It's good I didn't write my last post a mere twelve hours later, as it would have been much more negative. My friend Ben came over to study on Sunday, and I got in a huge fight with my host parents following his departure. I haven't spoken with either face-to-face since, and have only been in the same room with my host mother- once- when we didn't even have eye contact.
I told my host mom he would be coming over to study that afternoon. When he left, my host dad told me that I could not have people in the house he didn't know- "es una regla." Not any rule you have ever told me! I said, "para estudiar?" and he said, "nadie que yo no conozco-" again, no one I don't know.
The irony in this is that my host parents have no interest in my life, don't know any of my friends, so that basically means bitch, you can never have a single soul in the house. Although one, that is not fair and I am sure not within the guidelines of hosting, and two, they never told me this! I got really mad, was going to the roof to call Ben, and turned around and said "can I tell you something? You (plural) should not have host students here, because you are not nice people." I then stormed up to the roof, and he protested but didn't followed me.
I called Ben and then Liz and cried up there for awhile, and under their advice and my own that I had not done anything wrong- I let my host mother know that he was coming before he did; if there was a problem, she should have told me- I went down and started speaking in whirlwind Spanish, saying I hadn't done anything wrong, I told her he was going to come, etc. We fought for about ten minutes and got nowhere. They told me this house was not a place to meet up.
ONE PERSON! TO STUDY! They should not HAVE host students if that is unreasonable! I was furious and started talking about how uncomfortable I felt in the house, and she said why? I give you pills when you are sick (once), I give you little desserts a few times a week, everything you need.
That is not what I need. I need to NOT have to ask permission to drink a glass of milk in my own house. I need to feel comfortable. I need to not feel like I am doing anything and everything wrong in your presence. I told them I had tried to change so much, and they were not trying to work with me at all. They said they were. I asked how. Then they said they didn't have to change, I was the one who had come there for exchange.
This is true. But living here has been one of the hardest things I have ever done. Hours alone in my room (I can't go out every night), door shut, usually no internet, no stimulating conversation, no interest. It blew my mind. I was so upset. I should have worked harder to move in October. This house is a pesadilla.
To make matters worse, Monday I started coming down with a cold, and yesterday I was miserable. I had finals both days, and on Tuesday, walking to my first bus, I felt so nauseous I keeled over on the street and contemplated taking a taxi home, but I went to school and got through with the final. It's been hard to stay awake 12 hours at a time. It is just a cold, but with extreme exhaustion, sore throat, runny nose, etc. So those plans to spend a night in a town a few hours away to escape Quito? Kaput. I feel like shit.
Tomorrow or Friday I will go shopping one last time, and I have to start to pack because I will be gone most of Friday and half of Saturday, at my class party and sleeping over. I am a bit wary, even though I love all these kids and always enjoy hanging out with them; that I will just not be i the mood to party all night. If I am still sick I won't go, but I really want to. I also need to find time to say bye to other gringo friends that are still here, although I have no idea when that will happen.
I am incredibly upset that this is how I am ending my last days in Quito- sick, unhappy with my host parents and wanting to leave, but there is nothing I could have done to change it, save shut my mouth when my host father said that to me. But I don't regret. I feel like I have been walked over all semester by them. I've already written a letter detailing why I have been unhappy here and what inappropriate things they have done.
I miss my real family. I miss being able to tell who is walking through the house just by the sound of their footsteps, my mom watching all her stupid antiques shows, the winter living room with the CHRISTMAS TREE we will have oh so soon, New York City streets, being to walk outside (at night) without fear of being mugged or assaulted, not being stared at by everyone from young girls to old men because of what I look like. So soon. So soon.
To sum it up, I am sick, tired, bored, homesick, unhappy and unwelcome in this house, and more than ready to go home.
My flight is 7:30 AM Sunday.
3 days...
I am spending the Fall 2008 semester in Quito, Ecuador, as an exchange student at USFQ (Universidad San Francisco de Quito). I am looking forward to living with a family and improving my Spanish, along with seeing as much of Ecuador (and Peru and Colombia) as possible. Please keep up with my travels! Many adventures to come...
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
El principio del fin...
This is my last Sunday in Quito, which is big, although it hasn’t really hit me yet- it started to after I said goodbye to one of my best friends here last night (she changed her flight to go home a week early because she has an incredibly busy winter break– 2 family weddings, 3 out of state trips, etc!) and could take her exams early. But a quick update of the last week–
Tuesday: My friend Ricardo, whom I met on the chiva, met me in Cumbaya and we walked around and hung out for a few hours. It was really nice because we went to parts of Cumbaya I’d never seen, it was a gorgeous day and we sat in what I assume is the small town’s “Parque Central.” [Note: I go to school in Cumbaya; it is a fifteen minute bus ride from Quito.]
Wednesday: After class I went with Liz to Jorge’s office, hung out with them and studied for awhile, and had coffee with them and Jorge’s mom, where we talked about Cuba. A recent NYT article greatly helped me out in this. (Read it! It’s interesting)
Thursday: I was exhausted and came home and watched Ratatouille and went to bed early :)
Friday: We had a going-away dinner at Crepes and Waffles, a delicious Colombian chain restaurant. Fifteen gringos sitting in the middle of an Ecuadorian restaurant speaking in English... nice. Four of us came to my house after to hang out and have some cocktails, then I went out with Susie and my friend Ben. We didn’t have ID to get into the club- you RARELY need it here, but I’d brought a copy of my passport and somehow lost it (COPY, mom, Copy. Don’t worry) and the bouncer was asking me my age and I was like “mil... mil... nueve...” because years are the hardest in Spanish (who can remember mil novecientos ochenta y ocho, anyway?), and don’t get easier after a few Cuba Libres... but he let me in! Thank god. We took advantage of the half-hour left of the open bar, Susie left after awhile, and Ben and I went to a different bar where we unexpectedly ran into some of his friends from high school (he’s been here for a few years and finished high school in Ecuador). I fell into bed around 4am. It was a great night, this is a very condensed version.
Saturday: I woke up more than a little chuchaqui, went over to Ali’s and rolled around the floor groaning about how much of the previous adjective I was. I opted out of going to the Basilica with them due to money concerns and my physical state, but met up with them at the market and for dinner later. We went to this DELICIOUS and incredibly cheap Chinese restaurant, where they seem to speak neither English nor Spanish, so we always try to order in Spanish and then end up pointing at the menu... sooo good. Then we went to the supermarket one last time for Ali to buy Ecuadorian goodies to bring home, and then to her house around 9 to hang out and help her- start- packing. Yes, start! I cannot believe she started packing 8 hours before leaving! Well, Stephen and Rachel did most of the work, with me being on the computer and organizing her illegal movies and Cuban cigars with the hope that they will get through customs. We laid in her bed and talked until about 2, when she called us a cab (I always take the cab with them down the street, because it’s about a minute to walk and I am very paranoid at night) and we were all crying. I hate goodbyes. I am not a fan, and I prefer to just not do them, because to me they are pointless and depressing. Last semester my friend Marlie cornered me during the cafeteria exam treats and made me say goodbye to her (and sob in the middle of half of Beloit... THANKS MARLS!!) But I am fine with indulging other people’s needs for goodbyes.
I don’t want to start packing until Friday at the absolute earliest, not out of laziness, but because I think it will be very lonely to have to live in an empty room, and either make me want to go home immediately or being very sad to go... I am currently somewhere in the middle.
Oh, and something else. I am such a Libra, in the sense that I can never make decisions. Right after I wrote that blog about how I was determined to take my trip down south, I changed my mind- I’m taking my finals Monday & Tuesday, and only going to a little forest town for one night, Wed-Thurs. I realized I did not have the money to do the trip, or the time to fully enjoy those places in the way I wanted to. I am really sad that I won’t make it to Cuenca, but I know I will come back and I know exactly where to go when I do! It wouldn’t have been worth it to spend hundreds of dollars for two days in one town and two days in another, and have to take a 12 hour bus ride back.
Friday I will probably see people and start packing, and Friday night my Model UN class has one last hurrah– a Christmas party (and these kids do know how to party) at one of the student’s houses outside of Quito. I am sure it will be fantastic, and then I will come back and pack and cry and pack be overwhelmed and sleep and leave...
Whew. So how do all of you feel about leaving?
Tuesday: My friend Ricardo, whom I met on the chiva, met me in Cumbaya and we walked around and hung out for a few hours. It was really nice because we went to parts of Cumbaya I’d never seen, it was a gorgeous day and we sat in what I assume is the small town’s “Parque Central.” [Note: I go to school in Cumbaya; it is a fifteen minute bus ride from Quito.]
Wednesday: After class I went with Liz to Jorge’s office, hung out with them and studied for awhile, and had coffee with them and Jorge’s mom, where we talked about Cuba. A recent NYT article greatly helped me out in this. (Read it! It’s interesting)
Thursday: I was exhausted and came home and watched Ratatouille and went to bed early :)
Friday: We had a going-away dinner at Crepes and Waffles, a delicious Colombian chain restaurant. Fifteen gringos sitting in the middle of an Ecuadorian restaurant speaking in English... nice. Four of us came to my house after to hang out and have some cocktails, then I went out with Susie and my friend Ben. We didn’t have ID to get into the club- you RARELY need it here, but I’d brought a copy of my passport and somehow lost it (COPY, mom, Copy. Don’t worry) and the bouncer was asking me my age and I was like “mil... mil... nueve...” because years are the hardest in Spanish (who can remember mil novecientos ochenta y ocho, anyway?), and don’t get easier after a few Cuba Libres... but he let me in! Thank god. We took advantage of the half-hour left of the open bar, Susie left after awhile, and Ben and I went to a different bar where we unexpectedly ran into some of his friends from high school (he’s been here for a few years and finished high school in Ecuador). I fell into bed around 4am. It was a great night, this is a very condensed version.
Saturday: I woke up more than a little chuchaqui, went over to Ali’s and rolled around the floor groaning about how much of the previous adjective I was. I opted out of going to the Basilica with them due to money concerns and my physical state, but met up with them at the market and for dinner later. We went to this DELICIOUS and incredibly cheap Chinese restaurant, where they seem to speak neither English nor Spanish, so we always try to order in Spanish and then end up pointing at the menu... sooo good. Then we went to the supermarket one last time for Ali to buy Ecuadorian goodies to bring home, and then to her house around 9 to hang out and help her- start- packing. Yes, start! I cannot believe she started packing 8 hours before leaving! Well, Stephen and Rachel did most of the work, with me being on the computer and organizing her illegal movies and Cuban cigars with the hope that they will get through customs. We laid in her bed and talked until about 2, when she called us a cab (I always take the cab with them down the street, because it’s about a minute to walk and I am very paranoid at night) and we were all crying. I hate goodbyes. I am not a fan, and I prefer to just not do them, because to me they are pointless and depressing. Last semester my friend Marlie cornered me during the cafeteria exam treats and made me say goodbye to her (and sob in the middle of half of Beloit... THANKS MARLS!!) But I am fine with indulging other people’s needs for goodbyes.
I don’t want to start packing until Friday at the absolute earliest, not out of laziness, but because I think it will be very lonely to have to live in an empty room, and either make me want to go home immediately or being very sad to go... I am currently somewhere in the middle.
Oh, and something else. I am such a Libra, in the sense that I can never make decisions. Right after I wrote that blog about how I was determined to take my trip down south, I changed my mind- I’m taking my finals Monday & Tuesday, and only going to a little forest town for one night, Wed-Thurs. I realized I did not have the money to do the trip, or the time to fully enjoy those places in the way I wanted to. I am really sad that I won’t make it to Cuenca, but I know I will come back and I know exactly where to go when I do! It wouldn’t have been worth it to spend hundreds of dollars for two days in one town and two days in another, and have to take a 12 hour bus ride back.
Friday I will probably see people and start packing, and Friday night my Model UN class has one last hurrah– a Christmas party (and these kids do know how to party) at one of the student’s houses outside of Quito. I am sure it will be fantastic, and then I will come back and pack and cry and pack be overwhelmed and sleep and leave...
Whew. So how do all of you feel about leaving?
Sunday, December 7, 2008
The Notable & the Inconceivable
The Notable and the Inconceivable
Recent Notable Events:
1) This past weekend was Fiestas de Quito. I only truly partied one night, but it was enough for the weekend. I went on a chiva (open-air party bus which has a band playing on the roof) and drove around Thursday night. It was incredibly fun. I also met a very nice man, and we went dancing. One of the best nights I’ve had here. Too bad I’m leaving in two weeks...
2) Friday I went to the mercado artesenal with Susie to do some Christmas shopping, which was fun. Ali, Steven and I went to a very cheap Chinese restaurant in la Mariscal for dinner and it was delicious. We walked through the Mariscal (basically the center of all the bars) for a bit. I loved it- tons of drunk people singing and dancing, but Ali and Steven were not having it. I was going to meet up with my friend Ben, but couldn’t find him, and was still exhausted from the night before, so I went home.
3) Yesterday (Saturday) I went up the Teleferiqo with Steven and Ali. The Teleferiqo is basically an enclosed skilift that goes all the way up Pichincha, the volcano right next to Quito that I can see right now from the window in the living room of my house. It was a great view going up but there was so much fog that we could barely see the city from the top, which was sad. We walked a bit and you could feel the altitude- it is something like 3400 meters, Quito itself is at least 500 less than that. I was definitely breathing hard when we hiked uphill.
4) Ali and I hung out at her house while Steven went to a Persian class (?) Then he came back, we wanted to go to dinner at this Mexican restaurant on our block, but it was closed due to the holiday, so we got in a cab and ended up at S’pan’es, a Colombian fast-food restaurant, which was delicious. I had an arepa with guacamole and cheese and mini chicken empanadas. However this was not a happy meal because Ali had just lost her phone in our cab and thinks her iPod was pickpocketed earlier this week... somber dinner. Steven went home and I slept over at Ali’s.
And for the inconceivable...
1) Exactly two weeks from this moment (clearly as of time of writing) I will be sitting, most likely exhausted, in George Walker Bush International (will they rename it Barack Hussein Obama? Could Texas do that?) airport, waiting for my connecting flight to take me home.
2) In ONE week from today, I will be flying to the south of Ecuador and traveling with my friend Carmen for the week.
*This weekend I was seriously considering backing out on this trip, due to money issues and feeling like I should stay in Quito my last week, but I realized how terrible it would be. Ali is gone next Sunday, and any foreigners staying in Quito will be doing so for exams or to spend time with their Ecuadorian boyfriends, neither of which I care to participate in (I have already arranged to take my exams early and do not want to change that now and study more). So I will be traveling.
3) I will not see any of my friends here for a very, very long time, and I won’t process this until I’m gone.
4) My schedule for this week is as follows: TUES: Literature presentation. WED: MUN Final exam. THURS: LIT Final Exam, Anthro presentation, Anthro Final Exam. ... NOT looking forward to it.
5) Of course finals have to be at the end of the semester, which of course is when you are feeling the most confused, vulnerable and emotional (at least in my case). I spent so much time here seemingly just floating through my days, and now that I am truly happy I have to spend this week studying and stressing about finals, money and packing to go... home? I cried Thursday night, Friday morning in my room, Friday afternoon waiting for Susie at the bus stop. I am a bit more put together now. A bit.
6) Not that I am dreading being home. I think it will be lovely... I’m just not ready.
7) I will be back at Beloit in a bit over a month... I got into all of my classes, which I believe is the first time that has happened since my first semester. So I will be taking:
Politics of Latin America and the Caribbean
Women’s Health
Economic Development
Nicaragua in Transition
Claude Levi-Strauss at 100 (.5 credit)
It is an amazing schedule as I don’t have class til noon on Tuesday and Thursday, and 11:15 MWF. I didn’t do that on purpose- I am actually fond of morning classes- but I think it will be very nice to have mornings free. The classes (I anticipate will) also complement each other extremely well, at least Nicaragua and Economic Development, along with POLS.
Let me know if you are in any of them. Also, anyone know anything about the proposed Spanish minor? Jenny?
8) The economic situation in the US (slash, the entire world). We have been raised in a time of plenty and I think, especially for my/our generation, to see the economy fall apart like this will have an incredible impact on us for the rest of our lives, the same way September 11th did.
I still remember when I found out about what happened. I was in 8th grade at a public middle school in uptown Manhattan (nowhere near the towers), and that morning, parents began coming in and taking their kids out of class one by one. We had no idea what was going on and were quite scared. Finally, between periods, I asked my math teacher what had happened, and she said two planes had crashed into the Twin Towers.
“Cool,” I said, having absolutely no understanding of what kind of damage she was referring to, my childish mind unable to imagine the damage which had occurred only miles south of where I lived. I remember walking to my brother’s school to pick him up (about two miles away) and going home with him. I don’t think buses were working after the attacks. When I got home I watched the coverage on TV for hours, and cried.
The next day was one of my best friend’s (still a best friend’s) birthday, and school was cancelled, and we had a quiet lunch. There was a thick layer of dust on the windowsill of our apartment, which had drifted uptown and settled, one of the few things that remained of the Towers.
One night when I was falling asleep- I think my parents were going out- I remember being terrified that an airplane was going to crash into my bedroom, and that nowhere in the city could be safe.
My point being– well, I don’t have a point, but I have many thoughts. How will what happens to us when we are children affect our long-term development? Will we believe we are more prone to disaster? Less likely to trust the people around us?
But then– how can we rebound so quickly? I have no fear riding the subway in New York or walking in crowded areas, and very minimal fear on an airplane. Is it naivety? A necessary mechanism to keep me from going insane? Will these economic events affect our decision-making for decades to come? Will teenagers entering college lean more towards a career path than freedom of intellectual exploration? Will college actually become unaffordable for most American families, as the New York Times predicted?
One thing that scares me is that statistic that graduating from college during a recession decreases one’s income by 10% (that is probably entirely wrong, but it was some significant number). If half a million people lost their jobs in November– people with decades of experience and loyalty are getting fired– how on earth are we going to get jobs? I hate when people deem the current crisis more or less equivalent to the Great Depression. It is not. That Depression has 25% unemployment. We are at 6.7%! Although that number is not considered truthful, as many people have dropped out of the workforce due to the inability to find a job- as well as their lack of hope. It is still not on equal terms, the same way the Attacks on Mumbai are not India's September 11; their death toll not even close to one-tenth of what was experienced in 2001. Not to be callous. It's just one way of determining it. Not to make these issues seem less important than they are or give them less attention than they deserve (uhh, does anyone even read this?), but scaring people with incorrect information does not help anyone.
Depressing, isn’t it?
If you like reading about this stuff, a blog I like is Econowhiner. There are usually two or three posts a day, various things about the economy or tips to save money/ your sanity. It’s interesting. Go look at it.
I should go study or something. I should also start packing (I am determined to have one suitcase packed before I leave to travel next week), but I doubt I will start before Saturday, because it will make me too sad. I am not looking forward to goodbyes. Sorry to conclude this entry about something that happened seven years ago. Processing all my thoughts about the present has been too overwhelming.
Two weeks?!
Recent Notable Events:
1) This past weekend was Fiestas de Quito. I only truly partied one night, but it was enough for the weekend. I went on a chiva (open-air party bus which has a band playing on the roof) and drove around Thursday night. It was incredibly fun. I also met a very nice man, and we went dancing. One of the best nights I’ve had here. Too bad I’m leaving in two weeks...
2) Friday I went to the mercado artesenal with Susie to do some Christmas shopping, which was fun. Ali, Steven and I went to a very cheap Chinese restaurant in la Mariscal for dinner and it was delicious. We walked through the Mariscal (basically the center of all the bars) for a bit. I loved it- tons of drunk people singing and dancing, but Ali and Steven were not having it. I was going to meet up with my friend Ben, but couldn’t find him, and was still exhausted from the night before, so I went home.
3) Yesterday (Saturday) I went up the Teleferiqo with Steven and Ali. The Teleferiqo is basically an enclosed skilift that goes all the way up Pichincha, the volcano right next to Quito that I can see right now from the window in the living room of my house. It was a great view going up but there was so much fog that we could barely see the city from the top, which was sad. We walked a bit and you could feel the altitude- it is something like 3400 meters, Quito itself is at least 500 less than that. I was definitely breathing hard when we hiked uphill.
4) Ali and I hung out at her house while Steven went to a Persian class (?) Then he came back, we wanted to go to dinner at this Mexican restaurant on our block, but it was closed due to the holiday, so we got in a cab and ended up at S’pan’es, a Colombian fast-food restaurant, which was delicious. I had an arepa with guacamole and cheese and mini chicken empanadas. However this was not a happy meal because Ali had just lost her phone in our cab and thinks her iPod was pickpocketed earlier this week... somber dinner. Steven went home and I slept over at Ali’s.
And for the inconceivable...
1) Exactly two weeks from this moment (clearly as of time of writing) I will be sitting, most likely exhausted, in George Walker Bush International (will they rename it Barack Hussein Obama? Could Texas do that?) airport, waiting for my connecting flight to take me home.
2) In ONE week from today, I will be flying to the south of Ecuador and traveling with my friend Carmen for the week.
*This weekend I was seriously considering backing out on this trip, due to money issues and feeling like I should stay in Quito my last week, but I realized how terrible it would be. Ali is gone next Sunday, and any foreigners staying in Quito will be doing so for exams or to spend time with their Ecuadorian boyfriends, neither of which I care to participate in (I have already arranged to take my exams early and do not want to change that now and study more). So I will be traveling.
3) I will not see any of my friends here for a very, very long time, and I won’t process this until I’m gone.
4) My schedule for this week is as follows: TUES: Literature presentation. WED: MUN Final exam. THURS: LIT Final Exam, Anthro presentation, Anthro Final Exam. ... NOT looking forward to it.
5) Of course finals have to be at the end of the semester, which of course is when you are feeling the most confused, vulnerable and emotional (at least in my case). I spent so much time here seemingly just floating through my days, and now that I am truly happy I have to spend this week studying and stressing about finals, money and packing to go... home? I cried Thursday night, Friday morning in my room, Friday afternoon waiting for Susie at the bus stop. I am a bit more put together now. A bit.
6) Not that I am dreading being home. I think it will be lovely... I’m just not ready.
7) I will be back at Beloit in a bit over a month... I got into all of my classes, which I believe is the first time that has happened since my first semester. So I will be taking:
Politics of Latin America and the Caribbean
Women’s Health
Economic Development
Nicaragua in Transition
Claude Levi-Strauss at 100 (.5 credit)
It is an amazing schedule as I don’t have class til noon on Tuesday and Thursday, and 11:15 MWF. I didn’t do that on purpose- I am actually fond of morning classes- but I think it will be very nice to have mornings free. The classes (I anticipate will) also complement each other extremely well, at least Nicaragua and Economic Development, along with POLS.
Let me know if you are in any of them. Also, anyone know anything about the proposed Spanish minor? Jenny?
8) The economic situation in the US (slash, the entire world). We have been raised in a time of plenty and I think, especially for my/our generation, to see the economy fall apart like this will have an incredible impact on us for the rest of our lives, the same way September 11th did.
I still remember when I found out about what happened. I was in 8th grade at a public middle school in uptown Manhattan (nowhere near the towers), and that morning, parents began coming in and taking their kids out of class one by one. We had no idea what was going on and were quite scared. Finally, between periods, I asked my math teacher what had happened, and she said two planes had crashed into the Twin Towers.
“Cool,” I said, having absolutely no understanding of what kind of damage she was referring to, my childish mind unable to imagine the damage which had occurred only miles south of where I lived. I remember walking to my brother’s school to pick him up (about two miles away) and going home with him. I don’t think buses were working after the attacks. When I got home I watched the coverage on TV for hours, and cried.
The next day was one of my best friend’s (still a best friend’s) birthday, and school was cancelled, and we had a quiet lunch. There was a thick layer of dust on the windowsill of our apartment, which had drifted uptown and settled, one of the few things that remained of the Towers.
One night when I was falling asleep- I think my parents were going out- I remember being terrified that an airplane was going to crash into my bedroom, and that nowhere in the city could be safe.
My point being– well, I don’t have a point, but I have many thoughts. How will what happens to us when we are children affect our long-term development? Will we believe we are more prone to disaster? Less likely to trust the people around us?
But then– how can we rebound so quickly? I have no fear riding the subway in New York or walking in crowded areas, and very minimal fear on an airplane. Is it naivety? A necessary mechanism to keep me from going insane? Will these economic events affect our decision-making for decades to come? Will teenagers entering college lean more towards a career path than freedom of intellectual exploration? Will college actually become unaffordable for most American families, as the New York Times predicted?
One thing that scares me is that statistic that graduating from college during a recession decreases one’s income by 10% (that is probably entirely wrong, but it was some significant number). If half a million people lost their jobs in November– people with decades of experience and loyalty are getting fired– how on earth are we going to get jobs? I hate when people deem the current crisis more or less equivalent to the Great Depression. It is not. That Depression has 25% unemployment. We are at 6.7%! Although that number is not considered truthful, as many people have dropped out of the workforce due to the inability to find a job- as well as their lack of hope. It is still not on equal terms, the same way the Attacks on Mumbai are not India's September 11; their death toll not even close to one-tenth of what was experienced in 2001. Not to be callous. It's just one way of determining it. Not to make these issues seem less important than they are or give them less attention than they deserve (uhh, does anyone even read this?), but scaring people with incorrect information does not help anyone.
Depressing, isn’t it?
If you like reading about this stuff, a blog I like is Econowhiner. There are usually two or three posts a day, various things about the economy or tips to save money/ your sanity. It’s interesting. Go look at it.
I should go study or something. I should also start packing (I am determined to have one suitcase packed before I leave to travel next week), but I doubt I will start before Saturday, because it will make me too sad. I am not looking forward to goodbyes. Sorry to conclude this entry about something that happened seven years ago. Processing all my thoughts about the present has been too overwhelming.
Two weeks?!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Estacion Biodiversidad: Tiputini!
So this past weekend was my real trip to the rainforest. As you may recall I went rafting two weeks ago, this was in a town just barely what is considered the Oriente (Ecuadorian jungle). The trip went a little something like this. Feel free to read in installments as this is a long one.
Friday
4:40 AM: Wake up. Exhausted. Have already packed. Shower.
5:15: Call Ali to assure I haven't (and she hasn't overslept).
5:30: Call Ali to find out where cab is (she said she would call at 5:20 as we had to be at the airport at 6 EN PUNTO). She is "about to call."
5:40: Call Ali to find out where cab is. She is "on the phone with them right now." I am exasperated and mad I woke up early.
5:53: Cab rolls up outside my house (we live on the same street but she is about a 90 second walk and I HATE doing that walk in the dark... especially armed with a camera, iPod and American passport).
5:54: We ask how much taxi will cost as cab drivers love to rip you off, especially gringos. $5. BULLSHIT. It under ten minutes and no traffic at that time. I start arguing and he says something about how this is the normal cost and impuestos. There are no fucking impuestos. I was so mad, I told him to let us off, but realizing that we had to be at the airport in 4 minutes (and that there were no cabs going by and sketchy people on corners), I pleaded him down to $3.
We got there at 6:03 and it was fine and we still had to wait for awhile. I'd like to say not once during the entry to the airport, going through security, or boarding of the plane was my passport or Ecuadorian ID checked (or asked for). Not once.
The flight was fine. It was 30 minutes to Coca, a city in the jungle which is the base for a lot of these visits (the bus ride would have been 10 hours and very bumpy). From there we hung out at a hotel for an hour, where there were all these monkeys and birds. Everyone was playing with them and letting them climb all over them. Seeing as I am still trying to leave Ecuador free of rabies, I watched cautiously from a distance.
After that we got on a boat which was 2 hours down a wide river which was really pretty. Then we had to go to a security checkpoint and show our passports. Yep, that's Ecuador, you show your passport in the middle of nowhere but not... in the airport? Whatever. This area is inhabited by the oil company REPSOL, and for that reason we were forbidden to take pictures during the 2 hour bus ride we had following the checkpoint. I wanted to sneak a picture, because there was no one really making sure we were following the law, but there was honestly nothing really that picture-worthy. In some places areas looked destroyed, and I don't know if that was the work of the oil companies or a storm (there are constantly heavy rains).
After that ride, we had one final 2-hour boat ride which dropped us off at the base of steps which led to the Biodiversity Station, which runs off of funding from the university I attend, USFQ; and Boston University. We were talked to about the rules and living conditions (electricity from 10-1 and 6-9:30, leave shoes outside, don't pick things up, be on time for meals, etc). Then we went to our cabins. I shared one with Ali, Kalysta, and Susie, and had a top bunk (I love the top bunk). We hung out for awhile before dinner, which we were excited for because we'd heard the food was amazing. However it was a bit of a disappointment: sweet lasagna. Sweet! Dulce! It was very weird. I added a lot of aji, the traditional sauce, to try to drown out the flavor. We went to bed pretty early as breakfast is at 6:30.
That night I was woken up by heavy rains and was dreaming that the cabin was crashing through waves in an ocean... and that FARC was coming to get us. Very sensical.
Saturday
We woke up, had a breakfast of cereal, fruit and hot chocolate (I made the instant hot chocolate at almost every meal) and headed out for the morning. We took a (motor-powered) boat a bit upriver and got out to go to an outlook tower, which we climbed up but didn't see anything in the way of wildlife, although it was a gorgeous view. Then three of us went on a small canoe with our guide into a lagoon where there were all these birds that resembled turkeys flying around. It was very peaceful. After that, we hiked back to camp, and our guide pointed out lots of bug and different kinds of trees and plants along the way.
We had a great lunch of beets, beef, lettuce, potato and a sunny side-up egg! It was the first time I'd tried that because it made me nervous, but it was good and not at all runny. Then I went SWIMMING in the river with Max and Stacy! Okay, swimming is a bit of a stretch, because the current was so strong we didn't really leave the immediate area of the dock, but it was very refreshing. I skipped the afternoon walk because I was exhausted and he said it was going to be short, so I slept in the cabin with Susie, who was sick. Dinner was amazing, just rice with beef and vegetables but a delicious sauce, so good!
Then everyone went in one of the motorized boats to look for caimen, which are relatives of alligators and live in the rainforest. We found a lot! The way you spot them is by looking for red dots near shore... their eyes! It was kind of creepy. We saw really small ones and adults.
So now, after a day of hiking and sweating in the hot hot rainforest, all we wanted to do was come back and take a shower.
Too bad there was no water!!!
No water. At all. The water is river water which goes through a long filtration process, but it just wasn't on, so we didn't shower... yuck. I'm not a have-to-shower-every-day person, but when you've been walking for 4 hours and sweating virtually ALL DAY, it is just gross not to shower.
Sunday
In the morning we inquired and they said it would come back on with the electricity, which didn't make sense as we only had 6 hours of electricity a day and the water was usually always on, but whatever. Sunday we got up at 4:40 to hike to a tower to see more wildlife, as they are more active before/right before the sun comes up.
That night it poured- somehow I had slept through it, but Susie woke up and said she was afraid lightening was going to hit the house, it was so close and so bright. Good night to decide to be a heavy sleeper! We headed out and it was a hard walk because I didn't have a flashlight and there was no daylight and very little light from the flashlights around me. Thankfully Ali gave me hers and shared with Kalysta, who she was walking with. It was hard because it was so wet (still raining? I can't remember) and muddy. We got to the metal tower and climbed up. Yes, we climbed up a metal tower. In the rain.
Did I mention we could hear thunder? Not my favorite moment.
We got to the top and sadly, it was lame. Birds don't really come out when it is raining or wet, they hide under the leaves, so all we saw were 2 toucans far off in the distance with binoculars. Sorry if that sounds spoiled, but it sucks to get up at 4:30 AM, hike, be out in the rain, be hungry and exhausted and see nothing. We went back and went straight to breakfast, and the morning was redeemed by
FRUIT AND PANCAKES!!! Oh my god!! I was SO HUNGRY! I scarfed down 2 pancakes and then felt gross (I'd also had three glasses of the watery juice/kool aid/whatever they gave us in my attempt to stay hydrated). They were DELICIOUS. Then we got to take a quick nap because we couldn't go back out in the rain.
Then we hiked to the canopy bridges, which were cool! These were very different from the ones I walked on in Costa Rica... aka, not regulated and definitely scary. A board was missing from one bridge. There were 2 ladders going up a tree in one place to an outlook spot (really a couple of boards) and I chickened out 3/4 of the way up because the ladders were wobbling and I was terrified. Dad, you would have been a mess! After I spent a little time on the bridges I was able to enjoy the view without feeling like I was facing imminent death.
Another delicious meal awaited us back at the station: patacones (fried? baked? pieces of platanos), red beans, rice and meat. Yes, I've turned into quite the carnivore here... at first I "didn't eat beef." Um... beef is delicious. I have no idea what I'll do back in the States.
An hour after lunch everyone loaded into the boat to go swimming for real! But sadly we floated for a long time looking for wildlife. All I wanted to do was get in the water! There were about 30 of us in all, and we took turns jumping off the boat into the water and the current curried us downstream. It was so fun. There are anacondas, electric eels, the caimen (alligator-like) and piranhas in this water, but the directors assured us it was fine, and it was.
Then we went back and rested. Sadly I cannot remember what 'the last supper' was, but I'm sure it was delicious. Later that night we saw a slideshow of really cool pictures of insects the director has taken- these are crazy insects! I'd never seen anything like them. We also saw pictures from the hidden cameras they have in the forest with heat and motion sensors, everything from deer to rabbits to taiper, JAGUARS (one black jaguar seen in 20,000 pictures over 4 years... where is (s)he?!?!), everything, it was really cool. Then we read and talked before falling asleep in the cabin.
Monday & Thoughts
Monday was miserable as we left at 7:30 AM and our flight out of Coca wasn't until 5:15... we had about 3 hours to kill after arrival in the city, which was super lame. I'm really glad I got to go (and that Beloit funded it), but it was honestly way too much traveling for only 2 full days- the first day was at least 9 hours, and the last 11. I also, and I'm sad to say this, was disappointed by the guide. We had to walk single file because of the trails and when he saw something he would turn and explain to the person behind him... and no one else had any idea what was going on. It wasn't like he had to be quiet as to not scare off other animals... I'm talking about bugs and plants. And while the other group saw 5 species of monkey, we saw none. None. I know some of it must be luck, and maybe we talked too much, but if that was the case I wish he'd just told us to shut up. He was a nice old man, but not a good guide.
I am also incredibly bitter that in the spring Beloit gives students a trip to the Galapagos (to which the ticket and taxes alone cost almost twice as much as this weekend) and not us... I can't say it is better as I haven't gone, but I'm sure it is, and it is a week, not 2 days! It is ridiculous, and I will be writing a VERY strong op-ed about study abroad at Beloit when I get back, as there is a disgusting amount of bullshit and hypocrisy involved.
That said, I love Ecuador, and I miss Beloit. However, I do not like the university, as I have had negative experiences (not entirely, but somewhat) in all of my classes: from the professor who left for a month to do research and the class was entirely productive, to the one whom I used to admire and now consider an egotistical ass who made me cry in his office, the prof I consider to be condescending and inappropriate, and the disgusting incidence of cheating on our second literature test. Students here blatantly talk during presentations or even when the professor is talking, they leave class early because they want to, it is a joke. I miss the honesty and sincerity of Beloit, the passion people have for learning, wanting to go to the classes you are in instead of dreading them.
I have 19 more days here, only now I am counting down subconsciously out of dread, not excitement. I know December will be amazing, as will next semester, but I am just getting comfortable here and it is being pulled away from me. Ali and I have started walking at a beautiful park near our house where we can escape the city. I feel (a bit) closer with my host parents. There is still so much I haven't done, through no fault but my own.
This weekend is Fiestas de Quito, although I am on a very strict budget so I am not sure what I will be doing. Then I have to take care of all my finals next week, and the following weekend I am going south to go to a small spa town and national park, and then the larger historical city of Cuenca. I am so excited, and I really consider it necessary to travel that last week, because otherwise I will be bored and sad about leaving if I just sit in Quito.
Friday
4:40 AM: Wake up. Exhausted. Have already packed. Shower.
5:15: Call Ali to assure I haven't (and she hasn't overslept).
5:30: Call Ali to find out where cab is (she said she would call at 5:20 as we had to be at the airport at 6 EN PUNTO). She is "about to call."
5:40: Call Ali to find out where cab is. She is "on the phone with them right now." I am exasperated and mad I woke up early.
5:53: Cab rolls up outside my house (we live on the same street but she is about a 90 second walk and I HATE doing that walk in the dark... especially armed with a camera, iPod and American passport).
5:54: We ask how much taxi will cost as cab drivers love to rip you off, especially gringos. $5. BULLSHIT. It under ten minutes and no traffic at that time. I start arguing and he says something about how this is the normal cost and impuestos. There are no fucking impuestos. I was so mad, I told him to let us off, but realizing that we had to be at the airport in 4 minutes (and that there were no cabs going by and sketchy people on corners), I pleaded him down to $3.
We got there at 6:03 and it was fine and we still had to wait for awhile. I'd like to say not once during the entry to the airport, going through security, or boarding of the plane was my passport or Ecuadorian ID checked (or asked for). Not once.
The flight was fine. It was 30 minutes to Coca, a city in the jungle which is the base for a lot of these visits (the bus ride would have been 10 hours and very bumpy). From there we hung out at a hotel for an hour, where there were all these monkeys and birds. Everyone was playing with them and letting them climb all over them. Seeing as I am still trying to leave Ecuador free of rabies, I watched cautiously from a distance.
After that we got on a boat which was 2 hours down a wide river which was really pretty. Then we had to go to a security checkpoint and show our passports. Yep, that's Ecuador, you show your passport in the middle of nowhere but not... in the airport? Whatever. This area is inhabited by the oil company REPSOL, and for that reason we were forbidden to take pictures during the 2 hour bus ride we had following the checkpoint. I wanted to sneak a picture, because there was no one really making sure we were following the law, but there was honestly nothing really that picture-worthy. In some places areas looked destroyed, and I don't know if that was the work of the oil companies or a storm (there are constantly heavy rains).
After that ride, we had one final 2-hour boat ride which dropped us off at the base of steps which led to the Biodiversity Station, which runs off of funding from the university I attend, USFQ; and Boston University. We were talked to about the rules and living conditions (electricity from 10-1 and 6-9:30, leave shoes outside, don't pick things up, be on time for meals, etc). Then we went to our cabins. I shared one with Ali, Kalysta, and Susie, and had a top bunk (I love the top bunk). We hung out for awhile before dinner, which we were excited for because we'd heard the food was amazing. However it was a bit of a disappointment: sweet lasagna. Sweet! Dulce! It was very weird. I added a lot of aji, the traditional sauce, to try to drown out the flavor. We went to bed pretty early as breakfast is at 6:30.
That night I was woken up by heavy rains and was dreaming that the cabin was crashing through waves in an ocean... and that FARC was coming to get us. Very sensical.
Saturday
We woke up, had a breakfast of cereal, fruit and hot chocolate (I made the instant hot chocolate at almost every meal) and headed out for the morning. We took a (motor-powered) boat a bit upriver and got out to go to an outlook tower, which we climbed up but didn't see anything in the way of wildlife, although it was a gorgeous view. Then three of us went on a small canoe with our guide into a lagoon where there were all these birds that resembled turkeys flying around. It was very peaceful. After that, we hiked back to camp, and our guide pointed out lots of bug and different kinds of trees and plants along the way.
We had a great lunch of beets, beef, lettuce, potato and a sunny side-up egg! It was the first time I'd tried that because it made me nervous, but it was good and not at all runny. Then I went SWIMMING in the river with Max and Stacy! Okay, swimming is a bit of a stretch, because the current was so strong we didn't really leave the immediate area of the dock, but it was very refreshing. I skipped the afternoon walk because I was exhausted and he said it was going to be short, so I slept in the cabin with Susie, who was sick. Dinner was amazing, just rice with beef and vegetables but a delicious sauce, so good!
Then everyone went in one of the motorized boats to look for caimen, which are relatives of alligators and live in the rainforest. We found a lot! The way you spot them is by looking for red dots near shore... their eyes! It was kind of creepy. We saw really small ones and adults.
So now, after a day of hiking and sweating in the hot hot rainforest, all we wanted to do was come back and take a shower.
Too bad there was no water!!!
No water. At all. The water is river water which goes through a long filtration process, but it just wasn't on, so we didn't shower... yuck. I'm not a have-to-shower-every-day person, but when you've been walking for 4 hours and sweating virtually ALL DAY, it is just gross not to shower.
Sunday
In the morning we inquired and they said it would come back on with the electricity, which didn't make sense as we only had 6 hours of electricity a day and the water was usually always on, but whatever. Sunday we got up at 4:40 to hike to a tower to see more wildlife, as they are more active before/right before the sun comes up.
That night it poured- somehow I had slept through it, but Susie woke up and said she was afraid lightening was going to hit the house, it was so close and so bright. Good night to decide to be a heavy sleeper! We headed out and it was a hard walk because I didn't have a flashlight and there was no daylight and very little light from the flashlights around me. Thankfully Ali gave me hers and shared with Kalysta, who she was walking with. It was hard because it was so wet (still raining? I can't remember) and muddy. We got to the metal tower and climbed up. Yes, we climbed up a metal tower. In the rain.
Did I mention we could hear thunder? Not my favorite moment.
We got to the top and sadly, it was lame. Birds don't really come out when it is raining or wet, they hide under the leaves, so all we saw were 2 toucans far off in the distance with binoculars. Sorry if that sounds spoiled, but it sucks to get up at 4:30 AM, hike, be out in the rain, be hungry and exhausted and see nothing. We went back and went straight to breakfast, and the morning was redeemed by
FRUIT AND PANCAKES!!! Oh my god!! I was SO HUNGRY! I scarfed down 2 pancakes and then felt gross (I'd also had three glasses of the watery juice/kool aid/whatever they gave us in my attempt to stay hydrated). They were DELICIOUS. Then we got to take a quick nap because we couldn't go back out in the rain.
Then we hiked to the canopy bridges, which were cool! These were very different from the ones I walked on in Costa Rica... aka, not regulated and definitely scary. A board was missing from one bridge. There were 2 ladders going up a tree in one place to an outlook spot (really a couple of boards) and I chickened out 3/4 of the way up because the ladders were wobbling and I was terrified. Dad, you would have been a mess! After I spent a little time on the bridges I was able to enjoy the view without feeling like I was facing imminent death.
Another delicious meal awaited us back at the station: patacones (fried? baked? pieces of platanos), red beans, rice and meat. Yes, I've turned into quite the carnivore here... at first I "didn't eat beef." Um... beef is delicious. I have no idea what I'll do back in the States.
An hour after lunch everyone loaded into the boat to go swimming for real! But sadly we floated for a long time looking for wildlife. All I wanted to do was get in the water! There were about 30 of us in all, and we took turns jumping off the boat into the water and the current curried us downstream. It was so fun. There are anacondas, electric eels, the caimen (alligator-like) and piranhas in this water, but the directors assured us it was fine, and it was.
Then we went back and rested. Sadly I cannot remember what 'the last supper' was, but I'm sure it was delicious. Later that night we saw a slideshow of really cool pictures of insects the director has taken- these are crazy insects! I'd never seen anything like them. We also saw pictures from the hidden cameras they have in the forest with heat and motion sensors, everything from deer to rabbits to taiper, JAGUARS (one black jaguar seen in 20,000 pictures over 4 years... where is (s)he?!?!), everything, it was really cool. Then we read and talked before falling asleep in the cabin.
Monday & Thoughts
Monday was miserable as we left at 7:30 AM and our flight out of Coca wasn't until 5:15... we had about 3 hours to kill after arrival in the city, which was super lame. I'm really glad I got to go (and that Beloit funded it), but it was honestly way too much traveling for only 2 full days- the first day was at least 9 hours, and the last 11. I also, and I'm sad to say this, was disappointed by the guide. We had to walk single file because of the trails and when he saw something he would turn and explain to the person behind him... and no one else had any idea what was going on. It wasn't like he had to be quiet as to not scare off other animals... I'm talking about bugs and plants. And while the other group saw 5 species of monkey, we saw none. None. I know some of it must be luck, and maybe we talked too much, but if that was the case I wish he'd just told us to shut up. He was a nice old man, but not a good guide.
I am also incredibly bitter that in the spring Beloit gives students a trip to the Galapagos (to which the ticket and taxes alone cost almost twice as much as this weekend) and not us... I can't say it is better as I haven't gone, but I'm sure it is, and it is a week, not 2 days! It is ridiculous, and I will be writing a VERY strong op-ed about study abroad at Beloit when I get back, as there is a disgusting amount of bullshit and hypocrisy involved.
That said, I love Ecuador, and I miss Beloit. However, I do not like the university, as I have had negative experiences (not entirely, but somewhat) in all of my classes: from the professor who left for a month to do research and the class was entirely productive, to the one whom I used to admire and now consider an egotistical ass who made me cry in his office, the prof I consider to be condescending and inappropriate, and the disgusting incidence of cheating on our second literature test. Students here blatantly talk during presentations or even when the professor is talking, they leave class early because they want to, it is a joke. I miss the honesty and sincerity of Beloit, the passion people have for learning, wanting to go to the classes you are in instead of dreading them.
I have 19 more days here, only now I am counting down subconsciously out of dread, not excitement. I know December will be amazing, as will next semester, but I am just getting comfortable here and it is being pulled away from me. Ali and I have started walking at a beautiful park near our house where we can escape the city. I feel (a bit) closer with my host parents. There is still so much I haven't done, through no fault but my own.
This weekend is Fiestas de Quito, although I am on a very strict budget so I am not sure what I will be doing. Then I have to take care of all my finals next week, and the following weekend I am going south to go to a small spa town and national park, and then the larger historical city of Cuenca. I am so excited, and I really consider it necessary to travel that last week, because otherwise I will be bored and sad about leaving if I just sit in Quito.