MINDO

After working on Saturday to make up for a day missed for Carnival, I ran home to eat, pack, reserve a room in a hostel and make the last bus to Mindo. On my bus ride I sat next to a woman who grew up in Mindo and lived in Quito fairly close to my home stay. We talked for about half the 2 and a half hour ride. Her, her brother and his girlfriend (from Germany....I think) walked me to my hostel! I thought this would be great but turns out the owner of my hostel waited for me at the bus terminal while I waited for him at the hostel... While waiting I met a very interesting man from Belgium, Flor. He kept me company and assured me it would be a lovely stay. The hostel, Las Luciernagas, was spectacular.

The owner returned about an hour after both of us were waiting, but he was laughing and told me not to worry. He is a very easygoing, sweet, and hilarious man from Switzerland who moved to Ecuador about 17 years ago. After spending some time in Quito he bought a property in Mindo to start a hostel. Knowing very little of the land, he found help from a 15 year old boy who had spent his life working. Him and his pregnant 16 year old wife stayed on the property for free in exchange for teaching and building. The hostel had one main area for check in and meals. There was a roof, seats, tables, a small kitchen, but the rest was open to the beauty of Mindo. Throughout my stay, the owner, who's name I cannot recall, offered tea, coffee, and more tea, all for free. There were little cabañas or cabins throughout the property. Mine was right across from the bathroom and had just enough room. It was adorable, peaceful, and quaint.

I went to grab some dinner with Flor and a lady from Holland. Around 10 or so I drifted off, falling asleep to the beautiful sounds of the jungle-esque area.

The breakfast (also complimentary) was hefty and delicious: eggs atop some sort of garlic filled mashed potatoes of sorts. Of course accompanied by tea. This is also the place I found my love for cedrón tea. The tree is unique to Latin America and I will be bringing some home.

Flor and I left on foot in search of the epic waterfalls of Mindo. Many take a taxi up to the entrance, but I wanted to save money and if Flor, a 60 year old man, could walk the whole way, so could I. We walked about 2-3 miles to a small cable car that took us over the trees to the start of the waterfall hikes. We didn't make it to all of them but we saw some beautiful falls. I even tried to swim a bit and get under the waterfall, but fell and decided to stop.

We had some great conversations and some wonderfully silent co-hiking times. Once in town we stopped for some cola to replenish some sugar and bought some bread for lunch makings. We made sandwiches with tomatoes and onions he had back at the hostel. This with some more tea was the perfect meal since breakfast had been so filling. After a few cups of tea, a quick shower, I packed up my stuff and boarded a bus back to the city.

Baños for Carnival weekend

Carnival is a little loco in Ecuador, at least in Baños and along the coast.

Here are some roses, thorns, and somethings in between.

Saturday:

• I left my house around 6 or so to get to the southern bus station Quitumbe, taking a taxi followed by two buses
• Had a quaint and cheap breakfast at the station and boarded by bus for Baños
• Found my hostel (Los Pinos Backpackers Hostel) with little problems and met my four bunkmates for my two nights:
• four friends who study at the University of San Francisco in Quito. Three from Quito and one from Guayaquil. Very interesting people, all around 19
• Went with them to Casa Del Arbol but a few things
• 1...forgot my Spanish teacher advised going in the morning to have clear skies...
• 2...my Ecuador phone was stolen. The first and last time I did not use my phanny pack. While it may have fallen out of my pocket, I noticed shortly after (I know because I had been using it...also not a good idea in public during carnival weekend), it was definitely stolen. My new Ecuadorian friends called my phone and some creepy dudes picked up asking about my age. After some yelling back and forth it was clear I was not getting my phone back. SHOOT. 

• Went out with my new friends to a bar in town. We danced, talked, danced some more and I had a fun time.
• The streets were filled with people spraying Carioca, which is like sprayable foam, all over everyone that walked by. This was pretty fun. Strangers of all ages in the streets playing together!
• Tried Bolón, which is a ball of fried green banana

Sunday:

If you can spot the tiny building on the upper right of the mountain, that is Café del Cielo

• Went on a solo hike up to Café del Cielo. The hike was hard and rewarding with beautiful views of the town. At the top, this cafe full of windows was in a fog. It felt very dreamy being up there. I enjoyed some cold water and fresh naranjilla juice before going back into Baños.
• The cafe also had naturally heated pools from the volcano on top in addition to a hotel rooms. 
• Embarrassing...but I took a taxi down. I had a headache that started during my ascent that had only gotten worse at the top.
• Had a great "merienda" or dinner full of rice, chicken, soup and other goodies.
• Tried to meet up with Carlee but struggled because of my lack of phone...

Monday:

• Met up with Carlee after I checked out and went to Ambato for a few hours before taking a bus back to Quito
• We met some nice people on the bus from Guayaquil who accompanied us around Ambato, taking us to a market for some platos tipicos, specifically Lkapingachos...  a plate full of potatoes (in the delicious form they call "tortilla" here), avocado, chorizo and coconut juice. 
• The streets of Ambato were preparing for a parade and already had some live music already happening near the main square. 
• Took a bus around 5:30 back to Quito, arriving at the station around 9, took three buses back home and was there before 11. Quite the travel, but inexpensive!

Tuesday I had work off since it was still Carnival. I took the day to rest and recuperate...

Highlights: semana desde 2 hasta 5 de febrero

So I have fallen quite behind here and decided to just do highlights for the weekdays since most days are relatively the same.

Left to right: Miguel, Martina, Albita, William, Kathi, me and idk, some man who shares the SINAMUNE property and lives there with his family and has those adorable puppies.

Highlights:

Tuesday:

• Franklin and Ximena drove me to the south bus terminal to purchase my ticket for Baños this weekend. Taking the bus would have been hard for my first time since I didn't really know where I was going, and a taxi back and forth would have been quite pricey. For only $15 Franklin drove me there, stopping at a wonderful view of the city for us to take pictures, walked in with me to buy my tickets, explained what to do when I get there Saturday morning, and drove me home. It was great driving with them and chatting with them in a less scholastic manner. We listened to a lot of fun music in Spanish along the way as well. They are really wonderful people. '

• Wednesday:
• Sadlight-- I learned hitting your children (with a San Martin or whip) is legal and not entirely uncommon here. One of the students came to school with marks on her leg. I think my boss said they do talk to the parents when this happens, but I had trouble understanding. This day was hard. It was emotionally difficult to learn about this, especially being that the child has Downs Syndrome. But, different country, different customs, different lifestyle. I am not here to judge, just learn and help these students. Also this is not indicative of every family in Ecuador..I would like to make that clear. It is also not like this never happens in the states.
• In Spanish class, Ximena and I spent the time talking (in Spanish of course) about things to do in and around Baños, about schooling here, and learning about the different indigenous cultures of Ecuador. Although Quichua is the largest Indigenous population, with many words commonly used here by many Ecuadorians, there are several other indigenous groups throughout the Amazon region here. I enjoyed learning about them, specifically their languages, customs and common attire.
• Thursday:
• At night I went with Martha and Adriana (host mom and sis) to eat empanadas and morocho. So delicious! Morocho is a sweet drink/pudding with milk, corn, cinnamon, sugar and rice. I will be eating this at least a few more times before I leave.
•  Friday:

• For Carnival, the kiddos and Christofer had Carioca, (which is like silly string but better because it's less messy and more like foam spray). We spent about an hour in the park playing with the students. 
• I also led an activity with several students where we held hands in a circle and passed a hula hoop through and around the circle. I thought this would be great for the students to work on gross motor skills and navigating/coordinating their body in space. The kiddos loved it, they were giggling and enjoying trying to move through the hoop.
• After work I went for a few beers with Martina, Kathi, Albita, and Christofer. 
• We also had "tacos" which since they were less than $2 and a taco, I assumed they would be somewhat small but it was more like a burrito, a delicious burrito.
• We went to Mariscal which is crazy on Friday nights. After a lot of wandering and searching we found a bar with open seats. I met some of Christofer's friends who he plays music with as well. They were very nice and more great practice for my Spanish. 
• Note on cultural differences here: It is not weird to ask if you are single in the first few questions of meeting someone. One of his friends followed that question with asking if I was faithful...that was a new one and I have now learned the word for faithful: Fiel. [To which I replied with an exuberant YES] It wasn't too long after this I decided to call it a night and taxi back home. I have talked with several people here about Latin American culture regarding cheating and dating. Cheating tends to more common and somewhat accepted here among many... It seems infidelity in marriage is also more acceptable here than in the states. *My family here does not follow these stereotypes or thoughts. This has me believe that what I hear about cheating culture here may be a generalization and may not be the true majority. *While trying to be accepting and nonjudgemental, cheating and infidelity are not a lifestyle I am personally comfortable with. Monogamy is my cup of tea, but to each his own...
• Once home, I had a late dinner with Vivi and talked with my family before getting packed for Baños and hopping into bed for some much desired sleep.

Abrazos y Besos,

Zoe

¡Parque Metropolitano!

lunes 1 de febrero.

Tried more new fruits today! The first was claudia, which is more or less a small pale plum. The other was a taxo, in which Martha made me a milkshake with for breakfast.

Today after work I found my way over to Parque Metropolitano using Martha's drawn map and written directions. This all worked out quite well, with the help of the cobra (the person who takes your money on the bus, from the verb cobrar-to charge). The park is incredibly large. I started at the small outdoor cafetería for lunch where I enjoyed a banana, gatorade and bowl of cevichocho consisting of tostado corn, pico de gallo, plantain chips and chocho beans (my new favorite superfood), all for under $3. I spent about two hours wandering through the park. I don't think I even saw half of it. What I did see was beautiful. It was great to escape the city so easily and close by, into a green park filled with smells of flowers, sounds of birds and people playing sports. I even ran into some llamas!

On my walk down to the bus...and by down I do mean down some very steep hills...I found some ice cream to help cool off as I searched for the right street to catch my bus. Eventually, I found the bus and my way back home. I was quite impressed with myself in not getting lost :)

I would love to go back soon and explore more of the park. Martha said maybe we can go with the family and bring food for a picnic!

My feet were so tired and verging on creating new calluses that I needed to lie down for a bit before showering off my sunscreen and sweat covered body.

I had more mote for dinner, but this time with cheese and a little egg. YUMMY. I also had some chicken, salad and fresh limeade courtesy of Martha.

I played with Colúm (I realized I misunderstood the puppy's name) for a while before retiring to my room for homework, blogging and zzzzz.

Saludos,
Zoe

tranquilo domingo

31 de enero

Today was a very relaxing day, so I won't bore you with too many details.

After breakfast and a shower, I worked on Spanish homework on the terrace for about an hour.
I then decided to take a walk, trying to get to know the neighborhood a little better. I basically made a giant circle in a new direction from my home (new as in the only direction I had not walked yet).

Once home, I had lunch with Martha, Marco, and Pancho's (Adriana's boyfriend) mother. She was there to get help with using the computer to build her resumé with Martha. We had a pea and carrot salad and potatoes prepared by Margarita. [Oh yes Margarita. She lives in a room behind the house and I guess she lived with Marco growing up as well. I believe Martha said she has an intellectual disability, and this, the fact she is missing most teeth, and I am still very subpar at Spanish, I can hardly understand the sweet woman. She has given me many hugs, and helps with laundry and sometimes cooking]...okay back to the meal. Martha had also prepared papaya juice. Pancho's mom brought some wonderful fish filet, which we dressed up with lime ("limón", not to be confused with lemon which is "lima"). For dessert we had some canned peaches.

I talked (a slight overstatement, listened would be more accurate) with Martha and Pancho's mom for a while until I decided to go to my room to work on more homework, blogging, reading and relaxing.

Vivi, Adriana, and both their boyfriends drove to Colombia this morning. They were going to get Andrés' (Vivi's bf) TV fixed. But apparently, many things are cheaper in Colombia including toilet paper, pads, and technology. Once they all arrived back home we all had dinner together. This was fun eating with everyone again, even if I didn't totally follow the conversations. We had pasta, chicken, and a yogurt pea salad. Following this was bread, cheese, coffee and some cookies.

I helped with dishes until Martha kicked me out of the kitchen and told me to relax, she is so sweet.

After writing I am going to read a bit more before I call it a night.

Buenas noches,
Zoe

¡Reunión de la familia!

El sábado de enero. My family, so kindly, included me in their family reunion.

Martha prepared a breakfast of yogurt, papaya, coffee, bread, smoothie and scrambled eggs which I greatly enjoyed with Vivi.

I was told we were leaving at 10:30 and the Geiger in me had me all ready to go by 10:25. The rest of the family besides Marco was still getting ready and cleaning. I think it was because of this and the amount of people we had to available car seats ratio that Marco drove me to his mother's house to go in one of the cars there. The house was only a few blocks away and WOW was it beautiful! It was grand and antique and filled with family members of Marco. He has 6 brothers and each one has a wife and children, some with children of their own. His mom was especially sweet. Although no one in my car ride up knew English, I conversed pretty alright I think...

We drove up to Guayllabamba, a small agricultural town about 45 minutes northeast of Quito, to a very nice hostel. I met one of the cousins who was 20 and talked with her for a while (in Spanish of course). Once everyone arrived we enjoyed a bowl of mote with tomatoes, pickled onions, some other wonderful flavors and bits of pork. FYI mote is corn but boiled and cooked. It's very delicious, here is a picture of plain mote I stole from the interweb:

We then started the games in the courtyard. First we played a game where we each had to name a fruit which had not yet been names. We played until a couple people repeated fruits and had to dance in the middle. Then we played American football! This was a lot of fun. It turned into each team hiding the football under our shirts, with the rest of the team pretending to do the same and then all running together to the other side of the field. In the next game, I was paired with Vivi, and we had to keep a tomato between our foreheads while we danced. We didn't last long, but then again only about two partner groups did. There were a few more games after, some in which I did not participate in but have pictures. Another one in which I kept losing and so we finally moved on...It was a combination of me not understanding the rules (everything was in Spanish) and also being humiliatingly poor at accurately throwing a ball far enough. In the last game we had to balance eggs on a spoon we carried in our mouths and get from one to the other end of the field and back without dropping it.

Since Carnival is in a week and the family gets together a week earlier, they all celebrate it during the reunion. This consists of water fights, or rather dumping water on people, and spraying something similar to silly string everywhere. While I knew there would be a pool, I did not anticipate these activities. It was really fun and I felt very included into the family of 26. I was soaked by the end, but luckily escaped being thrown in the pool by hiding in the sauna. I had a dry skirt in my bag, Martha lent me a dry shirt to wear and an aunt lent me some flip flops,...my undergarments remained wet...

After the games we had a wonderful late lunch of more mote with the same onions, tomatoes, and spices, but with more pork, avocado, and toasted corn (tostada, like a gourmet version of corn nuts). On the side was a cooked banana (YUM), fresh lemonade. For dessert was some sort of delicious mouse-y, fruit-y cake and coffee.

Everything was so wonderful and fun, and I felt so welcomed by the family. I slept most the way home and was only at Marco's mother's home for about 10 minutes before Martha and Marco picked me up. Once back at the house, I quickly changed into some warmer clothes. Some of the family was continuing festivities and going to Martha's father's home. I was invited but very tired and decided to stay back.

After reading a few pages, I decided it was a good time for a nap, which turned into a 12-hour sleep...oops.

Feliz fin de semana,
Zoe

viernes 19 de enero

Classic delicious breakfast followed by a walk to the bus joined by that nice man again.

We had another show today!

My favorite costumes of theirs!

That makes one everyday this week. I met and spoke with some of the tourists after the show. One was from Seattle, and another couple who were very excited to meet me, are visiting their daughter in Seattle in a few weeks. I also met a Physical Therapist from the states! She was very interested in how I would like to integrate dance into my profession. She said she had always thought dance would be really great for many children with disabilities. It was really great to chat with her. They all wished me luck and thanked me for volunteering my time at SINAMUNE.

After the show the students went home while the staff and volunteers had a seminar on fire safety, given by some firemen of Quito (bomberos). This is likely because of the small electrical fire that happened a few weeks before. PS. I don't think there are smoke detectors here. The first half was a lecture and you guessed it, I did not understand much. But following the lecture, the firemen started controlled fires for staff to learn to use the extinguisher. The first fires were started on a pile of clothes, paper, and newspaper with lighter fluid of sorts. The second fires were started using a gas tank (one I believe is used here for the stove). This one made me a little nervous. Nevertheless everything was fine and I even have a few photos.

At 1 I left with Martina, Kathi, Albita (the other volunteers), and Christofer (teacher), for some encebollados and beer. After refueling, Christofer took us to the Central University of Quito (where he studied Psychology). We found a spot outside the performing arts building to sit and play cards. There were bands playing the whole time. Unfortunately they were what I would call "Screamo". Regardless, I enjoyed observing the University lifestyle here and noting how similar it was to those in the States. They even have a fair amount of hipsters here! I also met one of Christofer's friends who studies theater and dance there. She only spoke Spanish, but it was great talking to her. She seemed like so many people I know from the dance program at Western, aka a really awesome gal.

When it started to get dark we walked down into the central Mariscal area at Plaza Foch. We stopped for a cheese-stuffed tortilla for only 50 cents. It was delicious, and something I will be looking around more for while I am here. They were looking for a bar go to, but being the lame-o I can sometimes be, I decided to catch a taxi home at 7:30... Not sure why I have such little motivation to go out at night and go to bars here, but I am really enjoying being home early and getting lots of sleep.

My family was actually even still out (making me feel a little more lame), but I found some left over arroz relleno in the fridge and warmed some up for dinner. As I was finishing my dishes Marco (host dad), came home. I heated some water for us and we had coffee, bread and cheese while we chatted about places to go in Quito.

After a shower, some catching up with my folks, and booking a hostel in Baños for next weekend, I fell fast asleep.

Zoe