Fiestas de Quito

Last week was "Fiestas de Quito." This  festival goes from the end of November to December 6 to celebrate the founding of Quito in 1534. Most people don't have school or work on Dec 5 and 6, as those are the most important days of the Fiestas. During the week there is bullfighting, dancing, theatre shows, and a huge parade that presents the new Reina (Queen) of Quito. After the week was over, I realized that most of the Quitanos use this week as an excuse to drink, dance, and have a great time!

Below are a few pictures from the parade. It was FOREVER long. Kilometer after kilometer (yeah, they use those here. Celsius too.) of bands, entertainers, and indigenous dancers and musicians! My friend Rebecca and I stayed for 2 hours before leaving, and the parade was only halfway over!

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This week I also learned more about the bullfighting that goes on here in Quito. The Ecuadorians say that it's a cultural activity and it's always a "fun time." However, I saw it as a torturous activity. A couple weeks before the fight the bull is locked in a dark room so that its vision will be off when it's time for the bullfight. They also hit the bulls repeatedly in the knees with huge sandbags to make sure it's in pain days leading up to the fight and they put vasoline in their eyes the day of the fight to decrease their vision even more. They also pour acid onto the bulls genitals right before the fight which causes severe pain, aggravation, and the bucking you frequently see during the fights. I did not support the animal cruelty going on here in Ecuador and I hope that their government puts an end to the torture.  

Volcanoes are cool.

It seems that November is always a busy month and it just flew by! Even though I am not at Bellarmine, I have found myself with about the same amount of end of the semester work as if I were. Although I shouldn't be using this as an excuse for not blogging, I am. Sorry! I'll try to start posting on all the things I've lacked to write about from the past few weeks soon! For today's post - BANOS!

My geology class took a weekend field trip to one of the most active volcanoes in Ecuador called Tungurahua.
It is located in Banos, a city about four hours from Quito by bus. It was awesome!




We learned how to use a "geological hammer" (mostly used as a scale or to break apart bigger rocks) and other geological instruments, as well as hunted for different types of rocks in a quarry and got to walk around on an old lava field!




After we finished our work on Saturday we had the evening free in the city. We walked around and found some place to eat dinner. No, we did not eat cuy (guinea pig --->) as seen here. They still had teeth! Gross! Guinea pig is a delicacy in Ecuador but I just can't bring myself to eat it. After dinner we went out dancing and then to sleep in preparation for an early morning on the volcano.



Day 2 was spent at a volcanic look-out center and at Ecuador's Geophysical station. We got to hear stories about the last big eruptions in July and August 2006 from a man that spends almost all of his time at a volcanic watch center. We also got to see a seismograph in action and take a go on the most amazing swing in the world!

And the good thing about me waiting so long to post this blog is the following --- IT ERUPTED ON SUNDAY! 2 weeks after I was there. So far, zero pyroclastic (the dangerous kind) lava flow has been reported and only minor ashfall has been seen. The intensity of gas and ash emissions seems to be decreasing by the day. The only way Quito would be affected by this eruption would be for the ashfall to heavily increase and strong winds be blowing to the North. So fingers crossed for those two things to not happen! I'll make sure to keep you posted on the activity of the volcano.

Hopefully I will be able to post on Monday or Tuesday about the Festival de Quito, Quito's Independence Festival, that is taking place this weekend! I'm starting off tomorrow with a parade! One of my favorite things!

Everyone have a great weekend,

Kelley

Islas Galapagos

 Kicker Rock - I snorkeled through the channel and saw White-tipped Sharks!!

 Sea lions were EVERYWHERE!

The sunsets were absolutely gorgeous!

 Huge land iguanas!

 Me at Volcan Chico!

All the tortoises looked SO old!!

 Me and a Giant Tortoise!

INSIDE A TORTOISE SHELL! This was the coolest thing EVER! (:

I had the most amazing time of my life in the Galapagos Islands. I visited four islands: San Cristobal, Floreana, Isabela (my favorite) and Santa Cruz. I went snorkeling almost every day and was able to see Sea Turtles, Manta Rays, Sea Lions, Penguins, White-tip Sharks, Galapagos Sharks, and Marine Iguanas. As well as seeing Land Iguanas, Blue-footed Boobies, Galapagos Hummingbirds, Lava Lizards, and the Giant Tortoises! The streets were made of sand and our hotels were a couple blocks away from the beach. I got to ride on top of a chiva through the mountains and learn about the history of the islands and all of the animals living there. It wasn't filled with tourists and I felt like the islands were all mine! Now I'm ready to move there! If you ever have the chance - GO!

Harry Potter

This week was Harry Potter week at USFQ. Every year the school picks a theme and celebrates accordingly for the week before Halloween! How exciting!

Many of the students and professors dressed up!

USFQ had their very own Hogwars Express and Platform 9 and 3/4!

And the best part - Quidditch! Everyone was REALLY in support of the game. The picture

above is of the "snitch" being chased around the field. He ended up running

through the crowds too! Fun time! They also had "broom rides" across the laguna and some tasty butterbeer. Overall, a great week and definitely made me forget about missing Halloween at home.

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Tomorrow (Saturday) I am leaving for the Galapagos Islands! Check back

next weekend for pictures and info about the trip!!

Kelley

Casa de Bing

Last Thursday my Spanish language class was invited to dinner at the house of one of our classmates, Bing. I had SO MUCH FUN! Bing is from China and has lived in Quito for about 3 years, on and off, because of her husband's job. She had a beautiful house and she made an excellent Chinese dinner for us!

I really enjoy that class, because the people are from all around the world and we're all just there to learn. The best part of dinner was eating authentic Chinese in Ecuador and speaking (mostly) Spanish, while learning some Chinese phrases at the same time! The second best part was the dumplings. Good times in la casa de Bing.

Pictures to come soon!

-Kelley

That's what he said...

I spent this weekend exploring Quito! I've realized that throughout my time in Ecuador, I have been travelling quite frequently and haven't really had a chance to visit the city I've been living in for the past 2 months.

I went to the "Museo Nacional" and spent a few hours looking at all of the artifacts, archaeological finds, and works of art; some even date back to 11,000 B.C.! I was able to see the lifestyles of the pre-Columbian and pre-Incans and also look at more contemporary Ecuadorian art! I followed a Spanish tour around for about an hour and spent the rest of my time wandering around without the group! This museum was also free! I think it may always be free on Saturdays, but I couldn't understand her reasoning when she was trying to explain to me. I'd like to go back though, so figure it out then!



 I then spent some time in the Iglesia de San Francisco. The Spanish began construction here 1 month after they arrived in Ecuador in 1535 and it took 100 years to finish. Two interesting facts about this church, 1.) The church was built over an Incan temple, making it stand much higher than the plaza in front of it. 2.) The stairs to the church were purposefully made wide so that you would have to keep your eyes on where you were walking - otherwise, forcing you to bow your head in respect while coming into the church.



My friend Julia and I then went to el Panecillo de Virgen. Standing at 148ft., you can see the Virgen de Quito statue from most of the city, on a clear day. The hill that the statue stands on, el Panecillo, was used by the Inca's as a place of worship to the sun. From the top of the hill, we had wonderful views of Quito!

Until next time,
kelley

Livin' the dream

Hello everyone!

Time is FLYING! I am officially half-way through with my study abroad in Ecuador and I can't believe it. Although some days I feel like my life is at a standstill, with the monotonous routine of going to class and doing homework, I then look at the calendar and can't understand where the days have gone!

I have some exciting news to share... I'm officially going to the Galapagos Islands October 29 - November 5!!! I'll be visiting four islands - San Cristobal, Floreana, Santa Cruz, and Isabela. I'll also be snorkeling at Kicker Rock (one of the best snorkeling spots in the world), visiting the Charles Darwin station, and seeing the giant tortoises! I'm beyond pumped for this! Talk about a GREAT fall break!

Have a great weekend,
Kelley

La Amazonia

I am so sorry for the major delay in writing this post! I got back from Tiputini last Monday night and had SO MUCH HOMEWORK and STUDYING to do! I was able to post my pictures to facebook and I hope you all enjoyed those! I am going to go through a day-by-day of my time at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station and try to explain the extreme beauty that I was able to experience during my time in the Amazon!

Friday was a lot of traveling! The seven of us, 6 students and one advisor, left the Quito airport around 7:00am and arrived in Coca, Ecuador at 7:30. Short flight! From there we took a boat, a chiva (trolley bus), and another boat to our final destination at Tiputini around 4:00pm! It was everything I hoped for! We walked up quite a few stairs from the boat to the "comedor" which was the outside dining hall, and then took a five minute walk along a path through the rainforest to our cabanas to put our things away and rest for a bit. Later we had dinner and hit the hay pretty early! Our cabanas had screened windows (no glass) and it was SO AMAZING to hear all the sounds of the jungle.

Saturday - First we went on a 3-4 hour hike through the rainforest, seeing LOTS of wildlife, especially birds! We went back for lunch and then hiked to a canopy tower and from the top I was able to see so many trees. They went on for forever and it was a great feeling; to be such a speck in the vastly expansive Amazon. [Side note: SO MANY INSECTS in the canopy!] Saturday night we took the boat out to look for nocturnal animals and look at what we found! Caimans! And we were actually able to hold a baby! One of the highlights of the trip for sure!




Sunday morning we hiked to the canopy tower/walkways and traveled by rope bridge to four different towers and got more breathtaking views of la Amazonia! In the afternoon we were able to float down the Tiputini River. Yes, the same river that we saw Caimans in the night before. It was SO WONDERFUL! And then we did a night hike! This was easily my favorite part of the trip. You could hear all of the animals around you and you just realized how many of them were actually out there. At one point we turned off our flashlights and just listened. It was the most peaceful thing. And it really helped me become more aware; when you're in a situation like that it's hard not to realize how much bigger the world is, and how small of a role you play in it. Crazy!

Monday - We headed out around 7:00am for our long journey back to Quito. While we were on our first boat we were able to see Tapirs, Pink River dolphins, and Capibaras! A great way to end a great trip!

And my friend Lisa, who also went on the trip, made this wonderful list of everything we saw in Tiputini (and I added some thoughts) ::
Birds
Friday, 9-30-11

1. Brown-chested martin
2. White-winged swallow
3. Bat falcon
4. Black vulture
5. Southern rough-winged swallow
6. Osprey
7. Cattle egret
8. Yellow-rumped cacique
9. Lesser kiskadee
10. Blue-gray tanager
11. Yellow-browed sparrow
12. Sungrebe
13. Ringed kingfisher
14. Tropical kingbird
15. Blue and yellow macaw
16. Amazon kingfisher
17. Cocoi heron
18. Slate-colored hawk
19. White-banded swallow
20. tinamou (species?)

Saturday, 10-1-11

1. Common piping guan
2. Russet-backed oropendola
3. Speckled chachalaca
4. Scarlet macaw
5. Hoatzin
6. Black caracara
7. Greater kiskadee
8. Greater ani
9. Lineated woodpecker
10. Red-capped cardinal
11. Crimson masked tanager
12. Rufescent tiger heron
13. Orange-winged parrots
14. Scale-backed antbird
15. White-fronted nun bird
16. White-browed purpletuft
17. Blue dacnis
18. Yellow-bellied tanager
19. White-lored euphonia
20. gilded barbet
21. Bare-necked fruit crow
22. White-throated toucan
23. Ladder-tailed nightjar
24. Rufous-bellied euphonia
25. Red-bellied macaw
26. Black-fronted nunbird
27. Buff-throated woodcreeper
28. Olive-faced flatbill
29. Eastern wood-pewee

Sunday, 10-2-11

1. Spotted sandpiper
2. Cobalt-winged parakeet
3. Striated heron
4. Amazonian white-tailed trogon
5. Red-throated caracara
6. Roadside hawk
7. White-necked jacobin
8. hummingbird on nest
9. trumpeters

Mammals

1. Pink river dolphin
2. Common woolly monkey
3. Long-nosed bat
4. other kinds of bats
5. Amazon red squirrel
6. Agouti
7. Spider monkey
8. Squirrel monkey
9. Howler monkey (heard)
10. Red-mantled tamarinds
11. nocturnal monkey
12. 2 tapirs
13. capibara with 2 babies

Reptiles/Amphibians

Caimans (held one!!)
Pitt viper
Tree runner (lizard)
Sapo de riñuelo (toad)
Emerald tree boa

Insects
swarms of “confetti”-like butterflies (yellow, white, light green which were so pretty)
Blue morpho butterfly
blue/black/white butterfly, red on outside of wings
green/black/white swallowtail-like butterfly
tarantula
araña loba (wolf spider)
molting grillo
conga ants (bullet ants)
very pretty dangerous centipede
araña tejedora (weaver spider)
araña scorpión
banana spider

Plants
white hollow mushroom called pena de diablo that only lives 1 day
El jardín del Diablo: tree with lemon ants (formic acid clears area- ate some)
arbol de tisa, hueso de muerte (fungus on particular tree)
coca (ate)
curare: poisonous vine, wood used to make poison darts for blowguns (ate)
plant that causes hives/welts (yeah, that hurt.)
plant that turns your tongue blue
palm used to make our bracelets (which are super cool!)
rubber tree

This has been my favorite trip taken so far in Ecuador! I was able to see so many wonderful things that I will never forget!

Have a great week!
Kelley

PS - if you have any questions please feel free to comment!

It's time for my weekend in the AMAZON!

This weekend I will be traveling to the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in the AMAZON! I leave from the Quito airport at 6am Friday! Yikes! And we will be traveling by plane for a very short 30 minutes, and from there taking a boat, a bus, another boat, and finally arriving to Tiputini around 3:00pm. I'm so excited to spend a few days in the rainforest with all the animals!

The Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS) is a biological field station established in Amazonian Ecuador in 1994 by the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in collaboration with Boston University. They have about 1500 acres of primary lowland rainforest and it's about 200 miles east of Quito! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post them on Monday night when I return!

And on another note, tomorrow there is possibly going to be a very large rally to commemorate the police uprising of September 30, 2010 in Quito that caused a lot of problems within the government and the military against the police force of Quito (they pelted the president with tear gas, whoops). These rallies may have over 100,000 people, schools are being released early so that students are not caught in the rallies, and Americans are encouraged to stay away from certain parts of the city (it's illegal for non-Ecuadorians to protest). I've been told that the rally tomorrow is supposed to be non-violent but please remember if something does happen, I'm leaving the city at 6am - so nothing to worry about!

Have a great weekend! 
Kelley  

Puerto Lopez

This weekend I was able to go to Puerto Lopez, a small town on the coast of Ecuador with my friends Becca and Sara. It was absolutely wonderful! We arrived Saturday morning, after a very long bus ride from Quito, to hop in a small buggy and eventually get signed up for a whale-watching tour! It was $20 for a couple hours spent watching the whales and then snorkeling after!

Not the greatest video, but an attempt to capture the Humpback whales in the Pacific Ocean! Our tour was following two males and one female whale for about 2 hours around a smaller island. We were able to go onto the sundeck of the boat and watch, which was a great experience, although I was a little close to falling off once! I not only had a great view of the whales, but I had an excellent view of the coast and the beautiful blue ocean!

After whale watching we decided to go grab a bite at a restaurant on the beach. A girl we met, Emily, joined us for a late lunch and she told us that she had been traveling for two months in South America by herself, and she was finally headed back to the States this week. Way to go Emily! How amazing that she did all of that traveling by herself? After eating Emily went on to the bus station and we went swimming! The water felt AMAZING and I loved every minute of being there. Later on in the evening we met up with our two friends from whale watching, Ky and Ben, to play some hacky sack on the beach. They had been in Ecuador about two weeks, and are taking the year off from college in California to surf and travel around South America. It's really quite inspiring to meet people like this. Whenever I doubt my ability to travel, I look back to all of the other people I've met along my way here and know that if they can do, I can too!

Overall, great weekend trip!

-Kelley

Oh and a word of advice -

If you go snorkeling and don't put sunscreen on your back, it will get burnt.

Mariposa Traicionera

Here is a very popular song in Quito! Enjoy!
Ven Conmigo


This weekend I am going to the beach in Puerto Lopez, one of the best places for whale watching in South America. Can't wait to feel my toes in the sand and hopefully see a Humpback whale!




Interesting facts from this week:
1.) I found out that my entire host family is left-handed!
2.) I started "Conversation Club" this week and really enjoyed it! The native student I am meeting with doesn't know much English, which works well for me. This provides me with a greater opportunity to speak Spanish and to see how I like teaching ESL!
3.) I got a personal pan pepperoni pizza and a chocolate milkshake for $3.00 at a restaurant across the street from school!
4.) I really enjoy my Spanish class. There are students from Sweden, Switzerland, Nigeria, China, Pakistan, and the US in one room trying to improve our Spanish and learn more about the country we're living in for the next three months. Our teacher is fantastic and we always leave class laughing about something! This week we listened to a lovely song called, "Mariposa Traicionera." That translates as "unfaithful butterfly." Classic.
5.) I brought a few different colors of nail polish with me, thinking it would give me something to do when I got bored. My host mom is always so surprised every week when I tell her I did them myself. I'm thinking I could open a "USA NAILS" here and it would be authentic!
6.) There are lots of traffic problems in Quito. They have attempted to solve this problem by only allowing certain cars into sections of the city during assigned days. Each car is given a bumper sticker with a number on it. You are only allowed to be in these heavily traveled areas of the city if you have the number on your car that corresponds to the allowed day and time of the week! And if you are in the city when you aren't supposed to be, you get an $80 ticket! Crazy, right? Too bad many families have more than one car, and can just take a different car with another number. For example, my host family has four cars and a motorcycle. If they needed to get to that part of the city by car, they could most likely do it.
7.) I really miss milk.
8.) Everyone here that you see, whether it be in your building, on the bus, or in the store, always says "Buenos dias/tardes/noches." They're so nice!
9.) I have orientation on Monday for my trip to the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in the Amazon! And we leave for the trip on Friday morning!

Have a great weekend!
Kelley

Mitad del Mundo

This weekend I was able to go to "Mitad del Mundo" which means "Middle of the World" in Spanish - aka, I went to the Equator! We first went to the Mitad del Mundo monument and learned that in the mid-1700's a French expedition came to Ecuador to mark the exact location of the middle of the Earth.

Turns out they were about 300m off but for having zero technology, they were really close! Rebecca and I then went to the REAL equator, a short walk down the road! They also had a museum and lots of interesting activities. The guides showed us water going down a sink in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, as well as in the middle! Que chevere! (Middle, Northern, Southern)

Neat, right?

P.S.

1.) You weigh a kilogram less while standing on the equator.

2.) Even though I was at the Equator, I still couldn't manage to balance an egg on a nail.

3.) Getting anywhere by bus will always take you at least an hour longer.

4.) When traveling by bus, make sure you ALAWYS note what stop you start at; this makes getting off later much easier (:

5.)  It seems as though the "rainy season" is now in full force. We were introduced on Friday when I walked home in the rain for twenty minutes. When I finally got home Gina said, "Why didn't you take a jacket?" I hadn't thought of that!

6.) I find lots of humor in the things some guys say here. Friday I got, "Taxi, mi amor?" from a man who was not in a taxi at all. I think I'll pass, mi amor.

7.) This week starts "Conversation Club!" That's right, I'm joining a club! (Too bad they don't have something like BAC here!) Twice a week I'll be meeting with a native Spanish speaker at USFQ; Rigoberto will be practicing his English while I work on Spanish!

Love you all,

Kelley

Oh no... Ceviche

Every night at dinner we have a soup with our meal. I've had no problems so far with the types of soups, and I've actually started looking forward to them! Tonight was - Ceviche.

Ceviche is a seafood dish that is very popular in South America. We had ceviche made with shrimp (camarones), peppers, and lime. It is served cold.

I've really been trying to eat everything that my host family serves me, but tonight I definitely failed them. I ate about half of my soup before telling my host mother that I didn't like it. And besides... how many times do I have to tell her that I don't like shrimp?

Fingers crossed for a better tomorrow in the world of my Ecua-soups!

Este calle de "sketch"

This weekend I went to the market town of Otavalo, a two hour bus ride from Quito. Friday when I was waiting for my friend Jamie at the bus station I noticed an old woman walking along the sidewalk with what seemed like a fifty pound sack of oranges on her back. Not only did she have to carry such a heavy bag, but she was also walking in worn out men's golf shoes, spikes and all. They must have been four sizes too large and she was struggling to walk in them without tripping. At that moment I wanted to give her my own shoes and I would have if I weren't leaving town right then. I've decided that I'm going to be donating the majority of my clothes and shoes when it is time for me to leave Ecuador! And now I'll definitely have more room in my suitcases. I finally met up with Jamie and we were on our way! On the bus there we met a woman who lived in Otavalo, but had just returned from visiting her mother in Florida! She pointed us in the direction (which ended up being a little off) of our hostel and within thirty minutes we were safely checked-in! This was our first experience staying in a hostel and I think we chose a good one! Our beds were clean, the doors had locks, and the bathroom had toilet paper! What else can you ask for?

After we got settled in our room, we decided to hit the town! We walked around for awhile looking in all the shops and just enjoyed being out of Quito for a couple days. We decided to have dinner at the "Deli Restaurant." I couldn't figure out why no one was in the restaurant, it was dinner time my goodness! Then I realized that they don't eat big dinners in Ecuador! So I felt better about the restaurant after that and we ordered nachos, quesadillas, and milkshakes! For those of you that don't know, milkshakes are my favorite! I was so excited to have this little piece of home in Ecuador! Life is always about the little things, don't forget it! We received our nachos soon after the milkshakes and they were lacking something, oh yeah - the CHEESE! So that was definitely different, and needless to say, we didn't finish those. And then the quesadillas! Delish! Overall, great first meal in Otavalo! After dinner we walked through the streets again, and ended up seeing three people we knew from school! We walked and talked with them and it was great seeing people I knew so far from Quito! I really liked Otavalo at night. There were lots of people in the streets and it felt safer (except for one rather sketchy street) than Quito does at night - which was a relief. The "Festival del Yamor" was also going on during the time we were in the town and we got to see fireworks! Another one of my favorite things! It was a great night (:

The next day we got up early, packed, and went down to our free breakfast of bread and eggs, scrambled! We were able to leave our things in a storage room, how nice! We also talked to the owner of the hostel before we left. Found out he's from Cleveland! OHIO representing! He volunteered with the Peace Corps in Ecuador, met and married his wife, and the two lived in Ohio until 1998. His wife then decided she wanted to come back to Ecuador; they did just that, and opened a hostel! After sharing stories and getting directions Jamie and I went to the market! As soon as we turned the corner from the hostel we could see it! Street, after street, after street of so many little shops and so many people! It was like Ecuador's Mall of America! We walked around for hours looking at all of the handmade crafts, clothes, and jewelry. I was able to buy some really great things for myself (like this lovely orange duffel bag) and things for my family and friends back home! A great thing about the market is that you never pay full price for anything. The sellers first give you a price, $18 for example. This is where the bartering begins. Then you suggest a price, typically half. You go back and forth until you can settle on a price that seems fair to both of you. They are trying to get as much money as possible from you, and you're trying to save as much money as possible. What a fun game! The key is being able to walk away if they don't give you a good enough price. And half of the time, starting to walk away will get you the price you want! WIN!

Oh and another story from the market! While Jamie was bartering for a backpack, another woman was in the store had asked how much another bag was. The owner replied, "Quince" and went about helping others. The woman looked very confused and turned to walk away. I thought she hadn't heard the owner correctly and repeated, "Quince." She looked at me and said, "I don't understand; do you speak English?" At that moment I couldn't help but smile. She thought I didn't speak English! It was flattering to say the least and I quickly told her I was from the US and that "quince" meant $15. She proceeded to tell me that she was from Indiana and they were here receiving medical treatment for her daughter. She didn't know much Spanish and was having a very difficult time getting along here. I can only imagine how difficult being here was for her, and yet how brave she was for her daughter! I have met the most amazing people here and I just love hearing how so many different people arrive in the same places.

I got back to Quito Saturday night, safe and sound! I spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with my host family and doing homework. Sunday is "pancake day" at home; I'll never get tired of that! I also realized that I think they go out for lunch every Sunday too. This week was Chinese, yum!

I had a great weekend and I hope you enjoyed reading about it! Not sure what next weekend will bring, but I'm sure it will be exciting!

More Ecua-info!
1.) Friday in Andinismo I got to repel from the ceiling. It was about three stories high. They just hooked us up and we went down! Something I’d never be able to do in the US!
2.) I think I want to start writing a "Canterbury-like" tale using the stories of all the people I've met in Ecuador!
3.) The two-hour bus ride to Otavalo was only $2.00 and I bought a doughnut in Otavalo for $.15!
4.) Every day I've traveled in Ecuador I've been so thankful that I'm directionally-savvy. No one likes being lost!

Have a great week!
Kelley

ALPACA HUNT

This week in Ecuador:
1.) I wish I had a "double rice, no beans" option here.
2.) At school and throughout the city everyone copies books. One person buys the actual text and then you can get it completely copied for a significantly lower price! My English book was $11, with hundreds of works inside! And my Spanish book was only $10! I could get used to this but isn't it illegal? When in Ecuador...
3.) I found a lovely Shawarma place right by school! I think I'll be having lots of Empanadas and Shawarma for lunches this semester. Only about $3.00, including drink!
4.) The international office here is wonderful! I needed to have paperwork filled out and faxed back to Bellarmine and they did it for me in less than a day. How helpful!
5.) My Geology class started this week! My professor is from France and his English isn't the greatest. Thankfully I've already had a geology class; I know a majority of the terms he is trying to explain!
6.) Mercedes-Benz makes buses and they're on the streets of Quito.
7.) We eat hard boiled Quail eggs for breakfast once a week.

This weekend I am headed to the famous market of Otavalo, about 2 hours outside of Quito by bus! Check back Monday for pictures and keep your fingers crossed that I find the perfect Alpaca sweater!

 

Quilotoa

This weekend I went to Quilotoa with my Andinismo class. The trip is actually available to anyone in many different sections of the class, and you need to attend three trips during the semester. This weekend there were international and Ecuadorian students that went! Quilotoa is the most western volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes and since its last eruption about 800 years ago, an 820 ft deep crater lake has formed at the top! Being up there helped me remember why I wanted to study abroad. I definitely don't have sites like this at home! This country is filled with such magnificent natural beauty.


We arrived at the top of the volcano and made our way around about half of the crater before we descended into the outskirts of a small town, pueblito, to camp for the night! I was very glad to set up camp and enjoy my lovely dinner of bread, cookies, and Fruit Loops (well, Ecuador's version of Fruit Loops called "Fruit Rings," that are actually more fruity than the 'real' thing! Thank you MegaMaxi!) before we headed into town to explore. Earlier when I said small town, I meant it. Three street lights. I was impressed they even had those though, how do you manage to get electricity in the Andes, five hours away from Quito! We found a small building in the town, the school actually, and there were a group of people playing music inside! We watched from the window for a few minutes and then they invited us in! How wonderful! They were singing Andean folk music, accompanied by the traditional Charango (a small ten-stringed instrument that is similiar to a guitar.) I was able to record some of the singing too!



They sang songs in Spanish and Quichua that night in the school building. Quichua is the other official language of Ecuador, an Inca language widely spoken by the Indian population here. I can't believe we got to really experience the culture of the native Andean people that night!

We went back to camp and sat around the campfire for a couple hours before hitting the sack. It was a brisk, windy night in the Andes, but we all managed to get some sleep and depart from camp around 7:00am! We left the pueblito and hiked down into a canyon, only to have to cross a "bridge" made of four logs, and hike right back up the other side to get to another small village we were catching our bus in that would take us back to Quito. Let me tell you, climbing up a mountain at 13,000 ft definitely takes the breath out of you! It was a long, tiring morning but the sights made everything worth-while.

My weekend in the mountains of Ecuador was a strenuous one, but something I will never forget!

Here are some other fun things from this weekend:

1.) "Que chevere" is a VERY popular saying in Ecuador. It means "How cool/great/awesome."

2.) There was construction being done on the roads that went from Quito to Quilotoa. All construction is menacing but construction through the Andes is just frightening!

3.) Alpaca hats are very warm!

4.) The second small village we were in had empanadas for .25 cents!

5.) I've never seen the Milky Way look as vibrant as it did Saturday night in the mountains.

6.)  There isn't really a word for "sleeping bag" in Spanish. The workers at the camping store called it "un sleeping" and Katie, Becca, and I (below) found that so funny!

It's like baseball.. but it's cricket.

Today was a pretty fun day! First I went to Jewelry Making class and we started our first project - rings! I feel like I don't know what's going on all the time but I watch everyone else and eventually figure it out. The entire class is also very helpful in explaining to me, very slowly, the next steps in the ring making process! Today we measured out the silver and melted it together first. Then cooled it, heated it up again (not sure why!) and polished it. Some of the class started flattening their pieces, but I'll get to that on Monday! After Jewelry I needed to go buy a book for Spanish class but instead of having it in the bookstore on campus, I was supposed to go to the bookstore in the mall. Mall, OK! I fully believe in retail therapy. My friend Becca and I made our way to the mall this afternoon, only to find out that the store didn't have the book! How rude! However, I did find an adventure store and was able to buy rope for my climbing class! One thing off the checklist. After this we had lunch; I had BK! And I noticed just how many people were in the mall. I was amazed! And this mall was SO NICE! I think that when coming to a country in South America everyone imagines poverty, but that is not the case in many parts of Quito!

After the mall we headed over to Parque La Carolina and found a cricket game to watch! We weren't entirely sure what was happening at first, this being our first cricket experience, and I'm sure we looked confused! One of the players came over and asked us where we were from. "Estados Unidos" we said, and he then started explaining some of the rules to us! We learned how the point system worked, what the three sticks were for (I think those are called stumps?), and that the two teams playing were Indian and Pakistani. It was really interesting and I am so thankful that he took the time to explain it to us! I was even more excited that I understood almost everything he was saying!

So that was today! Classes have been fairly uneventful, but I have noticed a few other neat things about the city and living in Ecuador:

1.) I really enjoy seeing Ecuadorians wear American sports team shirts. Today I saw a "Chicago Bears" sweatshirt. Yes, I thought of you Amanda (:
2.) Everything in Quito is either uphill or downhill.
3.) The have LOTS of markets! I went to one on Sunday and bought a purse for $5.00!
4.) I feel like I'm going to tear my rotator cuff when I'm riding the bus through the mountains and don't get a seat :(
5.) Hugo (my older brother) plays "Love You Like a Love Song" by Selena Gomez every morning.
6.) I have to carry my backpack in front of me when I'm on the bus so no one steals my stuff and it reminds me of that scene in "10 Things I Hate About You." I hope you know what I'm talking about. If not, Google it?
7.) I found out that 20% of Ecuadorians are unemployed and 44% have "temporary" employment. I think that selling oranges and flowers on the street qualifies as "temporary" employment. That means that 64% of the country doesn't have a stable income. Now aren't you glad you live in America?
8.) You can buy one cigarette on the street. Just one.
9.) Military men guard the parks - in large groups with guns and batons. Scary!
10.) They have really great pancakes here and they are always accompanied by Aunt Jemima's maple syrup!

This weekend I am climbing Mount Quilotoa with my Andinismo class! We leave early Saturday morning and get back to Quito sometime Sunday afternoon. I'm excited for the climb and to see the beautiful lake at the top of the mountain!

Hope all is well!
Kelley

So Much Fruit!

Hola!

This week was a hectic one! At Bellarmine, when I sign up for a class, I usually stay in it. Here, not so much. I went to quite a few classes this week that I didn't like, and some that I did. I've got my schedule finalized and it looks like I'll be taking: Taller de Joyeria, Literatura Americana, Andinismo, Espanol, Geologia, y my BU online class!

Taller de Joyeria means Jewelry making. In the class we will be making our own earrings, rings, necklaces, and bracelets from silver! Although I think it is going to be difficult, I'm up for the challenge! Who knew that I'd have to opportunity to learn such a neat skill.

Literatura Americana is my American Lit class at USFQ. I am the only student from the United States and I think that is going to make the class very interesting. I've already been asked questions such as, "Why did the Civil War really start in America?" and "What did Martin Luther King Jr. really mean when he said that? How did it affect the leaders in your government?" Although I have opinions on many things, I can't speak for all of America when I say something in class! I think I'm going to need to make that point clear next week. Other than that, this is probably going to be my favorite class! It's a little different than English classes I've had before - the profe talks a lot more and then allows us to say what we thought of the works, instead of the other way around? I never realized how much I appreciated the opportunity to say exactly what I thought!

Andinismo translates as "climbing" and we will be doing exactly that! We have a class during the week to teach us the theories of mountain climbing and then we put the theories to practice! There are 12 trips planned for the semester and each student must go on at least 3 of the 12. For each trip you leave Saturday morning, climb a bit and set up camp on the mountain/volcano on Saturday afternoon, climb up and back down Sunday morning, and then come home! It will be a great way to spend a few weekends in Ecuador!

My Espanol class is very, very helpful. I have class Monday-Thursday and it's a lot of conversation practice, along with review of correct conjugation and learning new words! I'm excited to have this class all semester!

Geologia is the last class I am taking at USFQ! I've already taken a geology class at BU but this class focuses more on the geology of the Galapagos Islands, the Andes, and the volcanoes in the area surrounding Quito. I think it will be great to know more about the geology of the area I'm living in until December. This class starts on September 1, and I have high hopes for it.

Those are my classes for the semester! I've made a list of a few other interesting things I have noticed this week while in Ecuador:

1.) They don't have lined paper here. All of the notebooks are graph paper. That will be interesting.

2.) Cooking is a big deal here. Betty and Gina spend a lot of time preparing our all of our meals and drinks. No boxed or frozen dinners, ever. And lots of smoothies because they have to boil all of the water used.

3.) This is a society of patience. For those of you who know me, I don't have much of that. It doesn't matter if you have to be somewhere in 20 minutes - you're going to sit down for lunch and enjoy the meal with your family. I think this will be a good experience for me to learn from.

4.) You can buy 25 roses for $1.00! That will amaze me the entire time I am here.

5.) They rarely say "adios" and instead, always say "chau."

6.) Bellarmine needs more trees in the Quad. USFQ has their own version of the Quad but it's filled with trees, flowers, and even a pond (with a cute little turtle)! Great place to relax outside between classes!

7.) Personal space does not exist and that makes bus rides not so fun sometimes.

8.) Security is a major deal in the city. There are police officers and personal security guards on almost every block, very large guns included. At first I was kind of afraid of seeing all those weapons on the street, but I'm learning to find comfort in that. And I like our building guard. I think I'm his own little gringo (:

I've also started writing down something I'm thankful for every night, just to put everything back in perspective. This week my favorite was, "There were no clouds on the way to school and I could see the snow-covered peak of a volcano."

Life is going pretty well for me - hope yours is too!

love always,

Kelley

PS -
I've signed up to go to Tiputini Biodiversity Station in the Amazon basin September 30 through October 3! Awesome!

"Not getting out of class early during the first week is UN-American."

Hola amigas!

A lot has happened since I left you last week! If you remember, Friday was orientation day! Orientaton was fun and gave me the opportunity to meet the people I would be spending my next four months with! The majority of the day was spent talking about health and safety in Ecuador. I now feel confident that I can take the necessary precautions to avoid robbery, successfully find my own legal taxi, and where to go in case of a volcanic eruption. Not exactly something I would learn at Crossroads, but a learning experience nonetheless. We were also given a campus tour and a lovely lunch. Gina came to pick me up around 430 and we headed home.

Saturday was a lot more exciting! Trip to Teleferiqo! This is a cable car system that takes you up a fairly steep mountain and at the top you have the most wonderful view of the entire city! We had a great time sitting in the grass, as high up as the clouds, and enjoying the beauty of Quito and the surrounding Andes. Definitely helped me realize I was so glad to be spending my semester here. After we came back down, we decided to travel to "Centro Historico." We saw la basilica, la plaza grande, and many other churches and museums that I want to tour! We also stopped for lunch in one of the cafes in the area, I had pollo con arroz. After lunch we sat in la plaza de cultura and I just felt like I was finally being part of the city. It was a nice feeling.

I also did things on Sunday; I'm really moving up in the Quito world. Gina (mi madre) and I took the dogs for a walk in the morning and then headed over to the shopping center. Their version of Walmart/Target is called SuperMaxi. Pretty funny hahaha. We first stopped in the phone store, it's called Movistar and I am fairly certain that it is the only phone carrier in Ecuador. My family has a phone that they let all of their host students use and I only had to buy the new chip for that, $7.00 holla! After this we had lunch in the shopping center at KFC! Win. And then went to buy a suitcase for Santi (mi hermano). I found out that he is studying abroad for a year in Belgium and leaves Sept. 1. How exciting for him! When we were leaving the mall, Gina tipped the security guard in the parking garage. I thought this was strange, but I also understood it. He made sure that no one broke into our car, and deserved something for that! There are a lot of little things that are different here that really add to their culture. We then went to watch Santi play futbol! His team, I believe they are called the Orange Mechanics, won! 2-0.

Today was my first day of class! It went as well as I could have hoped. I left the house around 10 and made it to school by 10:30. I found all of my classes, after going up the same staircase four times, and felt confident in myself at my new school! The first class of the day was "Taller de Joyeria" aka Jewelry Making. Although I don't know a lot of the vocabulary, I think I'm going to love making my own rings, bracelets, and earrings out of silver! After this class I had lunch, Pizza Crepes, with one of the girls in my class and then we met up with a few other international students to chill during our break. Next was my international relations class. Although I don't care too much for the professor, I think the class will be relatively just the same as any other class in the states. My final class of the day was my Spanish class. There are only five students in this class! How perfect! I'm definitely going to be improving my skills!

I've got two classes tomorrow, Amer. Lit and Spanish. I need to start working on my homework now though, no fair! I'll hopefully post again on Thursday evening and let you know how the week went and what my plans are for the weekend!

love you all (:

-kelley

Quito, Ecuador!

Hola amigos!

This semester I will be studying abroad at Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. I have decided that blogging about my time here would be the best way to share my experiences with everyone back home! Hope you enjoy (:

Tuesday August 16 - My flight from Cincinnati left at 12:00pm to Houston. I arrived in Houston and had lunch, called my bank (which I forgot to do earlier) and hopped on the plane to Panama. Both of these flights were simple and I had no problems - we were even given dinner, chicken sandwiches! While I was getting off the plane, I found a few other students who were also going to Quito to study at USFQ this semester! This was a major relief. It was great to be able to talk to other students and have a few new friends in a city where I thought I would be alone for a few days at least. There were six of us in total, and I'm excited to see them at orientation tomorrow! We finally bored the plane from Panama City to Quito and I had the pleasure of sitting in front of three children who looooved kicking the back of my seat. Thank goodness this was the shortest flight of the day. We made it to Quito around 11:30pm and went through Immigration, waited quite a long time for our bags, and finally went through Customs. The next part was very intimidating. I had to walk through what seemed to be hundreds of people and try to find my host family. There were so many people waiting to pick up students/friends/family. I finally found a USFQ employee and we found Gina and drove home! The apartment, or should I say "penthouse" is more than I could have ever hoped for. I have my own room and it's very spacious. After we did a small tour, I went right to sleep!

Wednesday - I woke up and had breakfast with Gina (mi madre), Santi (mi hermano), y Betty. After breakfast I decided to unpack my bags. Everything fits fairly well and I was happy to have little pieces of home all around me (: We had lunch around 2pm and Gina explained some of the house rules to me. I should really say "tried to explain" because I don't understand everything she is saying. The family is trying to help me understand them better and I appreciate their efforts. I hope this gets easier very soon! In the afternoon I just hung around and we had a very light dinner around 7pm. I spent the rest of the evening relaxing!

Today, I went down to breakfast (my room is on the second floor, along with one other bedroom) around nine and had an egg and bacon mixture along with fresh fruit. Gina then asked me if I wanted to go to the pool with her. I said of course, what else do I have to do, right? So we gathered up our swimsuits and towels and drove to the pool. It was about a 7 minute drive and this was not just a pool. She called it the "club" and it was that indeed. First we layed out for 30ish minutes, she said something about me being too white, and then we went inside to the sauna. After the sauna we stayed in the hot tub for awhile before swimming in another pool that was inside. It was a lovely spa day! I asked mi madre how often she comes to the club - 3 times a week. Hopefully I can come back! While we were driving to our next destination I noticed that there are lots of people selling things on the street. You can buy lots of fruit (12 oranges for $1) , sunglasses, coloring books, kitchen towels, and many other things! There are also street jugglers and clowns! ahh! After Gina finished her errands we came back to the apartment for lunch with the familia (madre, padre, y hermanos) and ate corn (literally cob slices) and potato soup, tuna salad, and peas. Interesting! It almost felt like something they would have at UDH so no big deal! Right now it's storming in Quito but hopefully it stops soon, I want to walk around a bit tonight before having to find my way to school tomorrow!

Orientation at USFQ starts at 730am! Gina said we needed to leave at 7 in order to catch the bus and make it on time. Goals for tomorrow - buy a bus pass, not get lost, make plans to do something this weekend with my new classmates!

I should also say that even though I'm getting the opportunity to experience a lot of new things, this is hardest thing I have ever done and I think it's going to take me awhile to get used to living in South America. I hope you enjoy reading about my journey and a big thank you to my friends and family who have supported me so far!