I like kissing llamas

Guayaquil-Cuenca-Riobamba-Baños-Puyo-Quito-Ibarra-Otavalo

The last trip. The last time I may see them again. However, I refuse to think that way. We will see each other again, someday.

I departed from Chone on Friday the 17th and made my way to Guayaquil where I met up with all the other exchange students, excited for the trip! We checked into the hotel, went to eat lunch, and spent the afternoon walking around the city. At 6, we had to be ready to go to the District Conference and the flag presentation. Two girls gave a lovely and funny speech for the Rotarians, which I found nicely explained the year. The next day, I woke up and went to give my speech--but this time, JUST for the Rotarians, there were no exchange students there. They went to a garden where I was shipped after finishing my speech. The link to the video is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUVBaB7FgVQ.

From there, we headed up to Cajas--the coldest place in Ecuador. I was freezing with leggings below my dress pants, a jacket and sweatshirt followed by a scarf. You know what that means Momma? Yeah, no air conditioning will be allowed on the car ride home from the airport. Just open windows! And then we made the rest of our journey into the city of Cuenca. We went to a church where we had the ability to see all of Cuenca. It was gorgeous! In the hostal we stayed at, we did a talent show, and had no hot water. I was frozen cold. However, we only stayed there for a short time and I fell in love with such a clean and well ordered city!

From there, we made our way to Riobamba, yet another beautiful city, where we spent the night in a beautiful hotel. Earlier that day, we had the ability to go buy very cheap silver--and what they were selling was gorgeous!

From there, we went to spend a little time in Baños--but only in the city. I was really hoping to see the "baños" there! They say they are beautiful!

From there, we went to Puyo to eat lunch and go see some beautiful waterfalls. However, at that altitude, I was DYING while sitting, nonetheless while climbing a steep mountain!

From there we went by Cotocachi where they sell leather. It was a very good price! 

However, we only spent a few hours there before heading to Quito! There, we went to a Volcano and really high up the mountain where we could see the entire city! Then, that afternoon, we went to the Mitad del Mundo, where we spent time taking pictures and enjoying being in two hemispheres at once. But, did you know that where the line is currently drawn is not the actual middle of the world? They are currently moving the line a few km away so it will be in place.

From there we ate lunch in an indigenous town outside of Ibarra where llama was served. I ate a little bit, and then... I hate to say it, I kissed a llama. I am a bad person because I ate what I kissed. Then, we went to Ibarra, where we put up a fight when the men and woman were separated in different hotels! The next day, we were reunited to go on a walk around a lake. It was beautiful, but I was excited to get back to the hotel for dinner and a dance party with everyone together. We also signed flags--yet another memory from our year.

I have had a good year with the exchange students, and am so happy to say that I still have just under 2 months left. My next adventure: being "teacher."

English... English... And...uh... I don't know that word!

So, I spent time in Guayaquil with some lovely friends, doing the tourist thing. We walked ages one day, and took a million pictures. We went to the Malecón, and then climbed Las Peñas. It was soooo beautiful! However, it was cut a few days shorter than planned because of the call.

My host mom called me and said I was needed in the Hospital to translate for some doctors. So, I came back and spent 6 days translating for a group of around 50 doctors, nurses, and general helpers. It was an amazing experience, but it was so strange being with people that speak English! However, I didn't know words in EITHER language! I found my favorite phrase, "that thing, right here *pause for response* YEAH! THAT THING!" I was allowed to see a few surgeries, which was amazing! I even got a lung lesson from an anesthesiologist. I spent the majority of my time in post op, which was also fun! But through all the translating, confusion, and surgeries, I learned that I really would love to go into medicine, and got the chance to say that to all the 50 people the last night. I did my last translations, and had a big dinner. I got people to dance--the people from the US aren't really dancers like the Ecuadorians. It was kinda sad when they left though.

Today, I started teaching English at a school. I'm going to be teaching grades 1 through 7, from the inability to write through the ability to say 1-10 in English. I'm excited, and though it is a poor school, and the majority of the children are from the country, it'll be amazing to spend my last few months with them!

The 17th, we head out for Guayaquil, where we start the District Conference. Then, we have the trip throughout all of Ecuador. I'm excited, and am trying to finish a presentation and speech I am due to give. It's short, but comes from all of the exchangers here, and I hope it touches some hearts!

Anyway, I have to get back to my curriculum, and the presentation! Besos!

Hi blog, nice to see you again...

Wow, it's been over a month since I've written anything... Sorry about that!

To start off, as many know, I've been on vacation from school since the end of December, however, my classmates just graduated in February. I went to my host brothers' graduation, instead of my classmates. It was very different from the one we have. It was only his class, and there was a table of men and woman that I assume were teachers, principle, etc, as well as the "princess?" of the class. I'm not quite sure. And one by one, they were called up to receive their diploma, have their graduation hat (just like we use), shake hands and give a kiss on the cheek to each person sitting at the table, and finally sign that they have graduated. From there, there was a party, and it was kinda sad because a lot of people ended up crying over it.

A few weeks later, the White Party was held. This is where all the girls dress in elegant white dresses and the boys dress in tuxes. You hear people talk about how good you are, then dance the night away. Dancing until 4am is tiring, just for the record. I went to my host brothers as well a week later. We danced until 5am, and had about a million people staying in the house that were family members. Some people even cried there too!

In between the parties, I went with the other exchange student to spend some time with his host family in San Clamente. I had a blast and met a lot of new people, learned how to play cards, walked on the beach, got pink eye, the usual... I went to the doctor and he gave me Visine (pardon my spelling), and an anti-itch pill. 

To say the least, it came back... A few days before I went to Galapagos. That's right! I went to another doctor, and was told that I needed an antibiotic, not just something to clean your eyes out. So, I went to Galapagos with glasses, a pink eye, and some antibiotics! It wasn't the best thing of my life, however the trip was amazing! We stayed in two hotels, and the first was perfect! The food was amazing, and we got to leave and walk around at whatever hour so long as the Rotarians knew--that means that it couldn't be at 3 in the morning that we left... During the day, we spent the majority of our time in a boat, where I learned that if I was up top with the driver, or up front where it would totally be illegal to be in the states, I didn't get sea sick! We went to snorkel and have fun twice a day. I saw a sea turtle the first day, as well as a million fish! The other days, I swam with sea lions, sharks, whatever else you could only try to imagine! The water was so clear and beautiful that I even got to ride in a boat with dolphins below me! The second hotel wasn't the best, but it was still okay...ish...For how much we paid, pretty please let me go back to the first hotel! But nonetheless, it was pretty fun! I even learned about Charles Darwin! He made a lot of his discoveries on the islands. The last night, we walked up and down everywhere and celebrated 3 birthdays. It was awesome.

A lot of people have asked me which I liked better: Galapagos or Amazon? I have no idea. I would love to go back to both of the trips and spend more time there. They were both amazing!

Other than that, life has been pretty normal. I live, go spend the afternoon with someone, stay home, sweep my room and make my bed just like every other teen. The other night, we had a sleepover, and stayed up until 3:30 playing cards and trying to find a movie to watch. I was 3rd to fall asleep of the 7 of us.

I should really try to blog more often, because these descriptions are very vague because it's been a little while. Anyway, chao for now!

Well, Hello Blog, haven't seen you in awhile...

Well, it appears the last time I had something to say was just about a month ago! Can you imagine! Anyway, a lot of things have happened in this past month:

The last Wednesday in January, I changed host families. I love the family I'm with; my mom works all the time--or so it appears, and my dad works downstairs, so he isn't far away. My host brother is graduating tomorrow, so has been a bit busy with finals and such, but I'm sure that after he graduates, things will be a lot easier in his life. I also have an unofficial host brother--the other exchange student. Though he moved out, he spends A LOT of time here. I really like it here because I have freedom as well as the fact I'm in the center of the city. The family is really sweet and cares a lot about us; it's amazing.

I went to Cafe Color Tierra the 7th, and was amazed by the beauty the city can hold. I cannot imagine such a place anywhere else in the world. We climbed around 7 waterfalls, and took a million pictures in doing so, and I can't wait to go back!

I spent a week in Portoviejo with Diana Dueñas, a girl who came to Medford (my town) last year on exchange. I loved it, and was able to spend a lot of time with her lovely family. We went to a million different beaches for Carnival, and on the first night, they sprayed a foam in my eyes and I had to take out my contacts. I couldn't see for the rest of the week. However, who needs to see when you are having the time of your life? I also made my dad's Famous Healthy Apple Pie. It was soooo yummy and amazing to have a taste from home. We did a number of things--went to the movies, biked, or well, walked, up a mountain, got eaten by mosquitoes through our...my...clothing, cleaned, walked, shopped... Just about everything that one can do in a week!

On Saturday, the 16th, I lost my dog who has been in my heart since we took her home from the SPCA to foster. She has been in my life since I can remember--I have very few memories before her coming home with us. I was 12 when we moved to OR from MI, and a man offered to "take her off our hands on such a long move," but my mother would never allow that. She made the journey sitting to the left of me and continued to follow my mom around like the faithful little darling she was. When I came on exchange, my mom asked me, "You know she won't be here when you get back, right?" I replied, "I know." However, the knowledge of that does not make the news of her getting cancer any easier. Nor does it make the feeling any easier when she is put to sleep so she doesn't suffer. I am thankful for Fidel, our little dog here, for calming me down, and my host family for listening to me get my sadness out.

I applied for my return date, and am sad to say that I will only be spending 11 months, 4 days in Ecuador. My return date was put in for July 27th, but I still don't have my itinerary, and that means that it could vary a few days.

The Galapagos trip is coming up--only a month away! I cannot wait! (Well, yes I can because of the above paragraph!)

A number of things and a Farm!

On Sunday the 20^th, I went to a friend’s farm. We had a fun time. The night before, I spent the night with her, and woke up to a friend—who happens to be a guy—standing outside of the room. It spooked me, because I had just gotten up, and was not expecting someone to be waiting for their laundry to be washed. After eating breakfast, we spent time in their little car part store with her mom until 12:30. By then, we went to eat lunch; I ate a very delicious bean soup—it was almost sweet, but oh so good! Then, we went to the farm. It was an interesting ride, as the adults and young girl went inside the pick-up truck, the four of us—my friend, her sister, their cousin (the boy waiting for laundry), and me, sitting in the back. I now understand why truck drivers have issues hearing (I’m guessing we were going around 60mph, about the speed of semi-trucks on the freeway). After around 15 to 20 minutes of driving, we were there! We entered the house, doing our best to not slip on mud, and greeted everyone. They took me on a five minute walk and explained the difference between tiny little limes, and what we would consider normal sized lemons, which in Spanish are “limón” and “limón de vaca.” The lemons that they had were very ugly looking, kind of like wrinkly and bumpy skin. Nonetheless, I’m sure they taste yummy! After this, we went to a river and waded for a long time to get to the perfect spot to swim. It was beautiful, but, sadly, appeared as though it was going to rain. I was not in the mood to climb rocks or wait for snakes (I’m pretty sure they were saying cobras…) to come into the river with us, so I suggested we leave and go back. This time, we climbed up a boulder filled mud slide, and I nearly fell down, which could have been life taking with the rocks that were nearby—not to be over dramatic or anything. We ended up walking in the rain, and I ended up with a cold (of all places to get a cold, right?). Then, we took showers, changed, and stood around the oven. The ovens in the country (not country as in Ecuador, but as in farm) are amazing! They are made out of cement with two pits in the middle. The circular one is for storing the pots and pans, and the square-like one is for the fire. They put one or two metal bars across this one to heat the pans. Everything made over an open flame always seems to taste better! While the family ate “carne de res,” I still have issues eating red meat, so I stayed away from the cow. Normally here, it is rude to refuse food, but I was not in the mood for a stomach ache for a few days, and they were kind enough to understand. Instead, I was given the sides. “Tortillas de yuca” (I have no idea how to spell the last word, but it translates to Cassava cakes…more or less),” verde asado” (grilled green plantains—these look like bananas, but I assure you, they are not, and taste like raw potatoes when they are raw, but taste delicious when cooked!), and a little bit of “arroz” (rice). It was delicious, but I couldn’t put another bit of food in my mouth! This is partially because we ate a huge mango, corn on the cob, and half of a platano each a little bit earlier! Ooof, that was Spanish! Anyway, that is how you would say the word for the potato tasting banana that is yummy when cooked! After dinner, we went back to town, and they dropped me off at the house, where I took a hot shower and slept for a lot of hours. I loved it there, but at the same time, would have been a bit happier without getting a cold! I plan to go back this Sunday with my class, and will be bringing my camera, and hopefully getting a number of amazing pictures!

Yesterday, I found out that I will be going to my new house in the first few days of February, but still don’t know what day! One question was answered—where I will be spending Carnival! With my second official family! I’m so excited to be in a new house, but at the same time, feel as though I will have days where I miss something about my current family. I look forward to being in the center of the city, because I will be closer to everyone I know, and will not be ankle deep in muck every time I go outside. Oh, and did you know that it is harder to walk in muck in flip flops than to walk on slippery ice in tractionless boots? I know that now… I am considering buying a pair of $5 shoes that grip the mud and are made mostly of plastic. I’m going to invite a friend who showed me the shoes to buy them with me. Wow, that was totally off subject of changing houses… Anyway, the other exchanger here will be going to live with a nice family (not mine) that lives in muck as well, but have a nice and cozy house that is sure to be a fun place to live. This Wednesday, I should know when we change. As well, I will probably be giving a speech about the US, OR, Medford, and finally me this coming meeting. It is something we have to do before changing families.  I have had this prepared for the past 6 or 7 months, and opened it again last month to fix some things, and start rereading it, and figuring out what I want to say. I feel pretty confident about the presentation, but nervous to explain my life to a number of people!

It is also time for me to think about my return date. It’s such a sad time for me, because I will then be realizing the exact halfway DAY, rather than month. With my school in the states, it appears that by the time I am able to give the day, the halfway point will have already passed. If I can get some books here, and some pretty stable internet connection, it appears that I may be able to stay longer, but probably not until the end of my visa—July 31^st. I dread choosing a date, but know it’s better to choose sooner than later. I will be asking my Rotary Club next Wednesday about this, as well as certain important questions about leaving the country. As one of my lovely friends would say, “Sad day.” I don’t want to know! It feels as though my life here has just begun, and I have to decide when it will be ending…

A few weeks ago my family had to go to Portoviejo, and I went along and called an exchange friend. She went on exchange to Medford last year. That’s right! She was on exchange in my town, and is now only an hour away from where I am right now! We went on a bike ride for a good 3 hours, which hurt, because I had not been on a bike in at least 5 months, and the seat on the bike was very small. It was really fun, and I’m hoping to spend some more time with her and her family! They are really sweet people, and will be sending another exchange student next year.  I speak in Spanish with her, because I believe in speaking Spanish with people whose first language is Spanish, and are not trying to learn English (for example, other exchange students in the USA).

It has been hard understanding another culture, and I still find myself making mistakes, and asking questions, “Should I go upstairs and greet them, or should I wait for lunch for them to come downstairs?” “Is it appropriate to use this word in front of adults, or is it just the slang teens use?” “Can I do this, or should I just keep my mouth shut?” A lot of the time, I am not sure, and don’t want to ask my family. Usually I wait and ask some friends, because I have found they can explain things from the view of a teen. With all the cultural differences and mistakes that have been made, I can say THANK YOU (yes, in caps) to all the people who have explained things to me! It has been very helpful!!

The other day, I had a dream, and nearly woke up in tears, because I realized it wasn’t near true. My mom decided to come to Ecuador, and brought our old house with her. I was walking through the living room with one of my Ecuadorian friends, and saw one of my lovely red headed friends showing my mom a dance (I have no idea…). I was later making plans to take my mom on a trip around the country for 2 weeks, and making plans to see my Ecuadorian friends as well as my friends from the states at the same time. I feel so split right now, because I want to bring everyone together, so I don’t have to give up either of them! After about an hour of thinking about this, I felt really sad, but decided to do something later that afternoon so I would feel good again. I realized that I miss my mom a lot, but would not be able to go another five months without her if it wasn’t for the amazing friends I have made here in Ecuador. They always seem to have something funny to say or some plan involving me that always cheers me up when I feel homesick. I have found that when I stay at home, or in the office all day, I go to sleep feeling a bit sad, because I have thought about my family a lot. If I do something each day, I feel good and relaxed, and not so homesick.

With that being said, a word for future exchangers reading this: If you begin to feel homesick, and really just want to spend time in bed looking through old pictures with your family and friends, take 10 or 15 minutes to do that, and then pick of the phone and make a call to a friend and say you want to do something with them. If, after that, you still feel homesick, don’t let yourself have time to think about your family. Give yourself something to do: write a blog post about something, even if it is about what your lunch was; watch a movie with your family; go for a walk; take pictures of your neighborhood or house; get to know the Rotary Club’s Project. If it gets to the point where that doesn’t help you, find an exchange friend (this is a person who is currently on exchange in your host country) to talk to and tell about your home family. Tell them about the cultural differences between the two, and how something annoys you, or about how you learned something from someone. I have found that these things help me a lot. I have also enjoyed talking to someone from my home country that is more of an acquaintance than friend, explaining something about the host country, or some funny language mistake, and asking about school in the home country, or even the weather! Talking to someone that you know, but cannot associate with any important memories can be helpful when curious about home and are homesick at the same time. However, it is important to tell your home family that, yes, you do miss them, but try your best to not talk to them when you are homesick. I have found it very hard to do, and have collapsed and Skyped my mom when feeling homesick, but it rarely helps for more than a few minutes. Just remember to keep yourself busy with the people that are in your host country, because that is how you are going to keep going when feeling homesick. Without them, you have nothing but yourself that you can see without using a computer screen.

Too sad to feel....

I got a message from my mom in the states today. My dog, Princess, our precious black lab who we have had for 12 years, meaning she is anywhere between 15 and 17 years old, has systematic cancer and multiple organ failure. Some things are too hard to watch unfold while you are right next to the problem. When you are out of country, it feels as though they are not real, but when you think about it, the pain hits as if you were right next to them. I knew she wouldn´t make it until I got back, but the feeling of her having cancer makes me relive the death of my other dog as well as the feeling of letting her fall from my grip as well. I´m greatful to have the support system that I do here in Ecuador, and some amazing dogs that would be willing to take me out of the thoughts--even if just for a moment. Princess, I wish I could hug you again. I love you girly!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

In the days leading up to Christmas, there was a tree and birth scene set up outside our house for the neighborhood. I thought it would be just a place for people to come, look, and take pictures. However, that is not the case. Each night, for nine nights leading up to Christmas, everyone comes to sing to the child of God. I went a few times, and decided it was not something I enjoyed very much. It was nice how everyone worked together to do that, but I just felt out of place, out of religion, everytime I really LISTENED to what they were saying, so after about 4 nights, I decided to stop going. They do this up until the 6^th of January, which is the day that is said to be when the 3 kings came to see the baby.

Christmas was a beautiful sight to see. We spent the 24^th preparing everything, from presents to food, to outfits to wear! I opened my drawer where I was storing my presents for my “secret friend” (Secret Santa), to find it broken! I rushed to my host mothers’ room, where she saved me by giving me hoop earrings and bracelets to give instead of the bowl I bought in the Amazon. It was all okay. I was one of the first ready, as usual, because I had stayed at home all afternoon to take a nap, then, got ready when I woke up. I went downstairs for a little while until the family began to arrive. At midnight—exactly at midnight—we kissed everyone on the cheek and said “Feliz Navidad” which means “Merry Christmas.” We gave the children their gifts; I gifted two little toy cars to my nephews and a hair clip that looks like a hat (it’s so cute!) to my niece. After that, we gifted the gifts to our Secret Santas. At 2:05AM, we ate dinner. It was turkey, rice, this sweet thing made with turkey and raisons—I don’t care for it much, and a shrimp salad (I didn’t eat the shrimp). Nobody was in the mood to dance, so we just listened to music and talked until 4, when the last people went home, and I went to sleep. The 25^th, we went to the beach in the afternoon. It was amazing to be there with family.

New Years is a different story. Normally, people spend up until midnight with family, then, the teens go out to party all night. However, I spent all night in the house, because if my family does not know how to throw a party, nobody in their right mind does! At around 10:30, I was ready and sitting with my cousin’s husband (I’m not sure if he is her husband or boyfriend, but they have a daughter together, so I’m just going with husband), my other cousin, and my grandma. I was waiting for people to get ready, and trying to persuade my grandma to come downstairs to the party. By around 11, I just went downstairs, and two little girls (my cousins) made me dance with them. The funny thing about that is a cousin from Quito told me I was going to be his dance partner, but the girls rarely let that happen. At midnight, we said “Feliz Año” or “Happy Year” and kissed everyone on the cheek. That was about 40 people to kiss, might I add. After that, we burned these paper mache dolls that were made about kid size. They represent all the things that happened in the last year, and allow you to start over. That is one thing I really like about the burning—ashes can’t be put back together the way they were before. We set off some fireworks, and the little children began crying from the noise. We went back inside, danced for awhile, ate dinner (yes, after midnight—probably around 1ish), and my sister sprained her ankle while dancing. We danced the night away. I went to bed at 5, after I heard a rooster crow a few times. There was a family sharing my room with me—I had my bed, a cot was set up for the little boys, and my sister’s bed was occupied by the parents. They started talking at 8 IN THE MORNING, and of course WOKE ME UP. I was very very very very very mad. I was able to fall back asleep again at 9, and woke up at noon. I did sleep a lot for going to bed at 5. We then went to Briseños, which is a beach a few hours north of us. It is really pretty. We ate lunch around 4, because they messed up our orders, and they served the tables wrong, but we were with family, so it was okay. We were finally able to get into the water after another 5 minute drive, and began to play keep away. There were probably around ten guys, and four girls, and the guys wouldn’t let us play with them, so we stole the ball and began to play keep away. This went on for at least an hour and a half. It was amazing. We went to shower, and left. The two little girls, ages 3 and 6, fell asleep on me for the 3ish hour drive. After getting home, we ate dinner, said goodbye to the majority of the family, and I went to shower and go to bed. While laying in bed, I began to think. This was the first time I felt free since before I started school. It had to be the best feeling in the world. How nice it is to just be free…