Welcome to the jungle, we've got fun and games... Well, mostly just deet

Man oh man was this a fun and interesting week. We left last Monday for Santo Domingo de Los Colorados to do a field study on an indigenous tribe, called Tsáchila. It took about 3 hours to get there, and this we spent going up and back down the Western Andes, cars passing each other on curves and almost wrecking because a cow was crossing the road (on the way down the mountain). Santo Domingo is HUMID and sticky. We checked into our "hotel" (it was REALLY mildewey smelling, though I'm not sure that's even a word) and headed out to this nearby pueblo. We drove on a dirt road for about an hour, passing pineapple fields, papaya trees, etc.

The exerience was really cool in seeing a bunch of different traditions practiced by the Tsáchila. The men all wear blue skirt type things with white stripes and their hair is combed forward with this vibrant red color that comes from a plant called achote. Once, long ago there was a sickness and achote has good energy. So, they initially put this all over the body to rid of all the bad/negative energy in the body. So, now, they just do the hair for the same effect. After this, we went and got the opportunity to participate in a cleansing. Luckily for me, this did not involve having a guinea pig rubbed on my body, but what it did entail, we me taking my shirt off. (No, I was not completely topless!) Katie and I were allowed to do it as the same time, so we now like to say that we are Tsáchila sisters. Oh, we also were all given tribal names, and my name is Curoo. They threw out a few different names, at which the entire tribe LAUGHED at, including curoo. I found out it's some type of animal that resembles a prairie dog or rat. Wonderful. :) Then cleansing was an incredible experience though, and I knew that had I not done it, I would never get the opportunity again. First off, it was performed on a Shaman (called Poné in Tsáchila) who has to know at LEAST 200 different plants and their capabilites. So, the Shaman put rocks in my hands, spit some special mixture onto the rocks and was whistling the whole time. He would hit rocks together all around my body, and then hit an instrument which would vibrate on your skin. He then put these incredibly amazing smelling herbs in your hands and had you smell them, and then put some more of this secretive liquid on the herbs. We rubbed the herbs all over our body, and then he sprayed the liquid on our body by spitted it onto us. (May not sound too thrilling to anyone else,) but it really was a relaxing, peaceful experience. I felt at ease after it, as if I had no worries. We were told we couldn't shower until the next morning, and we weren't allowed to eat fish, pig, nuts, or anything spicy. We then saw a typical food preparation which would include banana, rice and potatoes. (i'm beginning to get a little sick of rice, potatoes and bread.--it's included in EVERY meal). They then did a traditional dance, and we tried some fruit which I still don't know the name of and I bought a bracelet and a really cool wooden lanza thing. :) Fruit, like I've said before is AMAZING here. I'm obsessed.

Then next day we hiked out to a sacred ceremonial spot for the Tsáchila and they did a different type of cleansing, which I did not participate in this one. All of the cleansings are done in order to get rid of bad energy and to bring in positive energy. This one was with a plant, which he flicked the herb mixture onto people. Everyone was SOAKED, and attracting mosquitos. Oh yes, the reason I say deet in my title, is because deet is my life saver. So far, I've been fortunate enough to only get 3 bites after spending nearly the entire week in bug infested territory. The best part for me about this day was learning about the health in this community. They have this guy named Leonitas who works with the Ministery of Health here to collaboarate and have an intercultural health system. So, approximately 50% of pregnant women chose to stay in the village to give birth because it is less expensive, more spiritual, and there is little to no transportation. They would have to walk 10 to 30km to the nearest healthcare center. So, Leonitas is teaching midwives and Shamans how to more appropriately deal with pregnancies/prenatal checkups. Privacy is a huge importance for the Tsáchila, so this is violated when they go to a Western hospital. There is a lot of anemia, malnutrition, diarrhea, parasitic diseases and respiratory diseases. It is really, really sad. Oh, by the way, I totally ate S*** down a really, slippery hill. We then came back Tuesday night to Quito and on Wednesdsay went to nearby cities to see more traditional medicine in practice. We went to the city of Guanamí where they have a hospital set up that offers both western and traditional medicine. They have a really good social work section and we spent a great deal of the time talking to them about what they do. They have a TON of violence and abuse in this city, so one of the programs they have set up is a parent/child contract that the child won't get abused. The kids wear these bracelets that say, "Abrazame te Quiero," which means, "hug me I love you..." and they have proven that it has stopped some parents from hitting their children. It makes me so sad to see such violence everywhere in this world.

We left Thursday morning and flew to Macas, which is a city in the AMAZON region of Ecuador. We drove a bus out to a nearby city called Sucua to see traditional medicine in the Shuar communities. We went to a traditional medicinal hospital, where some of the students in my group bought traditional medicines which included remedies for antistress, anti-cancer, stomach problems, etc. The hotel we were staying at in Sucua was AWESOME. There was monkeys on site (in cages unfortunately,) and a parrot that hungout in the trees saying HOLA all day. A couple of us played soccer before lunch and swam in the pool. It was REALLY warm on Thursday... YAY for the sun. We walked out to a garden in which the hospital grows plants that aren't readily accesible in the wild because they need to be maintained. So, they grow these in a garden to use and make herbal remedies for illnesses. Our night included witnessing traditional medicinal healings by a Shaman, and i have to say, was one of the strangest things I've witnessed in awhile. The Shaman drinks this thing called Ayauasca (I'm sure I butchered the spelling) but this is essentially a hallucinogten which allows him to see the past, and gives him visions for curing. We had to sit in abolute silence in this hut with a fire buring for 3 hours while people came in, and the Shaman took their evil spirts and bad energy from their bodies. He went around to each and every one of us before his patients showed up, and blew some stuff in our faces, blew smoke in our faces, and sucked the negative/bad energy from our bodies. He would also sing these songs, which was a part of the medicinal effect, and when he was sucking the energies out of my class, he would only sign sometimes... But did on me. Luckily, there was no meaning behind this I found it, it's just part of the process... When he would suck the bad energy, he would gag, because it apparently gets stuck in his throat, so he then would spit it out. It was CRAZY. After it was all finished, we were told that there was a possiblity that we couldn't get taxis back (taxis in Sucua meant sitting in the back of a truck bed...) and we would be walking for an hour. LUCKILY, two taxis showed up since it was not yet midnight (11:50.) We got LUCKY. The Shaman came to discuss it with us the next day about what happened, the process of becoming a Shaman, etc. His father was told by HIS father (so this shaman's grandfather...) said that a special boy was going to be born, and Ricardo, the Shaman we met, was born with these special powers. This is the most powerful type of Shaman. Others become a Shman after a strange impact/accident has occurred and they survive, or if someone learns to become a Shaman. He said when he sees a bad vision there are sparks everywhere. In order to advance yourself, you must follow norms and rules, which for a year includes no eatting pig meat, ahí (sort of like salsa), cuy (guinea pig) and no sex... Pig meat to some people is REALLY negative, and will make your positive energy smaller, so this particular Shaman avoids it at all costs. A lot of dedication, no? Anyway, so really, a very interesting experience. It has been so informative and incredible to witness this form of treatment which I have never really thought too much about before. To see it, and the amount of people who believe in it, is really amazing. So, Friday morning we left Sucua, and headed to Macas to a tour agency. We got hooked up with this guy name Rafael, and went to this place called "Huer de Eden" which is a place with a bunch of rescued South American animals. They were SO different than any I'd ever seen before, so it was fun.

We stayed at a hostal for $8/night and woke up REALLY early the next morning to head out to the JUNGLE. We drove out of Macas for 45 minutes on a bus, and then hiked for 30 minutes through the jungle through sometimes kneehigh mud. Luckily we had some good boots and I DIDN'T fall this time! We crossed a river via a canoe and stayed in this hut which resembled a Shuar (indigenous) home. It was SO cool. It had a hammock inside, these beds which I think were made out of Balsa, and like a loft type thing which people slept on. We got there and it was raining pretty hard, but we immediately went for a hike up a REALLY steep hill, but when we got to the lookout point, it was incredible. The jungle stretched for MILES, even all the way to Peru I guess. It was SO beautiful and surreal. The coolest thing was learning about the many capabilities of Balsa wood. It is used for gel, as a lubricant for pregnant women, to build huts, rafts, etc. I was in shock at the ability for these people to construct such amazing things (they place we stayed, a raft, etc.) then came back for lunch. It was some type of soup, I'm not sure. We then hiked again and saw this ENORMOUS tree which is over 1,000 years old, which has roots that can extend up to 60 or 70 meters long. We learned about a bunch of different medicinal plants and then headed back to eat MORE. We ate fried yuca ( VERY traditional root) with ahí and this fruit called Guyana (?) which was delicious! Then we put on our swimsuits and headed up the river to one of the guide's brother's hut, and we then went back down river to SWIM. It's really cool, because there are two different river which merge into one. But one is the black river, and is black because it is just rocks at the bottom, so it's really clean, the other is not so clean, but when they merge, you can see the two distinct rivers. It's really crazy. Apparently, they say there is one anaconda that lives in the river, and because they are territorial, there is only one. Luckily, I didn't have any encounters with it. :) Afterward, we came back and two other girls and I helped two of the guides cook dinner, which was done almost entirely by campfire and headlamps. It was INCREDIBLE. We had chicken, beef, rice, this salad with peapods, apple and corn, a tea from a jungle plant and for dessert, fruit cocktail. It was probably one of the best meals I've head in a really long time. It took 3 hours to make the entire meal. Oh, and we made chifles which are banana chips from scratch and they are SO amazing. it was really fun though, because the two guides we cooked with were 25 and 18 so we just talked the whole time, they told us some spanish jokes, taught us some slang. It was SO fun.This morning we hiked back and they packed us into ONE truck with all our backpacks (there is 14 of us), 14 sleeping back, 14 pairs of boots and drove us back into Macas. We ate breakfast, and then flew back and now I'm at home... My home away from my Maple Valley home. :) It really was such a fun weekend... We're back in Quito this week for school, and have some homework assignments to complete. I'm off to dinner and then to do homework. Miss you all and love you!!!

First week of school and Papallacta

Beware... this is long. I try to journal on my computer everyday, so I take what I've written straight from there... Read if you want and if you have time! :)

So Monday morning began for me at 5:50AM and I went for an hour long walk with mi mamá. It was really fun. I may try to run a few times a week through the park while she is walking. Monday was our first school day. Dr. Suarez led the first part of the morning and just talked to us at first about how the program got started, and what we would be doing. His wife, Mariana Suárez introduced herself and talked a little bit about the program as well. We found out that this week we are flying to the Oriente (Macas) to study the traditional medicines. I am SO, so excited. We are then in the fourth week going to Santo Domingo de los Colorados to study tropical medicines and then to the high part of the Andes during the 7th week to study the impact that flowers has had on la salud (health) de la gente. During the first part of the morning we discussed health in general and what we are going to be aiming for throughout our program. It’s kind of hard though because everyone in our group is at very different levels of Spanish. What I was really happy about though, is that Dr. Suárez talked primarily in Spanish, and explained only a few things in English when people had questions. During our time here, we will be working together to construct new alternatives to specific health problems plaguing the country.

Starting in Guyaquil, they began to destroy natural forest to develop plantations. Much of the tropical forests have been destroyed. So, instead of naturally running out of the forest, when it rains, the water remains in stagnant pools. The destruction, migration and unsanitary conditions has brought about mosquitoes and transmission of tropical diseases. The forest had been almost sort of a boundary, so the species were in check. This is a continuing problem which we will examine during our field work in Santo Domingo de los Colrados. Our final trip will be to the high areas of the Andes in which we will find out how the development of cut flowers has had an impact on health. There are many greenhouses and these flowers are perfect. There is an extreme use of pesticides though, which has caused birth defects, cancer, miscarriages, etc. I am really looking forward to learning about all of these issues. It’s sort of nice to be excited to go to school. ☺

Ecuador has approximately 19,000 species of plants, and although in sheer number it isn’t the leader in the world, in terms of number of species per sq. km, Ecuador leads in almost every category. (Birds, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, mammals, etc.)

Tuesday morning I got up around 6am and Katie, mi madre y yo walked through El Parque de las Mujeres. Katie and I walked separately, at a little bit of a faster pace. Tomorrow we are going to El Parque Metropolatino with Marco Emilio (my “brother” here), and I think that I am going to try to run. It will definitely be hard though because of the altitude. I find that I run out of breath PRETTY easily. The first lecture of the morning was given by Dr. Suárez and was very interesting. It was development, the environment and health. He discussed the fundamental assumptions of the collective health. He talked about how there is a serious contradiction between the abundance of money and the number in poverty, along with the number of sick people in a world of health.

One of the most impacting statements he said was this, “Can you be poor in love, belonging, social participation, being hurt by society? YES.” Because of these different poverties, we must expand our definition. “Can you be poor in love?” I will NEVER forget that statement.

For lunch I went to the fruit stand and the pandería. There is a LOT of consumption of bread here… I got a banana, mango and small roll. Katie, Jessica and I came home and sat on the balcony and ate our food. On the way home, this girl stopped us and asked us for a story of something that happened to us while in Ecuador. Apparently it’s was aired on the radio. I just talked about how that little girl spit the flowers on my table. Katie told the story about how she said she was “soltera in Ecuador” which I guess means that she’s looking for a husband. Pretty funny. My meal cost me a total of $0.36. CRAZY.

During my Spanish class we learned some interesting facts about Ecuador that I thought I’d share:

1. Cotopaxi is the highest active volcano in the world
2. Galapagos has another name: Archipielago de Colón
3. Average age for men is 69, and it is 74 for women
4. 52% of the population is Indiginous people, and 40% is mestizos (indigenous/Spanish).
5. The official language is Castellano
6. There is only 1 doctor for every 789 inhanbitants

Wednesday morning I went running in Parque Metropolitano and it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL, beautiful, beautiful. It is really up sort of on a plateau, so you can see all of the city, the mountains, etc. It’s essentially a forest of eucalyptus trees, with tons of trails running in between the trees. I have never seen such a beautiful “park” in my life. I guess we are going to go there every Wednesday, so I am very excited. I’m going to have to take my camera next time so that I can take pictures. I ran for about half the time (25 minutes) and walked con mi madre for the other part of the time. Afterward, there was a jugo stand and my mom bought me jugo de tomate de arbol. The juice is 100% fresh and straight fruit juice. So they squeeze out all of the juice into a bowl, then they strain the juice/seeds to get rid of the seeds and the pour the juice straight into the cup. It was $.50 and absolutely delicious. If you come here for no other reason, it should be for the juice and the fruit. They are superb! I am very much going to miss the juices and fruit from here when I leave.

We ate our mangos outside at CIMAS on the patio and made a mess of ourselves. We skinned the Mango with Katie’s pocketknife and tried to eat the mango like a plum. BAD, bad idea. We ended up with Mango stuck in our teeth, all over our hands and face, and I even managed to get mango on Katie’s leg. It was hilarious. I’m obsessed with Mangos.

Later that afternopm. Katie and I were planning on seeing a movie with Mario, but instead we went to the Centro Commercial and El Jardín. Both were really high scale malls. Katie and I both got a t-shirt of the Ecuadorian soccer jerseys. We got coffee and Sweet and Coffee, a treat of Mario. It was really nice.

Finding out about Bush wanting to send in 20,000-24,000 more troops within the next few months was how my night concluded. A HORRIBLE way to end the night. Some of the troops are supposedly leaving as soon as a few weeks…These are brigades from Kansas and North Carolina. Keith, my boyfriend, is in the brigade that will leave from Fort Lewis. They aren’t sure when they are supposed to leave, but it will likely be before they (and I) were anticipating, which is in May. I’m praying he won’t leave while I am here.

Thursday morning mi madre y yo went running this morning…. Well, we walked there (to El parque de las mujeres) and I ran for 25 minutes through the park. Then, we walked, but home a different way. So, in total, I ran for 25 minutes and walked for 55. It was great! The only thing that sucked was that my throat sort of hurts and I have sinus pressure. Anyway, so before school I sat outside in the sun and read for class. I really didn’t feel well Thursday, I sneezed about 1700 times and my nose was sniffly. Every time though I went outside, I felt a lot better, but then I’d come back in and I’d be all stuffed up. I was the sniffly kid today.

For lunch Katie and I went to the fruit stand and I had a mango and we bought a pineapple to cut up… We cut it up, and had that and split a roll and ate it on my balcony. It was perfect. I LOVE LOVE LOVE mangos. Yum… The mango was $0.25, the pineapple we split, so it was $0.30 each and the roll was $0.10. CRAZY. After lunch, we had a long, very interesting talk with Jordana about poverty and health. First, she gave us our schedules for next week. It sounds pretty cool. We had to sign a waiver saying that we won’t drink anything during the traditional medicinal ceremonies, and that if we decide to take part in it, it may be embarrassing/uncomfortable. (Sacraficing a guinea pig after wiping it on you…making you strip down to your underwear/bra, etc.) I’m going to do it. At least, I think I am. ☺ Although my parents (sorry mom and dad!) may not be too thrilled with the idea, I know I will probably never again in my life have the opportunity to be in part of a traditional medicinal practice. We'll see if I actually have the guts to do it when it comes down to it.

Today we talked about poverty and in Ecuador, 40% live below the $1/day line.

After school I told mi Papi that I didn’t feel that well, so he brought me downstairs. My Ecuadorian mom gave Katie and I empanadas hot out of the oven, tea and Maiz toastada (which tastes like corn nuts). Then they gave me some menthol to put under my nose and I took a short nap before dinner.

After dinner (a stir-fry type thing, tea, limonada and tortilla de papa), Teré made mi papa y yo some herbal remedy that they told me to take, and that I wasn’t to leave the house, only lay in my bed after drinking it. It was two different drinks, one wasn’t bad at all, but the other was SICk. I honestly have no idea what it is. Haha, I do know that it’s made me very tired, and I slept VERY well that night.

Ok, so on Friday, we went with CIMAS to three different hospitals, to demostrate the differences between high, medium and low level hospitals. The first was Hospital Metropolitano. It was incredible. It was supposedly modeled after an American Hospital, and it was quite obvious that it was. It was really clean, spotless… There was this glass walkway that connected the different buildlings, with a tube on the ceiling that transported medicines & prescriptions. BUT, only 7-8% of the population here can even afford to come here. CRAZINESS. It makes me so sad that such a nice hospital is in place, yet hardly anyone even uses it.


The next place we visited was in South Quito, a dangerous part of town. It is the poorest area of Quito. Food and veggies are distributed from here. It is a Municipal (city) Hospital called San José and is primarily for pregnant mothers and their children. While we were driving there, we were stopped on our bus, and a nearby car backfired. I honestly thought it was a bomb, and that we were being attacked. (Our bus said “Tourismo” on it… could we have been an easier target?) Nearby this Municipal Hospital, there is a clinic which sends nurses into markets to have direct contact with people, to assess needs.

Facts about this hospital:
• $2.50 consultation fee. Cost going up. This is still considered pretty expensive. AT Hospital Metropolitano, it would be $80-100.
• $100 for a natural birth, $150 for C-section.
• Minimum wage here is $160/month.These prices though, include all costs.
• This clinic is not regulated. See people that have never had services.
• Outside, there were TONS of people waiting, and most likely have been waiting since 5:30AM. (It’s now 11AM). They will wait all day, likely. Once they’ve been called, they get to come inside, but will wait INSIDe in a waiting room.

The third hospital we visited is funded by the Ministry of Health. It is low level of health. We didn’t even know before we arrived if we would be able to get a tour, because it had recently been on strike.

This type of health is supposed to be “free”, but it isn’t. you have to pay for EVERYTHING. A doctor will give you a list of the stuff you need to buy, including BLOOD type, which you will buy at a blood bank. Family members will run around all day trying to find every piece of equipment/supplies necessary. Suministros Hospitalarios Medicinas de especialidades---this is one of the stores where you can buy a lot of the necessary supplies for a surgery. Hospital = ENRIQUE GARCÉS. When Jordana first got to Ecuador, many of the hospitals were on strike for the entire YEAR. The hospital was very, very empty due to the recent strick. At the bottom of the stairwell there was a guard with a shotgun. There were bars on the windows inside. Very, very different from Hospital Metropolitano.

When we got there, Jordana and the other guy from CIMAS (I forgot his name), said that this was very typical of a state hospital. The director of Education and Hospital had already left for the day. It was 12.:37pm. Someone said, “well, do you really need someone to take you around?” They were going to have us go by ourselves… There is a law that says medical personnel can only work 4 hours. This was because a recent pay increase affected full-time and part-time people the same. Therefore, they now only work 4 hours a day. INSANE.

This hospital made me very, very sad. It was the most bare, basic place I’ve seen in my whole life. It was a little bit frustrating too, how we were treated. We are here to try to make a difference in the health system, or at least to try to come up with ideas as to how to improve the health system. But, I can see how maybe they think we’re imposing upon them. I’m not sure.

We then took a cab ($3) to La Clínica de Maternidad. We had called earlier last week, letting the head of the clinic, Anita know that we were coming. Jess Burke in my group got hooked up with a nurse from the USA that sent her with a 45 pound of supplies for us to bring to this clinic. When we got there, Anita wasn’t there, and it as a little confusing. We initially thought that the woman who talked to us, WAS Anita, so when she asked us what she could do for us, we were REALLY confused. (Jess, Katie and I). So, we finally got ahold of Anita, who ended up coming around 4:30, because we had initially told her we wouldn’t be there till 6pm. While we were waiting for Anita though, oe of the workers brought us a huge plate of crackers, cheese and peach juice. When Anita arrived, she showed us the place. There were no patients there… They usually come in the morning so she said that she’d call us and let us know a good time so that we can come back, observe, and even practice some things! YAY!

Anita explained to us how the electrocaudery machine doesn’t work and they have the same part that Tami (the lady that sent Jess down with the supplies for us to bring to them…), but it still isn’t working. She looked through all the supplies and told us how she could really use some more gauze, birth control pills and a little sonogram deal so that the mom can hear the baby’s heartbeat. She said how it’s much more emotional/sentimental that way, instead of the doctor only being able to hear the heartbeat. Anita gave us a ride home, which was really, really sweet of her. On the car ride home she started to tear up when she was thanking us. She was saying how here in Ecuador, nobody will help another person. Maybe they give a dollar or two, but no one would be as generous as Tami has been in donating the supplies.

After we got home Katie and I decided to try this Argentinian restaurant (Los Troncos) because Katie’s brother Mario told us it was really good. We tried some dish, something simple, and it was NOT good. It was breaded meat, and I’m still not sure what kind of meat it was. Whoops. Katie goes, “Well, I’ve never had breaded meat before.” I was dying laughing. We had jugo de tomate de arbol which was fabulous as always, and veggies that were good, but it was GROSS GROSS GROSS. Dinner cost about $8 (SO expensive for Ecuador and it was so nasty!) and $0.75 on the taxi.

I found out on Friday that I got accepted to Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California. It was one of the first schools I have applied to, and I am still waiting to hear back from a few others. Scary though, because Western University wants me to decide by January 26th, and I’m not sure if I’ll have heard back from the other schools by then. Hmm, decisions, decisions.

So Katie and I decided to leave early Saturday morning for Papallacta, because if we didn’t go, I wouldn’t see it. We spent $2 each on the Taxi to the bus terminal, and we definitely think that the taxi driver took advantage of us. It’s so annoying to be a gringo, it doesn’t matter how much Spanish you know… they will try to jipe you and make you pay more than you should. Our bus ticket cost $2, and I bought a really cute, $3 purse. We waited about an hour for the bus. When we finally got on the bus, this kid came up to us when we sat down, pretending to work for the bus company. He checked our tickets and then said he’d take our bags, that it is “más seguro.” Well, luckily, I’m not an IDIOT and I told him no thanks. He got off the bus and walked away. He didn’t work for the bus company at all. AHH. People continually get on and off the bus to try and sell things, even while it is moving, until we get completely out of the bus terminal. It’s pretty funny. So, we finally go to las termas de papallacta, and got dropped at the bottom of this dirt road. We walked up the hill, both of us pantly pretty heavily. (We later found out the las termas are at 10,800 ft. WOW!) Las termas = natural hot springs, and man were they amazing! Thinking I’d never find it, we got to the top of the 1km hill and saw the hostel we wanted to stay at. Hostería La Pampa de Papallacta. It is a really cute place with 2 brand new hotspring pools. The hostel cost $10 which included breakfast on Sunday morning. We bought lunch for $1.75—Katie and I split trucha (trout), which was REALLY good, arroz, ensalada, sopa and this family that we met when we sat down bought us a beer. It was nasty, Pilsner. Afterward, we walked up towards the hotsprings to check it out, and also to check out the hikes they had available. We decided not to hike, and headed back to our hostel. When we checked into our room, the guy that cleaned our bathroom was named Jaime. He’s Columbian. He told Katie and I that we should “talk later because I am Columbian and you are from the United States.” Hmm, well, the logic didn’t make sense to us, but what can you do? We then walked down into Papallacta which is a very, very desolate town. I don’t even know how they buy food, because there were hardly any stores. It’s all dirt roads. We bought a pineapple though and bananas ☺ The pineapple was .70 and the banana .15. Afterward, we laid in the sun at the pool at our hostel. We met this lady named Loreana, who is thirty years old and her daughter Atenella, 6 years old. She was SO adorable. The mom was really sweet, and we ended up talking to her for probably about an hour and a half. We were even talking about our beliefs, God, faith, etc. it was just amazing to me the things I have been learning about and discussing IN SPANISH! ☺ They are from Latacunga. The water was really warm, it was very surreal to look around me, see mountains, the SUN, and to be laying in my bathing suit in a natural hot spring. It was pretty amazing. We then decided to go to the Baleanario which is at the Termas de Papallacta. It was SO SO cool. They had a bunch of different baths of different temperature, and the architecture was fabulous. We only stayed about an hour though because it was really, really hot. On the way back to our hostal we stopped and bought a glass of tomate de arbol in a local restaurant for $1. While we were eating dinner later that night, we met this kid named Lewis which randomly went to high school with two of my guy friends from college. Weird. Anyway, there was a big group of people from Boston College staying at our same hostel. So, after dinner, Katie and I went in to Lewis’ room because he had built a fire and we met two of his friends, Nora and Mary. They all were very nice. Nora is a nursing student at BC, so I was telling her how I had applied there. Wouldn’t it be funny if I ended up there. I keep realizing how very small the world is! Right before bed, Jaime (the Columbian) came and wanted to hangout, but we told him we were going to bed. He gave us a heated blanket because the rooms were very, very cold. Katie and I went to bed early, around 10pm and woke up at 8:45 today. It was great to get a good night’s sleep as I’ve been a little bit sick. This morning we woke up and had breakfast—bread, juice, scrambled eggs and tea. Lorena and her husband and Atanella ate with us for a little bit before we packed up and headed out. We walked down to the bottom of the hill and tried aguardiente (sugar cane alcohol) at some little restaurant. The fact that he let us try it for free should have been an indicator to me that it doesn’t taste very good. It was AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL. We caught the bus and headed home…. I ate lunch (their lunches are HUGE here! I had corn on the cob (HUGE kernels), a soup, meat, and another corn thing, juice and THEN they wanted me to try this OTHER corn thing, that tastes very much like corn bread. I was STUFFED) and have just been relaxing since. It’s really hot out. I tried to lay outside for awhile but I was hot and I’m tired too. It is now 5pm, and they had me come downstairs for tea and finish the cornbread tasting deal. I couldn’t finish it. I’m pretty sure we’re also having dinner. YIKES

I have been here now for 11 days, and have not even spent $80 yet. Pretty incredible.

I won’t be able to blog for probably another week or so, as tomorrow we’re headed to Santo Domingo de los Colorados (Mon/Tues), back in Quito (wed) and then in Macas—SOUTHERN ORIENTE (Thurs-Sunday) where we will be observing (and participating? in traditional medicinal ceremonies.) I can guarantee my blog for next time will be pretty interesting. ☺


Random thoughts:
1. Kids are constantly selling stuff on the streets. Do they go to school?
2. Glass is stuck onto the tops of concrete walls…. To try to stop people from climbing over. While cement is drying, they just stick pieces of glass in it!
3. Miel—any type of syrupy substance? Mi madre had me put it in my juice this Friday morning for my throat. Hmm…
4. The other night, Teré took this hammer like thing and broke apart the block of brown sugar on the kitchen floor. It was pretty crazy.
5. There are no driving laws here. People just pass all the time. Pedestrians definitely don’t have the right of way. We RUN across the streets because many people have gotten hit by cars!
6. A high number of people have maids here. Apparently, if you can afford one, you REALLY should have one (according to social rules?!).

Hope all is well… Please, whether you agree with the war or not, keep the troops in your prayers. ☺

Don't ever say no to someone who is selling you roses...

My trip started off a little rough. My flight to Houston, which was supposed to leave at 6:20AM, left 9:45AM, and landed at 3:30 in Houston. We made it to our gate by 3:45, and only because we speed walked like I’ve never walked before, only to find that our new plane, the one supposed to leave at 4PM for Quito, had a leak in the engine that needed fixing. The plane was worked on for 2.5 hours. Luckily, there is an adorable girl, I think at least partially Ecuadorian sitting next to me. Her name was Mia, she’s 18 months, and was quite entertaining.

I woke up the next morning and had breakfast which was provided for us. I had ham and eggs, this juice made from tomate de arbol (a really delicious tomato only found in Ecuador), which was REALLY good, and half a crossaint. The beds weren’t bad at all, probably partly because I was so exhausted from lack of sleep, but they were fine! Then we hungout for a bit, We then (Katie and I), a girl in my program, walked around Quito, new town, through a park that was hosting a market, went through some shops and then ate a cup of fruit which was a combination of papaya, watermelon, banana, orange and mango, I think. It cost 50 cents. Everything is so cheap down here. Later went out to “Gringolandía”. Ecuadorians call white tourists “Gringos.” We went to Sutra, this smaller bar, but everyone but Katie and I ended up leaving. We ended up talking to one of the waiters, Carlos, and Fausto. The one thing I do not like already about Ecuador is the amount of smoke here. Apparently approximately 80% smoke and man, the bars are awful. You go home reeking of smoke and needing to take a shower because your hair smells so horribly. Be thankful (well, if you don’t smoke) for the rules we have in Washington!

The next day, CIMAS (our school’s name) picked us up and took us to our “school,” essentially an office building for introductions, warnings, what to expect, etc. It was a little bit overwhelming. Lunch was really good, it was Locra, a potato soup, a traditional piece of Ecuadorian meals. There was also fresh watermelon and mango. The fruit here is absolutely delicious. We have a fresh juice every morning and also with dinner, and the avocado is to DIE for down here. After lunch we learned about the computers, what to expect from our families and what they will expect from us. I was picked up by my “Mama,” y technically, my “brother,” who is 33 years old. My mami’s name is Olga, my papi es Marco y mi hermano es Marco Emilio. I met tons of the family that day, as Marco y Olga’s daughter, husband and kid(s) were leaving for the US. So, I went with them to the airport, and everyone was crying. I started crying. I felt so ridiculous because I had just met their family, but it was really sad seeing everyone say goodbye to their sister/daughter/grandchildren, etc. My family is really nice, and told me that their house is my house and I can use anything. I have my own bedroom and bathroom. I feel very fortunate.

The next morning Katie and I walked to school. (It’s THAT close.) A lot of people have to take the bus to school every morning, even possibly 30 or more minutes away. I feel very fortunate. The buses are extremely crowded and hot, thus the reason why it is necessary to always keep your backpack or purse in front of you. It is not uncommon that someone would cut your backpack in order to steal from you. Also, I guess one needs to watch out for little kids because they will surround you, or if by themselves, will pickpocket you. It makes me so sad that these kids are so incredibly young, and forced into this situation. It’s even more sad that I know this kids are bringing the money straight to their parents and not seeing an ounce of it. We visited MANY churches. I think that just in old town Quito, there are 27 churches. Incredible. We saw Santo Domingo, San Franciscan y Basilica. We also visited the city museum. Basilica was by far my favorite. It was the most amazing church I’ve ever seen in my life. The stained glass they had there was SO, so beautiful. We climbed all the way up to the top of the towers, and had to climb these really, really steep steps in order to get to the top. The view was absolutely beautiful. You could see all of Quito. For lunch we had an empanada, I think it’s called mote, which is a cousin of corn, tortilla de potato, fried bananas, and lettuce, tomatoes and onions. This also is a very traditional plate in Ecuador. There is almost always a soup to begin with and then meat, potatoes and/or rice. We had limonada to drink, it was fabulous. It was really, really nice today. It was fun too because I got to talk to a bunch of the people in our group and get to know everyone a little bit better. We went to city center though also. We walked all day long, but it was really a fun day. I just looked at our syllabus for school and it looks pretty awesome. We’re not going to Guyaquil anymore which is a little disappointing, but I’m sure wherever we’re going will be great. Honestly I am SO SO lucky with my homestay. I am so close to school, so I will save money on transportation, and I have WIRELESS. A funny story from one of the nights… Little boys and girls constantly try to sell you things at night, and the police shoo them away from selling to tourists. Anyway, so this little girl was trying to sell us roses, and was chewing on a pedal in her mouth. There were four of us (Misti, Allison, Katie and I) sitting at this table saying, “No gracias…” Well, apparently she didn’t like our answer because she SPIT the chewed up rose pedal right in front of me on the table. Thus, if anyone offers you rosees, please buy them. Food/drinks… EVERYTHING is really cheap down here. You can easily get lunch for $2 and there is this place in town where from 4pm to midnight, every day of the week, they have happy hour. They have like 10 drinks that are 2 for 1—So, each drink is $1.50. Pretty incredible.


Today I went to church with my host mother, father and empleada. It was only a few blocks away. One of the things I love about Ecuador is how close everything is. It’s probably because I’m in an enormous city, but at least where I live, I’m within walking distance from a LOT of things. After church Katie and I left around 11:30 to meet Joi and Erica to take the bus to La Mitad del Mundo. (Middle of the world.) We took the bus ($.25) and had to switch buses again, where I ended up sitting next to an older man named Victor Hugo. He was SO SO sweet. He pointed out different things, saying their Spanish names to me for the entire bus ride (This second bus ride was about 30 minutes long). He was adorable and 77 years old. So, when we finally arrived at the Mitad del Mundo, he took on the role of being our personal tour guide for the day. Apparently he comes quite often, as many of the workers knew him well. Sundays are really fun at the Equator in Ecuador because there are tons of demonstrations with traditional dancing and music. There are a ton of people there, including Ecuadorians who where Salsa dancing to the music. So, we took tons of pictures of the monument, walked around a bit and then ate lunch in this café that overlooked the dancing. Victor made sure to talk to the waitress because he wanted us to be able to see the dancing while we ate. He then left. Afterward we sat outside and watched the dancing and walked around a little bit more upon meeting back up with Victor Hugo. We bought and egg to see if it would balance on the equator, and it DID! It was crazy. We’re wondering if maybe there is some trick to it and it isn’t really true, but it was pretty sweet. I got a few pictures of it. Tomorrow I am going to go walking with my host mom at 6 in the morning around a nearby park. So, I’m off to bed soon. I will have more exciting updates later on as I go on weekend trips and my excursions with school. Tomorrow is the first day of school and I am looking forward to it as the topics we are studying seem very, very interesting. The weather here is incredible. I heard it's pretty cold, even snowing in Seattle and I can't say that I miss the weather at all. It's been about 70 here every day, but feels much hotter since we're so close to the quarter, and approximately 8,000 (I think?) ft up. Hope everyone is doing well!