classes, clubs, and weekend getaways....

Friday was a whirlwind day. I went with our group to get CENSOs, which are kind of like student identification cards, and then I rushed to the Catholic university to meet the academic director who was finalizing our class enrollment. Within the course of two hours, I think I changed my mind about six times as to whether or not to add a literature class at the Catholic university. I had reached the minimum credits with my Spanish class, Environmental Diversity class, Service Learning Seminar, and Ceramics class, but that left me without a class with Ecuadorian students. I decided that was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, so I enrolled in the Latin American Literature class. It’s going to be a lot of reading, but hopefully I’ll get a lot out of it and it will improve my Spanish! It also looks like I’m going to end up doing my service learning at the Arteducarte organization (which you can find on google), which is a lot closer to my house. I have an interview on Thursday and as of now I’m scheduled to work 11 hours a week, even though it was supposed to be 8. I’m hoping to cut back a little bit. Right now my schedule looks like this:

Monday: Literature 10-11, Volunteer 3-5, Ceramics 5:30-7:10

Tuesday: Volunteer 7-1, Spanish 4-6

Wednesday: Environmental Diversity 9-11, Literature 3-5, Ceramics 5:30-7:10

Thursday: Volunteer 9-12, Service Learning Seminar 2-4, Spanish 4-6

I’m a little disappointed because I really wanted to do the free Salsa class, but it doesn’t quite fit well with my schedule. I’m going to look into other extracurriculars though. Last week I went to a meeting for the Andinismo club, which is kind of like Outdoor Education, but less formal. Members of the club basically run a bunch of different trips every weekend including biking, hiking, rock climbing, ice climbing, etc. I’m hoping to at least go on a few trips and get to know some Ecuadorian students better. I also just gave my contact information to the English department, so I might end up tutoring some students in English once in a while.

Our trip to Mindo this past weekend was incredible. Although it was pretty rainy, we didn’t let that stop us from doing all the things we wanted to do. We arrived around 6pm on Friday night after an interesting journey. We all took separate cabs to meet up at the bus station, and we all told our cab drivers the same thing, yet somehow my cab ended up at a different station. It worked out fine because we could still catch a bus to where we wanted to go, except that it drops you off on the main road and you have to get another cab into town. We made it just fine and headed over to “La Casa de Cecelia,” where we were staying. There were a whole bunch of us so we had an entire 12-person cabana to ourselves, plus two smaller rooms. It’s in a really nice location tucked away on a quiet road with a common space and a hammock overlooking a river. The owner, Paula, was incredibly friendly and helpful and immediately offered to walk us downtown and suggest places for dinner. We found a really cute restaurant about 3 minutes away and enjoyed some delicious food. We hung out the rest of the night in our cabana.

On Saturday there were about seventeen of us, so we split up into smaller groups. My group went zip lining first, which I think was my favorite activity. The course has 13 different cables of all different lengths and speeds. On some of them you can do tricks such as superman and butterfly (which is completely upside down) – I did both! It was lightly raining, so we all ended up with some lovely mud spray designs on our shirts and faces. The next activity we did was tubing, which was really cool. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but basically there are seven heavy-duty inner tubes roped together and two guides. We all piled on and made our way into a fairly shallow and rocky river. The water was pretty cold, but I was wearing my raincoat under the life vest, which helped keep me a little dryer. The guides were extremely impressive. It seems like they have to know the river perfectly because they basically run through the water and leap over rocks and guide us through with miraculous strength. We all had a blast and couldn’t stop laughing the entire time.

Later that afternoon I took a walk with a couple girls and we went to an orchid garden. It was a bit difficult to find because it wasn’t quite the lush and colorful plot we were expecting. Nonetheless it was pretty cool. It’s in someone’s backyard and a lot of the flowers are really tiny – she had to use a microscope to show us most of them. They were all really cool though. There were a bunch of different orchids in the species Dracula and there was once that is nicknamed “cara de mono” because it looks just like the face of a monkey. On our way home we passed by a restaurant that’s recommended in my guidebook, so we decided to go there for dinner. I had a delicious steak entrée for $5, followed by a warm brownie made with Ecuadorian chocolate.

On Sunday we only had until our bus at 3pm, so I got up early and went for a hike with a couple of girls. You have to take a ride in a little metal cart across a cable (kind of like a zip line) to get to the trails. We hiked a few different trails and saw about six waterfalls. Some of the trails were very slipper and muddy, especially after it started raining, but it was absolutely worth it. I had to forgo visiting the butterfly farm for the hike, but I definitely think I made the right decision. After some good exercise, we made it back just in time for the bus! Overall the weekend was great, and it was really nice to get to know some of the other group members better. I spent about $70 on the entire trip -- 2 buses, 6 taxi rides, 6 meals, 2 nights of lodging, and 4 activities -- which is pretty great in perspective. It seems like a lot at first, but we all had to keep reminding ourselves how much we would have spent in the US!

giant leaf

our cabana

hummingbird at the hostel!

**Some other girls have pictures of me on the zip line, so I'll try to get one up soon!

Who needs classes anyway?

Don't worry, this is the right blog. I decided I like this template better!

Not much to share as of now - this week was a bit hectic, as I have yet to finalize my schedule. I actually think it's one of the most complicated things I've ever done. The classes are strange lengths and meet on random days. For example, there could be a class that meets Monday mornings for 1 hour and Thursday afternoons for 1 hour and 40 minutes. It causes for a lot of overlap (especially with the IES classes), which is making things extra complicated. I have to make final decisions by tomorrow, so I'll let you know how it works out next week! Tomorrow afternoon I'm heading off to the cloud forests of Mindo with a bunch of the IES students. It's about a 2-hour bus ride and it’s supposedly a beautiful town with tons of wildlife and lots of fun activities like hiking, rafting, zip lining, etc. I’m really excited!

Here are some pictures of the Catholic university! Although some of the buildings resemble offices, it’s a very pretty campus with a lot of greenery. I love the fact that I can always turn around and the see the mountains! It's about a 10 minutes walk from my house, which is convenient. I've successfully learned to take the bus for 25 cents to my IES classes, which takes about 25 minutes including a bit of walking and waiting.

Weekend Adventures

On Saturday we had an IES field trip to the Otavalo market, which is about 2 hours north. Actually being there was pretty exciting after having done a research project on it this past semester! On the way there we stopped in Calderón, which is a small town known for its bread-dough figurines. We got free souvenirs! Once we got to Otavalo we had two hours at the market. It was incredibly overwhelming; there’s so much there! They also like to raise the prices for tourists so every time you see something you like you need to ask how much it is, continue looking around at other kiosks, return to the one you like the most, and try to barter so that they lower the price. I think I actually did a pretty good job at bartering! We all needed a bit more time though, so I think we’re all in agreement that we’re going to make a list of what we want and return at some point. Afterwards we went to Cotacachi (the town I visited with my family last weekend) for lunch. Then we went to the Peguche waterfall, which was beautiful. We hiked up to the middle level and waded into the water. It was a great day! One minor failure: I got a bug bite that is currently swollen and taking over half of my forearm. But others got tons, so I guess I’m lucky! Today my family took me to the Park Metropolitano, which is about 10 minutes from our house in the car. On Sundays it’s pretty busy with kids playing on swing sets, bikers and hikers on the trails, and lots of dogs! We walked around for a bit and then we went to Quicentro for lunch, which is one of the malls. That’s all for now – classes start tomorrow!

Peguche waterfall

Otavalo market

Pics from the Museum!

The end of orientation...

Today is the last day of orientation! It’s hard to believe. This week’s activities have been less tedious and more fun. On Tuesday our last activity of orientation at the Catholic university was a salsa lesson! I actually really enjoyed it and I think I might take one of the free classes with a couple other students. On Wednesday we learned a little bit more about the history of Ecuador and we also met with the woman who is coordinating our service-learning projects (she also teaches the seminar we have to take). I’m hoping to do a little bit more research on the organizations, but two of the options she presented to me based on my application were 1) working in a school that teaches every subject through the arts and 2) working in a community school with children whose parents are in prison. Both options seem really interesting, although one is a bit of a trek. I don’t begin the service until around February 1^st, so hopefully I’ll have my placement in a couple weeks when my schedule is definite. Right now it looks like I might be volunteering from about 9-1 on Mondays and Tuesdays.

That said, I think I finally figured out my classes. It was a very long and complicated process with many factors to consider and many things up in the air. I’m happy with the way my schedule worked out; hopefully I don’t go to my classes next week and decide I need to change it! I was really bummed because I wanted to take this awesome IES class that covered all popular arts—visual arts, music, literature, theater, film, etc.—and included fieldtrips. However, when only three students were interested, they had to cancel the class. So instead I decided to take a class at the Catholic university that’s kind of like a combination between an art history class and an art workshop. We’re going to learn all about the history and practices of Ecuadorian indigenous ceramics and we’re going to make our own! I’m really excited. The only downside is that I’m not sure if I’ll be able to bring home everything I make. As of now, I’m also planning to take an Education class at the university that’s about the role of family and community in education. I haven’t seen a syllabus and I know very little about the class, so I could potentially change my mind. There’s one other class at the university that I may or may not take. It’s about music therapy and it’s totally just for fun. I might have to drop it though in order to do my service in a school because I need several hours free in the morning.

At IES I’m taking the service-learning seminar, which covers many current sociological issues. I also decided to take the Environmental Diversity of Ecuador class because I’ll probably never take anything like it and we get to go on field trips! I placed out of taking a Spanish class at IES, and basically any reading and writing intensive class at the Catholic can count. It was a tough decision because I really want a grammar review, but it was just making my schedule too complicated. I talked to the professor and I’m going to do some review on my own and maybe stop by the class once in a while when I’m free. As of now it looks like I’ll have class from 3-5pm and 5:30-7:10pm on Mondays, 3-5pm on Tuesdays, 9-11am and 5:30-7:10pm on Wednesdays, and 2-4pm on Thursdays. The best news about my schedule is that I have no class on Fridays! I don’t think anyone in the program does, which will be great for traveling. It will be strange having classes so late in the day, but it will make the service-learning schedule easier and I’ll get to sleep in until it starts! I’ll also be able to eat lunch at home, which is a big part of the culture here.

Yesterday we visited Ichimbia, which is kind of like a park/museum that features an exhibition on Ecuador’s biodiversity. It’s located between modern Quito and old Quito, and because of the elevation you can pretty much see everything. The only bummer was that this trip was unplanned, so I didn’t have my camera. I’m trying to only bring it with me when I really need it, which is recommended. I might go back some time so I can take pictures! Upstairs they have examples (all of which used to be real) of many different animals, as well as flora and fauna. There were birds, butterflies, reptile skeletons, different dried plants, and much more. Downstairs they had an exhibit of live frogs, snakes, and lizards. It was really cool!

This morning we went to the Museum of Mindalae. They have all kinds of indigenous artifacts including jewelry, weapons, ceramics, musical instruments, figurines, clothing, textiles, and more. After we finished our tour, we got to make our own jewelry! Pictures are coming soon!

¡Que chevere! [cool/great/enjoyable]

I had a great time this past weekend. On Saturday we had a Spanish review class in the morning, then I had some time to relax the rest of the day. Saturday night my host sisters took me to a discoteca! I met some of their friends, we danced for about three hours straight, and I even tried a bit of salsa dancing! On Sunday my family said we were “going for a walk,” which ended up entailing a 2 ½ hour drive through the mountains and the clouds (literally). I’m not complaining, though, because it was so worth it! They took me to Cuicocha, a beautiful lake in the crater of a volcano (pictures coming soon!). On the way there we made a couple of stops. We ate lunch at a place that seems to be kind of like the McDonalds of Ecuador (although they do have McDonalds here too), but much better. I think it’s called Fritatas Amazonas and they serve many typical dishes. This is how I would describe what we ate: some kind of beef, fritter-like potatoes, boiled potatoes, toasted corn kernels, white boiled corn kernels, and empanadas. It might not sound that exciting, but it was really good. All the food here is very flavorful and I’ve really enjoyed all the meals my host mom has made. I think I got lucky because it seems like not all of the students get to eat as well as I do. We also stopped in a small town called Cotacachi, which is internationally recognized for its high-quality (and much cheaper!) leather products. It’s really cute—I wish we could have spent more time there!

Side note: The driving here is CRAZY. I thought I had witnessed everything having only been through the city of Quito a handful of times (New York is nothing in comparison), but driving on these country roads through the mountains was certainly a new experience. The way people pass cars is quite terrifying, but everyone seems to be accommodating. It’s a strange combination between reckless driving and expertise that I don’t quite understand, but somehow it doesn’t make me nervous because everyone seems to know what they’re doing.

I thought the first day of orientation at the Catholic university was going to miserable and long, but it ended up being a pleasant surprise. It turns out they actually graded the practice Spanish tests we took several weeks ago, and most of the students in our group scored high enough that we didn’t need to take the written/oral exam. We ended up having several hours free, so we walked around with one of our “padrinos” – an Ecuadorian student who has been assigned as somewhat of a mentor. I finally got a cell phone (from the US my number is 011.593.8.319.2409) and we explored the plaza of La Mariscal (gringolandia). Later on we had an information session on safety with a US embassy representative and a tour of campus. I think the university has close to 10,000 students, but the campus is fairly small because it’s not residential. It’s pretty though! Now I have to begin deciding what classes to take…

Cuicocha!

The volcano Imbabura

Photos!

Pictures of the Historic Center of Quito!

(Uploading these has been a painfully slow process...hopefully I'll be able to post the rest soon!)

Modern Quito (closer to where I live)

El Parque Carolina (the park near IES)

El Parque Carolina

Taken from the car on the way to the IES center!

¡Bienvenidos a Quito!

Day 1

I’m in Quito, safe and sound! It still hasn’t hit me yet. When I arrived on Wednesday night, my host parents were at the airport to greet me, along with an IES representative. They gave me a brief tour on the way home, making sure to point out the hot spots of “gringolandia” – that’s what they call Mariscal Sucre, which is where all of the “gringos” hang out. In Ecuador, the word gringo is not meant to be offensive in any way—they simply use it to refer to all foreigners. This area is fairly close to where they live, as is the Catholic university where I’ll be taking some classes. The home is like a combination between a house and an apartment. It has three or four floors, and I think a different family lives on each one. We’re on the top floor. It’s very pretty and homey inside, with four bedrooms, two sitting rooms, a kitchen, and two bathrooms.

My family is extremely friendly and welcoming. The parents, Bruno and Diana, are doing everything possible to help me acclimate and feel like part of the family. I’m the sixth student they’ve hosted, which I’m sure makes the process easier for them. They have twin 18-year-old daughters—Cristina and Carolina—in their first year at the Catholic university studying sociology! I might even have a class with them! Their son, Bruno David, is 21, and I believe he is studying to be an engineer like his father. Their oldest son is currently studying in Spain. The daughters are on vacation so I’ve met a couple of their friends who’ve been hanging out here. I’ve already played cards and watched a movie with them. They all seem like the type of kids I could easily be friends with and hang out with, which is great.

The first day of orientation involved going over a lot of tedious information, but we got to walk around the nearby park (La Parque Carolina) and go to a nice restaurant for lunch. So far the food seems to be delicious! Everything is very natural here, so hopefully I won’t have a hard time adjusting. We all signed a pledge to speak only in Spanish when in the IES center and at IES events, and I was surprisingly able to hold conversations in Spanish all day long! I talked to a bunch of other students in the program and they all seem really nice. I sat with another girl at lunch who sings in an a cappella group and spent the fall semester in Quito with another study abroad program, so she already knows a lot! All in all things are starting off very well.

Day 2

The second day we went over some important things such as security, health issues, and course registration. In the afternoon we left for the Historic Center of Quito, which is further to the south. We had a tour bus all to ourselves with a very animated tour guide. Though I was quite enthralled by the sites and wanted to take pictures through the window, I realized that’s it’s still quite difficult for me to multitask while trying to comprehend Spanish. After driving into the historic center and up the hilly and windy cobblestone streets, we got off the bus and entered La Merced, which is one of the main churches. Thanks to our tour guide’s special connection, we were able to climb to the roof of the church, where we could see the entire historic center and more. We climbed all the way to the top of the bell tower. Afterwards we walked through the city, stopping at a couple of other churches. We tried a famous Ecuadorian hot drink called Candelaza, which is kind of like hot apple cider, but a little bit thicker with an orangey flavor. After a few hours of wandering, we got back on the bus and headed to a very nice restaurant for our welcome dinner. It was another delicious meal consisting of an appetizer much like mini egg rolls, a main course of chicken with a delicious yellow sauce, rice, and salad, followed by strawberry ice cream and fried plantains (I think?) for dessert.

Weather: So far we’ve been lucky with the weather – we haven’t gotten much rain yet! However, I learned that city runs on hydroelectricity and because there hasn’t been much rain they have to turn the power off in parts of the city for two hours at a time. The variation in temperature here is amazing. During the middle of the day when the sun is out, I’m pretty warm in my jeans and t-shirt. Then if the sun goes behind a cloud, I need to put my cardigan on. Last night, by the time I got home, I was wearing my cardigan and my fleece, and I was still a little bit cold.

Transportation: I have yet to use the bus system, as most host parents drive their students for the first several days. The layout of the city still confuses me, but hopefully I’ll get it down soon. I live very close to the Catholic university, where I’ll probably be taking one or two classes, so I’ll be able to walk to and from those.

Communication: It might take a little while to figure out a system of communication. Since my host mom has been driving me to and from the IES center, I haven’t had that much time to use the computers there. There is internet on the laptop in my sisters’ room, but the keyboard is different and I’ve had a bit of difficulty using it. They also use the computer a lot, so I don’t want to interrupt their activities. I brought my laptop to the IES center today, but I couldn’t connect to the wireless for some reason. As I write this I’m trying to figure out when and how I’ll be able to post this message and my pictures on the blog!

Health: So far I’ve been a little tired, but other than that I’m feeling good! The altitude (9,800 feet) isn’t affecting me much and so far I’m not having a hard time adjusting to the food. My family also has a filter on the kitchen sink, so we don’t have to worry about boiling water, which is great!

3 days until takeoff!

Hi everyone! I'm currently in the depths of a packing frenzy and decided to procrastinate by creating this blog. I hope to use this to post pictures and messages to keep you all up to date on my adventures! Feel free to leave comments on the posts. I look forward to keeping in touch!

My mailing address is:

Emily Shaw

c/o IES Abroad Quito

P.O. Box 17-21-1967

Quito, ECUADOR