Monday 10/28
We went on a train ride from Alausi to some other city which I can't remember, but I didn't love it... the most fun for me are the markets that we've gone to! Today was just more teaching, oh and 1 1/2 hours of laundry, by hand, in ice-cold water outside. You can guess my feelings about that. I also shaved my legs. It's the small things, especially when it involves such cold water here!
It's SO NICE to have people around to talk to, especially in English! Or rather, I think it's actually having the same culture that I appreciate. And to eat meals with them! We rotate who cooks every night, and we all eat lunch at the school (usually some type of vegetable soup or rice). I'm so happy.
Tuesday 10/29
Time is FLYING! So much fun though. I did yoga with the 3-5 year olds and we had a blast!
I feel a little sicker today (and yesterday) which I'm not excited about. I feel cold but my head feels hot, but I don't think I have an actual fever. I dunno. Mostly my lungs are on fire, and my asthma is in full force. I feel sick for sure. I'm sooo tired!
Thursday 10/31
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! There is no Halloween here in Ecuador, so... I missed one of my favorite holidays.
Yesterday I slept until 3:00pm, I could NOT breathe and I had zero energy. Today I'm a little better but still, yes, still sick.
Today I worked at the school from 8-1pm and left early because I forgot water and I was SO thirsty... I went to the centro with Joe from England, got water and some avocados/bread. Ate lunch at home, went back to town by myself to do Internet, talked to my dad on chat for an hour, uploaded 2 videos. The Internet was so fast!!! 7 minutes instead of 600+. Great. We went to make bread for the Day of the Dead (el dia de los finados) on Saturday, with some people who work at the school. Joe and I left early to come back and watch ''Gavin and Stacey'' (on his iPad) which is my new favorite British TV show! And we played cards and scrabble, haha. ''Mormon fun,'' I told him. It was actually super fun... it was a really good day! Man I'm having so much fun here... I love the people I'm with, and I am loving my life right now...
Saturday 11/2
Yesterday I woke up at 7am and opened the library with Joe at 8:00. We stayed for 2 hours and did P90X (like when I was in the MTC!) and died. At 10:00 we went to Baños, worked out at the gym for $1.50 (lifting weights was sooo nice), had fruit juice freshly squeezed for $1 (I got strawberry with raspberry), and went to the thermal pools in Baños (sooo relaxing!). We got ready, walked around a little, and ate lunch--a delicious $2 veggie sandwich for me! before I caught the 3:00 bus to Quito for $3.50, 3 1/2 hours.
I asked how to get to the airport and a guard told me to take the Trole (like a trolley but a bus) which tourists have warned me not to take due to pick-pocketers. But I took the trole once before with Adriana, and plus I didn't know another choice, so I took the 1 1/2 hour trole ride to the airport for a grand total of $0.25 (but on the way back they told me I should have been charged $2?). Usually it's $1 per 1 hour of travel on buses. Gas costs $1.03 per gallon for diesel! And the prices don't fluctuate, it's always that much everywhere I've gone during the past month. City buses (around town) are usually $0.25.
I got to the airport at 8:45pm for Oscar's supposed 9:00pm arrival... when he didn't show up by 10:30, I paid $1.25 for 15 minutes (!) of Internet to check if Oscar had written me. He said they didn't let him on because I had supposedly written his middle name wrong, which I checked my email confirmation and NO I DID NOT!!!!! What the heck! He said he would arrive at 1:00am on the next flight. I hadn't eaten since 2:00pm and I'm still sick and here I am lost, alone, freezing cold, and it's almost 11:00pm. I looked for food but there were ZERO vegetarian options so I stayed hungry. The one place with salad cost $19, which is one week's budget in Salasaka!
I camped out until... 2:30am. No sign of Oscar. Got back on the Internet, said they bumped his flight to 8:30am. Let me mention that at this point I don't have any tears left--I used them all between 10:30pm and about 12:00am. I cried and cried and cried, the silent tears that mean you're really REALLY sad, no need for sound. Ugh. The saddest kind. I talked to Oscar on facebook for 1 hour ($4.80!!!) and here I am in the airport 12 hours after I arrived (8:30am).
I found a place upstairs near the departures, where I slept on the Freezing cold concrete next to a kiosk and some garbage cans. Not before I went to the bathrooms and a lady tried to cut me in line and I about flipped out. Not my most patient self when I'm fighting a cold and allergies and I'm hungry, cold, tired, lost, a little scared, and without a CLUE as to what I'm doing! Whoops.
So I put my backpack and my duffle bag in the corner and tried to sleep... oh my word, such hard concrete! And so cold! Haha. I slept off and on, woke up at 6:00 and then at 8:00 for good. The first time I woke up, I found that someone had put a blue travel blanket over me! The nicest gesture I could IMAGINE during this whole ordeal!!!! It's not very warm, but it's better than plain concrete. I was so touched by that. I don't know who covered me up, or when (which, haha, is kind of a scary thought... yet nice).
So I've got almost 2 hours until Oscar is supposed to arrive... for the third time. Sooo... I need to find some food because I am so hungry! Still a little cold (but this blue blanket is actually helping, since I've started writing this 20 minutes ago), so so so a million so's tired, and my eyes are itchy and bloodshot. I look like quite the sight!
So, in short, the past 18 hours have been a nightmare (one of the worst days I think I've ever had, just from the discomfort on every physical level) but I'm alive. But this blue blanket... one of the kindest gestures I think I've ever seen from a stranger. (And ''gifts'' is my main love language, so it just melted my frozen, angry little heart!) Whenever I glance at this blue blanket, it really does soften my heart a little. Reminds me that there are good people out there. And that I probably should have been more polite to the lady who tried to cut in line in the bathroom. Still whoops.
10:00am: Turns out the lady in the kiosk next to me was the one who gave me the blanket. :) So nice, and so less-creepy now that I know who it was.
I got some fruit, 2 pancakes, OJ and hot chocolate for breakfast for $6 after an ordeal convincing the 2 waiters that I'm vegetarian so I wanted to switch the eggs and meat to fruit. ''Well, why don't you have a salad instead?'' Haha, no thank you. I barely even like salad for lunch or dinner, not at 9:00am. Vegetarians must be so confusing here. Looks like Oscar gets here at 10:30...
10:00pm: Found him. As well as some missionaries at the airport! Had a good chat with them, and met their mission president and his wife.
We found a $15 hostal and then explored Quito a little bit, and I ate the BEST personal pizza with tomato, onion, green pepper, and pineapple (which I asked for specially) and I was in love. Love, I tell you.
Sunday 11/3
Long day. Went to Catholic mass because I couldn't find the LDS church after walking/looking for over an hour. One lady led me astray. We found a new and fancier hostal for $10! Yes!
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
WEEK 5 IN REVIEW October 27, 2013 4:59 pm
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.
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.
WEEK 4 IN REVIEW October 20, 2013 3:53 pm
Tuesday 10/15
Tomorrow I'm going with my neighbor Adriana to Quito, and Thursday she has an interview in Esmeraldas--by the beach! I think it's like 6 hours away or something... but I'm excited to see more of Ecuador!
Today Miguel came by at 9:00am--he took the day off work to hang out with me--surprise! We went to the market, to a museum of ancient artifacts, and to some impressive cathedrals.
Thursday 10/16
Yesterday we left Ibarra around noon and arrived at Adriana's parents' house in Quito about 3 hours later. We took the buses around town to go buy out 6-hour bus ticket to Esmeraldas, where Adriana has a job interview. We left Quito at 11:50pm and got to Esmeraldas at 5:30am. I slept off and on for 5 hours... and woke up with the sound of gurgling water in my left ear! It's still plugged... I can't hear a thing.
We left the Esmeraldas terminal at 6:00am (sooo out of it, at this point) to get on a type of bus with no doors or windows... the outsides are exposed to the air, but there's a roof. Very rickety. Called ''chivas'' or, during festivals, ''rancheras''. We rode that for an hour or so to Rioverde, where Adriana's at her interview. I slept from about 8:00am-12:00pm :) in a hotel that cost us $15 and has mosquito nets above the beds. It's hot and humid here!!! And I didn't take a shower because the only option is cold water, and those types of showers are so stressful.
The children here in Rioverde are GORGEOUS! What am I saying, the men and women are gorgeous too!!! The majority of the people are afro-ecuatorian. Everyone is SO attractive...
I haven't eaten yet today because I couldn't find any vegetarian options.
-10:00PM-
Adriana and I are sitting in a bus station in Esmeraldas... she forgot to leave her keys at work in Ibarra, so we had to cut our trip short. Sooo much traveling!
After my nap today, I walked over to the beach about 5 minutes away from our hotel. I saw a guy working out (the only person I saw!) so I went over to talk to him--Denis, 25 years old. We ended up hanging out the rest of the day, from like 1:30-8:30pm. We played soccer on the beach (and you can imagine how much he kicked my trash, haha) and then we found Adriana at the hotel an hour later. We walked around, met his family-friends (Cynthia and her family) and went back to the beach with Fernando and Denis to take pictures. It was so much fun! I told them, ''This is a perfect example of what I like to do on my trip... meet people, hang out all day, and have a blast!'' It seriously was so much fun. And let me mention one more time how attractive everyone is here. Wowzers.
Saturday 10/19
Today I walked 30 minutes to the church to speak English with a lady who teaches English, and then I went grocery shopping--SO much better than last time!!! Now I understand the food better, and I know what I like, and I can find my way around. And I spent less money this time. It was good all around.
Sunday 10/20
THIS WEEK I noticed that I've been dreaming in Spanish, and that I can now think in Spanish without any English mixing in. I have made the transition! It was a difficult process getting to this point. It's only difficult when I'm tired.
Tomorrow I'm going with my neighbor Adriana to Quito, and Thursday she has an interview in Esmeraldas--by the beach! I think it's like 6 hours away or something... but I'm excited to see more of Ecuador!
Today Miguel came by at 9:00am--he took the day off work to hang out with me--surprise! We went to the market, to a museum of ancient artifacts, and to some impressive cathedrals.
Thursday 10/16
Yesterday we left Ibarra around noon and arrived at Adriana's parents' house in Quito about 3 hours later. We took the buses around town to go buy out 6-hour bus ticket to Esmeraldas, where Adriana has a job interview. We left Quito at 11:50pm and got to Esmeraldas at 5:30am. I slept off and on for 5 hours... and woke up with the sound of gurgling water in my left ear! It's still plugged... I can't hear a thing.
We left the Esmeraldas terminal at 6:00am (sooo out of it, at this point) to get on a type of bus with no doors or windows... the outsides are exposed to the air, but there's a roof. Very rickety. Called ''chivas'' or, during festivals, ''rancheras''. We rode that for an hour or so to Rioverde, where Adriana's at her interview. I slept from about 8:00am-12:00pm :) in a hotel that cost us $15 and has mosquito nets above the beds. It's hot and humid here!!! And I didn't take a shower because the only option is cold water, and those types of showers are so stressful.
The children here in Rioverde are GORGEOUS! What am I saying, the men and women are gorgeous too!!! The majority of the people are afro-ecuatorian. Everyone is SO attractive...
I haven't eaten yet today because I couldn't find any vegetarian options.
-10:00PM-
Adriana and I are sitting in a bus station in Esmeraldas... she forgot to leave her keys at work in Ibarra, so we had to cut our trip short. Sooo much traveling!
After my nap today, I walked over to the beach about 5 minutes away from our hotel. I saw a guy working out (the only person I saw!) so I went over to talk to him--Denis, 25 years old. We ended up hanging out the rest of the day, from like 1:30-8:30pm. We played soccer on the beach (and you can imagine how much he kicked my trash, haha) and then we found Adriana at the hotel an hour later. We walked around, met his family-friends (Cynthia and her family) and went back to the beach with Fernando and Denis to take pictures. It was so much fun! I told them, ''This is a perfect example of what I like to do on my trip... meet people, hang out all day, and have a blast!'' It seriously was so much fun. And let me mention one more time how attractive everyone is here. Wowzers.
Saturday 10/19
Today I walked 30 minutes to the church to speak English with a lady who teaches English, and then I went grocery shopping--SO much better than last time!!! Now I understand the food better, and I know what I like, and I can find my way around. And I spent less money this time. It was good all around.
Sunday 10/20
THIS WEEK I noticed that I've been dreaming in Spanish, and that I can now think in Spanish without any English mixing in. I have made the transition! It was a difficult process getting to this point. It's only difficult when I'm tired.
THIRD WEEK IN REVIEW October 13, 2013 3:21 pm
Monday 10/7
Today... my last day in Colombia. At this rate, I'll be home from Europe in the blink of an eye. Time goes so fast. I've loved Colombia! Too much traffic and pollution in Bogota, but so much diversity and awesome people and cool sites, good schools, handsome men, new fruit, everything exciting. I have loved it.
Tuesday 10/8
I'm so so tired... I left Bogota at 1:00PM and got to Quito, Ecuador, at 7:30PM. Cynthia's uncle picked me up from the airport and we stopped at the mall to get some food. I devoured a Subway sandwich--all I had eaten all day was a croissant.
Leaving Colombia, I got questioned, searched, and X-rayed for involvement with drugs. They told me flat out, 'We're investigating you for involvement with drug trafficking.' By far the most stressful moment of my airport experience was when they took away my passport and airline ticket to 'investigate' me... I was so scared that I wouldn't get them back! I've never had to give up my passport before. So discomforting.
Later, in Ecuador, someone told me that drug traffickers choose women who wouldn't look like they'd be involved with drugs to transport drugs from Colombia to Ecuador... so I guess I was suspiciously un-suspicious looking, which made them suspicious?
I'm staying in Quito tonight, and tomorrow to Ibarra! I love it here already... no traffic, no pollution, I can understand their accent clear as day! And their money is the US DOLLAR! Horray! So easy! I'm super stoked to be here... one full month! 6 weeks, actually. As we were driving here, I felt like this is exactly where I should be right now. Such a comforting feeling!!! This feels right.
Wednesday 10/9
I have no idea what time it is... I left Quito at 5:30PM and got here (to Ibarra) around 8:30PM I think. Maybe it's 10:00PM now, I don't know.
Bogota and Quito took zero getting-used-to time... but Ibarra was a shock. I definitely felt a jolt of culture shock when I arrived! I didn't expect it, either, because I thought that culture shock was a one-time thing, and I already experienced it in Chile. But no. Big, big shock arriving here tonight (probably because I arrived in pitch black, all alone, and was greeted by a gigantic spider in my bed...).
And I miss Oscar, my tour guide, friend, and constant companion of the past 2 weeks straight. I am completely and utterly alone in Ibarra--and I feel completely disconnected from the world, in this moment.
Thursday 10/10
I have absolutely no idea what time it is... ever. I need a watch! Or a clock! I clearly have no sense of time, and I'm concentrating on so many other things (Spanish, not getting lost, meeting people, eating food, etc) that I can't tell how much time passes at any given segment.
Compared with 24 hours ago, I feel a million times better... that spider really gave me a bad welcome. I'm still sleeping in the kitchen. (Surprisingly, I slept well last night!)
Today I walked around town, spent probably hours grocery shopping (I had to read every label and everything was new to me), uploaded a video and a blog post, and talked to Oscar on Skype.
I dreamt last night that I went on another mission speaking either French or Italian or something... :)
Friday 10/11
Today was a holiday and everything was closed... it was not the best day to be by yourself in a new, small town. I need to get involved in something...
Saturday 10/12
I would have guessed that it's 9:00PM, but I just found the time on my digital camera, and I set it to the clock in my neighbor's apartment. It's 7:30PM. So, last night it's possible that I went to bed at like 7:30, because it felt like this hour, haha. Now that I have this camera-clock, I shouldn't be so lost.
How many hours did I spend at the Internet cafe today? 5 1/2. Five and one-half hours!!! The Internet is sooo slow to upload videos. I'm going to have to change my focus from youtube to this blog, and I'll try to upload shorter, non-edited videos. The Internet places charge $0.60 - $0.70 per hour... and I feel so much pressure while I'm there, haha! I feel rushed because it costs money, even though it's only $0.01 per minute. I wonder if I always had to pay money for every minute of my life, how much differently would I use my time. If sleeping cost $1 per hour? If showering cost $0.10 per minute? If driving in my car cost $0.25 per minute? Makes me think. I would definitely use the Internet less in the States.
Sunday 10/13
At church today, an older man came up to me and shook my hand:
HIM: How long have you been a member of the Church?
me: My whole life! I was born in the Church.
HIM: Then why haven't I seen you before?
me: I just got here on Wednesday.
HIM: You're not from here?
me: No, I'm from the US.
HIM: Have you been here for a long time?
me: No... in Ecuador a few days, in Colombia for 2 weeks, and before that in the US.
HIM: But you speak Spanish like someone who doesn't know how to speak English... do you still know English, or has it been a long time since you've spoken it?
Haha! My favorite conversation ever.
Later, Miguel (a 30-year-old member who I hung out with all day) told me I sound and look Brazilian, and that he thought I was Brazilian when he first saw me. I love when people think I'm from South America!
Also, this week and in Colombia at church, the little kids (ages 1-3) come up to me to touch, rub, or poke my legs -- since I wear a skirt and my legs are bare, they toddle over, staring, mouths open, fascinated by my super white legs, haha. One little boy in Colombia (probably almost 2 years old) walked by 2 or 3 times before he mustered up the courage to poke my leg with his finger, and then he ran away as fast as he could. Another little boy (probably about age 3) came over while I was standing near the door, and wrapped his arms around my legs and ran both hands up and down both of my legs, haha...
The older kids (up to ages 6-7) just stare at me from a distance... a couple of the little girls have been scared of me, and the boys just look at me with furrowed brows, waiting for me to do something, I think. One little girl asked her sister to trade her places when I sat by her in church, and she would steal glances every now and then, from her safety zone.
I love watching the little kids watch me at church and on the street--one little 5-year-old girl in a taxi looked at me like I was the strangest thing she had ever seen in her life! She poked her head out of the window and watched me for as long as she could, her brow furrowed like she just didn't know what to think. Sometimes I feel like I'm on display.
Today... my last day in Colombia. At this rate, I'll be home from Europe in the blink of an eye. Time goes so fast. I've loved Colombia! Too much traffic and pollution in Bogota, but so much diversity and awesome people and cool sites, good schools, handsome men, new fruit, everything exciting. I have loved it.
Tuesday 10/8
I'm so so tired... I left Bogota at 1:00PM and got to Quito, Ecuador, at 7:30PM. Cynthia's uncle picked me up from the airport and we stopped at the mall to get some food. I devoured a Subway sandwich--all I had eaten all day was a croissant.
Leaving Colombia, I got questioned, searched, and X-rayed for involvement with drugs. They told me flat out, 'We're investigating you for involvement with drug trafficking.' By far the most stressful moment of my airport experience was when they took away my passport and airline ticket to 'investigate' me... I was so scared that I wouldn't get them back! I've never had to give up my passport before. So discomforting.
Later, in Ecuador, someone told me that drug traffickers choose women who wouldn't look like they'd be involved with drugs to transport drugs from Colombia to Ecuador... so I guess I was suspiciously un-suspicious looking, which made them suspicious?
I'm staying in Quito tonight, and tomorrow to Ibarra! I love it here already... no traffic, no pollution, I can understand their accent clear as day! And their money is the US DOLLAR! Horray! So easy! I'm super stoked to be here... one full month! 6 weeks, actually. As we were driving here, I felt like this is exactly where I should be right now. Such a comforting feeling!!! This feels right.
Wednesday 10/9
I have no idea what time it is... I left Quito at 5:30PM and got here (to Ibarra) around 8:30PM I think. Maybe it's 10:00PM now, I don't know.
Bogota and Quito took zero getting-used-to time... but Ibarra was a shock. I definitely felt a jolt of culture shock when I arrived! I didn't expect it, either, because I thought that culture shock was a one-time thing, and I already experienced it in Chile. But no. Big, big shock arriving here tonight (probably because I arrived in pitch black, all alone, and was greeted by a gigantic spider in my bed...).
And I miss Oscar, my tour guide, friend, and constant companion of the past 2 weeks straight. I am completely and utterly alone in Ibarra--and I feel completely disconnected from the world, in this moment.
Thursday 10/10
I have absolutely no idea what time it is... ever. I need a watch! Or a clock! I clearly have no sense of time, and I'm concentrating on so many other things (Spanish, not getting lost, meeting people, eating food, etc) that I can't tell how much time passes at any given segment.
Compared with 24 hours ago, I feel a million times better... that spider really gave me a bad welcome. I'm still sleeping in the kitchen. (Surprisingly, I slept well last night!)
Today I walked around town, spent probably hours grocery shopping (I had to read every label and everything was new to me), uploaded a video and a blog post, and talked to Oscar on Skype.
I dreamt last night that I went on another mission speaking either French or Italian or something... :)
Friday 10/11
Today was a holiday and everything was closed... it was not the best day to be by yourself in a new, small town. I need to get involved in something...
Saturday 10/12
I would have guessed that it's 9:00PM, but I just found the time on my digital camera, and I set it to the clock in my neighbor's apartment. It's 7:30PM. So, last night it's possible that I went to bed at like 7:30, because it felt like this hour, haha. Now that I have this camera-clock, I shouldn't be so lost.
How many hours did I spend at the Internet cafe today? 5 1/2. Five and one-half hours!!! The Internet is sooo slow to upload videos. I'm going to have to change my focus from youtube to this blog, and I'll try to upload shorter, non-edited videos. The Internet places charge $0.60 - $0.70 per hour... and I feel so much pressure while I'm there, haha! I feel rushed because it costs money, even though it's only $0.01 per minute. I wonder if I always had to pay money for every minute of my life, how much differently would I use my time. If sleeping cost $1 per hour? If showering cost $0.10 per minute? If driving in my car cost $0.25 per minute? Makes me think. I would definitely use the Internet less in the States.
Sunday 10/13
At church today, an older man came up to me and shook my hand:
HIM: How long have you been a member of the Church?
me: My whole life! I was born in the Church.
HIM: Then why haven't I seen you before?
me: I just got here on Wednesday.
HIM: You're not from here?
me: No, I'm from the US.
HIM: Have you been here for a long time?
me: No... in Ecuador a few days, in Colombia for 2 weeks, and before that in the US.
HIM: But you speak Spanish like someone who doesn't know how to speak English... do you still know English, or has it been a long time since you've spoken it?
Haha! My favorite conversation ever.
Later, Miguel (a 30-year-old member who I hung out with all day) told me I sound and look Brazilian, and that he thought I was Brazilian when he first saw me. I love when people think I'm from South America!
Also, this week and in Colombia at church, the little kids (ages 1-3) come up to me to touch, rub, or poke my legs -- since I wear a skirt and my legs are bare, they toddle over, staring, mouths open, fascinated by my super white legs, haha. One little boy in Colombia (probably almost 2 years old) walked by 2 or 3 times before he mustered up the courage to poke my leg with his finger, and then he ran away as fast as he could. Another little boy (probably about age 3) came over while I was standing near the door, and wrapped his arms around my legs and ran both hands up and down both of my legs, haha...
The older kids (up to ages 6-7) just stare at me from a distance... a couple of the little girls have been scared of me, and the boys just look at me with furrowed brows, waiting for me to do something, I think. One little girl asked her sister to trade her places when I sat by her in church, and she would steal glances every now and then, from her safety zone.
I love watching the little kids watch me at church and on the street--one little 5-year-old girl in a taxi looked at me like I was the strangest thing she had ever seen in her life! She poked her head out of the window and watched me for as long as she could, her brow furrowed like she just didn't know what to think. Sometimes I feel like I'm on display.
SECOND WEEK IN REVIEW
Monday 9/30
I just had an awesome conversation about the church with Oscar. We've talked about the Restoration, the Plan of Salvation, and the commandments, haha... but we just keep talking about everything. It's so good.
Tuesday 10/1
So, on a different note, my stomach hurts and I haven't had an appetite since I got here. I'm not sure if it's the water here, or the non-vegan food I've been eating, but it feels like when I was on my mission and my stomach hurt all the time... zero desire to eat. I eat maybe 500 calories per day. :(
Thursday 10/3
I went to class with Mauricio Torres, who I taught in the MTC :) Loved it! He's studying law. We also had crepes for lunch. That's about it!
Saturday 10/5
Conference was good! Spanish is tiring! I forgot how tired I used to be when I was first in Chile. Oscar and I went to Mauricio's house to watch General Conference with his fam. His dad, Ruben Torres, is in the 70.
Sunday 10/6
Ah, second day of Conference in English (by myself, in my bed). I noticed that I paid better attention yesterday, when I had to focus on understanding Spanish. Today, I felt lazy about it, ha. And I noticed a big difference with how I've felt tired every day after so much Spanish, and not today.
I CANNOT believe tomorrow is my last full day here... time FLIES!!! I'm not ready for Ecuador yet! I'm having so much fun here in Colombia.
I just had an awesome conversation about the church with Oscar. We've talked about the Restoration, the Plan of Salvation, and the commandments, haha... but we just keep talking about everything. It's so good.
Tuesday 10/1
So, on a different note, my stomach hurts and I haven't had an appetite since I got here. I'm not sure if it's the water here, or the non-vegan food I've been eating, but it feels like when I was on my mission and my stomach hurt all the time... zero desire to eat. I eat maybe 500 calories per day. :(
Thursday 10/3
I went to class with Mauricio Torres, who I taught in the MTC :) Loved it! He's studying law. We also had crepes for lunch. That's about it!
Saturday 10/5
Conference was good! Spanish is tiring! I forgot how tired I used to be when I was first in Chile. Oscar and I went to Mauricio's house to watch General Conference with his fam. His dad, Ruben Torres, is in the 70.
Sunday 10/6
Ah, second day of Conference in English (by myself, in my bed). I noticed that I paid better attention yesterday, when I had to focus on understanding Spanish. Today, I felt lazy about it, ha. And I noticed a big difference with how I've felt tired every day after so much Spanish, and not today.
I CANNOT believe tomorrow is my last full day here... time FLIES!!! I'm not ready for Ecuador yet! I'm having so much fun here in Colombia.
FIRST-HALF WEEK IN REVIEW
Thursday 9/26
I made it! My brain is somewhat affected by Colombia's altitude... We drove to a city up on a hill, and everything went blurry and slurred. I feel a little sick (maybe the cow's leg gelatin that Mauricio gave me upon arrival? haha!) but I'm so excited to be here and sooo tired. My Spanish is not where I wish it were... My brain's really mush, though. So I'll evaluate tomorrow because I barely understand myself right now haha.
Friday 9/27
I woke up at 5:30AM to get ready and go to work with Nathalie at a ceramic manufacturing plant. I videoed a tour and interviewed 2 supervisors (but had to delete the tour because the Internet is too slow to upload it). I did an hour of French while I waited for Nathalie, and then we went to her former university to get something for her grad school application.
We went to have lunch there, and I saw someone with small salt potatoes that looked delicious... I ordered a 'pita con maiz y papitas' (pita with corn and potatoes) thinking that those small potatoes were called 'papitas' (the ending 'ita usually means 'small'). Turns out that in Colombia, 'papitas' means potato chips... so I got a pita with corn and a ton of french onion potato chips on top, haha! I laughed so hard when what they brought out was not what I had been expecting... Nathalie said, 'oh, did you think they were French fries?' and I said, 'no, I thought they were potatoes!' Haha, oh to be a foreigner...
It's exhausting to be in a new place in a foreign language. I thought my Spanish would not be a factor, but it is. New accent, new vocab, and the women speak too quietly for me to hear clearly (I understand the men a lot better). Very clear, though, when I can hear them.
I followed Nathalie and her mom around the mall like a ZOMBIE because I'm not one to get 5 hours of sleep for 2 nights in a row and survive. 5:00PM hit me like a sedative. I did make it through, though, and also took out 80,000 pesos from the 3rd ATM I tried -- I was nervous for a while there, because no ATMs would work with my card. I have NO IDEA how much 80,000 pesos is, but I think it's around $40-50, which is what I want to spend per week.
Saturday 9/28
Time flies, and it's hard to keep track of it. I went to the temple at the 11:30AM session, and then I talked with a guy my age named William; I interviewed him and did a tour of the Bogota, Colombia temple. The REST of the day was spent trying to upload videos to youtube, which took 1 hour per minute of video...
Sunday 9/29
I went to church and met 2 people, Javier (a police officer, age 26) and I forget the girl's name... I'm hanging out with Javier tomorrow.
I tried a new fruit today! Granadilla (means 'grenade'). Looks like a hard orange, but inside it looks like an alien and/or eyeballs.
Best moment of the day: I was telling a story to Nathalie, and her boyfriend Mauricio came over... he came in the room and said, 'Oh, I thought you were the TV! You sound exactly like someone on television.' Haha!
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Fruit Market, LDS Temple, Soccer Museum (Brazil) February 4, 2014 5:41 pm
In my first Portuguese class we watched this cartoon on youtube :) aww!
Signed up for Teto, to build houses in the favelas
The most delicious brigadeiro of my life!
´´Seat preferred for obese people´´
Soccer museum
Official World Cup soccer ball
Met these guys on the street and went to the museum with thyem
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