In the mean time, here's my latest painting to cheer you up and keep you company. Thanks, chao, un beso, un abrazo, que todos tengan un Spring Break fantastico!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Que PENA!
Ugh. All the pictures I put up worked last night and do not seem to be working today. They're really beautiful and I wish I had time to upload them now but....I have class and then have to pack and prepare for Spring Break! I leave tomorrow with my friends Christine and Sarah for our 13-day, 4-beach extravaganza. It's going to be great, but, probably no pictures for the last post until I get back, unfortunately. However if you can for some reason see them and I cannot, please do me a favor and leave me a comment so I can try to figure out why they suddenly stopped uploading.
In the mean time, here's my latest painting to cheer you up and keep you company. Thanks, chao, un beso, un abrazo, que todos tengan un Spring Break fantastico!
In the mean time, here's my latest painting to cheer you up and keep you company. Thanks, chao, un beso, un abrazo, que todos tengan un Spring Break fantastico!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Que bonita es esta vida!
Oh MAN it's been a long time. Sorry for any of you awaiting photos and stories...here they come...
We went on a trip to Otavalo three weekends ago.
On the way there, we stopped in a small town known for it's bread, and had the opportunity to watch people make it. A little ways down the road, we stopped to take a few pictures of Volcan Imbabura (not the one that had been erupting, if you happened to hear about that), one of many volcanoes in Ecuador. Unfortunately, the clouds covered its crest, but they didn't stop us from getting some beautiful pictures of this truly majestic work of nature.
Volcan Imbabura
The drive was scenic, to say the least. Mom and Dad, I know you always love to take the "scenic route" on vacations. You would've loved this one. Since I arrived, I've thought the views here remind me of Ireland's landscape. I thought I might just be comparing the two most beautiful places I've been because, well, they're both so beautiful. But an Ecuadorian actually told me once that the landscape is reminiscent of Ireland's. Recap: 1. I'm not crazy (at least not this time) 2. Beautiful Views (but driving here is synonomous with "suicide", so don't feel too bad Dad, pictures are safer anyway).
We eventually arrived in Otavalo, which has the largest indigenous market in Ecuador and is known for its hand-crafted goods, which include: blankets, scarfs, bowls, plates, incense burners, paintings and drawings, purses, hammocks, jewelry, socks, slippers, gloves (made of alpaca - super soft!), instruments, mini-guitars with absolutely AMAZING craftmanship and woodwork - many featuring expressive faces carved into the body, guitar straps, wallets, etc., etc., etc.
The market occupies a very large area of streets and stretches thoughout the center of the city. We spent about two hours walking around.
Of course, the vendors assume that gringos have money and tried to charge me way too much for everything. Luckily, I'm not an idiot and I'm a good bargainer, so I got the right price for everything I bought (which I later confirmed with our Ecuadorian guide). If I got the vendors down to half or a third of the price they initially asked, I knew it was a fair one. I can't blame them for asking more, and they didn't mind that I was freindly and knew what I was talking about. I bought un MONTON de cosas (a TON of stuff). Mostly gifts. Get excited, friends and family...there is much to be given to you. However, I'm a little afraid about getting it all back to the states. I'll find a way - it's worth it. My favorite purchase is a replica of Guayasamin's "Los Amantes". Oswaldo Guayasamin (1919-1999) was an Ecuadorian artist who you can learn more about here: http://www.guayasamine.com/. I unfortunately cannot find an image of the work I bought anywhere online, but it's of two lovers embracing eachother with exaggurated hands. It's important to me because my host family has a replica as well hanging in their family room and I will always remember that. Thus, although I really like it anyway, it'll be a little piece of the memories with my family that I can bring back with me and hang on my wall as well.
That night, we had the rare opportunity of being invited to an indigenous wedding. One of the boys in my program, Justin, has some friends from the university who are Otavalan and were in town for a family wedding. They invited all of us to accompany them - what are the chances! Of course I wanted to go - and I did. It wasn't the actual wedding ceremony we attended, but the first day of the celebration. Yes, that's right - the first of three days of family parties to celebrate the wedding. The first is to celebrate the bride, the second, the groom, and the third, the couple and the joining of the families, if I remember correctly. There were at least 100 people in the basement area of the house, where the live band was playing traditional indigenous music and everyone was dancing.
The family offered us food (the soup had a straight-up chicken's foot in it) and the "most prominent woman of the family", as I was told (an elderly woman, I'm assuming the grandmother or great-grandmother of the bride) was floating around the dance floor, drunk, and continuously demanding that my friends and I take a shot of the MOST DISGUSTING alcohol I have ever had. It was in a green, glass bottle and was warm (yuck!) and tasted like the Pajaro Azul we had in Guaranda for Carnaval, but warm. Eww. But Justin's friends informed me that I'd be insulting her and the family if I didn't take it, even though I tried to refuse it after the initial taste. This crazy old man danced with me for quite a while and I had to stop him because he tired me out! He had sooo much energy and I have no idea what rhythm we were dancing to, but he "really knew what he was doing" so I followed his lead and laughed all the while.
When we left the wedding, all ages of people were stumbling home and into taxis. It was hilarious, especially because we knew they were all family and the majority of them were well over 60 years old. We took off to the center of Otavalo for some food and dancing. It was only 8:30pm.
While eating some dinner in town, our conversation was interrupted by music and shouting in the street. We ran outside to see what was going on, and there was a huge wedding procession marching down the street - at least 200 people, pick-up trucks full of fruit and food blasting music, everybody dancing and singing and shouting, people carrying things to the wedding celebration, etc. But MOST ridiculous was the LIVE GUINEA PIGS HANGING, SQUIRMING from their FEET THAT WERE TIED TO STICKS that the people were carrying them around on. Hahahahahahaha. You can see them in the picture above. They're gonna cook those guys later and eat them. I still have yet to try cui, but trust me, it's going to happen.
After we went back and finished dinner, we went to a discoteca, where there was a live band playing yet more traditional indigenous music. We were exhausted around 12:30 and went home to rest up before another big day.
Sunday was a hands-on, educational day. We first went to a small house where a couple demonstrated for us how they make the bags they sell at the market.
Next, we drove to a music shop - where they make the musical instruments which are also sold at the market. A man showed us how he makes some of the instruments, what they are called, and how to play them. Notable are the armadillos they use to make guitar bodies and the sheep toenails that they tie together and shake as a percussion instrument.
Just a few bunches of sheep toenails....
Before we headed home, we went to an absolutely beautiful natural lake called "Laguna de Cuicocha". We hiked around it for about an hour, and then the clouds started pouring over the mountains and fogging up the beautiful view (literally the clouds were just sitting on the lake), so we headed home.
A few more notable pictures from the trip:
An illustration on the wall in the hostel we stayed. It makes me smile.
Amy Gurka? or an Otavalan heartbreaker?
My best friend on the trip, Christine, and an alpaca. You never know what kinds of animals you're going to find here, or where, or why...or who they belong to........
Damn, Dad! Look at that woodgrain! I thought this looked like Brazilian Rosewood and I asked them if it was, but they said no. So I asked them what it was, but I don't know what they said. I think it's Brazilian Rosewood and they just didn't understand what I was asking.
Colorful instruments hang on the wall of the music shop we visited. I figured out how to play Darth Vader march theme from Star Wars on the blowpipe-type thing. Haha.
After we took pictures of Volcan Imbabura, these young ladies accompanied us on our bus and sang songs in Quichua (Ecuador's second language after Spanish and most populous indigenous tribe). We tipped them for their performance, and then had the chance to purchase some goods they had made and were selling. I bought a really pretty scarf for SOMEONE (it's a secret!).
We visited this waterfall...one of many we've visited. Couldn't exactly swim in this one...haha. We also hiked around it.
Que bonita es esta vida!
Futbol is a pretty big deal here. I tried to play with him but I think he needs to get a smaller soccer ball for his height...hehe.
If you can make out "LA NATURALEZA ES VIDA!!!!!!!" That was painted on the curb as we drove into the park to see the georgous Laguna de Cuicocha. Nature IS life! It's true! Haha.
We went on a trip to Otavalo three weekends ago.
On the way there, we stopped in a small town known for it's bread, and had the opportunity to watch people make it. A little ways down the road, we stopped to take a few pictures of Volcan Imbabura (not the one that had been erupting, if you happened to hear about that), one of many volcanoes in Ecuador. Unfortunately, the clouds covered its crest, but they didn't stop us from getting some beautiful pictures of this truly majestic work of nature.
Volcan Imbabura
The drive was scenic, to say the least. Mom and Dad, I know you always love to take the "scenic route" on vacations. You would've loved this one. Since I arrived, I've thought the views here remind me of Ireland's landscape. I thought I might just be comparing the two most beautiful places I've been because, well, they're both so beautiful. But an Ecuadorian actually told me once that the landscape is reminiscent of Ireland's. Recap: 1. I'm not crazy (at least not this time) 2. Beautiful Views (but driving here is synonomous with "suicide", so don't feel too bad Dad, pictures are safer anyway).
We eventually arrived in Otavalo, which has the largest indigenous market in Ecuador and is known for its hand-crafted goods, which include: blankets, scarfs, bowls, plates, incense burners, paintings and drawings, purses, hammocks, jewelry, socks, slippers, gloves (made of alpaca - super soft!), instruments, mini-guitars with absolutely AMAZING craftmanship and woodwork - many featuring expressive faces carved into the body, guitar straps, wallets, etc., etc., etc.The market occupies a very large area of streets and stretches thoughout the center of the city. We spent about two hours walking around.
Of course, the vendors assume that gringos have money and tried to charge me way too much for everything. Luckily, I'm not an idiot and I'm a good bargainer, so I got the right price for everything I bought (which I later confirmed with our Ecuadorian guide). If I got the vendors down to half or a third of the price they initially asked, I knew it was a fair one. I can't blame them for asking more, and they didn't mind that I was freindly and knew what I was talking about. I bought un MONTON de cosas (a TON of stuff). Mostly gifts. Get excited, friends and family...there is much to be given to you. However, I'm a little afraid about getting it all back to the states. I'll find a way - it's worth it. My favorite purchase is a replica of Guayasamin's "Los Amantes". Oswaldo Guayasamin (1919-1999) was an Ecuadorian artist who you can learn more about here: http://www.guayasamine.com/. I unfortunately cannot find an image of the work I bought anywhere online, but it's of two lovers embracing eachother with exaggurated hands. It's important to me because my host family has a replica as well hanging in their family room and I will always remember that. Thus, although I really like it anyway, it'll be a little piece of the memories with my family that I can bring back with me and hang on my wall as well.That night, we had the rare opportunity of being invited to an indigenous wedding. One of the boys in my program, Justin, has some friends from the university who are Otavalan and were in town for a family wedding. They invited all of us to accompany them - what are the chances! Of course I wanted to go - and I did. It wasn't the actual wedding ceremony we attended, but the first day of the celebration. Yes, that's right - the first of three days of family parties to celebrate the wedding. The first is to celebrate the bride, the second, the groom, and the third, the couple and the joining of the families, if I remember correctly. There were at least 100 people in the basement area of the house, where the live band was playing traditional indigenous music and everyone was dancing.
The family offered us food (the soup had a straight-up chicken's foot in it) and the "most prominent woman of the family", as I was told (an elderly woman, I'm assuming the grandmother or great-grandmother of the bride) was floating around the dance floor, drunk, and continuously demanding that my friends and I take a shot of the MOST DISGUSTING alcohol I have ever had. It was in a green, glass bottle and was warm (yuck!) and tasted like the Pajaro Azul we had in Guaranda for Carnaval, but warm. Eww. But Justin's friends informed me that I'd be insulting her and the family if I didn't take it, even though I tried to refuse it after the initial taste. This crazy old man danced with me for quite a while and I had to stop him because he tired me out! He had sooo much energy and I have no idea what rhythm we were dancing to, but he "really knew what he was doing" so I followed his lead and laughed all the while.
When we left the wedding, all ages of people were stumbling home and into taxis. It was hilarious, especially because we knew they were all family and the majority of them were well over 60 years old. We took off to the center of Otavalo for some food and dancing. It was only 8:30pm.
While eating some dinner in town, our conversation was interrupted by music and shouting in the street. We ran outside to see what was going on, and there was a huge wedding procession marching down the street - at least 200 people, pick-up trucks full of fruit and food blasting music, everybody dancing and singing and shouting, people carrying things to the wedding celebration, etc. But MOST ridiculous was the LIVE GUINEA PIGS HANGING, SQUIRMING from their FEET THAT WERE TIED TO STICKS that the people were carrying them around on. Hahahahahahaha. You can see them in the picture above. They're gonna cook those guys later and eat them. I still have yet to try cui, but trust me, it's going to happen.After we went back and finished dinner, we went to a discoteca, where there was a live band playing yet more traditional indigenous music. We were exhausted around 12:30 and went home to rest up before another big day.
Sunday was a hands-on, educational day. We first went to a small house where a couple demonstrated for us how they make the bags they sell at the market.
Next, we drove to a music shop - where they make the musical instruments which are also sold at the market. A man showed us how he makes some of the instruments, what they are called, and how to play them. Notable are the armadillos they use to make guitar bodies and the sheep toenails that they tie together and shake as a percussion instrument.Just a few bunches of sheep toenails....
Before we headed home, we went to an absolutely beautiful natural lake called "Laguna de Cuicocha". We hiked around it for about an hour, and then the clouds started pouring over the mountains and fogging up the beautiful view (literally the clouds were just sitting on the lake), so we headed home.
A few more notable pictures from the trip:
An illustration on the wall in the hostel we stayed. It makes me smile.
Amy Gurka? or an Otavalan heartbreaker?
My best friend on the trip, Christine, and an alpaca. You never know what kinds of animals you're going to find here, or where, or why...or who they belong to........
Damn, Dad! Look at that woodgrain! I thought this looked like Brazilian Rosewood and I asked them if it was, but they said no. So I asked them what it was, but I don't know what they said. I think it's Brazilian Rosewood and they just didn't understand what I was asking.
Colorful instruments hang on the wall of the music shop we visited. I figured out how to play Darth Vader march theme from Star Wars on the blowpipe-type thing. Haha.
After we took pictures of Volcan Imbabura, these young ladies accompanied us on our bus and sang songs in Quichua (Ecuador's second language after Spanish and most populous indigenous tribe). We tipped them for their performance, and then had the chance to purchase some goods they had made and were selling. I bought a really pretty scarf for SOMEONE (it's a secret!).
We visited this waterfall...one of many we've visited. Couldn't exactly swim in this one...haha. We also hiked around it.
Que bonita es esta vida!
Futbol is a pretty big deal here. I tried to play with him but I think he needs to get a smaller soccer ball for his height...hehe.
If you can make out "LA NATURALEZA ES VIDA!!!!!!!" That was painted on the curb as we drove into the park to see the georgous Laguna de Cuicocha. Nature IS life! It's true! Haha.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Heads or tails?
Today was a big food day. As in big day of lots of new food, and big food.
My family told me we were going to eat "chochlo", pig, and told me I was going to eat the whole thing and asked me if I preferred the head or the tail. We took a long drive out to this little town in the "burbs" of Quito to get Hornados, a tradition especially popular on Sundays.
On the way to the restaurant, we saw more similar establishments displaying entire pigs, head to tail.
I was excited to try this new food, but I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting myself into. I could tell that my family was kidding with me, but I wasn't sure how much (if you know me, you know I'm extremely gullible and have absolutely no "joke radar"). In the car, they kept on telling me I was going to have to choose which head I wanted once we arrived. "Yeah, okay, uh-huh..."
We pulled up to a pretty large building filled with picnic tables and people eating parts of the pigs that were displayed out front. As we walked up to the counter, Said asked me if I had spotted the head that I wanted. I didn't know how to respond to that...haha. I chose the same (enormous) plate as my family:
- Potatoes (mashed, but nothing like our mashed potatoes)
- A whole platano maduro (score!)
- Half an avocado (double score!)
- Corn (but not the small yellow kind, the large white kind - it's good)
- Maize tostado (like large, not quite popped popcorn kernels that are pretty dry and salted - not one of my favorites, but a popular Ecuadorian snack), and...
- An entire pig's head. yiiiiikes.
Just kidding. I didn't have to eat a pig's head or tail. It was more like the part they use for pulled pork, but not yet pulled. Just a couple of chunks of pork on my plate, plus a piece of fried pig skin, which I thought was an ear at first and slightly freaked out by. I tried the skin, but I didn't like it a whole lot, so Miriam ate it. The pork was pretty good. I actually think the best parts of the meal were the avacado, potatoes and the APPLE SODA that we got to drink. It was soooo good. I wish we had it in the U.S. If you've ever had Jones Soda, it was similar in potency of taste. And if you haven't had Jones Soda, I highly recommend you try it, starting with Fufu Berry.
I finally learned that avacados are ripe when they're slightly squishy. Pretty much common sense, but somehow I always manage to end up with brown avacados when I want to make guacamole.
When we got back to the house, Yolanda accompanied me to the supermarket to buy food for la cena. Unfortunately, there were no jalapeños (who would've thought?), so I had to substitute ají (the extremely popular pepper here that is used to make the aji sauce served everywhere). Back at the house, making dinner, I didn't know how much ají to put in the veggie mix, and neither did Yolanda, so I decided to take a bite. Yolanda told me not to but I didn't listen to her. She was so scared for me that she couldn't watch, kept on saying "no!", and making disgusted faces...hahaha. It was definitely picante, but I enjoy spicy things, so it wasn't half as bad for me as it may have been for Yoli. After I finally took a big enough bite, I could taste the hotness. I decided to throw two Ají peppers into my mix, and a few more bites into my mouth. Unfortunately, my eyes are burning a little bit right now, after taking out my contact lenses, because of the ají that remained on my hands after multiple washes.
I make pasta for myself allllll the time at school in my apartment, which usually takes about 20 minutes and minimal amounts of ingredients. So, I had a little trouble determining how and how much to cook for 7 people. I guestimated correctly with everything except for the pasta. I made about 3 times too much! Hence, I'm going to make some pasta salad tomorrow. After an hour and a half of making dinner with Yolanda (who wanted to learn how to cook "my food"), dinner was finally served:
- Penne Noodles
- Tomato Sauce
- Fresh Sautéd: Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Ají, Yellow and Red Bell Peppers, Onions, Garlic
- Salchica (sausage, which I boiled with onions and ají)
- Shredded Parmasan
- A baguette of fresh bread with butter
Said loved it, and Miriam really liked it because she likes pasta a lot and is half Italian. I made brownies for dessert, and this time I did not forget about them in the oven, so they didn't burn. However, they ended up really soft and squishy - but still very chocolaty and tasty. It's a lot harder to bake things like that here because the of the altitude. Maybe I'll figure it out sometime in the next 4 months.
On a semi-related note, I highly recommend Aquafresh Ultimate Whitening toothpaste. I bought it before my trip, not having high expectations nor even caring enough to monitor my teeth and their color. But the other day, I happened to get a glimpse of my teeth in the mirror and noticed that they were whiter! Nice!
And to end, here's a pic of me and the fam before we went out last night. Carlos (cousin, 18) is far left, Gabriel (20, brother) is middle left, Amy (21, gringita) middle right, Freddie (23, cousin) far right. We went to Hotel Quito's Casino. It's the first casino I've been in since my 21st birthday last September, so I figured I might as well play some games. I played a little (and I mean a little) Blackjack. I won once, lost twice, and then I decided to be done. I lost four dollars :( I don't think anybody won.
Earlier on Saturday, I played soccer with Gabe and about 10 of his friends, who are all really great people and extremely fun. I got a few good headers and almost scored two goals...yeah, yeah, I know, almost doesn't count. I thought I was going to be completely winded after playing for a short time because of the altitude. But somehow, I was completely fine. There were a lot of teams who wanted to play, so our rule was to have the losing team rotate out after two goals. Of course, our team won probably ten times in a row (it was me, Gabe, Carlos, Freedie, and two of Gabriel's friends), so we didn't get a break. It felt so good to work out, though. I had been scared to go running because one of the girls in my program fainted on a public bus after she had gone running and had thought she was completely fine. But now I know I can handle it. I think we're going to play every Saturday afternoon, and I really hope so.
By now you probably know the names of my family members, but we have nicknames, too. Freedie's "Torta" (cake), Carlos is "Tortón" (a larger cake), Gabriel is "Tortín", Yolanda is "Tortilla" (I'm jealous), and they named me "Tortamy" :) Today on the way home from eating hornados, I came up with the verb "Tortear" which will loosely be used to refer to any instance in which we are all together doing anything at the same time. For example, "¿Vamos a tortear esta noche?" Haha. They loved it and started teasing around, asking what the pluscuamperfecto and gerund form of my new verb would be...haha.
So no big trips or big bugs this weekend...just a tranquil 72 hours in Quito.
My family told me we were going to eat "chochlo", pig, and told me I was going to eat the whole thing and asked me if I preferred the head or the tail. We took a long drive out to this little town in the "burbs" of Quito to get Hornados, a tradition especially popular on Sundays.
On the way to the restaurant, we saw more similar establishments displaying entire pigs, head to tail. I was excited to try this new food, but I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting myself into. I could tell that my family was kidding with me, but I wasn't sure how much (if you know me, you know I'm extremely gullible and have absolutely no "joke radar"). In the car, they kept on telling me I was going to have to choose which head I wanted once we arrived. "Yeah, okay, uh-huh..."
We pulled up to a pretty large building filled with picnic tables and people eating parts of the pigs that were displayed out front. As we walked up to the counter, Said asked me if I had spotted the head that I wanted. I didn't know how to respond to that...haha. I chose the same (enormous) plate as my family:
- Potatoes (mashed, but nothing like our mashed potatoes)
- A whole platano maduro (score!)
- Half an avocado (double score!)
- Corn (but not the small yellow kind, the large white kind - it's good)
- Maize tostado (like large, not quite popped popcorn kernels that are pretty dry and salted - not one of my favorites, but a popular Ecuadorian snack), and...
- An entire pig's head. yiiiiikes.
Just kidding. I didn't have to eat a pig's head or tail. It was more like the part they use for pulled pork, but not yet pulled. Just a couple of chunks of pork on my plate, plus a piece of fried pig skin, which I thought was an ear at first and slightly freaked out by. I tried the skin, but I didn't like it a whole lot, so Miriam ate it. The pork was pretty good. I actually think the best parts of the meal were the avacado, potatoes and the APPLE SODA that we got to drink. It was soooo good. I wish we had it in the U.S. If you've ever had Jones Soda, it was similar in potency of taste. And if you haven't had Jones Soda, I highly recommend you try it, starting with Fufu Berry.
I finally learned that avacados are ripe when they're slightly squishy. Pretty much common sense, but somehow I always manage to end up with brown avacados when I want to make guacamole.
When we got back to the house, Yolanda accompanied me to the supermarket to buy food for la cena. Unfortunately, there were no jalapeños (who would've thought?), so I had to substitute ají (the extremely popular pepper here that is used to make the aji sauce served everywhere). Back at the house, making dinner, I didn't know how much ají to put in the veggie mix, and neither did Yolanda, so I decided to take a bite. Yolanda told me not to but I didn't listen to her. She was so scared for me that she couldn't watch, kept on saying "no!", and making disgusted faces...hahaha. It was definitely picante, but I enjoy spicy things, so it wasn't half as bad for me as it may have been for Yoli. After I finally took a big enough bite, I could taste the hotness. I decided to throw two Ají peppers into my mix, and a few more bites into my mouth. Unfortunately, my eyes are burning a little bit right now, after taking out my contact lenses, because of the ají that remained on my hands after multiple washes.I make pasta for myself allllll the time at school in my apartment, which usually takes about 20 minutes and minimal amounts of ingredients. So, I had a little trouble determining how and how much to cook for 7 people. I guestimated correctly with everything except for the pasta. I made about 3 times too much! Hence, I'm going to make some pasta salad tomorrow. After an hour and a half of making dinner with Yolanda (who wanted to learn how to cook "my food"), dinner was finally served:
- Penne Noodles
- Tomato Sauce
- Fresh Sautéd: Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Ají, Yellow and Red Bell Peppers, Onions, Garlic
- Salchica (sausage, which I boiled with onions and ají)
- Shredded Parmasan
- A baguette of fresh bread with butter
Said loved it, and Miriam really liked it because she likes pasta a lot and is half Italian. I made brownies for dessert, and this time I did not forget about them in the oven, so they didn't burn. However, they ended up really soft and squishy - but still very chocolaty and tasty. It's a lot harder to bake things like that here because the of the altitude. Maybe I'll figure it out sometime in the next 4 months.
On a semi-related note, I highly recommend Aquafresh Ultimate Whitening toothpaste. I bought it before my trip, not having high expectations nor even caring enough to monitor my teeth and their color. But the other day, I happened to get a glimpse of my teeth in the mirror and noticed that they were whiter! Nice!
And to end, here's a pic of me and the fam before we went out last night. Carlos (cousin, 18) is far left, Gabriel (20, brother) is middle left, Amy (21, gringita) middle right, Freddie (23, cousin) far right. We went to Hotel Quito's Casino. It's the first casino I've been in since my 21st birthday last September, so I figured I might as well play some games. I played a little (and I mean a little) Blackjack. I won once, lost twice, and then I decided to be done. I lost four dollars :( I don't think anybody won.
Earlier on Saturday, I played soccer with Gabe and about 10 of his friends, who are all really great people and extremely fun. I got a few good headers and almost scored two goals...yeah, yeah, I know, almost doesn't count. I thought I was going to be completely winded after playing for a short time because of the altitude. But somehow, I was completely fine. There were a lot of teams who wanted to play, so our rule was to have the losing team rotate out after two goals. Of course, our team won probably ten times in a row (it was me, Gabe, Carlos, Freedie, and two of Gabriel's friends), so we didn't get a break. It felt so good to work out, though. I had been scared to go running because one of the girls in my program fainted on a public bus after she had gone running and had thought she was completely fine. But now I know I can handle it. I think we're going to play every Saturday afternoon, and I really hope so.
By now you probably know the names of my family members, but we have nicknames, too. Freedie's "Torta" (cake), Carlos is "Tortón" (a larger cake), Gabriel is "Tortín", Yolanda is "Tortilla" (I'm jealous), and they named me "Tortamy" :) Today on the way home from eating hornados, I came up with the verb "Tortear" which will loosely be used to refer to any instance in which we are all together doing anything at the same time. For example, "¿Vamos a tortear esta noche?" Haha. They loved it and started teasing around, asking what the pluscuamperfecto and gerund form of my new verb would be...haha.
So no big trips or big bugs this weekend...just a tranquil 72 hours in Quito.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
¡Que bonita es Carnaval!
We left last Thursday night for Manta and returned to Quito around 9 last Tuesday. It's almost already the weekend...Nice!
Sigh...where to begin...
¡Me Encanta Manta!
After thinking I was the clever one who came up with this phrase, Miriam (my host mom) told me there's a t-shirt that says it. OOOOOOO well guess I'll just have to go back to Manta to buy it!
Manta was so great. I love the beach and the coast. Christine and I spent all of
Friday on the beach and somehow only got burnt from our belly-buttons to our upper thighs...weeeeird. Anyway, the water was really warm. There were a lot of different beaches - we went to Playa Murcielago and Playa Santa Marieneta - two of the nicer ones. Both Friday and Saturday we went to clubs with my cousins, my brother, and their friends - they know how to have a good time. I'm getting pretty decent at the salsa by now...yeeeeeaaaaaaah (as my entire family likes to say). We also relaxed in the pool at their house a lot. We got a tour of the city in his friend's car and I took a
pic of Carlos in the front seat. I also tried to take a picture of the city while we were driving and ended up with the picture below, which actually quite pleases me.
After being at the beach all day on Friday, my "Aunt Lydia" asked if we were hungry and (drumroll...) wanted some CEVICHE!!!!!! um....YES?! Amazing.
Ceviche is especially popular and delicious on the coast. It's raw fish (or mariscos, or lobster, or shrimp, etc.) in any variation of lemon juice with fresh vegetables and spice to flavor (Ecuadorians love cilantro, and now, so do I). And SO tasty! Lydia made some of the best food I have eaten yet. I love all the fresh salads they have here, and I cannot wait to make this stuff next year in my apartment. Get ready roomies. Get. Ready.
Lydia her brother, and some of the littler members of her family took Christine and I on a long drive in their pickup truck on Saturday. We were heading to a river to go tubing, but when we arrived, there was a massive raincloud about to break loose. So we backtracked to Manta with and went to the beach instead. 
Throughout the ride, we threw water balloons at other trucks, people, and through the windows of tour buses. Why, you ask? Carnaval, of course! It's not like people get mad about this, it's expected. Another highlight of the trip was that my hair got ridiculously messed-up from all the wind. I took a pic to remember how awesome I looked. My little friend didn't have quite the same problem. Notable to these pictures is that I want an Ecuadorian child - probably the best souvenir I could bring back - minus the whole responsibility part.
En Route to Guaranda
We woke up early Sunday morning and got on our 3-hr bus from Manta to Guayaquil, because there is no bus that goes straight from Manta to Guaranda. The bus station in Guayaquil was overwhelming. There were so many people there, so many crowds, and so many buses! It also doubles as a three-story mall. Who decided THAT one? Both brilliant and painful. There were over 100 bus companies in vending windows, so we eventually found our tickets to Guaranda. They instructed us to go to the third floor, which confused us. But there, on the third floor of one of the largest buildings I've been in, was the bus we would sit in for the next 5 hours without air conditioning and minimal leg room. We bought a loaf of bread (which was incredibly sweet...no surprise) and some empanadas because we hadn't eaten breakfast nor lunch, and there was no time before boarding. Off to Guaranda!
The people in front of us were extra nice and decided to recline their seats all the way back. We thought the whole no air conditioning situation wouldn't be that bad, because there was a nice breeze...until water balloons, hoses, and squirt guns attacked our windows. It was hilarious - we would get hit in the most desolate towns and have no idea who was launching things at us. Water balloons would come flying through the windows when we least expected it, hit the ceiling, and splash throughout the bus. I loved it! Christine, not as much.
After a good 4 hours, a man a few seats from me started getting antsy and yelling "Chauffeur, pon Carnaval! Pon Carnaval!" He wouldn't let up, so a man from the front of the bus stood up, grabbed the guitar he had stored overhead, and walked back to serenade us. He was cool with me taking a video of him :) Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to rotate it without having to pay for new software so...just lean your head toward your right shoulder for the next 30 seconds. This traditional song is specific to Guaranda, but everyone in Ecuador knows it. As far as I could tell, it's been passed down and everyone knows or makes up their own verses, because different people on the bus would shout out new verses and then everyone would join in. I only recorded a little bit of it - this probably went on for 10 minutes with everyone singing and clapping. The little girl next to us spraying foam throughout the back of the bus was a nice touch.
After he was done playing, the man came and sat by us and we talked with him for the remaining half-hour to Guaranda.
He invited us to his house in the orient (rain forest), but not in a creepy way - just in a really friendly way. A lot of people tend to be so welcoming and hospitable in Ecuador.
Guaranda
When we arrived in Guaranda, we got some dinner, settled in, and went dancing for a little bit. It was quite a sight. The people were borraCHIsimmo! (english translation: WASTED!). U-of-I-ers, picture Unofficial, but a lot more messy, a lot more happy, and a lot of Latin dance. People of all ages, but mostly middle-aged, were stumbling throughout the streets - beers still in hands after hours of drinking, being carried either home or to the next bar by people we hope they knew, and spraying foam at our taxi - but not in a riotous way; the environment was very friendly. The idea is that everyone celebrates because it is Carnaval. No one gets angry, no one means any harm, everyone throws things at everyone else - all in good fun.
Guaranda is a smallish city. It is surrounded by seven (beautiful) hills and has a lot of colonial architecture. It's population is about 20,000. Our hotel was only about a 5-minute walk from the central plaza, and we could walk almost everywhere. We were worried about getting robbed, because Quito is so dangerous and we're used to leaving our cameras at home, but when we asked our hostel staff about it their answer was "Guaranda is tranquila!".
We went to sleep early on Sunday after our long day of traveling, but enjoyed "playing Carnaval" (jugar Carnaval, as they say) on Monday, when we bought some spray-foam and got covered in foam, flour, and water (no eggs on Monday, but we hear on Sunday there were lots of eggs flying around). I was just as covered as Christine (left). There was a dance parade through the town square, and I really enjoyed it. I took a lot of videos and pictures...
Did I mention I want an Ecuadorian child?
We ate salchipapas (salchi = sausage, papas = potatoes/french fries) that we bought for a dollar from a street vendor.
French fries, hot dog, onions, mayo, ketchup, and...
grease. They were way better than you'd think! I love the "Art Attack" sign haha. I think it's pretty appropriate next to those salchipapas!
Here's a picture of the AMAZING lunch we had in Guaranda. Christine's a vegetarian, so she got the veg platter with noodles, oil and vinegar, mushrooms, olives, veggies, etc. I got lomo (meat) a la pimienta (pepper) served with a rice and gravy, a small salad, and french fries. You can also see our two cafe con leches and our mora-mango (two fruits) batido (like a milk-shake with fruit...realllly good).
Here's what we DIDN'T eat. It's "cui" - guinea pig - an Ecuadorian delicacy. Yes, I'm going to eat it eventually - but not in Guaranda, at this little shacky-looking restaurant where it is cooked outdoors...not the most sanitary conditions. And yes, it's served like this - with eyes and legs and head attached. Mmmm.
Monday night we went to a club in Guaranda. It was probably the best club I've been to yet here, probably because everyone had so much energy and excitement for carnaval. These two girls on the bar work there and the guy with the fire is a dance artist who we saw earlier in the night when we went to Los 7 Santos for chips, guac, and vino caliente - hot wine that tastes similar to sangria and can be cooked with cinnamon, usually served with an orange slice as a filter and sugar on the rim of the glass. It's my favorite drink I've had here.
Tuesday we lunched and then headed back to Quito on another cramped, long bus ride. Carnaval was amazing, but it feels good to be home.
Sigh...where to begin...
¡Me Encanta Manta!
After thinking I was the clever one who came up with this phrase, Miriam (my host mom) told me there's a t-shirt that says it. OOOOOOO well guess I'll just have to go back to Manta to buy it!
Manta was so great. I love the beach and the coast. Christine and I spent all of
Friday on the beach and somehow only got burnt from our belly-buttons to our upper thighs...weeeeird. Anyway, the water was really warm. There were a lot of different beaches - we went to Playa Murcielago and Playa Santa Marieneta - two of the nicer ones. Both Friday and Saturday we went to clubs with my cousins, my brother, and their friends - they know how to have a good time. I'm getting pretty decent at the salsa by now...yeeeeeaaaaaaah (as my entire family likes to say). We also relaxed in the pool at their house a lot. We got a tour of the city in his friend's car and I took a
pic of Carlos in the front seat. I also tried to take a picture of the city while we were driving and ended up with the picture below, which actually quite pleases me. After being at the beach all day on Friday, my "Aunt Lydia" asked if we were hungry and (drumroll...) wanted some CEVICHE!!!!!! um....YES?! Amazing.
Ceviche is especially popular and delicious on the coast. It's raw fish (or mariscos, or lobster, or shrimp, etc.) in any variation of lemon juice with fresh vegetables and spice to flavor (Ecuadorians love cilantro, and now, so do I). And SO tasty! Lydia made some of the best food I have eaten yet. I love all the fresh salads they have here, and I cannot wait to make this stuff next year in my apartment. Get ready roomies. Get. Ready.
Lydia her brother, and some of the littler members of her family took Christine and I on a long drive in their pickup truck on Saturday. We were heading to a river to go tubing, but when we arrived, there was a massive raincloud about to break loose. So we backtracked to Manta with and went to the beach instead. 
Throughout the ride, we threw water balloons at other trucks, people, and through the windows of tour buses. Why, you ask? Carnaval, of course! It's not like people get mad about this, it's expected. Another highlight of the trip was that my hair got ridiculously messed-up from all the wind. I took a pic to remember how awesome I looked. My little friend didn't have quite the same problem. Notable to these pictures is that I want an Ecuadorian child - probably the best souvenir I could bring back - minus the whole responsibility part. En Route to Guaranda
We woke up early Sunday morning and got on our 3-hr bus from Manta to Guayaquil, because there is no bus that goes straight from Manta to Guaranda. The bus station in Guayaquil was overwhelming. There were so many people there, so many crowds, and so many buses! It also doubles as a three-story mall. Who decided THAT one? Both brilliant and painful. There were over 100 bus companies in vending windows, so we eventually found our tickets to Guaranda. They instructed us to go to the third floor, which confused us. But there, on the third floor of one of the largest buildings I've been in, was the bus we would sit in for the next 5 hours without air conditioning and minimal leg room. We bought a loaf of bread (which was incredibly sweet...no surprise) and some empanadas because we hadn't eaten breakfast nor lunch, and there was no time before boarding. Off to Guaranda!
The people in front of us were extra nice and decided to recline their seats all the way back. We thought the whole no air conditioning situation wouldn't be that bad, because there was a nice breeze...until water balloons, hoses, and squirt guns attacked our windows. It was hilarious - we would get hit in the most desolate towns and have no idea who was launching things at us. Water balloons would come flying through the windows when we least expected it, hit the ceiling, and splash throughout the bus. I loved it! Christine, not as much.
After a good 4 hours, a man a few seats from me started getting antsy and yelling "Chauffeur, pon Carnaval! Pon Carnaval!" He wouldn't let up, so a man from the front of the bus stood up, grabbed the guitar he had stored overhead, and walked back to serenade us. He was cool with me taking a video of him :) Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to rotate it without having to pay for new software so...just lean your head toward your right shoulder for the next 30 seconds. This traditional song is specific to Guaranda, but everyone in Ecuador knows it. As far as I could tell, it's been passed down and everyone knows or makes up their own verses, because different people on the bus would shout out new verses and then everyone would join in. I only recorded a little bit of it - this probably went on for 10 minutes with everyone singing and clapping. The little girl next to us spraying foam throughout the back of the bus was a nice touch.
After he was done playing, the man came and sat by us and we talked with him for the remaining half-hour to Guaranda.
He invited us to his house in the orient (rain forest), but not in a creepy way - just in a really friendly way. A lot of people tend to be so welcoming and hospitable in Ecuador.
Guaranda
When we arrived in Guaranda, we got some dinner, settled in, and went dancing for a little bit. It was quite a sight. The people were borraCHIsimmo! (english translation: WASTED!). U-of-I-ers, picture Unofficial, but a lot more messy, a lot more happy, and a lot of Latin dance. People of all ages, but mostly middle-aged, were stumbling throughout the streets - beers still in hands after hours of drinking, being carried either home or to the next bar by people we hope they knew, and spraying foam at our taxi - but not in a riotous way; the environment was very friendly. The idea is that everyone celebrates because it is Carnaval. No one gets angry, no one means any harm, everyone throws things at everyone else - all in good fun.
Guaranda is a smallish city. It is surrounded by seven (beautiful) hills and has a lot of colonial architecture. It's population is about 20,000. Our hotel was only about a 5-minute walk from the central plaza, and we could walk almost everywhere. We were worried about getting robbed, because Quito is so dangerous and we're used to leaving our cameras at home, but when we asked our hostel staff about it their answer was "Guaranda is tranquila!". 
We went to sleep early on Sunday after our long day of traveling, but enjoyed "playing Carnaval" (jugar Carnaval, as they say) on Monday, when we bought some spray-foam and got covered in foam, flour, and water (no eggs on Monday, but we hear on Sunday there were lots of eggs flying around). I was just as covered as Christine (left). There was a dance parade through the town square, and I really enjoyed it. I took a lot of videos and pictures...
Did I mention I want an Ecuadorian child?
We ate salchipapas (salchi = sausage, papas = potatoes/french fries) that we bought for a dollar from a street vendor.
French fries, hot dog, onions, mayo, ketchup, and...grease. They were way better than you'd think! I love the "Art Attack" sign haha. I think it's pretty appropriate next to those salchipapas!
Here's a picture of the AMAZING lunch we had in Guaranda. Christine's a vegetarian, so she got the veg platter with noodles, oil and vinegar, mushrooms, olives, veggies, etc. I got lomo (meat) a la pimienta (pepper) served with a rice and gravy, a small salad, and french fries. You can also see our two cafe con leches and our mora-mango (two fruits) batido (like a milk-shake with fruit...realllly good).
Here's what we DIDN'T eat. It's "cui" - guinea pig - an Ecuadorian delicacy. Yes, I'm going to eat it eventually - but not in Guaranda, at this little shacky-looking restaurant where it is cooked outdoors...not the most sanitary conditions. And yes, it's served like this - with eyes and legs and head attached. Mmmm.
Monday night we went to a club in Guaranda. It was probably the best club I've been to yet here, probably because everyone had so much energy and excitement for carnaval. These two girls on the bar work there and the guy with the fire is a dance artist who we saw earlier in the night when we went to Los 7 Santos for chips, guac, and vino caliente - hot wine that tastes similar to sangria and can be cooked with cinnamon, usually served with an orange slice as a filter and sugar on the rim of the glass. It's my favorite drink I've had here.
Tuesday we lunched and then headed back to Quito on another cramped, long bus ride. Carnaval was amazing, but it feels good to be home.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
I did not get eaten by cockroaches or waterfalls, killed by roosters, or fall 200m to my death, so I was able to write this post.
Last weekend will remain among the most diverse, eventful, and thrilling weekends of my life. On Friday promptly after class, our group took off in “the party bus”. Along for the ride on our 25-seat tour bus were Patricio (very cool) and our chauffeur, who had a sophisticated appreciation for mid-90’s dance-pop hits such as “All That She Wants”, “Where do you go? (My Lovely)”, “I Come From A Land Down Under (techno remix)”, “What Is Love?”, “Tonight is the Night of Love”, and more. We rocked out to that cd at LEAST ten times on Saturday. I’m not complaining. ¡Mindo!
While driving around Mindo, which I didn’t know was called “Mindo” yet, I saw “Mindo” written on tons of shops and signs. I didn’t get it, so I asked everyone on the bus, “Does anyone know what “Mindo” means in Spanish?”. Right.
We arrived around 4pm on Friday. The 15 of us stayed at the best place I’ve probably ever stayed as far as lodging is concerned. And by best, I’m not referring to luxury. We walked upstairs to find an open deck overlooking a forest fruitful with colorful plants and murmuring with about 30 hummingbirds. As everyone claimed their beds, I immediately dismissed the idea of a “room” and called dibs on one of the two hammocks on the deck. We commenced downstairs and watched the hummingbirds, only feet away from us in the garden. We took a little nature walk through Mindo and then went to dinner. One of my favorite foods so far is fried plantain prepared as Plátanos Maduros; they’re soft, self-caramelize, and are cut in thin, long strips. SO good! After hours of group bonding at the hostel, I fell asleep to a steady, heavy rain as I watched lightening bugs from my spot in the hammock outside on the deck. Gloooorious.
Bugs, Water, Fruit, Botany
Saturday morning we arose bright and early and headed to a Mariposario around 8am. The Mariposario is unique to Mindo, it’s not like they have these everywhere in Ecuador. I was actually really scared about going because of my ridiculous entomophobia (phobia of insects). I pictured flights of mariposas (butterflies) landing on me, getting in my hair, finding their ways into the folds of my clothing, etc. But it was not nearly as frightening. It is more like a zoo for mariposas in which they are studied from cocoon to full growth, and there were not an overwhelming number of insects flying around my head. But there were the largest butterflies I’ll probably ever see, called “Ojos de Búho” (Owls’ eyes), which describe the large circular markings on their wings. I have a picture of one here…they are really ugly and look really moth-y and when they fly around they are bird-like and completely terrifying. Ha. 
Then we headed up a mountain and took a ride on a cable car across a chasm between two mountains. I’d say we were about 200m or higher above the forest floor. It’s…interesting...how many times in the last three weeks I’ve realized how quickly and easily I could die. I haven’t mentioned the driving yet…that’s a whole other story… We got to the other side and took a 30-minute hike that ended at an amazingly powerful waterfall; hiked back, ate a grilled platano (delicious!), headed back to the bus for more Ace of Base, lunch, and it was 1pm. It felt like 6. Sidenote: For lunch we headed to our new hotel to eat. When we arrived we noticed what appeared to be a business meeting of some people who obviously had money by how they were dressed, etc. They left within 10 minutes of our arrival. This little detail is significant because attending this meeting was President Correa’s wife. Just another celeb connection to add to my list. Next on our itinerary was Puerto Quito, about 2 hours away. When we got there we toured a Chocolatería…a little shack in the woods where we made chocolate! It comes from the Cacao fruit. It has this fleshy white coating around hard seeds that you can suck on and then spit out, like candy – it’s really sweet. So to make the chocolate, we took the seeds (the ones we didn’t put in our mouths…) and put them in a wooden bowl over a little fire.
We cooked them until all the white coating was gone and continued to roast them. Once roasted, we took the roasted shell off of the seed. At this point we could eat the hot seeds and they tasted and smelled like what most know to be chocolate, but very bitter, because obviously no milk had been added. After removing the shells, we grinded the seeds into a fine powder (very rich, like the shavings found on fine cheesecakes, etc) and then melted the powder in our bowl on the fire. We enjoyed our hot, thick chocolate over bananas. Mmmmmmm. They also made us some herbal tea with fresh canela (cinnamon) before we toured their garden of medicinal plants. I got to touch and smell fresh aloe vera, the plant they use to make licorice, basil, and so much more – I wish I could remember everything. The most interesting for me was the “rubber tree”, Pará, which can grow up to 30m tall and very large in diameter. The tree, when cut, leaks natural rubber, which is used to make TONS of products including the recina I use to mix my paints. Additionally, it’s good for wounds. Another similar tree when cut looks as though it is bleeding because it drips a dark red fluid from its cuts. I collected some of the liquid drops and applied them to my mosquito bites and a few cuts I had acquired because it’s a natural healer.
After the garden we were off to a cascada (waterfall).
We hiked for about 40 minutes, and then all raced into the cool water that flowed below the 12m waterfall at the end of our path. It was really beautiful. Within minutes we discovered a barely-there path that lead up to the top of the fall (Dad, you would not enjoy it), and our guide said it was safe to jump in. From about 20 ft. up the fall on an extremely vertical and slippery rock, I looked down on yet another thrilling opportunity. Not going to lie, I was pretty nervous about jumping - less about the waterfall and more about hitting the rocks on my way down. But I launched myself out on the count of “3” screaming all the way into the water. The whole screaming business didn’t help considering when I broke through the surface and was plunged deep beneath I got tons of water in my mouth and nose and couldn’t breathe when I came back up. Oops. I lost my hair-tie, my breath, and almost, my bathing suit. But it was worth the rush. We hiked back at night…THAT was fun. Really was though. We sang “Hakuna Matata” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” the whole way back. I even broke out a little “Africa”. Good times, good times.
When we returned to the start of the trail we made FRESH SUGAR CANE JUICE with this huge device made out of trees that literally just juiced the wood. It was AMAZING.
La Pelea de Gallos
In the bus on the way home I spotted a bunch of people sitting around and wondered what was going on over there…and about 5 seconds later Patricio was like “Turn the bus around! I haven’t seen one of these in years! Wanna go to a cock fight?!” Hahahaha. So we went to a cock fight.
Some of the guys placed bets and won, I enjoyed a refreshing Pilsner. It was brutal. Kristen, I have no idea what you would’ve done if you were there. They cut off the back claws of the roosters and replaced them with metal spikes. The feathers of the roosters quickly turned red with blood. They shave the legs of the roosters to make them tougher and rub lemon on them. When the “ref” calls a time out once the fight starts getting really violent, the owners pick up the roosters and suck the blood from their heads into their mouths and then spit it out to help cleanse them. We left right before they put the all-white gallo into the circle. We named him “gringo” before we left and everyone there thought that was hilarious. Then back to the party bus. Roughing It
We returned to the hotel for dinner and a short salsa lesson. The fruit juice we had with our cena was the best I’ve tasted yet and is my new favorite fruit: arazá – it’s yellow and relatively small, tastes similar to a peach but better – more tart and also a little sweeter. We saw a Kinkajou (which I just spent about an hour google-ing because I had no idea what it was) climbing up a tree late at night after salsa. I took this picture off the internet…
The cabinas we stayed in were not so awesome. There was a cockroach in our shower. I didn’t know it was a cockroach because I haven’t exactly seen a whole lot of cockroaches, but after asking Katie to get rid of it for me and she told me what it was, I got even more freaked out. So not taking a shower Saturday night was the lesser of two evils. We barely had screens on our cabinas…anything or anyone could’ve easily entered. I slept under a mosquito net and wrapped myself up in a blanket as to avoid any creepy-crawlers, but despite my horror, after such a full day I inevitably fell into a deep sleep.
Sunday we woke up early again and went to another waterfall. This one was a lot bigger and so powerful we had to wear life jackets. Then we took the most beautiful scenic drive back to Quito. Everything for the next two hours literally looked like it was straight out of Jurassic Park.
“On Driving in Ecuador”
That was my amazing weekend. But about the driving in Ecuador: the requirements to get a license are only 2-3 weeks of practice and a test with only 2 hours a day. Nobody follows the rules…ever. If there is a stoplight or stop sign, it only merits a “yield”. People constantly cut each other off, motorcycles go wherever they need to regardless of what else is going on, cars drive practically underneath buses and trucks, and nobody stops for pedestrians. Every man for himself. Offensive driving. If you need to go somewhere or do something or cut someone off, you give a few beeps and keep going without hesitation. I’m seriously scared I’m going to get in an accident just being on a bus or in a taxi. I could never drive here because I would be driving their way and would immediately get hit. It’s insane.
Love the Fam
I made cookies for my fam last night. I made brownies today but I burnt them because I always forget when I put stuff in the oven. The only reason the cookies made it was because Yolanda reminded me. And the only reason the brownies didn’t start on fire was also because Yolanda reminded me. It’s the thought that counts? I plan on making my spicy pasta sometime this week for dinner.
Carnaval is this weekend and it is going to be ridiculous. The plan is to go to Manta, where my family is originally from, on Friday and Saturday, and then head to Guaranda on Sunday and Monday and return on Tuesday. Manta is on the coast – I’ll be going with Christine and we’ll be staying with Carlos’ s family in his house. He’ll be there, too, and Gabriel and Freddie are coming to meet up on Saturday. Guaranda has the reputation of the best Carnaval town in Ecuador as far as water and flour and egg fights go, which is what I’m looking for. I cannot WAIT. Expect a fun-filled entry next week and cross your fingers that my camera doesn’t get stolen in Guaranda!Note: Thanks to Bridget Wiersema for the use of her photos on this post! I unfortunately left my camera at home for this trip.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
