And now, some things I think about in my day:
1. Somehow, whenever it starts to rain, the streets are rapidly inundated with umbrella venders. I have no idea how these women do it as they´re selling other dry-weather goods when it isn´t raining and carry everything with them for their day. Several of them work quite a way from their homes so either they´re storing these umbrellas somewhere or they conjure them out of thin air. Either way, I´m keeping my eye on these umbrella venders...something fishy is going on here.
2. Several of the streets here are one-way, especially in the tiny, built-for-horses streets of Old Quito around my house. This in itself doesn´t present a problem, but the direction of the one-way seems to change sporadically. I´ll be walking down a one way street, sure that I´m facing the oncoming traffic, only to have a bus come up on me from behind and blow me aside. It also seems like the one-wayness may change from day today. Everyday on my way to my internship I´m absolutely positive about the direction of traffic, only to be proven wrong once again. Que misterioso...
3. Continuing with transportation, as I walk to my internship I often practice how I´m going to argue with my next taxi driver about prices. When the family went out to dinner the other night, the starting price for Charo was $2 (a full dollar below my cheapest ride) and she bargained down to $1.50! Although I really don´t mind paying the extra dollar or so, I consider it part of my integration process and a step toward "fitting in." With that in mind, I´m going to demand $2 when I go out this weekend and see what happens...most likely I´ll just be stuck in the rain without a taxi...
4. I realize that my Spanish is hardly flawless, but in most of my daily interactions I´m pretty confident that I´m putting together a convincing combination of vocabulary and grammar. However, whenever I go to the bank or a restaurant, people often completely misunderstand what I´m saying regardless of whether I´m expressing my needs clearly or not. For example, when I went to the bank the other day for change ($20 bills are completely useless) I asked (in perfect, clearly enunciated Spanish) for 2 tens, 3 fives, and 5 ones in exchange for the 2 twenties I´d just gotten from the ATM. The man looked at me and asked, "4 tens?", which is about as far from my order as he could have been. We then progressed to "2 tens and 4 fives?", finally arriving at the correct order after I yelled what I wanted for the third time. I guess we´ll just have to deal with it.
5. I´ve also been wondering if 5 boys in Sol de Primavera think about anything other than stilts...ever. The first thing they say to me in the morning (even before "buenos dias", because respectful greetings are really important in the foundation) is "When are we doing zancos?!" regardless of whether it´s their turn or not (which they all keep track of meticulously). This continues for about 20 minutes, during which I´m saying, "We´re not going to talk about stilts right now, no, seriously, not now, I don´t care, do you have lots of homework today?, no, you don´t have stilts today, no, we´re not talking about this, stop" I hear the same thing all day from these 5 boys...these kids need a hobby.
6. Speaking of my kids and hobbies, I´ve been teaching several kids how to play chess (a few already knew and Sergio is really really good) and we play other games all the time. The problem is that if I look away from the game for a second, which I always do to keep track of the other 15 kids in the room, the game is suddenly, miraculously shifted to the advantage of my opponent. When I explain to them that just because my Spanish isn´t perfect, it doesn´t mean that I´m stupid and that I´m completely aware of their cheating, they admit to cheating and after a quick reprimand continue with the game. This wouldn´t be so bad but the cheating is ssooo rampant, with the same kids playing the same games cheating the same way! I´m going to continue my crusade against this but so far haven´t gotten through to them why they can´t cheat in general, not only in the specific case...
Also, an update of what´s happening RIGHT NOW! I´ve been watching the Ecuador/Brasil fútbol game with Charo and JuanCar and Charo reminds me sssooo much of my mom with sports (although you´ve gotten better over the years, I know Mom). She cheers when anyone scores a goal (even though the score right now is 5-0 Brasil) and has mentioned several times how she doesn´t like Ecuador´s uniforms, preferring Brasil´s bright yellow. Also, whenever we finish eating Charo says, "Time for the dishwashing minga!" The minga is the traditional indigenous system of reciprocity and means communal work in general but for us it means that Charo washes, I dry, and JuanCar puts away. This is pretty much what every family does but it´s way cooler here because it´s called a minga...
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Fruit Truck Holiday
Worry not friends, although I very seriously considered never leaving the ideal surf town of Canoa ever ever again (seriously), I have returned to the real world...but only begrudgingly. Of course, in Quito right now it´s raining and the temperature is hovering right around 45 F...if anyone has a suggestion as to why I should be here as opposed to napping in a hammock in a cabaña on the Pacific...let me know.
We left for Canoa (a little surfing town 30 minutes north of Bahía de Caraquez, home of my host mother) last Thursday night at around 11:30 in the night. Needless to say, the bus ride was painful. As I´ve repeatedly learned, the Ecuadorian infrastructure wasn´t built for people over 5´8" and my 7 hour bus ride served as a great reminder. It was pretty amazing that we dropped almost two miles in 7 hours and arrived at the ocean right at sunrise. Our bus dropped us off in Bahía and we took the ferryish boats to San Vicente (the ugly cousin of Bahía after it was destroyed by El Niño) and hopped on a bus to Canoa.
After looking around for a little bit we found an amazing hostel a few blocks from the beach called Hostal Posada de Daniel (check out the pictures, it really was pretty sweet). Everyone quickly settled into one of the many hammocks around the hostel for a mid-morning nap. The nap attempts were hampered by some kind of school parade that marched around our block for about 2 hours...very bizarre. After a quick nap we found a restaurant that Kristin´s guide book guarenteed would have amazing pancakes. We definitely weren´t disappointed and ate breakfast there all three days (they also had a cat that looked exactly like my cat Duke from home, check out the picture Lauren, you´ll freak out).
We finally found our way to the beach in the afternoon and settled into our oceanside routine. Although the weather wasn´t typical good-beach-weather, it was almost perfect for what we were looking for. In the morning it was usually pretty raining and chilly so we didn´t feel bad sleeping in, playing pool, and generally lounging (preferrably in hammocks). After brunch it would start to clear up so that by the time we got to the beach it would be pretty warm with partly cloudy skies. The beach was also more or less perfect; not crowded at all but with a sufficient number of people, very long and clean, and with warm Pacific water and impressive waves.
The only other distinct part of the weekend (seriously, 3 days of just beach, hammocks, and beer) was when Anna and I, after struggling to find a bus back to Canoa after we went ATM-hunting in Bahía, hopped in the back of a fruit vender´s truck and ate watermelon with his son, Marcelo for the whole ride. The man wouldn´t let us pay but we bought two delicious watermelon from him instead. We took another fruit truck when we left Canoa and got really good oranges out of that trip.
This week has been pretty standard: internship, homework, class, hanging out with friends/family, internship again. My relationship with my internship has been pretty up and down lately. One day I´ll feel completely useless, frustrated, and entirely lacking in anything resembling Spanish skills. The very next day however, the kids will listen to me and tell me about their families, my Spanish will be practically flawless, and I feel completely content. I guess as long as sides stay balanced (with an increasing shift to the positive) I´m doing ok. This week we´re also supposed to start on our independent study projects so I´ll keep you updated on the progress. Hope everyone´s well!
Coming Soon: taking my kids to Mindo
We left for Canoa (a little surfing town 30 minutes north of Bahía de Caraquez, home of my host mother) last Thursday night at around 11:30 in the night. Needless to say, the bus ride was painful. As I´ve repeatedly learned, the Ecuadorian infrastructure wasn´t built for people over 5´8" and my 7 hour bus ride served as a great reminder. It was pretty amazing that we dropped almost two miles in 7 hours and arrived at the ocean right at sunrise. Our bus dropped us off in Bahía and we took the ferryish boats to San Vicente (the ugly cousin of Bahía after it was destroyed by El Niño) and hopped on a bus to Canoa.
After looking around for a little bit we found an amazing hostel a few blocks from the beach called Hostal Posada de Daniel (check out the pictures, it really was pretty sweet). Everyone quickly settled into one of the many hammocks around the hostel for a mid-morning nap. The nap attempts were hampered by some kind of school parade that marched around our block for about 2 hours...very bizarre. After a quick nap we found a restaurant that Kristin´s guide book guarenteed would have amazing pancakes. We definitely weren´t disappointed and ate breakfast there all three days (they also had a cat that looked exactly like my cat Duke from home, check out the picture Lauren, you´ll freak out).
We finally found our way to the beach in the afternoon and settled into our oceanside routine. Although the weather wasn´t typical good-beach-weather, it was almost perfect for what we were looking for. In the morning it was usually pretty raining and chilly so we didn´t feel bad sleeping in, playing pool, and generally lounging (preferrably in hammocks). After brunch it would start to clear up so that by the time we got to the beach it would be pretty warm with partly cloudy skies. The beach was also more or less perfect; not crowded at all but with a sufficient number of people, very long and clean, and with warm Pacific water and impressive waves.
The only other distinct part of the weekend (seriously, 3 days of just beach, hammocks, and beer) was when Anna and I, after struggling to find a bus back to Canoa after we went ATM-hunting in Bahía, hopped in the back of a fruit vender´s truck and ate watermelon with his son, Marcelo for the whole ride. The man wouldn´t let us pay but we bought two delicious watermelon from him instead. We took another fruit truck when we left Canoa and got really good oranges out of that trip.
This week has been pretty standard: internship, homework, class, hanging out with friends/family, internship again. My relationship with my internship has been pretty up and down lately. One day I´ll feel completely useless, frustrated, and entirely lacking in anything resembling Spanish skills. The very next day however, the kids will listen to me and tell me about their families, my Spanish will be practically flawless, and I feel completely content. I guess as long as sides stay balanced (with an increasing shift to the positive) I´m doing ok. This week we´re also supposed to start on our independent study projects so I´ll keep you updated on the progress. Hope everyone´s well!
Coming Soon: taking my kids to Mindo
Sunday, October 7, 2007
A Tour of the Senses
And now, a preview of the senses experienced in a day in Ecuador which I´ve been compiling the past couple days:
Smell (my favorite): The first smell that comes to mind is the continual presence of bus exhaust. I usually get several facefulls on my walk to work and some days the smog above the city hovers menacingly, obscuring views of the neighboring volcanoes. At the same time however, when the smog clears, you can pick up baking bread, garbage, strong business-man type cologne, and the intense spring smell that comes up every afternoon. Now that it´s cold I also smell wood-burning stoves that remind me of my old piano teacher´s house. Walking down the street every restaurant has some distinctly tasty smelling food that has more than once lured me inside. The soap in my family´s house is also a pretty important smell, I know that one of my grandmas had the exact same-smelling soap at some point. I think my favorite though is the vender who sells roasted almonds (known as caca de perro, or dog poop here) on my walk to work.
Sight: Obviously this is probably the most diverse but even the different kinds of light in a day surprise me. In the morning I´m awoken by the piercingly bright sunlight at 6:30 peaking over the building across the street. The sun usually stays pretty bright, spring-style, until about noon when things start to cloud over. For the rest of the afternoon it´s pretty dark, around 5 even darker than it is at night. Night is never too dark because the city glows with light pollution reflecting off the low clouds. My favorite part of the day (light-speaking anyway) is around 4:30 when I´m walking home and some days the clouds are just lifting and El Panecillo and southern Quito are flooded in golden light. In these moments I can also see Cotopaxi rising above the clouds in the distance and the whole thing makes me think that the fighting kids I just left maybe aren´t so bad.
In addition to the light (because there isn´t really anywhere else to put this image in my blog), one of the most memorable sights for me is the elderly blind couple I see walking on my way to my internship every morning. They never beg or try to sell anything, but the old man has a cane and guides the woman through the morning bustle. They´re always talking to each other quietly in Spanish and maybe before I leave I´ll try to stop and talk with them.
Taste: So far I´ve absolutely loved the food here. I´ve even eaten mushrooms, my least favorite, and enjoy delicious vegetables at every meal. Rice is a staple that I eat with almost every meal, but I also really like the Andean grains maní, chote, and quinua. In addition to the new fruits and dozens of banana varieties, I´ve also added a alot of soy sauce to my diet as my family uses it as the main seasoning for rice and meat. My family doesn´t eat very much meat but I´ve definitely learned to appreciate good tofu here. There are also ice cream stores on every block so I´ve been sampling guanamana, pistachio, and coconut ice creams. One taste I´ve slowly become accustomed to (accustomed to, not "a fan of") is the Nestle instant coffee. Although Ecuador has a pretty big coffee industry, most is exported...leaving me to my sour powder.
Sound: The sound that comes immediately to mind is the yell of "Nata!" from my kids which is used throughout the day regardless of whether "Nata" is actually needed or not. The yell can especially be heard when I don´t understand something (in which case "Nata" is used exasperatedly) or during stilt-walking lessons (when it is used in desperation and alarm). Other sounds include the barking of the street dogs, the neverending car horns (seriously, I think drivers just get bored or use their horns as some kind of weird mood ring), and the yells of the street venders, which used to get louder as I walked by but most venders have learned that I´m not going to stop. I´m also often woken up in the morning by my host dad playing a) his guitar or b) my favorite playlists on my ipod, which he´s started to really like. My favorite sound though, as always, has to be the rain that sometimes wakes me up...nothing beats that.
Feeling: Usually I have a feeling of dull ache in my head from bumping against the ceiling of the bus and the doorways of Sol. Also there is the pervasive feeling of moistness (that´s right, I used it, my most loathed of words) and chill now that we´ve entered the winter/wet season. Usually my shoes don´t have time to dry out between outings so I try to rotate between my two pairs. Finally, one of my favorite feelings is the warm, wooly feel of my blankets when I finally get to bed after a long day.
I´ve tried to remember these things as I´ve come across them lately but I know there are a couple important sensory tales that I´ve forgotten. Maybe there will be a Tour II in the future!
Smell (my favorite): The first smell that comes to mind is the continual presence of bus exhaust. I usually get several facefulls on my walk to work and some days the smog above the city hovers menacingly, obscuring views of the neighboring volcanoes. At the same time however, when the smog clears, you can pick up baking bread, garbage, strong business-man type cologne, and the intense spring smell that comes up every afternoon. Now that it´s cold I also smell wood-burning stoves that remind me of my old piano teacher´s house. Walking down the street every restaurant has some distinctly tasty smelling food that has more than once lured me inside. The soap in my family´s house is also a pretty important smell, I know that one of my grandmas had the exact same-smelling soap at some point. I think my favorite though is the vender who sells roasted almonds (known as caca de perro, or dog poop here) on my walk to work.
Sight: Obviously this is probably the most diverse but even the different kinds of light in a day surprise me. In the morning I´m awoken by the piercingly bright sunlight at 6:30 peaking over the building across the street. The sun usually stays pretty bright, spring-style, until about noon when things start to cloud over. For the rest of the afternoon it´s pretty dark, around 5 even darker than it is at night. Night is never too dark because the city glows with light pollution reflecting off the low clouds. My favorite part of the day (light-speaking anyway) is around 4:30 when I´m walking home and some days the clouds are just lifting and El Panecillo and southern Quito are flooded in golden light. In these moments I can also see Cotopaxi rising above the clouds in the distance and the whole thing makes me think that the fighting kids I just left maybe aren´t so bad.
In addition to the light (because there isn´t really anywhere else to put this image in my blog), one of the most memorable sights for me is the elderly blind couple I see walking on my way to my internship every morning. They never beg or try to sell anything, but the old man has a cane and guides the woman through the morning bustle. They´re always talking to each other quietly in Spanish and maybe before I leave I´ll try to stop and talk with them.
Taste: So far I´ve absolutely loved the food here. I´ve even eaten mushrooms, my least favorite, and enjoy delicious vegetables at every meal. Rice is a staple that I eat with almost every meal, but I also really like the Andean grains maní, chote, and quinua. In addition to the new fruits and dozens of banana varieties, I´ve also added a alot of soy sauce to my diet as my family uses it as the main seasoning for rice and meat. My family doesn´t eat very much meat but I´ve definitely learned to appreciate good tofu here. There are also ice cream stores on every block so I´ve been sampling guanamana, pistachio, and coconut ice creams. One taste I´ve slowly become accustomed to (accustomed to, not "a fan of") is the Nestle instant coffee. Although Ecuador has a pretty big coffee industry, most is exported...leaving me to my sour powder.
Sound: The sound that comes immediately to mind is the yell of "Nata!" from my kids which is used throughout the day regardless of whether "Nata" is actually needed or not. The yell can especially be heard when I don´t understand something (in which case "Nata" is used exasperatedly) or during stilt-walking lessons (when it is used in desperation and alarm). Other sounds include the barking of the street dogs, the neverending car horns (seriously, I think drivers just get bored or use their horns as some kind of weird mood ring), and the yells of the street venders, which used to get louder as I walked by but most venders have learned that I´m not going to stop. I´m also often woken up in the morning by my host dad playing a) his guitar or b) my favorite playlists on my ipod, which he´s started to really like. My favorite sound though, as always, has to be the rain that sometimes wakes me up...nothing beats that.
Feeling: Usually I have a feeling of dull ache in my head from bumping against the ceiling of the bus and the doorways of Sol. Also there is the pervasive feeling of moistness (that´s right, I used it, my most loathed of words) and chill now that we´ve entered the winter/wet season. Usually my shoes don´t have time to dry out between outings so I try to rotate between my two pairs. Finally, one of my favorite feelings is the warm, wooly feel of my blankets when I finally get to bed after a long day.
I´ve tried to remember these things as I´ve come across them lately but I know there are a couple important sensory tales that I´ve forgotten. Maybe there will be a Tour II in the future!
A Walk in the Rainforest
Tonight as I was preparing my humble dinner of carne vegetal (tofu) and arroz (rice), Charo sensed an opportunity to continue her eternal crusade to fatten me up. As I cooked she asked if I would like some lettuce and added tomatos, onions, and olives when I said yes. When I went to the bathroom she added fried madura (one of the many banana types) to the stove and put out a plate of lima beans and roasted corn (a popular snack). When I returned and joked about my gigantic dinner she said, "I bought ham for you today too." As I write she´s trying to convince me that I need dessert...
This past Thursday I had a little change in my internship when I manned a booth in an artisan´s fair for Sol. Sol had a booth selling orange juice and bread goods and another three tables with things from the jewelry, woodworking, and sewing workshops in the organization. After the 6th level in Sol de Primavera the kids move into one of the different trade shops where they learn the skills they will need for their internships and jobs when they leave the foundation. The things they make in class (including clothes and dolls in the sewing shop, domino sets and wooden bicycles in the woodworking shop, and necklaces and rings in the silversmith) they take to various fairs and markets around the city. The money sometimes goes back directly to the kids but most goes into a fund in the organization that buys the kids shoes and school supplies. I had two of the kids with me at the fair (Luis and Susana) but it wasn´t a very busy day. When I left at 4 (after arriving at 8), our only customers had been my friends and host mom...
Although I´m always a delicate shade of pink here in Quito (owing to little atmospheric buffer between my Irish face and the sun) but after a weekend hiking in the rainforest my pink has acquired a somewhat more severe glow. Friday morning everyone on my program left for Mindo, a tropical paradise only 3 hours north of the city. On the way there we stopped at a Pululahua, a town in the center of a volcanic crater and the ruins of a ceremonial center of the Yumba at Tulipe.
The area just north of Quito is really arid and just kind of ugly in general but as we drove north the mountains slowly turned more and more tropical. It was a really beautiful drive with waterfalls ocassionally appearing amongst the trees and clouds rolling quickly down the vallies and across the road. After bouncing along a tiny country road for a half hour we arrived at Puchijal nature preserve, where we would stay the night. The main lodge and our cabin were right in the middle of the cloud forest, it was absolutely amazing.
We went on a hike to a waterfall first thing and although Andrew gets to do stuff like this every day, a walk in rainforest was a welcome change for those of us living in the city. The hike was beautiful, it was raining of course but everything was so fantastic no one cared. As we went along our guide would stop every few minutes to point out a tree that produced antibiotic sap or to pick up a leaf half-masticated by a bear. I didn´t bring my camera on this hike but at some point I´ll get waterfall pictures from someone. The waterfalls weren´t very big but they made for a great hike and a satisfying end to the walk. The waterfalls were also home to the gallo de peña (or cock of the rock as my guidebook so eloquently translated it) which we got a chance to see. When we got back we wanted to go for another hike so we scaled one of the mountains next to the lodge.
That night was Anna´s birthday so we taught the guides some of our American drinking/card games and they taught us some of their own. It was a hilarious time, at the end of the night everyone had red hands from an Ecuadorian slapping game...way fun. I also got up at 5:00 the next morning for an early hike with two other students. This time we hiked to a river where we braved a swim in the freezing water and saw puma droppings on the way back.
After that we left the preserve to check out a butterfly garden and to watertube down a river. We ended the day with a trout lunch in an orchid/hummingbird garden. All in all an amazing experience and everyone had a great time.
I actually started this post quite a while ago but only got around to finishing it tonight, the 10th. I also posted some new pictures (at http://picasaweb.google.com/aventurasdenate for people who requested the link again) so you should check it out. Hope everyone´s well.
Coming soon: A weekend at the beach and starting my independent study project
This past Thursday I had a little change in my internship when I manned a booth in an artisan´s fair for Sol. Sol had a booth selling orange juice and bread goods and another three tables with things from the jewelry, woodworking, and sewing workshops in the organization. After the 6th level in Sol de Primavera the kids move into one of the different trade shops where they learn the skills they will need for their internships and jobs when they leave the foundation. The things they make in class (including clothes and dolls in the sewing shop, domino sets and wooden bicycles in the woodworking shop, and necklaces and rings in the silversmith) they take to various fairs and markets around the city. The money sometimes goes back directly to the kids but most goes into a fund in the organization that buys the kids shoes and school supplies. I had two of the kids with me at the fair (Luis and Susana) but it wasn´t a very busy day. When I left at 4 (after arriving at 8), our only customers had been my friends and host mom...
Although I´m always a delicate shade of pink here in Quito (owing to little atmospheric buffer between my Irish face and the sun) but after a weekend hiking in the rainforest my pink has acquired a somewhat more severe glow. Friday morning everyone on my program left for Mindo, a tropical paradise only 3 hours north of the city. On the way there we stopped at a Pululahua, a town in the center of a volcanic crater and the ruins of a ceremonial center of the Yumba at Tulipe.
The area just north of Quito is really arid and just kind of ugly in general but as we drove north the mountains slowly turned more and more tropical. It was a really beautiful drive with waterfalls ocassionally appearing amongst the trees and clouds rolling quickly down the vallies and across the road. After bouncing along a tiny country road for a half hour we arrived at Puchijal nature preserve, where we would stay the night. The main lodge and our cabin were right in the middle of the cloud forest, it was absolutely amazing.
We went on a hike to a waterfall first thing and although Andrew gets to do stuff like this every day, a walk in rainforest was a welcome change for those of us living in the city. The hike was beautiful, it was raining of course but everything was so fantastic no one cared. As we went along our guide would stop every few minutes to point out a tree that produced antibiotic sap or to pick up a leaf half-masticated by a bear. I didn´t bring my camera on this hike but at some point I´ll get waterfall pictures from someone. The waterfalls weren´t very big but they made for a great hike and a satisfying end to the walk. The waterfalls were also home to the gallo de peña (or cock of the rock as my guidebook so eloquently translated it) which we got a chance to see. When we got back we wanted to go for another hike so we scaled one of the mountains next to the lodge.
That night was Anna´s birthday so we taught the guides some of our American drinking/card games and they taught us some of their own. It was a hilarious time, at the end of the night everyone had red hands from an Ecuadorian slapping game...way fun. I also got up at 5:00 the next morning for an early hike with two other students. This time we hiked to a river where we braved a swim in the freezing water and saw puma droppings on the way back.
After that we left the preserve to check out a butterfly garden and to watertube down a river. We ended the day with a trout lunch in an orchid/hummingbird garden. All in all an amazing experience and everyone had a great time.
I actually started this post quite a while ago but only got around to finishing it tonight, the 10th. I also posted some new pictures (at http://picasaweb.google.com/aventurasdenate for people who requested the link again) so you should check it out. Hope everyone´s well.
Coming soon: A weekend at the beach and starting my independent study project
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
The President and the Party
It constantly amazes me how quickly time is passing here, when I read past blog entries (even those from this past Saturday) I have to take a minute to remember I´ve only been here 5 weeks...absolutely insane. I especially have to remind myself of this when I see American or German tourists trying to navigate the city or haggle in a market. I´m still in the stage where I chastise myself after I think, "amateurs"...but only after.
This weekend marked the passing of the elections (and by extension, the prohibition). It was a really cool day, the president was driving around the city with a huge caravan of candidates from his party and every time he went up my street Charo would run out onto the balcony and scream her support. Juan Carlos laughed but rolled his eyes. Speaking of the president, my family and I went out to lunch on Saturday morning and as we were walking to the bus my host-sister Lucila yelled, "Mami, el presidente!" Sure enough, President Correa was coming out of a restaurant talking to a reporter (I like to think he was talking about why Happy Panda was his favorite Chinese restaurant but it was more likely about the elections). It was seriously only Correa´s family, my family, and this reporter on street. Charo of course ran over to him and jumped up and down behind the reporter´s camera, all the while yelling, "Get the camera! Get the camera!"...Correa is much more of a rockstar for Charo than a political figure. Correa gave Charo a hug and remembered her from a function a couple weeks ago. I was about 8 feet away from the president the day before elections...amazing. As the president drove away the reporter filmed our family waving enthusiastically, we didn´t know the station but apparently I was on Ecuadorian national news.
Anyway, as I´ve mentioned, voting is obligatory in Ecuador so the country more or less came to a complete halt on Sunday. I went with my brother to vote in the Valle de los Chillos, where my family lived for several years. The streets were full of people walked to the polls and on the way Juan Car ran into 4 of his best friends, Quito really is a small town of 2 million. The voting process itself was intense: two ballots the size of table cloths, hundreds upon hundreds of candidates with their pictures, and soldiers with machine guns at every polling entrance. At the end of the day, President Correa´s Lista 35 Pais party was handed a very clear majority in the asemblea. The offical results won´t be announced for 15-20 days but this means that when Ecuadorians return to the polls in 6 months they will be voting to ratify a much more liberal, economically/socially/environmentally progressive constitution. Very exciting.
After voting my brother and I met up with Paula, his girlfriend, and went out to lunch and to a market. I´m not even going to say anything about the market because the pictures speak for themselves ssooo well, but it was really fun seeing where Juan Car and Paula grew up, we went to their favorite ice cream place and Paula´s new, beautiful house (w/ a trampoline, I was so pleased).
--You should also probably know that as I´ve been writing this I´ve been making dinner and dancing around my living room while listening to the Almost Famous soundtrack. This in itself is hardly noteworthy, but as I was dancing I happened to look out the window and my neighbor across the street waved and smiled. Apparently the whole family was watching me dance as a kind of dinner theater--
Last night we had a birthday party for my host dad and had a great dinner with all of the family and our neighbors, Nury and 4-year-old Eric. Eric is extremely precocious and had everyone laughing/scolding all night long. I´ve also been teaching Charo how to use Skype to talk to her daughter in Texas and at one point she was talking to Rosie on the computer, answering her cellphone in the other ear, and playing music on my ipod. The family loved it and took several pictures, any time Charo handles technology is a momentous one. Afterward we watched a short film Juan Car is submitting to a film festival here in Quito...very very cool.
My internship continues to go well, since his first smile yesterday, Julio has been a relative joy ("absolute" is pushing it quite a bit). Through the combination of teaching him how to ride a bike and walk stilts in two days, he´s become my best friend. He´s still in a fight every 30 minutes, but they´re easier to break up and he doesn´t walk away cursing at me in his mumbling Spanish. Today was a pretty rewarding one (rewarding definitely implies difficulties, only difficulties overcome). I had stilts lessons and tutoring all morning and then in the afternoon I went with Myriam to play with the little kids in El Placer. There were lots of kids there and one mentally handicapped man who I´ve seen begging in Plaza Grande. It was a really interesting/difficult afternoon because we were teaching 6-year-olds and a 30-year-old how to play the game Memory at the same time. On the walk home the air was unusually clear and I could see the whole city unfolding to the south and Cotopaxi looming in the distance...quite the way to end the day.
Also, check out the newly posted pictures...more coming soon. Love to all.
Coming soon: Mindo, Feria de Artesenias with my kids, and Anna´s birthday
This weekend marked the passing of the elections (and by extension, the prohibition). It was a really cool day, the president was driving around the city with a huge caravan of candidates from his party and every time he went up my street Charo would run out onto the balcony and scream her support. Juan Carlos laughed but rolled his eyes. Speaking of the president, my family and I went out to lunch on Saturday morning and as we were walking to the bus my host-sister Lucila yelled, "Mami, el presidente!" Sure enough, President Correa was coming out of a restaurant talking to a reporter (I like to think he was talking about why Happy Panda was his favorite Chinese restaurant but it was more likely about the elections). It was seriously only Correa´s family, my family, and this reporter on street. Charo of course ran over to him and jumped up and down behind the reporter´s camera, all the while yelling, "Get the camera! Get the camera!"...Correa is much more of a rockstar for Charo than a political figure. Correa gave Charo a hug and remembered her from a function a couple weeks ago. I was about 8 feet away from the president the day before elections...amazing. As the president drove away the reporter filmed our family waving enthusiastically, we didn´t know the station but apparently I was on Ecuadorian national news.
Anyway, as I´ve mentioned, voting is obligatory in Ecuador so the country more or less came to a complete halt on Sunday. I went with my brother to vote in the Valle de los Chillos, where my family lived for several years. The streets were full of people walked to the polls and on the way Juan Car ran into 4 of his best friends, Quito really is a small town of 2 million. The voting process itself was intense: two ballots the size of table cloths, hundreds upon hundreds of candidates with their pictures, and soldiers with machine guns at every polling entrance. At the end of the day, President Correa´s Lista 35 Pais party was handed a very clear majority in the asemblea. The offical results won´t be announced for 15-20 days but this means that when Ecuadorians return to the polls in 6 months they will be voting to ratify a much more liberal, economically/socially/environmentally progressive constitution. Very exciting.
After voting my brother and I met up with Paula, his girlfriend, and went out to lunch and to a market. I´m not even going to say anything about the market because the pictures speak for themselves ssooo well, but it was really fun seeing where Juan Car and Paula grew up, we went to their favorite ice cream place and Paula´s new, beautiful house (w/ a trampoline, I was so pleased).
--You should also probably know that as I´ve been writing this I´ve been making dinner and dancing around my living room while listening to the Almost Famous soundtrack. This in itself is hardly noteworthy, but as I was dancing I happened to look out the window and my neighbor across the street waved and smiled. Apparently the whole family was watching me dance as a kind of dinner theater--
Last night we had a birthday party for my host dad and had a great dinner with all of the family and our neighbors, Nury and 4-year-old Eric. Eric is extremely precocious and had everyone laughing/scolding all night long. I´ve also been teaching Charo how to use Skype to talk to her daughter in Texas and at one point she was talking to Rosie on the computer, answering her cellphone in the other ear, and playing music on my ipod. The family loved it and took several pictures, any time Charo handles technology is a momentous one. Afterward we watched a short film Juan Car is submitting to a film festival here in Quito...very very cool.
My internship continues to go well, since his first smile yesterday, Julio has been a relative joy ("absolute" is pushing it quite a bit). Through the combination of teaching him how to ride a bike and walk stilts in two days, he´s become my best friend. He´s still in a fight every 30 minutes, but they´re easier to break up and he doesn´t walk away cursing at me in his mumbling Spanish. Today was a pretty rewarding one (rewarding definitely implies difficulties, only difficulties overcome). I had stilts lessons and tutoring all morning and then in the afternoon I went with Myriam to play with the little kids in El Placer. There were lots of kids there and one mentally handicapped man who I´ve seen begging in Plaza Grande. It was a really interesting/difficult afternoon because we were teaching 6-year-olds and a 30-year-old how to play the game Memory at the same time. On the walk home the air was unusually clear and I could see the whole city unfolding to the south and Cotopaxi looming in the distance...quite the way to end the day.
Also, check out the newly posted pictures...more coming soon. Love to all.
Coming soon: Mindo, Feria de Artesenias with my kids, and Anna´s birthday
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