Final Overview Video!

A free picture slideshow by Smilebox

This is a link to the final video I made to reflect on my semester in Ecuador. As I say at the end, it was an incredible semester and I'm already missing Ecuador. Thanks to anyone who has kept up with my blog and my journey!

Happenings

Apologies for not updating my blog recently! While studying abroad, one learns lots of things. For me, one of those things is that blogging does not really appeal to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea but when it comes down to it, I learned that I much prefer writing and reflecting in a journal rather than online. However, I thought it was important that I at least catch you up on the semester’s latest happenings…

I ate a small piece of fried worm that my friend brought back from the Amazon along with some other new treats (a typical snack or meal there). It made me think a little of bacon…I couldn’t work up the guts to eat a live worm like my friend did (but seriously, would you have?) 

I returned to Cuenca & Vilcabamba (some favorite stops on my spring break trip that a friend hadn’t yet seen). In Cuenca, we tried the delicacy cuy (roasted guinea pig) which was much tastier than I thought it would be…think slimy chicken/pork…and lots of little bones…and little toenails…okay enough details, sorry. I wouldn’t say I’d do it again for a while but I’m glad I gave it a try. I enjoyed a return visit to Cajas National Park and of course had a great time in Vilcabamba (probably my favorite city in Ecuador for its gorgeous mountains). 

                                                                           cuy

                                                   some of my favorite Ecuadorian mountins

I did some work! Exams, papers, paintings, presentations…here are a few of my paintings from my painting class:

I sang some karaoke (it’s SO popular here).

I’ve gotten pretty close with my host mom and will be sad to leave (but am getting VERY excited about seeing my family and being at home with them…for 36 hours before I leave for camp!)

I said goodbye to some professors that I really enjoyed and got to know fairly well (classes were very small at the university). 

                               my favorite class with my favorite professor (Ecology of the Galapagos)

I enjoyed a fun beach weekend in a province that I hadn’t visited until last weekend. We enjoyed sitting on the beach, cooking, hammocking, learning Ecuadorian card games, and watching movies. 

I spent a while at the Migrations office and finally got what I need (a certificate, more or less) to leave the country (I was supposed to get it at the very beginning of the semester!). 

I cooked for my host family – chicken pesto pasta and chocolate cake. It is difficult cooking in someone else’s kitchen I learned, but very worth it because they really enjoyed it!

I’m doing the last few things I want to do in Quito…today I went to an AWESOME art museum mainly featuring the works of Guayasamin, one of Ecuador’s claims to fame. His style is Picaso-ish and mainly paints pictures of (indigenous) people suffering and scenes of Quito. 

And this Saturday, I head to the Galapagos Islands! I will be there May 19-May 30 with a class from my university and I am beyond excited! It’ll be exciting to see what I’ve been learning about all semester in my Ecology & Conservation of the Galapagos class. Hopefully I can do a quick blog post right when I get back and before I head back to the U.S. on June 1^st. 

For now, I hope this finds you doing well and enjoying summer!

While Obama is speaking at UNC...

While Obama is currently speaking at UNC (and I am very disappointed I'm not there to watch!) I will catch up any blog readers out there with the recent happenings here in Ecuador...

We're beginning to slide down the hill that we call the end of the semester. I have about 2 and a half weeks left of classes and as soon as I turn in two final papers, I will have finished the semester. How I got so lucky as to not have any final exams, I have no idea but I am very very grateful.

A few weeks ago I went to my first soccer game in Ecuador and it was certainly different than any soccer game I'd ever attended. The teams were Barcelona (a team from Guayaquil) and Deportivo Quito. Contrary to what you might think, I as well as the majority of fans, were rooting for the Guayaquil team even though a team from Quito was playing! Not that I was very partial, I just rooted for the team that our Ecuadorian friend was rooting for - El Amarillo (the yellow team). The game was exciting, but watching the Barcelona fans was even more exciting - they set off fireworks, stood the whole game, sang/chanted the entire time, and occasionally got pretty rowdy (don't worry, there were about 200 police sent in at the beginning of the game to keep the peace). While in the end Barcelona lost, it was still a great game and an incredible experience (although I did not enjoy that almost every single fan was smoking).

The past two weekends, I've done something that I had originally not intended doing...revisiting places. I revisited Mindo (the cloud forest) and Canoa (the beach). Both were fairly spontaneous trips and I really enjoyed both. Since they were two of my favorite places that I'd visited, I did not feel guilty about going back because well, I can't believe this but I've pretty much seen the majority of the places I've wanted to visit. It was especially exciting to receive a warm welcome by the hostal that we stayed in the first visit in Mindo - we were surprised that the hostal owners had such great memories to remember us. In Mindo, enjoyed a long hike to several waterfalls, eating lots of chocolate & brownies at the Chocolateria, relaxing and visiting the Mariposario (butterfly farm).

 Last week, my Anthropology class went to a Drag Show - also something I was not expecting to do in my time here in Ecuador. Homosexuality is one of the many themes we study in my Andean Anthropology class and therefore, a  large portion of my class went to a very small cafe called Cafe Dionisios for a show. It was very interesting, especially because the main Drag Queen is the author of several articles we have read for the class. After the show, we learned a lot about the Drag culture in Ecuador and about homosexuality in general. Did you know that until the late 1990s, being homosexual was considered a crime in Ecuador? Much has changed since then here but it is still a very taboo subject, especially given the very conservative culture.

Also, did you know that it is essentially mandatory to vote in Ecuador if you are over the age of 18? Between ages 16-18, it is permitted to vote but starting at age 18, all voters receive a special ticket that states that they voted and they must keep that ticket during the entire presidential term and may be asked on several occasions to present the ticket to make important transactions such as in the bank, buying land, going to the Galapagos Islands...it's almost as important as their identification card which they must also carry at all times. I learned about this during the student government elections at my university, which were also mandatory for permanent students - punishable by a fine if a student did not vote!

Sitting in Anthropology class yesterday (an appropriate place for this thought), I could not help thinking about the diversity of Ecuador's people. Hopefully by reading my blog you've already come to learn about Ecuador's geographical diversity but it's cultural diversity is just as great. I had a wonderful conversation yesterday with an Afroecuadorian student about her thoughts on the Afroecuadorian population and culture, heard about an Indigenous community in the Amazon from a classmate who had just returned from visiting family there and learned a lot about the Indigenous movement in class....all to surmount to me wondering, how are there so so so many different people with completely different cultures, united under one country? I asked a classmate and his suggestion was the natural richness of the country - whether it's the beach, the mountains, or the rainforest, almost every Ecuadorian citizen has some deep appreciation for at least one aspect of the natural beauty of the country. Regardless, I have really enjoyed learning about different cultures and I'm realizing that it would take a lifetime to learn about and understand every single cultural group in Ecuador.

I am extremely excited to announce that three students from my university here are going to study at UNC next semester/year! Last week, I was introduced to one of the girls and hopefully today I will meet her two friends that are going as well. I can't wait to share Chapel Hill/NC with them and while I have to remember that they will be there to practice their English, I'm hoping to squeeze in some Spanish practice with them every once in a while.

I hope this finds you doing well and enjoying spring weather (it has been very cold and rainy in Quito the past few weeks!).

Spring Break Highlights

Saturday evening I returned to Quito from an incredible Spring Break with friends and while I could go on and on with stories, I will save you some time by just giving the highlights.
6 cities, 6 provinces, 12 buses, 24 taxis, 2 planes, 1 ship ride, 4 rides from friends, and 1 horse...
Here's the map so you can trace my route around the southern part of Ecuador:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=212001233827929288438.0004bd4829e46246d2d90&msa=0&ie=UTF8&ll=-2.086941,-76.772461&spn=5.597087,9.876709&t=h&z=7&vpsrc=6
Quito --> Cuenca-->Loja-->Vilcabamba-->Machala-->Guayaquil-->Salinas-->Guayaquil-->Quito

And the highlights...

Meeting the grandson of a former Ecuadorian president who gave us an incredible tour of the church of Santo Domingo in Cuenca

Visiting Cajas National Park

 Visiting Ingapirca, Ecuador's largest Incan ruins

 Eating the best (but way oversized) pork ever (Loja's specialty is a pork dish called Cecina) - sorry any vegetarians out there but this picture is necessary to comprehend the size!

Visiting Vilcabamba, known as the Valley of Longevity for boasting having several residents that live to a very old age - we could see why because it was BEAUTIFUL, the air was seemingly perfect, and the weather stays a constant ~75 degrees all year round

Visiting an organic Bananero (banana farm) called El Guabo who we learned sells banana puree to Ben & Jerry's to make Chunky Monkey Ice cream

Visiting Ecuador's biggest & most populated city, Guayaquil and seeing the Guayas River via Pirate Ship

Going to the beach and specifically seeing the most western part of South America, a site called La Chocolatera which is a preserved area inside of a military base--because two currents meet there, we saw some HUGE waves and beautiful clear blue water

Coincidently taking the same plane back to Quito with La Liga, one of Quito's favorite club soccer teams!

Those are the highlights and after so much traveling in just 9 days, this Easter Sunday was indeed, a day of rest for me. However, I did enjoy going to an Evangelical Church in Spanish. It was wonderful to worship and sing in Spanish and I found myself understanding most everything. That said, I definitely found myself missing my family and home church this Easter. And because I did not have the chance to say it on Sunday I will say it now - He is Risen!

adventure!

I'm off for an adventure - 6 cities, 8 days. Incan ruins, national parks, a town known for it's centenarians, banana fields, petrified forests (?), islands (?), Ecuador's largest city, beach! It's planned, but my friend Emeline and I know that we have to be prepared for anything...but at the same time realizing that "being prepared" is relative, and according to most Ecuadorians, is overrated (my Ecuadorian classmates laughed when I showed them my orderly spreadsheet of the weeks' planned activities/hostals/estimated budget). So while we start this trip in a very American style (very meticulously planned), we will try our very best to take the trip day by day in the traditional Ecuadorian (think about the now) style.

This week (Sunday) I turned the big 2-0! I enjoyed celebrating with friends over a pizza dinner (the second time I'd eaten pizza this semester!), visiting my host family's extended family, and watching the UNC game (sad ending) with friends.

The time is flying and while you could say I have gotten used to living in Ecuador, I love that every day is so different in that I continue to learn new things, experience new things, and meet new people. Each day really is an adventure and the adventure-mindset is something that I hope I will be able to bring back to the U.S. (in almost exactly two months!) to incorporate into the seemingly unadventureness of returning to live in the comforts of Chapel Hill.

in seven days...

In the past seven days, I have been all over - my last week began in the Amazonian jungle (Tiputini), brought me back to Quito and to Cumbaya (3 days of class this week), then took me to the Equator once again, and then to the largest active volcano in the world Cotopaxi. Let me break it down:

TIPUTINI: After several different forms of transportation (taxi, bus within the airport, plane, taxi to a hotel on the river, boat, chiva bus ride, and boat ride), we arrived at USFQ's Biodiversity Station, Tiputini - in the Yasuni National Park.

 We took rides on the river and within the lagoon, saw incredible wildlife,

 took walks through the woods with our knowledgeable guide,

 ate a few ants that tasted like lemons,

crossed canopy bridges, climbed tall towers to look for birds (two macaws flew over us), had no luck finding Cayman crocodiles at night but did see an incredible display of stars, floated down the Tiputini River, watched a small Pygmy Monkey who came down a tree to see the twenty or so faces looking up at it, and went to bed early each night to (sometimes bizarre) animal noises. The trip was incredible and I was very sad to return to car alarms, pollution, honking, and in general - development. Four days (two days traveling) was just not enough!

EQUATOR: I went to the "real" one on Friday! A trip inspired by my friend taking pictures with a Flat Stanley brought us to see the equator (if you recall, I saw the "fake/inaccurately measured" equator at the beginning of the semester). At this outdoor museum we saw many cultural exhibition about indigenous peoples and their practices, as well as experiments that one can only do at the equator (balancing an egg on a nail head, watching water spin clockwise on one side and counter clockwise on the other side of the equator...). I also learned that Ecuador was once called Quito!

COTOPAXI: After several times seeing the volcano Cotopaxi from a distance (only on clear days going between Quito and Cumbaya), I finally went to Cotopaxi National Park and with a tour company, biked down into the park. We drove up almost to where the snow began, got geared up, and began down the steep and bumpy path -- my hands hurt from breaking so much! It was sleeting and freezing when we began but after about 30 minutes we found ourselves in a completely different environment -- flat, green, wild horses...

It was a BEAUTIFUL park and I'm ever so glad that the weather cleared up as we rode down into the valley.

Here are some other interesting things that I have learned recently:
-Pie Day does not exist in Spanish-speaking cultures! On Pie Day (3/14), I was sitting in a restaurant called The Pie House eating pie with two friends when we realized that Spanish speaking (and possibly other) cultures write the date with the day, then month, and then year (14/03/12). We were sad to learn that the wonderful holiday does not translate.
-We did not participate in Daylight Savings Time here so we are currently one hour behind EST while before, we were the same time.
-Tatoos cost $60 in Quito...although I'm not sure how they compare in the U.S. (Don't worry, I learned this going with a friend who got a tatoo!)
-The more I become comfortable with Ecuadorian friends, the more they want to practice their English with me (although they know that I am here to practice Spanish!)
-People from all around the world are in Quito - I knew this before this weekend but was amazed to see that on my bike tour, there were two girls from Germany, one boy from England, and one man from France (along with three girls including myself, from the U.S.).

I'm so sorry this post is so long and again am realizing that it would be much easier to post more often instead of allowing all of my stories and experiences to pile up! 

Feliz dia de la mujer...?

After walking into the kitchen this morning for breakfast, I was greeted by my host mother Marcela with "Feliz dia!". An Ecuadorian classmate had mentioned this holiday the other day but I did not expect it to be so officially celebrated - Literally "Happy Woman's Day", this international holiday recognizes (according to my host mother) all of the sacrifices and hard work of women...doing everything around the house, being a good mother, some work outside of the house, living up to societal expectations in terms of physical appearance...I asked if men ever complain because there is no day for them and was told that while one or two might complain, the majority know that "they probably don't deserve it".

Yes, March 8 is a very strange concept to me perhaps because I know so many deserving wonderful males (*cough*, Dad) in the United States. After living here in Ecuador for more than two months, I've come to recognize several cultural differences in the interactions and relationships between men and women. The mother role seems to be much more on a pedestal here than in the U.S. It could be because I am living in such a Catholic society and there are sculptures and paintings of the Virgin Mary all around, but there is a great, great appreciation for mothers here and I am very interested to see how Mother's Day here will compare. Traditional gender roles are very obvious here and women in the workplace is still a relatively new concept. "Machismo" is ever present as a concept suggesting that men in Latin America as a whole flaunt their power - and this is one of the root causes for the forwardness of males here, so I have learned. Don't let it seem that Ecuadorian men are horrible and don't deserve any credit - I have met deserving males and fathers here as well but Ecuadorian women would agree that, for all of the work and all that they sacrifice, they are very deserving of this day.

I had a wonderful weekend in the touristy town of Banos last weekend. I don't use the word "touristy" lightly - there was some kind of adventure/tour company in every other locale on almost every street! And they all wanted our attention and would let us know this by yelling all of their services..."Chiva tour, waterfall tour, rent bikes, ride horses, paragliding, repelling...!" It was definitely difficult to choose whose services to use and which company seemed best. After a little research we decided on a waterfall repelling trip (to our surprise, there was even practice and a wavier involved!) It was a very neat experience-for a few hours, we were deep in the trees and vines as we repelled down five waterfalls - and were amazed that our guide literally RAN down one of the longest waterfalls!

We also enjoyed two beautiful hikes (one to a high point overlooking the town and one to an incredible waterfall), watching the UNC VICTORY (from our hostal computer room), dancing to Latina music, karaoke, attempting to bike (and then being defeated by the rain), and conversation with new Ecuadorian friends.

In my Sociology (Social Problems of Ecuador) class on Tuesday, I was very intrigued to learn that only 5% of Ecuador has access to a computer and internet in their home. With this number, I realized how thankful I am to be able to connect with my family, friends (new and old) and I realized how much I had taken it for granted that my host-family allows me to use their internet. While I know I could live without the computer and internet, having access to Skype, Facebook, and email has undoubtedly reduced the possibility of having very much homesickness (What I mean to say is that while I am missing my family and friends LOTS, my life here can go on and I have enjoyed every bit without thinking all the time about what I am missing out on in Chapel Hill).

I have come to decide that, after a good day at the University, my day is GREAT if I see this view of the volcano Cotopaxi on my way home (which has only happened a few times, if it is really clear):

Tomorrow morning, I will head to the Amazon with a group of International students from my University as we visit the University's Biodiversity Station, Tiputini -- I expect to see plenty of unique plants and animals and hopefully to avoid mosquito bites! Expect a report when I get back - Cuidate! Take Care!