What A Wonderful World

I am still without internet. I mean, the computer in my house has internet, but sometimes I just want to use my laptop. Anyway, KK and I are in an internet cafe. The best thing about this cafe is they have cheap coffee and pastries and the internet is free! We’ve been here for a few hours just relaxing and catching up on things we missed on the internet. I have a little more than two weeks left here in Ecuador. It’s a bittersweet thing. I really love it here, but at the same time, I do want to return to the US.
Last Sunday, I took a walk because I was bored. I know my way around Quito, so I just kind of left my house just kind of walking. I ended up walking to the airport. It was really cool because every Sunday, the main street in Quito, Amazonas, is blocked off to cars, the only people on the street are bikers or walkers/joggers. It was really neat, I was walking in the road with everyone else and having a fun time! Amazonas takes me to the airport, so that’s where I rested. I had my camera, so I took pictures of what was around me. The whole time I was there, two planes took off and a small plane landed. I was hoping a big plane would land so I could take a video of how close it gets to the road and the buildings, but none came. It was a nice relaxing walk, and go figure, a few minutes after I left, a big plane was about to land. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.
This past week has been mellow. Class is class as usual, and last night we hung out and partied at KK’s house. Nothing too crazy though, just bought some drinks and sat on her patio and drank and talked. Today is also looking to be a mellow day, as we dont currently have plans for tonight. Tomorrow I plan on taking my weekly Sunday walk to the airport and possibly going to the artisan market to buy goodies.
Other than that, I really have nothing much to say. I uploaded my 5th picture album onto
Facebook, so you can find the link on the right side of the page.

So I am still without wireless. I think it is a problem with the wireless in Quito, because none of my friends get wireless either. Anyway, these past few days have been fun. Friday night we went to Rusty Burger, the best burger place ever. The owner is from California, and he remembers us from the last time we were there. We told him he should open Rusty Burger in Boston because we love it so much. We even took pictures with him. After Rusty Burger, we went to the liquor store near my house and had a mini fiesta in my house. After this, we went to Nobar and danced the night away. Yesterday, I went out with my family to lunch. It was my mom´s father´s birthday, so we went to this ceviche place. Ceviche, for those that don´t know, is a combination of my least favorite foods. So I got the steak. Then last night, all my friends and I went to this AMAZING Argentine steak house. Now, here´s how you know you´ve adapted to the lifestyle here. This steakhouse has filet mignon for about $8, and my steak was about $7. The bottle of Argentine wine we shared was $15. Now, at first glance I thought these prices were expensive. I mean, the previous times we went out to eat, we paid about $3 for lunch. To me, these prices were expensive. Craig quickly pointed out to me that a good filet mignon in the US would be about $30, and the bottle of wine that we got would easily be about $50. That made me happy, so I decided to order this amazing steak. MY GOD WAS IT GOOD. It was the best steak I´ve ever had for the price. The potatoes were amazing as well. The wine was also good, and what was interesting that unlike previous wines I have had, this does not have a strong taste at all, which according to Craig, is a sign of an excellent wine. He also taught me alot about wine in general, which is good because as soon as I turn 21 I am planning to go to wine tasting parties.
One thing interesting about this particular Argentine restaurant that led to an interesting conversation last night was the service. Now, the standard here in Ecuador is you get your appetizer, when you have finished that, the server takes it, and you wait a little bit for your entree. Once you´ve finished your entree, the server takes the plate, and once again, you wait a little before getting dessert. Now in the States, it is the complete opposite. You get your appetizer, sometimes you don´t even finish before they bring you your entree, and before you even finish they ask for dessert. Now, I personally like the way they do it here because you have time to let your food settle. Last night upon arriving, I wasn´t hungry. However, it was about a good hour between the time I arrived and the time I got my steak, so by then I was hungry. And that´s how it should be. Why are we so impatient in the States? We want our food. I know I was one of those people that would wonder where my food was if I was waiting more than 10 minutes. Yet last night, I found myself not even caring. Marie, who has been a server for many years, says people get mad if the service is slow in the States? Why, it´s better to allow your stomache to digest one thing at a time, that way you don´t feel like you´re going to burst after you leave a restaurant.
Speaking of my previous mention of prices and the US, I think I am going to get a rude awakening when I get back to the States. It´s hard to believe that here I think $4 for a cocktail is expensive, when in the States they are twice that. And nevermind gas, I read an article that said gas is at about $4. What a rip off, I think it´s time to start digging in ANWR. I also decided that during the summer if I need something at Hannford, I am going to walk (yes, walk). It´s probably a little more than a mile, and I´ve walked my fair share here in Quito that I could care less. Yep, what a rude awakening I will get when I get back.

I apologize for such the long gap between posts. The internet here has been having problems, so I haven´t really been able to spend all that much time online.
I had an absolutely amazing weekend! KK’s boyfriend is back in Quito, so we did most things this weekend with him. First on Friday night, the three of us went out to Diablos, a new club that has great drinks. The owner is Cuban, and after talking to him, Craig wanted a Cuban cigar, so we went looking for one. It was rainy and cold, so we only walked about a block before we stopped under heated lamps. We decided the bar with the heated lamps looked cool, so we went in. I ordered French fries, a martini, and an amazing Oreo cheesecake. It was so worth it, everything was amazing.
The next day, the four of us (KK, Craig, Marie, and I) packed our bags and headed for Banos, the city that has Tungurahua, the currently active volcano. It started out great as the tunnels in Quito were filled with water, so we had to wade the water in the taxi. We caught the bus, and we paid this dude who we thought (we as in everybody on the bus, not just us) was the guy who was collecting money on the bus. It turns out that dude wasn’t really working for the bus company, so everybody on the bus got robbed $4 by this dude. Then, we spend SIX hours the bus in what should have been a 4 hour bus ride. Why? Because Tinguraguhua decided it was going to throw a fit and cause a landslide, so the road going into Banos was blocked. No worries, we had fun standing and fooling around on the bus. By the time we got to Banos, it was almost 10 at night. We quickly found a hotel and paid $3 for a tour that took us to a mountain high over Banos. On the mountain, we could see the whole city of Banos. We could also see Tinguraguaha, the smoke, and faint orange glow of the lava coming from the cauldron of the volcano. It was well worth the $3.
The next morning, we did some shopping after breakfast. I bought a shirt, a leather coat, and some souvenirs for my family. Next, we headed over to the thermal baths. These are truly amazing. In case you don’t know, Banos in Spanish means baths, which is what this town is famous for. The water from the baths all come from the volcano, and the one that we were in was about 118 degrees F. It was so relaxing and filled with minerals. We stayed there for about an hour. After changing and all that, we decided to rent dune buggies. This was probably the best adventure ever. We rented the dune buggies for 3 hours, Marie driving with me as the passenger in one and Craig driving and KK as a passenger in the other, and we drove to a waterfall. At the waterfall, we took a tram over the river and the water fall to the other side and then back. It was really fun. We also had a picnic lunch right by the waterfall too. Afterwards, I drove the dune buggy back. It was so fun, even flooring the petal we were only going about 10 miles an hour. It was especially fun through the tunnels. The dune buggy adventure was probably the best part of Banos. Afterwards, we stopped for more food and taffy (which is also what Banos is known for) and then headed back to Quito. Nothing exciting happened on the way back, except that we saw a flattened tractor trailer bed. We got back into Quit around 9, and by the time I got home it was almost 10. But it was well worth it. I had an amazing time. I will put photos up in the next few days, either when I go to an internet cafe or if the internet starts behaving.
Tomorrow night we are celebrating Marie´s 25th birthday. We are going to Rusty Burger, this amazing burger joint, then we are going to buy some beers and drinks and go to my house and hang out for a bit before going out clubbing. It should be fun. We plan to live it up as much as we can, because we all have less than a month left here!

I added my fourth photo album on the Blogroll, be sure to check it out! It is mostly of my trip to Ibarra and Mindo, along with the car that fell off the cliff.

Happy April Fool’s Day!! I don’t know where the time’s gone, but I am about halfway done. I finished the first cycle of Spanish classes, so I have a fews days off. I start classes again on Thursday, and when this cycle ends on May 9th, I will be heading home.
This weekend, the university took us to Mindo, a city about two hours west of Quito. There were tons of bugs, and I have about 30 bug bites. I don’t care; it wasn’t a malaria zone and there are no bugs in Quito since it is too high an altitude. Anyway, it was the rainforest, so it was so much warmer than Quito. We went rafting in the river, which was really fun. At first we were a little scared, because they were really strong rapids. However, we went rafting in groups and had two guides, both of which stood up in the water the whole time. I had a blast, and felt so refreshed afterwards. Later, we took a walk to a butterfly place. I have never seen so many butterflies! They had all kinds of butterflies, not just monarchs. They even had ones that look like they have eyes on their wings.
The next day, KK, Allison and I decided we didn’t want to go hiking, especially after we found out it was 2 hours to the top. So we decided to stay at the hotel and sunbathe. We relaxed, laid out in the sun, and went in the pool. We got back Sunday night at about 6.
We haven’t really done anything eventful since then. Yesterday Marie and Braulio came over my house and we watched tv and went online. The rest of the week looks to be that way, as classes start Thursday. Tomorrow night is ladies night at Bungalow6, which means that ladies get in free and there are free cocktails 8-10. We are thinking about going, especially after hearing it wouldn’t really cost us that much to do so.

I had a great vacation this weekend. We left Friday morning for Cotacachi, which is about 2 hours north of Quito. We took a bus for $1, which is really cheap considering how far we traveled. We got dropped off right outside Cotacachi, and took a cab to the center, where all the hotels are. We found a hotel that was really nice for only $10 including breakfast. Cotacatchi is known for its leather goods, and boy is it. Every shop that we passed was selling some kid of leather good. We ended up shopping at the artisan market, because things are cheaper and you can bargain. I ended up buying a leather wallet for $3 and a chompa (sweatshirt) for $8. I also bought souvenirs for people. Since it was Viernes Santo, they had a festival going on as well, which included a concert and a whole block of artisan shops. We went back to our hotel around 10. Around 10:30, we heard commotion outside and decided to see what was going on. It turns out there was a parade going on for Semana Santa, right there in the street. It was crazy, people just ran out of our hotel to go join it.
Anyway, we eventually went to bed and woke up the next morning ready to go to Ibarra. We were traveling with Eduardo, our friend here. He was on Ecuadorian time; he kept telling us were leaving in “10 minutes”. Those ten minutes became an hour and half. It turns out his friends were waiting for us in Ibarra, so we really needed to hurry. We took a taxi to Ibarra for only $1 a person, and met up with his friends. They would continue to drive us to El Angel, which is a small town on the outskirts of Ibarra. There, we would stay at Eduardo’s friend Jose’s ranch.
We got there about 50 minutes later. We had lunch, and I had an amazing mix of Norteño and Sprite. After lunch, we watched the men fight the bulls like matadors. Of course, since they weren’t real ones, it made it better. They were wusses, they would start to move towards the bull and then chicken out and run back behind the safe zone. It actually got better as the time went on, a few men got knocked down by the bull but there were no serious injuries. The men think it was the best thing in the world; they were laughing and arguing over who had the best injury. It was fun to watch even though it was very dangerous.
We headed back to the hacienda and ate dinner, drank, danced, and played darts.
The next morning, we watched the boys target practice. They were really good; they hit all the targets. We also walked around for a bit before leaving.
On our way back to Quito between El Angel and Ibarra, we saw a lot of cars pulled over the side of the road, and people looking down the cliff. Being curious, Jose pulled over so we could look. We looked down the cliff and didn’t know what the hell we were supposed to be seeing. Jose finally pointed out to us that the mileage (kiloage?) marker was bent over, as if a car rammed into it. Sure enough, way, way, down the cliff (at least 1,000 ft) was a car all mangled in the river. It was sad but cool at the same time, since us US people had never seen anything like this before. This kind of thing only happens in the movies. We got our cameras out and took videos and pictures of the poor car in the river. We were wishing we had seen it live, but then again thinking of how scary it would be to watch. Apparently, this kind of thing happens in Ecuador, and it’s not really a big deal. I’m just glad it wasn’t me, although I have to admit that if I were to die, that would be a pretty cool way to do it.
Anyway, tomorrow I have class. The good thing is that Friday is my last day of the first cycle of classes; we have until Wednesday of next week off. Marie’s mother is flying in, and we are going to be doing some traveling with her, as Marie invited me along.

I just got back from the Easter celebration. The fanesca was excellent, and now I understand why they call it a meal. It literally had everything in it. I could barely finish a bowlful, while my dad had two bowls. I also met my mom´s brother Rodrigo, who actually knew where New Hampshire was! He even knew the capitol was Concord. It turns out he lived in Seattle for 33 years, so he speaks excellent English. He was so funny, I got asked if I wanted wine, and he repeated the question in English to me, as if I didn´t understand. I had white wine, which is my favorite, and when he found this out, he kept trying to give me the box (it was boxed wine). After eating the soup, I could barely finish off my big glass of wine. Afterwards, I talked to my mom´s family about Ecuador, my classes, the Easter traditions in the state, what I dislike about the US, and all that. I was talking so much that I didn´t realize how late it was. I walked home from my mom´s parents house, which is only about a mile and a half, but I wanted to do so before it got dark. That was my day! Tonight, my friends and I are going out to the bar to celebrate a late Saint Patricks Day. We don´t want to stay out too late because we have to get up early!

Happy early Easter to everyone! In Ecuador, Easter (Pascua) is very different compared to how we do it in the US. For starters, Easter to them isn´t on Sunday, but rather on Thursday and Friday, and depending on the region, even Saturday. That is the reason why here they say Felices Pasuas and not Feliz Pascua.
Anyway, the typical meal here is fanesca, which is a soup. It is very thick, so they count it as a meal. In the fanesca is bacalao (codfish), along with twelve different grains to represent each of the 12 apostles. They put fish as opposed to meat so they can eat it for Easter (because I forgot that during Lent, for whatever reason, you aren´t supposed to eat meat on Fridays). It varies from family to family, so I don´t really know what to expect in my soup. You can see a picture of it and read more about Fanesca here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanesca
For dessert, we have arroz con leche (rice pudding). I´ve never actually had rice pudding, but hopefully I´ll like it.
Since I don´t have school until Tuesday, my friends and I are going to Cotocachi and Ibarra, both are close to each other and about 2 and a half hours north of Quito. Cotocachi is known for its inexpensive high quality leather goods, so I am very excited. We are coming back on Sunday sometime, and then we are going to relax on Monday. The good news is that this upcoming week is our last day of classes in the first cycle. That means we get about a week off until the second one begins. However, the bad news is that once the second cycle ends, I have to leave.
I will tell you all about my trip to Cotocachi and Ibarra when I return on Monday. ¡Felices Pascuas a todos!

Last Friday (Feb 29th) our school held a Welcoming Cocktail for all the exchange students. It was fun, having the waiters come around with bocabitos (h´ordeovers) and wine. We danced the night away until about 11, at whichpoint my friends left for Dragonfly (a bar). I had to wait for my brother in law and sister to come back because they were my ride to Dragonfly. So after a little while, they came back and we drove to the Mariscal. There was tons of traffic, and it turned out that we took forever to get to Dragonfly. My friends ordered food, so while waiting for them to finish the three of us walked around and looked for a club. The cheapest one was $10 plus consumibles, and we decided that we really didn´t want to drink, just dance, so we decided it would be a waste of money. Plus, we were starting to feel the effects of the wine. So, we went back to Dragonfly, and proceeded to bring Marie home because she was tired from the wine as well.
Nothing eventful happened the whole week.
This past weekend, we went to Otavalo, which is about 2 hours north of Quito. We left early on Saturday, and arrived at the artisan market at around 11:00. We walked around for a bit, putting up with the beggers who wanted money (they actually grab your arm so you can´t ignore them, but we pretended we didn´t know Spanish). I bought earrings, a nice suede coat, and a necklace. Oh and I also bought a shirt with an inappropriate Spanish saying on it that I am going to wear in the States since nobody will understand it.
After the market, we went to our cabins (cabañas), where we would be staying overnight. They were really nice, we each had our own bed (even though KK and I shared bunk beds, and my bed was like an army cot). We had lunch, which was amazing, and consisted of chicken, a baked potato, and some veggies. We then had a break for a few hours, in which we hung around in our room.
At six, we had a break from our break. We had dessert, which was different types of flan. I of course had to sample them all, which was quite alright with the owner, who kept asking if we wanted more.
After dinner, we had a cruise on the lake where our cabins were. A mariachi band also peformed, and they gave us ALCHOHOL. Yea, that´s right, PUCE let us drink on the boat. The drink was canelaso, which I have already tried and don´t like (it tastes like cinammon tea). After the cruise was dinner, which was chicken again. We went to bed after dinner because we were exhausted.
The next day, we woke up and had breakfast, which was also great. We boarded the bus to Pechuge for a waterfall and a presentation by the Indegenas (I forgot how to spell that word in English) people. The Indigenas taught us about their life, and showed us a native dance that was spiritual. We then hiked (yea, hiked) to the waterfall, where they performed a ¨Limpieza de la Corazón¨ (Cleansing of the Heart). It was so nice to hear that they are spiritual, and they worship nature and its beauty.
After the hike down, we then went back to our cabañas for lunch, which was fish. Needless to say, I had the other option of pasta because I hate fish. It was funny, Marie tried the fish, but she kept asking fish eaters if you are supposed to eat certain parts of the fish.
After lunch, we headed back to Quito. I lucked out, the bus we took ended up going near my house, so I asked the driver if he could let me off, and he did so. I was home before everyone else!
I also joined a gym here. I can´t believe I went about a month and a half without any real exercise. Anyway, the gym is right next to my house and I have a personal trainer. The gym is small and the owner always greets me everyday, which I like.
I can´t believe I´ve been here for almost 2 months! I really don´t want to leave. Most of my friends are indiffernet, they like Quito but don´t want to live here. I am the opposite, I love Quito and do want to live here. I want to keep in contact with my family here so that if I do move back, I have some people that I know in the city.
In any rate, that´s all I have for now. Next week is Easter, and because of that, we get Thurs, Fri, and Mon off of school. I love that this is such a religious country (and yet, neither me nor my family have been to church since I´ve been here). Talk about amazing! First, they party like crazy before Lent. I once again don´t have school in celebration of Carnaval, and don´t need to do anything religous. Lent comes, people don´t sacrifice anything for it, they just act like normal. Then Easter comes and people party again! I seriously could live like this, giving up school for religious purposes but not actually doing anything religious. I would suggest the US do the same, except I am agnostic and the US would probably force everyone to go to church or something. In any rate, I like that these people know how to party!
ETA: Wow, just read an article on MSN about the gas prices in the states. The average for diesel is over $3, whereas here diesel is $1.04 per gallon. Unleaded is also well over $3, but in Ecuador, they only have super or extra, and extra costs about $1.40 per gallon, and super is about $1.80 per gallon. But then again, Ecuador has oil, and Correa is in love with Chavez, whose country also has lots of oil, so no wonder gas is so cheap.

It’s been awhile since I’ve written. I started class last week, and so far they are going well. Most of it is reviewing stupid mistakes we make, so it keeps getting reinforced, which is good. I have a language class from 9-10:45, and then 11:15 to 12:15 and then I am done for the day.
On Friday, I went to a concert in Old Quito. The band that opened was a local band, followed by Las Tetillas, which are from Chile. It was enjoyable and fun, and alot of the songs were in English, which was fun.
On Saturday, my friends and I went to a nightclub for my sister’s 30th birthday. My sister knew the owner, so we were able to snag all you can drink for $12. It was easy to break even, because a rum and Coke cost $3, so after I had 4 througout the night. The party went all night, which is customary here for big celebrations. I had a great time.
On Sunday, I walked to the airport with my mom and watched the planes land. It was pretty incredible to see how close they get to the buildings, I will have to bring my camera and take a video and pictures.
It has also been raining here for about a week now. It kinda makes things miserable, especially since I really like to walk everywhere and as much as I can.
That’s all for now
¡Chao!
I have new pictures, so be sure to check them out!