Last Week...

Wow, six months has already come and gone. Pretty amazing.

Yesterday I had my last experience with the Ecuadorian Bureaucracy. It amazes me how disorganized every thing seems to be here, I am just so used to cut and dry procedures. Or perhaps they are just as complicated in the US, but I am used to it because it is all I have ever known.

So basically at about 1 I went to the Migration office. Armed with three copies of about a billion things, three pages of my passport, a form from the school, a form from my landlord and copies of her ID, I don't even know what else. Just a huge stack of random stuff. You go to the office with it all in a manila envelope (this step is crucial, you will be sent away without it), and take a number and wait. After ample waiting I went up to the window. The guy told me to write down my name on the envelope. Waits a minute, tells me to write my address, wait, number, wait, name of first pet. Not really, but it felt like he was quizzing me. Then he told me to glue my picture on the envelope. I did not hear him, and asked him again. He got all huffy and was like do you not understand Spanish. Right. When I finally had my Ecuadorian ID, it is called a censo, I went and took another ticket to wait in line to obtain my permission to leave. In all the process took over three hours. But at least now I am allowed to leave the country, so I can't complain too much.

Besides that I have been busy enough. Two of my friends had to go home unexpectedly last week, so that was really sad. I felt like people were going to be saying goodbye to me, not that I would have to say goodbye to people first. On the more positive side I have a pretty packed week ahead of me. I am going to Pub Quiz tonight for the last time. Tomorrow I am going out to eat with a bunch of people. Friday my boss is having a going away BBQ for me, so we only have to work a half day. Then my roommates are having a going away party for me at our house. This weekend I also need to buy last minute souvenirs and pack. Phew. Monday is my last day at work, and then Tuesday and Wednesday I am sure I will be busy trying to get everything in order.

I leave her Wednesday night, a week away. I am really sad to leave, but really excited to see everyone. It has been a long time. Well lunch break is over. I hope that everyone is doing well!

Long time

I just realized that it has been over a month since I have updated this. Apologies, it just has slipped my mind. I think part of it is the fact that I have been here for so long that everything I do seems pretty commonplace. I do actually have a decent story with pictures I will post tomorrow, I loaded the pictures at work.

So last month. One weekend I went to the beach, which was good, but long. We for some reason went to a beach that was 12 hours away...not my idea. Plus it ended up not being very sunny, and we went with 7 girls, which is just way too many people to be traveling with. Ah well, I am glad I was able to get to the south coast before I leave.

The rest of my time has been pretty uneventful. I went out last weekend with Jorge and all of his friends, which was really fun. They looove to dance, and we stayed out until 3am dancing. I was absolutely exhausted. I was speaking with one, and he told me he thought my spanish had really improved since I arrived, so that was nice to hear. Sometimes it feels like it is going no where, but I know I am better than I was. I can even almost roll my r's now. Pretty exciting.

However, after that night I begun to get sick, and have been for about a week. It is cold or 'gripe' season in Ecuador. I have been told it is because of the change in climate, even though one would think less rain would make people less sick, but what do I know. I got some medicine on Monday, and spent most of the week suffering through work then going home and resting and going to bed early. Not a huge deal, but sort of bad timing since I leave so soon. I just want to expereince as much as possible in the next month.

I have two more trips planned before I leave. This weekend either Banos or Monpiche. Depends, since the road to Banos was washed out last week and it might not be possible to get there. Then the following weekend I am going to the Quilatoa loop with a bunch of people. This is a someone remote area of the central andes where there are a couple of nice Eco-Lodges and some very good hikes. I think it will be a very fun last trip here. I was hoping I could go to Colombia before I left, but it just doesn't look like it is going to happen. Some other trip I suppose. Actually I am hoping that someday I can move to South America again for a year or so, and Argentina and Colombia are my top choices.

Then comes my last weekend here. Where did six months go?? The people at my house are already planning a huge going away party, so that will be really fun. It will be hard to say goodbye to everyone though. It was hard enough saying goodbye to my friends in Minnesota, and I knew I would see them again. Many of the people here that I have grown close to and I may never cross paths again. I guess all I can do is enjoy the time I have with them now, and know that I will always have my memories.

Oh a happier note I am super excited to see everyone in Minnesota. I am also looking foward to how clean America is. How everyone understands me there. A few of my favorite American foods. And HOT weather, (even though after about a day I will surely be complaining about this). I know that my life in Minnesota will be different, but it will be good. I am definitely very glad that I have gotten this experience, I think that truly experiencing another country has allowed me to grow and learn how lucky I am to have the life that I have.

Galapagos

My dad and Mary were here for about ten days, which was a lot of fun. The highlight was a trip to The Galapagos Islands. We stayed on a very nice cruise ship, which was a treat. Although at times it was a bit tiring, (they got us up at 6:30 everyday!) it was very interesting. The islands are all beautiful in their own way. I was surprised, however, to see that many are very desert like. The animals were amazing, they are not at all scared, and you can get very close. It is like a zoo that is real. Well I should probably get back to work, but the following are some pictures I took.

It has been pointed out that I do not update this blog enough. Apologies. I assure you I have been busy and will eventually write about what is making me busy.

My dad and Mary are here now, which is great. We are going to the Galapagos tomorrow so I will take lots of pictures of turtles and such.

I only have two months in Ecuador, so I have been trying to do as much as possible. I want to see everything!

Oh and congrats to all of you that Graduated on Saturday, a job well done. I hope you find happiness with whatever you choose to do.

Long Time

It has been quite some time since I last posted. The last few weeks have flown by.

Two weeks ago my Mom and Aunt Cindy came to visit which was really nice. We went to some places around Quito the first weekend. Then on Thursday we went to Papallacta, which is a place about an hour and a half away where there is a resort with hot spring pools in the mountains. It was really beautiful and relaxing. That Friday we went to Otavalo and stayed at a really cute hotel outside of town. It was near an amazing waterfall. I will try to remember to post pictures next week.

My birthday went well. During the day I was with Mom and Cindy in Otavalo, then Quito. We went out for dinner and a couple of beers, then I said goodbye to them, as they were leaving really early the next day to return to the states. I came home, thinking that I would have nothing to do, since my phone had been stolen or lost, and I had no way of getting hold of anyone. Luckily some of my roommates were on their way out, so I tagged along with them and had a really good time.

What else is new. I got a second job teaching English with a company called Inlingua. I teach Monday and Tuesday nights from 5:45 to 8:15 at the Nestle headquarters here. My first day was last Monday, and it went pretty smoothly. I think it will be a really great experience, plus the little extra money is nice. The Nestle headquarters is in this super nice building that I can walk to from my other office. There is a Nescafe coffee machine in the lobby, which is a definite perk. Quito has made me so cheap, when I saw it all I could think is how those coffees cost 60 cents in the store, and I could get them here for free.

Today when I went to get my morning juice from Carlos' store there was a man just staring at me. Finally he said, quite casually, you have eyes like a gringa (Tienes ojos como una gringa). I kind of froze, trying to decide what to say, while Carlos was laughing. She is a gringa, he said. It was pretty humorous. I can't really figure out why he thought I was Ecuadorian though.

In two hours I am leaving to go to the beach Canoa with Kristi (a new intern at Viva) and a few people I know through our house. It should be a really good time, I have heard its the nicest beach in Ecuador. It is an overnight bus, 8 hours, hopefully I will be able to sleep. Right now I am just trying to figure out how to waste the next hour, I am ready to go.

Turning Ecuadorian

I fear I may have officially been in Ecuador for too long for a couple of reasons.

One. I'm cold. Not just a little chilly, but freezing. I used to laugh at the Ecuadorians in their heavy coats and scarfs, now I am wishing I would have brought a couple more sweaters. Part of the problem is the fact that it is the rainy season so it's wet, which makes the cold feel worse. But really it's not even that bad. Today I was complaining to a friend back home about the cold, he asked how cold it was, so I looked online. It was 59 degrees.

Two. So when I first got here one of the things that annoyed me the most was the fact that when you ask someone for directions, if they don't know what you are talking about they just make something up. So if you are lost you need to ask someone every block or so to ensure you are getting the right story. So on Friday on my walk to work a car pulls up, with two Ecuadorian business men, who I presume were from out of town. Excuse me, how do we get to Amazonas from here. Oh yeah Amazonas, just go straight for a couple of blocks and take a right. Blatent lie. I mean, it is sort of that way, but the streets are rather winding here and it is definitely not that easy. I was just so flattered someone asked me I did not want to admit I had no idea. I told my coworkers I did this, and they of course found it hilarious. At least I am not on Ecuadorian time yet, that will be the final straw. Ecuadorians are sloooow and late for everything, it drives me nuts.

Another random thing I noticed again today, and think is interesting. When you go to a mall, or big store, where there is a parking garage they give you a ticket. At first I thought it was to record the time you arrived for payment later. However, I then asked an Ecuadorian about it. Apparantly you are supposed to bring the ticket with you inside, and when you leave you need to give it to the attendant to prove that it is your car. Basically it is a measure to help stop car theives. I guess it is a good idea, but it is definitely a bit strange.

Besos

Yesterday a conversation I had with Luis during my spanish class reminded me of something that I had mean to write about, but had forgotten about: los besos, or kisses. I am not sure how we got on the topic, I believe we were gossiping about my friends back home. He loves to gossip, and frankly it's a good way for me to practice my spanish. I think we were talking about crushes, or something silly like that, and he was like at least if you have a crush you get to kiss them hello and goodbye right? I was like no, never in the United States. He did not believe me. It took me forever to convince him this was how it was in the United States, to which he replied, oh that is why my new students are sometimes a bit taken back when I lean in the kiss them hello.

You see, in Ecuador, and most of Latin America really, the proper way to greet someone is a kiss on each cheek. Really you just kind of touch cheeks and make a kissing sound. For me, it is a little strange, since I am not a paticularily touchy person, but once you get used to it, its actually kind of nice. It is a sign of respect and friendship. Not many people in my office obey the kiss rule, but Andres comes in every morning to greet us. Also Santiago sometimes comes and says goodbye, but no major kissing.

The best is when you go to a gathering that is all Ecuadorians. You are expected to go around the room and kiss everyone. Boys don't have to kiss other boys, but girls have to kiss everyone. You can sometimes get out of this if you are a gringo, but its looked down upon.

One time when Jorge drove me home and his friends were with him, probably 5 guys and me in the car. We got to my house and I was about to just jump out when the one next to me leaned in to say goodbye. Crap. So I had to manuver around the car to give each one of them a goodbye kiss. So annoying. Another time I was with Tania and her friend and we ran into his two cousins. They gave us kisses, talked to us for about 2 minutes, then gave a goodbye kiss. Ridiculous.

Talking with Luis about it was interesting though, because I think it is absurd sometimes, and for him the idea of not doing is completely foreign to him. I joked to him that when I go home I will greet some of my guy friends like that and send him the pictures of their shocked, whoa Erin get away from me, expressions.

Anyways just an interesting cultural difference.

Tonight I went to a concert at a bar, that ended up being sort of rock/heavy metal. The Ecuadorians were all headbanging, and jumping around, it was pretty hilarious. My favorite was this boy who looked maybe 15 who was with his mom, and they were both dancing during the entire concert. Well I should get to bed, another day of work tomorrow.

Espanol

This is just a random little thing I remembered about spanish class. My teacher Luis can be pretty funny, but last week I did something that he said he laughed about all weekend.

We were learning how to put together verbs to show that the action is reciprocal. For we talk to each other. He asks me for an example. I think for awhile. I decide that maybe we take a picture of each other.

Nos tocamos...he writes it down and looks at it and starts laughing. I try to stop him so he can add the pictures of each other. He reminds me that it's tomar fotos. And continues to laugh. I look at it and realize. Basically that means we touch each other in a very personal way. He keeps laughing, saying that its right, but wow Erin. Knowing that I had made a mistake. So he lets me try again.

I think we eat with each other. Nos comemos. Laughter ensues again. What? That means you eat each other, like this, he puts his arm up to his mouth to show. Oh dear. By this time he can't really stop laughing.

I don't remember what my final example was, but at least I brought some amusement into Louis' life. Oh the joys of learning another language.

On another note, Luis is determained to find me an Ecuadorian boyfriend. He explained to me they only whistle and cluck at you when they don't know you, and then can be very nice. Right. Latin Americans hate to see a single girl for some reason.

Pictures from Otavalo

At last I am posting my pictures from Otavalo.

First a lake outside of town. Even prettier in person.







The next couple are shots from within the actual town of Otavalo.

I finally got a camera last week on Friday, even though retrieving it ended up to not be an easy process. Nothing is easy in Ecuador; any bureaucracy seems to be completely inefficient. I got up early so I could be at the package place at 8:30 when they opened, figuring it couldn't take more than a few minutes. When I arrived they were still in the process of opening. After waiting a bit I gave my slip to the woman, and she told me she needed two copies of my passport. Ok. I asked her where a copy place was, and she must have been in a good mood because she went and made the copies for me. Then more waiting. At last a guy took me into a room to open the package and looked at him. He and the other guy were really concerned because it said it should be worth 200.00. They looked and all they saw was candy, I wisely decided not to say anything. They felt badly for me and at first reduced it to 50.00, then to 30.00 The taxes would have originally be around 80, and ended up 20, so that was nice. Now that I look back I think the man saw the camera but pretended not to. This was about an hour into the process. They gave me a sheet of paper and said to go to the bank and pay the tax. This is pretty typical here, and is really a pain. A 15 minute walk later I was in line at the bank, I paid and walked back. More waiting gave the man my slip that said I paid, then had to go sign some things, wait some more, and at last was given my package. I arrived at work at about 10:30, a full two hours later. Luckily there was a huge bag of M&Ms in the package, so no one at all cared I was late.

That night I just hung out with some work people. We went to find food by the Plaza de Torros, and John convinced me to eat what I call street meat. It has a name, but I always forget it, he loves it. Basically there is this little tiny restaurant, and outside is a grill and a bucket of shish kabobs with just meat. You pay a dollar inside, go hand the guy a voucher, and wait for him to cook your meat. All I could think is I do not want to know how long that has been there. When it is done they slather some green stuff on it, and hand it to you. It was decent, I did not like the two chunks of sausage, but the beef was not bad. Sort of like beef jerky to be honest. That is the nice thing about being here for awhile, I can eat pretty much anything and not get sick. I can even drink the water. I have been told the water in Quito is fine, just don't drink water outside of the city.

Saturday I got up early to go to Otavalo, which is a town about 2 hours away. Jorge, me and Caroline went, and Jorge was nice enough to drive. The ride up was beautiful, Ecuador truly is a gorgeous country. We arrived at about 10:00, and mostly just walked around. Both Jorge and Caroline love taking pictures and have super nice cameras, so they took loads of pictures. I mostly looked around. It was so busy, and there were so many types of things, it was definitely interesting. We returned home at about 4, stopping at this lake for awhile, which was nice.

Since I have a camera now, I have pictures, but the internet is being mean right now. I will post them tomorrow I promise!



Sunday I went to Paul and Katie's house for a Barbeque. It was a really sunny warm day, perfect for the event. We hung out there until about 6 or so. The highlight for me was calling Grandma and my Aunt Kathy. Paul and Katie are from Minnesota and have some sort of phone that you can call the states for free. Afterward we went to a mall and walked around, and then I came home, finished some laundry and relaxed.

We get Friday off of work, so a shorter week. Also it is Caroline's birthday on Wednesday, so I am sure we will do something fun for that.

Weekends are just not long enough. Although I did have a nice weekend, I did not accomplish all that I had hoped.

On Friday after work John took me to his favorite restaurant. It is this hole in the wall where you can get dinner and a coke for 2 bucks. As John would say, I love the taste of cheap. It was amazingly good. Rice, boneless chicken, and menenstra, which is basically beans. Oh and a fried plantain. Pretty delish for two dollars. Afterward we went to a sports bar to meet up with some people from work so that they could watch basketball. Yeah, not so exciting for me, but it was still nice to hang out. We then went to a dance club, which is always entertaining. Ecuadorians, as is true with most Latin Americans, love to dance. A night out without dancing is a complete waste of time for them. I don't mind dancing, but it is definitely not on my top list of favorite things. But I usually try my best and have a good time. We then went to Jorge’s house, where on his cable television was the show Futurama in English, I was so excited. It was nice to be able to watch a tv show and actually understand everything that is going on, not just hope you are understanding it.

Saturday I was lazy. I walked around, got some lunch, bought some movies. During the night I watched Little Miss Sunshine with some people that live here. It was the third time I had seen it, but I still enjoyed it.

Today Caroline and I went and found some pancakes for brunch, which were amazing. We then basically walked all over the city. Caroline is really outgoing, and always seems to strike up a conversation with someone. We went to the park, where artists sell their paintings on Sundays, and she chatted with 3 or 4 artists. As frustrated as I can get waiting for her, it ends up nice because she learns so much. For example one told us about a photography exhibition that we did not know of. Another about a foreign movie festival of sorts on Friday night. She definitely shows me that you don't always have to be so wary of people. Most of them are good natured and can help you get to know the area.

After a long day of walking, I came home, made dinner and watched Bailando por un Sueno. It is this ridiculous copy of dancing with the stars, except the people that dance with the stars are doing so for some sort of charity or sick aunt or something. The costumes are beyond words. Tonight was Reggeton, which is this horrible music that is super popular in the clubs. Plus, a girl that lives here, Kristi, used to date one of the boys dancing for his sueno. She admits that he is rather ridiculous. Tonight he had on white pants, a white vest, open, with no shirt, and some sort of strange black cap. The girls all have lots of makeup and huge hair. In Ecuador when it comes to fashion, less is clearly not more.

So tomorrow I am back to work. I can't believe the weekend after next is already Easter. We get Friday off, and I think I am going to take Thursday off as well. I want to go somewhere, maybe the beach or Banos. I could definitely use a break from the city.

I wrote a really long entry the other day, but then the internet cut out and I lost it. Ah well.

Things have been going well here. It is nice to feel like you are getting used to a place. I like routines.

I get up every day at about 8, get ready, and go to the Ecovia at about 8:45. This is by far the worst part of my day. I absolutely hate the Ecovia in the morning. It is always packed, and people are so terribly rude. Plus I swear the bus drivers drive more crazy when there are loads of people. I'm always clutching my bag, holding on to a bar for dear life, counting down the moments until I can get off. To make it worse, people are really pushy and rude about getting on and off. Today some guy blatanly shoved me aside on his way out. I was totally out of the way, I think he just wanted to be a jerk.

Anyways once off the bus I walk to the tienda that is right by our work. Actually there are two tiendas next to each other and a bakery. Sometimes I go to the bakery and get some bread for breakfast. I never go to the one tienda because the owners are incredibly rude. I always go to Carlos's store. He is this nice middle aged guy who is always wanting to know how you are, and greets me by name whenever I see him. Even when I walk by on my way home he waves and says to have a good night. I always get a juice and a banana from him in the morning. I then go to the office and get some coffee and go settle down at my computer. Around 11 I start counting down the minutes to lunch. It is not that I dislike my job, but I just get restless and hungry mid-day an am ready to walk around and get something to eat. .We ussually go to lunch at 1. There are a bunch of Almuerzo places around our office, so we walk around reading the menus until we find one that sounds appealing. As much as I complain about the rice, for 1.50-2.50 almuerzo is a pretty good deal. My favorite part is always the soup. Ecuadorians make really wonderful soups. My favorite is a cream of spinach that always comes with a bowl full of popcorn to put in. It sounds strange, but popcorn in soup is the best idea ever. Depending on how long lunch takes, we sometimes take a walk, or go sit in the park for a bit. We get an hour for lunch, but sometimes we take a little bit more time. We are learning that ecuadorians don't rush anything. Some of the ecuadorians at our office take up to two hours for lunch every once in awhile.

Once back from lunch, it is back to work. On Mondays and Wednesdays I have a spanish lesson at 5, so I get to be done a little early which is really nice. Luis, my spanish teacher, is really amusing. He is probably as tall as me, and is always wearing a suit. He loves to joke around, which makes class more fun. Sometimes he frustrates me because he will make me say a word over and over, or not believe that an english word exists. For example he asked me once what prender mend, I said to loan, he said no to lend, I said same thing. We had a ten minute conversation about this. Later he did admit that he had been teaching it like that now and people seem to remember it better, so that made me feel good. But at the time it was super frustrating.

I get out of spanish at 7. Depending on the day, I might go home or go meet up with some friends. Some nights, like tonight, I just want to relax. So I make supper and then watch a movie or bad ecuadorian tv. The other night I watched the ecuadorian version of dancing with the stars. It was amazing. The outfits, the songs, the bad jokes. I actually understand most of tv now, which is really cool.

So that is a basic rundown of most of my days.

What else is new. Oh I got a haircut on Monday, which was absolutely horifying. My hair was just bothering me, my bangs were way too long. So I printed out a picture of what I wanted and walked into a hair cut place. I tried to explain to her what I wanted, and she nodded and told me it would cost 7 bucks. They washed my hair, then asked again what I wanted. I explained again. Then she just started cutting what looked to be huge chunks of hair off my head without measuring or anything. She eventually slowed down, and I have to admit I do like it. It is shorter than I wanted, but I think I may have told her the wrong length. All in all not bad for seven bucks.

Last night was pub quiz, which we did horribly at. Oh well, it was fun. I am not sure what I am going to do this weekend. I am sure I will figure out something.

Weekends always go fast, but I swear they go even faster here. On Friday a bunch of people from work went to a bar in Guapalo, which is this really pretty part of town up on the side of a mountain. It started out a quiet evening, but slowly more people from work and their friends started to come and by the end of the night there were probably 15 or 20 of us. It turned out to be a really nice evening. Saturday I was pretty lazy all day. At night I went out to eat with a couple of people from work to a tapas place, which ended up being pretty good. I was just glad to eat something besides rice and chicken. God I had no idea anyone could eat so much rice. Every meal is seriously about three fourths of a plate of rice. Oh and then you usually get some potato salad thing, and a little meat. Ecuadorians love carbohydrates.

Sunday I took the bus to Parque Elijdo, where there is always an art fair during the weekends. I looked at some paintings, and then walked around until I found a place to eat (without rice). I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around, I seriously walked across most of the town. It was nice though, because it helped me figure out better where things are. When I am in the car with people I see places, but sometimes have a hard time placing exactly where they are in relation to the places I know. I even found an Applebees, I thought that was sort of funny. Then last night I went over to Jorge's apartment, and him, a few of his friends, and I watched a movie. He thought it was a comedy, but it ended up being really dark. It was Argentinean, and about this couple whose marriage is falling apart. A real upper...haha. It was interesting, and good since it was in spanish.

I have been trying to make myself use spanish more. I have been watching the Simpsons every day (it is on when I eat supper) and then the news. Obviously I don't get everything, but it is helpful. There is real political turmoil here, so the news is usually really interesting. Basically the people don't like who is in congress and then most of them were fired, and now there is this big thing about if who fired them had that power to do so, even though the people wanted them fired. It's rather complicated, I should really find an English article about it to ensure I am getting it. Politics here are a lot different than the states. Their constitution is rather flakey, and it seems it is often not followed that closely. There seems to be this attitude of whatever we feel like doing we will. I think the best example of how different they think is something Paula told me her husband Dennis, who is Ecuadorian, said. He asked why if so many people in the United States did not like President Bush they don't just go throw rocks at the white house and get him kicked out. That is so hard for me to fathom, even if I did totally hate a politician I would never consider that, but here it is just the way they do things. Don't worry it sounds more violent than it is, to them it is all rather matter of fact. Thankfully it does not look as though the newest president here will be kicked out. The people seem to like him a lot, they are just frustrated with a lot of the corruption within congress right now.

Not a lot else to report. Today was pretty mundane, it is Monday afterall. I was having one of those days where I hate being a gringa. Usually I am pretty good at ignoring the yells and whistles and such, but today I ran into a few really annoying men. In particular this group of businessmen in suits who were doing this clucky sound they do here to girls. It was just like seriously it looks like you have a good job, a respectable life, why must your patronize the blond girl. Eh it is not that bad, sometimes it just really gets on my nerves to not be able to go anywhere without someone reminding you that you are so very different.

Well I think I am going to read for a bit then go to bed. Chao everyone.

I have been meaning to update for a week, it just keeps slipping my mind. Things are going really well here, I am getting used to Quito and feel more at home every day.

I believe the last time I updated was soon after getting home from the beach. I was sick, and that pretty much wasted a good week of my time here. Luckily I am feeling much better now.

Last Friday was the first day I felt up to doing anything really. I went to a Shwarma place with Tania, an ecuadorian girl I work with, and her friend Mario. For some reason Shwarma is huge here. It is basically some sort of meat (pork?) in a pita with loads of stuff on it. Quite tasty actually. You can get a pretty good one for a buck, which makes it a great deal as well. After the Shwarma place we went to a bar that sells this drink that is really popular here. It is some sort of fruit juice and alcohol warmed up so it is hot. Two for 1.80, also a great deal. We then went to a club that was free before 11. I love how Ecuadorians know how to have a good night for under 5 bucks (we had a couple of beers). It was also really nice to have to talk spanish all night, and learn more about the area. They were telling me how the nearby volcano erupted when they were in high school, and everyone thought the Cotapaxi, another volcano nearby, was going to erupt as well. I guess if that one ever erupts it will be the end of Quito. Luckily scientists say it will probably not erupt, the magma from it is forming another volcano nearby.

Saturday I wandered around for a bit. It was a really nice day, so I walked to a nearby park. I also stopped at a bookstore that had an English section and stayed for awhile reading English magazines. They are 8 bucks each, so I did not want to buy one, but it was nice to look through them for awhile. Saturday night Paul, the new guy who is actually from Minnesota, and his fiance had everyone over to their house for a fiesta. They live in this great apartment with a huge deck, and it was really nice to sit outside and talk with my coworkers. Katie, Paul's fiance, lived here four years ago and lived with a family. Her 'brother' came over and I talked to him and his friend for awhile. I get really frustrated with my spanish sometimes, but I enjoy talking in it as much as possible. Practice is necessary, even though sometimes I feel like a total idiot when I talk.

Actually Monday night I went to a movie with Caroline, another intern, thinking it was in English. As soon as we sat down I realized nope this is in Spanish. However, I actually understood the movie, and really enjoyed it. It was called Madeinusa and was about a girl in a village in Peru, very interesting and well made.

Work has been going well, even though it is at times exhausting. I am really excited about a lot of the projects we are doing, and it feels great to be able to help make things happen and have input in how things are going to turn out.

I might be moving soon, Caroline and I are thinking of finding a furnished apartment. Which might be nice, I like the hostel but it would feel more homey to be in an apartment. We will see.

I will try to update again this weekend with some random Ecuadorian tidbits. Chao!

It has been so long, I don't even know where to begin.

Well last Saturday I got up at 4:30am to go to the beach. We wanted to leave really early as to miss traffic. So me, John, Andres and Ferr stuffed into Jeorge's car (about the size of a vw golf) for our trip to the beach. It was cramped, but it was nicer than taking a bus, since it took less time and we could stop when we wanted. At about 1 we got to the beach we were staying at, Playa Escondida. I was a bit nervous for the beach because EVERYONE goes during Carneval and I did not really want to have to deal with that many people. Luckily the beach we camped at was a ecological lodge, and was not crowded at all. It was very peaceful. We spent our days swimming and lounging. I was really careful and was able to not burn at all. Pretty amazing. Twice we went to Atacames, a beach nearby, which was absolutely chaotic. It was packed with people, it would be hard to even find a spot to put your tent on the beach there. I was really glad we had not stayed somewhere like that, I don't like being around that many people all of the time. Plus I think I am basically the only blond 'gringa' in town, so I got more attention then I could have handled for four days. So yes, the two shorter trips to the main town were perfect, because I got to see what Carneval was all about, but did not have to be part of it constantly. I can't really think of any other important details right now, I really should have written about it as soon as I got back.

We got back on Tuesday night, and I immediately started to feel sick. I'm not sure what it was, but something I ate must have not agreed with me. By Wednesday night I felt worse, and fell asleep at about 9pm. I tried to go to work on Thursday, but felt horrible and decided to come home and sleep. Saturday I was supposed to go on a hike, but was still feeling sick. I am actually just feeling better right now. I ate two meals today, which is a record for this week. So feeling sick has definitely put a damper on the week. I'm just glad that I am finally feeling better.

Not too much else to say right now. As ussual I hope everyone is doigng well, and enjoying the snow I hear has hit the midwest.

Sorry I have not updated, there is a lot to write about, but I did not get home from the beach until Tuesday night, and have come down with a stomach bug and have basically been sleeping, or wishing I were sleeping, for the last couple of days. Today I came home from work because I felt really faint, and slept for most of the day. I finally just ate something, but still not feeling so hot. At least the weekend is coming up.

I promise to update this weekend about my trip, but now I think it is bed time.

Adios!

The weeks seem to be going faster and faster here, I can't beleve it is already Wednesday!

On Sunday I went with a few people to a photography exhibit one of the boys that lives here had in the old town. He is from France and had spent the year traveling taking pictures of Indigenous people. It was a really neat exhibit, not only had he taken pictures but had also recorded people telling stories and songs. He is part of a program that wants to promote awareness about the lives of the people of Latin America. That is one of the things I love most about being here, it is so amazing to feel more aware of the world. It is so easy to get stuck in my safe little Minnesota bubble and forget that there is a whole world out there, full of people that are so different than me and yet the same.

After the exhibit we went to get some food then sat around talking at a coffee shop for awhile. Most of this group goes to school in Beloit Wisconsin. They are all really cool and fun to be around, each one of them reminds me of one of my friends from home in a certain way. I like that I am starting to develop groups of friends here, even though it makes me a little sad knowing that after May I probably won't see some of them again.

Monday was pretty low key. I worked all day, then came home ate supper and Lindsey and I watched a movie. Oh I guess I got a cell phone, that was pretty exciting. I now have a lovely blue Nokia phone, nothing fancy, but I like it. It was only 35 bucks, and I can get phone cards for it anywhere. I mostly got it to be able to text people, and for a little sense of security.

I almost typed that last sentence in Spanish. I am finding myself thinking in Spanish more and talking Spanglish a lot. I am slowly becoming more confident with my Spanish, and am able to understand more. I can even watch TV is spanish and get most of it.

Last night was nice, a few of the people from Beloit came over and we bought some beers and sat around with some other people from the hostal. Beers are ridiculously cheap here. Pat and I went to the store and bought 4 big ones (I think they are 2.5 normal beers or so) and the total was a little over 4 dollars. Plus when you take the bottles back you get a refund, I think it may be a quarter a bottle. They have a very limited selection of beer types here though, Pilsner is the main beer, you can be Brahma, which is Brazilian, sometimes, and every once in awhile you see Heinekin, but that is pretty expensive.

That is the strange things about here, some things are so cheap, like food and beer, but others are incredibly expensive. I was at MegaMaxi today looking for sunscreen and it was 12 bucks a bottle. Then I glanced at the makeup and it was 10 bucks for a bottle of cover girl foundation, crazy.

My Valentines Day has been good. I got a card yesterday from my Dad, which was really nice. Then tonight some of the girls here and I went and bought some icecream, always good. I was not sure if Valentines day would be a big holiday here, but everywhere I looked there were flowers and balloons and teddy bears. Yesterday when I went to the bakery to get some bread the woman was trying to convince me to buy a cake for my novio (boyfriend), I tried to tell her I did not have one, which was not a good enough answer for her. I think she said something along the lines of maybe by tommorrow you will have one. Right. Oh another nice thing about today was when I went to the tienda by my house to get some water and a pop the owners little kids waited on me and were trying to practice their english. They were so proud of the words they knew, one of them told me my total in English with a huge smile on his face. It was the cutest thing ever.

Tommorrow after work Paula, Tania and I are going to Katie's house (she is the woman from Minnesota) for supper. Then Friday I am probably just going to prepare for leaving on Saturday. Me, three of the boys from work, John, George and Andres, and George's friend Fernanda are going to the beach for Carnival. It is not quite as huge as a celebration here as in Brazil, but I guess everyone leave Quito and goes to the beach. We are going to Playa Escondida, which I am told is a less crowded beach. Luis, my spanish teacher, tried to convince me it is a nudist beach, but I think he was just messing with me since he didn't tell John the same thing. I hope that it will be a good time and I don't get too sunburt or bitten by too many bugs. It will be nice to be out of Quito for a few days. Also we get Monday and Tuesday off of work, which I am excited for. I love my job, but a break is never a bad thing.

Well i have written a lot. I should do my spanish homework, but I might watch a movie instead.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Three Weeks

Sorry I have not updated in quite some time, I really need to be better about that. It has been a good week. I could go over every little detail, but why bore you all with that. Instead I will just cover some highlights.

I am really likeing my work. I get to take part in a lot of different projects, which keeps things interesting. This week I designed a brochure, sticker and business card for us to send with someone traveling to Peru to give to businesses to create interest in our company and hopefully get some more advertisors. I also am now going to be helping with the Metamorf, which is basically Viva Travel Guides's parent company. They develop and design Web sites for businesses. I am really excited to learn more about that sort of thing, but it is a bit challenging since they all speak spanish. I attended a meeting last week and really thought I was keeping up with what was going on. All of the sudden they all stopped talking and looked it me. You can get that done by Wednesday right Erin. Right. Luckily George speaks really good English and filled me in later. I feel my spanish getting better by the day, which makes things easier.

Things in my house are also going well. At times, it is a bit trying to live with two other people in a room, but the social aspects of it are nice. I get along really well with Andrew and Lindsey, so it works. I have met a lot of their friends, and most of them are really cool as well. The majority go to school in Beloit Wisconsin, random. I find it odd so many of them are here. On Wednesday some people came over and we made dinner, which was fun. Then the two French guys that live here, Nicolas and Vincent came home and we hung out with them as well. I really like meeting people from all over the world. You realize you have both a lot, and nothing in common with them. It is interesting. Strange at times. I accidentally burped and Vincent went on this five minute speech about French woman would never do that. Lindsey and I were both like well american girls do that, deal with it.

I finally figured out who from Minnesota is coming to our office. His name is Paul, he is a web developer and is coming March 1. However, his girlfriend, Katie, is already here. On Friday she came to our office after work and we went to a pub. She lived in St. Paul in Highland park, so it was fun to talk with someone from where I am from.

Yesterday I went White Water Rafting with a group. My boss, Paula, had organized it through the South American Explorers club. It was my first time out of Quito, which was refreshing. It was a three hour drive to the rafting location, along a narrow curvy road through the mountains. We stopped at some tiny restaurant in the middle of nowhere and I got an empenada and some soup with like half a chicken in it. Sort of gross looking, but good. Once we got to the rafting location, we put on our wet suites and got the safety speech. By this time both Paula and I were a little nervous. Paula more so than me. I had only been rafting once and it was on a really tame river in Colorado. This was a pretty rapidy river. On our raft was me, Paula, three guys from American, a guy from Canada and a guy from Germany (I am horrible with names!). Our guide was this really crazy Ecuadorian guy. It was really fun, even though we were in a couple of sort of scary situations. One time we were stuck on a rock and the raft was flooding and our guide was screaming. The other particularily scary part was when we went over a huge wave and it swept over our raft throwing me into the guy in front of me and off the raft. I was actually pretty calm, I remember thinking ok I am in the water, better swim to the raft. But everyone was screaming, since we were coming up to some more rapids. Me and the other boy got back on the raft without a problem, and everything was fine. Paula was like I am so glad that did not happen to me. The best part of the trip was the scenery. The river was beautiful, with huge rocks everywhere. We were surrounded by mountains covered in green trees. One guy said they looked like the sort of trees you would expect a monkey to be hanging from, I agreed. All in all it was a really great day. T

Today I am a little sore from rafting, and have been taking it easy. I went to the grocery store and got some food for the week. I think I may go to the Mitlad del Mundo with Andrew and some of his friends. It is where there is a a monument and museum on the Equator, should be good.

Well, as ussual I hope everyone is well. I miss you guys a lot, and hope you are doing well. Thanks to some of you for emailing me, I love hearing about your lives. It makes me feel less far away.

Friday at work we went and reviewed some new restaurants and hotels in person, which was interesting. Definitely good for practicing your spanish. I am slowly getting better, but I find myself getting frustrated by not being able to say what I want to and just going back to english. Afterward we went to an English pub for a few pints. Then John, the other intern and I met up with some girls from his hostel. One was from Germany and the other two were from Holland. They were all really nice, so it ended up being a fun. I didn't get hit on by any creepy Ecuadorian men either, which is always a perk.

Yesterday, was both a good day and a bad day. Lindsey, a girl that lives with me, invited me to go to some hot springs an hour away with a couple of her friends. But, we missed the bus and did not get to go. So we decided to go to the mall which was nearby, and get something to eat. The restraunt was practically empty, since it was only 4pm. I had my bag under the table in between my feet, and suddenly I noticed it was gone. I guess a man and two kids had come in to eat, but then left really quickly and Lindsey remembered seeing the kids walk by. Sucky. Not the end of the world, I did not have much cash in there, and I am not hurt or anything, but it still stinks. It reminded me that you can never be careful enough while traveling. Afterward Lindsey was supposed to meet her friend Pat to go to a swim meet of Mundo, an Ecuadorian they go to school with. I decided to go, rather then go home and mope. It was really interesting. It was at this super swanky country club outside of the city. Mundo is really nice, and a great swimmer, so it was cool to watch that. Sort of random, but ah well.

I am often struck by the extremes here in Ecuador. It is so strange to see immense wealth and immense poverty within blocks of each other. To get your purse stolen by someone who is clearly desparate, then go to a place where everyone is wearing American clothes because they shop in Miami (this is apparantly the really cool place to go shopping here). This experience is definitely making me look at my life and the world in a different way.

Today I did my laundry and watched the Divincci Code, which wasn't bad. Dryers are not very common in Ecuador, so I had to hang my clothes on the roof to dry. It is really sunny, so they dried fast, but it still is sort of funny. I feel like I am in the olden days. Now I think I am going to go get some food with Beth, another girl that lives here.

I hope you are all staying warm wherever you are, I hear it is very cold in the midwest.

This week has gone by really fast. I am becoming more and more used to living here, which is nice. Work has been going really well, they gave me a couple of projects this week I really enjoyed. For one I had to convert a bunch of the book into PDFs and put them online, not too hard. It took me about a day and a half. However, when I was done Paula was shocked. I guess it took them nearly a month to do it last time. So it's nice to feel useful. Today I got to design a sticker that we will give to businesses we recommend to put in their shop. I am not sure if I am done with it, because I am picky, but I hope that my bosses like it. I made it look sort of like a passport stamp. It was definitely fun to be able to do some graphic design.

What else is new. Oh I started Spanish classes. My teacher, Luis, is really nice and easy to work with. They are one on one classes which is sort of strange, but nice. I hope to be able to get a lot out of these classes.

Last night I went to what they call Pub Quiz, which is held at a English Pub in town. Paula had made the questions, and most of the people at work went. It was really simular to the quiz I used to go to in Minnesota at Champs. I was on a team with the other intern, Paula's husband Dennis and a couple of other random people. We did not win, but it was still fun.

I was going to write some things about the buses here, but I am exhausted. My allergies hae really been working up so I have not been sleeping that great and definitely need some sleep.

Hasta Manana.

Quemado

So I have officially been here for one week. It feels both like a lot longer and shorter. I have to say, it went more smoothly thatn I expected. There were a couple brief bouts of homesickness, it's really hard to leave everything you love behind even if it is just for a short while.

Yesterday I successfully got my first Ecuadorian sunburn. It had been rainy most of the week, so I was not wearing as much sunscreen as I should have. Yesterday was really sunny. Definitely putting the the block every morning now. Its just on my neck and upper arms, but its still rather uncomfortable and sort of strange to have during January.

Not a lot else is new. Tired again. This city wears me out. I think I am still adjusting to the altitude a little bit. Also it gets light REALLY early so I wake up at 6 thinking it is 9 and I am late for work...

Alright I think that it is bed time. Hasta Luego.

El Fin de la Semana

Yesterday after work a few of the people from work threw a small welcoming gathering for me and John, the other intern. It was at George's apartment, which is by far one of the nicest apartments I have ever been in. Like marble tiled entrance with an attendant nice. It was really great to be able to get to know a few of the people I work with a bit better. Paula, who is basically my manager, was the funniest. She had brought tequila, and almost as soon as we walked in the door informed us that it was a tequila night. Then we played a ridiculous card game she made up where random cards would mean you had to drink tequila. I got lucky, and only ended up having 2 shots, thank god. The really funny part is she hates tequila, I think she just thought it would be fun? Not sure. She is a very interesting person that is really fun to be around, both at work and out of work, which is rather ideal.

At eleven or so one of the girls who had not been drinking offered to take John and I to a bar for awhile, which was also fun. There is definitely some great people watching at the bars here. She was also nice enough to drive me home, which was much appreciated. The cabs here are generally pretty safe and cheap, but it always feels a lot more comfortable to be getting a ride from someone you know.

Today was a pretty relaxing day. I got up and had some breakfast and watched the movie Shopgirl in the living room. The hostal has a tv, and dvd player and really a pretty large collection of dvds. I think they are all the pirated ones you can get in markets, ah well. Then I decided to go to the mall and see if I could find something to eat for lunch. The mall is only 2 bus stops away, walkable but I was feeling lazy. It is a lot nicer than I expected. It is basically as nice, if not nicer, than most malls in the states. It has lots of designer clothing stores, and even an apple store. There also is a Tony Romas and TGI Fridays, you know traditional Ecuadorian food.

I need to be better about taking pictures. I did take a couple today from my hostel today. The first is the view at night from our roof. It is sort of hard to see anything in it, I will have to take a picture during the day. The other is the view from the window in my room.

Hello again. I feel like I have been updating this a lot, this probably won't happen as much in the future.

Today was a really good day. My second day of work went really well. We went over more things about the company, such as its business plan and goals and such. A really neat part about working here is that if there is anything that at all interests us we can help with it. Right now our top priority is getting the book on Peru finished, so I have been doing a lot of research for that. In a couple of weeks I am going to be helping a lot with the design of the book, since no one there has a lot of experience with the program. For lunch the other intern, John, and I went out. Again 2.50 for soup, chicken and rice and some sort of salad and this really good like strawberry icecream and I think cantalope juice. It is sort of strange not knowing exactly what you are eating, but it tastes good and I have not been sick at all.

After work I went searching for a place to buy food. I was told that Maximart was a good place, and it was right on my busride home. It turned out to be this pretty big mall like structure that has anything you could imagine in it. The grocery store actually was rather intimidating it was so large. I got a pretty good amount of stuff for seven bucks. Things are really inexpensive here. The most expensive thing I got was some Prego pasta sauce for 2 dollars.

After the market it began to rain heavily so I got soaked on the way home. It actually feels cold here when it is raining and dark. Once I got home I made my dinner and talked to a few of the girls that live here. They are all really nice. Two are from Portland, and one is from Sweeden. The girls from Portland offered to show me around the city on Saturday, which I am really excited for. I was planning on wandering aimlessly, so it will be nice to have someone who knows where we are going.

Things are going better with each day. I am still a little homesick at times, but I suppose that is normal. Oh and I promise to take some pictures this weekend to post here.

Segundo dia

Last night my new roommate arrived, a boy named Andrew who had stayed here all of Fall Semester then went to visit family in Columbia. He is from the states but his family is all Columbian. It was nice to have someone my age to talk to for awhile, and this kid is rather amusing. He, and two other girls at the hostel, are going to college here in Quito.

Today I got up early to get ready for my first day of work. I was pretty proud of my ability to take the bus, but had accidentally passed the street I needed while walking and ended up walking a lot more than I should have. I finally found the place after about a half hour of walking. It is indeed right next to a pirate ship, which is really strange. Paula (my manager) said she thought it might be a bar or something, it had just been built last year. The building that vivatravelguides is in is quite nice. I met another one of the interns, John, it was his first day as well. He is from near Toronto in Canada. Everyone seems really nice, and really helpful. Nearly all of the people are native english speakers, which was comforting. As much as I would like to be fluent, it is nice to be able to understand everyone. All morning we had orientation, then we went out for lunch. For 2.50 we got a soup, main course of chicken and rice, a dessert, and juice. Not bad. After lunch with Paula we began doing actual work. It looks as though I will spend much of my time researching, writing and fact checking. So far I think I wil really enjoy it. By six today, I was pretty exhausted, but that is probably due to me still adjusting to the altitude and my life here.

I successfully took the bus home without any issues. It only costs a quarter and the ride home only takes 15 minutes or so. I stopped and bought some sort of ramen noodles, not bad but not good. I really need to find an actual market tomorrow. Now I am just relaxing, to be honest the day has left me pretty exhausted.

Tomorrow another day of work, then finding a market probably. Pretty exciting. But yes things are going pretty well so far.

Aqui

Hello everyone:

I felt it would be easier to start a blog about my time in South America rather than emailing everyone all of the time. This way you can read if you want, when you want.

Yesterday went smoothly. I left Minneapolis at 10am and arrived in Atlanta around 1pm. I had a three hour layover which gave me a chance to get some lunch and make a few phone calls. The plane to Quito was not very crowded, so I got a row to myself which was nice. There was some delay getting going (apparantly the water tanks had not been filled) so they played two movies for free during the flight: The Queen and Invinsible. Both decent movies, it gave me something to do on the plane which is always nice. I arrived in Quito at about 10:30 their time, (I found that they are on eastern time here). I was greeted by Mercedes, who is the director of the hostel I am staying at. She assisted me in coming to the hostel, which seems nice. There are three other girls about my age, but I have not really talked to them much yet. Last night I had to share my room, but today I have it to myself and will for about a week. I am not sure if I will stay here, since it might be nicer to be a little closer to work. I am in a more residential area, and will have to take a short bus ride. I will have to see.

Today has been a pretty lazy day. I did not sleep very well last night, mostly just because I am in a new place. This morning I unpacked my things, and then went for a walk and bought some water and food. I accidentally got the water "con gaso" or carbonated, oops. Then I returned home and took a long nap. I think the combo of the altitude and the long trip/stressful last week has left me exhausted.

I am excited to start work tomorrow, I am ready to meet more people and actually do something. I found a map and figured out how to get there, and it should not be too difficult, so that is good. Tonight I think I will just read, maybe watch tv, and hopefully meet some of the other people here.

I hope everyone is doing well, I miss you all already!