Saying goodbye to Pichincha

We had a wonderful view of Cotopaxi

The virgin statue aka el panecillo (because the hill looks like a bread roll)

Standard jumping picture hehe

Alex and his family that was so nice as to take us around

View of Southern Quito from the statue

The quilted, rolling mountains that I am going to miss so much

La Iglesia de San Francisco

Sunset from our roof.  Priceless.

Last day tie ups.  We went to el panecillo (the virgin statue) in the morning.  We took el payaso bus to meet up with Alex and his cousin, who was nice enough to give us a ride to the statue.  It's in a really dangerous area - apparently the neighborhoods right below the hill are the most dangerous in Quito.  The statue is the only virgin depicted with wings and faces the north.  Quito used to end at the area where the statue is located, but it grew and it's back is to the south, the larger and more dangerous part of Quito.

After that we went to La Iglesia de San Francisco.  The inside was very similar to La Compañia with a lot of intricate gold decorations and the layout was very similar.  Sadly, the front and many of the statues in the church are in the process of being restored (there is a panel in front of the church with the facade beforehand and the statues that are supposed to be inside were missing).  Alex's cousin's mom got married there!!!! Such a gorgeous church, as all of the colonial churches in Quito are.  It was so nice to walk around the historic district one last time, with Alex's family as our personal tour guides.  We found out that one of their president's was murdered on the deck of the presidential palace in La Plaza Grande and he showed us the plaques.

They took us to go get lunch in the north, as we had never tried fritadas before.  Turns out it is a type of pork dish - there was so much food!! Very yummy and it kept us super full until nine when we ate dinner haha.  Also, everything in the north is nicer.  The bathroom had toilet paper!  And there was a higher percentage of foriegners.  After that they dropped us off at a trolley stop (so nice that they drove us everywhere!) and we headed to la mariscal for some last minute shopping at the artisinal market and got pedicures.  My feet feel so soft and clean :)  We caught a taxi home and we finished up our packing.  So sad to put everything away.  We got home just in time to catch the sunset and I went right up to the roof.  Such a spectacular view and I'm going to miss it like none other.  When else can I look at mountains from my window?

We headed back to the historic district for dinner with Alex and the crew one more time.  We got dropped off at la ronda near a plaza and our taxi driver peaced.  Thanks?  We went to the middle near a police officer and waited for everyone else to arrive.  When they arrived they promptly told us that they had just been running as they were afraid of getting robbed - they went over a bridge and two black guys stood up and were threatening.  Made us slightly nervous, as we had always felt safe in this area.  We're just too trusting sometimes.  We found a little café that had good coffee and we tried empanadas de moracho (a type of grain).  We hung out and then they told us that we should probably leave as this area got more dangerous as the night went on (being a sunday night, there weren't that many people walking around).  Despite all the warnings, we had no issue and then they were nice enough to drive us all the  way back to the south.  Alex's cousin's friend joined us at the end and when he said he had to drive to the south (Quicentro Sur/Puente de Guajalo) her friend was really really surprised.

Safe and sound we are hanging out for one last night.  La Esperie in the morning!!

Ecuadorian Baptism Party

Making the potato pancake things.  Note the ginormous pig.

So much food! These are just the appetizers

Sebas (left) with the DJ

Vicente, my six year old dance partner

Courtney with our humongous plates of food

Sebas and I.  He was so cute in his suit!!

Doña Cecelia with a huge plate of food. 

It's a big deal.  Like wedding big deal.  So much food. Enough to feed an army.

Sebas (one of our students - he invited us to the baptism) came to our house early in the afternoon so he could bring us back to the house.  It was the most convoluted route - by the end we had no idea where we were.  We took the same bus that we take to school, but then turned here and there, crossed a big road, went up steep stairs cut into the side of a hillside and walked some more.  We got to his house around 2:45 and were the first guests there, as apparently we weren't going to the church for the actual ceremony, just the celebration afterwards.  And the party didn't start until five.  Awkward.  Four gringo girls just chillin at the house.  In dresses.  We helped put chairs out and make the potato pancake-like things, but other than that we kind of felt like we were in the way.  But we had Sebas and his cousins to talk to - one of them, Vicent, fought to sit next to me and was such a sweetheart of a six year old.  Definitely my dance partner for the night.

Not only did they have several large speakers, but they had a DJ with a real desktop computer and a disco ball.  They all went around and gave toasts (there was a head table with the parents and direct family of the little three year old juan adrian).  They started having other people speak, and we were so worried that everyone would have to say something.  And that we would have to give a toast.  Cue stomach churning.  But thank goodness that was not the case.  We drank to the occasion and then the dancing began.  We had to burn off enough calories so that we were ready for the feast to come!  There were many appetizers of cookies and fresco queso cheese and little candies.  The first round was soup with rice and veggies and a whole potato and a chunk of chicken.  Pretty much filling just by itself.  The main dish was pork (they grilled a whole pig and they told us that they killed it themselves on thursday) and potatoes (a mix of sweet and normal potatoes in a patty like form cooked on a skillet, but still soft on the inside) and ecuadorian corn off the cob and shredded lettuce.  Doesn't sound like a whole lot, but it was piled high on these plates.  Enough so that you made sure to balance your plate really carefully so it wouldn't all topple.  We had no idea how we would eat it all, but figured it would be rude to leave any food (this is a huge deal for them.  they save and save to throw a huge event like this.  their house has dirt floors and two bedrooms for at least ten people.).  Thankfully they gave everyone bags to put their food in so that you could eat a portion and save the rest of your plate.

We left shortly after the dinner, as Caitlin wasn't feeling so well, and as we had been there for around six hours.  It was such an amazing experience to have and to witness the generosity of this family and ecuadorians in general.  They have so little, but will share whatever they have.  They invited us, shared their celebration and food and culture with us when they never had to do that.  Also, as we were asking for directions to tell our cab driver (no way we were wandering home at night) Doña Cecelia's husband offered to drive us home (Doña Cecilia is Sebas' grandmother) and he took us all the way to our door.  He refused to let us off anywhere else.  We were so grateful for the ride!! And for the opportunity to take part in this wonderful, happy celebration.  The ride home was especially beautiful, as all of Quito was lit up.  It was cool to take the same bus route that we take home from school, but at night it looked completely different.  It's a little bit higher than the main part of Quito, so we got a gorgeous elevated view of Quito at night (we passed by the field that we went to on thursday and at night it looked even prettier).  Quito is so lit up at night.  Lights as far as you can see, except partway up the mountainsides they stop.

One day left in this lovely city and so much to do.  We are going to the virgin statue (el panecillo) in the morning and then maybe the zoo, maybe the botanical gardens, the artisinal market in la mariscal, and maybe the basilica. And then maybe we'll pass out. Livin it up on our last day.  So much left to do.

Last day of school

Jeny and I (one of our third graders)

Soccer game! The kids just scored

The view from our school that I will miss dearly

Jhon and I.  Right after I dragged him back into our classroom

Jhon. Trying to escape per us.

The quishpe clan plus patty and estalin.

Our time here has gone by so fast.  We are no longer teachers.  And will no longer see our precious children.  On thursday the kids took us to a field up the road that had an absolutely gorgeous view of all of quito.  It was a good way to end the day.  When I started to think about leaving (and the fact that Lianna and Sam were leaving in a matter of hours) I would just sit and hold one of our children and stare out into the city (basically just holding Jeny, our angel third grade child).

On friday we had a party for the kids.  It started out with a soccer game with us versus the students - we were so outnumbered, but were slightly more organized.  We left it at a tie though.  We were all so extremely competitive.  After every goal, there was an outbreak of yelling and chanting.  Then we showed the kids the dance that we had prepared to the popular song, Choque.  Annie taught us some steps the night before and we practiced forever until we were semi together.  The kids were silent after the first time through. We thought that they hated it.  Probably just in shock of our lack of dance talent (and by that I mean mine...) but then they wanted an encore.  All in all, we did that dance many times on friday.  After that we broke up into stations - Annie taught the kids a simplified version of the dance, they made cards, Henry and Juhee set up an obstacle course, Bri did face painting and then there were outdoor games.

And then a special lunch of rice and beans and ice cream, but the rice had chicken, sausage, pepper and peas in it instead of just being white rice.  Very yummy.  After we handed out notebooks with class pictures and notes from the teachers.  They went around and had everyone sign them and give out email addresses. I hope they email us! But who knows if they know how to navigate the internet.  Hannah created an account for one of her students and showed her how to use it, so hopefully we will get messages from Evelin.  It would be cool to keep in contact.

Sebas came up to me and he was crying as he hugged me.  Broke the dam.  I couldn't see his notebook as I was attempting to write in it.  I am going to miss their smiling faces, tickle attacks, guess who (they cover your eyes - favorite game ever), amarcame whines and constant hugs.  I already do.  We played with them and took pictures and took over an hour and a half to say good bye to all of them.  Some of them understand the concept that we aren't coming back, but a lot of the little ones kept saying "see you on monday!" even after we told them that it was our last day.  All you can do is give them a big hug and fight back the lump in your throat.  So attached after only a month.  A month that slipped through my fingers.  Eventually we just had to leave - it was time.  We came home and just reminisced and looked through all of our pictures, instead of going through with our grand plans to go downtown and explore Quito.  I had 350 pictures just from friday (the kids stole it for a large portion of the day - they love taking pictures) and my fully charged battery was on the verge of dying.  A day well captured.  I took videos of my kids talking to the camera, singing and reading out loud so that I will never forget their precious voices and personalities.  The trouble makers are the ones that get to you the most.  Jhon could be the worst during class, but he was the hardest student to say goodbye to.  Even after he called me Eleno on wednesday, the little snot.  I am going to miss his antics.

That night we all just hung out and played sardines and charades in the house.  So hard to play sardines - not the best hiding places.  We turned off the lights and it was so creepy to be wandering around an empty house.  Bittersweet as we knew that we were losing Alexa and Alex in the morning and then Bri, Juhee and Hannah at night.  Goodbyes are becoming frequent.  But these aren't goodbyes for real.  Reunited in Ann Arbor very soon :)

But then they wouldn't let Juhee on her flight!!! I just got a message from Bri that she didn't have her green card (she's a citizen of south korea) on her and they had to leave her.  How scary! Poor babe!!!  But I am waiting up for her and Caitlin is going with her to the embassy on monday to figure everything out.  But that's just very scary to be dealing with by yourself.  But we have her for a couple more days :)

Last week of school...

Yesterday Hannah and I went to the market to buy food for the kids before school.  It was such a struggle...  We had to buy 14 pounds of rice and of beans along with two huge papayas, watermelons, mini bananas and strawberries - carrying it all was very difficult!  People who buy food for their livelihood here must have a better system worked out.  We slowly hobbled with all of our stuff until we found a cab haha.  But first rate service - we got dropped off right outside of the school.

Third grade has shrunk immensely.  Where did all of our kids go?  We are down from eleven to four to seven kids a day.  Jhon was hilarious yesterday.  He refused to come back into the classroom and once we locked him out, he would bang on the door and also lock it from the outside so we couldn't open the door ourselves.  Smart little boy.  The next trick was putting a random plank up against the wall and climbing up to the window and hanging there slash trying to enter that way.  I had to look the other way in order to keep a straight face.  So persistent!  At first he didn't want to take the quiz or write his punishment lines (which is why we locked him out - if he didn't want to work then he wasn't allowed in the classroom) which were really only five sentences (yo debo quedar en la clase aka I will stay in the classroom). Bri got him to come around and then he wrote his lines during recess, when he desperately tried to escape the classroom - we had to cover all of the windows and the door.  That kid is strong.  He finally wrote them one word at a time but it took him forever and a half.  I'm going to miss these kids and their personalities so much.  Their antics are slightly annoying, but they also make me laugh.

After school I went running to the park by myself.  I was panting pretty much the whole time, especially when I went up a hill (maybe incline is a better description...) but the park is so pretty and it was so sunny and nice out.  It felt good to go out by myself - I definitely miss my therapeutic long runs.

I also did laundry.  Best thing ever.  Clean clothes!!!!  Probably the last time I'll clean my clothes here - I'll just bring all my dirty clothes back and do them at home hehe.  Sure my parents will love me for that. I have four whole days in Quito left and so much left to do and see.  We are going to start cramming stuff in - churches, museums, hikes.  We're just always wiped and hungry after school that venturing on a trolley isn't the most fun thing to do, but we will make it happen.  And on monday I leave for La Esperie.  I decided to include a link in case anyone wanted more info (http://www.workingabroad.com/page/140/cloud-forest-ecuador.htm).  I'm doing the conservation program and I'm getting so excited!! They have monkeys there.  We say a pet monkey in Montañita, but I want to see ones in the wild. 

Every weekend is an adventure: the chapter of Montañita

The many vendors of Montañita

The gorgeous beach the first day. The water was so blue.

Third week of school.  It was basically a blur.  Time goes by so fast here!!!  On tuesday I ventured into the north by myself to go to my orientation for La Hesperia Biological Station.  First of all, it took me two hours to get there, so I was an hour late.  Whoops...  But actually, on Ecuadorian time that's not that bad.  We tried to take our bus from school farther into La Mariscal Area, but it was the wrong bus and trying to find a bus that went in the right direction was apparently really difficult.  I kept asking buses if they went to the soccer stadium (the office was only a couple blocks away) but none did.  A nice lady dropped her children off at an english language school and then waited with me for buses.  We had to have waited for a half hour - craziness.  She didn't want me to take the trolley as it isn't quite as safe, but it's a lot faster.  I mean, I felt fine taking it.  Getting back was a lot easier and only took an hour.  I had enough daylight to take the trolley and bus and paid fifty cents instead of $7-$10.  We have gotten so cheap.  Not looking forward to paying American prices...

I got there and thank goodness someone was still at the office and she didn't seem upset at all.  Very understanding.  The town that the biological station is located next to is a lot smaller than I realized; only about fifty families live in La Esperie.  And it's a random stop on a bus route, so I have several landmarks beforehand (I should sit on the left side so I can recognize them baha) and a kilometer marking to guide me.  It looks really pretty and I'm excited to go there.  I don't think I would be ready to say goodbye to Ecuador this weekend.  I've been here for five weeks and only have three weeks left!!!!  But really I feel like I've been here forever and sometimes I forget I'm in a different country.  I think of going into a store in the US and being able to understand everything and it just seems odd.  I love being able to understand spanish - so many people assume that we are here on vacation and can't speak it at all and will talk about you right in front of you.  Fools.

One day at school we were immersed in a cloud.  The view of the mountains depends on the day (sometimes you can see the peaks really well and sometimes the clouds obscure the top) and little by little the landscape was taken over by the misty clouds until we were in the midst of it.  I wish that I had brought my camera - it was really cool.

We took friday off of school so that we could go to the coast.  We took an overnight bus from Quito to Guayaquil at nine at night (it was nine hours and that meant that we could just pass out and arrive at Montañita in the morning so as to have three fullish days).  We were surprised when they starting searching the bags and patting down the guys in front of us.  Searching for weapons?  Lovely guayaquil and it's port city crime.  But being gringos, they just waved us onto the bus.  Transferred in Guayaquil to Montañita and I had an idiot sitting in front of me (also when we asked for directions to the bus station/mall combo - weird right? - they told us that it was fine for them to walk, but for us we should take a bus. Always taking care of the helpless gringos. Needless to say we walked).  Goodness.  These buses don't have that much leg room to begin with and we travel with our backpacks on our laps.  Literally the seat was against my knees when he leaned back, but it wasn't far enough for him.  He would sit up and launch himself backwards in order to attempt to lean back farther. Grrr.

It was cloudy when we got to the coast, but it burned off while we got settled into our hostel and got breakfast.  SUN! All day.  So we basically slept on the beach - we were on the deserted part of the beach until the tide came in - literally all the way up to the rocks, so we went to the area with cabañas and re situated there.  Gorgeous and it felt so good, especially coming from Quito, where it has been quite chilly and cloudy lately.  I got a henna on the inside of my wrist on the beach for super cheap.  It was black, but has since faded to light brown.  A sun with a moon and star in the middle.  Perfect description of this coastal town.  The beach was beautiful during the day and at night - the tide went out so far and it was peaceful to walk along the water's edge.

On Saturday we got breakfast at the best place ever.  Carmita's for pancakes to die for.  Or shall I say, a pancake.  It was huge and super thick, and you could get it with all sorts of fruit or get a chocolate pancake.  Yumm.  Breakfast for sunday too for sure.  We swamped their tiny restaurant.  It was cloudy, so we decided to shop in the morning.  There were vendors all along the streets mostly selling food and beautiful jewelry, including many pieces with gorgeous gems.  There were so many Argentinians and they made up a majority of the vendors.  They are not as dark as Ecuadorians - they look very european except they were super hippies.  We found a new type of jungle pants - like genie pants but even baggier.  And dreads were so prevalent - I would say at least one in ten people there had some sort of dreads.  Hippie beach town :)  We blended in a lot more here as it is a haven for international tourists, backpackers and apparently argentinians (and my prof from winter term totally fits in with them - crazy hair and the biggest hippie/commie ever - many of them reminded me of Fede).

We ate street food for dinner - this yummy calzoneish thing with tomato, ham, cheese and fresh basil.  Delightful.  We took our food down to the beach to attempt to watch the sunset.  We caught a bit of it, but the clouds hid a lot of it.  The waves were still large - they were so big during the day.  Lianna, Courtney and I just went down to the beach to read and stare at the waves.  I went in at one point - someone was surfing farther out where the huge waves were breaking.  They were so strong!!  I so want to live by the ocean at one point, although this was the first time that we couldn't see mountains while being in Ecuador - it was so flat in comparison.  There were some ridges, but they were tiny in comparison.

Sunday we basically just got up, got ready, ate and said goodbye to the beach.  We started our trek home at 1:30, although none of us really wanted to leave this oasis.  Back in Guayaquil, the busline we transferred onto was a lot stricter slash very odd.  They wouldn't let us bring our backpacks onto the bus (we had to check them under the bus - they were really adamant) and they checked all of our real passports (thank goodness we brought them - we typically only carry copies) and then they went around with a video camera to capture all of our faces on tape?? huh...  and about two and a half hours into the ride the bus stopped (it's ten and pitch black out), and a police officer in a highlighter vest and a huge flashlight got on.  We all had to get off.  The officers checked the girl's passports once again and the smaller bags that were allowed on the bus.  They made the guys line up against the bus (eerily like execution style...) and they patted them down once again, but didn't check id.  Also, the bus was ready to leave while many of us were still in the bathroom.  Thanks??  But the ride was uneventful and we got back to quitumbe at 2:30, caught a cab, went home and crashed to get some sleep before school.  Morning came early, but Montañita was so worth it.  I would go back in a heartbeat.

This ended up being way longer than it was supposed to be, but a lot has happened in the past week.  Also, I leave Quito in less than a week?  And goodbyes start on thursday???

Honking fixes everything

The crazy director of the school. El jefe.  Photo credit to one of our dear children.

My new love, Anaomi, the youngest of the Quishpe clan to come to the school.

Lianna's birthday cake. Chocolate + berries + walnuts = best cake ever.

Quilotoa! A lake in the crater of a volcano that collapsed when it last erupted in 1797.

Recap of the week.  On Monday we ventured into the historic district to go to mass at La Compañia, a Jesuit church.  I really just wanted to go in order to be inside of this gorgeous church again.  The outside itself is very intricate, but nothing compared to the inside, where everything is covered in gold.  There are so many different things to look at and take in.  It was amazing to be there.  And when we walked outside it was dusk and the clouds were amazing.  Truly beautiful and a treat to see.  The historic district is one of my favorite parts of Quito - the architecture is colonial and pretty.  Tuesday we ran for the first time (and only time for me...) while we were in Ecuador.  It felt so good to stretch my legs and the park was pretty.  We were surrounded by vegetation and trees, which is rare in Quito.  Concrete, dust and cars are very prevalent but I definitely had missed trails and trees.  It was also Lianna's birthday so we celebrated with cake, a song and a rap from Caitlin.  Chocolate cake was so yummy :)  Wednesday through friday were a blur and when we came home from school we just chilled at the house.  On thursday and friday I subbed for Sam in preschool/first grade.  Babies!  They were so cute!!  But it was definitely a different setting for teaching - lots of singing, reading stories, coloring and learning letters.  Being the sole teacher was nice but at the same time you never got a break.  Pros and cons to everything.

Saturday morning we went to the bus station and got right on a bus to Latacunga, our first stop.  No wait at all!  That bus ride was pretty uneventful and we were all seated in the same area.  On our second bus, which took us all the way to Quilotoa (a gorgeous lake in the crater of a volcano) we were split up throughout the bus.  But we all got seats! I was between two nice kichwan couples.  These buses are the main transportation for many people in ecuador, as having any kind of car is a luxury.  We learned this as a brown paper bag of baby chicks fell from the overhead shelf.  One of them fell between Hannah and her seatmate.  I found it absolutely hilarious.  Her not so much.  People transport their goods and everything on the bus - dogs, livestock, literally everything.  Partway through there was a herd of sheep blocking the entire road.  The bus kept rolling, just honking like crazy so they would move.  And did they run.  I'd never seen sheep roaming freely, but this area had a really big native base and there was a lot of farmland and livestock - there were so many cool fedora's on the bus.  It was interesting to see the contrast between their traditional clothing and modern brands.  One women around our age was dressed head to toe in traditional clothing, but had an aeropostale 87 big purse.  Infiltration at it's finest.

Quilotoa was amazing!  It was slightly cold and windy (so glad I brought my raincoat as it blocked the wind really well) that some of us bought gloves at a market right by the lake.  I took so many pictures, as you just couldn't resist taking another picture and then another just in case it was different than before.  The color of the lake was gorgeous especially with the constrast of the emerald green mountains.  The coastline was pretty with such a variation of color as the water got shallower, and the middle of the lake changed color as well due to the waves and wind moving around the sand (and then changing the depth).  We hiked all the way down and ate lunch overlooking the lake and mountains = breathtaking.  I wish I could do that every day.  I went exploring around the edge of the lake to find different places to sit and just gaze at the surrounding area.  So peaceful and relaxing, and it was fun to climb around and see everything from a different perspective.  I climbed to a peak and I felt like I was on top of the world.  

Our ride home was slightly terrifying.  The first part was fun - we rode in the back of a pickup truck back to the city where we catch the bus.  The guy was hilarious and stopped at his house without mentioning anything to us - he just stopped and got out.  It was cool to stand up and feel the wind push you back if you let go, and the scenery was gorgeous.  Right at the end two teenagers hopped up and held on to the back - hitching a ride as the driver couldn't see. 

We waited for a bus for awhile.  It was cold.  And we all just wanted to be home.  So after about the fifth offer, we decided to take a pickup truck to Latacunga, an hour and a half drive.  Four of us were in the cab and three of us were in the bed.  Right before we were about to leave, the driver's son decides to join us.  Where does he decide to sit?  The front seat.  Two people in the driver's seat.  We quickly had him join us in the back.  We were used to cramming people in from taxi rides and such slash we felt way more comfortable.  Craziest ride of my life.  They don't obey lanes, it got dark, this guy passed every car that he encountered (going around curves with no visibility... and a cliff on the other side, as these roads are literally carved out of mountain or hillsides) and then fog set in.  And he liked using his cell phone and playing with the radio.  Time to hug my backpack and close my eyes.  He literally tried to pass this one truck for five minutes.  He would tailgate, get up alongside, honk like crazy and then have to back off as a car was coming at us.  I think he wanted to get back home really badly and I feel bad if he caught on to how nervous we were - I'm sure he knew what he was doing, but putting our lives in someone else's hands on these roads was just a bit scary.  It seriously feels like a dream now.  I prefer taking the buses now.  You can just stare at your seat and not see the oncoming traffic.  But he got us there safe and very quickly.  We passed a bus and we thought it for sure was the group that left before us and we were going to laugh if we beat them home.  Our bus ride to Quito wasn't a whole lot better.  The movie they played was Kiss of Death, where one of the semi main characters dies in a head on collision.  Irony?  And so many people commute to party in Quito!  Drunk city.  But we made it home safely - we forced our cab to go all the way to our house.  We got inside and collapsed. Home sweet home.

This only ended up being a day trip and cost a little over $20 (cheapest weekend ever), but it was one of the prettiest places.  Well worth the hike and long commute.  When else would you commute over eight hours to stay somewhere for around five to six hours?  So many pictures, memories and good stories.

But we have been here for a month now.  Where does time go?  Two weeks left of school... 

Otavalo Buying Madness

Snow-capped Cotopaxi from the bus station right after sunrise

Otavalo markets - streets upon streets.  Very much a maze and hard to remember where you found items

We got to lovely Otavalo at 9:45 after a long ordeal at the bus station.  The lady that we bought the bus tickets from wasn't very nice to us at all -  we were supposed to be on a bus at six, but she told us we would have to wait until 7:45.  After we got slightly angry (being up that early probably didn't help) she told us we could get on a bus at 6:30, as the earlier bus had issues.  We waited for the bus for what seemed like forever for the bus and finally the lady that sold us the tickets told us that they would put us all in a car to otavalo for an extra fifty cents.  And promptly disappeared.  As we wondered whether or not we got ripped off, our bus finally came.  We paid fifty cents extra to get on our own bus??  But we were able to see a really clear view of Cotopaxi (a completely snowcapped mountain - we hadn't been able to see it before) and Pinchincha (one of the peaks in Quito) because it was just after the sunrise and the clouds hadn't descended yet.  And the full moon was bright and right above the mountain peaks and ridges.  I love the andes.

Otavalo was crazy! Once you got to the market area, there were just streets upon streets of vendors.  On the outskirts of the market there were many manufactured goods, including knockoff abercrombie, hollister and aeropostale.  We found michigan sweatshirts too.  There was one store that had at least five brands all in one place.  They have a fascination with American brands.  But then we got to the better part and the shopping commenced.  I found a ring, purse, bracelet and many many more items.  Much damage was done, but we figured this was the one time for us to buy souvenirs.  

We went to a pizza place for lunch and as always, we took the place over with fifteen people.  Moreover, fifteen gringos.  They came up and took pictures of us before we left.  Interesting?  We should go back and see if we have a tribute in their restaurant.

We got on two buses to go back to Quito - we almost left Caitlin yikes!  The bus was not going to wait, even as we kept begging them too.  So we got off once they stopped on the street and got on the next one.  Needless to say, we keep forgetting that Quito is a big metropolis and not every bus will go to our station.  We got off at an unfamiliar station and several moments later Alex (a tutor that was in a separate group coming home) stuck his head out of a bus and told us to catch one to go to Quitumbe (who knows how he saw us, but a bus was a lot better than our idea of taking a taxi as we were way in the north).  Thank goodness for Alex.  Someone heard and herded the clueless gringos in the right way.  An hour later we were home - we got dropped off right at our bus stop close to our house.  Homeeee

It's friday!

We've been teaching for a whole week now!  And it's the weekend :)  We have added more kids to our class and if they all show up we have eleven.  It doesn't sound like that many, but they can be quite a handful.  Today we had nine kids and three teachers and it was just very interesting.  So much energy!  But we have a better idea of what works for the kids and how to use our time effectively.  Lectures don't go over very well with our class, so we split up into groups a lot.  Coloring time was the only section of time where there was complete silence today. Beautiful.  But their hugs and smiles just make my day.  At recess I played with the second graders a lot and they just hang on you and run up with the biggest grin.

We got home from school (Bri and I were commenting on how we feel like part of the community and on our bus ride and walk back to la casa de los gringos, we are going home) and then turned around and went to the north to watch HARRY POTTER.  We were all caught up in the suspense of whether or not the movie was going to be in spanish (we knew there would be subtitles, but the language was still in question).  The previews were 50/50 in spanish and english.  Plus the first couple minutes of the movie are just artsy and there is no dialogue.  We were so excited once they started speaking english.  The movie was amazing.  Still hasn't hit me that it's the last one.  What am I going to look forward to without new books or movie premieres??  Afterwards we walked past McDonalds and it smelled so good, which is weird.  Taste of home and familiarity.  Fries and real coffee (first in three weeks - everything here is instant coffee = gross) never tasted so good.

But I have been here for almost three weeks now!!  Crazy feeling.  I haven't missed television really at all or my cell phone.  I used to feel lost when I forgot my cell phone or when it died, but no longer.  Night for now - we are catching a super early bus tomorrow to go to Otavalo, which has a really big artisan market on saturdays.  We get to say hello Quitumbe (the bus station close to our house - much cleaner and nicer than any major bus station in the states) at a bright and early 5:30.  But I'm so excited to see all of the jewelry and blankets and wide variety of everything.  Everything is cheaper, so we are doing most of our souvenir shopping there - we aren't spending the night but we're bringing backpacks to carry everything back.  Brilliant plan.

Day two

More kids! We are up to eight students now and have at least one more coming tomorrow.  The morning was filled with a lot of introductions and games, along with the kids learning the Hello Song (Hello, hello, hello how are you, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine thank you) because it's a simple song and teaches them some basic words in english.  The math assessment that we gave out in the morning was a mess.  I don't think there was a different way we could've given it, because a lot of work went into the creation of these tests, but they didn't understand (and sometimes couldn't even read) what the story problems were asking.  They can do basic addition and subtraction, but the application is lacking.  Just something we need to work on for sure.  They got a little rowdy near the end of the day, but all of a sudden it was two and the end of our second day.  Tiring, but rewarding.

We are at home now about to eat a delicious meal prepared by Doña Terre - so glad we don't have to make our own dinners.  No energy for that.  And Sam and Caitlin went to buy our Harry Potter tickets.  We are going to the north part of Quito to watch it with the hope that the movie will be in English with Spanish subtitles - watching it dubbed just wouldn't be the same.  Only a little over 48 hours until the last movie!!!!!  We are just a little excited.

First day of school!

Henry with Kevin on his back and Bri with Jhon and Lesly in our classroom.  Third grade!!

These kids are absolutely adorable.  They were hugging us and sitting on our laps from the very beginning.  They are so open and loving.  Today consisted of a lot of games and introductions and decorating of their name tags and folders.  We only had three kids for the first half, but gained two kids during the afternoon recess/lunch.  It was compounded by several factors - the principal was supposed to be there to unlock all of the classrooms, but he wasn't.  Sweet.  This is the third meeting he has missed. Not the biggest fan at the moment.  But someone else showed up that had keys so we started class at 9:30ish.  Lunch will be at eleven every day (a fruit juice - today was mora which is blackberry, a piece of bread and a fruit or veggie salad) but the person that normally uses the kitchen during the regular school year locked it and Doña Margo had to go home to make all of the food and bring it back.  Slightly frustrating as we had it worked out so that we would only use her space - we bought our own blender and such.  School is so exhausting!  We got on the bus a little after two (after saying many goodbyes to our adorable kids - who also really enjoyed the fact that we gave them homework) and were wiped.  It felt good to sit and close my eyes.  We made a quick run to megamaxi to pick up some random school supplies and then just hung out at the house.  Yummy dinner and then lesson planning.  And then sleep.  And repeat.  Can't wait to see if we have more kids tomorrow!!  They make getting up early worth it.

Pictures cannot capture the beauty

We went to Tena, which is little over a five hour bus trip from Quito (and I would have to say that buses are worse than flights, but they are such a super cheap way to travel that you just have to suck it up - it was only $6).  The jungle was amazing. We had two guides that were so nice - Nixon/Monster (jungle monster) and Fausto/Rafting (because he's a rafting guide??).  They only spoke Kichwa and Spanish, but spoke so clearly that we could understand everything.  Every time we spoke english in front of them we felt awkward, so it was good practice for us to talk in spanish as much as we could.  To get to our cabins we took a half hour ride further into the jungle and then walked  about twenty minutes (they had hammocks!!).  The two footbridges were slightly scary.  They were very similar to the cheap bunk beds that just have a metal frame and wood slats - there were just loose wood slats and there were gaps (apparently there were a lot more gaps before but these were the improved version) and they would sway a lot.  But they were better than trying to cross the river in canoes which is what they did before the bridges were built - when the river gets high crossing would be really difficult.  As soon as we got to our cabin area we went swimming.  The area was really pretty and the water was clear and cold.  A nice change after a warm and humid hike.  

After lunch we walked a loop and learned about the medicinal uses for a lot of the plants in the jungle.  There were plants that contained penicillin, natural anesthetics (we bit into it and our tongues went numb - crazy), natural bandages and so many more.  I have no idea how the guides knew so much, but I guess they grew up here (we had native Kichwa guides - they reject the Quechua spelling) and their grandparents and parents passed down their knowledge.  Afterwards it was time for another swim, this time with natural shampoo.  We crushed and rubbed leaves between our hands and it developed a lather and foam.  Crazy!  Although afterwards we smelled slightly like leaves, but it was better than gross sweat.  After dinner we went to a bar that Nixon's sister's (we were debating about changing out of our baggy sweatpants, but it was barely big enough for all of us to sit) and it was basically under the stars.  Without any light pollution, the night sky was gorgeous.  We just sat that for over an hour and asked Nixon questions about his culture, the differences between peruvian kichwa and ecuadorian kichwa along with random questions.  One of his parents is a shaman and he would have the option to be a shaman in the future (it passes hereditarily) but he has no interest.  It was really nice to just hear him talk.

Day two.  We woke up to rain.  It was soothing to hear while you were sleeping (it rained most of the night and morning) but not so much fun to hike in.  We were all prepared to deal, but the insects and animals also hide during the rainy periods.  Instead we made bracelets out of a fiber that comes from a leaf and beads that came from plants (either as seeds or something similar).  We saw how they put holes through the beads (a drill bite-like hand held crank machine).  In the afternoon we took a hike and saw so many plants and trees.  Just the landscape is gorgeous.  We saw a banana tree, pineapple plant, the tree that they make maracas from and a billion more.  The jungle is full of useful materials.  And predictably, we took a swim after our hike.  The river was too high to cross (there was a rock that we would swim to) due to all of the rain.  Some people tried, but the current carried them a lot farther than the day before.  

That night we were building up a bonfire for the shaman ritual when a couple people discovered a tarantula.  The lighting was really poor as they were using candles for light (fyi not that effective at all outside) and one of the candles was within a foot of the spider.  They got Nixon and the rest of us, but not after taking a lot of pictures of it and because it was night that meant that there were intense flashes.  It was poisonous and slow until threatened when it could jump.  He shooed it away with a stick and then held it down so we could touch the back half of it (after checking to see if it had the fangs to be able to bite - oh yep).  It was so fuzzy and soft, not at all what I had expected.  The shaman was a ninety year old woman, one of the strongest shamans in the area and the only woman (most Kichwa communities have three shamans).  She went through a cleansing ceremony where she hit you all over with this bundle of leaves and blew smoke in your hair and hands in order to rid you of bad spirits and such.  I swear she must have smoked at least ten cigarettes while she was there, but it was interesting to participate.  That night I was so scared to sleep.  Before going to Tena someone had mentioned to me that you would routinely wake up with spiders on your mosquito net and this time we had seen a tarantula on a porch of one of the cabins.  One thing to touch a spider while it is being held immobile and another thing to have one right above you. Eeks!

No spiders thankfully, but we woke up to more rain (shocking when we're in the rainforest right?).  Wasn't looking very good for our white water rafting trip.  We packed up and headed out anyways - if rafting wasn't possible (because the river was too high) we would do a different activity.  Rafting was a go and we got on the water.  The water was sooo cold - it was a shock every time you would get splashed.  And we pretty much had goosebumps for a majority of the time.  We got out on a beach at one point solely in order to run around and warm up.  They had this game where we split into three groups of five and stood behind lines.  We were each numbered and one person from each group woudl run around, slide beneath their group's legs and try to touch the helmet in the middle first.  Our team def won with five wins, but this also meant that you were covered head to toe in sand on your front side.  Sam had a sand beard.  But there were big waves and the scenery was really pretty.  Since it was raining there was a lot of mist in the distance so the jungle would slowly fade into white.  And the waterfalls cascading into the river were really pretty too.  We gave one of the kayakers (who were there to save us if we fell out and got too far from the boat) a waterproof camera to capture our adventure.  Along with that he took a lot of pictures and a video of Nixon - they love taking pictures of each of other.  The only sad thing was that there were cables to run electrical cords over the river so that they could search for oil.  In the middle of the beautiful, untouched rainforest.  

We got out of the water, got hot coffee (instant as always) and got into dry clothes.  We had a warm meal and then headed home on a bus.  Five and a half hours later we were home in Quito.  It was nice and comforting to see the city lights of Quito when we got close. Homeee with nice beds and a warm shower.

Meet the parents

Yesterday we went to Megamaxi (kind of like meijer) to buy school supplies for our kids.  I am teaching third grade with Bri and Henry!!!  It was hard to stay within the budget while buying everything that we will need - folders, notebooks, paper, pencils, markers, glue, a bin etc.  School supplies are more expensive here, which is the opposite of what I would've thought.  We started brainstorming what we wanted to do our first week and the kind of activities we want to include in the lessons.  The rest of the day was really relaxed, as we hung out at the house and planned our trip to the rainforest. 

This morning we got up really early to go to the school and meet with the parents of the students in our program.  We introduced ourselves, went over the schedule and what we were teaching.  They were concerned at first when we said they would be at school from 8-2, but once we told them we were providing food (we have Doña Margo as our cook) they said we could keep them all day.  They were really thankful for our help, but told us that every student at the school (my estimation skills are horrible but I would say at least 150) needed help and that we should bring more people and increase our class sizes.  Right now we are at 40 kids total, with eight per classroom.  Many parents asked us if their kids could participate and it was heartbreaking to say that we had a limit.  But if we let a couple kids in, then it will spread and we will have major overflow.  I mean it's a different story if they just show up, at that point there is no way we can turn these cute kids away.  One girl just ran up to me and hugged me right once we got there and would always run back.  Ahhh so excited for monday and to meet our kids!!!!

We are off to Tena at two.  We are going to stay for four days and three nights and stay with an indigenous community for a portion and witness a shaman ritual, along with taking several tours into the rainforest.  Really excited to see the wealth of diversity of birds, flowers, and animals in general.  We will hopefully lesson plan on the bus unless we pass out - we always have sunday. 

Balloons as fireworks

Today we had a meeting at one to meet with our cook, Doña Margo, and show her our school in San Martín.  We ended up raising way more money than we would need, so we decided to hire someone to cook lunch for the kids (for a lot of them it's their only meal of the day).  She was so nice!  We took the bus to the school and banged on the door and waited.  Apparently the principal forgot about the meeting and left early that day... But it was good to see the school (only ten to fifteen minutes by bus - much closer than everywhere else that we go) and one of the students from last year ran up to Sarah and it was a preview of all the cute kids to come.  So excited!  We were supposed to start teaching today, but there was a mixup with schedules and they have final exams this week.  Which means we might leave for the jungle on wednesday!!!!!

A few of us went to the historic district afterwards and visited La Plaza Grande and the presidential palace.  We wandered around for awhile and went on an intense hunt for stamps.  Seemingly only one place in Quito sells stamps and the directions that we were given led us in circles.  We went inside the Church of the Society of Jesus (I'm standing outside it) and everything inside is covered in gold.  We weren't allowed to take pictures, but maybe next time we'll be sneaky.  We just wanted to sit and take it all in.  We ended up taking the trolley back at rush hour - never a fun time.  We barely made it on by pushing ourselves into everyone and Juhee's poor shoe got caught in the door.  We almost fell out.  Could not do that day in and day out.

We had a feast for dinner - traditional hamburgers and chicken and cole slaw and lemonade and ice cream and s'mores.  Oh and then some cuy (guinea pig).  I can now say that I have tried it.  But that led to a food coma.  Señor Lema and his mariachi band showed up and played songs for us.  In the middles they popped a lot of balloons to simulate fireworks and it actually sounded like them.  He then proceeded to pull his huge van into our courtyard so we could have loud music - dance party anyone?  We were listening to country music before, but we are now saved :)  Happy Fourth of July!!

El mitad del mundo

I realized I never showed you a picture of our house and courtyard.  We have a pretty big area where we can sit and eat, but it's mostly for laundry (we hang out and eat on the roof more than the courtyard).  We have three floors plus a roof, which is definitely my favorite part.  They are working on the water system in front of our house, so that is why there is a pile of dirt.  Mitad del Mundo!!!!  It ended up being a really long ride there - over two hours on the bus but we were on the equator.  This picture is of the "fake" mitad del mundo.  They built the monument and then when they remeasured and calculated it, they realized it was somewhere else, but it's still in the same complex.  It was it's own mini city with a lot of vendors and different restaurants (we got a combo of a cheeseburger, fries and coke for $1.80 - I love how cheap everything is).  There were llamas or alpacas roaming all around.  They weren't the biggest fans of people, but we managed to get some pictures with them.  I llove llamas :) But that's pretty much it for today.  We were out of the house for about nine hours and we are all exhausted.  Time to go to bed early and catch up on sleep.

Baños - un pedazo del cielo

Our bus ride was slightly eventful.  We took up the backseat and one more row in front with nine of us.  We kept a pretty close eye on our stuff, but at one point this guy came up to us and tried to sell us candies (this is really common on the bus - at stops vendors with fruits or helados or other items will come by) and then he dropped a fifty cent piece.  We thought it was by accident and were hunting under our seats in order to find it, when in fact it was a distraction.  They had Annie's camera, but she asked them if they had seen one because she lost it and they "found it" under the seat.  Close call.  We got our hostal right close to the bus station as it was dark, but the guys totally ripped us off.  Alexa is fluent and so she negotiated with them aka they thought we didn't understand any spanish.  They told us meals were included, so we put our stuff in our room and then went down for dinner.  Miscommunication.  Needless to say, they didn't get any more of our money.

The next morning we took a tour of the waterfalls and even took a basket cable thing over one of the waterfalls.  So pretty!  In the midst of the tour they had a swing jumping place, which is very similar to bungee jumping.  I was so indecisive once I saw the actual bridge, but I decided to go for it. What other time will it only be $15?  Getting to the point of where you were standing on the bridge was probably one of the scariest parts.  How do you stand on this tiny ledge with no supports - the only reason you don't fall immediately is because the guy has a hold on your harness.  I looked down.  Bad idea.  He sensed my fear and told me to mira arriba.  He counted down (otherwise it might not have happened) and then I fell and he pushed your feet so you flipped.  The freefall was incredibly scary but the swinging and the fact that I went through with this was so worth it and I had such an adrenaline rush.  Still can't believe that I did it.  And then the last waterfall was a hike down (wayyy harder on the way back up - the altitude had such a huge effect) but it was worth it.  We swam below the waterfall and it was unbelievable.  Is this real??  You looked up to a huge gorgeous waterfall and couldn't help but smile.  During the hike down we felt like we were in the midst of a jungle, which made us wonder what venturing into the Amazon or a different rainforest would be like.

Afterwards we had bread for lunch (our breakfast every morning for twenty cents - there were ones with chocolate inside and other empanadas with cheese inside om nom nom) and true to our nature we napped.  We wandered around the market and main park and then had a wonderful dinner at Café Hood: The Restaurant That You Can Trust.  We were so hungry and it tasted absolutely amazing.

On friday we got up super early (seven am eeks) to go to the natural hot springs right next to another waterfall.  The warmest pool was filled with minerals that were supposed to help with stomach and liver ailments.  Perfect.  It was then invaded by schoolchildren who stared at the gringos.  First point is that we get stared at wherever we go.  Fact of life.  Second of all, we have not seen a child that is not adorable.  I look at them and immediately say awwww.  First thought.  Half of the group went home at 11:15 that morning, but five of us stayed so that we could take a horseback riding tour and then try to see the volcano at night.  We got lunch at another cute café with a danish owner.  The smoothies and sandwiches were delicious and got devoured in about five to ten minutes (we had 45 minutes of anticipation and hunger while waiting).  We wait until we are about starving to find a restaurant and then waiting for food is just awful.  The pizza that we had that night took under fifteen minutes and it was magical. And both pizzas were gone within five minutes - hungry much?

Horseback riding on friday was fun, but also slightly scary at times.  The names of the horses were hilarious - I was on Michael Jackson, Sam was on Luchito, Henry was on Whisky, Bri was on Mariachi and Juhee was on Jackie Chan.  Jackie was very ornery and liked to bite and eat grass while Michael just hated human contact in general and did whatever he felt like (they asked if anyone had experience adn I said a little, so they told Bri to switch with me.  Needless to say Michael was not very well behaved).  Cars were so close to us when they would pass us on the main roads (convinced you would have to be crazy to drive in Ecuador) and the trail close to the waterfall was very skinny, steep, muddy and rocky.  Sometimes I wasn't sure if the horses could handle it, but the views from that trail were breathtaking.  I just can't get over the mountains.  I will always be amazed by them.  That night we took a chiva (pretty much a club on wheels - flashing lights and loud top 40 ecuadorian music) up to the ridge to see baños from above.  It seemed so much bigger and more lit up, but it was cool to see an aerial view.  We could understand almost everything that the guide says but at one point we thought they said something about the tourists ending up in the lake and everyone else laughed.  We were not in on this joke apparently.  It was too foggy to see the volcano (the whole time we were there it was shrouded in clouds) and eventually the fog descended so we could no longer see the city.  It was neat to see the trees get more and more blurry until you could no longer see anything.  We made friends with our tour guide Sergio and Javier, basically an amazing dancer and were kind of sad to say goodbye.  Maybe we'll go back and run into them again :)  The bus ride home was long and we all got restless and were really glad to be back at home.  Clean clothes!!  Time for rest now and lots of sleep.

Catch up número dos

Going back to my flight and first day in Ecuador.  My flight went surprisingly well and I had two friends on my flight to Atlanta and my long layover before my second flight which was really nice.  Sitting by myself for six hours would have been rough otherwise.  I was walking to the gate and all of a sudden Sydney called out my name.  Amazing coincidence :) I sat next to a really nice couple on my flight to Quito - they are both professors at Georgia Southern University and this was their 17th time to Ecuador.  They had so many facts and interesting places to visit and helped me fill out the customs paperwork.  Since the flight was fairly long it made the time go faster to have conversation and it was also comforting.  He was telling me all about his research and it was really intriguing - during this specific trip he is going to be teaching a class about conservation.  So jealous!  I lost them at baggage claim but I'm in email contact which I think is really cute hah.  Baggage took forever and a half and then I was unsure of where to go, but I saw Señora Lema, possibly the cutest lady ever.

The other flight was really delayed due to the horrible fog that came in over Quito (their flight went to Guayaquil and just hung out) so I just chilled in their nissan car for several hours.  They didn't know any english, so it was really good practice at communicating (she told me my spanish was pretty good :D highlight of my day) so spanglish wouldn't fly.  At points you just have to stop and figure out how to go around a word to give the same connotation, but they were really patient.  The airport was just filled with people sleeping and waiting for the flights.  We all survived though and we got to ride to our house in Señor Lema's mariachi van (the second night he was actually decked out in his uniform).  The ride was fairly scary.  Especially at night they don't recognize that lanes or red lights or stop signs exist.  At one point Sam and I just looked at each other in a mixture of awe and terror, but we made it to the house safely and even though it was four in the morning we made food and spent another hour talking before we passed out.

And then Sofía called us at 10:40 in the morning. Sweet.  We picked up and she said, "oh you're sleeping? talk to you later".  Well now we were up...  That started our trends of taking daily naps in the afternoon.  Pretty much every day.  The altitude and just being out and about all day is really taxing.  The first two days we only ventured to the mall, but on Tuesday we went to the Basilica in the historic district and Wednesday we made it to La Mariscal and the market to buy fresh produce, grains and meat.  Oh and so we have five people in our room - straight mattresses and luggage, literally a "bed"room, but I really like it so far.  We have a courtyard and we can access the roof - we eat lunch and dinner on the roof sometimes.  Since we are on the equator, we have sunlight from  six am to six pm and we eat dinner while watching the sunset over the mountains.  My favorite thing ever :)  Oh and random but the majority houses and stores have clusters of metal poles sticking out on the roof, which means that the house is unfinished and they don't have to pay taxes (our second floor is unfinished).  We are all bonding and I am so excited for the weeks to come!!