I was feeling a bit guilty about not posting anything lately, so here is my attempt to summarize the past 3 weeks. I'm finally starting to settle into something of a schedule. Everyday I leave for classes sometime between 6:30 and 8:00. Traffic has increased now that school has started for everyone, so my hour long trip to school takes more like an hour and a half these days. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I have 2 classes: Advanced Grammar and Language and Civilization. Afterwards I grab lunch at one of the cheap restaurants off campus with my conversation partner or my gringo friends, and then I head to the school where I work. When I first started, I would literally spend the whole time tracing coloring pages that looked something like this orange. I didn't hate tracing oranges, but it wasn't exactly how I expected to spend my days at the school. I talked with my supervisor, and she said that on most days after nap time I'll be allowed to play with the children from now on. They are so affectionate and welcoming! Today I got my hair braided, I read el Gato con Botas (Puss in Boots), and I played house. They were very curious little things, one little boy asked me if I was from China! On Tuesdays I have two classes: Language and Film and Service Learning. Language and Film is a gem of a class. We have to watch the movies on our own time outside of class, but two members of my gringo family are in the class so we usually watch them together. Almost every movie we have seen has been filled with drama and violence and death, but I was pleasantly surprised by the last film we watched, Qué Tan Lejos. It was something different, very quirky, and I would recommend it to anyone even slightly interested in Ecuadorian film! My class itself is super fun. On Tuesday our professor made us perform a song for her and we were hilariously terrible. Service Learning is probably my favorite class. It's my only class in English, and I guess it would be similar to a sociology class. Right now we are talking about the educational system of Ecuador and how it could be improved. I'm a nerd but I think it's fascinating. Also the homework load is light, which is highly appreciated, and it's only one day per week. On Thursdays I only have one class, Language and Film. I spend most of Tuesdays and Thursdays in the library. At around 5:00 my friend Clementine and I go rock climbing at a gym in Cumbayá. I'm awful but I think I'm becoming addicted to it. I love it! So that is a typical week for me in a nutshell. I try to have at least one adventure every weekend. Two weekends ago my big adventure was la Fiesta de Bienvenido (the welcome party) hosted by the Ecuabuddies. It was super fun! We took a bus from Cumbayá to San Rafael. The party was at some kind of vacation home/store/warehouse. When we arrived we were split into teams and competed in a series of games and competitions, but after the competitions, things relaxed a bit. Clementine and I spent a good portion of the day climbing trees for avacados. We also got to try fresh oranges and lemons! Other highlights of the day included exploring, a picnic, dancing, climbing on the roof, and making new friends. Happy mojitos (mi equipo-my team) This past weekend I had two big trips. On Saturday I went to Salasaka, an indigenous community, with a group of students from my university. I could have done without the long three hour bus ride, but it was still a pretty fun trip. We did some hiking and learned about how the people in Salasaka make ponchos and plant corn and make tortillas. A couple girls were cleansed by a curandero. I didn't really feel like being showered with spit so I didn't volunteer. I did, however, volunteer to hold the guinea pigs! I wanted to steal them so they wouldn't end up as food, but I didn't know how my host family would have felt about me smuggling 25 guinea pigs into their home. I also had fun playing with one of the little kids who was on the trip with us. Salasaka! (my fingers were cold so I didn't take many pictures) On Sunday, I went on a trip with the Ecuabuddies to Mojanda. It was BEAUTIFUL there, and also a lot of fun! Sam and I got separated from the group (they left without us while we were waiting for our food), and we got lost, but every now again we would see a car and stop them to ask if they'd seen any gringos. Eventually we tracked them down! It was a lot of hiking, which was just what I was hoping for! And I got to practice my Spanish with one of the Ecuabuddies. Nuestro grupo. Photo credits-Sam
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Just as I was sitting down to write this, we had a 4.7 magnitude earthquake! It probably only lasted 30 seconds or so, but I was still a bit shaken up (pun intended). Don't worry, I promise I am fine! My host family and I waited in the hallway for it to end. Margarita said that usually during earthquakes everyone gathers outside, but since it was raining we did not see much of a crowd when we looked out the window. Anywho, I just wanted to post some pictures from my hiking adventure yesterday! We went hiking in Cayambe-Coca National Park and in a cloud forest in Papallacta. To top it off we went swimming in Papallacta's natural hot springs. Qué diá fantástico! What a fantastic day! Juan Francisco, our guide, said that we were very lucky to be able to see this mountain! He said that 90% of the time it is covered by clouds. You could also just see the peak of Cotopaxi, Ecuador's highest mountain. Apparently there's some wacky story that Cotopaxi could be considered the tallest mountain on Earth if you measure it in a certain way. There were red things on the shore of the lake, which Juan Francisco said were petals from a religious parade. This was hard to imagine, because this place was so remote from civilization. We didn't see a soul the whole time we were at the park. Juan Francisco said that even Ecuadorians almost never go there. Our poor bus almost didn't make it up the winding gravel roads! The landscape was so surreal; at times it felt like we were on the moon. This is by far the coolest place I have ever been in my entire life. Ahhh I am so lucky! We had to navigate with caution around the antennas because huge chunks of ice were falling off of them. It's funny, I was worried that none of my pictures would turn out. It was so cold (Juan Francisco said that with the wind chill it was 30 degrees Fahrenheit) and I didn't have gloves so my fingers were useless. But I guess some places are just so beautiful that it's impossible to take bad pictures. This was just a random lake that was on the side of the road in Papallacta! We stopped to get off the bus, stretch, and of course take pictures. Juan Francisco kept talking about the elusive Spectacled Bear that lives in these parts. We didn't see any bears, but we did see some alpacas and horses and cows. What lucky animals, I wish I lived somewhere this gorgeous! Next stop: cloud forest! The trails were composed of several feet of mud. Pamela, our other guide, said that one (not so popular) hike that people do consists of SEVEN HOURS of trudging through the mud. After our cloud forest hike, we did the best we could to scrape off our muddy shoes and then it was off to the hot springs! There were several pools, all of varying temperatures. The coldest was pure, ice-cold river water, and the warmest was 90 degrees fahrenheit. We went back and fourth from the 90 degree pool to the river water pool several times. Near the pools, we discovered a river full of boulders and beautiful little waterfalls. Clementine and I went exploring (it was too cold for everyone else) and when we got back Juan Francisco made us completely submerge ourselves in the river! Achachai! (The cooler, quiteño version of brrrrr). We saw many, many hummingbirds, all much bigger than the hummingbirds back home. On the way back, Clementine made us stop at a stand on the side of the road so that she could buy some yogurt. (Side note, the yogurt is very interesting here, it is liquid and comes in a milk jug. Meanwhile, the milk comes in a plastic bag) Anyway, they were so happy to see us!! Everyone on the bus bought something. I bought bizcochos (traditional Ecuadorian cookies) and dulce de leche (which is similar to caramel) for only $3.00.
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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!
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August 2018
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