Just a Glimpse

This is just a giant collage of all my Ecuador pictures! I will post them individually soon!

I`m coming home!

Today is my last day in Quito! I`m going shopping for last minute have to have goodies at the artesenal market, then packing and then headed home on the 11pm red eye to Atlanta, then Portland! It has been such an amazing experience here, and God has worked in me so much during this trip. I can`t wait to get home, see my husband, and share all my amazing pictures with everyone (I will post them throughout next week, I promise!)

Yesterday itselft was one of the most wonderful days of the trip. We went to Mindo, a cloud rainforest in Ecuador and ziplined through the rainforest. All I can say is AMAZING! We also found this couple who live in the cutest little hut in town and sell jewelrey and amazing home made chocolate items that they roast the chocolate themselves, from the trees in their own back yard!

I am so ready to come home though...Husband and Starbucks! Can`t wait!

Pictures to come I Promise!

As thankful and grateful as I am that there is internet here, it is quite possibly the slowest and absolutely impossible to upload pictures! So, when I get home there will be a ridiculously large amount of pictures that I will upload, seeing as how I have almost 1000 pictures and the week isn't over yet :)

Baños and guinea pigs

This last weekend was such a blast! We spent almost 2 days in a cute little town 3 hours south of Quito called Baños. It gets its name from the multitude of waterfalls and natural hotsprings that flow throughout the city. A few of us took a little cable car across a gorge (hundreds of feet in the air) to visit a waterfall on the other side. Then we hiked down to another waterfall called el pailon del diablo, where supposedly you can see the devil´s face in the rocks (we didn't see it). Some of us (not me) crawled into a tunnel in order to hike behind the face of the waterfall, which seemed like a neat experience, I just didn't want to get that wet.

Our hotel was absolutely beautiful, most comfortable beds and the most beautiful views. The colors of the flowers and trees around us were indescribable. Then on Saturday morning, 10 of us went horseback riding part way up the volcano that completely destroyed a nearby town 10 years ago and is still very active. It was such a fun, beautiful and peaceful time and the first time that I've ridden a horse in decades! You could see the river the volcano created and it was completely sulfer laden. Also, bubbles continue to erupt from the water as well.

My friend Denise from my cohort has been dying to eat guinea pig, or cuy as it's called, since she found it out that it is a delicacy here. So, we walked down with 45 minutes before we had to leave and found the huge guinea pigs (more like the size of a cat) roasting away, claws, limbs, teeth, eyes and all. We ordered a small plate which included the ribs, breast and 1 leg of the guinea pig with some rice and a salad on the side. Now, I swore the entire time leading up to this event that I would only go along to document Denise eating the guinea pig, but.........I thought when in Ecuador....

So yes, I did end up trying the guinea pig and to be honest, the worst part was the little hand and claws that were staring at me the whole time. I know it's cliche, but it did taste like chicken, like the dark meat of a chicken. The texture however was very thin and somewhat slimy. Overall, not too bad, but I don't know if I would order it again.

The one thing I have refused to try since staying here, is the lunch my family made last week. Cow stomach soup....just couldn't make myself try it.

That's all for now. Only 2 more days of school, Friday is a free day, so a bunch of us are going to a mini rainforest called Mindo to see hummingbirds, wild orchids, go zip lining and be as close to the jungle as we have time for.

Then Saturday night I'm on the plane back home. Red eye to Portland at 10:55am. I'm definitly ready to be home, with Evan, and Starbucks, and my bed, and to throwing my toilet paper in the toilet, not in a garbage can, not necessarily in that order, or a complete list of what I miss!

Ken`s Blog on Fear

The last couple days here have been really stressful for many people in our group. 2 nights ago, a couple from our group were walking down the street at 6 o`clock in the evening, still very much daylight and were confronted by 3 men who demanded that they give them everything they had. The men even had the audacity to reach into the girls pockets, take her money, and rip of her necklaces from her neck. They stole the guy`s iPhone and money. A day earlier, a friend of mine almost had her camera stolen in the middle of the day and I heard from the same friend that she met a young Canadian woman who had been mugged in Quito twice in the last 4 days, once at gun point.

Because of all these stories, there is great sense of unease and fear. I´ve been thinking about it a lot, and trying to remember how big God is that whatever happens, He is my rock, my strength, I should be careful but not fearful. Then this morning, I read my pastors blog and he posted a very appropriate post on fear. Thanks Ken!

Differences

Obviously Ecuador is a different place than Bend, Or or Davis, CA the two places I´m used to. However there are some major differences that really are quite interesting and unique...

• Just because there are stop lights, stop signs and one way streets doesn´t mean that you actually need to follow them. They are subtle suggestions. If it looks faster to go up the 1 way street, go for it! There is always a sidewalk and curb you can drive up onto if a car comes your way.
• If you are a pedestrian and would like to cross the street, again you can´t obey the lights. Simply wait for a break and run as fast as possible. This is reiterated in the few ¨walking` lights that are around. Instead of the normal, white, lit up man telling you cross, there is a bright green, running man saying run for your life.
• If there are no parking spots along the street and you really need to run into a store or wait to pick someone up, simply stop in the middle of the street, put on your emergency flashing lights and instantly you have a parking spot!
• When you use the bathroom, there is a little garbage can next to the toilet for all your toilet paper and anything else because the sewer systems can´t handle anything else but the basics...I´ve forgotten this rule on many occasions, not cool.
• The bread, juice and fruit are amazing here
• Everyone kisses your cheek when you walk into a room, regardless if they know you or just want to know you

That`s all for now, but I´m sure I will come up with more later.

For more fun pictures and narratives of the trip, one of our teachers has her blog that she updates often!

One of the most beautiful places

On the way to Otavalo on Friday, we stopped for coffee and empanadas at one of the most beautiful places Ive ever seen!`Of course my battery in my camera died as soon as we got there, so I will have to wait to post pictures when I can steal them from my friends. But if you want to look at their website, it´s totally worth it. Need a realxing, beautiful vacation spot? Go here!!!

Dia del Madre

Here in Ecuador, Mother´s day is very important, especially because the mothers generally cook and clean every day of the year for their families, because the husbands always work. So today is the one day that they don´t have to do either! I woke up this morning and cooked breakfast for my host mom because the dad, brother and sister don´t know how to cook! It was so fun making omeletes, fruit salad, coffee and juice for the family.

I want to say happy Mother´s day to my mom as well! I tried to call, but only left a message but hopefully it´s better than nothing!

We had an amazing weekend in Otavalo seeing the indigenous people living life and going to their incredible market yesterday morning. It was so fun bartering with the vendors in Spanish and I got some amazing deals, from the people who actually made the jewelrey, blankets, art, scarves etc. that I bought. Some men even told me that my Spanish was so good!

Es todo para ahorita

Pushups on the equator

So right now I`m on a break at the school we work in, in the mornings so I thought I would blog about our trips yesterday! We left our school at 9am to start our tour of the city. We drove through the historic parts of the city with churches and cathedrals and streets that are more than 300 years old. They were so incredible and beautiful it was breathtaking. We spent 2 hours walking around, taking pictures and seeing the heart of historic Quito.



Then we drove to the top of a little mountain that overlooks the city. On the top there is an incredible statue of a virgin that was incredible. I took tons of pictures, but I may not be able to upload them until I get back home.

Then we drove to la mitad del mundo (the equator) and had an amazing tour of this little outdoor museum on the line. The guide showed us how different many things are on the equator. He had a sink with water in it and he dropped some leaves into the sink. He undid the drain and the water and leaves went straight down the drain! Then he moved the sink a few feet into the southern hemispherea and the water turned clockwise and then it turned counter clockwise a few feet into the northern hemisphere! Also we balanced an egg on the head of a nail on the equator and apparently the gravity is heavier on the equator!

Denise and I took pictures of us arm wrestiling over the equator, doing pushups over the equator in 2 hemispheres and standing by the 00``00`00 latitude line. Pictures to come!

All in all a fun tour of the city.

Quito so far

So we landed in Quito not 24 hours ago and I already feel like I have entered a new world. My host family is very kind and it is forcing me to communicate ONLY in Spanish which is definitely not the easiest thing when I´m not used to it! I already really miss home and the little things that we take for granted every day like clean water out of the tap, a shower with a lot of water coming out and rules for driving!

I am really having a hard time being away from Evan. Yes I do realize that it has only been a little over a day, but it´s the prospect that we may not get to talk or really communicate other than through email for the next 3 weeks that really makes it hard. Tomorrow we have a tour of the city and then on Wednesday we start visiting/teaching in the schools. Friday morning we leave for a more northern city called Otavalo over night to stand on the equator, visit the inidigenous people´s culture and go the Saturday markets.

If I can ask for prayer requests for health/safety, homesickness and speaking Spanish I would greatly appreciate it. I didn´t realize that Quito is actually 10,000 feet above sea level and not the 3500 I initially thought, so I haven´t been feeling the greatest today with some altitude sickness. Pictures and more updates to come later.

Ciao a todos