Yo Amo Mindo!!

-- To see the whole photo album, go here: http://gwu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2120365&l=c1bef&id=5305703


This weekend was unbelievable! I'm so glad I got better, because I went to the best place in the world this weekend. On Saturday we left for our trip to Mindo, a city to the north east of Quito. We had a two hour bus ride that took us to a tiny little Latin American town where we all piled into the back of Andy's (our Corps advocate) pickup truck on a ten minute drive down dirt roads and into a primary rainforest! (In the picture, Seth, Rachel and I forced smiles as we drove over potholes and piles of rocks in the back of a pickuptruck).This isn't the big bad daddy jungle- but it was a rainforest nonetheless. We did a zip-line course through over the canopy. It was absolutely amazing.

We finally got back into Mindo and it was amazing! This town is wonderful. This is a store we went to where there were just branches of platanos chilling on the ground. (I can't get it right side up!)People played soccer in the dirt streets as the fog rolled in over the mountains. We stayed in a hostel called "Jardin de los Pajaros"- or "Garden of the Birds." It was beautiful with a huge balcony and a hammock overlooking the street.

The big thing in Ecuador this weekend was the election. They had a vote to change their constitution which they had last done in 1997. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what was going on, but here's the interesting thing. Voting in Ecuador is mandatory! Remember Paris Hilton's "Vote or Die" faux pas (she joined the campaign, and then didn't vote)? Here it's not really an option. Of course, they don't kill people who don't vote, but they do penalize people. There's a big fine for those who don't vote, and it goes on their record somehow so that it's harder for non-voters to get loans, and non-voters can't enroll in a university until they pay some additional fine. I personally think there are some cool things about this system, but on the other hand, this election LITERALLY had over 3,200 candidates- so the country is basically forcing people to make uneducated guesses. If you want to read more, this is the BBC news link about the election. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7020420.stm (Most people I've met don't like Correa, but I asked my host mom this afternoon and she told me that she'd voted for Correa. Seeing my surprise she said: "Margaret, soy una socialista!" (Margaret, I'm a socialist.) It was pretty funny.)

SO back to the point: Because it's mandatory that everyone vote on Sunday, starting Friday at noon before an election the "Ley de Seca" (the dry law) comes into effect. After 12:00 pm Friday it is illegal to sell or consume alcohol in Ecuador because the government doesn't want people to get drunk and forget to vote. SO, of course, everywhere we went on Thursday and Friday morning, people were buying liquor by the cart-full. And, because we're not Ecuadorian, Rozana set up our own little speakeasy at the hostel where Seth and Andrew had their fill of vodka and cranberry. As for me, I obeyed the Ley de Seca partly because I believe in respecting the rules and cultural practices of the society I'm in.... and because I can't drink any alcohol with my antibiotics.

Anyway- it was a great weekend. This morning we went on a hike through the rainforest and spent some time at beautiful waterfalls. I'm not especially excited about getting back into class tomorrow, but que sera sera. It was a beautiful weekend.

Bacteria AND parasites?

That's right! These little guys (picture from Google images, not my "estomago" or stomach) have been making my life pretty difficult. Basically I've been really sick for the past week.. and when I went to the doctor on Friday he told me I had a mixed infection of bacteria and parasites-- so the pills I'm taking are GIGANTIC and making me sicker than the actual bugs, but whatever. On the plus side, I've lost approximately ten pounds and I think I drank more Gatorade this week than I did in 23 years in the US.

Any new awareness about cultural differences are mostly medicine/sickness related- so bear with me. Prescriptions here are subsidized, so I've spent approximately $15 on the four different prescriptions I've gotten in the last week. Also- you don't need a prescription to go to the pharmacy-- you just go up to the counter and ask for 8 cipros or 6 fasigyns (those are the antibiotics I'm on in case anyone feels like doing a little detective work). When I was really sick this weekend my host mom just called her cousin, who is a doctor, and told him I was sick, and then called the pharmacy and had them deliver the pills. Talk abut scary! Maybe it's just because my mom would grill us as to the necessity of taking an Advil growing up, but to me, taking 50 milligrams of anything without ever having actually spoken to a doctor a new experience.

Also- I had a job interview in a place called, no joke, Cumbaya-- say it out loud. Cumbaya is this beautiful little suburb of Quito where all the best private schools are. To get there, I had to take a bus, which was a new experience for me.. and when I was having a tough time getting the 25 cents I needed to get off the bus, the driver got tired of waiting and just took off. Luckily, the man who hangs outside the bus and calls the destination kept me from falling off.. so I sat on the steps, found my quarter, and was ready to go. Anyway- the interview was an experience, but I had to do some serious soul searching. The pay at this job is almost twice what I'll get anywhere else- and as I look at having to pay rent in a few weeks that's looking good.. but do I really want to teach rich Ecuadorian kids? Plus, I'd be teaching third grade --all the private schools in Cumbaya only offer instruction in English, so it would be just like teaching the third grade in the US to kids with money and accents. I think not. So I'm really hoping for this job at another high school- Colegio de la Liga.. I think it's private (apparently the public schools here are really really really bad).. but it's for more of the middle class. Plus- it's in Quito- which is preferable.

So- that's an update-- I'll try to write once a week or so... maybe more when I'm healthy and have more to say besides the price of prescriptions-- exciting, I know. Please email me-- let me know what you all are up to!!!

Adios!

Actually- no one says "adios"-- they say ciao! So... CIAO!

Estoy Aqui (not the Shakira song!)

Well- it has been an exhausting few days. On Friday I literally felt every emotion possible- from panic and sadness to exhiliration and excitment, confusion and security. But everything worked out fine. My host family is wonderful. Fanny, the mom, is an artist and a single mom. She has taken in tons of foreign students in the past- and she's very helpful. She keeps introducing me to new fruit I've never heard of before. Yesterday she made me "jugo de tomate" which translates to "tomato juice." Interestingly enough, though, it wasn't tomato juice. It was a totally different juice.. which was good for me because I hate tomato juice, and I didn't want to begin my homestay by being picky. Andres, the son, just turned 16. He speaks really good English, which is helpful, and last night he snuck out with his friends and so he's grounded.. but he's a good kid with a good sense of humor and he's very kind.

Quito is just like any other city- except everything's in Spanish. It's fun to see a red octagonal Stop sign that says PARE, or a black and white One Way sign that says "Una via". They also have more KFCs than I've seen anywhere else! In addition to that, there's Pizza Hut, Burger King, Papa John's, Tony Roma's, and TGI FRIDAYS! Maybe I should be upset by the Americanization of the world, but to be honest, a little familiarity is very welcome- not that I plan on going to KFC any time soon!

Two funny things and then I'm done for the day- one, is that I've realized that regardless of the language, you can ALWAYS identify the product of a commercial by sound alone. I was listening to the TV yesterday and could tell if they were hawking children's cereal or, more surprisingly, insurance!

Also- this one made me laugh all day long... my host mother made me breakfast yesterday (remember the jugo de tomate mystery?), and I was seated with my back to a large window overlooking a street. All of a sudden I heard a loud megaphone voice yelling "FRUTA! MANZANABANANAPINATOMATE... etc" I was startled, and asked Fanny what it was. She ran to the window and said "Margaret!"
I started to get up to come over, but she waved toward the wall, with her palm down- moving her hand at the wrist rapidly upwards and away from her body- which I took as "don't look." So I turned away.
"Margaret!" she called. I turned again, but once again, she waved me away- this time with more vehemence.
Finally she said "Margaret, VEN aqui!" - Margaret, come here.- and I realized that here, they wave "come here" the way we wave "go away". I didn't explain it to her at the time, but later on, when I was having desert with Fanny, Andres, Fanny's brother, her sister, and her neice, I started laughing when I thought about it. WIth the help of Andres and Maria Andrea (the neice) I was able to tell them the story, and they all thought it was pretty funny.

So- my family has wireless internet, but it's a little touchy. Hopefully I'll be able to access it regularly. Also- I'm going to get a phone tonight, so I will have my number available for anyone who is DYING to call me :)