the mall with my friends thinking it was just going to be an ordinary weekend but when i got home my brother asked if i wanted to go to a bull fight!!! Yes i went to a bull fight!!!! it was at the very first stadium in Quito and there was soo many people. It was an amazing experience although once you think about it, i kinda felt bad for the bulls! And i also kept thinking that a bull fight would never EVER be allowed in the US, there would be so many protesters and I feel like it would cause such a riot!! But it was really cool to experience, and to hear everyone yell "OLE!!" After that I had my first experience of Ecuadorian of Ecuadorian bars! First of all i ordered lemonade and got a HUGE glass of lemon juice (at least thats how it tasted). I was really thirsty and that just made it worse but i choked it down (bad idea my stomach was hating me!!) Second, the bar we went to was a typical Ecuadorian bar that had a live band which was awesome but then they started playing all kinds of american songs, i love rock and roll and im a survivor for example! I liked it at first until I saw the 3 gringos (obvious foriegners) jumping up and down to the music while everyone else was dancing typical (beautiful) hispanic dances. And I was really embarrased because I knew right then that I was being stereotypes and associated with them.
Anyways the next morning i was bummed because we had our spanish class on a saturday but afterwards the directors took everyone from Kalamazoo College for lunch (big meal of the day). We all got in this ginormous bus and headed toward the restaurant. We got near by and by this time we were on dirt roads as everyone is wondering where on earth we were going! All of a sudden the bus takes a very sharp turn that no bus driver in the US could ever make and within 2 seconds we were looking over the edge of the road at a valley extremely far down and there was maybe 8 inches in between the edge with no railing and the tires of the bus!! it was extremely scary although thrilling at the same time!! Looking off the edge at nothing but a roaring river, one house and a restaurant with horses and cows was such an amazing sight (and no i didnt have my camera :-(. The restaurant was beautiful and had a great food, (including a wood pizza oven, dad) The restaurant was nothing like in the US. It was almost completely open and the walls were made of wood splits (if that makes any sense). We stayed at the restaurant for a while exploring the river and petting horses. It was incredible that soo many people were at the restaurant because it was in the middle of no where, but alot of people rode their bikes to the restaurant. After we returned from our amazing lunch everyone gathered together at night as we explored what my madre calls gringo lania. It was soooo many bars and discotecas (clubs), there were an amazing amount of people but it was such a blast!!
Chow!!! i have to get up early for orientation tomorrow!!!
Anyways the next morning i was bummed because we had our spanish class on a saturday but afterwards the directors took everyone from Kalamazoo College for lunch (big meal of the day). We all got in this ginormous bus and headed toward the restaurant. We got near by and by this time we were on dirt roads as everyone is wondering where on earth we were going! All of a sudden the bus takes a very sharp turn that no bus driver in the US could ever make and within 2 seconds we were looking over the edge of the road at a valley extremely far down and there was maybe 8 inches in between the edge with no railing and the tires of the bus!! it was extremely scary although thrilling at the same time!! Looking off the edge at nothing but a roaring river, one house and a restaurant with horses and cows was such an amazing sight (and no i didnt have my camera :-(. The restaurant was beautiful and had a great food, (including a wood pizza oven, dad) The restaurant was nothing like in the US. It was almost completely open and the walls were made of wood splits (if that makes any sense). We stayed at the restaurant for a while exploring the river and petting horses. It was incredible that soo many people were at the restaurant because it was in the middle of no where, but alot of people rode their bikes to the restaurant. After we returned from our amazing lunch everyone gathered together at night as we explored what my madre calls gringo lania. It was soooo many bars and discotecas (clubs), there were an amazing amount of people but it was such a blast!!
Chow!!! i have to get up early for orientation tomorrow!!!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
My first few days
Hi everyone, I thought this would be a good way to let you all now how Im doing in the good 'ol Ecuador and what Ive been up too.
Anyways the trip down wasnt too bad although the flight from Atlanta to Ecuador was 5 hours and seemed extremely long. On the flight though while we were flying over the ocean there was a thunder and lightning storm next to us and is was really cool to see the lightning. When we finally landed in Quito thats when the chaos began! :-) We got off then had to get in this long line then got to get out luggage but the luggage was everywhere in a very small area with alot of people! It took a while to find but all my luggage arrived, one bag was on the conveyor and the other was in some random coner! then after we went through customs we walked in to the room that was EXTREMELY filled with people yelling and holding up signs that had names on them. I saw my name right away but kind of hesitated to go.
My padre and my sister picked me up and drove me to my new house (pictures on facebook if you want to see) where I met the rest of the family. My madre and padre have four kids but one lives in Spain and the other 3 live here. so i live with one sister and two brothers they are all 22+. My family is extremely nice and i like them very much. My madre actually kind of reminds me of my Grandma Rich. We have an empleada (simial to maid) that lives in a small house in our yard but she only works during the day and during the week. Then on the floor above us lives my madres mom and her empleada that has a 1 year old son (He is soo cute)...
I would say my spanish is gettign alot better, and my family is always eager to help me learn which is good.
We started our spanish class this week and have had various orientations at the school. So i have learned how to use the bus system quite well. The busses are extremely crowded so I have to be very cautious of my stuff but the bus station is right outside of the gate to my street (yes my street is gated... i have to have a guard let me in and out everytime i leave or come back). I was really nervous but i have three guys from my school that live near by so we all take the same bus which is about a 45 minute trip.
So far the food is pretty good. We eat alot of cheese (especially mozzerella for some reason) and fruit. For breakfast I have fruit, fresh juice, bread, and cheese, and then lunch which is the biggest meal of the day we have some soup, meat, rice, and a vegetable salad. Then dinner is really late (usually 9pm) and well have something simple! Yesterday we had pizza for dinner which was good but different then pizza im used too. They eat vegetables really diffent then we do, its always cut up pretty small and then mixed with other veggies and other stuff into a salad, and its always cold (but they are cooked) which caught me off guard the first time. And yesterday my madre cut up asparagus to put on my lettuce salad. it was good though.
The people here are all really nice and WAY more polite than people from the US. When someone comes into a room they say hi and kiss on the cheek with everyone. They dont just say one Hi they go around to everyone, and this is everyone not just adults. I really like it and i think its way more personal.
Well I will up date you later!!! Hope the US is treating you good!!
Anyways the trip down wasnt too bad although the flight from Atlanta to Ecuador was 5 hours and seemed extremely long. On the flight though while we were flying over the ocean there was a thunder and lightning storm next to us and is was really cool to see the lightning. When we finally landed in Quito thats when the chaos began! :-) We got off then had to get in this long line then got to get out luggage but the luggage was everywhere in a very small area with alot of people! It took a while to find but all my luggage arrived, one bag was on the conveyor and the other was in some random coner! then after we went through customs we walked in to the room that was EXTREMELY filled with people yelling and holding up signs that had names on them. I saw my name right away but kind of hesitated to go.
My padre and my sister picked me up and drove me to my new house (pictures on facebook if you want to see) where I met the rest of the family. My madre and padre have four kids but one lives in Spain and the other 3 live here. so i live with one sister and two brothers they are all 22+. My family is extremely nice and i like them very much. My madre actually kind of reminds me of my Grandma Rich. We have an empleada (simial to maid) that lives in a small house in our yard but she only works during the day and during the week. Then on the floor above us lives my madres mom and her empleada that has a 1 year old son (He is soo cute)...
I would say my spanish is gettign alot better, and my family is always eager to help me learn which is good.
We started our spanish class this week and have had various orientations at the school. So i have learned how to use the bus system quite well. The busses are extremely crowded so I have to be very cautious of my stuff but the bus station is right outside of the gate to my street (yes my street is gated... i have to have a guard let me in and out everytime i leave or come back). I was really nervous but i have three guys from my school that live near by so we all take the same bus which is about a 45 minute trip.
So far the food is pretty good. We eat alot of cheese (especially mozzerella for some reason) and fruit. For breakfast I have fruit, fresh juice, bread, and cheese, and then lunch which is the biggest meal of the day we have some soup, meat, rice, and a vegetable salad. Then dinner is really late (usually 9pm) and well have something simple! Yesterday we had pizza for dinner which was good but different then pizza im used too. They eat vegetables really diffent then we do, its always cut up pretty small and then mixed with other veggies and other stuff into a salad, and its always cold (but they are cooked) which caught me off guard the first time. And yesterday my madre cut up asparagus to put on my lettuce salad. it was good though.
The people here are all really nice and WAY more polite than people from the US. When someone comes into a room they say hi and kiss on the cheek with everyone. They dont just say one Hi they go around to everyone, and this is everyone not just adults. I really like it and i think its way more personal.
Well I will up date you later!!! Hope the US is treating you good!!
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