Monday, August 29, 2011

Deportes

Until my host family recently mentioned reading my letter I wrote to them back in October (before I actually thought I'd be accepted into the program, much less living in Ecuador less than a year later), I'd forgotten that I wrote it. I imagine that if I went back now and read it, I'd be embarrassed and regret at least some of what I wrote. However, there's one thing I don't regret writing in the letter. In the letter, I wrote that I like sports.  Because I did, my host parents put me in touch with a guy who I'm now renting a bike from, a bike that I'll be able to ride to and from school on.  More importantly, though, my parents have been setting up outings for me with different friends of my host sister's and people from the church. I've gone on a 30 mile bike ride to the nearishby town of Canoa (which you should all google, because the beaches are lovely but I forgot to bring my camera) and back, kayaking in the river Chone/Pacific Ocean:
I mostly had my kayaking buddy take this picture so I could stop paddling. My shoulders hurt so much. (Of course that "hurt" is past tense. Of course I'm not still sore from two days ago. Don't be ridiculous.)

and hiking in the nature reserve Cerro Seco, where there were some really, really spectacular views:

(I live there. Just saying.)

The stitching on that probably could have gone better, but it's still pretty, right?

These pictures don't really do the color of the water justice. It was extremely turquoise and shiny and great.

In addition to all this, I've been promised surf lessons, scuba lessons, mountain biking, and visiting la Isla de los Pajaros. So, I don't think there's any need to reiterate this, but I will. I am so very glad I wrote in my letter to my host family that I enjoy sports. It has done me worlds of good. 

Friday, August 26, 2011

Soup on Plates

It's my fifth day here in Ecuador, where I arrived after an exciting few days of travelling that you can read about here. Basically, it involved a thunderstorm, free sandwiches, sleeping here:

(I didn't know it existed either)


and a total of about 8 hours spent here:



Anyway, now that I am here, I have some tidbits to share that, individually, are trivial, but as a whole, I think summarize my first impression of Ecuador.  I'm pretty sure I have way too many commas in that sentence.

  • My host mom always matches the color of her watch, hair clip, shoes, and phone cover. 
  • We have soup on plates.
  • I got my uniform for school the other day and I am definitely looking forward to rocking the polo with green sweatpants all year long.
  • The power goes out at least once daily (as far as I can tell, whenever I want to shower or watch TV)
  • The record number of people I've seen riding a motorcycle is 4.
  • I saw a herd of goats galloping alongside the road like a herd of wild stallions in movies like "Black Beauty" or "Flicka" except they're goats.
  • Peach juice is the orange juice of Ecuador. Everyone has it and we drink it all the time.
  • Nobody wears seatbelts or helmets.
  • Often when I meet someone new they tell me they're Christian. 
  • There's a Galapagos tortoise just chillin' in a schoolyard in my city. We went and fed him bananas.


Sorry the picture is blurry. He was moving to fast to get a clear picture. (that was a joke)
  • They refrigerate cereal but not milk.
  • Everyone wants me to teach them English but they are all so bad at pronouncing things. For example, I tried to teach my mom the word "gift" and she pronounced it "gorppppf." After lots of repeating back and forth we refined it down to "giffff." Also, she continues to insist it's my "happy birthday" tomorrow.
  • Everyone has Blackberries.
  • I've seen a person with a machine gun twice in my life. First, when leaving the Guayaquil airport. Second, today in a shopping mall (it was a security guard, though. Not someone shooting up the mall).
  • The nicest house I've seen so far belongs to a shrimp farmer. 
  • As far as vegetables go, I've eaten one salad while I've been here, and that's all.
  • If you actually followed and read the link above, you'd know that there are 10-foot high walls or fences around everyone's house.  What you don't know, though, is that many of the walls have barbed wire or electric fences on top. In one case I even saw a wall that had broken glass bottles cemented into the top.
So, that's a broad description through specifics. I will return sometime in the future with a more straightforward approach to describing my time here. 
Until then, ciao!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Two Weeks!

Yesterday was the two week marker until the day I leave for Ecuador, and it's finally hitting me what I'm about to do. It seems so unreal that, starting in just two short weeks, I won't see my friends and family for a year.  I probably should have come to terms with this a while ago, but I still find myself repeating in my head: "I'm going to live in Ecuador. For a year."  There are other exchange students I know that are already abroad, and I worry that I'm somehow illigitimizing (is that a word?) the amazing journey they've already had by making a big deal out of a two week countdown, and I apologize if it seems like I am.  It just seems like everything up until recently has been theoretical, but when I started getting gifts for my host families and packing, the whole imminence of it became so much more tangible.
Along with the disbelief, though, comes what I hope is a normal amount of nervousness and just so. much. excitement.  Ecuador seems like a beautiful country and, judging by google images, so does my city.  Additionally, my family seems lovely and I'm psyched to finally be able to meet them.  About my family, by the way.  My host father's name is Hector, and he's a doctor.  My host mother is Eva, and she's a dentist.  I have two brothers and a sister, but both brothers are all grown and moved away.  My host sister, who I've spoken to the most, Anita, will be leaving on exchange to Texas two days before I arrive.  So, if you've been keeping track, you'll realize that that means I'll be the only child.  I'm a little nervous that I won't have any predetermined friends, but I think it means, as selfish as this is, that my host parents with have more time and attention to spend with me.
So there you have it. I'll try to post some (but, of course, not enough to distract me from my adventures) once I get to Ecuador, and hopefully pretty regularly from then on. Oh, and another thing to be excited about: photos!