Another work week just came to a close, and I am amazed that next week is my last week of service.
I´m not ready yet. I´m 100% not ready to leave, at all. Man.
Wednesday, we took the day off of Cristo and instead traveled around the valley going to other group members´service sites. I don´t know if I´ve explained this before, but there are four different service sites that students are working with here. Cristo (obviously) is one; there´s another site that works with the elderly; two girls are working in a health clinic and sometimes in a hospital; and two other people are at a school/foundation that works with kids with severe disabilities. We went to the latter two sites on Wednesday.
We learned a decent amount about the health care system in the valley we´re living in. Every city has its own clinic, bueno bueno. And then we visited one of the hospitals. The hospital is meant to serve a population of nearly 200,000. And it has 15 beds. A lot of these beds are all in the same room. It was interesting, to say the least.
At the special needs center, I realized that I don´t think I could ever have that job. Some of the classes are integrated, but then there are a few that house kids with things like cerebral palsy, hemiplogia, etc. I really don´t think I could do that, day in and day out. Those are special people who can have that job for years.
And I realized how lucky I am to be able to make even stupid decisions during the day, like whether or not I want to wake up at 7 or 7:10; if I´ll eat cereal or bread; if I´ll walk on one side of the street or the other.
Dang.
Last night, we went out to Quito again, and ate some delicious crepes before going to a different bar. And we...
KARAOKED!!
So I can cross number 27 off the list. "Let it Be" by the Beatles and "As Long as You Love ME" by Backstreet Boys were for sure belted out last night. Good deal.
Tomorrow, we have a trip to Volcan Cotopaxi, which is one of the most active volcanoes in Ecuador. It´s also one of the few mountains on the equator that has permanent ice on top. I never really even though about how CRAZY that is...
So for this day trip, I´m going to do a few important things: Eat breakfast. Bring snacks. Wear warm clothes. Slow down.
It should go better than our first volcano adventure....
Friday, May 28, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
#7 (PET A MONKEY!) and #63 (visit the rainforest)
You guys.
I think I just peaked. I don´t think my life will get any better than it currently is RIGHT NOW. Wanna know why?!?!
Not only did I touch a monkey. No no. No no no. The monkeys CLIMBED ALL OVER ME.
And. Get this: one peed on me. I´m never washing that shirt again.
(that´s a huge lie... I already washed it).
But seriously. I never ever thought that number seven on my list would happen in the next 365 days. And somehow, it did.
I don´t have the pictures on my camera, but as soon as my friend uploads them, I´ll show!
Now. On to the AMAZON!!
I spend the past weekend at Tiputini Biodiversity Station, which I´m pretty sure is the most remote place I´ll ever end up being in my entire life. It´s a partnership between the USFQ here, and with BU back in the US (rep Beantown what whaaat). To get there, we had to drive from Cumbaya to Quito, take a 30 minute plane ride to Coca, take a 2 hour boat ride to Pompeya, take a 2 hour bus ride through Repsol´s oil road thing (kind of sketchy...), and then finish with another 2.5 ish hour boat ride on a different river to end up at the station in the absolute middle of nowhere. We had electricity for about 5 hours a day total.
I was in heaven. I´m not even kidding. I´ve never ever enjoyed myself more.
Friday was spent traveling, for the most part. It rained, too. And by rain, I mean downpours of a magnitude that I have never. ever. before seen in my entiiiire life. They don´t call it the rainforest for nothing...The adventures began on
SATURDAY!
Breakfast was at 6:30 every morning, so we woke up before then to wander around a little bit. The cabins we stayed in were REALLY NICE! Running/potable water and EVERYTHING. Swanky swank.
Oh. Also. When we got to said swank-tastic cabin on Friday night, we were greeted by a HUUUGE tarantula. Not even kidding. The size of a softball.
So that was cool. Welcome to the Amazon!
Anyways. Back to Saturday. We saw some bats in the morning, and then went on our first hike!
Through the jungle.
Let me repeat this: a hike through the jungle.
We went to this canopy tower, which was probably about 15 to 20 stories up in a tree. We climbed up some rickety scaffolding to reach a platform hiiiiiigh up in the trees.
Up there, we saw some absolutely beautiful birds, and some tucans, and LOTS OF BUGS. Bugs will be a highlight of this trip. Just a forewarning.
(clearly still figuring out how to work all the color settings on my new camera....oops!)
I think I just peaked. I don´t think my life will get any better than it currently is RIGHT NOW. Wanna know why?!?!
Not only did I touch a monkey. No no. No no no. The monkeys CLIMBED ALL OVER ME.
And. Get this: one peed on me. I´m never washing that shirt again.
(that´s a huge lie... I already washed it).
But seriously. I never ever thought that number seven on my list would happen in the next 365 days. And somehow, it did.
I don´t have the pictures on my camera, but as soon as my friend uploads them, I´ll show!
Now. On to the AMAZON!!
I spend the past weekend at Tiputini Biodiversity Station, which I´m pretty sure is the most remote place I´ll ever end up being in my entire life. It´s a partnership between the USFQ here, and with BU back in the US (rep Beantown what whaaat). To get there, we had to drive from Cumbaya to Quito, take a 30 minute plane ride to Coca, take a 2 hour boat ride to Pompeya, take a 2 hour bus ride through Repsol´s oil road thing (kind of sketchy...), and then finish with another 2.5 ish hour boat ride on a different river to end up at the station in the absolute middle of nowhere. We had electricity for about 5 hours a day total.
I was in heaven. I´m not even kidding. I´ve never ever enjoyed myself more.
Friday was spent traveling, for the most part. It rained, too. And by rain, I mean downpours of a magnitude that I have never. ever. before seen in my entiiiire life. They don´t call it the rainforest for nothing...The adventures began on
SATURDAY!
Breakfast was at 6:30 every morning, so we woke up before then to wander around a little bit. The cabins we stayed in were REALLY NICE! Running/potable water and EVERYTHING. Swanky swank.
Oh. Also. When we got to said swank-tastic cabin on Friday night, we were greeted by a HUUUGE tarantula. Not even kidding. The size of a softball.
So that was cool. Welcome to the Amazon!
Anyways. Back to Saturday. We saw some bats in the morning, and then went on our first hike!
Through the jungle.
Let me repeat this: a hike through the jungle.
We went to this canopy tower, which was probably about 15 to 20 stories up in a tree. We climbed up some rickety scaffolding to reach a platform hiiiiiigh up in the trees.
Up there, we saw some absolutely beautiful birds, and some tucans, and LOTS OF BUGS. Bugs will be a highlight of this trip. Just a forewarning.
ANTS!
These were some of the most incredible birds I´ve ever seen in my life. I wish I could edit them and clean them up a bit more, but you´ll just have to believe me.
Spider web.
View from the canopy tower! This is honestly the only picture I have of the view. I´m pretty sure the rest of them are of bugs.
We finally left the tippity top of the rainforest canopy, and went trekking for the rest of the morning. And we saw a MONKEY!!!!!! 
Again. Stupid color issues. But seriously. CHECK OUT THAT SWING!!!!!
Our guide also showed us this tree where there is a symbiotic relationship between the tree and some ants. the highlight: THE ANTS WERE EDIBLE!!!! They tasted like lemon juice. Learn more about this tasty treat here.
Then we went back to the station, and ate lunch, and bathed in the river. With the piranhas. No big deal.
Our afternoon activity was a boat ride in the Tiputini River, and we eventaully jumped out of the boat and floated down the river for a little more than an hour. Also, we were floating where they had seen an anaconda only a few days earlier.
Note: the Tiputini is where piranhas live. Nom nom nom. You are also not allowed to pee in the water, because there is a type of catfish that, when it smells urine, will crawl up your urethra. Yum!
Sunday
We woke up eaaaarrrly this morning, and the other two girls in my cabin and I went down to the dock. We saw a bunch of Amazon river dolphins, playing exactly where we had been playing in the current only a day earlier!
Our morning activity was to go to a lake nearby, where our guide took us on a canoe ride and we saw a caiman, as well as a bunch of prehistoric birds!
After bathing in the river again, we went to the canopy bridges in the jungle. It was another pretty high climb to the top, and then there were all of these bridges between trees and platforms and other fun things to climb around on. And as we alllll learned from when I was in Chile, climbing is my JAM.
Saw more monkeys on the way back. no big deal.
Monday was another traveling day, but it was also when we stopped in Coca for a few hours before our plane ride. There were monkeys that lived near the restaurant there, and they loved me.
Loved. Me. So much that they wanted to mark me as their territory.
We also saw another caiman that day!
For some reason, I´m struggling making a slideshow here! So check out my photos on facebook. There are two albums, and they are http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31249371&id=1232340250 and http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31249501&id=1232340250
Those links take you to the first photo of each album, and then you should be able to scroll through. If that doesn´t work, and you want to see them, email me! Colleen.A.Cummings@vanderbilt.edu and I will figure out a way to share them!
besitos!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
#86- Read Slaughterhouse Five
FINISHED IT YESTERDAY MORNING! I'm reading a disgusting amount on this trip. It is so so wonderful. I actually am a huge fan of not really having internet, and thus having to do better things with my time. I should try it more often.
Anyway, as for the book, it wasn't as amazing as I thought it would be. That sounds horrible. I'm sure I could do absolutely no better, but still. So it goes.
Baha. Get it?!?!
I started home visits on Monday, and they were way more powerful than I ever expected they could be. No broma. I visited four houses on Monday. Every single mother was 23, except for the first, who was 26. I'm 21. And I'm selfishly traveling around South America. It doesn't seem right to me..
It might make sense to explain Cristo now. The foundation accepts about 100 kids each year, and charges the family $10 a month for the children. However, it actually costs the foundation between $70 and $80 a month to care for the kids. They are sponsored by one church in Ecuador, three churches in the US, and a handful of padrinos, which literally translates to godfathers, who also donate money on a regular basis.
Clearly the demand far exceeds the number of spaces that are available within the guarderia. And so they narrow it down, to select new enrollees each September. This year, they have 46 cupos (spaces), and had over 200 applicants. After reading the paper applications, which included information like neighborhood, monthly salary, and place of work, it was narrowed down to about 120 to do home visits for. The home visits are to make sure that nobody is lying on their paper application, and to justify who really needs these spots.
But it's heartbreaking. Because the pobreza (poverty) is so clearly visible in all of these cases. But you have to choose the poorest of the poor. How do you do that? And how do you justify that this person's $240 a month is worth more than this person's? Gah.
The first family was a mother, her husband, and their two kids, an 11 year old boy and a 3 year old girl named Miley. Apparently Hannah Montana had reached Ecuador by 2007...
The mother had a steady job, the father was in construction and didn't. They had a two room "house", with no bathroom or running water, and one light bulb per room. But it was the nicest house I saw that day...
The second was a 23 year old mother with a 4 year old son. However, she was quickly cut out of the running because she was giving shady answers to the questions. First, she said she worked full time. Then she didn't. Then she did. Then it was possible that she would. And her husband's salary kept fluctuating, as well
Sidenote: minimum wage in Ecuador is $240 a month. $2880 a year. For the child to be accepted at Cristo, all present parents must work full time, and there must be no other alternative for the child during the day. Cristo only accepts children between 18 months and 5 years; normally, employers are more lenient about letting a woman bring an infant, but once s/he is walking, it's undoubtedly a lot harder.
So. Madre numero dos was a no. Nunca nunca. Oh, and she was ALREADY paying $30 a month for a different guarderia, to boot!
Madre numero tres was the saddest one that we saw that day. She was 23, with an almost 3 year old and 6 month old. The husband left her while she was pregnant with the 6 month old, and is now not involved at all with the children. She lives in a room off of her parent's "house", but has really nothing of her own. In the other situations, the women at least had their own stoves. She used theirs, and their fridge. They shared a bathroom outside. Again, no running water.
The abuela of the two kids, who was 42, currently takes the 2 kids to work every day (she works as a maid). But with a 2 year old, it's just creating a ton more work for her. This case was determined to be urgent, meaning that this family will most likely get a spot in Cristo.
The last house was another single mom, with literally the most beautiful daughter I've ever ever ever seen. I want to steal her (actually, I want to steal the majority of these kiddos...). She works, as well, but since her daughter only has one more year before kindergarten, she wants her to be in more of an educational setting. Currently, the daughter stays with her aunt during the day.
It also frustrated me that I went to all these one-room houses, and then came home to my host house with an indoor pool and my own bathroom.
It doesn't seem right. I'm actually starting to cry (again) in the computer lab (cool). Not right at all. And I know as long as there's a world and money, disparities like this will exist. But that doesn't make me capable of dealing with it any more.....
I have more house visits today. Should be interesting. And then I'm in the Amazon this weekend!! I can't even explain how excited I am for that.
And then I'll go back to working with the poorest of the poor kids in Cumbaya. Bah.
Anyway, as for the book, it wasn't as amazing as I thought it would be. That sounds horrible. I'm sure I could do absolutely no better, but still. So it goes.
Baha. Get it?!?!
I started home visits on Monday, and they were way more powerful than I ever expected they could be. No broma. I visited four houses on Monday. Every single mother was 23, except for the first, who was 26. I'm 21. And I'm selfishly traveling around South America. It doesn't seem right to me..
It might make sense to explain Cristo now. The foundation accepts about 100 kids each year, and charges the family $10 a month for the children. However, it actually costs the foundation between $70 and $80 a month to care for the kids. They are sponsored by one church in Ecuador, three churches in the US, and a handful of padrinos, which literally translates to godfathers, who also donate money on a regular basis.
Clearly the demand far exceeds the number of spaces that are available within the guarderia. And so they narrow it down, to select new enrollees each September. This year, they have 46 cupos (spaces), and had over 200 applicants. After reading the paper applications, which included information like neighborhood, monthly salary, and place of work, it was narrowed down to about 120 to do home visits for. The home visits are to make sure that nobody is lying on their paper application, and to justify who really needs these spots.
But it's heartbreaking. Because the pobreza (poverty) is so clearly visible in all of these cases. But you have to choose the poorest of the poor. How do you do that? And how do you justify that this person's $240 a month is worth more than this person's? Gah.
The first family was a mother, her husband, and their two kids, an 11 year old boy and a 3 year old girl named Miley. Apparently Hannah Montana had reached Ecuador by 2007...
The mother had a steady job, the father was in construction and didn't. They had a two room "house", with no bathroom or running water, and one light bulb per room. But it was the nicest house I saw that day...
The second was a 23 year old mother with a 4 year old son. However, she was quickly cut out of the running because she was giving shady answers to the questions. First, she said she worked full time. Then she didn't. Then she did. Then it was possible that she would. And her husband's salary kept fluctuating, as well
Sidenote: minimum wage in Ecuador is $240 a month. $2880 a year. For the child to be accepted at Cristo, all present parents must work full time, and there must be no other alternative for the child during the day. Cristo only accepts children between 18 months and 5 years; normally, employers are more lenient about letting a woman bring an infant, but once s/he is walking, it's undoubtedly a lot harder.
So. Madre numero dos was a no. Nunca nunca. Oh, and she was ALREADY paying $30 a month for a different guarderia, to boot!
Madre numero tres was the saddest one that we saw that day. She was 23, with an almost 3 year old and 6 month old. The husband left her while she was pregnant with the 6 month old, and is now not involved at all with the children. She lives in a room off of her parent's "house", but has really nothing of her own. In the other situations, the women at least had their own stoves. She used theirs, and their fridge. They shared a bathroom outside. Again, no running water.
The abuela of the two kids, who was 42, currently takes the 2 kids to work every day (she works as a maid). But with a 2 year old, it's just creating a ton more work for her. This case was determined to be urgent, meaning that this family will most likely get a spot in Cristo.
The last house was another single mom, with literally the most beautiful daughter I've ever ever ever seen. I want to steal her (actually, I want to steal the majority of these kiddos...). She works, as well, but since her daughter only has one more year before kindergarten, she wants her to be in more of an educational setting. Currently, the daughter stays with her aunt during the day.
It also frustrated me that I went to all these one-room houses, and then came home to my host house with an indoor pool and my own bathroom.
It doesn't seem right. I'm actually starting to cry (again) in the computer lab (cool). Not right at all. And I know as long as there's a world and money, disparities like this will exist. But that doesn't make me capable of dealing with it any more.....
I have more house visits today. Should be interesting. And then I'm in the Amazon this weekend!! I can't even explain how excited I am for that.
And then I'll go back to working with the poorest of the poor kids in Cumbaya. Bah.
Monday, May 17, 2010
#101: Visit the center of the world.
...if only I had known before I made my list. Shucks.
It was for sure a whirlwind weekend. On Saturday, our group went on a tour to an old equatorial monument. I stood on both hemispheres at the same time. No big deal.
Then we went to Otavalo, which is an indigenous village/market a few hours away from Quito. Bought some cool stuff. But to be honest, I was about 100% overwhelmed by all the colors and people and animals and llama fur and food and crowds...
The last stop on Saturday was to Parque Condor, where we saw some real Condors and some other cool birds. Owls were my favorite. They had some that looked like Hedwig.
Sunday was no less crazy. We went to the Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world). I still don´t understand how it´s different from the equator, but at this point, I´m just going along with it... This is where we went that day.
It was pretty cool, though. When you are perfectly on the equator, it is possible to balance an egg on the head of a nail. The gravitational pull is perfectly equal, so the egg stays upright instead of falling over. If you were able to do it at this museum, you got this cool certificate.
I did it. No big deal. I´ll show you all my certificate when I get back to the US.
Then, we went to explore cloud forests, which are NOT what you might think they are. Okay, this is more me. I honestly thought it would be a hike around a mountain, and you´d see different types of clouds. Apparently, this is a RIDICULOUS assumption. Which, admittedly, I guess it is. So I couldn´t work on #48, learning all the cloud types. Sad. But there really is astounding biodiversity and so many different types of birds, bugs, and plants.
My favorite part, though, was when we went to this man´s house (someone who runs one of the service sites took us), and the 13 year old daughter took us on a tour of the property. They have a pet toucan, who just roams around the forest until it´s time to come in for dinner. His name is Lorenzo. So basically, we spent an hour running around these woods yelling "LORENZO! LORENZO!" trying to get the stupid bird to fly down to us.
Just think about it. Picture it. And then I bet you´ll laugh out loud, because I´m starting to giggle again...
I start home visits with Cristo today. Should be interesting. Today´s only Monday, and I only worked for five hours, but I am 100% exhausted. I feel like I haven´t really slowed down yet... not since school started in January. I´m looking forward to going to bed early tonight....
It was for sure a whirlwind weekend. On Saturday, our group went on a tour to an old equatorial monument. I stood on both hemispheres at the same time. No big deal.
Then we went to Otavalo, which is an indigenous village/market a few hours away from Quito. Bought some cool stuff. But to be honest, I was about 100% overwhelmed by all the colors and people and animals and llama fur and food and crowds...
The last stop on Saturday was to Parque Condor, where we saw some real Condors and some other cool birds. Owls were my favorite. They had some that looked like Hedwig.
Sunday was no less crazy. We went to the Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world). I still don´t understand how it´s different from the equator, but at this point, I´m just going along with it... This is where we went that day.
It was pretty cool, though. When you are perfectly on the equator, it is possible to balance an egg on the head of a nail. The gravitational pull is perfectly equal, so the egg stays upright instead of falling over. If you were able to do it at this museum, you got this cool certificate.
I did it. No big deal. I´ll show you all my certificate when I get back to the US.
Then, we went to explore cloud forests, which are NOT what you might think they are. Okay, this is more me. I honestly thought it would be a hike around a mountain, and you´d see different types of clouds. Apparently, this is a RIDICULOUS assumption. Which, admittedly, I guess it is. So I couldn´t work on #48, learning all the cloud types. Sad. But there really is astounding biodiversity and so many different types of birds, bugs, and plants.
My favorite part, though, was when we went to this man´s house (someone who runs one of the service sites took us), and the 13 year old daughter took us on a tour of the property. They have a pet toucan, who just roams around the forest until it´s time to come in for dinner. His name is Lorenzo. So basically, we spent an hour running around these woods yelling "LORENZO! LORENZO!" trying to get the stupid bird to fly down to us.
Just think about it. Picture it. And then I bet you´ll laugh out loud, because I´m starting to giggle again...
I start home visits with Cristo today. Should be interesting. Today´s only Monday, and I only worked for five hours, but I am 100% exhausted. I feel like I haven´t really slowed down yet... not since school started in January. I´m looking forward to going to bed early tonight....
Friday, May 14, 2010
Coffee. Café. Vida.
I love coffee. And caffeine. I eat it by the spoonful (don´t worry about it). And, as such, I never enjoy it. Because I drink it copious amounts, like water, as if it were free (because oftentimes it is) and bountiful (because it always is).
Enter South America. And Nescafé.
I mean, I´m used to it... and I abuse it, I´m sure. It´s just hot water and VIOLA!! And so I´m not doing so well with number 15 on the list, which is "Start using coffee for good, not evil. This means no more pouring it into my body in an attempt to stay awake. No no. This means enjoying mi café"
But today. Today I did. I did very well. We went to a café after our service site today, and I got a coffee and a strawberry juice. It was an americano, sin leche, y con un poco de azucar. And it was delicious.
Mission partially accomplished.
Anyway! Today is Friday, and I´ve finished my first week at the guardería (day care - - - http://cristodemiravalle.org/ ). And it was a hard week. I know what working at day cares is like, I´ve done it before. I work with kids constantly...it´s my jam, ja know? So I knew the days would be long and hard, and that my Spanish vocab isn´t really perfect for what I´m doing, if that makes sense. But we ended up being a little disappointed with the site, which is incredibly selfish, and I know that.
The deal is that this is for sure a community development center, but all we were doing was watching little kids. And I´m fine with that, but I really wanted more of a community and cultural experience. So we spoke up to our program director, and we´re rearranging our site for the next few weeks. We´ll work in the guarderia in the mornings, and then a few afternoons a week, we will accompany them on the home visits to learn how they screen the families that then are able to access the services the organization has to offer.
I´m so much happier about this. I´m sure they need our help in the day care, but a lot of times, there were things I couldn´t do and it was obvious that I was just an extra body, twiddling my thumbs. There are two things I really can´t stand: feeling useless, and not learning. This is a service learning trip, and I´m glad that we were able to rearrange things without offending people and being too rude. So. That´s a plus.
And now it´s Friday. And I´m kind of tired. We went to Quito last night to meet up with some people that our program director knows, which was really fun. I like having homestays, but I also just love love love spending time with everyone in my group, and part of me (ie- all of me) wishes we were just living together so we could spend more time together.
This post is too long. I´m going to end abruptly.
And I´m also going to apologize for not really responding to emails and FB posts and stuff. I´m really only on the computer for about 30 minutes, every 3 days or so! Just so ye knowest.
Enter South America. And Nescafé.
I mean, I´m used to it... and I abuse it, I´m sure. It´s just hot water and VIOLA!! And so I´m not doing so well with number 15 on the list, which is "Start using coffee for good, not evil. This means no more pouring it into my body in an attempt to stay awake. No no. This means enjoying mi café"
But today. Today I did. I did very well. We went to a café after our service site today, and I got a coffee and a strawberry juice. It was an americano, sin leche, y con un poco de azucar. And it was delicious.
Mission partially accomplished.
Anyway! Today is Friday, and I´ve finished my first week at the guardería (day care - - - http://cristodemiravalle.org/ ). And it was a hard week. I know what working at day cares is like, I´ve done it before. I work with kids constantly...it´s my jam, ja know? So I knew the days would be long and hard, and that my Spanish vocab isn´t really perfect for what I´m doing, if that makes sense. But we ended up being a little disappointed with the site, which is incredibly selfish, and I know that.
The deal is that this is for sure a community development center, but all we were doing was watching little kids. And I´m fine with that, but I really wanted more of a community and cultural experience. So we spoke up to our program director, and we´re rearranging our site for the next few weeks. We´ll work in the guarderia in the mornings, and then a few afternoons a week, we will accompany them on the home visits to learn how they screen the families that then are able to access the services the organization has to offer.
I´m so much happier about this. I´m sure they need our help in the day care, but a lot of times, there were things I couldn´t do and it was obvious that I was just an extra body, twiddling my thumbs. There are two things I really can´t stand: feeling useless, and not learning. This is a service learning trip, and I´m glad that we were able to rearrange things without offending people and being too rude. So. That´s a plus.
And now it´s Friday. And I´m kind of tired. We went to Quito last night to meet up with some people that our program director knows, which was really fun. I like having homestays, but I also just love love love spending time with everyone in my group, and part of me (ie- all of me) wishes we were just living together so we could spend more time together.
This post is too long. I´m going to end abruptly.
And I´m also going to apologize for not really responding to emails and FB posts and stuff. I´m really only on the computer for about 30 minutes, every 3 days or so! Just so ye knowest.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
An update on #43....
#43 on my list was to go an entire year without buying bottled water. And then I remembered.... I´ll be living in Ecuador for a month. AKA the land of entirely unpotable water. So I´ve had to buy bottled water.
MISSION FAIIIIILLEEDD!!
But I´m telling myself that it´s for safety purposes... and I´m still using it to brush my teeth and everything (*fingers crossed*), aaaand I brought my water bottle, so I´m boiling water and stuff to use to.But still. Bummer.
So. On Saturday afternoon, after my last post, our program director picked me up from the hostel, because my host family was impossible to get in touch with. She and her friend drove me here, and rang the bell. This lady (my host mom) answered it, CLEARLY shocked that there was a girl on her front stoop holding a backpack, and saying "HEYYY I think I´´ll crash here for a month, is that cool?"
I love miscommunications.
So they dropped me off, and Señora cleaned out a bedroom for me (have my own bathroom, which is sweeeet). And then they left and came back, and left and came back, so I really haven´t spent much time with them at all. So far, so good though.
And then on Sunday, we went on a tour of Quito with the group (there´s 10 of us from Vanderbilt here), and saw all of the old colonial buildings and shtuff. We also went to this cathedral, where everything inside is gold plated.
Everything.
Covered in gold.
I honestly got really frustrated with this, as horrible as it sounds. Poverty runs rampant here (+40% below the UN poverty line, aka less than a dollar a day), and income disparities are so clearly visible. And yet, the government spends money to buy gold leaf for this church. BAHHHH!
That´s all.
And then when I got home that afternoon, I was locked out of my house for 2 hours. But it was a really pretty night!! So not a huge deal. And I stole the maid´s keys yesterday heh heh heh.
Yesterday was my first day at Cristo de Miravalle, the day care center I´m volunteering at. They have about 100 kids, and 5 full time teachers. I don´t think those ratios would ever fly at Next Generation. But the kids are SO loving, and the atmosphere is pretty great. I worked in the kitchen yesterday, cooking lunch, making snacks, washing dishes. My back hurt when I got home. I felt lame. But at the same time, incredibly humbled: the normal cook does all that we did together by herself, every day. These people are strong. In every sense.
AND! Now it´s time to go to work again!
Besos!
MISSION FAIIIIILLEEDD!!
But I´m telling myself that it´s for safety purposes... and I´m still using it to brush my teeth and everything (*fingers crossed*), aaaand I brought my water bottle, so I´m boiling water and stuff to use to.But still. Bummer.
So. On Saturday afternoon, after my last post, our program director picked me up from the hostel, because my host family was impossible to get in touch with. She and her friend drove me here, and rang the bell. This lady (my host mom) answered it, CLEARLY shocked that there was a girl on her front stoop holding a backpack, and saying "HEYYY I think I´´ll crash here for a month, is that cool?"
I love miscommunications.
So they dropped me off, and Señora cleaned out a bedroom for me (have my own bathroom, which is sweeeet). And then they left and came back, and left and came back, so I really haven´t spent much time with them at all. So far, so good though.
And then on Sunday, we went on a tour of Quito with the group (there´s 10 of us from Vanderbilt here), and saw all of the old colonial buildings and shtuff. We also went to this cathedral, where everything inside is gold plated.
Everything.
Covered in gold.
I honestly got really frustrated with this, as horrible as it sounds. Poverty runs rampant here (+40% below the UN poverty line, aka less than a dollar a day), and income disparities are so clearly visible. And yet, the government spends money to buy gold leaf for this church. BAHHHH!
That´s all.
And then when I got home that afternoon, I was locked out of my house for 2 hours. But it was a really pretty night!! So not a huge deal. And I stole the maid´s keys yesterday heh heh heh.
Yesterday was my first day at Cristo de Miravalle, the day care center I´m volunteering at. They have about 100 kids, and 5 full time teachers. I don´t think those ratios would ever fly at Next Generation. But the kids are SO loving, and the atmosphere is pretty great. I worked in the kitchen yesterday, cooking lunch, making snacks, washing dishes. My back hurt when I got home. I felt lame. But at the same time, incredibly humbled: the normal cook does all that we did together by herself, every day. These people are strong. In every sense.
AND! Now it´s time to go to work again!
Besos!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
#6, # 81... ECUADOR!
So Emily and I left on a plane for Ecuador on Thursday morning, exactly 24 hours after I finished my last final. Wednesday consisted of hurrying around like crazy... and then sleeping and hopping on a flight. I have to say, though, leaving didn´t really feel right. I felt so selfish, getting out of Nashville right when the city was in desperate need of help. And instead, I´m fleeing the country do to something that I want....it felt weird. I also think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I had barely any time to process the fact that I was leaving. My life the past couple of weeks had been study, essay, study, essay, shower, study, sleep, essay, pack, essay.. etc etc. So when I was suddenly on a plane to South America, it felt MORE than surreal.
BUT!! On the plane, I accomplished #81 on the list... Catcher in the Rye!! Fabulous book, wonderful quotes. I honestly laughed out loud more than I should have. Poor people sitting next to me on the plane... I must have appeared 100% insane.
And then we landed in Quito, took a taxi to our hostel, checked in, ate some food, and PASSED. OUT. So tired after the past few weeks.
We woke up yesterday morning, feeling refreshed, and decided to take this thing called a Teleférico to a point about 2/3 up the way up a volcano. So to say I completely did #6 (hike another mountain) is kind of a lie. We also barely made it... and I´m not exaggerating. We were in such a rush to get out that morning that we threw on Target sweatpant capris, tshirts, and grabbed a sweatshirt. We put a pack of crackers in our backpacks for lunch, and ate a handful of cereal to get out while it was still sunny. I mean, the hike was only supposed to be 3 hours each way! No big deal, right?!
Mistakes. Mistakesmistakesmistakes.
I mean, granted, we were only hiking 1/3 of the way up, but it was well over 4000 meters high. Lonely Planet says numerous times to not attempt this hike before you´ve acclimated to the altitude in Quito for at least a few days. We figured 12 hours was a enough, right? Wrong. Just for comparison sake.... Mt Washington is about 2,000 meters above sea level. We were climbing to 5,000. Rutrohh.
Mistake # 3.
We get off the Teleferiqo (which is like a chair lift) and immediately take off up the hill. I guess I shouldn´t call it a hill? Because it is a mountain. A rocky, ferocious, dormant volano. I´m even willing to call it unforgiving.
We couldn´t catch our breath, and were immediately surprised at how much the altitude was hindering our ability to hike. So we took it slow (and I mean BABY steps), and kept going up and up. And everytime we thought we we got close, we´d see another peak in the distance that we needed to get up over. And then the clouds starting rolling in, and the wind picked up. We were hiking through clouds, with zero visibility, trying to follow the path as we ascended.
Then we lost the path.
And we were scrambling on rockface, on the side of volcano. At this point, we were a little more than 2 hours into the hike, but a combination of dehydration/no food/little sleep/little oxygen made me feel so weak and shaky that every little step felt like h*ll. We finally got back on the path, and saw the REAL top of the volano. We (somehow) kept going.. kept going... and got there just as even thicker clouds rolled in, completely obscuring our view of the crater.
Wonderful.
We turned around at just the right time, though. As we started to go back, we ran into another group that was with a guide, and the guide told us that about 9 people die on this summit every year, because they attempt to climb without enough clothes, water, food (..sound familiar?!?!), and they get lost in the clouds.... oh. So basically, overambitious people like me. Good to know.
Getting down was okay, once we got through the cloud cover. I´ve never felt that type of exhaustion, though. At one point, I had to just stop and wait, because I was convinced I was going to throw up.
But we made it! We got back down to the Teleferiqo stop, and drank a Coke and ate a sandwich, letting the feeling flow through our bodies again. There was some guy from the UK there who clearly wanted to strike up a conversation, but I was so exhausted that I couldn´t even form words. So I reaffirmed the stupid American stereotype. Wonderful.
Moral of the story: altitude is a beast. Eat before you hike. Bring food and water when you hike. Wear pants. Bring gloves. Be humble.
I love Ecuador already....
BUT!! On the plane, I accomplished #81 on the list... Catcher in the Rye!! Fabulous book, wonderful quotes. I honestly laughed out loud more than I should have. Poor people sitting next to me on the plane... I must have appeared 100% insane.
And then we landed in Quito, took a taxi to our hostel, checked in, ate some food, and PASSED. OUT. So tired after the past few weeks.
We woke up yesterday morning, feeling refreshed, and decided to take this thing called a Teleférico to a point about 2/3 up the way up a volcano. So to say I completely did #6 (hike another mountain) is kind of a lie. We also barely made it... and I´m not exaggerating. We were in such a rush to get out that morning that we threw on Target sweatpant capris, tshirts, and grabbed a sweatshirt. We put a pack of crackers in our backpacks for lunch, and ate a handful of cereal to get out while it was still sunny. I mean, the hike was only supposed to be 3 hours each way! No big deal, right?!
Mistakes. Mistakesmistakesmistakes.
I mean, granted, we were only hiking 1/3 of the way up, but it was well over 4000 meters high. Lonely Planet says numerous times to not attempt this hike before you´ve acclimated to the altitude in Quito for at least a few days. We figured 12 hours was a enough, right? Wrong. Just for comparison sake.... Mt Washington is about 2,000 meters above sea level. We were climbing to 5,000. Rutrohh.
Mistake # 3.
We get off the Teleferiqo (which is like a chair lift) and immediately take off up the hill. I guess I shouldn´t call it a hill? Because it is a mountain. A rocky, ferocious, dormant volano. I´m even willing to call it unforgiving.
We couldn´t catch our breath, and were immediately surprised at how much the altitude was hindering our ability to hike. So we took it slow (and I mean BABY steps), and kept going up and up. And everytime we thought we we got close, we´d see another peak in the distance that we needed to get up over. And then the clouds starting rolling in, and the wind picked up. We were hiking through clouds, with zero visibility, trying to follow the path as we ascended.
Then we lost the path.
And we were scrambling on rockface, on the side of volcano. At this point, we were a little more than 2 hours into the hike, but a combination of dehydration/no food/little sleep/little oxygen made me feel so weak and shaky that every little step felt like h*ll. We finally got back on the path, and saw the REAL top of the volano. We (somehow) kept going.. kept going... and got there just as even thicker clouds rolled in, completely obscuring our view of the crater.
Wonderful.
We turned around at just the right time, though. As we started to go back, we ran into another group that was with a guide, and the guide told us that about 9 people die on this summit every year, because they attempt to climb without enough clothes, water, food (..sound familiar?!?!), and they get lost in the clouds.... oh. So basically, overambitious people like me. Good to know.
Getting down was okay, once we got through the cloud cover. I´ve never felt that type of exhaustion, though. At one point, I had to just stop and wait, because I was convinced I was going to throw up.
But we made it! We got back down to the Teleferiqo stop, and drank a Coke and ate a sandwich, letting the feeling flow through our bodies again. There was some guy from the UK there who clearly wanted to strike up a conversation, but I was so exhausted that I couldn´t even form words. So I reaffirmed the stupid American stereotype. Wonderful.
Moral of the story: altitude is a beast. Eat before you hike. Bring food and water when you hike. Wear pants. Bring gloves. Be humble.
I love Ecuador already....
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