Here´s a quick recap of the exciting happenings from the past few days:
1. Had a blast dancing the night away on Tuesday. I learned how to salsa and swing, and broke my favorite flip-flop in the process!
2. Met a crazy dude from Eagan, MN at a shawarma restaurant at 2am after night of dancing.
3. Got to go to 2 markets for spanish class on Wednesday - convenient timing, since I was feeling the affects from aforementioned night of dancing.
4. Went to local soccer game last night with friends from school - Liga, the team most people here cheer for, won 5-0. Also risked my life by eating stadium food for the first time - so far, so good (and by good, i mean alive, since the empanada (fried stuffed tortilla concoction) really wasn´t that great).
5. Took another field trip for class today - our teachers took all of us to Palacio de Presidente (Ecua-version of the White House). It was pretty cool to see, and the fact that we had to sneak 2 of our friends in because they had no form of ID made it quite exciting (it´s funny - and also a bit frightening - how they appear to have such tight security, yet didn´t even question the 2 passport/license sets with identical names and pictures within our small group).
6. Last day of clase de espanol tomorrow! I´m not sure if I´m happy or sad or excited or scared out of my mind for that to end...but alas, it is reality whether I´m ready or not!
7. Big move to the CMT volunteer house is Saturday! I´m looking forward to finally being there and meeting everyone I´ll be hanging with for the next year.
8. Love you and miss you all!
Keely
jueves, 30 de agosto de 2007
martes, 28 de agosto de 2007
Back to School, Back to School...
Hello loves! I am back in action and finally starting to feel much better. I still feel sick after I eat, but most of the other weird symptoms (fatigue/insomnia, aches and pains, shivering, tingly limbs, etc.) are gone! I can deal with a funny tummy, as I have most of my life, but I´m just glad I can stop worrying about it being something more serious.
We had a nice relaxing Sunday on Engleterra (England, the street I live on - odd coincidence?) Road. I started (and almost finished) a new book, studied español, and Dan and I went back to our favorite little British pub to use their wi-fi and hang out. I beat Dan in every card game we played, yet again. I don´t know what it is about Quito, but apparently I should start playing cards for money here!
Yesterday, it was time to get back to the grind of Spanish classes. We switch professors every week so I now study with Hipatia. I was nervous about switching because I had a feeling that my professor last week was pretty lenient in comparison to the others. However, I was looking forward to more of a challenge (I can´t believe I´m saying this...) and a more structured class. Hipatia definitely fits the bill! We spent 3.5 of the 4 hours yesterday just talking. Sounds nice and easy, right? I have come to realize in the last week that I understand, read, comprehend, and write Spanish much better than I speak it, so talking for that long was extremely challenging! She´s a nice lady though and I´ve already learned a lot from her. Either way, it´s my last week of class so I really have to make the best of it and learn as much as I can.
After class, we came home to eat lunch (tacos! my favorite meal here so far), then Dan and I went to CineMark - a huge complex with a movie theatre, restaurants, coffee shops, stores....and wireless internet! It was so nice to have semi-normal coffee. Most people here only drink instant coffee - surprising, considering Ecuador is one of the biggest coffee bean producers in the world. However, they export most of what they grow here to earn greater profit...so we´re stuck with the not very good instant crap. Last night, we met up with Stuart at a bar and played cards and hung out for a while (longer (and more beers) than we had intended! oops!).
Sorry, I feel ike this is just a day by day record of what I did - BORING. I´ll try to spice things up a little bit...
Lately, I´ve been dreading meals, especially breakfast, because I feel so sick all the time and eating is the last thing I want to do. This morning, I cannot begin to explain how excited I was to walk into the kitchen and find bread, peanut butter (that actually tasted similar to american PB!), normal colored juice (yesterday it was green), whole fruit on a communal plate (usually it´s cut up for us on our own plate and we HAVE to eat it all), and self-serve yogurt (again, usually breakfast is portioned for us and we have to eat what we´re given). Ruth left the kitchen for a minute and Dan and I had a flipping hay-day! We were so excited to be able to choose what and how much we wanted to eat....oh, the small joys of Ecua-life :)
We hopped in a taxi for our morning commute to school and for some reason the cab driver had no idea where he was going...we tried telling him, then just resorted to getting out and finding it ourselves by foot. We navigated quite well, considering we´ve only been going to Vida Verde for one week, and we weren´t even too late for class. Everyday is full of little adventures!
Tonight, we´re meeting a bunch of people from school at a bar. I´m looking forward to it because they´re all really cool people but we really only get a chance to chat during our 20 minute break from class. I have lots of homework to get done before then though so it´s probably time to head out.
As always, thanks for reading (sorry that this one was a little on the dry side)!
Keely
We had a nice relaxing Sunday on Engleterra (England, the street I live on - odd coincidence?) Road. I started (and almost finished) a new book, studied español, and Dan and I went back to our favorite little British pub to use their wi-fi and hang out. I beat Dan in every card game we played, yet again. I don´t know what it is about Quito, but apparently I should start playing cards for money here!
Yesterday, it was time to get back to the grind of Spanish classes. We switch professors every week so I now study with Hipatia. I was nervous about switching because I had a feeling that my professor last week was pretty lenient in comparison to the others. However, I was looking forward to more of a challenge (I can´t believe I´m saying this...) and a more structured class. Hipatia definitely fits the bill! We spent 3.5 of the 4 hours yesterday just talking. Sounds nice and easy, right? I have come to realize in the last week that I understand, read, comprehend, and write Spanish much better than I speak it, so talking for that long was extremely challenging! She´s a nice lady though and I´ve already learned a lot from her. Either way, it´s my last week of class so I really have to make the best of it and learn as much as I can.
After class, we came home to eat lunch (tacos! my favorite meal here so far), then Dan and I went to CineMark - a huge complex with a movie theatre, restaurants, coffee shops, stores....and wireless internet! It was so nice to have semi-normal coffee. Most people here only drink instant coffee - surprising, considering Ecuador is one of the biggest coffee bean producers in the world. However, they export most of what they grow here to earn greater profit...so we´re stuck with the not very good instant crap. Last night, we met up with Stuart at a bar and played cards and hung out for a while (longer (and more beers) than we had intended! oops!).
Sorry, I feel ike this is just a day by day record of what I did - BORING. I´ll try to spice things up a little bit...
Lately, I´ve been dreading meals, especially breakfast, because I feel so sick all the time and eating is the last thing I want to do. This morning, I cannot begin to explain how excited I was to walk into the kitchen and find bread, peanut butter (that actually tasted similar to american PB!), normal colored juice (yesterday it was green), whole fruit on a communal plate (usually it´s cut up for us on our own plate and we HAVE to eat it all), and self-serve yogurt (again, usually breakfast is portioned for us and we have to eat what we´re given). Ruth left the kitchen for a minute and Dan and I had a flipping hay-day! We were so excited to be able to choose what and how much we wanted to eat....oh, the small joys of Ecua-life :)
We hopped in a taxi for our morning commute to school and for some reason the cab driver had no idea where he was going...we tried telling him, then just resorted to getting out and finding it ourselves by foot. We navigated quite well, considering we´ve only been going to Vida Verde for one week, and we weren´t even too late for class. Everyday is full of little adventures!
Tonight, we´re meeting a bunch of people from school at a bar. I´m looking forward to it because they´re all really cool people but we really only get a chance to chat during our 20 minute break from class. I have lots of homework to get done before then though so it´s probably time to head out.
As always, thanks for reading (sorry that this one was a little on the dry side)!
Keely
sábado, 25 de agosto de 2007
Blah...
Not much new here, except that it´s raining for the first time since I´ve been in Quito and I´ve been pretty sick since the last time I wrote (I knew my quick and flawless adjustment to the altitude, food, and water was too good to be true!). I haven´t been able to eat or drink much for the past 2 days without becoming grossly sick afterwards. I´m exhausted, but I can´t sleep very well, and my whole body aches. I also banged my forehead pretty good yesterday (there´s even a nice goose egg to prove it!) so that´s contributing to my throbbing head. Ah well, I´m sure most of you expected this report just as much as I did, considering my tummy has not been cooperating for the past year!
Now that I feel like one of those people who uses their Christmas letter merely as a medical update, let´s move on...Last night, Ruth and Dayla took us on a tour of the Old Town. We saw a lot of the churches last time we were here, but it was cool to drive around at night and see all the people out and about. We stopped at a little cafe that overlooked the city. It was so cool! It´s difficult to describe, so I´ll just say this...I cannot wait to bring family and friends there when they come to visit :) (sounds enticing, doesn´t it?!)
After our tour of the Old Town (despite laying in bed all afternoon and against my better judgement), we experienced the nightlife in Quito for the first time. Estefen, Dan, and I left the house around 10:30pm and picked up Stuart, our friend from Vida Verde who will be volunteering with us at CMT. We headed to Estefen´s club, The Velvet Room, and received the royal treatment all night. We didn´t end up getting home until almost 5am! It was really fun, and I´m all about having a good time, but I don´t know how the locals stay out that late every weekend! Needless to say, Dan and I took advantage of our Saturday and slept until early afternoon today.
I think we´re just going to lay low tonight and maybe go see a movie. I should probably be studying spanish so that I don´t forget everything by Monday, but that´s what Sundays are for, right?
Hope you are all enjoying your weekend! I hear it finally stopped raining there, so hopefully you´re taking advantage of the weather change. Thanks for checking in!
Love, Keely
Now that I feel like one of those people who uses their Christmas letter merely as a medical update, let´s move on...Last night, Ruth and Dayla took us on a tour of the Old Town. We saw a lot of the churches last time we were here, but it was cool to drive around at night and see all the people out and about. We stopped at a little cafe that overlooked the city. It was so cool! It´s difficult to describe, so I´ll just say this...I cannot wait to bring family and friends there when they come to visit :) (sounds enticing, doesn´t it?!)
After our tour of the Old Town (despite laying in bed all afternoon and against my better judgement), we experienced the nightlife in Quito for the first time. Estefen, Dan, and I left the house around 10:30pm and picked up Stuart, our friend from Vida Verde who will be volunteering with us at CMT. We headed to Estefen´s club, The Velvet Room, and received the royal treatment all night. We didn´t end up getting home until almost 5am! It was really fun, and I´m all about having a good time, but I don´t know how the locals stay out that late every weekend! Needless to say, Dan and I took advantage of our Saturday and slept until early afternoon today.
I think we´re just going to lay low tonight and maybe go see a movie. I should probably be studying spanish so that I don´t forget everything by Monday, but that´s what Sundays are for, right?
Hope you are all enjoying your weekend! I hear it finally stopped raining there, so hopefully you´re taking advantage of the weather change. Thanks for checking in!
Love, Keely
jueves, 23 de agosto de 2007
español, español, español!
Hola!
My life is now consumed by spanish. Classes are going much better than they did the first two days, and I have learned more in 4 days than I did in my entire semester of college spanish. I still have a long, long way to go, but I can pretty much understand (or get the gist) of anything I hear. I could also probably say most things that I want to say, but I´m not quite confident or comfortable enough yet. Dan keeps telling me that I will only get there if I try...and he´s right, as much as I hate to admit it! It´s strange...as I learn more spanish, I seem to forget english, little by little! The line separating english from spanish is becoming fuzzy...for example, when I think, about every 4th or 5th word is in spanish. As I´m writing this, quite often the spanish word for something enters my head before the english word does. This is a very good thing, but it´s also very odd - spanish is taking over!
We´ve been playing cards the past few nights with our host family. It´s really neat because we teach them a game, then they teach us a game. It´s very difficult to explain (and understand)rules in a foreign language, so we all engage in a jumble of english-spanish explanations and translations (ie. Ruth and Esefan need explanations in spanish, Dan and I need enlgish explanations, and Dayla often goes back and forth for all of us). I love nothing more than this exchange of teaching and learning across languages, no matter what the topic at hand may be.
Ok, enough about spanish...Last night, Estefan took Dan and I to the Ecuador v. Bolivia National futbol (soccer) game! It was such a cool experience - one I´ve been looking forward to since I knew I´d be living in Quito for a year. Soccer is very different in other countries (especially S. America and Europe) than it is in America. It is a significant part of their culture, history, and daily life. Ecuadorians take it very seriously and get very involved in the sport on all levels. Being at the game was like being at a playoff baseball game and the MN state fair at the same time. The place was packed and people just go crazy! Qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup start next month here, so I am super excited about that...I can´t wait to go to another game!
After the game, Estefan gave us a great tour of "gringolandia" - the part of town where all the bars and clubs are. He owns a club there, so we´ll have some great connections. We stopped at one club where every shot in the house is 1.25! We weren´t really out to party last night, but it was fun to see what it´s like down there and it makes me very excited for this weekend!
A few random tidbits you might enjoy:
-it takes 5 keys, 2 codes, and 1 phone call to get in and out of our house. can you say, security?! When Dan and I left to come to the internet cafe, it took us 10 minutes to get from the front door out to the sidewalk!
-on our way here, i got hit on for the first time since I´ve been in Ecuador...and it´s because Dan was walking on the upper level of the sidewalk (about 5 feet away from me), rather than right next to me like usual! We got a good laugh out of that.
-ever since Ruth found out that I studied nutrition in college, she takes the opportunity at every meal to tell me that everything we´re eating is organic and "muy sano!" (very healthy). haha, I love it!
-Last night, we were asking Estefan about weather changes here...He said "weather is same as girls in Quito: sunny in the morning and cloudy by the afternoon, all year round." and he was completely serious. haha.
-Janet Jackson "i will always love you" is playing in the internet cafe right now. I don´t think I´ve heard this song since I was obsessed with it in 5th grade after I saw "The Bodyguard" (is that correct spelling??)!
I don´t know if you can tell, but I´m struggling to find the words to write somewhat eloquently right now, so I think I´m going to call it a blog entry and peace out :). Either my brain is still fried from 4 hours of class this morning, or I haven´t quite woken up from the nap I took earlier, or I really am forgetting english! Thank you so much for reading though (the 3 of you who do ;)), and I will be back again soon!
Hugs and Kisses,
Keely
p.s. when you comment on a blog entry, make sure to check back later (click on commentarios at the bottom of the entry you commented on) to see if\what i comment back! I love the comments, so I want to respond and I can´t really think of a better way to do it.
My life is now consumed by spanish. Classes are going much better than they did the first two days, and I have learned more in 4 days than I did in my entire semester of college spanish. I still have a long, long way to go, but I can pretty much understand (or get the gist) of anything I hear. I could also probably say most things that I want to say, but I´m not quite confident or comfortable enough yet. Dan keeps telling me that I will only get there if I try...and he´s right, as much as I hate to admit it! It´s strange...as I learn more spanish, I seem to forget english, little by little! The line separating english from spanish is becoming fuzzy...for example, when I think, about every 4th or 5th word is in spanish. As I´m writing this, quite often the spanish word for something enters my head before the english word does. This is a very good thing, but it´s also very odd - spanish is taking over!
We´ve been playing cards the past few nights with our host family. It´s really neat because we teach them a game, then they teach us a game. It´s very difficult to explain (and understand)rules in a foreign language, so we all engage in a jumble of english-spanish explanations and translations (ie. Ruth and Esefan need explanations in spanish, Dan and I need enlgish explanations, and Dayla often goes back and forth for all of us). I love nothing more than this exchange of teaching and learning across languages, no matter what the topic at hand may be.
Ok, enough about spanish...Last night, Estefan took Dan and I to the Ecuador v. Bolivia National futbol (soccer) game! It was such a cool experience - one I´ve been looking forward to since I knew I´d be living in Quito for a year. Soccer is very different in other countries (especially S. America and Europe) than it is in America. It is a significant part of their culture, history, and daily life. Ecuadorians take it very seriously and get very involved in the sport on all levels. Being at the game was like being at a playoff baseball game and the MN state fair at the same time. The place was packed and people just go crazy! Qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup start next month here, so I am super excited about that...I can´t wait to go to another game!
After the game, Estefan gave us a great tour of "gringolandia" - the part of town where all the bars and clubs are. He owns a club there, so we´ll have some great connections. We stopped at one club where every shot in the house is 1.25! We weren´t really out to party last night, but it was fun to see what it´s like down there and it makes me very excited for this weekend!
A few random tidbits you might enjoy:
-it takes 5 keys, 2 codes, and 1 phone call to get in and out of our house. can you say, security?! When Dan and I left to come to the internet cafe, it took us 10 minutes to get from the front door out to the sidewalk!
-on our way here, i got hit on for the first time since I´ve been in Ecuador...and it´s because Dan was walking on the upper level of the sidewalk (about 5 feet away from me), rather than right next to me like usual! We got a good laugh out of that.
-ever since Ruth found out that I studied nutrition in college, she takes the opportunity at every meal to tell me that everything we´re eating is organic and "muy sano!" (very healthy). haha, I love it!
-Last night, we were asking Estefan about weather changes here...He said "weather is same as girls in Quito: sunny in the morning and cloudy by the afternoon, all year round." and he was completely serious. haha.
-Janet Jackson "i will always love you" is playing in the internet cafe right now. I don´t think I´ve heard this song since I was obsessed with it in 5th grade after I saw "The Bodyguard" (is that correct spelling??)!
I don´t know if you can tell, but I´m struggling to find the words to write somewhat eloquently right now, so I think I´m going to call it a blog entry and peace out :). Either my brain is still fried from 4 hours of class this morning, or I haven´t quite woken up from the nap I took earlier, or I really am forgetting english! Thank you so much for reading though (the 3 of you who do ;)), and I will be back again soon!
Hugs and Kisses,
Keely
p.s. when you comment on a blog entry, make sure to check back later (click on commentarios at the bottom of the entry you commented on) to see if\what i comment back! I love the comments, so I want to respond and I can´t really think of a better way to do it.
martes, 21 de agosto de 2007
Day 4...
Ahhhh, day 4 of life in a foreign country. For those of you who haven´t experienced day 4 syndrome before (either because I just pretty much named it right now, or you´ve never lived in a foreign country), I can sum it up in 2 words - SENSORY OVERLOAD. I remember it vividly from when I lived in London, and it´s pretty similar this time around.
I´ve moved into a new house, adopted a new family, made new friends, started learning a new language. I´m eating new food, sleeping in a new bed, adjusting to a new schedule, mastering a new transportation system, shopping in new stores, and the list goes on...basically, I´ve had a headache for the past 2 days (and it´s hardly the altitude´s fault anymore) and I pretty much feel like I could take a nice long, 14 hour nap!
That said, I´m doing great and still loving every minute (almost) of life in Quito. I know this is all just part of the transition, and I will continue to adjust as time goes on. I also have to remind myself to embrace the new and unfamiliar surroundings because, all too soon, they will become dangerously familiar and comfortable - where I no longer experience the awe and wonder from merely stepping outside in the morning or glancing out the window at an internet cafe to see the beautiful mountains straight ahead (as I am now).
After a rocky start to yesterday morning, we arrived at Vida Verde Spanish Language school 2 hours late! Luckily, they were extrememly welcoming and accomidating, and matched us up with tutors right away. We have one-on-one tutoring from 8:30 to 12:30 everyday, with a 20 minute break in the middle. My tutor for this week is Priscilla. The first 2 days have been frustrating and overwhelming, just as I expected! However, I feel like I have already learning so much, and Priscilla is very patient with me. Dan and I spent 2 hours studying last night and I after today´s class, I don´t think that was enough. I´m pretty sure I will be studying more in the next two weeks (and thereafter) than I did my entire senior year of college combined! Oh, I also met 2 guys at the school who I´ll be living and volunteering with for the next year at CMT. They both seem very cool, and it will be nice to already have those connections before we move in Sept. 1.
Dan and I moved in with the family we´ll be staying with for the next 2 weeks last night. The family consists of aunt Ruth, her son Estefan, and his cousin Dayla. Dayla picked us up and immidiately started speaking english with us - she viewed our presence as a way for her to practice her english. Well, let me tell you, aunt Ruth has an entirely different agenda in mind! She understands english perfectly fine, but made it clear from the start that we are not to speak english in the house - not to her, not to Dayla or Estefan, and not to each other! She really is a very very sweet, energetic, loving, fun lady, and we are so lucky to have her. She took us grocery shopping last night, and it turned into one big spanish lesson. We ended up spending almost 2 hours at the grocery store! I loved it though. Since Dan knows more conversational spanish than I do, the two of them dominate most conversations, but Ruth encourages me to participate and puts me on the spot from time to time. It´s tough, but so helpful.
All in all, the unknowns are definitely turning out to be blessings. I still can´t believe that I am actually here and doing the things I´ve been talking about and planning for the last 6 months! Thank you all for your emails, thoughts, and prayers. They really are bright spots in my day.
Until next time,
Keely
P.S. After hearing from a few of you, I realized that my blog website shows up in Spanish to you at home, as well (duh, keely). I apologize for that - thank you to those who tried to comment and couldn´t quite figure it out, and mucho thanks to those (Beth) who tried and succeeded! I´m not sure if I can fix it, so I guess we´ll just look at it as a learning experience for all of us. I want you all to be as much a part of my cultural immersion as possible ;), and, believe me, I´ve definitely had to break out the pocket dictionary a few times to figure out what I´m trying to do on here...
I´ve moved into a new house, adopted a new family, made new friends, started learning a new language. I´m eating new food, sleeping in a new bed, adjusting to a new schedule, mastering a new transportation system, shopping in new stores, and the list goes on...basically, I´ve had a headache for the past 2 days (and it´s hardly the altitude´s fault anymore) and I pretty much feel like I could take a nice long, 14 hour nap!
That said, I´m doing great and still loving every minute (almost) of life in Quito. I know this is all just part of the transition, and I will continue to adjust as time goes on. I also have to remind myself to embrace the new and unfamiliar surroundings because, all too soon, they will become dangerously familiar and comfortable - where I no longer experience the awe and wonder from merely stepping outside in the morning or glancing out the window at an internet cafe to see the beautiful mountains straight ahead (as I am now).
After a rocky start to yesterday morning, we arrived at Vida Verde Spanish Language school 2 hours late! Luckily, they were extrememly welcoming and accomidating, and matched us up with tutors right away. We have one-on-one tutoring from 8:30 to 12:30 everyday, with a 20 minute break in the middle. My tutor for this week is Priscilla. The first 2 days have been frustrating and overwhelming, just as I expected! However, I feel like I have already learning so much, and Priscilla is very patient with me. Dan and I spent 2 hours studying last night and I after today´s class, I don´t think that was enough. I´m pretty sure I will be studying more in the next two weeks (and thereafter) than I did my entire senior year of college combined! Oh, I also met 2 guys at the school who I´ll be living and volunteering with for the next year at CMT. They both seem very cool, and it will be nice to already have those connections before we move in Sept. 1.
Dan and I moved in with the family we´ll be staying with for the next 2 weeks last night. The family consists of aunt Ruth, her son Estefan, and his cousin Dayla. Dayla picked us up and immidiately started speaking english with us - she viewed our presence as a way for her to practice her english. Well, let me tell you, aunt Ruth has an entirely different agenda in mind! She understands english perfectly fine, but made it clear from the start that we are not to speak english in the house - not to her, not to Dayla or Estefan, and not to each other! She really is a very very sweet, energetic, loving, fun lady, and we are so lucky to have her. She took us grocery shopping last night, and it turned into one big spanish lesson. We ended up spending almost 2 hours at the grocery store! I loved it though. Since Dan knows more conversational spanish than I do, the two of them dominate most conversations, but Ruth encourages me to participate and puts me on the spot from time to time. It´s tough, but so helpful.
All in all, the unknowns are definitely turning out to be blessings. I still can´t believe that I am actually here and doing the things I´ve been talking about and planning for the last 6 months! Thank you all for your emails, thoughts, and prayers. They really are bright spots in my day.
Until next time,
Keely
P.S. After hearing from a few of you, I realized that my blog website shows up in Spanish to you at home, as well (duh, keely). I apologize for that - thank you to those who tried to comment and couldn´t quite figure it out, and mucho thanks to those (Beth) who tried and succeeded! I´m not sure if I can fix it, so I guess we´ll just look at it as a learning experience for all of us. I want you all to be as much a part of my cultural immersion as possible ;), and, believe me, I´ve definitely had to break out the pocket dictionary a few times to figure out what I´m trying to do on here...
domingo, 19 de agosto de 2007
I made it!
(pre-script: the computer I'm using right now is all in Spanish, so bear with me...I figure it's good practice for what's to come!)
Thanks for checking in! I'm new to this whole blogging thing...and I tend to get really long-winded when I tell stories and write emails, so skim if you wish, read every word, or just wait and ask my mom for an update next time you see her :)
I've been in Quito for 2 days now, and things could not be going better! After a long day of travelling, I arrived Friday around 10 pm. I was really nervous about going through customs (mostly because I was by myself and had no way of convincing them to let me into the country, if need be) but they hardly glanced at my passport/visa before stamping and waving me through. I collected ALL my luggage and immidiately spotted Dan (guy from St. John's who is also volunteering down here) waiting on the other side of security - we were both pretty happy to see each other, considering he's been down here by himself for 2 weeks and I'd be on my own with no place to go if he didn't show!
We caught a cab and chatted a mile a minute, catching up on everything. I'm pretty sure I had a huge grin on my face the entire ride - I was so happy and relieved to finally be here. The Sheraton his company put him up in is probably one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in. We were both starving and exhausted, so we ordered room service and called it a night.
It's strange not to have anything we have to do, especially considering the crazy schedule we'll have once we start at the CMT (Centro del Muchacho Trabajador = Working Boys Center). We took full advantage of this and slept in until 11 yesterday and today - I don't think I slept that late once this summer, it was so nice! The altitude takes a lot of you too (Quito sits at almost 10,000 feet - twice the elevation of Denver). When I was here for spring break it really affected me, so I got some drugs from the travel clinic this time. The adjustment hasn't been too bad so far, but I've still been really tired, light-headed, out of breath, and my hands, feet, and face are tingly. It's really strange - especially when we're strolling down the street, talking, and both of us have to stop to catch our breath!
Yesterday we mostly just walked around and explored the city. We saw a lot of churches and buildings we had toured when we were here before. It's nice to have some familiarity! Although, I'm realizing that we really never had to navigate or find our own way during our spring break trip. We had guides from the Center who took us everywhere. In fact, I don't think I looked at a map once that entire week (unbelievable, for those of you who have travelled with me before, right?!)
We found a really cool little British Pub (I know, weird.) last night and had a few beers and played cribbage (for two people who love cribbage, we both forgot our cribbage boards! We can't find one here, soooo the first person to visit...you know what to bring :)). We made do though and had a great time....or, I had a great time, seeing as I beat Dan 6 out of 7 games. I had to let him win the last one just to guarantee that I would have a bed to sleep in last night! haha. We met some really cool people there though, and I loved discovering a little piece of London...in Ecuador, of all places!
Today, we took it easy - went over to the mall and Megamaxi (Ecua version of Target, right down to the red carts), ate chicken shawarma (yummmm!), and tried to get into a soccer game (our hotel is right behind their huge olympic soccer stadium). Dan did some work for his internship (he's been researching the social and political situation in Ecuador all summer for a wealthy mining investor in MN) and I journaled/napped (some things will never change...).
I had my first language barrier frustrations before I even entered the country! I sat next to an adorable little Ecuadorian girl and her mom on the plane from Atlanta to Quito. They were both so friendly and I wanted to be able to talk to them so badly. The little girl kept wanting to sleep on my shoulder and her mom kept trying to move her. I did my best to communicate that she was fine and she could lay on me. I'm not sure if the mom actually kind of understood or just finally gave up and let her daughter sleep peacefully in my lap. It was pretty precious and (a) made me so excited to get to work with little kids on a daily basis and (b) motivated me to spend a few hours of the flight reading my spanish phrase book!
We start spanish language school tomorrow. I'm so excited and ready! I have had such a desire to learn spanish since I was in Guatemala 2+ years ago, and now I'm in circumstances conducive to learning it effectively and efficiently. Dan knows a little more spanish than I do, but it's been fun working together to try to communicate in stores and restaurants. I've realized I know more than I thought I did, but I still have SO far to go.
Well, I think that's probably good for my first blog. If you made it to the end, congratulations! I promise, they will start to get more exciting soon. Let me know at any time if you have questions, or if something isn't clear. Although, I feel like I explained CMT and life in Ecuador to everyone and their brother before I left, I know I probably missed something here or there. I want to paint the clearest and most accurate pictures of my experiences as I can for you (that would be the anal, communication major side of me :)).
It sounds like I'll have pretty good access to internet most of the time, so comment here or send me an email at keschallock@gmail.com. I'd LOVE to hear from you! Take care, God bless, love you and miss you!
Keely
Thanks for checking in! I'm new to this whole blogging thing...and I tend to get really long-winded when I tell stories and write emails, so skim if you wish, read every word, or just wait and ask my mom for an update next time you see her :)
I've been in Quito for 2 days now, and things could not be going better! After a long day of travelling, I arrived Friday around 10 pm. I was really nervous about going through customs (mostly because I was by myself and had no way of convincing them to let me into the country, if need be) but they hardly glanced at my passport/visa before stamping and waving me through. I collected ALL my luggage and immidiately spotted Dan (guy from St. John's who is also volunteering down here) waiting on the other side of security - we were both pretty happy to see each other, considering he's been down here by himself for 2 weeks and I'd be on my own with no place to go if he didn't show!
We caught a cab and chatted a mile a minute, catching up on everything. I'm pretty sure I had a huge grin on my face the entire ride - I was so happy and relieved to finally be here. The Sheraton his company put him up in is probably one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in. We were both starving and exhausted, so we ordered room service and called it a night.
It's strange not to have anything we have to do, especially considering the crazy schedule we'll have once we start at the CMT (Centro del Muchacho Trabajador = Working Boys Center). We took full advantage of this and slept in until 11 yesterday and today - I don't think I slept that late once this summer, it was so nice! The altitude takes a lot of you too (Quito sits at almost 10,000 feet - twice the elevation of Denver). When I was here for spring break it really affected me, so I got some drugs from the travel clinic this time. The adjustment hasn't been too bad so far, but I've still been really tired, light-headed, out of breath, and my hands, feet, and face are tingly. It's really strange - especially when we're strolling down the street, talking, and both of us have to stop to catch our breath!
Yesterday we mostly just walked around and explored the city. We saw a lot of churches and buildings we had toured when we were here before. It's nice to have some familiarity! Although, I'm realizing that we really never had to navigate or find our own way during our spring break trip. We had guides from the Center who took us everywhere. In fact, I don't think I looked at a map once that entire week (unbelievable, for those of you who have travelled with me before, right?!)
We found a really cool little British Pub (I know, weird.) last night and had a few beers and played cribbage (for two people who love cribbage, we both forgot our cribbage boards! We can't find one here, soooo the first person to visit...you know what to bring :)). We made do though and had a great time....or, I had a great time, seeing as I beat Dan 6 out of 7 games. I had to let him win the last one just to guarantee that I would have a bed to sleep in last night! haha. We met some really cool people there though, and I loved discovering a little piece of London...in Ecuador, of all places!
Today, we took it easy - went over to the mall and Megamaxi (Ecua version of Target, right down to the red carts), ate chicken shawarma (yummmm!), and tried to get into a soccer game (our hotel is right behind their huge olympic soccer stadium). Dan did some work for his internship (he's been researching the social and political situation in Ecuador all summer for a wealthy mining investor in MN) and I journaled/napped (some things will never change...).
I had my first language barrier frustrations before I even entered the country! I sat next to an adorable little Ecuadorian girl and her mom on the plane from Atlanta to Quito. They were both so friendly and I wanted to be able to talk to them so badly. The little girl kept wanting to sleep on my shoulder and her mom kept trying to move her. I did my best to communicate that she was fine and she could lay on me. I'm not sure if the mom actually kind of understood or just finally gave up and let her daughter sleep peacefully in my lap. It was pretty precious and (a) made me so excited to get to work with little kids on a daily basis and (b) motivated me to spend a few hours of the flight reading my spanish phrase book!
We start spanish language school tomorrow. I'm so excited and ready! I have had such a desire to learn spanish since I was in Guatemala 2+ years ago, and now I'm in circumstances conducive to learning it effectively and efficiently. Dan knows a little more spanish than I do, but it's been fun working together to try to communicate in stores and restaurants. I've realized I know more than I thought I did, but I still have SO far to go.
Well, I think that's probably good for my first blog. If you made it to the end, congratulations! I promise, they will start to get more exciting soon. Let me know at any time if you have questions, or if something isn't clear. Although, I feel like I explained CMT and life in Ecuador to everyone and their brother before I left, I know I probably missed something here or there. I want to paint the clearest and most accurate pictures of my experiences as I can for you (that would be the anal, communication major side of me :)).
It sounds like I'll have pretty good access to internet most of the time, so comment here or send me an email at keschallock@gmail.com. I'd LOVE to hear from you! Take care, God bless, love you and miss you!
Keely
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