Ok, it’s been a month since I updated. August was a strangely hectic month with a lot going on, but because I have the memory of a goldfish I want to go ahead and write a little bit about what I’ve been up to.
First of all, Neil came. He was here for over a week, and we had a great time. In Quito, we ate out most of the time, and I got to try lots of new restaurants. We went to the historic center, saw a great exhibit on photos from around the world, went to the Ambassador’s house for dinner (there kids were in Neil’s school before coming to Quito), went to museums, played a lot of cards and generally hung out. One day, Neil was waiting for me in the café and randomly a girl that we both noticed from his flight (he noticed her while she was on the flight, I noticed her when she was leaving the airport) came to eat. General chit-chat lead to a few nights of going out and going to dinner together, and through her – her name is Aysha – I met some other cool people. She was traveling through Ecuador for a few weeks, but now she’s back where she was before. Living in D.C. not ten minutes from Neil’s new apartment. Small world, people. One of the last things we did before leaving was to go to the mall here for the release of Harry Potter. Neil was here for his birthday, and I wanted to get him a copy as his gift. We thought it would be at midnight, but it ended up being at 6 p.m., and we got there about an hour early. The woman at the counter assured us that there wouldn’t be a problem and we would for sure be able to get a copy, but when it came to crunch time, I was super nervous. Typical Quito style, there wasn’t really any sort of line or order, and people were just crowding. I don’t like it when people just crowd. My throat closed up and I kept wining and asking questions. Neil swore he would never wait in line with me again because I was a little out of control. But… we got the book, and Neil had entertainment for the many buses we would take in the coming week. He ended up reading it twice before getting back to the states.
After Quito, we took a trip down south. Went to a very small town called Baños that has a least as many tourists as it does locals… it’s definitely smaller than Manteo. It’s a town set in the mountains, right on the cusp of the sierra and the oriente. We rented four wheelers and went to see a lot of small waterfalls and beautiful scenery. At night we went to one of two streets that had restaurants open, and we joined the throngs of people milling about watching the eternally present kids on four wheelers making far too much noise for the town.
After Baños we went to Riobamba. We went with the intention to take a train down a very windy, steep part of the Sierra. It’s called the Devil’s Nose train, and before lots of tourists would ride on top to see the scenery. Then people fell off and died, and now it’s not allowed. We got to this semi-city in the afternoon, and it immediately rubbed me the wrong way. Then we found out that the trains were in strike. We found a dingy hotel that reeked of cigarette smoke covered with a far-too-strong citrus, went to an okay dinner and played cards to round out the night. We left early in the morning.
Next stop, Cuenca. Cuenca is the third-largest city in Ecuador, but it feels much smaller than Quito. Cuenca is known for its old town, and that’s where we stayed. I had to go down there to meet with another school that the Quito school I’m studying with wants to work with. So we stayed in there hostel, which was a great old Colonial house with a kitchen, beautiful courtyard, and hammock. We met some really nice people there. A 5-year-old named Evan who, with his parents, was studying Spanish for a month or so. He would come and watch us play backgammon or Spit and Malice, and he was always on my side. I liked Evan. The staff was super helpful, and we liked Cuenca much more than Riobamba. The city is beautiful. We went on a tour to the old city to see the city’s churches and plazas, and met up with some funny Irish girls and a lady for Italy (I got to attempt to speak Italian again!). We ate at some great places – some fabulous Colombian food, a great café with spicy kebabs and good music and a place that had delicious corn dishes. We also ate a lot of yucca bread. I think if I lived in Cuenca I would be bored, but it was great to visit for a few days.
Neil left, and I was scrambling to get back to reality. I had a month of classes, half discussion and half current events. The students were definitely worn out, so there was a lot more griping and complaining. But I liked the classes because there was a lot of debate. In the current events class, we took some field trips. We went to talk to a social worker who made us draw pictures and then told us how we would be in old age. Apparently no one in our group is going to be happy in old age because no one has a clear plan for what they’re going to do with their life. Oops. Then we were to a public hospital for older people, and a woman told us about how here, because people don’t have the economic resources to support big families, many times families will bring sick older relatives to the hospital to get better, and while the person is healing, the family moves houses, changes numbers and abandons the person so they don’t have to pay to support another person in the family. Yikes.
A few days later, as the last field trip, we went to a retirement home. This class was a group of five people and the teacher. And Alexandra, the teacher, wanted us to do something as a presentation – sing, dance, a play, something. Mind you, this is a group of students that doesn’t really know how to speak Spanish. At all. There is a girl in the class who speaks in infinitives and always ignores prepositions. So no one wanted to go. The two days before we went, the griping level was ridiculously high. But we went. And I think we had someone looking out for us. We were on the bus, and about ten minutes into the ride, three young people got on the bus… two guys with guitars, and one girl with pink hair. They explained they were going to play some music, and gave us a small concert on the bus. We all looked at each other with the same idea, and within two minutes Alexandra was asking them if, by chance, they wanted to accompany us to the retirement home. And for whatever reason, they said yes. They were all young, my age more or less, and they came to Quito from Bogotá to play in bars here and try to make money with the stronger dollar. We went to the retirement home, played some songs that we all sort of knew – Hotel California, La Bamba and others. We were all laughing at ourselves, trying to dance, trying to make everyone laugh and having a good time. We ended the visit by helping serve lunch, and we left them with a serenade. Everybody had a really good time, and I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if our band friends hadn’t been there.
What else happened that was fun? My friend Arvin was in town, and we went to a dance class. Neither one of us knew anything about Salsa, so I was comfortable making a fool out of myself. And that is exactly what I did. Then we went out with a big group of people and ended up staying out until sunrise because Arvin had a really early flight in the morning. It is probably the only time I will do that while I’m here.
Since then, I’ve had a stroke or two of bad luck. Two friends were going to come but ended up not being able to, one because of a hurricane in Mexico and the other because of classes. Then, unfortunately, I got robbed one night leaving work. I was waiting for less than five minutes for a cab, and some came behind me, grabbed my purse, pulled me to the ground and went off on a motorcycle. I didn’t get hurt, and I didn’t loose my passport or anything – just a lot of cash, ipod shuffle, sunglasses and debit card. But it could have been much worse, and I’m trying to get back to not feeling terrified about being out at night. Then I realized that I totally messed up my visa, and I have to pay a lot of money… but again, it’s better than it could be, and I’ll get it taken care of. I’m going to start teaching English classes to make some extra cash.
So for now, I’m just working and hanging out. Work has kept me pretty busy, and I think the next two months are going to go by quickly. I’m planning a trip to the beach soon, and we’re getting another trip together for Colombia. So we will see how it all works out…
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Quito Week Something
A few interesting things from the past week.
One, I have had some good food in Quito outside of the house recently. I had some major cravings for Indian food, so I went out one night with a girl who is studying here. We went to a restaurant where the waiters definitely knew more Indian English than Spanish. I got some delicious samosas, and I was very contented. I got some vindalu as well, and I left feeling very full and very happy.
Later in the week, I finally got some of the shawarma that is all over the city, always tempting me. We were all sitting around talking about how good it is one night, and bam we were in the car and headed to a restaurant. And the shawarma was declicious. I think I finished mine in under five minutes, and I had to restrain myself from licking the plate.
So to change the topic completely, the other interesting thing that happened to me this weekend had nothing whatsoever to do with food. I got a call from a girl who sounded super-sedated during the week, and she explained that she was a friend of my professor and wanted to invite me to a concert on Sunday. Super chevere, I’d love to go.
So on Sunday, I met up with Magali at the mall, and we headed to the concert. Which was in a religious worship center. I immediately thought, what have I gotten myself into? Yep, I was invited to a Christian rap concert. Oh, how funny. Complete with singers in pants entirely too large for them, backwards baseball hats with tags still on and oversized crosses hung on big, gold chains. There was also a dance troop of girls suited in black tank tops and camouflage fatigues. No instruments… just rapping about Jesus Cristo. Magali was dancing… almost everyone was dancing. I was not dancing. I was looking around, amazed, wondering how to get out before the end. I did escape, simply by saying that I had to be somewhere… and I got away from the raised hands and stopping feet as soon as I could.
The other fun stuff for the week had nothing to do with God, thank goodness. On Thursday I went to see Max’s defense of his undergraduate thesis. Every undergraduate has to defend a thesis in order to graduate, and from everything I’ve seen it is an intense process. It was at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, and Max was super nervous. He studied business management, so he and his co-defender (you can work in pairs) presented a business model for an internet flower business. For the most part, I understood the conversation. Sometimes there were jokes among the three stodgy professors and the two students, and other times there were admonishments and berating. It was an intense hour and a half, with Max reaching for his water often. Max’s family and his co-defenders family were there, and there were times when Max’s mom or dad would try to speak up in protest when the professors were being excessively combative. Max had to look over a few times and shake his head at them. In the end, after the grilling and fumbling and talking ended, the professors granted the students their diplomas. There was a capping and gowning ceremony complete with an oath for each student at the end, and after the official end we toasted with champaign and snacked on appetizers. For someone who didn’t even go to her college graduation, this was quite a big deal. Not everyone is the same way – Rudolf Jr. defended his thesis in the same week, and he didn’t want anyone as an audience, and he said the only thing he wanted was to be finished. But I was glad I got to see a pretty typical ceremony.
Later in the week, I got together with Rudolf and his friends to play a fierce game of Texas Hold ‘Em, a game that I learned to play here. We antied $2 each, and I was in the game for about three hours. Then I got bored and sold my chips to Fabian, who had already lost $3 worth of chips. But there was a lot of swearing, drinking of whiskey and cigarettes came out for nerves. I enjoyed myself, especially when I came out of nowhere with a full house or flush… but betting games wear on me after a while. It takes too long to get to the end…
So that was my week. Next week, Neil comes… and we’re going to do a lot of Quito exploring before heading down south to Banos, Riobamba and Cuenca. I’ve posted some pictures, so check out www.picasaweb.google.com/winnab .
One, I have had some good food in Quito outside of the house recently. I had some major cravings for Indian food, so I went out one night with a girl who is studying here. We went to a restaurant where the waiters definitely knew more Indian English than Spanish. I got some delicious samosas, and I was very contented. I got some vindalu as well, and I left feeling very full and very happy.
Later in the week, I finally got some of the shawarma that is all over the city, always tempting me. We were all sitting around talking about how good it is one night, and bam we were in the car and headed to a restaurant. And the shawarma was declicious. I think I finished mine in under five minutes, and I had to restrain myself from licking the plate.
So to change the topic completely, the other interesting thing that happened to me this weekend had nothing whatsoever to do with food. I got a call from a girl who sounded super-sedated during the week, and she explained that she was a friend of my professor and wanted to invite me to a concert on Sunday. Super chevere, I’d love to go.
So on Sunday, I met up with Magali at the mall, and we headed to the concert. Which was in a religious worship center. I immediately thought, what have I gotten myself into? Yep, I was invited to a Christian rap concert. Oh, how funny. Complete with singers in pants entirely too large for them, backwards baseball hats with tags still on and oversized crosses hung on big, gold chains. There was also a dance troop of girls suited in black tank tops and camouflage fatigues. No instruments… just rapping about Jesus Cristo. Magali was dancing… almost everyone was dancing. I was not dancing. I was looking around, amazed, wondering how to get out before the end. I did escape, simply by saying that I had to be somewhere… and I got away from the raised hands and stopping feet as soon as I could.
The other fun stuff for the week had nothing to do with God, thank goodness. On Thursday I went to see Max’s defense of his undergraduate thesis. Every undergraduate has to defend a thesis in order to graduate, and from everything I’ve seen it is an intense process. It was at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, and Max was super nervous. He studied business management, so he and his co-defender (you can work in pairs) presented a business model for an internet flower business. For the most part, I understood the conversation. Sometimes there were jokes among the three stodgy professors and the two students, and other times there were admonishments and berating. It was an intense hour and a half, with Max reaching for his water often. Max’s family and his co-defenders family were there, and there were times when Max’s mom or dad would try to speak up in protest when the professors were being excessively combative. Max had to look over a few times and shake his head at them. In the end, after the grilling and fumbling and talking ended, the professors granted the students their diplomas. There was a capping and gowning ceremony complete with an oath for each student at the end, and after the official end we toasted with champaign and snacked on appetizers. For someone who didn’t even go to her college graduation, this was quite a big deal. Not everyone is the same way – Rudolf Jr. defended his thesis in the same week, and he didn’t want anyone as an audience, and he said the only thing he wanted was to be finished. But I was glad I got to see a pretty typical ceremony.
Later in the week, I got together with Rudolf and his friends to play a fierce game of Texas Hold ‘Em, a game that I learned to play here. We antied $2 each, and I was in the game for about three hours. Then I got bored and sold my chips to Fabian, who had already lost $3 worth of chips. But there was a lot of swearing, drinking of whiskey and cigarettes came out for nerves. I enjoyed myself, especially when I came out of nowhere with a full house or flush… but betting games wear on me after a while. It takes too long to get to the end…
So that was my week. Next week, Neil comes… and we’re going to do a lot of Quito exploring before heading down south to Banos, Riobamba and Cuenca. I’ve posted some pictures, so check out www.picasaweb.google.com/winnab .
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Quito Week Something
So, Quito is moving and shaking these days. Classes are going quickly but well. In a week, I’ve learned about four different verb tenses, and I have no idea how to use any of them… but I’m learning.
However, the most eventful stuff that has happened to me recently didn’t happen in Quito. I had talked to Ana about shopping and my complete lack of clothing, and she said that the best shopping is in Colombia. So, what started as a conversation one night on one of our walks turned into a weekend trip that involved me crossing the border without papers and with the utmost hope that the kind Colombian officials would not detain me. Or better yet, that the guerrilla wouldn’t get me and ask for ransom…
My worries were unfounded. Nothing but good stuff happened, and we had a great time. Unfortunately, Rudolf Sr. couldn’t go, and he was missed. But upon return, I assured him that he picked up a few kilos for him, and he kidded that he was fine at the moment but would let me know when he needed more.
So the four of us – Ana, Rudolf, Jose Luis and I – left Friday afternoon and set off for the drive north. All-in-all it was not a bad drive. The main roads throughout the sierra in Ecuador and Colombia are mostly two lanes and curvy, so I did feel periodically like it was going to wretch all of the car. But the feeling was minor, and it passed pretty quickly. We were on the road in Colombia with mostly trucks, so passing the vehicle in front of us was always an adventure, and Rudolf and Jose would yell “déle déle déle!” to indicate to Ana to get the hell up the road, and when we made it there was communal sigh of relief. Anyway, after 7 hours of passing and stopping and turning, we made it to Pasto for the weekend.
Pasto is the closest big city to the border between Ecuador and Colombia, and Ana’s sister and family live there. So we got in late Friday night, gave our salutations, and I passed out. I knew I was ready for sleep when, at one point in the car, I woke up from half sleep and couldn’t remember where I was or who I was with. So Friday night I slept well and readjusted, which prepared me for a day of shopping and eating on Saturday.
Starting in the morning, we headed out to a street full of discount shops. Every shop had a large speaker system and an employee devoted exclusively to yelling sales and enticing people to come inside. And most of the stores had the same stuff. So after little luck, we left the noisiness of the street and headed to a huge Sam’s-Club like store full of everything – kitchen appliances, food, office supplies and clothes. I found some fun, very 80s shirts, and some desperately-needed jeans… and I felt like a millionaire paying with a ton of pesos. Afterwards, we headed back to the house for lunch. Lots of tasty, roasted chicken with boiled potatoes and these compact rice cakes that we ate with spicy aji.
To help with digestion, I made Rudolf go to the park outside the house, and we spent the better part of an hour swinging, climbing monkey bars and see-sawing. It was pretty great, but everyone was afraid that I was going to do exactly the same thing I did in the MegaMaxi – fall and crack some part of my body open. The closest I came was going down a slide that was designed poorly – very narrow and steep with a base that didn’t connect well with the rest – so I landed hard on my tale bone, but there wasn’t much damage.
After the swings, we headed to the street of shoes. I really wanted to find something, but I didn’t have any luck. We looked in probably fifteen stores, but I wasn’t seeing anything that grabbed me. So shopping time ended and eating time began. We went by a restaurant and picked up arepas, which are corn patties that were fried with a fried egg sandwiched inside. Um, delicious.
There was no fear of going hungry because within two hours of eating the arepas, I was called for another meal. I had my first taste of cuy, which is a pretty typical dish in both Ecuador and Colombia. That’s right, I had rotisserie guinea pig… and I liked it. I didn’t take a piece with the head or the feet, though I was certainly offered. I opted for the midsection, which had more meat and fewer bones. It was a little bit richer than chicken, and tasty. We had it with more potatoes and popcorn. I polished off the meal with some great now-and-later-esque gummy candies and apple-flavored chocolate that I had bought in one of the mega stores we visited during the day. I was so freaking full by the end of the day that my jeans didn’t really fit.
Ana’s family was great. We watched some game shows and chatted, and there was a lot of laughing. Ana’s sister and niece are hilarious, and there was a granddaughter and a very old Scottish terrier around who were endless sources of amusement. We made a lot of jokes, and I was happy to catch the gist of things some of the time.
We left early on Sunday and made a stop in Ipiales, which is the border town. Ana’s mom lives there, so we stopped by for lunch. She was a delightful old lady who kept trying to give us soup, and though I couldn’t really talk to her I felt very warm toward her. Her house is super old… it’s not free-standing, but it’s huge. All of the rooms on both floors open into an open courtyard, and everything has an aged look. The house used to be a hotel, and there are a lot of very creepy stories of ghosts coming through the house to haunt or visit. I wouldn’t survive a night there. You have to go out back to go to the bathroom… I wouldn’t sleep and I certainly wouldn’t leave the room to pee. To my relief, we left Ipiales before sunset, and the trip back to Quito had fewer trucks and, consequently, fewer inexplicable stops. We stopped for ice cream at one point and Cayambe bizcochos. When we finally got back to Quito, Ana asked every what they wanted to eat… the only person who didn’t wretch at the idea was Rudolf Sr., who had to fend for himself for the weekend. The rest of us had to wait till the morning to even think about eating anything else.
So yeah, I liked Colombia.
However, the most eventful stuff that has happened to me recently didn’t happen in Quito. I had talked to Ana about shopping and my complete lack of clothing, and she said that the best shopping is in Colombia. So, what started as a conversation one night on one of our walks turned into a weekend trip that involved me crossing the border without papers and with the utmost hope that the kind Colombian officials would not detain me. Or better yet, that the guerrilla wouldn’t get me and ask for ransom…
My worries were unfounded. Nothing but good stuff happened, and we had a great time. Unfortunately, Rudolf Sr. couldn’t go, and he was missed. But upon return, I assured him that he picked up a few kilos for him, and he kidded that he was fine at the moment but would let me know when he needed more.
So the four of us – Ana, Rudolf, Jose Luis and I – left Friday afternoon and set off for the drive north. All-in-all it was not a bad drive. The main roads throughout the sierra in Ecuador and Colombia are mostly two lanes and curvy, so I did feel periodically like it was going to wretch all of the car. But the feeling was minor, and it passed pretty quickly. We were on the road in Colombia with mostly trucks, so passing the vehicle in front of us was always an adventure, and Rudolf and Jose would yell “déle déle déle!” to indicate to Ana to get the hell up the road, and when we made it there was communal sigh of relief. Anyway, after 7 hours of passing and stopping and turning, we made it to Pasto for the weekend.
Pasto is the closest big city to the border between Ecuador and Colombia, and Ana’s sister and family live there. So we got in late Friday night, gave our salutations, and I passed out. I knew I was ready for sleep when, at one point in the car, I woke up from half sleep and couldn’t remember where I was or who I was with. So Friday night I slept well and readjusted, which prepared me for a day of shopping and eating on Saturday.
Starting in the morning, we headed out to a street full of discount shops. Every shop had a large speaker system and an employee devoted exclusively to yelling sales and enticing people to come inside. And most of the stores had the same stuff. So after little luck, we left the noisiness of the street and headed to a huge Sam’s-Club like store full of everything – kitchen appliances, food, office supplies and clothes. I found some fun, very 80s shirts, and some desperately-needed jeans… and I felt like a millionaire paying with a ton of pesos. Afterwards, we headed back to the house for lunch. Lots of tasty, roasted chicken with boiled potatoes and these compact rice cakes that we ate with spicy aji.
To help with digestion, I made Rudolf go to the park outside the house, and we spent the better part of an hour swinging, climbing monkey bars and see-sawing. It was pretty great, but everyone was afraid that I was going to do exactly the same thing I did in the MegaMaxi – fall and crack some part of my body open. The closest I came was going down a slide that was designed poorly – very narrow and steep with a base that didn’t connect well with the rest – so I landed hard on my tale bone, but there wasn’t much damage.
After the swings, we headed to the street of shoes. I really wanted to find something, but I didn’t have any luck. We looked in probably fifteen stores, but I wasn’t seeing anything that grabbed me. So shopping time ended and eating time began. We went by a restaurant and picked up arepas, which are corn patties that were fried with a fried egg sandwiched inside. Um, delicious.
There was no fear of going hungry because within two hours of eating the arepas, I was called for another meal. I had my first taste of cuy, which is a pretty typical dish in both Ecuador and Colombia. That’s right, I had rotisserie guinea pig… and I liked it. I didn’t take a piece with the head or the feet, though I was certainly offered. I opted for the midsection, which had more meat and fewer bones. It was a little bit richer than chicken, and tasty. We had it with more potatoes and popcorn. I polished off the meal with some great now-and-later-esque gummy candies and apple-flavored chocolate that I had bought in one of the mega stores we visited during the day. I was so freaking full by the end of the day that my jeans didn’t really fit.
Ana’s family was great. We watched some game shows and chatted, and there was a lot of laughing. Ana’s sister and niece are hilarious, and there was a granddaughter and a very old Scottish terrier around who were endless sources of amusement. We made a lot of jokes, and I was happy to catch the gist of things some of the time.
We left early on Sunday and made a stop in Ipiales, which is the border town. Ana’s mom lives there, so we stopped by for lunch. She was a delightful old lady who kept trying to give us soup, and though I couldn’t really talk to her I felt very warm toward her. Her house is super old… it’s not free-standing, but it’s huge. All of the rooms on both floors open into an open courtyard, and everything has an aged look. The house used to be a hotel, and there are a lot of very creepy stories of ghosts coming through the house to haunt or visit. I wouldn’t survive a night there. You have to go out back to go to the bathroom… I wouldn’t sleep and I certainly wouldn’t leave the room to pee. To my relief, we left Ipiales before sunset, and the trip back to Quito had fewer trucks and, consequently, fewer inexplicable stops. We stopped for ice cream at one point and Cayambe bizcochos. When we finally got back to Quito, Ana asked every what they wanted to eat… the only person who didn’t wretch at the idea was Rudolf Sr., who had to fend for himself for the weekend. The rest of us had to wait till the morning to even think about eating anything else.
So yeah, I liked Colombia.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Quito Week Something
So things have been busy in Quito. My weekday schedule has completely changed. A group of 16 students from Ohio State arrived last week, and I’m now taking class with 6 Ohioans. Some of them can’t speak really at all, and some of them will be great practice to talk with. They’re a good group, but it’s strange to be part of a group that is virtually all undergrad and all with the same program. Classes for me are now four hours, and during our break I’m downstairs helping Christian in the café. I serve cinnamon rolls to my fellow classmates before heading back to class with them.
But before they got here was father’s day weekend. I went out for the first time since I got here – sad, I know – on Saturday night. Jose Luis and I met up with an acquaintance of Jonah, and we talked about movies, politics and traveling over some beers. I went out in the neighborhood known as the Mariscal, which is apparently where I will be living before too long. My school is also in the Mariscal, but I am rarely out there past dark. So going out gave me a chance to find out what my soon-to-be hood will be like at night. And lord, it is going to be hard to sleep. It’s an area littered with bars and clubs, and people are always hanging out in the street in groups. It’s crowded inside and outside. Especially now, because this is the high season for Quito, things in that neighborhood are constantly moving.
But we didn’t stay out too late on Saturday on account of the fact that I had to work Sunday morning. So I went to work Sunday Brunch at the café, which was a delightful four hours of washing dishes. But then when I got home, there was a group waiting. I walked in, and down in the dining room was my family with five people I had never met before. They all chorused “hola”s to me, and I felt my cheeks turn red at the thought of having to speak Spanish to all of them. The guests were a family that used to neighbors with my family, and they had come over for a Father’s Day dinner. It was pretty great because within the hour someone suggested cards, and I was super excited. We played a game sort of like Phase 10 but without all of the rules and with betting. It was a great game. Then we tried to play Cuarenta (40), which I didn’t understand at all. Then we played Spoons, Kemps and Assassin, all games I already knew from the States. We were all amazed that the games existed identically in both countries. After many hours of cards and then some really fantastic sweet empanadas, we talked about haunted houses and bowling, then they left. It was a fabulous Sunday afternoon.
With the arrival of the new students, the week flew by. One night, Ana had a hankering for pesto… so we got all of the ingredients that are available here (no pinenuts, very unfortunately) and made the pesto. And then we made the pasta as well… it was great! Ana has taken a lot of cooking classes, so she had a pasta maker. We made some great angel hair.
Later in the week, I went by a school for kids without homes to see about volunteering, so I’ll be starting that soon. I didn’t do anything for design because I never had time, and the days just flew. Thursday was Rudolf’s birthday, and he had friends come over. They played a version of Ecuadorian poker and I watched, and eventually I started playing a one-on-one game of Speed with Jose and then Max. I only lost one game, so I think my marathon games with Ben Eckerson during middle school paid off. To end the night, we had some delicious pizza and homemade marble cake with fresh strawberries.
Friday night I went out to meet up with the students. I went with Jose Luis and Diana, a Colombian friend of the family who is here visiting her mom during her summer break from the university. Unfortunately, we were hanging out with mostly gringos – who had been drinking since 6 p.m. no less – so there was a lot of English. Jose liked the challenge, but Diana was lost. I definitely empathized with her because her facial expression matched the way I feel a lot of the time here – trying to so hard to follow the conversation and figure out what the hell is going on without wanting to seem bored or frustrated. But it was a good night. The students were a little out of it… for most of them, I think the mix of the altitude and being able to drink freely underage with a receipt for getting drunk before sunset. But I got to talk to most of them outside of class, which was good.
Saturday I didn’t do much. As usual, my parents here left for the day to go to a nearby town for their business. The boys and I, along with Max, went to a local mall to eat lunch. Food courts here are different than in the states. You can get things like McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Baskin Robins… but they also have places that sell full, restaurant-style meals. We went to a grill, and Max and I ordered a grill plate for two… it had two pieces of beef, two pieces of two different kinds of chicken, various sausages (including blood sausage), salad, beans, French fries and a mousse for dessert. It was quite a spread, and it’s typical to have restaurants like that in food courts.
I ended up going to bed early on Saturday night after starting a new book. On Sunday, we went on an excursion. We headed to Ibarra, a town to the North that is past Otavalo, and I once again enjoyed the outside-of-Quito views. We drove around the town and stopped for ice cream that is made a special way here, with ice and fresh fruits and ingredients. I got blackberry and vanilla, and it was delicious. Afterwards, we headed back toward Quito and stopped for lunch at my second grill of the weekend. This time I got a huge piece of meat with a mountain of potato wedges and salad. It was delicious, and it came with a tomato and guacamole salsa that was very tasty. On the way back, Rudolf senior asked me about Native American groups in the US, and I felt wholly unqualified to answer the questions. Then we started talking about social problems in each country, and how much of a problem corruption is here, and we talked about the educational systems and life in general. It was a good conversation, but it was quite tiring because it involved a lot of Spanish that I had no idea how to use, and a lot of tenses that I didn’t know. But I got through, even with a few jokes, and I only had a small headache by the end. Oh, the woes of learning a new language.
Anyway, this week promises to be as packed. Ana’s birthday is this week, I’m supposed to start volunteering, class isn’t going to get any shorter, and I’m supposed to actually do some design work. And I really want to read the book I’ve started… J
I’ll update on how it goes. Also, I have a few pictures, and I will post them when I have chance...
But before they got here was father’s day weekend. I went out for the first time since I got here – sad, I know – on Saturday night. Jose Luis and I met up with an acquaintance of Jonah, and we talked about movies, politics and traveling over some beers. I went out in the neighborhood known as the Mariscal, which is apparently where I will be living before too long. My school is also in the Mariscal, but I am rarely out there past dark. So going out gave me a chance to find out what my soon-to-be hood will be like at night. And lord, it is going to be hard to sleep. It’s an area littered with bars and clubs, and people are always hanging out in the street in groups. It’s crowded inside and outside. Especially now, because this is the high season for Quito, things in that neighborhood are constantly moving.
But we didn’t stay out too late on Saturday on account of the fact that I had to work Sunday morning. So I went to work Sunday Brunch at the café, which was a delightful four hours of washing dishes. But then when I got home, there was a group waiting. I walked in, and down in the dining room was my family with five people I had never met before. They all chorused “hola”s to me, and I felt my cheeks turn red at the thought of having to speak Spanish to all of them. The guests were a family that used to neighbors with my family, and they had come over for a Father’s Day dinner. It was pretty great because within the hour someone suggested cards, and I was super excited. We played a game sort of like Phase 10 but without all of the rules and with betting. It was a great game. Then we tried to play Cuarenta (40), which I didn’t understand at all. Then we played Spoons, Kemps and Assassin, all games I already knew from the States. We were all amazed that the games existed identically in both countries. After many hours of cards and then some really fantastic sweet empanadas, we talked about haunted houses and bowling, then they left. It was a fabulous Sunday afternoon.
With the arrival of the new students, the week flew by. One night, Ana had a hankering for pesto… so we got all of the ingredients that are available here (no pinenuts, very unfortunately) and made the pesto. And then we made the pasta as well… it was great! Ana has taken a lot of cooking classes, so she had a pasta maker. We made some great angel hair.
Later in the week, I went by a school for kids without homes to see about volunteering, so I’ll be starting that soon. I didn’t do anything for design because I never had time, and the days just flew. Thursday was Rudolf’s birthday, and he had friends come over. They played a version of Ecuadorian poker and I watched, and eventually I started playing a one-on-one game of Speed with Jose and then Max. I only lost one game, so I think my marathon games with Ben Eckerson during middle school paid off. To end the night, we had some delicious pizza and homemade marble cake with fresh strawberries.
Friday night I went out to meet up with the students. I went with Jose Luis and Diana, a Colombian friend of the family who is here visiting her mom during her summer break from the university. Unfortunately, we were hanging out with mostly gringos – who had been drinking since 6 p.m. no less – so there was a lot of English. Jose liked the challenge, but Diana was lost. I definitely empathized with her because her facial expression matched the way I feel a lot of the time here – trying to so hard to follow the conversation and figure out what the hell is going on without wanting to seem bored or frustrated. But it was a good night. The students were a little out of it… for most of them, I think the mix of the altitude and being able to drink freely underage with a receipt for getting drunk before sunset. But I got to talk to most of them outside of class, which was good.
Saturday I didn’t do much. As usual, my parents here left for the day to go to a nearby town for their business. The boys and I, along with Max, went to a local mall to eat lunch. Food courts here are different than in the states. You can get things like McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Baskin Robins… but they also have places that sell full, restaurant-style meals. We went to a grill, and Max and I ordered a grill plate for two… it had two pieces of beef, two pieces of two different kinds of chicken, various sausages (including blood sausage), salad, beans, French fries and a mousse for dessert. It was quite a spread, and it’s typical to have restaurants like that in food courts.
I ended up going to bed early on Saturday night after starting a new book. On Sunday, we went on an excursion. We headed to Ibarra, a town to the North that is past Otavalo, and I once again enjoyed the outside-of-Quito views. We drove around the town and stopped for ice cream that is made a special way here, with ice and fresh fruits and ingredients. I got blackberry and vanilla, and it was delicious. Afterwards, we headed back toward Quito and stopped for lunch at my second grill of the weekend. This time I got a huge piece of meat with a mountain of potato wedges and salad. It was delicious, and it came with a tomato and guacamole salsa that was very tasty. On the way back, Rudolf senior asked me about Native American groups in the US, and I felt wholly unqualified to answer the questions. Then we started talking about social problems in each country, and how much of a problem corruption is here, and we talked about the educational systems and life in general. It was a good conversation, but it was quite tiring because it involved a lot of Spanish that I had no idea how to use, and a lot of tenses that I didn’t know. But I got through, even with a few jokes, and I only had a small headache by the end. Oh, the woes of learning a new language.
Anyway, this week promises to be as packed. Ana’s birthday is this week, I’m supposed to start volunteering, class isn’t going to get any shorter, and I’m supposed to actually do some design work. And I really want to read the book I’ve started… J
I’ll update on how it goes. Also, I have a few pictures, and I will post them when I have chance...
Monday, June 11, 2007
Quito Week 4
Oh, Quito. Oh, Ecuador. Sometimes I am in love with you, and sometimes I just want you to go the hell away. This past week, I loved you. Today, on this semi-dreary Monday afternoon, I am not loving you as much. I keep messing up stupid stuff with my Spanish, and today was especially bad.
However, no matter. I will talk about last week and this past weekend. They were both fun and funny. First: last week. I have a great, completely and typically Winna, story. I went to the grocery story last Thursday with Ana, Rudolf and Jose Luis. We were going to recharge our phones because it was triple Thursday, and the recharge was a super good deal. I am set up for life.
Anyway, I was screwing around with Rudolf, waiting for Ana to finish depositing a check. Because in this monstrosity we call a grocery story, there is a mini-bank, pharmacy, bookstore, clothing store and lots of groceries. So we waited at the front, and I was on the end of a row of about 42 checkout aisles. We were joking around, and I started swinging between two aisles. I had my hands planted on the edges of two of the checkout counters, and I was swinging forward and backward with my feet off the ground. I started going faster, talking while I was swinging, and I knew the moment that I went too far. I went forward and felt my hand slip. I went back, and my whole body flew backwards. Bam. Right on the floor, landing directly on top of my head. Rudolf was next to me, and after yelping in fright that I had died, he helped pull me up. Ana looked back from the aisle – along with everyone at the bank desk – to find out what had happened. Jose Luis was reading a magazine, and when he found out what happened, he was pissed he didn’t see it. Oh. My. God. So embarrassing. For some reason, at 6 p.m. all of the aisles weren’t full… but I’m pretty sure the first 21 aisles noticed my fall. Anyway, I was laughing a lot, despite immense pain in my head, and we started the shopping trip. Lord, Mary and Joseph. Later during the trip, Rudolf said I should have popped back up and said, “It’s okay! I found it!” and Jose Luis said I should have said, “People, don’t worry. The floor is fine over here.” They’re a creative bunch, but I was way too disoriented to say anything. Next time, as I’m sure there will be…
Fast forward to Saturday because Friday was a lot of studying and working. I decided to go to Otavalo with two of my friend Suzi’s cousins from Ireland, and apparently a friend from the states. We made a plan to meet at the terminal at 7:30, and I was there with my bag and ready to go. After almost an hour and a half, I decided to leave without them. I found out yesterday, long after the trip, that they had also waited for a while before heading out, and we all spent the day in the same small town without meeting up. No matter.
On the way to Otavalo, which is a town known for its handcrafts market, I got to talking to a girl next to me named Alejandra. We talked about all sorts of things, from bellybutton rings to differences between Latin American and North American teenage mentality. It was pretty cool to be able to at least hold the conversation in Spanish, even if it was riddled with mistakes. Her parents live in San Pablo del Lago, near Otavalo, and she goes home on the weekends. She studies in Quito and lives with her older brother, who is also studying, during the week. As she got closer to her stop, she invited me to her house for the night. I ended up refusing, mostly because I didn’t know her really at all, but we have made promises to meet up in Quito soon, and perhaps I’ll get to return to Otavalo to see her house and family.
Then I got to Otavalo. It’s a very small town, and most of the people there are indigenous. There is a sizable market with hand-made clothes, jewelry, toys, shoes and just about anything else you can think of. There are also all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables, and there are lots of stalls lining the market selling local lunches with meats, potatoes and all kinds of fresh vegetables. I passed about 10 fried pigs that had been picked apart for lunch, and all of the market vendors were enjoying their mid-day meals at their respective spots. I ended up getting some street snacks – a little bag of chilenos, which are balls of fried dough covered in sugar. They were, without doubt, a delicious lunch. I ate as I shopped, and it did not take long for me to finish. Afterwards, I found a place that had some good blackberry juice, and I was all set. The weather was beautiful, and I spent most of the afternoon walking around outside more to get sun than to buy things. It was really nice being in small town where I could walk on the street without worrying too much about getting run over or harassed by someone.
Nice as it was though, I decided against staying the night. I got on a bus in the afternoon to head back, and that was another adventure. I spent the first half of the trip watching Mr. Deeds in Spanish. I was sitting in the front row next to a little kid who was very perplexed with my text messaging, and we passed the time just fine. Along the road we picked up passengers, and one point the bus started to fill… so we were joined by a young woman who sat in an extra seat that folded down just below the TV. It was great, and we were fine… until our new friend looked like she might be sick. Then thirty seconds later, she was sick. And then a minute later, she was sick again. All over her pants, shirt, my shoes, the floor and my bag. Awesome. I thought fast and grabbed some Kleenex, and I tried my hardest to keep myself from gagging. Then the little kid next to me start gagging and pushing his lips together… so I threw up the windows and got out my gum for my two new sick friends. Oyoy. After some fresh air and a lot of cleaning from the bus attendant, things seemed okay. But I mean, really, vomiting on me? After a while, I moved toward the door to get off, and she moved with me. In the politest way possible, I tried to make her go ahead of me… I wasn’t going to be able to handle a repeat. Eventually she got off, and the rest of the trip passed without event. But I just couldn’t believe my luck.
So that was Saturday. I got back, and I was totally ready to go out on the town. But, by about 9:30, I was sitting in bed – dressed and ready to go – and I fell asleep. It turned out to be a good thing, though, because Sunday was a whirlwind.
Ana’s nephew was in town for the weekend with three of his friends. They’re Colombian, and they wanted to know Quito. So with two cars, we headed out to see the city. We went the city museum for an exhibit on Miró, which was fabulous. It had some of his plans, paintings, and drawings – and it ended with a great interactive part that included drawing items that you could only feel without seeing, creating a landscape of Quito with only the essence and creating a huge watercolor that disappeared because you only painted with water. It was pretty neat, and my companions did a pretty good job of helping me understand what was happening in the different rooms.
After that, we went to see the Virgin de Quito. It’s a huge statue of a virgin, apparently the only one that has wings in the world, overlooking the city, and you can climb into the virgin to see nice views of the city. It’s built out a light aluminum, and it’s not altogether attractive. But it gave a good perspective of the city.
After that, we went to the Teleférico. It’s a huge gondola that carries you from city level to way up high where the air in thin and the city looks tiny. We climbed along a dirt path to see a beautiful panorama, and it was totally worth feeling a little like I was going to die. Rudolf and I walked together, and he joked, “With this librarian physique I am surely going to die soon…” I would have laughed more, but I didn’t have a lot of air coming in.
Then we went about 45 minutes away to the Mitad del Mundo, or middle of the world. We stood on the equator, and the nephew and his friends took a ton of photos. In each direction, they took at least 10 pictures.
And then, after going to the center of the Earth, we went home. It was almost 8 p.m. by the time we got home, and we were tired. We spent the day listening to lots of different kinds of music in the trips to all of our sites, and we all had fun speaking ‘hood’ throughout the day. They like to use the phrase, “whatchu doin fool?” and things of the like, so it was quite an amusing day.
Anyway, it was a good weekend. This week is probably going to go quickly – I am supposed to meet up with the Irish for a night out, and I’m supposed to try out a drawing class. I’ll write more again soon…
However, no matter. I will talk about last week and this past weekend. They were both fun and funny. First: last week. I have a great, completely and typically Winna, story. I went to the grocery story last Thursday with Ana, Rudolf and Jose Luis. We were going to recharge our phones because it was triple Thursday, and the recharge was a super good deal. I am set up for life.
Anyway, I was screwing around with Rudolf, waiting for Ana to finish depositing a check. Because in this monstrosity we call a grocery story, there is a mini-bank, pharmacy, bookstore, clothing store and lots of groceries. So we waited at the front, and I was on the end of a row of about 42 checkout aisles. We were joking around, and I started swinging between two aisles. I had my hands planted on the edges of two of the checkout counters, and I was swinging forward and backward with my feet off the ground. I started going faster, talking while I was swinging, and I knew the moment that I went too far. I went forward and felt my hand slip. I went back, and my whole body flew backwards. Bam. Right on the floor, landing directly on top of my head. Rudolf was next to me, and after yelping in fright that I had died, he helped pull me up. Ana looked back from the aisle – along with everyone at the bank desk – to find out what had happened. Jose Luis was reading a magazine, and when he found out what happened, he was pissed he didn’t see it. Oh. My. God. So embarrassing. For some reason, at 6 p.m. all of the aisles weren’t full… but I’m pretty sure the first 21 aisles noticed my fall. Anyway, I was laughing a lot, despite immense pain in my head, and we started the shopping trip. Lord, Mary and Joseph. Later during the trip, Rudolf said I should have popped back up and said, “It’s okay! I found it!” and Jose Luis said I should have said, “People, don’t worry. The floor is fine over here.” They’re a creative bunch, but I was way too disoriented to say anything. Next time, as I’m sure there will be…
Fast forward to Saturday because Friday was a lot of studying and working. I decided to go to Otavalo with two of my friend Suzi’s cousins from Ireland, and apparently a friend from the states. We made a plan to meet at the terminal at 7:30, and I was there with my bag and ready to go. After almost an hour and a half, I decided to leave without them. I found out yesterday, long after the trip, that they had also waited for a while before heading out, and we all spent the day in the same small town without meeting up. No matter.
On the way to Otavalo, which is a town known for its handcrafts market, I got to talking to a girl next to me named Alejandra. We talked about all sorts of things, from bellybutton rings to differences between Latin American and North American teenage mentality. It was pretty cool to be able to at least hold the conversation in Spanish, even if it was riddled with mistakes. Her parents live in San Pablo del Lago, near Otavalo, and she goes home on the weekends. She studies in Quito and lives with her older brother, who is also studying, during the week. As she got closer to her stop, she invited me to her house for the night. I ended up refusing, mostly because I didn’t know her really at all, but we have made promises to meet up in Quito soon, and perhaps I’ll get to return to Otavalo to see her house and family.
Then I got to Otavalo. It’s a very small town, and most of the people there are indigenous. There is a sizable market with hand-made clothes, jewelry, toys, shoes and just about anything else you can think of. There are also all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables, and there are lots of stalls lining the market selling local lunches with meats, potatoes and all kinds of fresh vegetables. I passed about 10 fried pigs that had been picked apart for lunch, and all of the market vendors were enjoying their mid-day meals at their respective spots. I ended up getting some street snacks – a little bag of chilenos, which are balls of fried dough covered in sugar. They were, without doubt, a delicious lunch. I ate as I shopped, and it did not take long for me to finish. Afterwards, I found a place that had some good blackberry juice, and I was all set. The weather was beautiful, and I spent most of the afternoon walking around outside more to get sun than to buy things. It was really nice being in small town where I could walk on the street without worrying too much about getting run over or harassed by someone.
Nice as it was though, I decided against staying the night. I got on a bus in the afternoon to head back, and that was another adventure. I spent the first half of the trip watching Mr. Deeds in Spanish. I was sitting in the front row next to a little kid who was very perplexed with my text messaging, and we passed the time just fine. Along the road we picked up passengers, and one point the bus started to fill… so we were joined by a young woman who sat in an extra seat that folded down just below the TV. It was great, and we were fine… until our new friend looked like she might be sick. Then thirty seconds later, she was sick. And then a minute later, she was sick again. All over her pants, shirt, my shoes, the floor and my bag. Awesome. I thought fast and grabbed some Kleenex, and I tried my hardest to keep myself from gagging. Then the little kid next to me start gagging and pushing his lips together… so I threw up the windows and got out my gum for my two new sick friends. Oyoy. After some fresh air and a lot of cleaning from the bus attendant, things seemed okay. But I mean, really, vomiting on me? After a while, I moved toward the door to get off, and she moved with me. In the politest way possible, I tried to make her go ahead of me… I wasn’t going to be able to handle a repeat. Eventually she got off, and the rest of the trip passed without event. But I just couldn’t believe my luck.
So that was Saturday. I got back, and I was totally ready to go out on the town. But, by about 9:30, I was sitting in bed – dressed and ready to go – and I fell asleep. It turned out to be a good thing, though, because Sunday was a whirlwind.
Ana’s nephew was in town for the weekend with three of his friends. They’re Colombian, and they wanted to know Quito. So with two cars, we headed out to see the city. We went the city museum for an exhibit on Miró, which was fabulous. It had some of his plans, paintings, and drawings – and it ended with a great interactive part that included drawing items that you could only feel without seeing, creating a landscape of Quito with only the essence and creating a huge watercolor that disappeared because you only painted with water. It was pretty neat, and my companions did a pretty good job of helping me understand what was happening in the different rooms.
After that, we went to see the Virgin de Quito. It’s a huge statue of a virgin, apparently the only one that has wings in the world, overlooking the city, and you can climb into the virgin to see nice views of the city. It’s built out a light aluminum, and it’s not altogether attractive. But it gave a good perspective of the city.
After that, we went to the Teleférico. It’s a huge gondola that carries you from city level to way up high where the air in thin and the city looks tiny. We climbed along a dirt path to see a beautiful panorama, and it was totally worth feeling a little like I was going to die. Rudolf and I walked together, and he joked, “With this librarian physique I am surely going to die soon…” I would have laughed more, but I didn’t have a lot of air coming in.
Then we went about 45 minutes away to the Mitad del Mundo, or middle of the world. We stood on the equator, and the nephew and his friends took a ton of photos. In each direction, they took at least 10 pictures.
And then, after going to the center of the Earth, we went home. It was almost 8 p.m. by the time we got home, and we were tired. We spent the day listening to lots of different kinds of music in the trips to all of our sites, and we all had fun speaking ‘hood’ throughout the day. They like to use the phrase, “whatchu doin fool?” and things of the like, so it was quite an amusing day.
Anyway, it was a good weekend. This week is probably going to go quickly – I am supposed to meet up with the Irish for a night out, and I’m supposed to try out a drawing class. I’ll write more again soon…
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Quito Week 3
A funny conservation this week started with one of my nightly juices. With dinner, I get something fruity that Ana always asks if I like. And typically, I do. The only time I haven’t been the biggest fan is when tomato and orange were mixed – I’m just not a V8 fan, and no matter how much I try, tomatoes belong on sandwiches and not in drinks.
So anyway, the night this conversation happened I was drinking something pretty sweet, and I was enjoying it. After affirming that I liked it, Ana explained that it was Quaker oats mixed with a sweet fruit naranjilla. Except that she didn’t say “Qway-ker” – she said “Qua-ker” sort of like it looks like it should be said. After a few times repeating it and explaining to me that everyone in the US drinks this stuff, I finally realized she was talking about the brand Quaker. Apparently if I go to a restaurant, I can ask for Quaker, and I will get this delicious drink with any number of combinations. Maybe Quaker with pineapple, maybe with rice, maybe with naranjilla, or maybe with something else all together.
So then we started talking about how English words have crept into Spanish vocabulary. If you want a razor somewhere, don’t say the Spanish word. Say “give me a Gillette”. If you want toothpaste, it’s “give me a Colgate”. If you a person in charge of watching a construction site, then you say “Estoy trabajando en Watchiman”. If you are waiting impatiently for something for someone, then you say “Estoy awaitando” as an alternative to the Spanish verb for “to wait”, esperar.
This was interesting enough, but what was more interesting was when we started talking about names, and how English is all over the place in strange ways with Spanish names. For instance, the family I am living with right now is the Estrella family. Let me just share with you some of the names that I may see here in front of a Spanish last name, using Estrella as an example:
Gorgewashington Estrella
Jefferson Estrella
Burgerking Estrella
Steveaustin Estrella
Deliciouspilsner Estrella
Statueofliberty Estrella
Dosporuno Estrella (Funny because some kid got stuck with a final soccer score as a first name)
They also have tons of Kevins, Daniels, Jonathans and Stefanies now. A lot of times, this person with a very typical English first name will have a very indigenous, very long last name.
Though the don’t have Starbucks here, the infiltration of my homeland is alive and kicking.
So anyway, the night this conversation happened I was drinking something pretty sweet, and I was enjoying it. After affirming that I liked it, Ana explained that it was Quaker oats mixed with a sweet fruit naranjilla. Except that she didn’t say “Qway-ker” – she said “Qua-ker” sort of like it looks like it should be said. After a few times repeating it and explaining to me that everyone in the US drinks this stuff, I finally realized she was talking about the brand Quaker. Apparently if I go to a restaurant, I can ask for Quaker, and I will get this delicious drink with any number of combinations. Maybe Quaker with pineapple, maybe with rice, maybe with naranjilla, or maybe with something else all together.
So then we started talking about how English words have crept into Spanish vocabulary. If you want a razor somewhere, don’t say the Spanish word. Say “give me a Gillette”. If you want toothpaste, it’s “give me a Colgate”. If you a person in charge of watching a construction site, then you say “Estoy trabajando en Watchiman”. If you are waiting impatiently for something for someone, then you say “Estoy awaitando” as an alternative to the Spanish verb for “to wait”, esperar.
This was interesting enough, but what was more interesting was when we started talking about names, and how English is all over the place in strange ways with Spanish names. For instance, the family I am living with right now is the Estrella family. Let me just share with you some of the names that I may see here in front of a Spanish last name, using Estrella as an example:
Gorgewashington Estrella
Jefferson Estrella
Burgerking Estrella
Steveaustin Estrella
Deliciouspilsner Estrella
Statueofliberty Estrella
Dosporuno Estrella (Funny because some kid got stuck with a final soccer score as a first name)
They also have tons of Kevins, Daniels, Jonathans and Stefanies now. A lot of times, this person with a very typical English first name will have a very indigenous, very long last name.
Though the don’t have Starbucks here, the infiltration of my homeland is alive and kicking.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Quito Week 2
As I’ve just lamented with a few people, it has been crazy here to try to figure out a system for my days. My times is sectioned off with class, studying, designing, working in the café, talking and hanging out with my family, trying to find some way to volunteer and trying to find people who will speak Spanish with me. Recently I’ve felt like I’m doing a million things, and I’m not really doing any of them well.
Now, that’s not to say I’m not having a good time. I am enjoying myself.
My first weekend in Quito I talked to friends for hours and made homemade pizza. I admitted that I was an atheist to a surprisingly agnostic crowd, and tried to show in a small way that not all Americans are completely clueless about what America is doing in the world.
Last week, I went to a midnight premier of Pirates of the Caribbean 3 with Jose Luis and his friends Max and Abel. At 4:30 a.m., when I finally got to sleep, my head was full of new Spanish words from the clever Jack Sparrow that I read on subtitles. I was recuperating for two days, but it was worth it.
This weekend I was in a park, looking at beautiful views of the city, when the sky opened up and poured buckets of rain and hail. I ran through a field and a forest to get back to the house. We started walking back down to the house, but when the lightening seemed right next to us, we broke out in a run. High knees through fields and dodging back and forth on roots and rocks in bed of the woods. Soaking wet, we traversed the highway to get back to the house, and made it just inside before the hard, big pieces of hail started to fall.
I’ve eaten well. Every weekend, my host mom Ana makes a new dessert. Last weekend it was a tart custard layered with sweet cookies. This weekend it was a tasty peace pie with delicious fruit slices masterfully positioned in a circle on top. Needless to say, I am looking forward to Sundays.
That’s all for this week. I’ll try to keep the updates coming…
Now, that’s not to say I’m not having a good time. I am enjoying myself.
My first weekend in Quito I talked to friends for hours and made homemade pizza. I admitted that I was an atheist to a surprisingly agnostic crowd, and tried to show in a small way that not all Americans are completely clueless about what America is doing in the world.
Last week, I went to a midnight premier of Pirates of the Caribbean 3 with Jose Luis and his friends Max and Abel. At 4:30 a.m., when I finally got to sleep, my head was full of new Spanish words from the clever Jack Sparrow that I read on subtitles. I was recuperating for two days, but it was worth it.
This weekend I was in a park, looking at beautiful views of the city, when the sky opened up and poured buckets of rain and hail. I ran through a field and a forest to get back to the house. We started walking back down to the house, but when the lightening seemed right next to us, we broke out in a run. High knees through fields and dodging back and forth on roots and rocks in bed of the woods. Soaking wet, we traversed the highway to get back to the house, and made it just inside before the hard, big pieces of hail started to fall.
I’ve eaten well. Every weekend, my host mom Ana makes a new dessert. Last weekend it was a tart custard layered with sweet cookies. This weekend it was a tasty peace pie with delicious fruit slices masterfully positioned in a circle on top. Needless to say, I am looking forward to Sundays.
That’s all for this week. I’ll try to keep the updates coming…
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