more to come...
semana 7 02/15/2010
2/19/10
2/12/10
semano seis
parece una tontería, pero...: una expresion; in English "it seems trivial, but..."
día trenita y siete: 02/8/2010 once a week or so the Outdoor Adventure Club leads hike or a bike ride or the like. So, I signed up, paid my $10, and was ready for a level 2 hike. Ha! Level two my ass, more like a level 5 (I think there are only 3 levels but you get my point). The hike was up a peak called San Palo near the town of San Fernando. It was pretty much a vertical climb (or more fittingly “an up hill battle”) the entire time.
i love how this is the only picture that comes up when I search "san pablo hike ecuador" but don't worry, I was wearing clothes.
During the first third of the hike, we climbed trough steep pastures of lush green grass. Near the end of this part, our elevation was astonishingly high and the view was breathtaking. Surprisingly, there were a number of cows just chillin’ where I never thought I’d ever see a cow (i.e. on a cliff or in a nook where I couldn’t climb to even if I tried). I decided that they must have been super cows that fly or something equally as amazing.
The second third of the hike we climbed up jagged rocks covered in bromeliads and thick slippery moss. Here is where I was very thankful that I have decent upper body strength, without it I would have died of exhaustion.
The last third of the hike was by far the most spectacular. We climbed through cloud forest, where a soupy layer of cloud and a small drizzle made only the step in front of me visible. Literally, we were walking in a cloud, it was unbelievable!
We stopped just below the summit (which you had to shimmy up the side of a very steep rock using a very sketchy looking rope) to eat our brown bagged lunches. I had my sunglasses on, even though the sun was only a hazy mustard yellow dot (kind of like when you boil an egg and the gray film still coats the yoke). I snacked on some cracked and sipped on Gatorade.
The decent was a rocky one (seriously, there were a ton of rocks). It was grueling trying to maintain your balance and make your way down a vertical slope. Needless to say, my toes hurt once we reached the bottom and loaded the bus for home (I also had to pee pretty badly, but you don’t really need to know that).
During the drive home, we played “Smelly Finger, Stinky Pinky,” an entertaining rhyming game that Andrea taught us (now I have a feeling that this game will indefinitely follow us through out the rest of our stay here in Ecuador, oh dear!, I mean it’s fun and all but after the 30th time it can get annoying). I also made a new friends while hiking. I became most acquainted with this “friend” when we got out of the bus and started walking towards home. I looked down at my sleeve and saw the most repugnant spider (it probably wasn’t that bad, but still it’s a SPIDER! and spiders are disgusting and crawly and have 8 eyes, and anything with 8 eyes should be considered repugnant). As much as it wanted to be my friend, I passed (out).
It wasn’t until the next morning that I realized how difficult of a hike this really was (I think my thighs were sore for a goof four more days). Also, half of my face was sun burned. This happened because of two reasons, I forgot to wear sunscreen and my bangs cover up the one side of my face that wasn’t burned. Moral of the story: always wear sunscreen and probably cut your bangs if you want a nice even sunburn.
día trenita y ocho: The only exciting (at least I found it to be exciting) thing I did today was go grocery shopping. After class, Leah, Sophia, and I went to the Super Maxi! I bought expensive nuts (they were just Planter’s Mixed Nuts, nothing special, but here is Ecuador they’re $2 more than in the States) and some crunchy white chocolate (Galak, it comes in a variety pack with other mini chocolates) and three small packets of tissues that smell like grape (no joke)! Also, on our way to the Super Maxi, we strolled though this park that has a giant bronze statue of a man jogging in short-shorts and a baseball cap. The things people decide to set in stone can be oh so very absurd. I took a picture with my cell phone but unfortunately I can’t upload it until I return to the U.S. of A. and trust me, when you see this statue you’ll be a little confused too and may think that they are memorializing men from the 1970’s who get wedgies while they jog because their shorts are too short.
día trenita y ocho: I like my mornings here in Ecuador. Here, I usually wake up to the smell of morning toast and to the 6:50am blue just before the sun comes out, when all is quite except for a few bird chirps and maybe the occasional car zooming past…HOWEVER…I like my mornings most when I wake up to the voice of Sandro, a charming Latin American lounge singer. He keeps me company during long nights…no not really. I wish though. he’s quite the hunk, like a Latin American Elvis! Just take a look at this man…
The truth is that some mornings my host mom plays his music and other Latin lounge hits (I think it’s a compilation CD…that I definitely need to copy it for myself). My favorite song of his is, “Dame el Fuego de tu Amor.” It’s real catchy!
día cuarenta: I woke up super late today. I think it had something to do with not being able to sleep at 3 am in the morning and then taking two Benadryl…but you can never be sure of these things. Anyway, I had to take a taxicab to school and was still late. Shucks. Oh and did you know that the school secretary will call your home if you are more than 20 mins late to make sure you are not sick or even worse dead?! Well she does. Cab drivers are jovial and friendly here. Some are overly chatty, but I’m down with that, helps me practice the Spanish skills. And others are really keen and willing to please. For example, one night when we were returning from the movie Death Proof, I mentioned to one of the gals that all I wanted to do was drive fast in a car, and next thing I knew we are going a good 25 mph over the speed limit. It was fun, but dangerous, so kids don’t try that at home, and thank you Mr. Taxi Driver Man.
SO because I was late and feeling groggy, I decided to make myself a cup of hot coco before I headed to class (I mean I was already late so “whatever,” right?). At school, they have a little kitchen adjacent to the courtyard and they welcome you to linger and sip you cup of whatnot and snack on your whichever. Today though, I may have put in three too many scoops of powder, the rest of the day I was wound up on sugar and felt guilty because I dishonored the “Tome uno, por favor” (“Take only one, please”) sign. Anyhow, isn’t it nice that our school provides free coffee, tea, coco, and snakes! Seems like a small gesture, but nevertheless it has made my day on occasion…or at least made me hyper.
día cuarenta: Had an anthropology test today, and in the words of Jenifer Shildmeyer, “killed it!” (meaning I think I did well). Due to our test, we got out a little early and I was able to explore downtown for a bit (and by explore I mean I got lost, oops). But hey, you see a lot of extraordinary things when you get lost. For example, I saw a woman scolding a house cat who had just knocked over a bat of bread flour (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the cat though, because the other employee had a mischievous look on her face). I also saw this Yamaha motorcycle seat cover (some might say it was “real cool,” that is if they are into Asian women holding snakes/rabbits and wearing thongs). Lastly, I stumbled into an electronics store by accident, which was lucky for me because I had been in desperate need of a SKYPE headset. So what did I do?...I bought a skype headset (and for really cheap, only $8 and it works even!, I know this because I called the ‘rents and Jen and Nick and Trent and Santa Claus…well maybe not that last one). The cashier who helped me with my purchase had the most difficult time trying to pronounce (and then spell) my name, for a good 15 mins I was “Mon-eee-cue.” But after I explained to her that my name is French and is pronounced similar to Monica in Spanish, they had no trouble at all and even complimented me on it’s beauty…funny because 15 mins before she would have said “oh poor child, what were your parents thinking when the named you?” Eventually, I stopped and asked for directions and found my way again.
día caurenta y uno: There it was like a gem gleaming in a patch of rough rocks, like a golden piece of literature among the dull and disheveled fiction…a Chuck Palahniuk book! //Haunted// in Spanish to be exact! I absolutely had to buy it, so I did. I’m really excited to read it now, if you can’t tell. I also poked around one of the markets today and found a pair of “clear with glitter all over” (Leah’s and also my favorite color) jelly sandals for only $5. They were actually $6 but I bartered off a $1. I may go back and buy a purple pair too. Look at me just throwing cash all over the place, living the life, buying jelly sandals!
Tonight we had a birthday dinner for Andrea at this restaurant called Maiz. It’s “fancy” for Ecuadorian standards. They even brought me my “salsa de tomate” (“ketchup”) in a fancy little dish with a dainty little spoon. Oh and the water wasn’t just ordinary water, oh no it was not, it was sparkly mineral water…“ooooh, aahhh” say all the people with an impressed look in their eye. I ordered the trout with a tamale and salad…I would have ordered desert but instead, I walked Leah home because she wasn’t feel well (see, there are some things, although rare, that take precedence over desert). Before Leah and I said goodnight, Alex showed us his new hat that he bought to take to the Amazon, it’s a leather baseball cap which zippers off into a visor, real classy!
día cuarenta y cinco: bright and early I left for the Amazon! Sure hope I packed enough. I don’t know how this was possible, but by some miracle I managed to pack everything for a week in one backpack, so gold star for me!
now let's just see if I can survive the Jungle...but hey if Robin Williams can in Jimaunji, i can too, right? but minus the beard, I don't think I can grow that big of a beard...
that is one unruly beard!
día trenita y siete: 02/8/2010 once a week or so the Outdoor Adventure Club leads hike or a bike ride or the like. So, I signed up, paid my $10, and was ready for a level 2 hike. Ha! Level two my ass, more like a level 5 (I think there are only 3 levels but you get my point). The hike was up a peak called San Palo near the town of San Fernando. It was pretty much a vertical climb (or more fittingly “an up hill battle”) the entire time.
i love how this is the only picture that comes up when I search "san pablo hike ecuador" but don't worry, I was wearing clothes.
During the first third of the hike, we climbed trough steep pastures of lush green grass. Near the end of this part, our elevation was astonishingly high and the view was breathtaking. Surprisingly, there were a number of cows just chillin’ where I never thought I’d ever see a cow (i.e. on a cliff or in a nook where I couldn’t climb to even if I tried). I decided that they must have been super cows that fly or something equally as amazing.
The second third of the hike we climbed up jagged rocks covered in bromeliads and thick slippery moss. Here is where I was very thankful that I have decent upper body strength, without it I would have died of exhaustion.
The last third of the hike was by far the most spectacular. We climbed through cloud forest, where a soupy layer of cloud and a small drizzle made only the step in front of me visible. Literally, we were walking in a cloud, it was unbelievable!
We stopped just below the summit (which you had to shimmy up the side of a very steep rock using a very sketchy looking rope) to eat our brown bagged lunches. I had my sunglasses on, even though the sun was only a hazy mustard yellow dot (kind of like when you boil an egg and the gray film still coats the yoke). I snacked on some cracked and sipped on Gatorade.
The decent was a rocky one (seriously, there were a ton of rocks). It was grueling trying to maintain your balance and make your way down a vertical slope. Needless to say, my toes hurt once we reached the bottom and loaded the bus for home (I also had to pee pretty badly, but you don’t really need to know that).
During the drive home, we played “Smelly Finger, Stinky Pinky,” an entertaining rhyming game that Andrea taught us (now I have a feeling that this game will indefinitely follow us through out the rest of our stay here in Ecuador, oh dear!, I mean it’s fun and all but after the 30th time it can get annoying). I also made a new friends while hiking. I became most acquainted with this “friend” when we got out of the bus and started walking towards home. I looked down at my sleeve and saw the most repugnant spider (it probably wasn’t that bad, but still it’s a SPIDER! and spiders are disgusting and crawly and have 8 eyes, and anything with 8 eyes should be considered repugnant). As much as it wanted to be my friend, I passed (out).
It wasn’t until the next morning that I realized how difficult of a hike this really was (I think my thighs were sore for a goof four more days). Also, half of my face was sun burned. This happened because of two reasons, I forgot to wear sunscreen and my bangs cover up the one side of my face that wasn’t burned. Moral of the story: always wear sunscreen and probably cut your bangs if you want a nice even sunburn.
día trenita y ocho: I like my mornings here in Ecuador. Here, I usually wake up to the smell of morning toast and to the 6:50am blue just before the sun comes out, when all is quite except for a few bird chirps and maybe the occasional car zooming past…HOWEVER…I like my mornings most when I wake up to the voice of Sandro, a charming Latin American lounge singer. He keeps me company during long nights…no not really. I wish though. he’s quite the hunk, like a Latin American Elvis! Just take a look at this man…
The truth is that some mornings my host mom plays his music and other Latin lounge hits (I think it’s a compilation CD…that I definitely need to copy it for myself). My favorite song of his is, “Dame el Fuego de tu Amor.” It’s real catchy!
día cuarenta: I woke up super late today. I think it had something to do with not being able to sleep at 3 am in the morning and then taking two Benadryl…but you can never be sure of these things. Anyway, I had to take a taxicab to school and was still late. Shucks. Oh and did you know that the school secretary will call your home if you are more than 20 mins late to make sure you are not sick or even worse dead?! Well she does. Cab drivers are jovial and friendly here. Some are overly chatty, but I’m down with that, helps me practice the Spanish skills. And others are really keen and willing to please. For example, one night when we were returning from the movie Death Proof, I mentioned to one of the gals that all I wanted to do was drive fast in a car, and next thing I knew we are going a good 25 mph over the speed limit. It was fun, but dangerous, so kids don’t try that at home, and thank you Mr. Taxi Driver Man.
SO because I was late and feeling groggy, I decided to make myself a cup of hot coco before I headed to class (I mean I was already late so “whatever,” right?). At school, they have a little kitchen adjacent to the courtyard and they welcome you to linger and sip you cup of whatnot and snack on your whichever. Today though, I may have put in three too many scoops of powder, the rest of the day I was wound up on sugar and felt guilty because I dishonored the “Tome uno, por favor” (“Take only one, please”) sign. Anyhow, isn’t it nice that our school provides free coffee, tea, coco, and snakes! Seems like a small gesture, but nevertheless it has made my day on occasion…or at least made me hyper.
día caurenta y uno: There it was like a gem gleaming in a patch of rough rocks, like a golden piece of literature among the dull and disheveled fiction…a Chuck Palahniuk book! //Haunted// in Spanish to be exact! I absolutely had to buy it, so I did. I’m really excited to read it now, if you can’t tell. I also poked around one of the markets today and found a pair of “clear with glitter all over” (Leah’s and also my favorite color) jelly sandals for only $5. They were actually $6 but I bartered off a $1. I may go back and buy a purple pair too. Look at me just throwing cash all over the place, living the life, buying jelly sandals!
día cuarenta y cinco: bright and early I left for the Amazon! Sure hope I packed enough. I don’t know how this was possible, but by some miracle I managed to pack everything for a week in one backpack, so gold star for me!
now let's just see if I can survive the Jungle...but hey if Robin Williams can in Jimaunji, i can too, right? but minus the beard, I don't think I can grow that big of a beard...
that is one unruly beard!
2/6/10
road rage
road rage: an aggressive or angry behavior by a driver of an
automobile or other motor vehicle. Such behavior might include rude
gestures, verbal insults
So, you know how there is a pedestrian's write of way and stop signs and signal lights and safety crap in the States? Well, that doesn't exist here in Ecuador. No, correction, it does, people just don't abide by it. So it's each man for himself. I walk to school each day and fear for my life when I cross a street. So, I have decided to write the following...
How to survive on the streets of Ecuador; a guide to driving and being a pedestrian
The faster and more aggressive a driver you are, the more likely you will dominate the road.
Always drive at least 20 mile per hour faster than the speed limit says, if there's even a sign indicating the limit.
There are no such thing as traffic cops. Ha! Ha ha ha. You are so naive.
When on a long trip, going 90 mph and weaving onto the other side of the road makes passengers feel so comfortable that they will nap casually without their seat belt on. True story. My host dad drove this way to their vacation home. I have never been more scared in my life. I had my seat belt on, I even tried to buckle a second one over me. I considered jumping out of the car at one point. So nervous! But my host mom just slept like a baby through the entire thing.
Do not stop...for anything! If you run over a pig in the middle of the road, just leave it, someone will find it and roast it for dinner. What! Someone is riding a bike, on the street! That is not okay, run them over! Now, do it, now!!
Keeping a fire arm or some sort of weapon in your car is probably a smart idea.
Buy the most sensitive and obnoxiously loud car alarm that you can find. Make sure that it goes off at least three to four times a night and keeps all your neighbors up.
Pedestrians, you are screwed. You are like Frogger. Try not to get smooshed.
Be extra strategic about when you choose to cross the road. It is an art. Vehicles will come out of the middle of know where. When you find the right time to cross, run as fast as you can. Forget about bikes and scooters and skates, etc. the will just get you stranded in between lanes of traffic, shivering with fear. You may pee your pants.
Holding you mother's hand will do nothing. Save yourself. Go! go! go!
Once you finally master the art of crossing the street...congratulate yourself quickly and discreetly. There are bigger, badder challenges to come...like round-abouts, and homeless people, and small children who want to sell you gum in the middle of the street
Avoid wearing short skirts. Cat calls...grrrr.
Be carefully what you say to cab drivers/in cabs...they are eager to please cute young Americans. If you find a good driver, get their number. Tip big and be loyal and you will be rewarded. I had a cab driver I used every time, we were pals and he had my back, showed me cool places and put up with my crazy when I got myself into a tight spot. !Muchas gracias por mi Antonio!
Lastly...
Where the fuck do people buy gas here? I have only seen one station in all this country.
So, you know how there is a pedestrian's write of way and stop signs and signal lights and safety crap in the States? Well, that doesn't exist here in Ecuador. No, correction, it does, people just don't abide by it. So it's each man for himself. I walk to school each day and fear for my life when I cross a street. So, I have decided to write the following...
How to survive on the streets of Ecuador; a guide to driving and being a pedestrian
The faster and more aggressive a driver you are, the more likely you will dominate the road.
Always drive at least 20 mile per hour faster than the speed limit says, if there's even a sign indicating the limit.
There are no such thing as traffic cops. Ha! Ha ha ha. You are so naive.
When on a long trip, going 90 mph and weaving onto the other side of the road makes passengers feel so comfortable that they will nap casually without their seat belt on. True story. My host dad drove this way to their vacation home. I have never been more scared in my life. I had my seat belt on, I even tried to buckle a second one over me. I considered jumping out of the car at one point. So nervous! But my host mom just slept like a baby through the entire thing.
Do not stop...for anything! If you run over a pig in the middle of the road, just leave it, someone will find it and roast it for dinner. What! Someone is riding a bike, on the street! That is not okay, run them over! Now, do it, now!!
Keeping a fire arm or some sort of weapon in your car is probably a smart idea.
Buy the most sensitive and obnoxiously loud car alarm that you can find. Make sure that it goes off at least three to four times a night and keeps all your neighbors up.
Pedestrians, you are screwed. You are like Frogger. Try not to get smooshed.
Be extra strategic about when you choose to cross the road. It is an art. Vehicles will come out of the middle of know where. When you find the right time to cross, run as fast as you can. Forget about bikes and scooters and skates, etc. the will just get you stranded in between lanes of traffic, shivering with fear. You may pee your pants.
Holding you mother's hand will do nothing. Save yourself. Go! go! go!
Once you finally master the art of crossing the street...congratulate yourself quickly and discreetly. There are bigger, badder challenges to come...like round-abouts, and homeless people, and small children who want to sell you gum in the middle of the street
Avoid wearing short skirts. Cat calls...grrrr.
Be carefully what you say to cab drivers/in cabs...they are eager to please cute young Americans. If you find a good driver, get their number. Tip big and be loyal and you will be rewarded. I had a cab driver I used every time, we were pals and he had my back, showed me cool places and put up with my crazy when I got myself into a tight spot. !Muchas gracias por mi Antonio!
Lastly...
Where the fuck do people buy gas here? I have only seen one station in all this country.
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