God Bless Us, Everyone ;)

                So, I just thought I´d throw in a short piece about the Thanksgiving Holiday. We did in fact get to celebrate here with our “ACLAS family” as Eugenia calls it. We ate turkey, mashed potatoes, salads, gravy, and cranberry sauce. All nicely made by a catering company. Although it was nowhere near as fabulous as the Thanksgiving dinners I have ever partook in in the U.S., it was still very appreciated. The students were in charge of desserts and thanks to Aimee´s visiting parents who brought a can of pumpkin from the U.S. with them (it is extremely difficult to find here) we were able to have pumpkin pie. Hilary and I made individual pies for each person in muffin tins that turned out very cute and were a big hit. Along with far too many other desserts, apple cider, and wine, we all left ACLAS that evening feeling pretty stuffed. Even so, I honestly believe that is the least I have ever eaten for this holiday in my life. Even more exciting, everyone has been telling me I look like I´ve been losing weight (which is possible but only means I am getting back to the weight I was before I arrived here. My host dad just bought a scale and I weigh exactly what I did when I left in July…) but in any case, I felt pretty darn good about myself and the fact that I wore my “tight pants” for Thanksgiving dinner AND went for a lovely run the next morning without feeling gross and blobish. Overall, it was a nice break from Ecuador-overload where we got to have a little bit of taste of home again. We jammed out to the Beatles all night as well.

 

Like I did a few years back, I sat down and made another list of all that I am thankful for due to the whirlwind and craziness that has been my life for the past year. That is what is written right below this.

 

_*
I am thankful for the experience of living in a different (third-world, developing) country.
I am thankful for the new perspective on life it has given me.
I am thankful to live in America and have the rights and opportunities that I do.
I am thankful for the Americans who recognize these and fight for them.
I am thankful for the faith in America that was restored in me on November 4.
I am thankful for the faith that has given me a crutch to lean on when my body and mind needed to rest.
I am thankful for the friends who lent their shoulders to cry on when even that crutch began to feel weak.
I am thankful for a team that made me feel appreciated, loved, and needed.
I am thankful for the best friends (and roommates) I found in it.
I am thankful for the people who I learned to love enough that I cried when I said goodbye to…
And cried again just because I missed them.
I am thankful for the family of brothers I know would help me without a moment’s hesitation.
I am thankful for the brother I met and became family with within three days.
I am thankful for his family.
I am thankful for promises of friendship, no matter what threatens it.
I am thankful for them being kept.
I am thankful for falling in love…
And all the beauty and pain I’ve learned from it.
I am thankful for new people to love.
I am thankful for the people who were new to me this summer but made it everything beautiful that it was…
Who helped me more than they could ever know.
I am thankful that I now have them to miss.
I am thankful for the people I already loved…
Quiet, but caring and consistent- always loving me.
I am thankful for the new friends I lived five months with and now couldn’t forget in a lifetime.
I am thankful for the old friends I’ve missed those five months and can’t wait to see.
I am thankful for friends I’ve yet to meet…
But already love for what they’ve given that I could never give to my other half.
I am thankful for kind families who loved/and took me as their own.
I am thankful for how different they are…
That made me realize how perfectly I fit with mine.
I am thankful for how perfectly I fit with mine.
I am thankful for losing “things” to learn to appreciate ideas.
I am thankful for surviving a 12k race at 7500ft (no, really…)
I am thankful for the Spanish language…
And that I can actually speak it.
I am thankful for patience- mine and of those around me.
I am thankful for four seasons.
I am thankful for the healing power of chocolate and coffee.
I am thankful for all the beauty that is in my homes…
That might not be there tomorrow.

It’s a Little Bit Funny, This Feeling Inside

So, since I did absolutely nothing this weekend (except eat sushi which was very good btw) I decided to just jot down some thoughts that were floating around in my head instead. I think they especially started to come up for the very fact that I didn’t go anywhere outside of Quito this weekend. My trip to the Amazon was, as I mentioned, my last real trip of any speaking and now having that done I am in that limbo of feeling like “ok, I’m done with all things on my to-do list with this country” and “I’m not cuz I still have school to finish”. These next three weeks make me feel like I am so close to heading home and at the same time like I still have quite a bit of time left- it is almost a 1/5 of my entire stay… But nonetheless, I can’t deny that every day I am getting more and more excited to come home, which of course we all kind of feel the need to keep on the DL when not amongst ourselves to avoid offending or more mildly hurting the feelings of anyone. And of course at the same time I realize that this may be my last 3 weeks in this country, ever- which adds a little bit of sentiment to it as well. When you live in any new place for long enough to learn about how it runs, where everything is, and where it is in relation to everything else you can’t help but make that a part of you. It will be weird to know how to get from my house here to the university or Centro Historico or the artesian market in the Mariscal when I’m no longer in this country. It almost seems like a whole other world that only halfway exists and right now I’m only imagining it. As much as I can assuredly say that never in my life would I want to live in Quito Ecuador in truth, I already have and I will at least miss using all that I know about how to get around in this city and country.

As we all know I will miss practically none of the men in this country or the machismo mentality that follows them like a shadow everywhere, but I will in fact miss a few people which, if they never leave the country to be seen elsewhere, you actually can end up missing more than anything about the country itself. I will miss my host parents of course- even though living with them has made me appreciate, more than I could ever express, my own parents, they have dedicated about 4 months of their lives, care, and friendship to me and helped make my experience here in Ecuador what it is. At the same time, I will miss my other set of un-official Ecuadorian parents, that is- Marco’s parents. These are two people who have touched me an impacted my life incredibly in a way I never knew I hadn’t been touched. Never have I met two people more ready and wanting to accept so many new people into their lives- and when I say lives I mean everyday lives. Their kindness and genuine friendship made me feel at home is their home(s) and truly like I was a welcomed part of their family. The only way I can think of to halfway describe this feeling is when you meet your significant other’s whole family for the first time and the immediately love and welcome you simply because you are with their son/daughter/nephew/niece/grandson/daughter etc… except for me, they did this without me dating their son- in fact, he didn’t even need to be around for it to happen. That kindness I will miss terribly when I leave them and this country but at the same time is a beautiful thing to carry with me as a reminder that humanity does still have it’s aspects that make everything worthwhile. And my third set of parents, and all of ours, Fernando and Eugenia I will miss as well. They have continued to do so much for each and every one of us since the day we arrived in Quito and without a doubt have helped make this trip run more smoothly than it would have had they not been here. Let’s face it, half of us would probably be dead or have called it quits a lot earlier if it had not been for them.

And yet, at the same time as all of these feelings I cannot wait to see my parents- the ones who have raised me perfectly to become just the way I am. Between experiencing how other couples live together here in Ecuador and sharing/hearing stories about the parents and lives of other kids on the trip with me I have been lovingly beaten over the head with how completely fantastic my family really is. And it’s something we never really fully realize I think until we are without it and for that I can’t wait for even just that one moment when I step off the plane and see them and know and feel how great it is that- “Those are mine.” Just like as a drive through town in my car, past all the Mexican restaurants where I eat fantastic food, and the mountains that I see every time I look out my window. And even back in Salem (I can’t believe I miss Salem) when I walk back onto the campus and play basketball in my gym, and run in Busch Park where I have my own trail and no one pays me any notice, or drive down to Lancaster and eat at Olive Garden with Kaitlin where we eat just to treat ourselves to a night after surviving another week at school… In a country where I don’t watch over my shoulder or stick my money in my bra and carry my cell phone in my back pocket because I don’t think twice about being robbed or assaulted in plane daylight (or even really at night). Where if a man whistles at me (and that’s all he does, no pet names or kissy noises in my face) it is because a) I am dressed in such a way that I want to be noticed anyway, b) he really just wanted to give a compliment and was cocky enough to think that would work, or c) it’s a friend just goofing off. Where I can walk down the street in shorts and a tank top and flip-flops or go to class in basketball shorts and a t-shirt and blend into the crowd. Where the police are people you respect and dislike because they give you traffic tickets but appreciate because they will come running to your aid if you ever need it (ie. doing their job.) Where I can safely (and cheaply) get birth control or condoms and an abortion if I am raped or sick from pregnancy or in no position to bring another life into this world. Where I can walk down the street (at least more freely than in Ecuador) and where my rainbow gay-pride t-shirt holding my girlfriend’s hand and not worry someone will jump out of a car and beat the crap out of me. And where I feel that if I care enough about an issue and work hard enough I can make my voice heard and influence change.

It still comes as a surprise to some people but the Unites States in fact is not perfect (who knew, right?!?!) and has about three handfuls of its own problems but- yes there is a “but”- spending 5 months (or even 2) in a third-world developing country makes you realize just how much America does have, and how much it gives you in your life there. Some of them are little things and some are big that we say we appreciate about America but, like families and all other good things we never really appreciate them fully until we don’t have them. That is why as frustrated as I am with the way the Ecuador functions I am also paradoxically grateful for it. By giving me a wider picture of the world it has given me a better understanding and infinite appreciation of my own country and dare I say it, an increased patriotism. I love my country, but unlike so many of the people who throw the word around so careless and ignorantly, I actually know why.

Maggots In My Soup- Beat That!!!

So, I have just returned from my probably last trip in Ecuador, from the Oriente (more commonly known as the Amazon Rain Forest, no big deal). A group of 11 of us went to a place called La Casa del Suizo which is only on the edge of the rain forest, but still a lot closer than most people have ever gotten, so I can’t complain too much. It was also a really nice resort type place where pretty much all the white tourists come. Although it was not a trip organized by ACLAS most of the students from past programs go there and I’m still not sure, but it might be part of the reason we got a better price with our stay.

We all took off in bus Friday morning and with one change once we got into the more jungly part spent I think about 5 ½ hours traveling. When we couldn’t go any further due to the flowing current of water in front of us we hopped in a canoe and took a short trip, maybe ten minutes, down the river where we “disembarked” at the front of La Casa del Suizo. Our first day we didn’t have any planned excursions so we had a late lunch of way too much food and about three deserts (of which of course I had to try all), and enjoyed the very Amazonian swimming pool and after explored the little town that we had no idea existed behind the resort (I will call it that for lack of a better name) and then ate more (dinner) and chatted into the late hours of the night, which for me was about 9:30, before going to bed. After waking and breakfast at 7:45 the next morning we set off for our first included activity- a trek in the jungle where we yet again, got to wear rubber boots. After another trip back up the river we climbed out of the boats and started out wilderness trek where we learned about different plants and insects, all of which I remember none of the names, and some of the ways of life of the native people who inhabit the rain forest. We also took a nice old rusty metal egg-swing thing across a small gorge, and then got to take turns on a “native” rope swing across a slightly larger gorge. It was a nice break with a breeze from the humidity and bugs we had been walking in. When we returned we had lunch and a short break in which I took another nap (my body decided to get sick this weekend which took a little bit of the energy out of me), and then we visited the village behind us again and visited a family and learned a little about their lifestyle. There were in total probably about 8 kids running around, offering necklaces they had made for one (or in Devan and Cait’s case two) dollars. With plenty of gnats around (which did leave me with two lovely little rings of bites around my ankles) it was a little sad to see the state of the kids because some did have very bloated stomachs (normally a sign of malnutrition or worms). Also at the house we each had a try at using the about 6 foot long blow-gun to hit a wooden target about 40 or 50 feet away. I failed miserably, but Cait hit the target on her first try and after determined practice Devan became pretty legit at it as well. Deciding we had had enough of being eaten alive we returned to the resort once again to relax more, eat more, and sleep more. This time we did sprinkle in some card playing though with the chats.

Rising early again the next morning with another large breakfast we loaded into the canoe again, this time without boots, to visit a wildlife preserve/rehabilitation center also owned by La Casa del Suizo. It was there we got to see some of the monkeys that live in the jungle, as well as a very funky looking bird who was our second tour guide because he was the only bird of his companion-seeking type at the reserve. We also got to see a peccary and some very funny looking rodent things along with two members of the small cat family (including an ocelot), turtles, and an overwhelming number of birds- the loud kinds. Many of the animals at the center were once pets and because of that would never be able to be reentered into the wild. Although we didn’t get to see the anaconda as he didn’t want to come out and say hi, it was pretty cool to see the animals we did up close, even if they weren’t in the wild. Although we did see a monkey freely swinging in the branches on our trip back to the resort which we all agreed was pretty cool. After more food, more swimming, more sun :\ and more naps, some of us went out one last time to learn how to pan for gold. There was a little bit in the batches of dirt that we found, although I have to admit I was having more fun seeing how many and how big of rocks I could skip on the river. I had more success with that we did with the gold and, true to form, inspired everyone else to abandon the search for gold and start throwing rocks into the river as well. It’s incredible how easily influenced human beings are. Good times. With that adventure/Kerry’s playtime over we returned to, yes, eat more, BUT this time I got a lovely surprise in that in my soup was about an inch and a half long maggot. Needless to say, I did not eat the soup. At first I thought it was a caterpillar but everyone else decided it was indeed a larva and as time when on and that realization sunk in it became less and less funny than it had been to me initially. The best part was in fact though, when I asked one of the workers if “it was part of the soup” his response was “let me go ask.” Nice. He never came back and let me know. They never changed the soup either. Again, one thing you would probably never find in an establishment in the U.S.- at least not twice. Before the complete disgust of having an inch plus bug’s baby in my food set in we finished off the night with some more card playing, lots of water drinking, and a slightly later bedtime of about 12:00. The next morning we awoke for our last buffet breakfast, packed up our things, and took the canoe back across the river to catch our bus(es) back to Quito by 10 am. We finally, exhaustedly, and in desperate need of a bathroom, returned to Quito about 5 in the afternoon.

All things considered, it was a good trip overall and a good final trip (as I decided that I really didn’t need to spend the money to return to the beach where the experience would more than likely not live up to the first) before I left Ecuador in a month. So, the next few weekends will be spent spending quality time with both of my Ecuadorian families (I’ll let you guess who the second one is), catching up on art workshops I have slacked on all semester, and writing my final paper for my trabajo social. So, even without more trips containing rubber boots, maggots, llamas, or very good-looking surfers, I think I’ll be able to keep pretty busy in the next coming weeks.

Why Did We Get a Medal…? For Being White.

True story… I will tell you :p

But first, we’ll start with the beginning of the weekend. Thursday afternoon, after much delay, we finally got on a bus and headed off to Rio Bamba, we being- Marco, Adolfo, Hilary, Cassie, Kayla, Gwen, Lacy, and myself. We arrived about 9:30 or so at the house of Marco’s aunt and were welcomed (all 8 of us) with open and welcoming arms. It was very easy to tell that this woman was Alicia’s sister. In their not huge house we all sat down around the table and ate chicken and rice and salad and conversed a bit before crashing in 4 beds upstairs- my sleeping buddy was Adolfo who except for his random snore starts that scared the life out of me, that passed relatively well. We had to get up early that morning to catch a bus at 6:30 to go to Guamote to take the train for the Nariz de Diablo because due to flooding it wasn’t running from Rio Bamba. So, we had fried eggs and more rice to start off our day. (Did I mention they feed us well in this country?) We made it to Guamote fine and then waited for about two hours till the train actually took off but managed to eat about an entire bag of animal crackers during the wait. We all got seats on the roof of the train which did result in some sunburnage because it just so happened to be a nice day for the trip. We did have about an hour delay before we reached Alausi because the tracks had to be fixed (or something like that) and then we derailed anyway while passing over the top. Apparently the train derails kind of often. Part of the experience I guess. Marco didn’t take the train with us but rather took a bus straight to Alausi to visit his pops and help him out with preparations for the race. Once we arrived in Alausi Marco joined us on the train and road the last 40 minutes or so segment which was the part to actually see the Nariz de Diablo (a large rock that resembles a nose…sort of) :p When we got back into Alausi we all piled into another small house and met Marco’s grandfather and his “crazy” aunt. She was indeed a bit crazy but tons of fun all the same. Before eating anything we all went out for a short run around the city and up some hills and whatnot… then we showered (Kayla and I in a cold shower outside which was very refreshing)… and then we ate. Then we slept- but this time with three people to a bed which was very cozy. My sleeping buddies for those two nights were Cassie and Marco. The next morning Adolfo and Big Marco went for a run at 5:30 which I decided to pass on…because it was at 5:30, and then we all slept in till about 7:00, ate again of course, and then hiked up to see the large statue of the saint of Alausi, San Pedro who we all originally thought was supposed to be Jesus. Then we hopped in the back of a truck that took us too the nearby lakes (about an hour drive) where we all bounced around sufficiently in the back of the truck. We stopped to take pictures and climb on rocks a little ways out and then headed to the lakes themselves which we didn’t actually walk to see due to the mud. Marco said that every time a new person came to visit the lakes it would get very foggy and sure enough, the clouds started to roll in and it started to sprinkle right as we were getting back in the truck. Lacy and Gwen, and Marco for part of the way, rode in the cab of the truck and the rest of us piled into the back, huddled and bounced around together very cold like. Marco came in the back with us after a while and we discovered it was easier to pass the time by singing all sorts of songs- ranging from oldies, to Disney, to Christmas carols- at the top of our lungs. It was really quite a hilarious time. Luckily our group knew how to make the best of the potentially miserable situation together. Upon returning to Alausi we had some Chinese food and walked to watch the local bull fights. Which were not in fact real bull fights but rather an opportunity for anyone who liked to enter the ring with a large flag and try to get away from the bull. One little boy of maybe 7 or something went into the ring and the bull caught him right between his horns and swept him off the ground and sent him flying for a few feet. He bounced upon impact. I couldn’t stop laughing for about a minute. I love watching stupid people suffer. :p We also entertained some of the other people watching with our dancing to the meringue music that was playing over the loud speaker. A good time for all. We decided to make matching shirts for the race so we used some shirts that Alicia had (she had shown up earlier that day) that were red and white advertisements for the dog food Pro-Can. One the fronts we wrote “Team Plasticos Fillao” which is the store that Marco and Alicia own in Quito, and on the back we wrote “Team Gringo” (even Marco and Adolfo) and below wrote our state. At the bottom of the shirt, like a bumper sticker as Marco called it, we each wrote a saying or phrase that was somehow a joke related to each one of us. Mine was “Full Carne” which really wouldn’t be as funny to anyone else if I could explain it fully. :p After that, we went to bed early to be all rested up for the race the next day.

So, we woke at about 6:30, to help organize stuff for the race, although we never ended up doing that, and had a small breakfast of eggs and cheese empanadas (all of which was paid for by Big Marco) and then wandered around and checked out the trophy stand/stage jamming out to the loudspeaker until we hopped on a bus about 9:30 to take us up to the little town (12km away) where we were to start the race. There were three groups- the young children (8 years old and such) who ran 3 kms, the middle group up to age 18 who ran 8, and the senior group who ran all 12. Our leg of the race didn’t start until 11:00. Luckily, the clouds came in right as we were getting ready to start our run which made for perfect weather the entirety of the run. I was overall just very impressed at how many women and girls I saw running the race. Of course, the entire women’s police academy of Alausi (about 12 women) added to that number, but still.

We started off the race and the first 2 ½ km were up hill (a nice grade I might add) but then started the downward bit. Going up the hill my calves were cramping a little, and up until about the 4km mark going down my right shin was cramping (however that works) but after that point I loosened up and cruised. Until about the 10km mark when we started going up hill again. Because I was convinced to run the entire race I kept my feet moving in the running motion up the last hill even though I probably could have walked the hill faster, I couldn’t quite let myself stop and walk. It felt like cheating in a way. In the same way we all felt like the people who kept walking, then running and passing us, were somehow cheating the race aspect of it as well. Oh well. I felt very accomplished having run the whole thing, in what I’m pretty sure was right around an hour and 8 minutes. Adolfo came in first of our group (then Big Marco, who at age 60 I was very impressed with and the fact that he kept the same pace pretty much the whole time- up or down the hills), and I came in about a kilometer behind him. When I crossed the finish I was greeted by a huge hug and kisses from Alicia (actually she practically tackled me) telling me how proud of me she was. She was genuinely so excited for me. Then Lacy (who had been helping Alicia give out juice and bread and fruit to everyone chaotically as they came in) and Adolfo both gave me hugs. Both of Marco’s aunts managed to find me among the crowd and give me hugs as well and tell me congratulations and that they were proud of me. Even in all my sweatiness it was amazing to have these people, some who I knew well, some who I didn’t but all who I hadn’t met till I came to Ecuador embrace me with such love and pride. Because it was about 10 more minutes before the next one from our group (Gwen) came in, Adolfo and I got to be celebrities for a while. We took a picture with one of the little girls who had placed for the youngest age group, with some other people who didn’t know, haha, together. We also went up on stage where the announcer wanted to interview us (Adolfo spoke quite a bit, which was fine with me, and I just said a little bit at the end) but Marco later said he could hear us as he was running, which we thought was funny. Everyone seemed very excited that we were from the US running this race. Once we all came in we got a public recognition and Big Marco gave us all medals. We weren’t entirely sure why we got them since none of us won anything, so we decided it was because we were white. Turns out, it was kind of. Marco wanted to recognize us, and our “team”, for coming and running the race because in its ten years no foreigner- white, black, or brown- had ever run it. We didn’t realize that is was such a big deal that we were running it but everyone was very appreciative for us coming and participating. It was an incredible feeling that I could never accurately describe. But I can say that never in my life have I felt the way I did after finishing that race.

After a shower and packing and feeling incredibly beat, we ate an amazing tasting meal of rice, lentils, and soup :p and then rented a van and piled in- the 8 of us, Alicia, and one of the women who works in the store who also ran the race and runs regularly with Big Marco. He stayed in Alausi for a couple more days. We all said goodbye to the family and started the trip back to Quito. The bus ride was funny just to have us all together and with Alicia who is just an incredible woman and like a mom to all of us. About 5 hours later we finally got back to Quito and Hilary, Kayla, Cassie, and I stayed with Alicia and Marco so we could say bye to him when he left for the airport about 5 o’clock in the morning. In the morning we all piled into bed with Marco and cuddled for a while and when he got up to take a shower we all switched beds and piled in with Alicia. It was really very cute. She is always just so appreciative that we are a part of Marco’s life and a part of hers. We said bye to Marco, which is always ridiculously hard, and then went back to bed while Alicia took him to the airport. When we woke up again Alicia chatted with us and we had a nice breakfast of cheese and bread and juice and coffee and we all promised to come back again very soon (although it will probably be after the rain forest trip) and gave her a big hug before we took off. Even just after this one weekend together her hug felt stronger and more emotional.

We all couldn’t get over just how this weekend had made us feel. Running/finishing the race was an amazing experience. Being honored for being a part of it, spending the time with Marco, being welcomed by his family, and feeling truly loved and appreciated by his parents gave us one of the most unexpected but most treasured experiences of all our times here in Ecuador. It was very possibly one of the most fulfilling weekends of my time in any country in my last 20 years of life.

Rubber Boots and Llamas!!!

So, as the title suggests, I finally saw llamas this weekend, although I will get to that towards the end of the blog since that wasn’t until day 4. Let’s start with day 1 and getting to the airport at 5:45 in the morning on Friday to take our half hour flight to Cuenca. When we arrived we all piled onto a bus for another 3 hour ride to a small indigenous town called Saraguro. We took a bus ride around the countryside and had some commentary from a local guide and saw lots of very cute authentically dressed little kids who were all very excited to see us. After, we also got to stop into a family’s home to try a traditional drink (that was supposed to resemble tequila although I missed that connection) that was made from…what else, corn. We also learned the Quitchua way to say “cheers” which is (possible miss-spellings aside) “ishgandi ishgandi”. I’m sure it would be fun to keep trying to say that over and over again the more and more drunk you got. After, we took a little rest in our hostel on our incredibly board-like beads all huddled up in our sweatshirts and blankets because, believe it or not, rural towns in Ecuador are not all equipped with central heating…or heating at all. How can they live??? After the rest we visited a tajido factory and got to see the wooden reams (for lack of a better way of calling them) that the people used to made all the woven works. Time-consuming, but pretty incredible still. We had a traditional dinner after followed by traditional music, which once again sounded quite like music of Native North Americans. Pete had his first music debut that night too playing the drum. I was impressed at how well he kept time for it being his first ever music endeavor, although he was concentrating very hard. Exhausted, after the night of music, even on the hard beds it was no problem to fall asleep and sleep very soundly at that. (I slept very well every night of this trip.)

The next morning we went on a hike that lasted all of about 15 or so minutes but was basically straight up a wall- very steep in other words. It was impressive how much I was sweating and how hard I was breathing how quickly. At the top of the little mountain we climbed we met up with three indigenous members of the town to share with them a special ceremony honoring/thanking the gods and earth and sun and such. It was cool just to see a completely different kind of religious ceremony like that. We also got spit on and drank a natural medicine of fermented herbs and such that really just tasted like fiery soap-water. (It really was pretty awful stuff, and we all tried very hard to hide our shock and dislike as we swallowed it and burned our throats…) but if it cleanses my soul I guess it’s ok once in a life time, and I can totally see how it could work. The burping up of soap taste for about the next 4 hours wasn’t the most pleasant though, I have to admit. But, how many people can say they’ve had all of that experience. We also got to see more waterfalls too. After returning to a reasonable altitude (which of course is all relative in Ecuador) we visited another small house where we had the opportunity to buy woven articles and beaded necklaces and earrings. To finish off our trip we headed to another house where we were to have lunch and taste “cui” (which is guinea pig). Unfortunately, there was a little bit of a miscommunication and some people got chicken and others cui even though everyone wanted to try it. We discovered this after everyone said their cui tasted just like chicken and I adamantly insisted that my chicken leg was far too large to be from a guinea pig. So, I didn’t get to eat a whole lot of cui although I did get to try a little bit which tastes like a darker stronger chicken. Oh well. After our meal we hopped back on the bus too head back to Cuenca and once there, we all very sluggishly and exhaustedly drug ourselves around a few places of interests (mostly churches) in Cuenca before checking into our hotel. Although we all would have liked to go out and explore Cuenca more (because we didn’t in fact have very much time at all in the actual city- which some of us were a little annoyed at) but we were so tired that we needed a nap before hand. An hour later it was already dark so we just ventured out to find some food. We found a good pizza place where Kayla, Hilary, and I all also treated ourselves to about a pint of ice cream with a quarter pint of whipped cream on top. It was fantastic. After, we walked down to the main bar/club road called Calle Larga but didn’t find too much in the way of dancing going on so instead four of us very classy-like sat on a curb drinking aguadiente and watching the people pass by with all sorts of other problems of their own.

The next morning was an early riser again and we headed to another place a couple hours outside of Cuenca called El Cajas which is a national park where we got to hike around in the mud in our rubber boots (probably my favorite part of the trips after the llamas). We did a smaller loop that took about 2 hours and walked to a few of the 80+ lakes in the area. Cassie managed to fall 3 times and rip her pants, while Neal fell I think twice, and Kaylie once. Good times. The boots and mud were all sorts of fun but the impressive number of mosquitoes that attacked our faces when we walked by the lakes and rivers weren’t so much fun. Although luckily I haven’t found any bites. After our little adventure we climbed back on the bus to get lunch and go visit the Panama hat factory back in Cuenca. Unfortunately, because it was Sunday, it was closed. So we returned to Cuenca again around the evening time and visited briefly an art market between the two rivers. Being late again when we finished we had to go out for more food and then returned to our search for a nightlife. Our tour guide had told us that that night many people would be out celebrating because this weekend was holiday weekend for Cuenca. We didn’t find anything going on so we invested in another bottle of aguadiente (which by the way isn’t that good, but very cheap so it’s popular) and went back to our hotel to play cards. Surprisingly, this was quite good entertainment.

The last morning we woke early again to once again jump in the bus to first visit a church on the hill, where Hilary awkwardly and loudly ramped into a pew as we entered and I got to be a gargoyle yet again and make our tour guide nervous by climbing all over ledges and then causing other people to do the same. I just feel so confined in this country. Then we headed to a small area of ruins (not Loja which is the big site) and had a short tour there where we saw, for the first time in person in the wild, LLAMAS!!!! Needless to say, I was pretty stoked. It was cool seeing the ruins as well, even if they weren’t exactly Macho Pichu, until it started raining on us and then became quite miserable- only because of course I wasn’t wearing my sweatshirt of rain coat. But the bus was close and after the tour Tristan and I got in a nice little sprint back to the bus where I was one of the only ones to have a nice warm and dry sweatshirt to change into. (I’m sure I planned it all along.) After our last meal together we headed to the airport to board our plane back to Quito.

To top off the weekend, Marco (who got into Quito the night before we left) came with Adolfo to the airport to meets us. I was so excited to see him I was shaking while waiting for them to arrive. Also… my beautiful Ecuadorian brother brought me 2 liters of Dr. Pepper from the U.S. He’s pretty much amazing. The two boys, Cassie and I went out to eat a huge hamburger and get free ice cream because Adolfo decided to tell the waiter it was my birthday (nice surprise…) and chat and banter (of course) among the four of us which was just a really great time. We all fed off each other very well and it was great to finish off a long trip with them and spending time with Marco. After they walked me home before catching a cab themselves it took me all of about 20 min to get ready for bed and crash out for a great night’s sleep after a pretty event-filled weekend.

[[And although it’s not officially part of the weekend… last night we went out to watch and celebrate the results of the election at a completely gringo-packed bar with $2.50 beers where I was so proud of my New Mexico and it’s 5 delegates going blue and got to see the first bi-racial president of the United States whom I voted for win office. Holding back the same amount tears I cried in 2004 with Bush’s re-election but now for a different reason I can whole-heartedly say that I have never been more proud of my country or more excited for the next four years.]]