Another week, another month - se acabo

So what went down this weekend you might ask. It started out bright and early once again Saturday morning at 630am. We hopped on a bus to the Cuicocha, an active volcano that collapsed onto itself many many years ago, forming a lake inside the crater that was formed. More lava then came up, and formed little dome islands in the middle of of the lake. A beautiful site thats for sure.

Saturday evening, before heading out into Dry Quito, i saw a beauty of a sunset from the roof of my apartment. When the sun was no more, I met up with a group of gringos from Oregon to a restaurant we had been eying up for the past month. Mongo's. It's a mongolian grill restaurant that was deeeeliciousa. You pick all the veggies, noodles, raw meats, and sauces that could possibly tempt your taste buds and watch the man fry it up in front of you- yum.

Today after plans got mixed around a bit, i ended up heading to see an Ecuadorian film, Que Tan Lejos (how much farther). It was a great movie about two girls who's paths cross on their way from Quito to Cuenca. It was actually hillarious. It had so much Ecua humor, all surounding little parts of Ecua culture. Since i understood a more than expected amount of the jokes, it made me realize how much i've been soaking in Ecuador without knowing it.

After the movie, the Ecuachicos we were with invited us to 'do a 'bout' (my translation to dar una vuelta)- around El Centro de Quito; the center historical part of the city. I can't believe I haven't been there yet! It was a different city i swear. Cobble stone one way streets, Beautiful colonial buildings and museums, as well as incredibly beautiful churches. We finished up with a drive up the Pancillo, a large hill in the middle of the center, with a huge statue on the top, to get a panaramic view of quito quito quito in all directions.

What a view.

Since when is tomorrow October?

Hey Toto...

It is illegal to consume alcohol in Ecuador this weekend due to the fact that there are elections on Sunday to elect an assembly to rewrite their constitution.

...we aren't in Kansas anymore.

it's like pumpkin candy

I got a Kringle today from home. Pretty much the most Racine thing you can send-and its sooo good. My favorite is Pecan, but they don't have pecans in Ecuador, so my family described it as a pumpkin candy. Hmm....whatever works!

open ended

i have two big things on my mind so this post will prolly be scattered.

This past weekend i spent hiking a beautiful volcano. We had to take 4x4 jeeps and such up as high as we could go and then hike the rest, pretty cool, kinda scary. Unfortunately the trip took a turn for the worse when one of the jeeps that was in my group had a break malfunction, losing control and hitting and killing a women who was crossing the path as we were passing through a mountain village. The village was ruthless and refused to let the car leave, wanted the driver of the car killed. Luckily the car got a way and the driver is now in the hospital to put off going into Ecuadorian prison- a horrible place you don't want to be, i've been told. Now it's a time of bribery and deals between the families of people involved and the police.

my stomach is sick thinking about it. When i was told about it by the coordinator of the trip, i was just asking about what about a trial? I honestly know little about my rights here, but i was told, if i get put in prision all that can happen is that there will be a lot of crying and bribery to get me out, and someone will visit me to make sure my Human Rights haven't been violated and that's about it.

I pain for this women, her family, and this poor driver.

---

I also have an open ended question or thought. I'm not sure. It's one thing to read about it in your developing economy class back in Van Hise- but how do you handle getting the stats when you are sitting in quito? I guess it's different because you don't need the stats because you can see it... but still learning that 2 out of every 3 people in your country don't have the basic needs of health, food, education, and housing. Even more, sitting in my class i imagined every third person today to sit on the ground or leave the room...if my classroom was Ecuador, that 1/3 of the class would be dying of hunger. Physically dying- of hunger. These aren't people that you just read about, they are the people you see on your way to the bus station in the morning or they are the people you pass when you are traveling through the country side on the weekend. Just passing by.

When read and thought about this stuff before, i would think about how privileged i am- and all you can do is do the most you can with what you can utilize the opportunity you have. But still- how difficult it can be i think to really think about it. All that stuff you do and buy and waste and ask and whine and complain and want ...

It makes you want things to stop for two seconds so you can just say- HEY LOOK! LOOK AT WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE! WHAT ARE WE ALL DOING?!

see it believe it- Drain on the equator

this isn't my video- but i have the same one that i took myself on my computer.

a little insight about drains on the equator.

4 months in

golden tips of warmth slowly pull back the blanket of darkness that was once so familiar to the earth.

and the punches kept on a 'comin

I couldn't check out the books i needed for my paper i need to write this weekend. (3 is the limit).

I went out of my way to a sporting outdoors store to get hiking pants (or something that will work) for my 3am trip tomorrow. They didn't have any. Apparently they don't 'exist' on this side of town.

After waiting forever at the immigration office i was denied while getting my censo (to become legal) because i didn't have everything i needed apparently.

I cried.

Now let´s everyone just hold on minute here and think this through

I wasn´t allowed to enter the library because i had coffee in my hand.

Later i got kicked off the computer for checking my email.

Lava, Shukos, Quito...OH MY!

I drank diet coke significantly less during the summer, but it still was at least a once or twice a week thing. I usually couldn't help my self as the gang would be walking down the block back to work with our shukos in hand. We'd pass the first chiclero (little stand on the corner with all the snacks you could ever want for pennies- yes we need them in madison)...I'd say i'll just drink water at work... i don't need anything. We'd get the second chiclero on the next corner, realize soda is so good and ask for Diet coke. Every time i was well aware that this corner (closest to work) does not not sell diet coke, but i would ask, would be denied and say.. Hang on guys and run back down the street to the first chiclero and buy my wonderful DC.

I've been in Quito for just about a month and I bought my first DC on Monday at school for a ridiculous high price that I'm not used to. I've had one everyday this week.

Yesterday I also started volunteering at a day care center about 15 minutes walking from my university. I was there for a bout 3.5 hours ...with about 25 crazy 4 year olds running around like maniacs- or like 4 year olds. There was one other supervisor there, i don't know how she was not going crazy, because i basically was at 5pm when the parents came!! I've worked a lot with kids that age so i thought I was pretty well prepared going into it...and yes kids are kids where ever you go in the world, but MAN throw in the language barrier and it was a whole new element. Common things that you normally throw out there like"get down from there!" or " keep your hands to yourself" were just nooot flowing like they should. My requests and demands were came out choppy and stumbled upon. Some times the kids would just look at me like "what the heck are you saying and why can't you speak like everyone else?!"

I plan on going there Mondays and Wednesdays for about 3 hours after class. Hopefully my spanish will improve and the kids will have a lot more fun with someone actually to play with.

On a different note. Its the weekend (yay) and i didn't do a Volcano (for my class) field trip last weekend and next weekend i want to go to Banos...so i'm squeezing in 3 of my required field trips this weekend. Yes i will be going on three separate hiking excursions on active volcanoes this weekend. I miiiight die of exhaustion but hopefully i'll get some great photos.

And the whole "school" part of study abroad will hit me this weekend. I have my first paper to write and the lack of readings i've done is preventing me from going out this evening. catching up before things snowball.

This week was significantly better than last. Cheers to being in another country.

Family in Quito

I randomly have family in Quito. Don't you love when that happens? Last night i spent the evening catching up with my cousin Janelle and her husband Lee. The two are on quite the journey at the moment and Ecuador is stop number one of their South American adventure. Good conversation made the night a good one. Its refreshing to be with family when you are away from home, and even more refreshing to talk with people who share your passion of seeing the world. Best of luck to them- hopefully we'll meet again before they move on from Ecuador.

Greener Google

I think the name is a little weak- but the idea behind it powerful.

www.blackle.com

Set it as your homepage and save a little of that juice.

Badger on the Equator

I did cool experiments too. I balanced an egg on a nail- easy as pie. I walked the line with my eyes closed and felt very off balance- getting pulled in two directions slightly. I felt weak when off the line they couldn't pull apart my two fingers (like when you pinch with your thumb and pointer finger), but could do it in .3 seconds when you are on the equator. And the cooolest part was watching water go down a drain south of the line and watch it go clockwise in a little tornado funnel thing ., water go counter clockwise on the other side of the line...and when you are on equator- it goes STRAIGHT DOWN! No tornado funnely thing!

Yes, i felt like Bill Nye.

pensamientos segundos

Para celebrar el hecho que tuve mi primer sueño en español anoche, voy a tratar y expresarme en este gran idioma. Bueno, El fin de semana pasada fui con una amiga de Colombia a la costa para visitar algunas aiesecers alla. Pasamos un lindo paseo en tres ciudades: Milagro, donde se producen azucar; Guayaquil, el mas grande ciudad en Ecuador; y Montañita, un hermoso pueblito de surf.

Cuando estabamos en Guayaquil, dabamos una vulta por un rato en un jardín que estuvo al lado del mar. Sin duda, era un jardín bien bonita con flores, arboles, aceras de piedras- un jardín ¿en cierto?. Pero, aglo pasó conmigo en este momento. Cuando estabamos caminando, tuve que parar y simplemente mirar a todo que estaba alrededor de mi. No pude creer la belleza de este jardín publica en el centro de la ciudad. Fue un espacio grandisimo con trabajadores limpiando las aceras, familias caminando, las detalles en como cada flore estaba posisionado, aun tenía fuentes de agua pura para beber!

Cuando empecé a tomar foto después de foto con asombro, pensé-

¿Porque pienso este es tan increible? Si estuviera en los Estados, este jardín sería normal. Tenemos aceras limpios, tenemos flores bonitos, puta- tenemos flores en la forma de un ‘W’ que paso cada dia cuando etoy caminado a Grainger. Tenemos, a lo menos, 10 fuentes de agua pura en cada edeficio publico...y si quieres, es posible beber el agua en los baños. Entonces... ¿Porque es este jardín tan hermosa, y cada cosa q veo es tan increible?

Fue un momentito de realización. Este jardín es un lujo grandoso. La capaz de tener agua pura, gratis a una toca de tus dedos. Un lugar seguro para disfrutar y caminar sin la preocupación de robo y raptar. El lujo de tener esta belleza en frente de ti... ¡Y cuando este jardín parece ‘normal’ para ti- piensa que suerte tiene! ¡En tu vida tienes cosas hermosas! ¡Tienes seguridad donde vives! ¡Tienes agua a cualquier momento que se necesita!

Este jardín debe ser normal para todos...pero la cosa , y el problema, es que no lo es.

spanish language needs a word for awkward

bump into El Salvadorian guy i met at orienation in the hallway
coversation precedes in spanish.

me: HEY
him: Hey!! How are you?!
me: Good, good thanks, and you?
him: fine...where are you off to?
me: Class...
him: me too..all mine are on tuesday thursdays.
me: wow, thats kinda cool though!
him: yeah.
me: what are you up to this weekend?
him: Not sure yet, the park sunday, going out...who knows.
me: Cool! well you have my number still right??
him: Yeah, i'll call you if i go out...
me: Thanks SO MUCH :) Chao!


I walked away....my thoughts:

Did i just say " do you have my number???? and THANKS SO MUCH after he said he might call me??

Puta.

...ya veo la luz

After about a week and a half of a really strange batch of... culture shock i think you could call it... today i had a surprisingly wonderful day.

I wasn´t planning on taking a science class abroad, becuase i only need a few more credits and i figured i´d just finish it up when i get back to the states. Well...things happened and i´m now in a class all about volcanoes with a hilarious professor. There are about seven weekend field trips we go on around ecuador for the class, one that takes us deep into the jungle walking for 3 hours and then i guess a 2 hour hike up the volcano before we even see lava flow. Wooah. Super cool.

can we note this won't be the first time i climed a volcano? how weird is that?

Note. i´m not taking malaria pills...so we´ll see how that goes.

Also, i decided to splurge with the return of my security deposit (wahoo gilman girls we were somewhat nice to our apartment!) and take a trip up to Colombia to visit some of the LDS gang in Bogota in Medellin. Making that decision TOTALLY made my day aswell.

ALSO...after dropping an email to the rents letting them know about my stellar new class...i let them know that one of the optional trips is the the Galapagos Islands...but its way to expensive so its cool, but o well ya know?. After a quick response back...my dad told me its something i shouldn't let slip by.... so ...bottom line? I'm going to the f'n Galapagos. A HUGE surprise that i was NOT expecting in any way shape or form....

how do we top of the day? An hour long skype with one of those people you just don't know what you'd do without!