Yesterday, my gringo family and I went on an adventure to el teleférico, a ski-lift that takes tourists and hikers up to Pichincha Volcano. There are kilometers and kilometers of trails, but we decided to call it a day after hiking up a mountain. Breathing was a bit of a struggle-you could really tell the difference between the 10,00 foot elevation down in Quito and 15,00 foot elevation where we were hiking. We even saw some wildlife up above the tree line, a wild horse and some llamas!
4 Comments
Phew what a long day it has been! I had to wake up at 4:30 this morning (and this was after going to bed late, I didn't get back from the party last night until past 11:00). I left the house at 5:30 and called a taxi to pick me up. The taxi took absolutely forever to arrive, but there was no need to worry about being late since I'm living in Ecuatime. I arrived at el estadio olímpico at 6:00, where I met up with a group of international students for the big trip to Otavalo. The bus was supposed to be there at 6:00 but didn't actually arrive until closer to 6:30. Our first stop was breakfast in Cayambe. I had hot chocolate, a string cheese type of thing, and some kind of hard bread that I dipped in the hot chocolate. After breakfast we went to a lake where we got out of the bus to stretch, walk around, talk, and watch the birds. There were two crazy swimmers having a race in the lake! La cascada de Peguche (the waterfall of Peguche) was the next stop on our adventure. We hiked for quite some time but finally made it to the waterfall. It was beautiful! I climbed almost up to the top and waded in the ice cold water right beneath the falls! We saw a sweet perrito next to the falls. Even though we're not really supposed to pet the dogs here, none of the girls could resist his big eyes! We hiked up a path and past a sign that said "PELIGRO!" next to a cave, where Guadalupe's son Fernando and his friend joined me for a hike! It was super tiny inside, luckily they are both small! After the waterfall hike, we went to lake number two (Lago San Pablo), where we ate lunch and did some more hiking. This lake was formed over a volcanic crater. The water was so blue! I was quite impressed with Julian, Guadelupe's other son. He is only four, but he refused to be left behind while the rest of us went hiking so he joined us for the long walk up the mountain! Finally we left for the market town of Otavalo. We had to take an alternate route because one of the roads was blocked with stones. By the time we got there we only had an hour to shop, which was a pity. I could have easily spent a whole day there! We were all really worried because we were missing one of the girls at the end, but eventually Guadalupe found her. We went to a cheap (but tasty) restaurant and then headed back to Quito, where I hailed a cab (yes, I am quite the city girl now) and went home.
After my daily nap yesterday, I awoke to find that Donato and Margarita were back home! They had been gone for two days on a shopping trip in Colombia. Margarita gave me two helpings of banana cake to celebrate their return. While I ate my cake, Donato and I played plantas vs. zombis (plants vs. zombies), an Ipad game that Donato loves. After the battery died he ran into his room and brought out some clay, and proceeded to replicate some of the plants and zombies from the game. That wasn't enough, so he brought out some of his favorite legos to play with too. In case you were wondering, the clay plants won the battle against the clay zombies and superhero legos.
Later, at about 8:00, I was informed that in 10 minutes we would be leaving for a fiesta. One of Juan Carlos's uncles was having a birthday party in Cumbayá! After about an hour long drive, we arrived at the uncle's house. I had not been told that the uncle lived in a beautiful MANSION. We got out of the car and walked into a room full of people, most of them strangers. I followed Margarita around the circle of strangers as she introduced me to everyone. Someone told me to sit down in a chair that was in an isolated corner of the room. Everyone was talking amongst themselves (I didn't understand much of the conversation since about twenty-five people were all talking at once and no one was bothering to slow down for my benefit). Suddenly, out of nowhere this mariachi band appears in the living room and starts performing right behind me! I was in shock for a few minutes-goodness gracious what was going on? After politely sitting and clapping for the first few songs, someone decided that we should all start dancing! There we were in the living room, dancing to the music of a mariachi band. Juan Carlos said it felt like we were in Mexico! At dinner I sat at a small table in the kitchen with my family and some lady who was somehow related to Juan Carlos. We talked about Pokemon Go, which is one of Donato's passions. The lady was not a fan of Pokemon Go because it causes accidents, but Margarita said she likes that it keeps children active. The abuelo, who seemed ultra cool, had Pokemon Go on his phone and tried to get Donato to go outside to look for Pokemon with him. Donato was scared of the dark though (Margarita said this was because one of the cousins is always scaring Donato and telling him ghost stories). The lady said that Juan Carlos was scared of ghosts when he was little, too. It's official! I'll be working at el centro infantil niños de Quito this semester starting in September. I went to the school after class expecting a really hard job interview in Spanish, but instead the lady I met with just said, "We'd love to have you, you can come in whenever you want after school starts." The school is 20 blocks from my house, so I'll have to figure out transportation, but I'm excited to start! I will mainly be helping out in the classroom and during recess.
In other good news, today marks the third day that I haven't gotten majorly lost! I'm going to try for four days in a row tomorrow, so wish me luck ;) Today I began my classes at USFQ! Overall I would say that it was a pretty good day! Here was my morning schedule:
5:45: Woke up (Classes didn't start until 10. Ordinarily my route should only take me about an hour but I was terrified of getting lost and missing all my classes) 6:35: Left the apartment 6:35-6:50: Lost 7:00: Found my first bus stop and got on. Told the man collecting money that I needed to find a bus that would take me to Cumbayá, and he told me where to get off. First bus ride lasted approximately 5 minutes. 7:00-7:15: Lost again. I had to ask for directions twice because the first man I asked pointed me in the wrong direction. 7:20: Got on bus to Cumbayá 7:45-The bus stopped, and I thought maybe we had arrived. I asked where we were, the man standing next to me didn't know. I asked someone else, he said that we were in Cumbayá next to la universidad. 7:45-7:55: Walked from bus stop to campus entrance. All the students have to show their ID at the gate but since the extranjeros don't have their ID cards yet I was allowed in. 8:00-9:45: Journaled/explored/got lost several times until my first class began at 10:00. I felt like I was in a movie about a really preppy high school. Cliques of students were lingering everywhere. They had taken over all the staircases and pretty much all other available space as well, making it a bit difficult to walk around them. My first class was Gramática Avanzada (Advanced Grammar). It was a little overwhelming but nothing really scary that I've never been exposed to before. And the other students all seem friendly. After that I had Lengua y Civilización (Language and Civilization). As its name implies, this class is focused on history and conversation. I was relieved to see Macie walk in, I am glad that I have a friend in that class! For lunch Macie and I met up with Clementine and Tyler. We ran into some Ecuadorian students who invited us to have lunch with them in the mall! They said they'd like to have lunch with us again on Wednesday, too. After lunch, Tyler and I explored and figured out the wifi and went to the Xerox shop while we waited for Clementine and Macie to finish up with their class. Afterwards on the way to the bus stop, we saw a group of students balancing on a tightrope. Clementine and I asked if we could try too! Neither of us lasted very long haha. We all rode the green bus back to Río Coca together and from there we had to part ways. I got on the right bus, but I accidentally got off too soon. I was very lost, and I asked multiple people for directions. The first couple of people I asked weren't too helpful. One lady was helpful, but she said I was very far away. I followed her directions, but when I saw a cab I took the opportunity and flagged it down. Hopefully getting home will be easier tomorrow! On Sunday, Tyler, Macie, and I met up for an adventure in el centro histórico. We met at la cruz in el Parque Carolina again. This time, I made it there entirely on my own without having to ask anyone for directions! It may have been a small accomplishment, but nevertheless I was proud of myself. We rode a crowded trolebus to a park in the north sector of el centro histórico. Bicyclists were everywhere! There are so many bicyclists out and about on Sundays that they get there own lane of traffic on the streets. After a stroll around the park we walked to a beautiful old cathedral called la Basílica del Voto Nacional. I think that this may have been the same cathedral that I visited on the bus tour, but it looked much different in the daylight and this time I had more time to wander around. For only two dollars per person, we were allowed inside to explore! We definitely got a workout in with all of the stair climbing we did! Dios mío those stairs were never ending! When we thought we were at the top there was a balcony overlooking Quito and the surrounding mountains. It turns out that we weren't quite at the top, not yet anyway. We had to cross a crowded, wooden platform that creaked with every step we took, and after that we had to climb even more stairs to reach the highest tower. At this point, the stairs were so steep it would be more accurate to describe them as ladders. It took three flights of these "ladders" to reach the top of the tower. My heart was pounding (I DON'T like heights) but my eyes were happy! The views were incredible! After exploring nearly every inch of the church, we walked around, talking in the sights and looking for a place to eat. The little restaurant that we decided on was packed. My meal only cost $3 and it was enormous. None of us were able to finish even though we had been starving after exploring the cathedral. Dogs are EVERYWHERE in Quito, many just wandering around without a leash. We saw a tiny little puppy that was just so cute I had to stop and ask if I could pet it. It was a mini pinscher, only 3 months old!
We could have stayed in el centro histórico all day, but since I still desperately needed to buy a phone, we took the trolebus back to Quito for some shopping at CCI. The trip was a success! I withdrew money from an ATM, bought a phone ($40), a water bottle ($20), and some water to tide me over ($.39).
It took me quite some time to find my way back home. The first time I asked for directions, the lady said I had been going in completely the wrong direction. I asked for directions a couple more times and eventually made it home. I am beginning to understand where I live in Quito but still need more practice. Today Margarita showed me how to get from our apartment to Cumbayá (the suburb of Quito where USFQ, my university, is located). Donato and Monse also came along for the adventure. I feel more confident about getting there but am still a little anxious. I was not as focused on memorizing my route as I was with protecting Monse from the crazy Quiteño drivers. (They are LOCO. Taxis squeeze in between buses and apparently it is optional to stop at crosswalks.) Once we arrived in Cumbayá, we went to the a pet store at the mall across from campus. The cages were so tiny. Pobrecitos. The fish were amusing to watch though. Margarita took Donato and Monse to a little park on campus next to a lake while I set out to go find my classrooms. It was super confusing but I found a friendly student to help me. I returned to the park and Donato ran up to me all excited. There were nine turtles in the lake! We stayed in the park for a while to play. Donato and Margarita played catch with the football I gave him. He loves it, he called it el mejor juguete del mundo (the best toy in the world) and he takes it everywhere with him. Meanwhile, Monse and I "fixed" the trees. The lake is surrounded by palm trees, and Monse decided that they would look much better with twigs and leaves jammed in between the ridges of the bark. Donato also brought along his Darth Vader action figure. While Monse and I played "jump off the sidewalk ledge after uno dos tres," Donato played "kill Darth Vader by throwing him at the pavement." Extra points if his legs or head came off. After playing at the park, we went to a little hamburger shop for lunch and then we rode the bus back home. Monse was so tired, she fell asleep on my lap. She is precious! Getting off the bus was confusing because we had yell "gracias!" to get off at a certain point, we don't get off at an actual stop. And then we had to walk a few blocks to get back to the apartment. Ah well, eventually I will learn.
This morning after I woke up I got to have breakfast with Monse. Isabel (the maid?) made me pan tostado con queso, el jugo de sandía y leche chocolate (grilled cheese, watermelon juice, and chocolate milk). She also put some brown sugar on the table. I didn't know whether it was for the hot chocolate or the grilled cheese. I went with the grilled cheese. (It was actually for the hot chocolate...oops!) Monse is so cute, she was laughing at everything. We played peek-a-boo during most of breakfast. I am jealous of her, when she wants something all she has to do is make a sound and point. I have to formulate something coherent in Spanish.
Later I left the apartment to go exploring. The plan was to meet Tyler and Macie at la cruz (the big giant cross) en el Parque Carolina. I actually found the park fairly easily (I did have to ask for directions once or twice). But the park is GINORMOUS and even though la cruz is a big giant cross and it should stand out, I couldn't find it anywhere. I found lots of other things (people paddle boating in a lake, tons of playgrounds, some policemen on horses, lots of people selling things, dogs everywhere, and a botanical garden), but no cross. I asked one man with a little boy and he said to walk straight and to my left. Actually it was on my right. Eventually I did find Tyler and Macie. We strolled around the park for a bit and then decided to go look for food. Tyler and I both got batidos de coco (coconut smoothies) and then we went to a mall for more food. Oh my, was it crowded! We almost couldn't find a table there were so many people. We walked around Quito some more, and then it was time for us to part ways. I had my map with me that Margarita made, so I was full of false confidence. Oh yeah, I knew where I was going. Ha. This turned out not to be so true. It is difficult to navigate around Quito because the street signs are so darn tiny! And they are sporadically placed around the city from what I can tell. In the US, we have street signs at every light. In Quito, signs are hidden on random buildings. And they are impossible to read from far away (for me, at least, but I have bad eyes). I knew that I need to turn off of la Avenida Alfaro on to Bosmediano, but the road curved and split into a ton of different streets it completely threw me off. I started off in completely the wrong direction but since nothing looked familiar I realized that I had to backtrack. And all the while I was surrounded by unsavory characters that kept talking to me and staring at me. To make matters even worse, it began to sprinkle and it looked like it was about to rain. I had to ask for directions about 400 times, but finally I made it to the apartment. I still felt disoriented, like I was on the wrong side of the building or something. The attendant at the apartment complex told me that I was in the right place. I went on the elevator up to my floor, but nothing looked familiar. The mirror in the hallway was on the wrong side? Where was I? I had to go back down and ask the attendant, and he assured me that I was in the right building. It turns out that I was in the right place after all. I am back home now, all in one piece! I made it just in time, minutes after arriving I heard the rain start pouring down. Getting lost seemed to be the theme of the day yesterday haha. I am safe though, don't worry! I had to wake up early for my orientation at USFQ. My host abuela drove me and the other three American students to campus since we are still feeling a bit confused when it comes to riding the buses. I was so sleepy during the first half, which was basically just a series of lectures about safety. It took place in the movie theater in the mall across from the campus! At lunch I sat at a table with a group of students who have been in Quito for a month already! They have already gone on several trips together and know their way around. There was also a boy from the Netherlands who had literally come straight from the airport, and a girl from Germany as well. After lunch I took a tour of campus. The university is soooooo nice, it's like a hundred times nicer than Truman. Although Truman has USFQ beat in the drinking fountain department. There are only two drinking fountains on campus, and one of them is way out on the edge of campus. After the tour, I tried to find the spot where Susy said she'd meet us, but I couldn't remember what her car looked like and I couldn't remember which side of the bus stop she said she'd meet us by. My phone has not been working, so I wasn't able to call anyone either. Just as I was about to start panicking I ran into Susy and Tyler. The two girls were shopping in the mall for new phones, so we stayed outside to talk. After Macie and Caitlyn were back we drove to Susy's house. All of the children (besides Monse) were there. They were playing a game in the yard that involved killing plastic dinosaurs with rocks. Darth Vader lasted longer than the dinosaurs but eventually he was killed by a rock too. Caitlyn suggested that we build a cemetery for all the dead dinosaurs and Darth Vader but the boys didn't seem to like that idea. Tyler, Caitlyn and I worked together to build a giant tower of dinosaurs, but the boys weren't too impressed by that either. Soon it was time for my first field trip! Susy drove me to the meeting place, but we were thirty minutes early so we went inside a little coca cola store (they are everywhere) and she bought me some water. She explained how I would walk back to my apartment after the trip, and I understood (or at least thought I understood). We said our goodbyes, and I set off to find the other students going on the trip. Even though the vast majority of international students at USFQ are from the United States, there were quite a few people on this trip from Europe. I met a girl and a boy both from England. We couldn't find the rest of the group at first (but it might have just been that we were early). The girl, Grace, has an uncle who used to live in Ecuador. She has been living here all summer with a friend of her uncle. We found the bus, and I sat by a girl named Clementine. She's pretty much one of the coolest people I know. She's from Paris but goes to school in Montreal. She has been to every continent besides Antarctica (but it is on her list) and she speaks French, English, and Spanish fluently. Over the summer she was a mountain guide living on a Canadian ranch. The traffic was pretty bad, it probably would have been faster to get out of the bus and walk. At one point when we were waiting on traffic, a street performer that was holding a plastic skeleton began dancing all around the bus. The roads were mostly all brick and were very bumpy and there where so many hills everywhere. Our first stop was at a cathedral in el centro histórico. I don't remember its name but it was modeled after Notre Dame. Afterwards we got back on the bus and drove to la Virgen de El Panecillo, a giant statue of an angel on the top of a mountain. The view was gorgeous, my pictures did not do it justice. The first picture was a mural of la Virgen from the inside of the statue. The lights were spectacular from the top! Next we went to a little empañada restaurant in el centro histórico. We ordered 2 empanadas grandes, one with pollo and one with queso, that we shared. We also ordered Canelazo de Mora, a hot blackberry drink, for everyone. Everything was delicious! I had to call my host mom from the restaurant to let her know I was running late and that I was okay, but the music and voices were so loud I could barely hear her over the phone! When we left the empañada restaurant, we all sort of lingered in the alley for a few moments. Then a clown came up behind Clementine and me and screamed in our ears! I have never been so scared!
On the bus ride back to el Estadio, Fernando (one of the guides) told us the story of la Iglesia de San Francisco. Legend has it that it was built by an indigenous person. He wanted it to be built by a certain date, but there was no way that it could be done. So he made a pact with the devil, selling his soul in exchange for the construction of the church by a certain date. The church was finished by the date, just like the devil had promised, but it was missing a single brick. This one brick made the pact invalid, so the devil did not get the indigenous man's soul. By the time the trip ended it was quite late at night, probably around 9:30. I was scared to walk home that late since my phone didn't work. If I got lost I would have had to flag down a taxi. Clementine's host mom offered to drive me home, but she didn't exactly know where my address was either. She called Margarita to ask for directions, but Margarita insisted on picking me up. I apologized to Margarita and she was so sweet, she was glad that we called and that I was safe. When we got home she drew me a map to help me learn the city. On Wednesday it was my host dad's birthday! He had to leave early in the morning for work so I didn't see him until the big birthday celebration that night. I woke up in the morning to Donato, my host brother, yelling something about mariposas (butterflies). When I woke up I asked him if he saw a butterfly. It turns out that he was just playing Pokemon Go on my host mom's phone. Donato is 5 years old (6 in September). I couldn't get him to talk to me at first, but we bonded over playing with Rafael, the family cat. Rafael, or Rafi as Donato calls him, is about the friendliest cat ever. He prowls around the house and is constantly crying for attention. He is so playful! He crawled inside this tiny little shelf below the coffee table and Donato gave him a rock. I thought he would just ignore it, but he played with it and batted it around. He was in a really frisky mood after playing with his rock and tried to swipe at our fingers when we petted him. Donato tried to get Rafi to play with his angry bird stuffed animals, but he wasn't as interested in those as he was in the rock! Rafael in his favorite spot, the balcony outside the apartment. The view is so pretty, I love living in a city! You can't see them from here, but there are magnificent mountains to the west of Quito. I'm in awe every time I see them! After breakfast, Margarita (my host mom), Donato, and I went to Margarita's mom's house. She lives close by, it was about a ten minute drive with all of the traffic. Margarita's mom lives in the same building as Margarita's sister, and both of them are hosting students, too! Tyler is from Illinois like me and Macie is from North Carolina. Susy, Tyler's host mom and my "host abuela" taught the three of us how to get to la Universidad. The route is slightly closer from my house but from what I understand it's pretty similar. We had to walk a couple blocks to the first bus stop and then we had to change buses three times. I would estimate that it took us an hour to get there. We walked around campus a bit and met the infamous Verónica. (Her and I exchanged tens of thousands of emails this summer regarding my visa application. That is only a slight exaggeration.) We took the bus back to Susy's house, and she fed us some Ecuadorian chocolate on the way home.
After a giant three course lunch, we were off again, this time to do some shopping at the MegaMaxi. We finally made it back to the car, but Susy got a call from Margarita that we needed chocolate birthday cake, candles, and flour so we had to go back inside and do some more shopping. We finally made it to Susy's house, and I left pretty soon afterwards with Margarita. Before we knew it, it was time for the giant birthday celebration! We had 16 guests, which was a lot of people for such a little apartment! One of the other relatives was hosting another student. Her name is Caitlyn. The other students in my family were there too, so we all sat together and talked. I finally got to meet my host sister, Monse! She is only one and is absolutely adorable. Donato was there too, along with all the little cousins in the family. One of the girls performed a few songs for us. One of them was Rolling in the Deep by Adele. Her voice was beautiful. At the end of the evening I gave my host family all of the gifts that I'd brought for them from the United States. Monse especially liked her gift, a stuffed border collie (like Sneakers). She gave me a big hug and carried it around with her! |
Hola, soy olivia.After living in the Midwest my whole life, I packed my bags and moved south to Guadalajara, Mexico where I'm working as an English teacher and studying Spanish. Keep posted to hear about all my adventures!
Archives
August 2018
Categories |