The good, the bad, and the beautiful

Silly title, I know. But I find that it is quite appropriate. Our days have been filled great experiences, beautiful sights, and a few frustrations.



The Good.

Our school. What a place. We love it. Situated on the edge of La Mariscal or "gringolandia" there is a bright yellow house that has become our daily destination. It is a 10 minute walk from our guest home. We arrive, are greeted by the teachers, and have a moment to chat with the other students before our lessons begin. There is also a steady supply of tea, coffee, and sweet breads. I am especially grateful for the coffee.

Colin and I are taking a class together. Our teacher is Ibeth. She is the wife of the man who runs the school, and when it comes to the Spanish language, Ibeth does not mess around! We have greatly improved in our comprehension and speaking. We are heading into our last day of class and are very grateful to have had Ibeth as our teacher.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays the school provides excursions for any students that would like to explore. So far we have taken three salsa class, visited a beautiful cathedral, cooked an incredible Ecuadorian meal and tried a little local cuisine....

Cuy. Guinea pig. We ate some. It was quite flavorful. I thought about the chinchilla I used to have as a pet. I felt awful about it. I could only eat a couple of bites. Still, it's the experience that counts, right?

More good....

Our family. Eulalia, Paula, and Emilio. It is very special to be a part of this three generation family. Emilio and Colin have become fast friends and I think Emilio will miss him very much when we leave. They have been welcoming and patient and encouraging. We feel as though we have been adopted. It's a nice feeling.


The Bad.

Carnival. A massive week long celebration that encompasses all of South America. It involves lots of food, massive amounts of water being thrown, and about a zillion cans of karioca....not to be confused with karaoke. I wish it was karaoke that happened at carnival. That would be awesome. Karioca is a can filled with a scented substance that has the consistency of silly string mixed with shaving cream. It is then sprayed on any person within range.

Colin, myself, and two other students from the school decided to go to a town about an hour from Quito for a local carnival celebration. We saw thousands of people and we were the only obviously-not-from-here people in the entire town. It was a very authentic experience, but standing out in the crowd like that can cause some unwanted attention. Corina, my new Swiss friend and I were sprayed and floured more than most that I saw. It was all good fun until Corina realized that her phone, camera, and wallet had been stolen. Needless to say, it put a damper on the rest of the day, but we still managed to enjoy ourselves.

The Beautiful.

Otavalo. A small town some 2 1/2 hours from quito. Some claim that it is the biggest outdoor market in all of South America. Colin and I, along with three friends we met at school, went for a weekend. The colors. The cries of venders trying to grab your attention. The animals for sale. The aroma of different spices. The bargaining! Being the non confrontation person that I am, I was nervous to argue with a stranger about how much their handmade art should cost. As it turns out, I enjoyed. Actually, I think I was pretty good at it.

 

Quito. I think I could live here for a long very time. Regardless of the almost constant rain, we have had enough minutes of sun and warmth to do quite a bit of exploring. The historical Old Town, or Centrol Historico: Beautiful old buildings, grand cathedrals and countless shoe stores and hole in the wall restaurants. La Mariscal: Cafes, authentic food, language schools, and handmade goods. The numerous parks. The awe inspiring botanical garden. The busy markets. The friendly people.

I am so glad that Quito is our temporary home.

Some incredible flowers at the Botanical Gardens

Soon we head to Baños. Hot springs, mountains, hiking, bikes, and an active volcano. Can't wait!


We wish you were here.

Chao!

Arrival

Hola!! Estamos aqui!

We have made it to Ecuador. I am sitting at the desk in our bedroom that our host familia has provided, looking out at a very busy street. A hummingbird just landed on a telephone wire out side the window. That is how cool Ecuador is...hummingbirds hang out on the telephone wires.

After an overnight in Washington D.C, where I acted the part of the overenthusiastic tourist (first time there for me) and seeing a great friend from college, we got on a plane early Friday morning and flew to Ecuador via Houston.

Arriving in the airport caused a myriad of emotions. Are we actually here? How is it already February? I can't wait to see everything! Am I going to be able to communicate at all? I am so excited to try the food! What if this school we signed up for isn't legit? What if our host family isn't here to meet us?

After making it through customs, all my worries went out the window. There, holding a sign that read "Hamels" was Marco. He waved and said hello and we got about 2 seconds to try to impress him with our Spanish (which is about as unimpressive as possible at this point) when a woman barged in, threw her arms around us and gave us each a welcoming kiss on the cheek. We realized that this was our host for the next few weeks.

Aulolia is wonderful. She is a mother to Paula and Marco, grandmother to Emilio and Emalie, and Ecuadorean mama to countless Spanish language students that she has hosted over the past 10 years. She is just what a person needs to feel comfortable and cared for. And she is an extremely talented chef! Colin and I feel very blessed to have ended up in her home.

Our fist full day in Quito. Pride kept me from admitting until late in the day that the altitude was, indeed, giving me a hard time. Luckily, much was done before it got too bad. We took a walk around the area that we will be spending a lot of our time: La Mariscal. It is the more modern part of Quito and the site of our school and home.

We visited the Mindalae Museo Etnohistorico de Artisanias del Ecuador and learned a bit about the history and culture of some of the people groups in Ecuador.

We got home just in time to enjoy a delicioso homemade meal, followed by our first siesta of the trip.

Today we took at trip across the city to the equator. Taxi, bus, and lots of walking got us to Mitad del Mundo. The middle of the earth.

(By the way, another hummingbird just landed next to the aforementioned hummingbird. )

We learned a lot about the equator. We also learned that beyond being delicious (I have yet to be convinced), guinea pigs are an excellent judge of character. Apparently they can sense what type of presence a person has, and they will make their little squeaks very loudly if someone suspicious is nearby. They were nice and quiet when I looked in the cage. Colin, however, got quite the reaction....just saying. :)

We start classes tomorrow. Our poor teacher. She will have her hands full!

Also, I saw a shrunken head.

Thanks for reading.

Chao!