Las locuras de mi familia

(Translated into English)

Setting: dinner table, last night. Eating llapingachos (which I helped to cook!)

Cast:

· Mom (Guadalupe, host mom)

· Cristina (8 year old host sister)

· Felipe (8 year old host brother)

· Me (duh)

Me: So according to some website, raffael correa [president of Ecuador], was ranked the 8^th best looking of all of the presidents in the world

Mom: YES!! I totally agree with that! He’s quite handsome *huge smile*

Felipe: *while eating* He has the eyes of a Chinese man…. You only like him because he kissed you on the cheek when he came here to Lumbisí!

Mom: Shut up!

Cristina: Hes sooooo ugly! He should have been the UGLIEST! Soooo ugly! YOU ONLY LIKE HIM BECAUSE HE GAVE YOU A KISS!!!

Mom: *frown*Shut up!!! You’re exaggerating! And what about Obama?

Me: I think he was number 3 or 4. He was up there too.

Mom: I agree with that too! He’s handsome as well

Felipe: And what about Michael Jackson? What number was he?

Mom: FE-LI-PE!!! Shut UP!

Cristina: And who was last?

Me: The president of Russia, I think

Cristina: If my dad were president, he would be the UGLIEST one!!!

Mom: SHUT UP!!! And if YOU were president?

Cristina: I wouldn’t wanna be president.

Mom: Well I wanna be president… of Lumbisí!

Cristina: Then YOU would be the ugliest!!!

Mom: Shut up!!!

Cristina: Who was the best looking?

Me: The president of Canada. A woman

Felipe: *eyes light up* Yeah, I heard she was pretty sexy!!!!!

Mom: WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT BEING SEXY?!

And so on and so forth.

Did I ever say how much I love my host family? (=

Family Life and the weeks ahead….

My first night in Lumbisí I turned on my laptop. My computer mouse over the wireless network only for it to say “not connected – no connections are available”. In Chicago I could always pick up some random connection no matter where I was. Welcome to Lumbisí. I swear this blog would be easier to keep up with if I had internet at home…

I have exactly 3 weeks left in this country. I guess the best way to describe how I feel is “bittersweet” (I wonder how you say that in Spanish…). I ultimately decided (after months of debate) not to stay the summer, mainly because I have a couple jobs/internships waiting for me in Chicago.

My host family seriously made this trip as fantastic as it was. For anyone reading this and is thinking of studying abroad in Ecuador, request to live in Lumbisí and live with Guadalupe and Rodrigo!! I’m 100% serious. I’m convinced that I was given the best family. They were the VERY first family in Lumbisí to ever host students/volunteers (because no one else wanted to do it)and they’ve had people from all over the world, from great Spanish speakers to people who have come in with absolutely no knowledge of the language. They’re used to anything and anyone and they’re soooo good at being hosts! At this point in my trip they are no longer hosts, they are family.

My host mom is super sweet. She does A LOT of work for the community so shes always buzzing around, but we spend aloooot of time talking and joking around about basically everything. We have our own inside jokes and anyone that hangs out with us for long enough will pick up on that. Shes a great cook, and makes all of my favorite food whenever I request/hint at it. I’ve become so spoiled here, eating 3 great Ecuadorian meals a day. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like going back to my bohemian life (college apartment. No food. Enough said. )My host dad works in Quito and is also super involved in the community, so hes not home as much but hes still pretty cool.

Host siblings: Felipe and Cristina. 8 year old twins. Enough said, they’re hilarious. They keep me laughing for hours on end. Plus there probably the cutest 8 year olds in Lumbisí.

I’ve realized how blessed I am to have a host family that I love soooo much. Host families can make or break the experience. As some people are super ready to leave and go back to the states to get away from their host family, I wish that there were some way that I could take them with me, or that I could stay in their house forever. I’ve gotten so comfortable living there and I really do feel like a part of the family.

My mother (real mother) was here last week. Best family experience ever. She doesn’t speak Spanish and my family basically doesn’t speak any English either but somehow they got along great, sharing laugh and Pilseners (Ecuadorian brand of beer). She agreed with what I already knew – I had the best host family ever.

Looking back I’ve realized that I haven’t posted as many blog entries during my time here is I would have liked…that was bound to happen. I started a travel blog to document my study abroad experience but as the time went on it became less of a “study abroad experience” - it became my life. I started off as a foreign exchange student and I’m sitting here completely accustomed to the life I have in this country, forgetting what life was like back in Chicago, feeling like I belong. It has gotten to the point that when I came to my house in Lumbisí from Perú, it felt like I came home. I can’t even imagine what it will be like to go back to Chicago and sleep in the bed that I haven’t slept in since December; to talk to the people that I’ve lost contact with over the months due to lack of internet and such; to have to answer the question “so how was Ecuador?” a million times only to pause, reminisce, and respond “It was great. I’m totally going back” because you can’t find any other words to summarize how you feel. I’ve definitely had my ups and downs (which all comes with well..any new part of life) but I thank God for everything He has shown me and given me during my time here. In the past 4 months Ecuador has carved a space in my heart that could never be erased. This is my life. This is home.

Lima, Peru

yes lima, not macchu picchu. because peru has alot more to offer.

currently on a 10 day vacation in lima, peru. before coming, many people told me that im going to be pretty bored here and i should travel around peru more.

they dont know me very well.

im staying with my ex-roomies family and theyre great. theyve basically welcomed a complete stranger into their homes and have showed me all around the city. theyre generosity brings me to tears. they are really great people, and im super thankful to God for having them in my life right now.

observations:
1. apparently the fact that i came from ecuador stands out. the way we say ¨huh?¨ in english when we dont hear something, ecuadorians (and myself) say ¨mande?¨ while people here tend to say ¨como, diga, perdon¨ etc..
2. i thought food in ecuador was great..until i came to peru. so many more spices in every single dish. i dont know how ill ever eat ecua food again, let alone US food
3. to me, people here are alot nicer. yeah they stare, but im also one of the tallest people here. i havent worn makeup (its too hot here) and havent been too nicely dressed, but people keep telling me how pretty i am. different.
4. lima seems to resemble nigeria alot more, with the older buildings and busses and stuff. quite comforting.
5. things are definitely more expensive here. compare a meal for 2.50 in quito to the same meal here for 7 bux
6. lima = BEACH. nuff said. the family here made a good point: lima is one of the only capitals on the beach. compare that to quito, about 10 hours from the beach...

who wins? even tie. i love them both. where would i come back to if i had the chance? quito. because after being here, ive realized how much the quito area has begun to feel like home.

overall ive had a great time here. will post pictures upon my return.

Cuenca…

…is officially my new favorite city! Sorry I haven’t updated in a few weeks! Semana Santa (Holy Week, our version of Spring Break) is coming up in 2 WEEKS which is GREAT but teachers looooove to cram in work before a vacation so I’ve been super busy…anyways…

Last Saturday the U of I flew to Cuenca (a city that is about 10 hours by bus away from Quito, but only 30 minutes by plane. Yay!!!) We were only there until Sunday so the whole trip was a blur, but I had a lot of fun! Basically, Cuenca resembles a small European town, with cobble stone streets and tons of museums and all. While in Cuenca we took a bus tour of the city, went to a Panama Hat museum (because Panama hats originated in Cuenca), and ate loooooots of junk food (Cuenca has great restaurants and super delicious ice cream!!)

Across the street from the main park in Cuenca was a sidewalk fullll of hippies selling handmade jewelry on the streets. One of my favorite parts of being in Cuenca was sitting on the streets and chilling with them. They were all really nice and most of them knew me by the time we left lol. I bought a bunch of rings from them (so far I’ve bought 15 rings here in Ecuador lol) and one of the guys (who was from Colombia) said he’d teach me how to make jewelry if I ever came back to Cuenca. I’m already trying to plan a chance to go back to Cuenca lol. I have a few pictures, but I let my friend borrow my camera for the week so I’ll probably post some pics next week.

Class Updates:

1. Temas de America Latina – Still kind of hard for me because I space out whenever he talks, but I’m getting used to the readings. I didn’t do as well as I would have liked to do on my 1^st exam but I have two more exams left (one next week :P)

2. Norte y Sur: Procesos de Colonialismo: I’m getting used to these readings as well. I’ve started my semester portfolio and my theme is about the role of Christianity in during colonialism in North and South America and how this role has impacted society today. I plan on extending this portfolio into my Senior Thesis eventually.

3. Introduccion a Cultura Ecuatoriana: Easy. Enough said. For anyone planning on studying abroad in Ecuador, I would recommend it. It’s a 300 level class with very little work. I plan on using it for my Area Study (in case you’re reading this as a Global/International Studies Major)

4. Conversacion Avanzada: I must admit, I wish I had taken a grammar class instead. This class basically consists of writing a ton of sentences for a ton of vocabulary words, then writing stories with vocabulary words for exams. Not too much conversation here, but I have learned a few really important things. To future study abroad people, unless your grammar is perfect I would recommend taking a grammar class instead, because your whole life is advanced conversation! The class itself doesn’t help much..

5. French: The language is hard but we still haven’t really had any homework yet..The class is moving really slowly which is cool but kinda concerning because I really want to learn French and be able to place into French 2 next semester. We’ll see, I guess.

So basically, I have 2 more months left here in Ecuador. I know I’m going to be ridiculously sad when I get back home and miss a bunch of things (my host family, the food, and Latin American lie in general lol) but I don’t think I’m as sad as the other international students about going home. I would LOVE study abroad…if it wasn’t for the study part lol. My classes (well, Temas and History) take up a lot of my time so I feel like I haven’t been able to experience Ecuador as much as I could be (taking classes all in Spanish also makes it difficult…). My advice to students planning on studying abroad: leave room for electives for study abroad! I’m taking 4 major classes and a French class (because I really want to complete 4 semesters of French before I graduate) but there are soooo many cool classes that I wish I could be taking but I really don’t have room because I didn’t plan well. Also, if you can get Friday free of classes – even better. More time to travel!!

Hasta Luego!

Carnival

Celebrated on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, Carnival in Latin America is basically a time for people to do all the things that they can’t/shouldn’t do during Lent lol. As a holiday, pretty much everyone had this time off of school & work. Most of the other international students/Ecuadorians went to the beach (which is a few hours away from here) but I decided to stay in Lumbisí (where I live).

I ended up having a blast!

My goal was to spend as much time with God as possible via sermons from back home, devotionals, journaling, etc. I was totally able to do that because my professors were nice and didn’t give me too much homework =)

On Sunday my family and I went to Latacunga, which is in the province right below Pichincha (the one I am in now). Some of the families in Lumbisí went because there was some water project that they were doing in Latacunga that they wanted to adopt here in Lumbisí. So we left bright and early (3 in the morning) and were there allllll day and came back around 8pm. While I was there I

1. Hiked A LOT (seems to be a common theme of this trip. I hope I’m in super duper top shape when I return to the States :P)

2. Ate cuy (Guinea Pig for those who didn’t know. It tasted kind of like duck if you were wondering. It wasn’t bad, but I’ll probably never eat it again)

3. Went berry picking

4. Got plenty of mosquito bites (5 on my FACE! That’s never happened before lol)

5. AND ACTUALLY TOOK PICTURES:

host sister, mom, and brother

The rest will be on facebook.

It was a blast!!

Yesterday I “played carnival.” To “play carnival” basically means to play with water, water balloons, soap, eggs, and anything messy. In Lumbisí its relatively tame; in the coast I heard they play with mud and paint and all kinds of crazy stuff. After playing carnival, I ended up looking like this:

Overall I had a blast the past few days! In addition to all of that, my host sister taught me how to embroider! I’m super geeked because I’ve always wanted to learn (as yet another way to customize my clothes) and I wanted a skill like that to take back to the US and use forever. I’m really glad I decided to stay home instead of flock to the beach like the rest of the world…A great way to have fun and relax before MIDTERMS! :P

Ecuador has been a lot of fun, but (very surprisingly) I’m slightly homesick. Granted being here in sunny paradise > being in Illinois with all of that crazy snow, but I really do miss my friends and family & CHURCH (Illini Life Christian Fellowship represent!!! if ur at U of I right now check it out!). This is the longest I’ve been away from home & everyone/everything that I love (previous record: 3 weeks in Nigeria lol). I’ve learned a lot about myself from being out here alone, but I write about all of that in my other blog (aprilstutters.blogspot.com) to keep this one from getting too mushy lol.

Adios!

You can't be a girly-girl around here...

Last weekend the U of I program went to Mindo and it was great! For me, it was a huge step outside of my comfort zone because I'm not very outdoorsy. While we were there we:

1. Went white-water rafting (lots of fun!!)
2. Went ZIPLINING through the forest (also a ton of fun! there were 10 different ziplines and I did all 10. the final one was super high in the sky, higher than all of the trees. it was beautiful!)
3. hiked a lot (not so fun for me lol but it was great to see the scenery)
4. visited a butterfly garden
5. went swimming in a waterfall
   

The hostel where we stayed had lots of hummingbirds, which was a beautiful sight. The best part of the trip was probably when the power went out. A few of us took a walk around the city in the late afternoon and when we got back to the hostel, there was no power. There was no power till around midnight, and the majority of Mindo (including our hostel) did not operate on generators. When it got dark, we basically just bought some candles and explored some more, walking around the city in complete darkness. It was incredibly relaxing! No electricity, no distractions, no nothing. Just me and nature.

Overall I've been having a lot of fun on this trip. At first I wasn't sure if my Spanish was improving, until I opened up a book the other day and realized that I could pretty much read through it with ease. I also realized that expressing my ideas and opinions to my host family has gotten a lot easier. Yay for immersion!

This weekend is the beginning of the vacation "carnival" which takes place right before Lent begins. It lasts until Tuesday and its basically an excuse for everyone to be crazy and do all of the things they cant do during Lent. Pretty much everyone is going to the beach, but I decided to stay in Lumbisí to spend time with myself and God. I do plan on having some fun with my family, and my next blog post will probably be about that.

Keeping up with this blog has been harder than I had imagined. For one, I don't have internet at home so I have to update whenever I find time at school. Also, surprisingly its becoming a bit difficult to type in English...I keep misspelling things and am so tempted to just type in Spanish but I wont. Despite everything, I will continue mainly for the sake of not having to answer the question "So hows Ecuador?" a million times.

chao!

10 reasons why ecuador is the best study abroad location ever

1. same time zone as chicago! well, for half of the year because they don't do daylight savings here.
2. they use the US DOLLAR but everything is cheap!! for example, you can buy a good lunch complete with soup, a small salad, a main course, and a small desert for about $2.50.
   
3. the power outlets are the same, so you don't need to buy converters for anything.
4. the weather is pretty much the same all year - in the 70s and completely beautiful.
5. its extremely diverse, in terms of plant and nature life as well as people. there are soooo many different races and ethnic groups here and its super interesting learning about them.
6. bargaining for things when your buying them is also a ton of fun.
7. public transportation is super cheap. to take the bus from home to school = 20 cents. if i were to do a similar bus ride in chicago = $2.25.
   
8. the food is GREAT! i have yet to try something that i dont like. and if ur scared to try different food, they have alot of american restaurants (papa johns, mcdonalds, KFC) and american food here actually tastes better than in the states!
9. theres always somewhere to go and something to do. you will never get bored, i promise.
10. because i said so =)

I'm going to Mindo tomorrow. Expect a blog post on that within the next couple days,