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...
Sunday, June 24, 2007
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.
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