Monday 10/21
I feel a plot twist coming on...
Tuesday 10/22
I found an organization I want to volunteer for, in Salasaka, and the only reason I'm not there right now is that I didn't see their email telling me that I could come until AFTER I had put my clothes in the wash, and it takes forever to dry them outside. So I got ready and cleaned the house, and tomorrow I'll take the 8-10 hour journey to Baños/Salasaka.
Gulp. I'm a little nervous. I haven't traveled by myself yet...
Wednesday 10/23
At the bus station, I went to buy a ticket.
Man: Are your eyes real?
me: What do you
mean, are they real! haha
Man: I mean, are those your natural eyes?
me: Yes, of course they are...
Man: (To his friend, ''hey, amigo!'')
To me: Hey, look at him so that he can see... it's like... you have cat eyes!
Haha! Cat eyes. That's new.
Other news ... a man got on the bus to ask for money... says he got out of jail today at 3:00pm and needs money to get home. Says he's been in jail for 9 years 2 months, after his sentence of 8 years for something that I didn't hear... but he said it left 3 people dead and 1 wounded and that he's very sorry and regrets it, but doesn't hide it. One lady gasped. Others gave him money.
Thursday 10/24
Wow, yesterday... I left Ibarra at 2:00pm, got to Quito at 4:45, took a bus from the northern to the southern terminal (5:00-6:20), then took a bus to Baños at 7:15... they were supposed to drop me off in Salasaka, 30 minutes before Baños... but they didn't tell me when we got there, and I woke up when they stopped in Baños at 10:30pm. I caught a bus back up north and asked them to stop in Salasaka... I even went up during the trip to say, ''how many minutes? are we close?'' and he said, ''I will let you know when we get there.'' I glanced over a little later and he was asleep (not the driver, but the man who collects money and helps the driver). He woke up right then, when I looked at him, and a minute later he looked panicked. He came over and said, ''We passed it... and there are no buses that go the other way...'' so he gave me $0.50 back of my $0.80 fare and dropped me off in a town about 30 minutes south of Salasaka.
Let me mention at this point that I now have $3.20 in my posession, having spent $2.50, $1.25, $3.70, and $0.30 ...
I talked to some taxistas who said they would take me to Salasaka for $5, then $3, but I didn't want to give my last money, in case I couldn't find my way in Salasaka. Good thing I didn't, too!
I waited on the street corner until 11:45pm... no buses passed. Finally a woman in a non-licensed taxi asked where I was headed, and I told her Salasakas, with $3. She said she'd take me.
We asked some drunk guys--the only people in Salasakas at midnight--how to get to where I'll be staying, and they said it was super far away. So Janeth, the taxi driver, offered to let me sleep at her house, as long as I accompanied her in the taxi from midnight until 2:00am!
We dropped off my suitcases at her place, and went around looking for people who needed a ride... and ended up taking 1 guy really far away. And we got back at 2:00am. And I slept in Janeth's bed with her, haha! Sleeping with strangers... soooo much stranger than I could have even imagined.
I woke up at 8:00, got ready, and we left at like 10:00 to drop me off... I took a truck-taxi up the hill/mountain to the school, and I observed the first class, had DELICIOUS VEGETARIAN LUNCH, and then they put me right to work teaching Level 1s, ages 3-5.
It's super cool here! I ventured into town where I found a ''Swiss Corner'' restaurant run by a woman from Switzerland. I devoured pineapple pizza (I took off the ham) and a decadent strawberry/chocolate crepe. THE best food I've had in 2 weeks. And she said I'm the first person ever (in like 5 years?) to order one, ha!
(I wrote a lot more about food, but I'll omit that for now, haha... I was hungry.)
Today was so good. I am loving it here, and this feels like exactly where I should be, and even more so where I WANT to be. Today, lying in the hammock out back watching the entire city below, I felt completely content. I am happy, and so grateful to have this incredible experience. :) This is... incredible.
When I see these other travelers here, I realize that I could STILL be doing a lot more with my life, haha. Some have been traveling (by bike or by bus) for 6-8 months... everyone is amazing and impressive. It's like, when I'm around these people, I see that the bar is raised and new limits/goals are attainable. When I'm around big-minded people, my mind gets bigger.
Friday 10/25
Today was great... except for the shower with--I'm not exaggerating--GLACIER-cold water. Frigid. I leaned over to only get my hair wet, and I was shaking from head to toe. Sooo cold. That, and my allergies (mold, wool, dust, etc.) in this house, combined with the cold I got on Wednesday night, where I can't breather, are the ''bads''. The ''goods'' are that teaching was fun, we played soccer with the kids, I have some awesome new friends, and we went to the center for food and it was fun. I really did have a blast today. :) Teaching and serving and loving people is so, so rewarding...
Saturday 10/26
This morning I left with Joe (from England), Javier (from Spain), and Carlos (from Alaska, but I think his real name is Kyle?) to Riobamba, a couple hours away--I've lost sense of travel time, so I have no clue how far... but we walked around, ate food, looked at everything, and took a 2 1/2 hour busride to Alausí where we'll take a train to another city that I can't remember, tomorrow.
Can I just say that I LOVE traveling around with other tourists?! Holy cow this is SO so much fun. The guys are all over 6 feet tall, and I'm already tall at 5'9'', so we make quite a scene wandering the 4 together. We ask questions to the locals about the fruit and vegetables and other food, and they laugh when we try a new food. It's so funny. In the market, Carlos ate 60 quail eggs and Joe ate almost 30 chili peppers, and they drew a crowd of about 50 people who were watching in suspense and awe. While Joe was eating 8 chilis at once, I overheard one man tell his son, ''In the United States, they teach their kids to eat chilis like that. They have to learn, it's required.'' (Which is even funnier cuz Joe's from England.) And another man asked, ''Is he from Chile? Because I hear that they eat a lot of chilis in Chile.'' Two little girls just laughed to themselves while Carlos ate all the quail eggs. So funny... everyone was freaking out.
