Not quite, but I understand the term now. It's really great being back home, I didn't even realize how much I missed the comforts of my house. I have only experienced a little bit of reverse culture shock so far. Reverse culture shock is culture shock for someone who goes back to their home culture after living abroad. I went to Chicago with my mom the other day and it was weird to see everyone rushing around. Also, to be considered average height again. Seeing Asian faces and just a mix of faces (a.k.a. diversity) was refreshing too. My program director told us that after Ecuador we'll be more relaxed and laid back, at least for a bit. It's true. The stressed culture in the big city is very different than taking an afternoon walk in Lumbisi.
I talked to my host family again after my last post. It feels like they are so far away mentally and physically. I miss them already, I want to make it a goal to call them at least once a month. Juan Carlos has an email address so that's good. When I asked them for a mailing address they said they've never received mail before... and especially not from someone from outside of the country. So, if I do mail anything to them I will mail it to Juan Carlos' school.
I meant to post this sooner, but I guess it's good I didn't because yesterday I met up with two girls from my program in Ecuador in downtown Chicago! Lizzie came up from Kentucky and Jill from a suburb. It was almost strange seeing these two not in Ecuador. But we talked about our "reverse culture shock" and reminisced about Ecuador.
Anyway, here's the link to the last bunch of photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150596369710413.672673.774675412&l=c1683c7066
Thanks again for reading! If you're interested in continuing to follow my adventures and musings, my new blog can be found here: http://oneofthejoys.blogspot.com/
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Buenos Dias Flossmoor
I made it home! I actually got home Sunday evening. I missed my connecting flight to Chicago in the Miami airport. (Miami Airport-2, Joy 0). However, there are more flights going from Miami to Chicago than Miami to Ecuador so there was no real threat that I would spend the night in Miami again. Customs in Miami is terrible, you should (because I know I will) avoid flying through that airport if at all possible.
Today is the second morning that I've woken up in my own bed. It's great to be home. It also feels strange...everything is so flat! Sometimes it almost feels like I was never in Ecuador. But last night when I called the house in Lumbisi, Juan Carlos picked up and I could tell he was very excited to hear from me. Genesis said hi too :) Well I still have a couple of things to unpack and a final bunch of pictures to post. I will update here once I have finished uploading pictures.
It's been a good semester, and thank you all for reading! I do not have much lined up for the summer, perhaps traveling a bit (keeping it in the States). On June 14th I will be giving a presentation at the Asian American Cultural Center at UIUC on "Asian Americans Studying Abroad." It should be fun, if you're in the area you should come! Other than that this summer will be dedicated to resting, reading, and writing (senior thesis and other things). I really loved writing posts, so I will most likely start another blog this summer. But until then, muchas gracias amigos!
Today is the second morning that I've woken up in my own bed. It's great to be home. It also feels strange...everything is so flat! Sometimes it almost feels like I was never in Ecuador. But last night when I called the house in Lumbisi, Juan Carlos picked up and I could tell he was very excited to hear from me. Genesis said hi too :) Well I still have a couple of things to unpack and a final bunch of pictures to post. I will update here once I have finished uploading pictures.
It's been a good semester, and thank you all for reading! I do not have much lined up for the summer, perhaps traveling a bit (keeping it in the States). On June 14th I will be giving a presentation at the Asian American Cultural Center at UIUC on "Asian Americans Studying Abroad." It should be fun, if you're in the area you should come! Other than that this summer will be dedicated to resting, reading, and writing (senior thesis and other things). I really loved writing posts, so I will most likely start another blog this summer. But until then, muchas gracias amigos!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Chao Chao, Ecuador!
So it's about time to head back to the States, again time for goodbyes. The idea that I'm leaving tomorrow morning is very strange. Last night Juan Carlos gave a little goodbye speech on behalf of the family. Crying happened from all parties. Also, my host family gave me a tote bag that reads, "Lumbisi-Ecuador 2011." And we ate pizza, because my Ecua-Family has gotten it into their heads that pizza is my favorite food. I also had a few friends over to watch a movie last night... I believe the last few days have been the definition of bittersweet. On the one hand, I cannot wait to get home and see everyone. On the other hand, I have Genesis and Carlos laying on my half packed suitcases, telling me not to leave.
There have been good times and bad times, rainy days (lots) and sunny days. Times when I'm entertained by killing (sort of a psychotic thing to say I suppose) the numerous insects that intrude in my room, times when I'm utterly horrified by the giant crawling things. I have come to appreciate internet in a way that I never thought I would, same with hot showers. I have taken for granted the number of avocados I have eaten this semester. I got my wish to have younger siblings, for the better or the worse. All the good and the bad means I that I have lived in Ecuador. Life isn't a vacation where everything is supposed to be perfect and wonderful. Life is having ups and downs, and learning from the day-to-day things which is exactly what I have experienced here. I have really come to love my Ecua-Family and Ecuador itself, and I know one day I'll come back to visit.
Accomplishments this semester (in no particular order):
1. Scrolling through a seven page essay on social stratification as seen through art history during Colonial Quito, written by yours truly in SPANISH (also getting 100% on it! woot!)
2. Reading the Seven Chinese Brothers to my host family in Spanish, translating it from English on the spot with minimal dictionary usage
3. Planning and traveling for 10 days around Ecuador, with the help of a guidebook, many Ecuadorean strangers, and the company of two awesome friends.
4. Finding creative ways to maintain a long distance relationship without internet at home (although, more than half of this accomplishment belongs to Andrew :)
5. Keeping up with posting on my blog (for the most part!)
6. Successfully completing two interviews over Skype.
7. Truly being part of my Ecuadorean family.
Well next time I post will be from Flossmoor. Hasta luego amigos!
[See my newest photos here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150596369710413.672673.774675412&l=c1683c7066]
There have been good times and bad times, rainy days (lots) and sunny days. Times when I'm entertained by killing (sort of a psychotic thing to say I suppose) the numerous insects that intrude in my room, times when I'm utterly horrified by the giant crawling things. I have come to appreciate internet in a way that I never thought I would, same with hot showers. I have taken for granted the number of avocados I have eaten this semester. I got my wish to have younger siblings, for the better or the worse. All the good and the bad means I that I have lived in Ecuador. Life isn't a vacation where everything is supposed to be perfect and wonderful. Life is having ups and downs, and learning from the day-to-day things which is exactly what I have experienced here. I have really come to love my Ecua-Family and Ecuador itself, and I know one day I'll come back to visit.
Accomplishments this semester (in no particular order):
1. Scrolling through a seven page essay on social stratification as seen through art history during Colonial Quito, written by yours truly in SPANISH (also getting 100% on it! woot!)
2. Reading the Seven Chinese Brothers to my host family in Spanish, translating it from English on the spot with minimal dictionary usage
3. Planning and traveling for 10 days around Ecuador, with the help of a guidebook, many Ecuadorean strangers, and the company of two awesome friends.
4. Finding creative ways to maintain a long distance relationship without internet at home (although, more than half of this accomplishment belongs to Andrew :)
5. Keeping up with posting on my blog (for the most part!)
6. Successfully completing two interviews over Skype.
7. Truly being part of my Ecuadorean family.
 |
| Lumbisi is beautiful, even with wilting corn. |
Well next time I post will be from Flossmoor. Hasta luego amigos!
[See my newest photos here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150596369710413.672673.774675412&l=c1683c7066]
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Tengo que escribir mi ensayo...
This is a short post about my birthday (May 3rd). I have to say it was wonderful! I want to do a real post, but I made a promise to myself that I will finish writing at least a rough draft of my Art History essay before I do another real blog post.
Some highlights from my birthday:
Beautiful weather! Dry season has hit, no more rain every day.
Andrew's birthday gift to me: this amazing video
Family dinner with my host family (story to come later, remind me to write about it)
Bananagrams with people in my program, of course the Spanish version!
Dinner yesterday with almost everyone in my program, ice cream, and cake!
[Clarification, I'm writing about Andrew's video here, Andrew kindly pointed out that this paragraph doesn't start with context. You can tell that I didn't pre-write this post like I do the others! ] There are so many wonderful people that I know from so many different places, times, and situations. 5 different countries and something like 7 different states are represented. Also, I counted over 50 lovely faces. I think most of you have already seen the video (or in it!), but if not you should watch it! Andrew also sent me some of the full versions that he had to cut. I must say, another highlight was seeing everyone at the AACC sing me happy birthday, and JoAnne speaking in Spanish :) Thanks again to everyone who helped make my day amazing!
Only 10 more days til I go home!
Some highlights from my birthday:
Beautiful weather! Dry season has hit, no more rain every day.
Andrew's birthday gift to me: this amazing video
Family dinner with my host family (story to come later, remind me to write about it)
Bananagrams with people in my program, of course the Spanish version!
Dinner yesterday with almost everyone in my program, ice cream, and cake!
[Clarification, I'm writing about Andrew's video here, Andrew kindly pointed out that this paragraph doesn't start with context. You can tell that I didn't pre-write this post like I do the others! ] There are so many wonderful people that I know from so many different places, times, and situations. 5 different countries and something like 7 different states are represented. Also, I counted over 50 lovely faces. I think most of you have already seen the video (or in it!), but if not you should watch it! Andrew also sent me some of the full versions that he had to cut. I must say, another highlight was seeing everyone at the AACC sing me happy birthday, and JoAnne speaking in Spanish :) Thanks again to everyone who helped make my day amazing!
Only 10 more days til I go home!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Semana Santa: Aventuras de Tres Chicas
I made it back to Lumbisi at 5am on Saturday. I'll work on posting pictures tomorrow or Wednesday!
Originally I started to write a day-by-day description of everything I did. I was bored of writing by day 3, so hopefully this way will be better for all of us:
Things I did/learned over Semana Santa:
(Wonderful Travel Companions: Alexis T. and Eboni H.)
1. We took 13 different buses (2 night buses), 1 boat, 1 moto-taxi, and over 10 taxis. We stayed in 5 different hostels all in our 10 days of traveling.
2. Major Places Visited: Cuenca, Guayaquil, Montanita, Puerto Lopez.
3. From Cuenca we visited... Ingapirca, Cajas National Park, and Sigsig.
4. From Puerto Lopez we visited... Isla de la Plata.
5. I snorkeled for the first time in my life at Isla de La Plata, we saw corals and I found Dory!
6. We learned en route to Montanita, that we should read what our bus tickets say otherwise we can be ripped off (which was what happened).
7. Sigsig is not worth traveling to if it's the weekend.
8. Sitting in the front "seat" with the bus driver is very uncomfortable and potentially dangerous.
9. Guayaquil was the only place where we didn't run into someone we knew (well until we got on the bus to head to Montanita).
10. Walk around and see the hostels before settling for one.
11. Pack lighter. More insect repellent.
12. Ask at least 3 different Ecuadorians if you're trying to find something or if you're confused.
14. Spanish Bananagrams= Fun!
15. All the ups and downs in traveling are part of the adventure.
I had a great time, but I really looked forward to going back to Lumbisi. I can't say that I have a favorite part of the trip, everything was so different. I enjoyed the Cuenca portion a lot, and exploring Guayaquil was a thrill since it's the largest and supposedly most dangerous city in Ecuador. The beach was a different type of atmosphere. Isla de la Plata was another highlight :)
The three of us ladies really confused people. Eboni is African American, Alexis is Philipino-Polish-American, and then me the Asian American. A lot of people asked us where we're from, and when we responded the United States, often they would ask, "All of you? Even her?" It was kind of entertaining. But I'd like to think we also benefited by not standing out too much. In Guayaquil we only saw a few groups of tourists, usually in larger numbers and only in the very touristy areas. If the three of us were blonde and blue-eyed, I imagine we would've drawn a lot more attention (potentially bad attention). Sometimes blending in is good.
We certainly had some ups and downs. There were many times where we couldn't find the bus terminal, or the bus, or the hostel etc. However, that's all part of traveling. As helpful as my guidebook was (Lonely Planet, highly recommended) there were times when it failed us (such as when the street name was changed, or when the restaurant we wanted to go to had been closed for four years). Don't be afraid to ask, is what I learned. And when it comes to Ecuadoreans giving directions, ask many different people.
I'm glad to be back and my host family is happy to have me back. We went on a little day trip to El Quinche for mass in a beautiful colonial church and after we walked around their Sunday market. Now I have to finish the last bit of work for my classes and get ready to go back to the states. It's kind of bittersweet, I have less than 2 weeks! Hasta luego amigos.
[You may see in the news that Ecuador's largest volcano erupted/is erupting. I'm a safe distance away, so do not worry]
Originally I started to write a day-by-day description of everything I did. I was bored of writing by day 3, so hopefully this way will be better for all of us:
Things I did/learned over Semana Santa:
(Wonderful Travel Companions: Alexis T. and Eboni H.)
1. We took 13 different buses (2 night buses), 1 boat, 1 moto-taxi, and over 10 taxis. We stayed in 5 different hostels all in our 10 days of traveling.
2. Major Places Visited: Cuenca, Guayaquil, Montanita, Puerto Lopez.
3. From Cuenca we visited... Ingapirca, Cajas National Park, and Sigsig.
4. From Puerto Lopez we visited... Isla de la Plata.
5. I snorkeled for the first time in my life at Isla de La Plata, we saw corals and I found Dory!
6. We learned en route to Montanita, that we should read what our bus tickets say otherwise we can be ripped off (which was what happened).
7. Sigsig is not worth traveling to if it's the weekend.
8. Sitting in the front "seat" with the bus driver is very uncomfortable and potentially dangerous.
9. Guayaquil was the only place where we didn't run into someone we knew (well until we got on the bus to head to Montanita).
10. Walk around and see the hostels before settling for one.
11. Pack lighter. More insect repellent.
12. Ask at least 3 different Ecuadorians if you're trying to find something or if you're confused.
14. Spanish Bananagrams= Fun!
15. All the ups and downs in traveling are part of the adventure.
I had a great time, but I really looked forward to going back to Lumbisi. I can't say that I have a favorite part of the trip, everything was so different. I enjoyed the Cuenca portion a lot, and exploring Guayaquil was a thrill since it's the largest and supposedly most dangerous city in Ecuador. The beach was a different type of atmosphere. Isla de la Plata was another highlight :)
The three of us ladies really confused people. Eboni is African American, Alexis is Philipino-Polish-American, and then me the Asian American. A lot of people asked us where we're from, and when we responded the United States, often they would ask, "All of you? Even her?" It was kind of entertaining. But I'd like to think we also benefited by not standing out too much. In Guayaquil we only saw a few groups of tourists, usually in larger numbers and only in the very touristy areas. If the three of us were blonde and blue-eyed, I imagine we would've drawn a lot more attention (potentially bad attention). Sometimes blending in is good.
We certainly had some ups and downs. There were many times where we couldn't find the bus terminal, or the bus, or the hostel etc. However, that's all part of traveling. As helpful as my guidebook was (Lonely Planet, highly recommended) there were times when it failed us (such as when the street name was changed, or when the restaurant we wanted to go to had been closed for four years). Don't be afraid to ask, is what I learned. And when it comes to Ecuadoreans giving directions, ask many different people.
I'm glad to be back and my host family is happy to have me back. We went on a little day trip to El Quinche for mass in a beautiful colonial church and after we walked around their Sunday market. Now I have to finish the last bit of work for my classes and get ready to go back to the states. It's kind of bittersweet, I have less than 2 weeks! Hasta luego amigos.
[You may see in the news that Ecuador's largest volcano erupted/is erupting. I'm a safe distance away, so do not worry]
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Estoy en Montanita
Wireless Internet at the hostel! We're currently in Tiki Limbo Backpacker's Hostel in Montanita. It's a beach/surfer town with plenty of nature loving hippies. It was a little rough getting here, but we made it. I've already been to Cuenca and Guayaquil along with Sigsig, Ingapirca, Parque Nacional Cajas... etc since I last posted. There are so many different places and people in Ecuador, even though it's such a small country.
Anyway, I'm using Eboni's computer to post right now so I'm going to keep it short. Most everything has gone smoothly. My favorite day was probably when we went to Parque Nacional Cajas (National Park of Cajas) near Cuenca. We were completely unprepared, but we hiked around the lake (it took us 2.5 hours). We all had our share of slips and falls, but it was incredibly rewarding. The views were also beautiful.
Also, I've talked to my host family on average every other day. Every time we've talked, Genesis gets on the phone and loudly tells me to remember to bring my umbrella, just in case it rains. It's very cute. Also Juan Carlos reminds me that they're still in Lumbisi, which seems like a given but I suppose it's comforting to know that my host family won't pick up and leave while I'm away.
Most awkward/funny moment: Walking in the park at Guayaquil, an elderly man said "Hola Chinita linda." Which translates to Hello, beautiful little Chinese girl. Soo creepy! When we started laughing out loud, he did too.
Until next time, amigos. Chao chao.
Anyway, I'm using Eboni's computer to post right now so I'm going to keep it short. Most everything has gone smoothly. My favorite day was probably when we went to Parque Nacional Cajas (National Park of Cajas) near Cuenca. We were completely unprepared, but we hiked around the lake (it took us 2.5 hours). We all had our share of slips and falls, but it was incredibly rewarding. The views were also beautiful.
Also, I've talked to my host family on average every other day. Every time we've talked, Genesis gets on the phone and loudly tells me to remember to bring my umbrella, just in case it rains. It's very cute. Also Juan Carlos reminds me that they're still in Lumbisi, which seems like a given but I suppose it's comforting to know that my host family won't pick up and leave while I'm away.
Most awkward/funny moment: Walking in the park at Guayaquil, an elderly man said "Hola Chinita linda." Which translates to Hello, beautiful little Chinese girl. Soo creepy! When we started laughing out loud, he did too.
Until next time, amigos. Chao chao.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
26 Dias Hasta Los Estados Unidos
https://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=10150563051685413&id=774675412&aid=646826&l=b9d1360429 << New pictures!
I wanted to do a parallel post when I had 23 days left before going home, but I realized that in 2 days I will be traveling in Cuenca,Ecuador, with questionable internet access and time to complete a post. So I will do it now. Upon re-reading my first post, I never went back to change my host dad's name to Juan Carlos. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but Freddy is my host uncle, thus Juan Carlos' brother. There was an awkward encounter in which my assistant program director went to Freddy's house and talked to his wife, thinking that she was Rosa. The poor woman was very confused, and scared... she definitely didn't sign up to have an international student stay with her for 4 months.
Anyway, things are going well here. Signing up for my classes next semester has been my biggest problem. Also, it feels like it's rained everyday this month. I just gave a 10 minute presentation completely in Spanish on social classes in18th century Quito for my Art History class. It was well-received, and for that I am happy. Tomorrow is the last day of class before our Semana Santa break, which is like a Spring Break/East Break. It's much needed. I'm going to travel starting tomorrow night and then hope to return on the 30th or the 1st to prepare for my last week of class. It's not a very well-space break. But as a heads up, posting will be highly unlikely while I'm traveling. So when I get back I will have 2 weeks before I leave to go home! It's entirely exciting and sad at the same time. When I wrote the post marking 23 days before Ecuador, I could not imagine what it would be like to spend a semester here. Now, 26 days before going home, I cannot imagine not being in Ecuador... or I can imagine it, but it seems so unreal. Ecuador has become my reality. It's difficult to explain. Basically, time has flown so quickly. I know when I get home everything in Ecuador will feel so far away and removed. I'm already mentally preparing for some serious reverse culture shock.
Tomorrow I am going to help prepare and eat Fanesca, a typical dish eaten in Ecuador during Semana Santa. It is a soup with 12 grains or more and take hours to prepare. Rosa is nice enough to prepare the soup a day early for me to try it because I will be traveling. In Cuenca, the soup is supposed to be very common.. so I'm excited to try the different kinds. It's supposed to be super filling. The 12 grains represent the 12 apostles, and it's cooked without red meat.
A short story about Carlos' first cooking experience:
One morning, Carlos was home for breakfast when I was awake because he didn't have class that day. He cooked his own rice and meat (both turned out slightly burnt) but he was super super excited because it was his first time cooking. While I ate my food, I could hear him narrating (out loud, to himself) his conquest of cooking. "Today, a little boy... will cook his own meal!" He described it as if he was fighting an epic battle, with complete sound effects and all. I looked over at Rosa, and she just shrugged and said he likes to converse with himself. It was very cute, I took a picture of the plate that he made:
I wanted to do a parallel post when I had 23 days left before going home, but I realized that in 2 days I will be traveling in Cuenca,Ecuador, with questionable internet access and time to complete a post. So I will do it now. Upon re-reading my first post, I never went back to change my host dad's name to Juan Carlos. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but Freddy is my host uncle, thus Juan Carlos' brother. There was an awkward encounter in which my assistant program director went to Freddy's house and talked to his wife, thinking that she was Rosa. The poor woman was very confused, and scared... she definitely didn't sign up to have an international student stay with her for 4 months.
Anyway, things are going well here. Signing up for my classes next semester has been my biggest problem. Also, it feels like it's rained everyday this month. I just gave a 10 minute presentation completely in Spanish on social classes in18th century Quito for my Art History class. It was well-received, and for that I am happy. Tomorrow is the last day of class before our Semana Santa break, which is like a Spring Break/East Break. It's much needed. I'm going to travel starting tomorrow night and then hope to return on the 30th or the 1st to prepare for my last week of class. It's not a very well-space break. But as a heads up, posting will be highly unlikely while I'm traveling. So when I get back I will have 2 weeks before I leave to go home! It's entirely exciting and sad at the same time. When I wrote the post marking 23 days before Ecuador, I could not imagine what it would be like to spend a semester here. Now, 26 days before going home, I cannot imagine not being in Ecuador... or I can imagine it, but it seems so unreal. Ecuador has become my reality. It's difficult to explain. Basically, time has flown so quickly. I know when I get home everything in Ecuador will feel so far away and removed. I'm already mentally preparing for some serious reverse culture shock.
Tomorrow I am going to help prepare and eat Fanesca, a typical dish eaten in Ecuador during Semana Santa. It is a soup with 12 grains or more and take hours to prepare. Rosa is nice enough to prepare the soup a day early for me to try it because I will be traveling. In Cuenca, the soup is supposed to be very common.. so I'm excited to try the different kinds. It's supposed to be super filling. The 12 grains represent the 12 apostles, and it's cooked without red meat.
A short story about Carlos' first cooking experience:
One morning, Carlos was home for breakfast when I was awake because he didn't have class that day. He cooked his own rice and meat (both turned out slightly burnt) but he was super super excited because it was his first time cooking. While I ate my food, I could hear him narrating (out loud, to himself) his conquest of cooking. "Today, a little boy... will cook his own meal!" He described it as if he was fighting an epic battle, with complete sound effects and all. I looked over at Rosa, and she just shrugged and said he likes to converse with himself. It was very cute, I took a picture of the plate that he made:
Monday, April 11, 2011
Desayuno con Genesis
Me: Good morning Genesis!
Genesis: *growls and glares*
Rosa: GENESIS! SAY GOOD MORNING! (from the kitchen)
Genesis: Hola Joy.
Me: Hola Genesis.
(sits down across the table from Genesis to eat breakfast. Looks up to notice Genesis has a handful of her scrambled eggs and has started to squeeze it so that all the grease and water is coming out between her small fingers)
Me: Genesis, eat with you spoon.
Genesis: ya ya. I want a fork. (takes a fork continues to eat with her hand)
Me: Genesis, eat with your fork!
Genesis: okay. (scoops the food using her hand onto the fork before putting it in her mouth)
Me: Genesis! Use your fork!
Genesis: What? You want to give me a gift?
Me: No, I don't have a gift. (In English), Where in the world did you get that idea?
Genesis: What did you say then?
Me: (giving up) Nothing.
Genesis: WHAT DID YOU SAY!
Rosa: Genesis! Eat quickly, stop fighting with La Joy! (from her bedroom)
Genesis: I was just asking what Joy said!
Rosa: She didn't say anything! She was just singing! Joy likes to sing when she eats breakfast!
(I am laughing at this point)
Genesis: But she'll drop her food on the floor!
Rosa: No, Joy pays attention when she sings. Now hurry up, we're going to be late! (from the terrace)
(More laughter from me. Stops laughing and dodges Genesis as she tries to wipe her greasy hands on my arm.)
"Don't let Genesis clean herself with La Joy!" -Josue, from another meal. A sign that Genesis likes to use me to clean up after she eats.
Genesis turned 5 yesterday! It was also my Ecua-Grandpa's birthday so we had a 3 hour long lunch to celebrate. We ate cuy and a special chicken soup. Some of the lunch conversation involved cuy castration, which was strange but I guess practical? We also had delicious chocolate cake.
Genesis: *growls and glares*
Rosa: GENESIS! SAY GOOD MORNING! (from the kitchen)
Genesis: Hola Joy.
Me: Hola Genesis.
(sits down across the table from Genesis to eat breakfast. Looks up to notice Genesis has a handful of her scrambled eggs and has started to squeeze it so that all the grease and water is coming out between her small fingers)
Me: Genesis, eat with you spoon.
Genesis: ya ya. I want a fork. (takes a fork continues to eat with her hand)
Me: Genesis, eat with your fork!
Genesis: okay. (scoops the food using her hand onto the fork before putting it in her mouth)
Me: Genesis! Use your fork!
Genesis: What? You want to give me a gift?
Me: No, I don't have a gift. (In English), Where in the world did you get that idea?
Genesis: What did you say then?
Me: (giving up) Nothing.
Genesis: WHAT DID YOU SAY!
Rosa: Genesis! Eat quickly, stop fighting with La Joy! (from her bedroom)
Genesis: I was just asking what Joy said!
Rosa: She didn't say anything! She was just singing! Joy likes to sing when she eats breakfast!
(I am laughing at this point)
Genesis: But she'll drop her food on the floor!
Rosa: No, Joy pays attention when she sings. Now hurry up, we're going to be late! (from the terrace)
(More laughter from me. Stops laughing and dodges Genesis as she tries to wipe her greasy hands on my arm.)
"Don't let Genesis clean herself with La Joy!" -Josue, from another meal. A sign that Genesis likes to use me to clean up after she eats.
Genesis turned 5 yesterday! It was also my Ecua-Grandpa's birthday so we had a 3 hour long lunch to celebrate. We ate cuy and a special chicken soup. Some of the lunch conversation involved cuy castration, which was strange but I guess practical? We also had delicious chocolate cake.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Piscinas Calientes Papallacta
Last weekend my program took our last scheduled trip to Papallacta, natural hot springs located a little over an hour bus ride Northeast of Quito. The ride there was really beautiful, lots of mountains and valleys. It was kind of cold and drizzly but that didn't really affect the scenic views. Papallacta is at an elevation close to 4000 meters in what used to be a volcano. A guide told us that the volcano collapsed many years ago which is the source of the heat for the natural hot springs! Papallacta is in Quichwa (indigenous language here) for Land of the Potatoes (I hope I remembered that correctly). Also, had the weather been clear we would have been able to see a volcano (this seems to be trend for my program trips, 3 out of 4 the trips we've gone on we've missed out on seeing volcanoes due to the clouds).
Anyway we got changed and eased our way into the hot pools. At first it was too hot, but then it was just right. It started to rain a little bit, and that created a nice balance. There was a lot of steam coming from the water, and when there was a slight breeze the steam would float away creating a slightly foggy atmosphere. [So I only took one picture on this trip, and it wasn't even when we were at the hot springs... oops!] A group of people in my program just sat in the water and played a spelling game called "ghost." It was funny how animated and upset people would get when they lost. Afterward we ate a nice lunch. I ordered trout, probably freshly caught from the river nearby. It was delicious! The chocolate cake after the meal was wonderful, too. Then we just relaxed until it was time to leave. I took one picture on the bus ride back and many of us played another word game called "hanky-panky," it's a word game I promise.
It was a relaxing Saturday. When we got back to Cumbaya, a couple of us got some ice cream. At night we watched an inspiring documentary called "First Year," which followed a couple of first year teachers. Then we watched a documentary called "Please Vote for Me" which was about a third grade Chinese class having a democratic election for the class monitor/president. The second documentary reminded me of when I was in third grade in Taiwan. It was a good day.
The next day some of us went to a higher end coffee shop in Cumbaya, Juan Valdez, sort of like a Starbucks equivalent, and used their wireless internet. Great connection! We sat outside and eventually a lady started singing covers of debate-ably popular songs from the U.S. Overall a relaxing weekend.
Anyway we got changed and eased our way into the hot pools. At first it was too hot, but then it was just right. It started to rain a little bit, and that created a nice balance. There was a lot of steam coming from the water, and when there was a slight breeze the steam would float away creating a slightly foggy atmosphere. [So I only took one picture on this trip, and it wasn't even when we were at the hot springs... oops!] A group of people in my program just sat in the water and played a spelling game called "ghost." It was funny how animated and upset people would get when they lost. Afterward we ate a nice lunch. I ordered trout, probably freshly caught from the river nearby. It was delicious! The chocolate cake after the meal was wonderful, too. Then we just relaxed until it was time to leave. I took one picture on the bus ride back and many of us played another word game called "hanky-panky," it's a word game I promise.
It was a relaxing Saturday. When we got back to Cumbaya, a couple of us got some ice cream. At night we watched an inspiring documentary called "First Year," which followed a couple of first year teachers. Then we watched a documentary called "Please Vote for Me" which was about a third grade Chinese class having a democratic election for the class monitor/president. The second documentary reminded me of when I was in third grade in Taiwan. It was a good day.
The next day some of us went to a higher end coffee shop in Cumbaya, Juan Valdez, sort of like a Starbucks equivalent, and used their wireless internet. Great connection! We sat outside and eventually a lady started singing covers of debate-ably popular songs from the U.S. Overall a relaxing weekend.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
"Ojos Asiaticos": Soy de los Estados Unidos
"Where are you from?"
"The United States."
"But you're not...." or "Yeah yeah, but where are you really from?" or confused stare.
But I'm not white and I don't look like I from the United States. I understand why it's confusing. Some people at home are confused, too. It's especially confusing in Ecuador because I'm speaking Spanish with an English accent and because there's not a huge Asian let alone Asian American population here. I might as well say I'm from Ecuador, because people will believe me just as much as when I say I'm from the U.S.
Since a lot of United States' culture is diffused through media, it says a lot about the way media portrays the "American" population. Although 30 percent of the population are considered "minorities," mainstream American media is still almost all white. So what does this mean for me as a Taiwanese American in Ecuador? Well first everyone thinks I'm Chinese. With the earthquake in Japan, everyone started asking me if I was Japanese. When I'm introduce myself to someone new they always ask me where I'm from, and usually twice. Preemptively I have started to explain that my mom is from Taiwan. It's especially notable when I'm with other people in my program. We say we're all from the United States, and then the question follows, "Oh, all of you?" or "And where are YOU from?" -clearly pointed at me since I do not look like the rest of the folks in my group.
Even when I clarify that I'm Taiwanese American (but born in Pennsylvania, now living in Illinois) people often don't remember. It took my host family a while to remember that I wasn't born in Taiwan. Also, since Andrew just recently visited it added another factor. The first time I showed my Ecua-family a picture of Andrew, they said, "oh he's North American, North American." Kind of implying that I'm not quite there with my North-Americaness. Then on my taxi ride to pick up Andrew, my taxi driver (my friend's host dad who already knew my background) asked me, "So is your boyfriend Korean like you?" Let's just say there's more than one thing wrong with that question.
Flash back to when I was in preschool in Pennsylvania... (note, this is a story I've been told, because I don't remember that far back in my life)
I think our teacher was doing a class on diversity (at least an attempt) and she said something along the lines of, oh and this girl is Chinese, just like Joy! Apparently, I threw a huge fit for the rest of the day. Claiming, "I'm NOT Chinese." Over and over and over. The young Joy was annoying and persistent. I also asserted over and over that I'm AMERICAN. when my family friends picked me up from the school, my teacher apologized for offending me. [tangent, I'm going to have to write another post on the use of the word "American" later]
I really am not Chinese. It's an issue that I came to terms with in high school, I'm Taiwanese American. It's really confusing because I was always told that my family is considered Chinese in Taiwan because we're not indigenous Taiwanese (but in recent news I found out I'm 1/8 indigenous Taiwanese). And that I should consider myself an ABC American Born Chinese. There's a lot of tension between Chinese and Taiwanese that I won't go into detail here. Basically this identity issue is something I thought I'd worked out for a few years now. I started calling myself a Taiwanese American or an American Born Taiwanese.
Good for me that I worked that out, right? But whatever I call myself people still see me the way that they want to and the way they have learned to perceive Asians. I have "the eyes." Rosa once made a comment that she hoped my kids will have eyes like mine, Korean eyes. I wasn't sure what to say.. thank you? I hope so too? You know I'm not Korean?
But then the opposite I feel is just as bad. When people call me white or when my differences are not acknowledged. For example the study abroad office programs in preparation for study abroad and the way international student issues are discussed. I've been warned over and over about how blond hair blue eyed people get a lot attention. Oh, if you have red hair and freckles, watch out! Pale skin etc. People LOVE blond hair. I remember thinking okay, glad to know I won't be getting a lot of attention, but what should I expect as an Asian American? I was particularly offended when one blond hair blue eyed girl sitting next to me who studied abroad in Australia said in reference to American women, "WE blend in really well until we open our mouth." (I wouldn't blend in, I don't like this "we" business) Then when I got to Ecuador, I heard some of the same things... "your blond hair is really going to stand out, people will stare" My Ecuadorean Culture teacher warned us before Carnaval, that the pretty girls with blond hair will be especially targeted (blond equating to beautiful was rough on my self-esteem for a while). A lot of this reminded me of discussions on barbie dolls and how they set unattainable beauty standards for girls, especially minorities. Culture class is quite frustrating for me whenever we talk about US culture and my professor makes assumptions.
It's hard to articulate this frustration, because on the one hand I want people to accept the idea that I'm from the United States and not call me out because I look different. On the other hand, I don't want my differences to go unacknowledged by people from the U.S. and I don't want to and can't ignore my Taiwanese side. There are some Asian Americans who don't speak their parents language and have never lived outside of the U.S., but I'm not one of them. The best I can do is accept that there are multiple aspects that make up my identity. People will continue to try to categorize me wherever I go. Even at home on a campus with many Asian international students, people ask, "Where are you from?" Or say, "What are you?" But I just have to keep in mind and they should too, that my answer to questions like those only characterizes one aspect of my person. If people can't see beyond my Asian features, well, there's a lot more to Joy that they will miss.
"The United States."
"But you're not...." or "Yeah yeah, but where are you really from?" or confused stare.
But I'm not white and I don't look like I from the United States. I understand why it's confusing. Some people at home are confused, too. It's especially confusing in Ecuador because I'm speaking Spanish with an English accent and because there's not a huge Asian let alone Asian American population here. I might as well say I'm from Ecuador, because people will believe me just as much as when I say I'm from the U.S.
Since a lot of United States' culture is diffused through media, it says a lot about the way media portrays the "American" population. Although 30 percent of the population are considered "minorities," mainstream American media is still almost all white. So what does this mean for me as a Taiwanese American in Ecuador? Well first everyone thinks I'm Chinese. With the earthquake in Japan, everyone started asking me if I was Japanese. When I'm introduce myself to someone new they always ask me where I'm from, and usually twice. Preemptively I have started to explain that my mom is from Taiwan. It's especially notable when I'm with other people in my program. We say we're all from the United States, and then the question follows, "Oh, all of you?" or "And where are YOU from?" -clearly pointed at me since I do not look like the rest of the folks in my group.
Even when I clarify that I'm Taiwanese American (but born in Pennsylvania, now living in Illinois) people often don't remember. It took my host family a while to remember that I wasn't born in Taiwan. Also, since Andrew just recently visited it added another factor. The first time I showed my Ecua-family a picture of Andrew, they said, "oh he's North American, North American." Kind of implying that I'm not quite there with my North-Americaness. Then on my taxi ride to pick up Andrew, my taxi driver (my friend's host dad who already knew my background) asked me, "So is your boyfriend Korean like you?" Let's just say there's more than one thing wrong with that question.
Flash back to when I was in preschool in Pennsylvania... (note, this is a story I've been told, because I don't remember that far back in my life)
I think our teacher was doing a class on diversity (at least an attempt) and she said something along the lines of, oh and this girl is Chinese, just like Joy! Apparently, I threw a huge fit for the rest of the day. Claiming, "I'm NOT Chinese." Over and over and over. The young Joy was annoying and persistent. I also asserted over and over that I'm AMERICAN. when my family friends picked me up from the school, my teacher apologized for offending me. [tangent, I'm going to have to write another post on the use of the word "American" later]
I really am not Chinese. It's an issue that I came to terms with in high school, I'm Taiwanese American. It's really confusing because I was always told that my family is considered Chinese in Taiwan because we're not indigenous Taiwanese (but in recent news I found out I'm 1/8 indigenous Taiwanese). And that I should consider myself an ABC American Born Chinese. There's a lot of tension between Chinese and Taiwanese that I won't go into detail here. Basically this identity issue is something I thought I'd worked out for a few years now. I started calling myself a Taiwanese American or an American Born Taiwanese.
Good for me that I worked that out, right? But whatever I call myself people still see me the way that they want to and the way they have learned to perceive Asians. I have "the eyes." Rosa once made a comment that she hoped my kids will have eyes like mine, Korean eyes. I wasn't sure what to say.. thank you? I hope so too? You know I'm not Korean?
But then the opposite I feel is just as bad. When people call me white or when my differences are not acknowledged. For example the study abroad office programs in preparation for study abroad and the way international student issues are discussed. I've been warned over and over about how blond hair blue eyed people get a lot attention. Oh, if you have red hair and freckles, watch out! Pale skin etc. People LOVE blond hair. I remember thinking okay, glad to know I won't be getting a lot of attention, but what should I expect as an Asian American? I was particularly offended when one blond hair blue eyed girl sitting next to me who studied abroad in Australia said in reference to American women, "WE blend in really well until we open our mouth." (I wouldn't blend in, I don't like this "we" business) Then when I got to Ecuador, I heard some of the same things... "your blond hair is really going to stand out, people will stare" My Ecuadorean Culture teacher warned us before Carnaval, that the pretty girls with blond hair will be especially targeted (blond equating to beautiful was rough on my self-esteem for a while). A lot of this reminded me of discussions on barbie dolls and how they set unattainable beauty standards for girls, especially minorities. Culture class is quite frustrating for me whenever we talk about US culture and my professor makes assumptions.
It's hard to articulate this frustration, because on the one hand I want people to accept the idea that I'm from the United States and not call me out because I look different. On the other hand, I don't want my differences to go unacknowledged by people from the U.S. and I don't want to and can't ignore my Taiwanese side. There are some Asian Americans who don't speak their parents language and have never lived outside of the U.S., but I'm not one of them. The best I can do is accept that there are multiple aspects that make up my identity. People will continue to try to categorize me wherever I go. Even at home on a campus with many Asian international students, people ask, "Where are you from?" Or say, "What are you?" But I just have to keep in mind and they should too, that my answer to questions like those only characterizes one aspect of my person. If people can't see beyond my Asian features, well, there's a lot more to Joy that they will miss.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Senales
Ten Signs that I'm Adapting Well, Perhaps Ecua-fying
1. I take showers with normal pressure and temperature, I've found the perfect balance (almost everyday).
2. Large bugs in my room do not phase me. This does not mean that I don't try to kill them.
3. I eat more than 3 different types of starches at meals without thinking about it.
4. I put sugar in every warm drink
5. I think it's cold when its 60 out
6. I've come to terms that whenever I ask for directions I will receive vague answers "It's right over there." I've also started giving directions the same way.
7. $5 for lunch is too expensive. Similarly, I like paying with exact change and paying with pennies is acceptable.
8. Waiting 20 minutes for the Lumbisi bus is okay
9. It's been a while since I've had the urge to tear off the extra inches on the papers here to make them fit into my folders
10. I'm picking up on Ecua-phrases like "porfa" which is shortened for por favor and during conversations I comfortably say a-ha, and ya.
Seven Signs that I'm Becoming Part of my Ecua-Family
1. Occasionally, a member of my Ecua family will mix up my name with Genesis
2. Josue, Carlos and I share inside jokes
3. I can walk into the kitchen without the whole family running over to make sure I'm not ninja-ing in to wash the dishes
4. I'm allowed to help set the table for dinner!
5. Rosa asked me to help her pick beans in the family plot
6. My Ecua family members tell me how much they'll miss me when I leave. Josue said he will go have to go sleep outside with our puppies because he'll be so sad.
7. Although they have done it from day one, Juan Carlos and Rosa call me "mi hija" which translates to my daughter.
1. I take showers with normal pressure and temperature, I've found the perfect balance (almost everyday).
2. Large bugs in my room do not phase me. This does not mean that I don't try to kill them.
3. I eat more than 3 different types of starches at meals without thinking about it.
4. I put sugar in every warm drink
5. I think it's cold when its 60 out
6. I've come to terms that whenever I ask for directions I will receive vague answers "It's right over there." I've also started giving directions the same way.
7. $5 for lunch is too expensive. Similarly, I like paying with exact change and paying with pennies is acceptable.
8. Waiting 20 minutes for the Lumbisi bus is okay
9. It's been a while since I've had the urge to tear off the extra inches on the papers here to make them fit into my folders
10. I'm picking up on Ecua-phrases like "porfa" which is shortened for por favor and during conversations I comfortably say a-ha, and ya.
Seven Signs that I'm Becoming Part of my Ecua-Family
1. Occasionally, a member of my Ecua family will mix up my name with Genesis
2. Josue, Carlos and I share inside jokes
3. I can walk into the kitchen without the whole family running over to make sure I'm not ninja-ing in to wash the dishes
4. I'm allowed to help set the table for dinner!
5. Rosa asked me to help her pick beans in the family plot
6. My Ecua family members tell me how much they'll miss me when I leave. Josue said he will go have to go sleep outside with our puppies because he'll be so sad.
7. Although they have done it from day one, Juan Carlos and Rosa call me "mi hija" which translates to my daughter.
Friday, April 1, 2011
A Mi Modo de Ver
If you've read the recent posts, you will know that I had 2 lovely visitors. I asked them to write a post for their visit, and they happily did so :) Now it's my turn to do a little reflection on having visitors. Also, I've uploaded a new album on facebook, you can see it here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=636790&id=774675412&l=bd8f7b7a91
Mama Joy's Visit
The first day that I brought my mom to the University, I introduced her to a friend from my program. My friend immediately said, "I was wondering if you were going to bring Mama Joy to class." Thus, my mother became Mama Joy.
It was a great time, and my mom got to meet pretty much everyone. For me, the best day of her visit was when we went into Centro Historico in Quito to see the Plaza Grande and the Basilica. Also, the way my Ecua family took her in was great. My mom discovered that Carlos can understand a decent amount of English. Josue on the other hand pretended he understood then would quickly look at me for translation. My host family loved her visit. Juan Carlos and Josue were seriously tearing up the night before she left. Even now, a few weeks later, my host family still asks about how she's doing. Josue always asks if she misses him the most. Just yesterday Genesis said, "I love your mom. I miss your mom!"
El Novio
Andrew came in four days after my mom left. Before his arrival almost everyone in my program kept reminding me that he was coming. They were even counting down the hours. Definitely very exciting. His visit felt shorter, but we did a lot (as you can see from the previous post).
The highlight was just being able to spend time with Andrew. But the trip to Mindo was fun. I did not make it out without bug bites as I had hoped. They're not as bad as the last time (where I had 40 on one foot), but they did turn a sickly maroon color that made everyone, especially me, uncomfortable. It's strange, the bites cluster on my right ankle/foot. It's like the bugs especially like my right foot, I just don't understand. Also, during zip lining, I lost the contact in my right eye. I saw it fall out right before the end of one cable, and I thought... well that's never getting back in my eye.
My host family also gave a warm reception to Andrew. They're so genuine and warm heart-ed. Andrew also was pretty quick in picking up some Spanish. I would be about to translate something and he would already be nodding and responding.
Back to normal
So now both of my visitors have left and I'm not expecting anyone else. At times it feels like they were never here. It's a little bit of an emotional roller coaster, and having to say goodbyes again was difficult. I've never felt so much anxiety and excitement than when I was waiting for my mom and then Andrew to arrive at the airport. Perhaps it's because Quito has a tiny airport, but there were huge crowds of people both times when I picked up my people.
The first time I was clutching half wilted flowers that I bought last minute for my mom. I stood for almost 2 hours scanning all the people coming out of the doors. I saw so many families and friends reunite... At one point my taxi driver (who has never seen a picture of my mom) said that he thought she came out... the next thing I know I see an elderly Asian woman (not my mom) hobble out. Okay Ecua-uncle, just because she's Asian does not mean I'm related. When I finally spotted my mom I was surprised that the flowers were still alive. Andrew did not take as long to come out of customs, but it was the same feeling of anxiety. I've concluded that waiting for loved ones at the airport is kind of painful and exicting in a very humane way.
I already miss my mom and Andrew. I was spoiled by their back to back visits. Now it's time to go back to doing things that I normally do. It may sound boring and a little sad compared to having visitors, but it's actually really cool to think I have a daily routine here in Ecuador, and I'm going to enjoy it while I can.
Mama Joy's Visit
The first day that I brought my mom to the University, I introduced her to a friend from my program. My friend immediately said, "I was wondering if you were going to bring Mama Joy to class." Thus, my mother became Mama Joy.
It was a great time, and my mom got to meet pretty much everyone. For me, the best day of her visit was when we went into Centro Historico in Quito to see the Plaza Grande and the Basilica. Also, the way my Ecua family took her in was great. My mom discovered that Carlos can understand a decent amount of English. Josue on the other hand pretended he understood then would quickly look at me for translation. My host family loved her visit. Juan Carlos and Josue were seriously tearing up the night before she left. Even now, a few weeks later, my host family still asks about how she's doing. Josue always asks if she misses him the most. Just yesterday Genesis said, "I love your mom. I miss your mom!"
 |
| Picture taken in Lumbisi, on a hill. (My mom really isn't that short) |
Andrew came in four days after my mom left. Before his arrival almost everyone in my program kept reminding me that he was coming. They were even counting down the hours. Definitely very exciting. His visit felt shorter, but we did a lot (as you can see from the previous post).
The highlight was just being able to spend time with Andrew. But the trip to Mindo was fun. I did not make it out without bug bites as I had hoped. They're not as bad as the last time (where I had 40 on one foot), but they did turn a sickly maroon color that made everyone, especially me, uncomfortable. It's strange, the bites cluster on my right ankle/foot. It's like the bugs especially like my right foot, I just don't understand. Also, during zip lining, I lost the contact in my right eye. I saw it fall out right before the end of one cable, and I thought... well that's never getting back in my eye.
My host family also gave a warm reception to Andrew. They're so genuine and warm heart-ed. Andrew also was pretty quick in picking up some Spanish. I would be about to translate something and he would already be nodding and responding.
 |
| Overlooking Quito, after taking the TeleferiQo. Feeling the altitude. |
So now both of my visitors have left and I'm not expecting anyone else. At times it feels like they were never here. It's a little bit of an emotional roller coaster, and having to say goodbyes again was difficult. I've never felt so much anxiety and excitement than when I was waiting for my mom and then Andrew to arrive at the airport. Perhaps it's because Quito has a tiny airport, but there were huge crowds of people both times when I picked up my people.
The first time I was clutching half wilted flowers that I bought last minute for my mom. I stood for almost 2 hours scanning all the people coming out of the doors. I saw so many families and friends reunite... At one point my taxi driver (who has never seen a picture of my mom) said that he thought she came out... the next thing I know I see an elderly Asian woman (not my mom) hobble out. Okay Ecua-uncle, just because she's Asian does not mean I'm related. When I finally spotted my mom I was surprised that the flowers were still alive. Andrew did not take as long to come out of customs, but it was the same feeling of anxiety. I've concluded that waiting for loved ones at the airport is kind of painful and exicting in a very humane way.
I already miss my mom and Andrew. I was spoiled by their back to back visits. Now it's time to go back to doing things that I normally do. It may sound boring and a little sad compared to having visitors, but it's actually really cool to think I have a daily routine here in Ecuador, and I'm going to enjoy it while I can.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
An Ecuadorean Spring Break with Joy: Guest Post by Andrew Rehn
Joy has asked me (Andrew) to do a guest post and I am happy to provide one. My week in Ecuador felt like it went by quick, but we did a lot and I had a ton of fun. I tried to be succinct for this post, but I felt like I was missing things, so this post is a long one. I apologize for that. For pictures to accompany and give context to this wall of text, see this link: https://picasaweb.google.com/andrew.rehn/Mar282011?authkey=Gv1sRgCKOhwKXJw8HOcg&feat=directlink
Monday
On Monday, Joy just settled me in to Ecuador. She showed me around Lumbisi (the village where her host family lives) and USFQ (the college she is attending there). Lumbisi is an incredible little community. The description in Joy's Mom's post is better than anything I could write, but I will give it a shot. Joy's family lives on the second story of a house that they own in Lumbisi. The first floor is rented out to another family. Chickens and two puppies live in the yard outside the house (Joy finds the chickens to be hilarious. A chicken strolling around doing its thing will start Joy giggling). Joy's host family lives down the road (literally downhill) from the park, which is the commercial center of Lumbisi. Most of the homes around the park have converted their first floor into small stores or internet cafes. The stores there support the needs of the community, but aren’t big enough to attract people from outside Lumbisi. I suspect the people of Lumbisi prefer it that way. The park is also where we caught the buses to get to school. The bus took us from Lumbisi to school in Cumbaya for just 20 cents each.
USFQ is a beautiful school. I wish I had taken more pictures. It reminds me of Florida or the resort I went to in Mexico: lots of palm trees, a lake with a pirate ship, and a fountain-wall that would work occasionally (hopefully Joy can load a picture of that sometime). The different buildings of the school all connect in strange ways, giving it a maze-like feeling that all schools worth their salt have. I still can’t quite figure out how everything was connected in my head. I attended some of Joy’s classes, but didn’t understand a thing (I was usually reading a book anyway). When not in Joy’s classes with her, I was at one of the computer labs using the internet or using Joy’s computer. The entire school has wireless internet access. We ate lunch at this really cool restaurant that has a different set meal each day. Lunch was just $2.50 for soup, the entrée, a drink and desert!
That night, I gave Joy’s host family the gifts I had brought for them. For the parents, I brought a bottle of 312 and some Frango mints. The parents were really excited about the 312 bottle which shows the Chicago skyline. Later they asked Joy and me what 312 stood for and we told them it was the area code of Chicago. For the boys (ages 15 and 12) I brought Uno cards and Pass the Pigs. We played a few games of Pass the Pigs they were extremely entertaining. When Carlos pigged out, he would cry out and fall on to the couch dramatically, and Josue wouldn’t stop rolling until he pigged out. For the little girl Genesis, I brought two mechanical hamsters called Zhu Zhus. She seemed to enjoy playing with them a lot. However, the make a lot of noise so I hope they don’t start to annoy her parents too much.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, I went with Joy to school again. That night, Joy and I played Bananagrams with the members of her study abroad program. We had a lot of fun. For those of you who haven’t played it, Bananagrams is like scrabble except you have your own board and race to use all your tiles. It is a lot of fun and I suggest any Scrabble-lover to try it. We played Spanish Bananagrams first. It was difficult for them to play and impossible for me to play (knowing only a handful of Spanish words). We switched to English Bananagrams and things got really competitive.
Wednesday
On Wednesday, Joy and I went to Quito to see the Basilica. You can see some of the picture of the Basilica on the picasa link. I would like to say that we climbed to the top, but I was not able to make it that far. For some reason, my fear of heights got the best of me that day. We climbed almost to the top of the clock tower, but I couldn’t do the other end of the basilica where the climb was on the outside of the building. On the way down, we stopped at a café in the basilica to have a milkshake (it was more like chocolate milk) and talk for a while. We came back home to Lumbisi for dinner and then went back out to Quito that evening with the rest of her program to go salsa dancing. It may not shock you that I do not know how to salsa dance and am certainly not a natural. However, Joy was forgiving and we had a good time. After a bit of salsa, some of us went to another bar that was trying to be an Irish pub. We had a few drinks and talked. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. It was late when we got back, but one of the puppies woke up Juan Carlos and he met us at the door to say good night.
Thursday
On Thursday, Joy took off classes so that we could spend more time in Quito. We rode a cable car to the top of Pichincha Volcano. The cable car took us up to 4100m above sea level (from Quito which is 3000m). By the time we got to the top, both Joy and I had a little altitude sickness. Nonetheless, the view was marvelous. On the ride back down, we could see the basilica from our cable car. We got back down to the bottom of the mountain just before it started pouring rain. To escape the rain, we took a taxi to the market in Quito with some friends we met on the ride down from the mountain. Joy and I got lunch at a restaurant where we had cheesy potatoes with an egg on top, a delicious but strange dish (it’s called llapingachos!). Afterward, we stopped by a market to buy Ecuapants (the blue pants I am wearing in the zip lining pictures). Later, Joy’s host family told us the Ecuapants are very popular thing for tourists to buy, but Ecuadorians don’t wear them. Indeed, didn’t see a single Ecuadorian wearing them, but I saw a few tourists wearing them on the plane ride home.
Friday
On Friday, Joy and I went to Mindo with some friends from her program. Mindo is a small resort town in a cloud forest in Ecuador. We got in around 6pm and by the time we settled in to our Hostel it was around 7pm. The hostel was fantastic. It had an open to the elements feel to it while still being comfortable. The people who ran the hostel were extremely helpful. They even completely changed the locks on the door when we thought someone had broken into our room (nothing was stolen)! We got dinner at a delicious local place with an open grill. We ate rice, beans and chicken. I also had a plate of corn, cheese and mayo. It sounds like a strange combination but it was surprisingly good. That night we went to a club with some of the locals (we were the only gringos there). It was a lot of fun, but our night was cut short when some of the locals started fighting each other (we think they were fighting over a dance with a girl). We got out of there ASAP. None of us were hurt or even directly threatened. However, we decided to call it a night.
Saturday
On Saturday, we got breakfast at the hostel and then took a taxi (back of a pick-up truck to be exact) to Mindo Canopy Adventures, a zip lining company. I think we went down 11 different zip lines. The zip lines went over ravines in the forest and we were well over 100 feet in the air at some points. On one line, I was able to go with a guide and do the mariposa (butterfly in Spanish). Basically, the guide held my feet in the air and I went down the zip line upside down. It was a lot of fun, but really scary. I couldn’t bring myself to bring both hands off of the harness. After zip lining, we went back to the hostel to change into our swimsuits and then went tubing down a river (even though it was raining a bit). It was really really cold at first, but once we got used to the water it was a lot of fun. At one point we went under a bit and I thought the tubes were going to flip. We were tubing down the river for about twenty minutes. Afterward, we dried off at the hostel and got a late lunch at a pizza place in town (delicious Hawaiian pizza). Then we took the bus back to Quito then home. All together, the trip cost about $40 each. Try going zip lining, tubing and staying the night somewhere in the States for that price.
Sunday
On Sunday, Joy and I decided to take it easy. After a long week, a day of rest seemed appropriate. We watched a movie (The Town) and went to a soccer game that her host dad was playing in. He is a member of the Lumbisi intramural league. That night, I said my goodbyes and thank you (muchas gracias) to the family, and left for home.
La Joy
Given all that, my favorite part of the trip was being able to see Joy. The people were fantastic, the food was delicious, and the places we traveled were spectacular, but being able to see Joy again was like a long awaited breath of fresh air. While it had only been three months since I had seen her, I had forgotten so many wonderful things about Joy. I forgot how incredible her smile and laugh are. I forgot how much I love talking with her about little things and life's big philosophical questions. I forgot how she always looks good, no matter if she is at the breakfast table after she just woke up or going out for a night of dancing in Quito. This trip made me remember all these things. I can’t wait to see her again, but I hope she enjoys her remaining time in Ecuador. She is doing quite well for herself in classes and with her friends. More importantly, I can tell that her host family really loves her. In just a few months she has become part of their family and developed a bond with them that will last a lifetime. Before I left, they made me promise that I would look after Joy when she got back to the states. That’s a promise I intend to keep.
[I have such a wonderful boyfriend, who was willing to travel all the way to Ecuador to see me and write a post. It was great having Andrew here for his Spring Break. I couldn't help myself, the italicized comments are my additions. Hope you all have enjoyed the guest posts as much as I've enjoyed my guests!]
Monday
On Monday, Joy just settled me in to Ecuador. She showed me around Lumbisi (the village where her host family lives) and USFQ (the college she is attending there). Lumbisi is an incredible little community. The description in Joy's Mom's post is better than anything I could write, but I will give it a shot. Joy's family lives on the second story of a house that they own in Lumbisi. The first floor is rented out to another family. Chickens and two puppies live in the yard outside the house (Joy finds the chickens to be hilarious. A chicken strolling around doing its thing will start Joy giggling). Joy's host family lives down the road (literally downhill) from the park, which is the commercial center of Lumbisi. Most of the homes around the park have converted their first floor into small stores or internet cafes. The stores there support the needs of the community, but aren’t big enough to attract people from outside Lumbisi. I suspect the people of Lumbisi prefer it that way. The park is also where we caught the buses to get to school. The bus took us from Lumbisi to school in Cumbaya for just 20 cents each.
USFQ is a beautiful school. I wish I had taken more pictures. It reminds me of Florida or the resort I went to in Mexico: lots of palm trees, a lake with a pirate ship, and a fountain-wall that would work occasionally (hopefully Joy can load a picture of that sometime). The different buildings of the school all connect in strange ways, giving it a maze-like feeling that all schools worth their salt have. I still can’t quite figure out how everything was connected in my head. I attended some of Joy’s classes, but didn’t understand a thing (I was usually reading a book anyway). When not in Joy’s classes with her, I was at one of the computer labs using the internet or using Joy’s computer. The entire school has wireless internet access. We ate lunch at this really cool restaurant that has a different set meal each day. Lunch was just $2.50 for soup, the entrée, a drink and desert!
That night, I gave Joy’s host family the gifts I had brought for them. For the parents, I brought a bottle of 312 and some Frango mints. The parents were really excited about the 312 bottle which shows the Chicago skyline. Later they asked Joy and me what 312 stood for and we told them it was the area code of Chicago. For the boys (ages 15 and 12) I brought Uno cards and Pass the Pigs. We played a few games of Pass the Pigs they were extremely entertaining. When Carlos pigged out, he would cry out and fall on to the couch dramatically, and Josue wouldn’t stop rolling until he pigged out. For the little girl Genesis, I brought two mechanical hamsters called Zhu Zhus. She seemed to enjoy playing with them a lot. However, the make a lot of noise so I hope they don’t start to annoy her parents too much.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, I went with Joy to school again. That night, Joy and I played Bananagrams with the members of her study abroad program. We had a lot of fun. For those of you who haven’t played it, Bananagrams is like scrabble except you have your own board and race to use all your tiles. It is a lot of fun and I suggest any Scrabble-lover to try it. We played Spanish Bananagrams first. It was difficult for them to play and impossible for me to play (knowing only a handful of Spanish words). We switched to English Bananagrams and things got really competitive.
Wednesday
On Wednesday, Joy and I went to Quito to see the Basilica. You can see some of the picture of the Basilica on the picasa link. I would like to say that we climbed to the top, but I was not able to make it that far. For some reason, my fear of heights got the best of me that day. We climbed almost to the top of the clock tower, but I couldn’t do the other end of the basilica where the climb was on the outside of the building. On the way down, we stopped at a café in the basilica to have a milkshake (it was more like chocolate milk) and talk for a while. We came back home to Lumbisi for dinner and then went back out to Quito that evening with the rest of her program to go salsa dancing. It may not shock you that I do not know how to salsa dance and am certainly not a natural. However, Joy was forgiving and we had a good time. After a bit of salsa, some of us went to another bar that was trying to be an Irish pub. We had a few drinks and talked. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. It was late when we got back, but one of the puppies woke up Juan Carlos and he met us at the door to say good night.
Thursday
On Thursday, Joy took off classes so that we could spend more time in Quito. We rode a cable car to the top of Pichincha Volcano. The cable car took us up to 4100m above sea level (from Quito which is 3000m). By the time we got to the top, both Joy and I had a little altitude sickness. Nonetheless, the view was marvelous. On the ride back down, we could see the basilica from our cable car. We got back down to the bottom of the mountain just before it started pouring rain. To escape the rain, we took a taxi to the market in Quito with some friends we met on the ride down from the mountain. Joy and I got lunch at a restaurant where we had cheesy potatoes with an egg on top, a delicious but strange dish (it’s called llapingachos!). Afterward, we stopped by a market to buy Ecuapants (the blue pants I am wearing in the zip lining pictures). Later, Joy’s host family told us the Ecuapants are very popular thing for tourists to buy, but Ecuadorians don’t wear them. Indeed, didn’t see a single Ecuadorian wearing them, but I saw a few tourists wearing them on the plane ride home.
Friday
On Friday, Joy and I went to Mindo with some friends from her program. Mindo is a small resort town in a cloud forest in Ecuador. We got in around 6pm and by the time we settled in to our Hostel it was around 7pm. The hostel was fantastic. It had an open to the elements feel to it while still being comfortable. The people who ran the hostel were extremely helpful. They even completely changed the locks on the door when we thought someone had broken into our room (nothing was stolen)! We got dinner at a delicious local place with an open grill. We ate rice, beans and chicken. I also had a plate of corn, cheese and mayo. It sounds like a strange combination but it was surprisingly good. That night we went to a club with some of the locals (we were the only gringos there). It was a lot of fun, but our night was cut short when some of the locals started fighting each other (we think they were fighting over a dance with a girl). We got out of there ASAP. None of us were hurt or even directly threatened. However, we decided to call it a night.
Saturday
On Saturday, we got breakfast at the hostel and then took a taxi (back of a pick-up truck to be exact) to Mindo Canopy Adventures, a zip lining company. I think we went down 11 different zip lines. The zip lines went over ravines in the forest and we were well over 100 feet in the air at some points. On one line, I was able to go with a guide and do the mariposa (butterfly in Spanish). Basically, the guide held my feet in the air and I went down the zip line upside down. It was a lot of fun, but really scary. I couldn’t bring myself to bring both hands off of the harness. After zip lining, we went back to the hostel to change into our swimsuits and then went tubing down a river (even though it was raining a bit). It was really really cold at first, but once we got used to the water it was a lot of fun. At one point we went under a bit and I thought the tubes were going to flip. We were tubing down the river for about twenty minutes. Afterward, we dried off at the hostel and got a late lunch at a pizza place in town (delicious Hawaiian pizza). Then we took the bus back to Quito then home. All together, the trip cost about $40 each. Try going zip lining, tubing and staying the night somewhere in the States for that price.
Sunday
On Sunday, Joy and I decided to take it easy. After a long week, a day of rest seemed appropriate. We watched a movie (The Town) and went to a soccer game that her host dad was playing in. He is a member of the Lumbisi intramural league. That night, I said my goodbyes and thank you (muchas gracias) to the family, and left for home.
La Joy
Given all that, my favorite part of the trip was being able to see Joy. The people were fantastic, the food was delicious, and the places we traveled were spectacular, but being able to see Joy again was like a long awaited breath of fresh air. While it had only been three months since I had seen her, I had forgotten so many wonderful things about Joy. I forgot how incredible her smile and laugh are. I forgot how much I love talking with her about little things and life's big philosophical questions. I forgot how she always looks good, no matter if she is at the breakfast table after she just woke up or going out for a night of dancing in Quito. This trip made me remember all these things. I can’t wait to see her again, but I hope she enjoys her remaining time in Ecuador. She is doing quite well for herself in classes and with her friends. More importantly, I can tell that her host family really loves her. In just a few months she has become part of their family and developed a bond with them that will last a lifetime. Before I left, they made me promise that I would look after Joy when she got back to the states. That’s a promise I intend to keep.
[I have such a wonderful boyfriend, who was willing to travel all the way to Ecuador to see me and write a post. It was great having Andrew here for his Spring Break. I couldn't help myself, the italicized comments are my additions. Hope you all have enjoyed the guest posts as much as I've enjoyed my guests!]
Friday, March 25, 2011
Vamos a Mindo
It's been a while. I went to Otavalo with my program last weekend and this week has been busy! Otavalo was fun, we talked to some locals in a town called Peguche. I also tried a traditional Ecuadorean drink known as canelazo (warm, cinnamon drink with a bit of alcohol) when we ate dinner at the hostel. I'm not a huge fan of the drink, I think I underestimated the alcohol content. I spoke to some tourists from China (in Chinese!) while we were sight seeing. He seemed surprised to see another Asian person, who wasn't part of his group. Also, he seemed to think it was strange that we had chosen to study abroad in Ecuador. On Sunday we took a slightly miserable boat ride in the rain around a large lake. It was hard to see anything with the large plastic sheet around us and the cold rainwater spraying onto our legs. We did get to see some tiny bubbles, which were caused by the lake being located near a volcanoe (which we couldn't see since it was so cloudy out).
Also, I have another wonderful visitor here, who said he's willing to do a guest post, so keep your eyes out for that next week :) I will get back to posting more regularly soon, also I am quite behind on my pictures, but that will be fixed.
A couple of us are taking a trip to Mindo this weekend. I'm hoping for fun times ziplining and minimal mosquitoe bites!
Also, I have another wonderful visitor here, who said he's willing to do a guest post, so keep your eyes out for that next week :) I will get back to posting more regularly soon, also I am quite behind on my pictures, but that will be fixed.
A couple of us are taking a trip to Mindo this weekend. I'm hoping for fun times ziplining and minimal mosquitoe bites!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Joy in Lumbisi: Guest Post by Julia Yang
Joy in Lumbisi
Lumbisi is a small and rural town 30-60 minutes drive away from the Quito airport.
I came to visit my daughter, Joy, who is studying abroad with the University of San Francisco in Ecuador. I stayed with her host family for the last 7 days. Joy asked me to write a post for her blog. Here I am doing my homework while flying back to Chicago. Warning: long reading to follow...sorry the flights were very long.
Can you see Lumbisi in your imagination?
I was first impressed by the beauty of Ecuadorian mountains I saw while riding buses. Each mountain seems to be embracing and nurturing her people and their homes in the hills. The snow covered volcano Joy can see through her window is a quiet spiritual symbol for the highlanders. Lumbisi is surrounded by high mountains all around. A hike with the family allowed me to overlook the beautiful village with a landmark of a Catholic church steeple. While main streets were paved with bricks, there were many dirt roads traveled by residents, cars, dogs, sheep, and chicken. The hilly streets, tall corn in the backyards of the colorful houses, and children of all ages playing soccer formed the foreground of the grand mountain views.
The indigenous and the authentic encounter
Most residents of Lumbisi are indigenous Ecuadorians who are very humble, friendly, expressive, and hard working. Their family closeness, content, and kindness and the seemingly hardship they endure in their everyday living gave me a portrait of courage, the title of a book I published last year. I cannot help but to compare such outlook to the high stress, depression, and anxiety we see in the American society and the social problems that come along. Joy's host sibling told me that he was not aware of any parental divorce among his peers. Lumbisi is only one only bus away from the affluent communities yet it appears unconcerned about the worldly interest. I appreciated the community pride I saw in the parade that 60 uniformed soccer teams of all ages from Lumbisi marched around the stadium where traditional music was shared generously with the whole valley. While for a international traveler like me, the world is outside of me to get to, the world is in the heart of these people who may never travel outside of Ecuador! For some reason, the image of lily in the valley comes to mind as I write now.
Lumbisi people are the blessed ones who know the richness of living simple.
I met the exchange program director, Maria, who is also a local community advocate for Lumbisi. Many U.S. college students have been placed in Lumbisi over time and participated in many community, preschool, and gardening projects. I met two young individuals who returned to Equador after their study abroad program. I asked them, why? Their response was identical: the people. Lumbisi reminded me much of how I grew up in Taiwan. It felt at home to me: temperature, people, and the plentiful buses that take you anywhere you need to go. Last night, Joy's host family gave me a beautiful hand carved wooden tea box. As we said farewell, the boys and the father began to cry. I cried more when my husband phoned me from Chicago. I am indeed speechless about this authentic encounter...
The joy of Joy
I must stop writing soon as Joy always would apologize for a long post. This post cannot be complete without me saying something about Joy. I thought I knew my daughter well all the time. It is not so! I marvel at her ability to navigate in a totally foreign system: language, foods, transportation, relationships, etc. Her adjustment from the carpeted floor to the cement floor, driving to walking, some make up to no make up are all impressive. Most importantly, the Ecuadorian experience brings her majors to life: Global Studies and Spanish. It looks like she has worked hard to keep her straight A record here while she joined several tours to see the many faces of the country. I cherished every moment we had together in these 7 days. Joy by definition means pleasant surprises--what my Joy has brought me all the time. I grow as she continues to develop. Joy, also means the longing that something nice is going to happen. I cannot explain but this is what I walked away with from visiting Joy. I hope by this time I have shared with you enough about my true Joy in Lumbisi.
Blessings,
Mama Joy
P.S. For the record, the following is a log of what we did together during this visit.
3/10 Arrived in Quito, long custom wait, met Joy's host parents, Rosa and Juan Carlos.
3/11 Greeted by a snow covered volcano in the window view, many chicken and two
sheep in the morning. Dozed off in Joy's class. Met the host siblings, Josue (15),
Carlos (12),and Genesis (5). Met Joy's program director, Maria. MANY street
dogs.
3/12 Took a 2.5-hour plus bus ride to Otavalo, the "must go" market of crafts by the
indigenous people.
3/13 Enjoyed the annual Lumbisi Parade of 60 soccer teams in the stadium
surrounded by beautiful cloud topped mountains. Had crabs Rosa bought from
Quito one hour bus ride each way.
3/14. Toured Quito. Coffee and brownie with Joy. Climbed to the top of the cathedral. Hit
the bells three times. Showed pictures of the young Joy to the host family.
3/15 Visited a church in the deep mountains with Rosa and Gensis. The statue of Jesus
was brown that reminded me of in 1999, I encountered a black Jesus in Mexico
City. Edited the video and pictures and put them in a jump drive for the family.
3/16 Departed. Due to the delay of luggage in Huston, had to go through security,
check in, and run through 2 terminals to catch the connecting flight all in 8 minutes
[I'm blessed to have a mother who writes this well. She is a published author, and I must say if you liked this post you should check out her book: The Psychology of Courage: An Adlerian Handbook for Healthy Social Living. I don't know how to italicize the "Joy" in the title of the post, but that's the real title.]
Lumbisi is a small and rural town 30-60 minutes drive away from the Quito airport.
I came to visit my daughter, Joy, who is studying abroad with the University of San Francisco in Ecuador. I stayed with her host family for the last 7 days. Joy asked me to write a post for her blog. Here I am doing my homework while flying back to Chicago. Warning: long reading to follow...sorry the flights were very long.
Can you see Lumbisi in your imagination?
I was first impressed by the beauty of Ecuadorian mountains I saw while riding buses. Each mountain seems to be embracing and nurturing her people and their homes in the hills. The snow covered volcano Joy can see through her window is a quiet spiritual symbol for the highlanders. Lumbisi is surrounded by high mountains all around. A hike with the family allowed me to overlook the beautiful village with a landmark of a Catholic church steeple. While main streets were paved with bricks, there were many dirt roads traveled by residents, cars, dogs, sheep, and chicken. The hilly streets, tall corn in the backyards of the colorful houses, and children of all ages playing soccer formed the foreground of the grand mountain views.
The indigenous and the authentic encounter
Most residents of Lumbisi are indigenous Ecuadorians who are very humble, friendly, expressive, and hard working. Their family closeness, content, and kindness and the seemingly hardship they endure in their everyday living gave me a portrait of courage, the title of a book I published last year. I cannot help but to compare such outlook to the high stress, depression, and anxiety we see in the American society and the social problems that come along. Joy's host sibling told me that he was not aware of any parental divorce among his peers. Lumbisi is only one only bus away from the affluent communities yet it appears unconcerned about the worldly interest. I appreciated the community pride I saw in the parade that 60 uniformed soccer teams of all ages from Lumbisi marched around the stadium where traditional music was shared generously with the whole valley. While for a international traveler like me, the world is outside of me to get to, the world is in the heart of these people who may never travel outside of Ecuador! For some reason, the image of lily in the valley comes to mind as I write now.
Lumbisi people are the blessed ones who know the richness of living simple.
I met the exchange program director, Maria, who is also a local community advocate for Lumbisi. Many U.S. college students have been placed in Lumbisi over time and participated in many community, preschool, and gardening projects. I met two young individuals who returned to Equador after their study abroad program. I asked them, why? Their response was identical: the people. Lumbisi reminded me much of how I grew up in Taiwan. It felt at home to me: temperature, people, and the plentiful buses that take you anywhere you need to go. Last night, Joy's host family gave me a beautiful hand carved wooden tea box. As we said farewell, the boys and the father began to cry. I cried more when my husband phoned me from Chicago. I am indeed speechless about this authentic encounter...
The joy of Joy
I must stop writing soon as Joy always would apologize for a long post. This post cannot be complete without me saying something about Joy. I thought I knew my daughter well all the time. It is not so! I marvel at her ability to navigate in a totally foreign system: language, foods, transportation, relationships, etc. Her adjustment from the carpeted floor to the cement floor, driving to walking, some make up to no make up are all impressive. Most importantly, the Ecuadorian experience brings her majors to life: Global Studies and Spanish. It looks like she has worked hard to keep her straight A record here while she joined several tours to see the many faces of the country. I cherished every moment we had together in these 7 days. Joy by definition means pleasant surprises--what my Joy has brought me all the time. I grow as she continues to develop. Joy, also means the longing that something nice is going to happen. I cannot explain but this is what I walked away with from visiting Joy. I hope by this time I have shared with you enough about my true Joy in Lumbisi.
Blessings,
Mama Joy
P.S. For the record, the following is a log of what we did together during this visit.
3/10 Arrived in Quito, long custom wait, met Joy's host parents, Rosa and Juan Carlos.
3/11 Greeted by a snow covered volcano in the window view, many chicken and two
sheep in the morning. Dozed off in Joy's class. Met the host siblings, Josue (15),
Carlos (12),and Genesis (5). Met Joy's program director, Maria. MANY street
dogs.
3/12 Took a 2.5-hour plus bus ride to Otavalo, the "must go" market of crafts by the
indigenous people.
3/13 Enjoyed the annual Lumbisi Parade of 60 soccer teams in the stadium
surrounded by beautiful cloud topped mountains. Had crabs Rosa bought from
Quito one hour bus ride each way.
3/14. Toured Quito. Coffee and brownie with Joy. Climbed to the top of the cathedral. Hit
the bells three times. Showed pictures of the young Joy to the host family.
3/15 Visited a church in the deep mountains with Rosa and Gensis. The statue of Jesus
was brown that reminded me of in 1999, I encountered a black Jesus in Mexico
City. Edited the video and pictures and put them in a jump drive for the family.
3/16 Departed. Due to the delay of luggage in Huston, had to go through security,
check in, and run through 2 terminals to catch the connecting flight all in 8 minutes
[I'm blessed to have a mother who writes this well. She is a published author, and I must say if you liked this post you should check out her book: The Psychology of Courage: An Adlerian Handbook for Healthy Social Living. I don't know how to italicize the "Joy" in the title of the post, but that's the real title.]
Monday, March 14, 2011
Mama joy en Ecuador
Short post today, my guest "blogger" will hopefully be ready to post tomorrow. My mom got in safely last Thursday. Everything has been going well. Rosa told me about the earthquake in Japan first thing Friday morning. On this end Ecuador did not have major problems with the tsunami. From what I heard Taiwan did not have problems either. Praying for Japan.
On a different note, I found out this morning that my mom has been using my toothbrush since last night because she thought it was hers. O.o Time to buy a new toothbrush.
I'll save what we did this weekend for my mom to write about. Right now she is walking around campus taking pictures, let's hope she remembers how to get back to where I am! Until next time :)
On a different note, I found out this morning that my mom has been using my toothbrush since last night because she thought it was hers. O.o Time to buy a new toothbrush.
I'll save what we did this weekend for my mom to write about. Right now she is walking around campus taking pictures, let's hope she remembers how to get back to where I am! Until next time :)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Baile de Paraguas
Edit: I finally posted pictures from Tiputini, you can find them here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=627651&id=774675412&l=47111360e0
I had some problems when I uploaded them, so some might be missing.
Fun fact, I still don't have my Ecuadorian cellphone number memorized. Perhaps I should work on that?
Carnaval weekend did turn out pretty relaxing. I was slightly disappointed that I didn't have a more exciting weekend, however, I'm glad I got some time to rest and catch up on some homework. Some highlights:
Saturday I ate a delicious Ceviche lunch with my host family. Ceviche is a typical seafood dish served in Ecuador, especially on the coast. I had a kind with shrimp and fish. We ate it with popcorn and tostada which is similar to un-popped kernels of popcorn but more edible. In the afternoon I watched my host family play in a soccer game against another family. I managed to talk Genesis out of throwing flour on me, success! At night I went to Quito with some friends who also stayed local for Carnaval. We went to a club with live Ecuadorean folk music. It was much fun, and the staff there was really excited to have people from the States.
Monday we went to Ambato, a town nearby. Ambato is known for its wide varieties of fruits and flowers. Instead of playing with water, people in Ambato supposedly play Carnaval with fruit and flower. The bus ride to Amabato was 2 and 1/2 hours, for only $2.70. A bus ride like that in the States would be over $20. Anyway, we didn't see anything too exciting. We went to a Carnaval fair, they had a lot of different stands, and a best cow competition. We visited Ambato's indoor market to eat some delicious (greasy and questionably clean) llapingachos, typical dish with fried mashed potatoes and cheese. Then we sat in the park and watched people play Carnaval with foam. We only got sprayed with the foam once while waiting for the bus. The major parades in Ambato happened on Sunday and would happen later Monday night, to my disappointment. The journey back to Lumbisi was long, but we did see people covered in flour (and extremely drunk). On our bus ride back to Quito from Ambato they showed the movie Speed. A comforting bus movie for sure.
That was about as exciting as things got. I do have 2 Genesis stories:
On Thursday morning Genesis broke off the bud of one of the flowers sitting in a glass vase on the coffee table. Rosa was very upset about this. The next afternoon I looked at the flowers to see that only the green stems were left, still in the vase. Apparently Genesis had beheaded and taken all of them so that she could play Carnaval with the flower petals. Pobres flores.
Yesterday, Genesis was dancing with her newly bought child-sized umbrella. [Tangent, I don't see many people using umbrellas here, even though it has been raining a lot] The dance was completely crazy style, twirling, stomping, twitching... everything. There was no music, except for whatever she was hearing in her head. Rosa looked over at her daughter and told her, "Not like that! That's so ugly. Be careful, you're going to blind la Joy!" Then Rosa took the umbrella from Genesis and did a little dance of her own to show Genesis how she should dance. I could not stop laughing.
The next post may be from a guest writer if I can convince her to write one... :)
I had some problems when I uploaded them, so some might be missing.
Fun fact, I still don't have my Ecuadorian cellphone number memorized. Perhaps I should work on that?
Carnaval weekend did turn out pretty relaxing. I was slightly disappointed that I didn't have a more exciting weekend, however, I'm glad I got some time to rest and catch up on some homework. Some highlights:
Saturday I ate a delicious Ceviche lunch with my host family. Ceviche is a typical seafood dish served in Ecuador, especially on the coast. I had a kind with shrimp and fish. We ate it with popcorn and tostada which is similar to un-popped kernels of popcorn but more edible. In the afternoon I watched my host family play in a soccer game against another family. I managed to talk Genesis out of throwing flour on me, success! At night I went to Quito with some friends who also stayed local for Carnaval. We went to a club with live Ecuadorean folk music. It was much fun, and the staff there was really excited to have people from the States.
Monday we went to Ambato, a town nearby. Ambato is known for its wide varieties of fruits and flowers. Instead of playing with water, people in Ambato supposedly play Carnaval with fruit and flower. The bus ride to Amabato was 2 and 1/2 hours, for only $2.70. A bus ride like that in the States would be over $20. Anyway, we didn't see anything too exciting. We went to a Carnaval fair, they had a lot of different stands, and a best cow competition. We visited Ambato's indoor market to eat some delicious (greasy and questionably clean) llapingachos, typical dish with fried mashed potatoes and cheese. Then we sat in the park and watched people play Carnaval with foam. We only got sprayed with the foam once while waiting for the bus. The major parades in Ambato happened on Sunday and would happen later Monday night, to my disappointment. The journey back to Lumbisi was long, but we did see people covered in flour (and extremely drunk). On our bus ride back to Quito from Ambato they showed the movie Speed. A comforting bus movie for sure.
That was about as exciting as things got. I do have 2 Genesis stories:
On Thursday morning Genesis broke off the bud of one of the flowers sitting in a glass vase on the coffee table. Rosa was very upset about this. The next afternoon I looked at the flowers to see that only the green stems were left, still in the vase. Apparently Genesis had beheaded and taken all of them so that she could play Carnaval with the flower petals. Pobres flores.
Yesterday, Genesis was dancing with her newly bought child-sized umbrella. [Tangent, I don't see many people using umbrellas here, even though it has been raining a lot] The dance was completely crazy style, twirling, stomping, twitching... everything. There was no music, except for whatever she was hearing in her head. Rosa looked over at her daughter and told her, "Not like that! That's so ugly. Be careful, you're going to blind la Joy!" Then Rosa took the umbrella from Genesis and did a little dance of her own to show Genesis how she should dance. I could not stop laughing.
The next post may be from a guest writer if I can convince her to write one... :)
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Un Fin de Semana Tranquilo?
There was a change of plans because bus tickets were sold out, and here I am in Lumbisi for the weekend for the first time in two weeks. When I first found out I was actually relieved and slightly disappointed. I think I really need a break, so this should be good. I took a nap yesterday afternoon and then joined in some Carnaval festivities with my Ecua-family.
I changed in preparation to start playing, and headed outside to help Rosa with taking the kernels off of the corn (is there a verb for this?) Anyway, it started with Genesis... she took a handful of flour and put it on her mother's head. Then she slowly approached me while looking at her mom. Rosa told her not to do it, but she came closer, and I was like... whatever, it's okay. So I got some flour on my head. The next thing I know Carlos has an egg in his hand and Rosa is yelling at him. Having an egg smashed open on your head is a really interesting experience, I can now check that off (twice) my list of things to do in life. [Rosa was half yelling at her children "DON'T TAKE THE EGGS, THOSE ARE FOR BREAKFAST! Ay pobre Joy"] It escalated to throwing buckets of water at each other. Josue was cheating and locked himself on the terrace, he dumped buckets of water on me. Rosa, like her usual ninja self, busted out an "Espuma," which is foam, and started spraying the boys. I ran up to my room and grabbed my Espuma that I had bought earlier in preparation. It was a very intense waterfight, the most intense one I've experienced. I kept getting water dumped on me by Josue... I kept thinking I was out of range, only to be surprised by very cold water. There was also some grabbing and dragging people to the sources of water. By the end of it I was completely soaked and my shoes had small puddles in them. I left trails of water to my room and the bathroom. I might as well have jumped, fully dressed, into a pool. The boys are very good at dodging the water, I guess they've had years of practice.
After I got cleaned up, I sat down with Rosa for a nice little afternoon hot chocolate and tea. It's like we weren't madly attacking each other with water and foam just an hour before. Rosa told me that the Carnaval we just played is considered "tranquilo" or peaceful here. If grabbing people, rubbing foam into their faces, and cracking eggs on their heads is considered peaceful, I'm not sure I want to participate in the other forms of Carnaval. Apparently, on Monday and Tuesday most people stay inside. Young guys will walk around in groups looking for victims to soak. Girls are the usual targets. I might have to stay on my roof to observe the festivities. It's definitely an interesting holiday.
In Lumbisi today there is a Carnaval dance. On the large banners posted in public places, it advertises raffles, awards, fun music, and a wet t-shirt contest. Yes, you read that correctly. I went for a walk with Rosa and Juan Carlos yesterday, we ran into their pastor. We were standing by one of the banners and he read the description outloud. Then he turned to Rosa and jokingly asked her if she had her T-shirt ready... Awwwwkward. I probably won't make it to the dance (which is almost an all day event, 1pm to 12am), since tonight I plan on going to Quito to hear live Ecuadorian folk music.
That's all for now. I'm sure I'll have more Carnaval stories as the weekend progresses.
I changed in preparation to start playing, and headed outside to help Rosa with taking the kernels off of the corn (is there a verb for this?) Anyway, it started with Genesis... she took a handful of flour and put it on her mother's head. Then she slowly approached me while looking at her mom. Rosa told her not to do it, but she came closer, and I was like... whatever, it's okay. So I got some flour on my head. The next thing I know Carlos has an egg in his hand and Rosa is yelling at him. Having an egg smashed open on your head is a really interesting experience, I can now check that off (twice) my list of things to do in life. [Rosa was half yelling at her children "DON'T TAKE THE EGGS, THOSE ARE FOR BREAKFAST! Ay pobre Joy"] It escalated to throwing buckets of water at each other. Josue was cheating and locked himself on the terrace, he dumped buckets of water on me. Rosa, like her usual ninja self, busted out an "Espuma," which is foam, and started spraying the boys. I ran up to my room and grabbed my Espuma that I had bought earlier in preparation. It was a very intense waterfight, the most intense one I've experienced. I kept getting water dumped on me by Josue... I kept thinking I was out of range, only to be surprised by very cold water. There was also some grabbing and dragging people to the sources of water. By the end of it I was completely soaked and my shoes had small puddles in them. I left trails of water to my room and the bathroom. I might as well have jumped, fully dressed, into a pool. The boys are very good at dodging the water, I guess they've had years of practice.
After I got cleaned up, I sat down with Rosa for a nice little afternoon hot chocolate and tea. It's like we weren't madly attacking each other with water and foam just an hour before. Rosa told me that the Carnaval we just played is considered "tranquilo" or peaceful here. If grabbing people, rubbing foam into their faces, and cracking eggs on their heads is considered peaceful, I'm not sure I want to participate in the other forms of Carnaval. Apparently, on Monday and Tuesday most people stay inside. Young guys will walk around in groups looking for victims to soak. Girls are the usual targets. I might have to stay on my roof to observe the festivities. It's definitely an interesting holiday.
In Lumbisi today there is a Carnaval dance. On the large banners posted in public places, it advertises raffles, awards, fun music, and a wet t-shirt contest. Yes, you read that correctly. I went for a walk with Rosa and Juan Carlos yesterday, we ran into their pastor. We were standing by one of the banners and he read the description outloud. Then he turned to Rosa and jokingly asked her if she had her T-shirt ready... Awwwwkward. I probably won't make it to the dance (which is almost an all day event, 1pm to 12am), since tonight I plan on going to Quito to hear live Ecuadorian folk music.
That's all for now. I'm sure I'll have more Carnaval stories as the weekend progresses.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Tiputini
First, I just took an epic Art History exam in which I attempted to memorize 60 pieces of artwork/churches, the painter, place and the date. There were only 2 of the 60 on the exam, but we had no idea which ones would be there so we had to study all of them. Good news, I recognized both, and remembered all of the relevant information!
Onto more interesting things. This is the real post to Tiputini. It was quite the adventure.
We left Lumbisi at 6:30am by taxi on Friday morning. We took two taxis, the taxi that I was not in ran out of gas in the middle of the highway. Here the fun begins.
First, the airport security in Quito for a national flight was very slack. I didn't need to provide any sort of identification. I could bring liquids and keep my shoes on through security. The plane ride was 30 minutes. Then we took a bus for 15-20 minutes to our boat. The boat ride was almost 2 hours. Then we took a Chiva which is an old bus that does not have windows or doors, open air! About 2 hours later we arrived and took another 2 hour boat ride on the Tiputini River (It's a tribute to the Amazon River). Finally we arrived at the biodiversity station. Throughout the boat/bus ride(s) everyone found creative ways to sleep.
We stayed in cabins with four people each and one bathroom. There were 9 girls on my program and in a series of events I ended up being the 9th, so I roomed with 3 girls from North Carolina. I almost roomed with 3 boys from North Carolina, so it could have been worse. The 16 students who were at Tiputini had to split up into groups of 8, and I ended up going with North Carolina folks. I enjoyed making new friends, but at the time it was a little awkward not being with people from my program. Flexibility is part of being abroad and life in general.
Outing number 1: Our group took a boat to a lake. Then we all crowded into a tiny canoe to go around the lake. It was a bad decision, so half of us got out and we took two trips. We saw many species of birds. Afterward, we walked back to the station. Along the way I ate some (3) ants. They were special ants that live in a type of bush. They had a nice limey taste. We saw several species of monkeys, a large centipede (that our guide picked up), a large spider, and many trees/ vegetation.
Outing number 2: The watch tower. It was 45 meters tall. We climbed a metal stair structure and hung out on a wooden platform for about an hour. We saw macaws, toucans, hummingbirds, and monkeys. On our walk back we saw pocket sized monkeys. Josue asked me why I didn't bring one home, and I told him that I'm a slow tree climber, the monkey escaped me.
Outing number 3: The canopy walkway. The walkway consisted of hanging bridges above the trees, about the same height as the watch tower. We had harnesses in case the bridge broke... amazing views. We also climbed a ladder up 10 more meters and sat on a tiny one person wooden platform.
Outing number 4: Boat ride and swimming/floating down the Tiputini river. It was incredible, and incredibly cold. Also, swimming against the current to get back into the boat was very difficult.
Overall, a really cool trip. Now I can say that I've traveled to the three main regions of Ecuador: the coast, the sierra, and the amazon. We went home the same way that we came. The taxi drivers wanted to charge us $15 to get back to Lumbisi (we paid $10 to get to the airport). But we've been in Ecuador long enough so we bartered it down to $12.
This week has been crazy busy for my classes. Hopefully things will slow down a little bit. Wishful thinking perhaps, since I already have plans to go to the beach this weekend for Carnaval (remember the water balloon festivity?) It should be fun though! I'll work on posting pictures soon :)
Onto more interesting things. This is the real post to Tiputini. It was quite the adventure.
We left Lumbisi at 6:30am by taxi on Friday morning. We took two taxis, the taxi that I was not in ran out of gas in the middle of the highway. Here the fun begins.
First, the airport security in Quito for a national flight was very slack. I didn't need to provide any sort of identification. I could bring liquids and keep my shoes on through security. The plane ride was 30 minutes. Then we took a bus for 15-20 minutes to our boat. The boat ride was almost 2 hours. Then we took a Chiva which is an old bus that does not have windows or doors, open air! About 2 hours later we arrived and took another 2 hour boat ride on the Tiputini River (It's a tribute to the Amazon River). Finally we arrived at the biodiversity station. Throughout the boat/bus ride(s) everyone found creative ways to sleep.
We stayed in cabins with four people each and one bathroom. There were 9 girls on my program and in a series of events I ended up being the 9th, so I roomed with 3 girls from North Carolina. I almost roomed with 3 boys from North Carolina, so it could have been worse. The 16 students who were at Tiputini had to split up into groups of 8, and I ended up going with North Carolina folks. I enjoyed making new friends, but at the time it was a little awkward not being with people from my program. Flexibility is part of being abroad and life in general.
Outing number 1: Our group took a boat to a lake. Then we all crowded into a tiny canoe to go around the lake. It was a bad decision, so half of us got out and we took two trips. We saw many species of birds. Afterward, we walked back to the station. Along the way I ate some (3) ants. They were special ants that live in a type of bush. They had a nice limey taste. We saw several species of monkeys, a large centipede (that our guide picked up), a large spider, and many trees/ vegetation.
Outing number 2: The watch tower. It was 45 meters tall. We climbed a metal stair structure and hung out on a wooden platform for about an hour. We saw macaws, toucans, hummingbirds, and monkeys. On our walk back we saw pocket sized monkeys. Josue asked me why I didn't bring one home, and I told him that I'm a slow tree climber, the monkey escaped me.
Outing number 3: The canopy walkway. The walkway consisted of hanging bridges above the trees, about the same height as the watch tower. We had harnesses in case the bridge broke... amazing views. We also climbed a ladder up 10 more meters and sat on a tiny one person wooden platform.
Outing number 4: Boat ride and swimming/floating down the Tiputini river. It was incredible, and incredibly cold. Also, swimming against the current to get back into the boat was very difficult.
Overall, a really cool trip. Now I can say that I've traveled to the three main regions of Ecuador: the coast, the sierra, and the amazon. We went home the same way that we came. The taxi drivers wanted to charge us $15 to get back to Lumbisi (we paid $10 to get to the airport). But we've been in Ecuador long enough so we bartered it down to $12.
This week has been crazy busy for my classes. Hopefully things will slow down a little bit. Wishful thinking perhaps, since I already have plans to go to the beach this weekend for Carnaval (remember the water balloon festivity?) It should be fun though! I'll work on posting pictures soon :)
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Tiputini (pre-post)
This doesn't count as a real post, just a brief update. I am back from my trip to Tiputini with limited bug bites (the 40 bites on my feet no longer itch!) and no sunburn. It was incredible. I saw 5 different species of monkeys and almost 20 turtles on our journey back. It's basically midterms week here, so I'm going to get on with my homework and studying for exams. A real post will happen soon :)
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Caldo de Pata
Yesterday Rosa kept telling me to come home to eat lunch, which sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. She wanted to serve me a special dish, caldo de pata... I was pretty sure that meant cow feet soup. I couldn't turn her down, it's also a rule to try to say yes to most things while studying abroad. So I came home for lunch. It was cow feet. The broth was pretty good, but I struggled with the actual cow foot. The texture was so squishy and it reminded me of very thick glue... I couldn't finish it. I'm all up for chicken feet and fish eyes but cow feet is beyond me.
I really enjoy family dinners. Genesis is usually doing something silly, i.e, eating with her hands and screaming about something. All the while my Ecua-parents enjoy asking me about the United states and Taiwan. Last night we talked about the differences between China, Taiwan, and Japan. We also talk about day-to-day life in the States, such as if Pepsi or Coke is more popular, and what schools are like. Last night we also talked about machismo, Rosa told me that Juan Carlos isn't very machismo because she wouldn't let anyone who was her husband be that way. My Ecua-siblings were joking that their father is a mandarina, which means a man who gets ordered around by women. I thought it was an interesting and insightful discussion to gender relations.
I want to try to help set the table and clean up but it hasn't happened. I tried to wash my dishes a few days ago, Josue told me to leave it and I said no it's okay. So he joked that I can just wash all of them. Then he went to tell Rosa that I was going to wash all of the dishes. I heard her scream, the next thing I know she's in the kitchen telling me to leave the dishes. Juan Carlos always says that I will get sick if I wash the dishes because it's cold and wet... I think they feel like I'm delicate since I was sick for so much of the time that they've known me. Anyway, I'll just have to ease my way into the house chores I guess.
The final count is in, I have over 40 bug bites just on my right foot! When I told Josue he started laughing so hard that he started to cough. Anyway, I hope I remember to spray repellent on my feet this weekend. Also that I don't get bit by anything too crazy. It's sometimes unbelievable, that I can say, "oh I'm going to the Amazon rain forest this weekend, no big deal." Living in Ecuador is pretty awesome.
I really enjoy family dinners. Genesis is usually doing something silly, i.e, eating with her hands and screaming about something. All the while my Ecua-parents enjoy asking me about the United states and Taiwan. Last night we talked about the differences between China, Taiwan, and Japan. We also talk about day-to-day life in the States, such as if Pepsi or Coke is more popular, and what schools are like. Last night we also talked about machismo, Rosa told me that Juan Carlos isn't very machismo because she wouldn't let anyone who was her husband be that way. My Ecua-siblings were joking that their father is a mandarina, which means a man who gets ordered around by women. I thought it was an interesting and insightful discussion to gender relations.
I want to try to help set the table and clean up but it hasn't happened. I tried to wash my dishes a few days ago, Josue told me to leave it and I said no it's okay. So he joked that I can just wash all of them. Then he went to tell Rosa that I was going to wash all of the dishes. I heard her scream, the next thing I know she's in the kitchen telling me to leave the dishes. Juan Carlos always says that I will get sick if I wash the dishes because it's cold and wet... I think they feel like I'm delicate since I was sick for so much of the time that they've known me. Anyway, I'll just have to ease my way into the house chores I guess.
The final count is in, I have over 40 bug bites just on my right foot! When I told Josue he started laughing so hard that he started to cough. Anyway, I hope I remember to spray repellent on my feet this weekend. Also that I don't get bit by anything too crazy. It's sometimes unbelievable, that I can say, "oh I'm going to the Amazon rain forest this weekend, no big deal." Living in Ecuador is pretty awesome.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Mindo y Esmeraldas
Things are getting busy here in Ecuador. This past weekend I went to Mindo, Puerto Quito, and a beach in the coastal province, Esmeraldas.
We left at 10am on Friday for Mindo. On the way we had some delicious bread with chocolate and juice boxes. We first went to a butterfly garden. The butterflies were giant and super friendly! After the butterfly garden we went "tubing" down the river. It felt like extreme rafting on large inflated tires. We had life vests and much needed helmets. To stay on the craft we held on to little rope loops. It was a lot of fun, but not the safest thing ever. We were steered by two men on either end of the craft, they were wearing rain boots and steered with their feet. My feet could not reach the other end of my tire so every time we bounced up my legs would go flying into the air. At one point, we went under and everything was strangely calm. All I could hear was the water. A second later we were above water and all was well.
After Mindo we went to Puerto Quito. The halfway point between Quito and Ecuador's coast. We spent the night there. It was very hot and humid. During the day we walked through a tropical rain forest. We stopped at a waterfall to swim, I was too scared to go under the cave next to the waterfall with everyone. The current was strong just standing, and I'm not confident enough about my swimming skills. Something to work on. After the long walk we made sugar cane juice with orange and lime, delicious! After lunch we went to a cocoa farm, and tasted fresh cocoa seeds. Then we made chocolate! It was a soupy concoction that we ate with small bananas. Yummm.
From Puerto Quito we headed to a beach in the Esmeraldas. On the way there we popped a tire, no big deal. The road conditions were pretty bad. Just about when everyone was falling asleep we would hit a giant pot hole and everyone would be airborne. Once we got to the beach, we hopped in the back of a pick-up truck and drove to our cabins. Our cabins were right on the beach, it felt like we owned that part of the beach for the next day. The food we ate was delicious, and everything was amazingly clean and beautiful. Some of us woke up early on Sunday and swam in the water or went for a walk. I walked for a while and realized that the tiny lines in the sand were the tracks of tiny snails heading towards the ocean. I felt kind of bad since I had been stomping all over them... sorry little guys. Then I got a little philosophical, because when you're walking on an empty beach by yourself it's bound to happen. All the marks on the sand made me think of the marks that people leave during their lifetimes. Some people have the opportunity to leave more marks then others, but in the end as time passes and the tide rises the marks disappear. Some may stay longer than others, maybe I'll be blessed to leave one of those.
Anyway, we all took a walk on the beach after breakfast and it was unreal. It felt post-apocolyptic as one girl pointed out. It felt like our program was the only group of people in the world. We saw tiny crabs running around, apparently they had just hatched. Again, sorry little guys.. we're just going to walk all over you.. may the luckiest and fittest survive. There was also some quick sand. We took a boat around some mangroves. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach, swimming, "studying," and relaxing.
On our way back we boarded the same tiny open air boat as before but this time we went through some serious waves. It was actually really scary since no one had life jackets and the boat was tilting a lot. By the end of it I was soaked and feeling quite salty. In retrospect it was fun. We had a strange group of people greet us when we got to shore. One shirtless Ecuadorean holding a sickle yelled "Hello" in Japanese "to the Japanese looking girl." I would be the Japanese looking girl. When I got close to him, he shook my hand using his non-sickle hand and started talking to me in Japanese. I told him I'm not from Japan and he said, "Fake-Ass Japanese!" I would have been more offended if the situation hadn't been so ridiculous.
The bus ride back home took almost 8 hours. It was a little miserable by the end, but we got home safely. When I was walking home 2 usually calm Lumbisi dogs that I always walk past during the day got aggressive and ran at my heels barking angrily. Quite scary, but I just kept walking and once I crossed a certain point they fell back. Apparently the dogs barking alerted Rosa that I was back. I made it through the weekend with less bug bites than I thought I would have. Unfortunately the majority of my bites are on my feet, specifically my right foot. I think I have about 10 bites just on my pinky toe. It looks slightly diseased and it itches terribly. Also I'm slightly sunburned, the combination of bug bites and sunburn is unfortunate.
Pictures should be posted soon to the same February album. I'm going on another trip ( http://tiputini.usfq.edu.ec/) this weekend... a little tiring but it's too late to change my plans. I asked Rosa where I can buy loose fitting long sleeve shirts for the trip and she told me she would take me this morning before classes. Well, before I knew it I was being measured in a small shop in Lumbisi. By "let's go buy shirts," my host mom apparently meant, "let's go get shirts made." Anyway, blogging time might be limited this week. Hope everyone is doing well!
We left at 10am on Friday for Mindo. On the way we had some delicious bread with chocolate and juice boxes. We first went to a butterfly garden. The butterflies were giant and super friendly! After the butterfly garden we went "tubing" down the river. It felt like extreme rafting on large inflated tires. We had life vests and much needed helmets. To stay on the craft we held on to little rope loops. It was a lot of fun, but not the safest thing ever. We were steered by two men on either end of the craft, they were wearing rain boots and steered with their feet. My feet could not reach the other end of my tire so every time we bounced up my legs would go flying into the air. At one point, we went under and everything was strangely calm. All I could hear was the water. A second later we were above water and all was well.
 |
| Giant butterfly on my hand |
 |
| Walking through the forest. Ecua-Pants! |
Anyway, we all took a walk on the beach after breakfast and it was unreal. It felt post-apocolyptic as one girl pointed out. It felt like our program was the only group of people in the world. We saw tiny crabs running around, apparently they had just hatched. Again, sorry little guys.. we're just going to walk all over you.. may the luckiest and fittest survive. There was also some quick sand. We took a boat around some mangroves. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach, swimming, "studying," and relaxing.
On our way back we boarded the same tiny open air boat as before but this time we went through some serious waves. It was actually really scary since no one had life jackets and the boat was tilting a lot. By the end of it I was soaked and feeling quite salty. In retrospect it was fun. We had a strange group of people greet us when we got to shore. One shirtless Ecuadorean holding a sickle yelled "Hello" in Japanese "to the Japanese looking girl." I would be the Japanese looking girl. When I got close to him, he shook my hand using his non-sickle hand and started talking to me in Japanese. I told him I'm not from Japan and he said, "Fake-Ass Japanese!" I would have been more offended if the situation hadn't been so ridiculous.
The bus ride back home took almost 8 hours. It was a little miserable by the end, but we got home safely. When I was walking home 2 usually calm Lumbisi dogs that I always walk past during the day got aggressive and ran at my heels barking angrily. Quite scary, but I just kept walking and once I crossed a certain point they fell back. Apparently the dogs barking alerted Rosa that I was back. I made it through the weekend with less bug bites than I thought I would have. Unfortunately the majority of my bites are on my feet, specifically my right foot. I think I have about 10 bites just on my pinky toe. It looks slightly diseased and it itches terribly. Also I'm slightly sunburned, the combination of bug bites and sunburn is unfortunate.
Pictures should be posted soon to the same February album. I'm going on another trip ( http://tiputini.usfq.edu.ec/) this weekend... a little tiring but it's too late to change my plans. I asked Rosa where I can buy loose fitting long sleeve shirts for the trip and she told me she would take me this morning before classes. Well, before I knew it I was being measured in a small shop in Lumbisi. By "let's go buy shirts," my host mom apparently meant, "let's go get shirts made." Anyway, blogging time might be limited this week. Hope everyone is doing well!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Cotidiana
There are small daily things here that I usually forget to blog about because in my mind they don't quite fit into a post (I like write in themes or at least events).
So here they are:
Ecuadoreans kiss each other on the cheek as a form of greeting and saying goodbye. This is something that has sort of become habitual for me, I almost want to kiss my friends' cheeks who are also international students. However, there have been awkward encounters. The first time a girl went in for the kiss on the cheek I realized I had no idea which side I was supposed to lean towards... right or left... a potentially terrible mouth to mouth situation flashed in my mind. But I chose correctly: always go towards the left.
Situation number 2: My host family had two friends visiting. I went out to say hello and kissed them on the cheek. But then when they were leaving they only shook hands with my host parents, no kissing occurred. So the same man came to the house a few days ago and I thought I would just get away with shaking hands. Not quite, he was going for the kiss on the cheek but I was already pulling away so he ended up kissing my head, above my right ear. Woah, I hope my hair didn't smell.
I sleep a lot here. I go to bed at 10pm, sometimes earlier, and I sleep til 7am. I don't know what's up, but I literally cannot stay awake if I'm trying to do homework and it's later than 10pm. One Friday when I stayed out late, I woke up at 8pm (which is considered sleeping in here) and then took a nap after breakfast and another nap after lunch. Rosa joked that I'm going to be una gordita by the time I go home.
I have already twice misjudged the length of my bed and crashed my head into my headboard. It hurt a lot.
I also hit my head on a mystery part of the bus while trying to exit. Riding the buses is probably the most dangerous thing I do on a daily bases. For men, buses don't come to a full stop, and they have to hop on or hop off. Also, to get a bus to stop where you want it to, you stand near the front and repeatedly say gracias. The bus drivers like to go really fast around tight curves. For a good scare I'll look out of my window to stare down sheer cliff as we speed around it. I am so glad there's no black ice in Ecuador.
And finally, not a daily occurrence, but there was a slight earthquake yesterday during dinner. By the way, I will be traveling to the coast this weekend so I won't be posting until next week. Hasta luego!
So here they are:
Ecuadoreans kiss each other on the cheek as a form of greeting and saying goodbye. This is something that has sort of become habitual for me, I almost want to kiss my friends' cheeks who are also international students. However, there have been awkward encounters. The first time a girl went in for the kiss on the cheek I realized I had no idea which side I was supposed to lean towards... right or left... a potentially terrible mouth to mouth situation flashed in my mind. But I chose correctly: always go towards the left.
Situation number 2: My host family had two friends visiting. I went out to say hello and kissed them on the cheek. But then when they were leaving they only shook hands with my host parents, no kissing occurred. So the same man came to the house a few days ago and I thought I would just get away with shaking hands. Not quite, he was going for the kiss on the cheek but I was already pulling away so he ended up kissing my head, above my right ear. Woah, I hope my hair didn't smell.
I sleep a lot here. I go to bed at 10pm, sometimes earlier, and I sleep til 7am. I don't know what's up, but I literally cannot stay awake if I'm trying to do homework and it's later than 10pm. One Friday when I stayed out late, I woke up at 8pm (which is considered sleeping in here) and then took a nap after breakfast and another nap after lunch. Rosa joked that I'm going to be una gordita by the time I go home.
I have already twice misjudged the length of my bed and crashed my head into my headboard. It hurt a lot.
I also hit my head on a mystery part of the bus while trying to exit. Riding the buses is probably the most dangerous thing I do on a daily bases. For men, buses don't come to a full stop, and they have to hop on or hop off. Also, to get a bus to stop where you want it to, you stand near the front and repeatedly say gracias. The bus drivers like to go really fast around tight curves. For a good scare I'll look out of my window to stare down sheer cliff as we speed around it. I am so glad there's no black ice in Ecuador.
And finally, not a daily occurrence, but there was a slight earthquake yesterday during dinner. By the way, I will be traveling to the coast this weekend so I won't be posting until next week. Hasta luego!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Feliz Dia de Amor y Amistad
First, Happy Valentine's Day! Here it's also called Day of Love and Friendship.
It's been raining a lot in the past week, which lowers the temperature. Not always sunny in Ecuador I guess. I'm feeling much better. It's about time, I've been sick for so long that I've started seeing the humor in the situation. Also, I have fully learned my lesson: the next time a doctor tries to give me a Penicillin shot I will kick them in the throat. Just kidding, I'm a peaceful person, I will say no thank you.
I told myself to take it easy this weekend and get homework done, since I am traveling the next two weekends (woah!). The plan didn't work out. Below are some high lights of the weekend:
Saturday felt like 3 days to me. I left Lumbisi at 8:30am and returned at 7:00pm.
Quito to buy yarn (by the way, I sometimes knit) and more Ecuapants.
Lunch at Guido's house (my Ecuadorean friend, his name... some of you may think it's funny, it's pronounced Gido) This lunch turned out to be an epic 6 hour event. The four of us from Lumbisi were an hour late and still the first to arrive. Guido and his friends are from the Oriente, which is the East of Ecuador (Rainforest area). We helped a little, but they cooked most of the meal (delicious). We didn't actually start eating lunch until after 2pm. It was fun, but definitely some awkward situations. Such as when we struggled to find a good way to exit graciously 2 hours after we had eaten. Also, during lunch Guido's friends kept telling me to relax, and I had no idea why. Apparently I looked scared/tense because I was concentrating so hard on understanding the conversation... I need to work on managing my facial expressions.
Valentine's Day Dance in Lumbisi. It was held in the stadium. It turned out to be fun, there was a mixture of dancing and sitting and watching people perform (sing). Guido and one of his friends actually came for a while. Fun.. awkward.. certainly entertaining.
Sunday I had crab for lunch. Rosa bought them live and a few hours later they were sitting fully intact but cooked on plates. Delicious! I think I might be spoiling my Ecua-family. I'm used to eating crab the way they served it, but I would venture to say that most people from the States would be scared and/or have no idea how to eat crab that way. It was a fun meal for sure. Crab parts flying everywhere. Banging the shells open with our spoons. At the end of the meal I had crab meat in my bangs. Pretty violent way to eat, I guess.
 |
| Flowers from Andrew :) |
I told myself to take it easy this weekend and get homework done, since I am traveling the next two weekends (woah!). The plan didn't work out. Below are some high lights of the weekend:
Saturday felt like 3 days to me. I left Lumbisi at 8:30am and returned at 7:00pm.
Quito to buy yarn (by the way, I sometimes knit) and more Ecuapants.
Lunch at Guido's house (my Ecuadorean friend, his name... some of you may think it's funny, it's pronounced Gido) This lunch turned out to be an epic 6 hour event. The four of us from Lumbisi were an hour late and still the first to arrive. Guido and his friends are from the Oriente, which is the East of Ecuador (Rainforest area). We helped a little, but they cooked most of the meal (delicious). We didn't actually start eating lunch until after 2pm. It was fun, but definitely some awkward situations. Such as when we struggled to find a good way to exit graciously 2 hours after we had eaten. Also, during lunch Guido's friends kept telling me to relax, and I had no idea why. Apparently I looked scared/tense because I was concentrating so hard on understanding the conversation... I need to work on managing my facial expressions.
Valentine's Day Dance in Lumbisi. It was held in the stadium. It turned out to be fun, there was a mixture of dancing and sitting and watching people perform (sing). Guido and one of his friends actually came for a while. Fun.. awkward.. certainly entertaining.
Sunday I had crab for lunch. Rosa bought them live and a few hours later they were sitting fully intact but cooked on plates. Delicious! I think I might be spoiling my Ecua-family. I'm used to eating crab the way they served it, but I would venture to say that most people from the States would be scared and/or have no idea how to eat crab that way. It was a fun meal for sure. Crab parts flying everywhere. Banging the shells open with our spoons. At the end of the meal I had crab meat in my bangs. Pretty violent way to eat, I guess.
 |
| Om nom nom |
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Medica Tonta
Still sick, suffering symptoms from seriously stupid shot. In my last post I mentioned that the doctor prescribes strong medication, and indeed she did. Along with my flu-like symptoms I now have to deal with my angry stomach. However, I would still like to think that I am on the mend (at least I really hope so!)
Rosa must be worried about me, because every time I leave the bathroom she comes out of nowhere to ask if I'm doing alright in her high pitch "I'm fretting about you, and I'm not sure you understand what I'm saying" voice. The first time this happened was around 4:30 in the morning, I came out of the bathroom and noticed a shadow to my right that looked a lot like Rosa. "JOY HOW ARE YOU? ARE YOU OK?" Yes, I was okay, and then you almost gave me a heart attack. The next time it happened (an hour later) I came out of the bathroom and suddenly Rosa was talking right behind me, "JOY, ARE YOU STILL SICK?" Woman, you must be a ninja.
Onto more exciting news, I'm pretty sure Carnaval has started early for the children in Lumbisi. Carnaval is celebrated before lent, and in many parts of Ecuador Carnaval is celebrated by throwing water balloons (sometimes at your friends, but also at strangers/women walking on the street). In some places I believe it's illegal to throw water balloons at people who aren't voluntarily playing, such as in Quito. Of course, Lumbisi sounds like a free for all. Officially the dates for Carnaval are at the end of the first week in March. My Ecua-Family (a.k.a host family) told me that some times girls will stay in the house because they don't want to get attacked by water balloons. Apparently, people "play" Carnaval using non-water as well... including eggs and wonderful assortment of liquids and foods. Well recently in English classes for Lumbisi kids, some boys have been bringing water balloons. They mostly throw them at each other, but it's quite the challenge to manage. During free time a little boy ran and hid behind me because his friend had a water balloon. His friend stopped suddenly, and I could tell from his face that he was considering if he should throw the balloon anyway. Not sure how I got out of that one. Maybe my face said the consequences if he did throw it at me.
I thought it was just the children in class who had started Carnaval early, but when I got home all of my siblings were soaked. They had just played Carnaval. Carlos had gotten an egg to the head, too. I asked my Ecua-parents, what's up? Carnaval's not for a month? They told me that the kids start "playing" Carnaval now UNTIL the end of Carnaval. That's essentially a month-long water balloon fight.
If things really get as crazy as some people say they will, I plan on carrying an umbrella AND getting a few water-balloons for myself. Interesting tradition right? Imagine this going down in Illinois. Well actually it wouldn't because the water balloons would freeze and everyone would be upset.
Rosa must be worried about me, because every time I leave the bathroom she comes out of nowhere to ask if I'm doing alright in her high pitch "I'm fretting about you, and I'm not sure you understand what I'm saying" voice. The first time this happened was around 4:30 in the morning, I came out of the bathroom and noticed a shadow to my right that looked a lot like Rosa. "JOY HOW ARE YOU? ARE YOU OK?" Yes, I was okay, and then you almost gave me a heart attack. The next time it happened (an hour later) I came out of the bathroom and suddenly Rosa was talking right behind me, "JOY, ARE YOU STILL SICK?" Woman, you must be a ninja.
Onto more exciting news, I'm pretty sure Carnaval has started early for the children in Lumbisi. Carnaval is celebrated before lent, and in many parts of Ecuador Carnaval is celebrated by throwing water balloons (sometimes at your friends, but also at strangers/women walking on the street). In some places I believe it's illegal to throw water balloons at people who aren't voluntarily playing, such as in Quito. Of course, Lumbisi sounds like a free for all. Officially the dates for Carnaval are at the end of the first week in March. My Ecua-Family (a.k.a host family) told me that some times girls will stay in the house because they don't want to get attacked by water balloons. Apparently, people "play" Carnaval using non-water as well... including eggs and wonderful assortment of liquids and foods. Well recently in English classes for Lumbisi kids, some boys have been bringing water balloons. They mostly throw them at each other, but it's quite the challenge to manage. During free time a little boy ran and hid behind me because his friend had a water balloon. His friend stopped suddenly, and I could tell from his face that he was considering if he should throw the balloon anyway. Not sure how I got out of that one. Maybe my face said the consequences if he did throw it at me.
I thought it was just the children in class who had started Carnaval early, but when I got home all of my siblings were soaked. They had just played Carnaval. Carlos had gotten an egg to the head, too. I asked my Ecua-parents, what's up? Carnaval's not for a month? They told me that the kids start "playing" Carnaval now UNTIL the end of Carnaval. That's essentially a month-long water balloon fight.
If things really get as crazy as some people say they will, I plan on carrying an umbrella AND getting a few water-balloons for myself. Interesting tradition right? Imagine this going down in Illinois. Well actually it wouldn't because the water balloons would freeze and everyone would be upset.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
La Basilica Voto Nacional, Liga-Barcelona
On Friday we celebrated Eboni's 21st birthday with cake and ice cream. Then we hung out in Lumbisi, we talked about the street dogs and how to avoid them. Also we discussed our difficulties in trying to find an appropriate Spanish word for "awkward" since so many things really are awkward when you study abroad.
Saturday a couple of us from Lumbisi went to La Basilica del Voto Nacional. It's an amazing Gothic style cathedral, that has animals such as anteaters instead of gargoyles. The inside reminded me of the book Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett. We climbed to the "top" along the way there were beautiful views of the city. In order to get to one of the towers we had to walk across a creaky wooden plank and climb a ladder. Then we climbed up stairs/ladders to get to the top of a tower. In my Ecuador guidebook (Lonely Planet) it describes the climb up the tower as an activity for daredevils. Definitely scary but worth it. From the top of the tower we could see the 2 clock towers which almost perfectly framed the hill with the statue of the Virgin Mary. Picture perfect :) After the Basilica we went to a artisans market. Everyone bought "ecuapants" which are extremely comfortable and lightweight.
Sunday almost the same group of us got up early to go to the Liga vs. Barcelona soccer game. I invited a friend (Ecuadorean!) who is also a conversation partner. Turned out to be a good idea, because him and his friends knew the way to the stadium and they helped us buy tickets. Since there were no "official" tickets being sold anymore, we had to buy from ticket scalpers. There were so many of them! It felt a little shady, considering our Ecuadorean friends kept checking to see if our tickets were fake. Also, the rivalry between the two teams is really intense. There were policemen in full riot gear on horses and other policemen with shields near the Barcelona entrance. Barcelona (yellow) team is from Guayaquil while Liga (white) is Quito. There were public announcements that essentially said, "For your personal safety, fans wearing their team's jerseys should sit with others wearing the same color." We cheered for Liga. Whenever someone wearing a Barcelona jersey came near our section everyone would stand up and shout angrily. For U of I folks, the entire crowd felt like the Harassing Illini Club (I think that's what they're called).
After the game we ate lunch (pizza with corn as a topping, delicious!) with our Ecuadorean friends. It was awkward, they talked about us and we talked about them in our respective languages. We would all sort of understand each other and everyone would just laugh. A good intercultural experience I suppose.
Well when I got home wearing my new Liga jersey I found out that members of my Ecuadorean family are not Liga fans, instead they are Nacional fans (which is another rival of Liga). Oops! Josue asked me how much my jersey cost, after I told him he said, "Well that's not too much to burn!"
Unfortunately I've been sick again. I'm working it out though, I seem to be on the mend today. I saw a doctor yesterday, who I believe over prescribes medication. I slept most of yesterday, occasionally some members of my host family would come into my room to make sure I was okay. My host family was making fun of me last night, they said that I got sick because I wore the Liga jersey.
I have pictures but Blogger won't let me upload them right now. I will see if I can get them on Facebook and post a link later :)
Check below for pictures taken in Feb:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=612838&id=774675412&l=1c8b8d19e3
Saturday a couple of us from Lumbisi went to La Basilica del Voto Nacional. It's an amazing Gothic style cathedral, that has animals such as anteaters instead of gargoyles. The inside reminded me of the book Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett. We climbed to the "top" along the way there were beautiful views of the city. In order to get to one of the towers we had to walk across a creaky wooden plank and climb a ladder. Then we climbed up stairs/ladders to get to the top of a tower. In my Ecuador guidebook (Lonely Planet) it describes the climb up the tower as an activity for daredevils. Definitely scary but worth it. From the top of the tower we could see the 2 clock towers which almost perfectly framed the hill with the statue of the Virgin Mary. Picture perfect :) After the Basilica we went to a artisans market. Everyone bought "ecuapants" which are extremely comfortable and lightweight.
Sunday almost the same group of us got up early to go to the Liga vs. Barcelona soccer game. I invited a friend (Ecuadorean!) who is also a conversation partner. Turned out to be a good idea, because him and his friends knew the way to the stadium and they helped us buy tickets. Since there were no "official" tickets being sold anymore, we had to buy from ticket scalpers. There were so many of them! It felt a little shady, considering our Ecuadorean friends kept checking to see if our tickets were fake. Also, the rivalry between the two teams is really intense. There were policemen in full riot gear on horses and other policemen with shields near the Barcelona entrance. Barcelona (yellow) team is from Guayaquil while Liga (white) is Quito. There were public announcements that essentially said, "For your personal safety, fans wearing their team's jerseys should sit with others wearing the same color." We cheered for Liga. Whenever someone wearing a Barcelona jersey came near our section everyone would stand up and shout angrily. For U of I folks, the entire crowd felt like the Harassing Illini Club (I think that's what they're called).
After the game we ate lunch (pizza with corn as a topping, delicious!) with our Ecuadorean friends. It was awkward, they talked about us and we talked about them in our respective languages. We would all sort of understand each other and everyone would just laugh. A good intercultural experience I suppose.
Well when I got home wearing my new Liga jersey I found out that members of my Ecuadorean family are not Liga fans, instead they are Nacional fans (which is another rival of Liga). Oops! Josue asked me how much my jersey cost, after I told him he said, "Well that's not too much to burn!"
Unfortunately I've been sick again. I'm working it out though, I seem to be on the mend today. I saw a doctor yesterday, who I believe over prescribes medication. I slept most of yesterday, occasionally some members of my host family would come into my room to make sure I was okay. My host family was making fun of me last night, they said that I got sick because I wore the Liga jersey.
I have pictures but Blogger won't let me upload them right now. I will see if I can get them on Facebook and post a link later :)
Check below for pictures taken in Feb:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=612838&id=774675412&l=1c8b8d19e3
Friday, February 4, 2011
Feliz Cumpleanos Juan Carlos
Yesterday was my host dad's birthday. I am ashamed to say I don't know/remember how old he is, but I do know that he's in his mid forties. There was cake! We re-used a candle from Josue's fifteenth birthday. Genesis started eating the cake (with her hands) soon after Juan Carlos blew out the candle.
So I think it's a good time to do a little family profile:
Rosa- Host Mom mid forties
I interact with Rosa the most, since she is home the most. She's a homemaker as well as a part time maid for my program director (which is how she found out about hosting international students). For years (?) Maria Teresa (program director) has wanted Rosa to host a student, but Rosa continually turned her down. Reasons: house is too small, there were no doors, kids wouldn't be used to it. But finally, Rosa decided to give it a shot and I am lucky to be the Picho family's first international student! Rosa frets about me like my real mother would. The more she worries and frets the higher the pitch of her voice. She is really sweet and helpful. She's lived in Lumbisi her whole life, and most of her family is in Lumbisi or surrounding areas.
Juan Carlos- Host Dad also mid forties
A very nice man, who has a jolly laugh. Both times when I've had friends over to play UNO with my siblings, he has laughed and laughed (I don't know at what). He is a junior high teacher, I think he leaves the house around 5:30 am everyday during the week to take at least 3 buses to Quito. He also regularly cooks and does laundry (by hand we don't have a machine), which I think is very unusual for men (in general) but especially in Ecuador. A loving family man. [Tangent: when I got the e-mail introducing my host family, my host dad's name was listed as Freddy... I think it was just a mistake]
How they met: Apparently Juan Carlos liked Rosa a lot and for a long time but she always turned him down. Rosa dated someone else for 8 years, but he left Lumbisi and she stayed. Then she finally started to see Juan Carlos, and 4 months later they were married.
Josue- Host Brother- 15
The oldest of the family. He tends to shout when he talks. I think it's entertaining. Rosa worries that he's being too noisy and "La Joy is studying!" He loves watching soccer and yelling at the TV. He attends high school in Quito, and leaves around when Juan Carlos leaves. I have helped him with English homework, it's 100 times more rewarding than teaching English classes (so far). Josue jokes around a lot, half the time I don't get it, but I laugh anyway. Juan Carlos tells everyone that Josue will cry if he loses a card game. He made a bracelet for me the other day.
Carlos- Host Brother -12
Middle child. Not as loud as Josue, but very dramatic. One evening I was eating dinner with Rosa and we heard heavy steps close to the door. Carlos came in and sprawled onto the floor. He crawled into his room saying that he was going to die because his feet hurt so much. Carlos is into traditional dancing, I've seen videos of annual celebrations in Lumbisi, he's pretty good! He really likes to play Rummy and UNO. Although he does not shout, he does talk to himself a lot. His nickname is "Gordo" or "Gordito" because he eats a lot and very fast. He is slightly "heavier" but nothing that would be considered fat in the U.S.
Genesis- Host Sister, almost 5
I have suspicions that Genesis might be slightly crazy. But I'm biased because I feel like all small children have some craziness in them. She'll be fine one second and the next she'll start crying. Or she'll wander into my room and ask me why I have black hair. Sometimes when we're eating I'll look up to see her using her hands to tear apart a fruit. She's also a little spoiled by her parents. Genesis will "sneak" meat off of her dad's plate (kind of funny) and every morning Rosa struggles with Genesis for her to eat breakfast. The good news (I guess) is that she likes me a lot. She touches my arm and hugs me whenever she can. She occasionally calls me "Mamita" (little mama). Genesis can almost be summed up by the picture below.
So I think it's a good time to do a little family profile:
Rosa- Host Mom mid forties
I interact with Rosa the most, since she is home the most. She's a homemaker as well as a part time maid for my program director (which is how she found out about hosting international students). For years (?) Maria Teresa (program director) has wanted Rosa to host a student, but Rosa continually turned her down. Reasons: house is too small, there were no doors, kids wouldn't be used to it. But finally, Rosa decided to give it a shot and I am lucky to be the Picho family's first international student! Rosa frets about me like my real mother would. The more she worries and frets the higher the pitch of her voice. She is really sweet and helpful. She's lived in Lumbisi her whole life, and most of her family is in Lumbisi or surrounding areas.
Juan Carlos- Host Dad also mid forties
A very nice man, who has a jolly laugh. Both times when I've had friends over to play UNO with my siblings, he has laughed and laughed (I don't know at what). He is a junior high teacher, I think he leaves the house around 5:30 am everyday during the week to take at least 3 buses to Quito. He also regularly cooks and does laundry (by hand we don't have a machine), which I think is very unusual for men (in general) but especially in Ecuador. A loving family man. [Tangent: when I got the e-mail introducing my host family, my host dad's name was listed as Freddy... I think it was just a mistake]
How they met: Apparently Juan Carlos liked Rosa a lot and for a long time but she always turned him down. Rosa dated someone else for 8 years, but he left Lumbisi and she stayed. Then she finally started to see Juan Carlos, and 4 months later they were married.
Josue- Host Brother- 15
The oldest of the family. He tends to shout when he talks. I think it's entertaining. Rosa worries that he's being too noisy and "La Joy is studying!" He loves watching soccer and yelling at the TV. He attends high school in Quito, and leaves around when Juan Carlos leaves. I have helped him with English homework, it's 100 times more rewarding than teaching English classes (so far). Josue jokes around a lot, half the time I don't get it, but I laugh anyway. Juan Carlos tells everyone that Josue will cry if he loses a card game. He made a bracelet for me the other day.
 |
| Left Josue, Right Carlos. Carlos smiles a lot more in real life. |
Middle child. Not as loud as Josue, but very dramatic. One evening I was eating dinner with Rosa and we heard heavy steps close to the door. Carlos came in and sprawled onto the floor. He crawled into his room saying that he was going to die because his feet hurt so much. Carlos is into traditional dancing, I've seen videos of annual celebrations in Lumbisi, he's pretty good! He really likes to play Rummy and UNO. Although he does not shout, he does talk to himself a lot. His nickname is "Gordo" or "Gordito" because he eats a lot and very fast. He is slightly "heavier" but nothing that would be considered fat in the U.S.
Genesis- Host Sister, almost 5
I have suspicions that Genesis might be slightly crazy. But I'm biased because I feel like all small children have some craziness in them. She'll be fine one second and the next she'll start crying. Or she'll wander into my room and ask me why I have black hair. Sometimes when we're eating I'll look up to see her using her hands to tear apart a fruit. She's also a little spoiled by her parents. Genesis will "sneak" meat off of her dad's plate (kind of funny) and every morning Rosa struggles with Genesis for her to eat breakfast. The good news (I guess) is that she likes me a lot. She touches my arm and hugs me whenever she can. She occasionally calls me "Mamita" (little mama). Genesis can almost be summed up by the picture below.
 |
| Cute with a hint of crazy? |
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