I have loved my family so much and today was really hard. My mom cried while she made breakfast this morning and again while I was serving the lunch I made for them (eggplant parmesan, inspired by you, mom and dad). On Friday we had a big thank you dinner/goodbye for all of the students and their families together, which was a lot of fun. 

This whole month has definitely been about my family. I was very frustrated by my Spanish class because I wasn’t learning much of anything and discouraged by the fact that we weren’t practicing speaking Spanish more in class. After class and on the weekends, I was always with my family. Because my sister hasn’t started class yet and my mom stays at home, we stayed in the house or went to our neighbors’ houses a lot. Lauren and Alanna (two girls on the program and some of my closest friends now) lived close-by with close friends of my family, so were together a lot. It was always a lot of fun and always a hysterical adventure, but sometimes I wished we were going out and exploring more things. I learned though how much I valued just being with my family and being a part of the extremely loving and relaxed relationship they had. My sister’s friends are hilarious, so fun and inclusive, and I am so grateful for the times I spent with them. By the end of this month, I was joking around a lot with my dad and his friends, too, who can be hard to keep up with. Everyone was so loving and had such a close relationship though! I still can’t fully comprehend it. Lifelong friends and family members were always around. 

I went out a lot with Ana Belén, Alanna, Lauren and Lauren’s brother Guilermo. To concerts, bars, clubs or wherever. So fun. Last weekend we went to Molinuco and the huge waterfall along the river Pita. We hitchiked in two trucks to get there and packed a picnic. The waterfall is about 60 meters high and you can walk behind it. We crossed the river holding hands with this beautiful Ecuadorian family - a chain of about 8 people in all - who kept laughing with us and literally being blown away by the incredible force of the water. It was cold cold cold, breathtaking, powerful and energizing. The hike there was beautiful - through a miniature primary forest, along the river and full of smaller waterfalls and swimming holes. 

Hmmm lots more has happened but that’s all for now. Amazon tomorrow!

So right now I’m sitting in an ice cream shop outside of the Hotel Alston in Quito. We said goodbye to our first host families today and are heading to the Oriente tomorrow. It’s a mixture of emotions: content with the familiar and favorite Luis Fonsi song that is playing over the speakers in this shop, a lot of sadness after leaving my family, and a lot of excitement and curiosity about what the Amazon experience will be like. This next week and the next month will bring a lot more independence, and I don’t know what that will be like after being so involved with my lovely family this past month.

I also need to catch up on this blog, so going back a couple of weeks….

A couple of Saturdays ago we went to the Cloud Forest region in Intag. We spent four days there and it was absolutely incredible. Definitely “tranquilo” defined. Don Carlos owns “La Florida” (where we stayed) and has lived there since 1979. He left the states because he hated Nixon’s politics, travelled all around South America, decided he liked Ecuador the most, went back to the states to sell all of his stuff and set up camp in Intag. He lives with his wife Sandy (also from the states, but they met in Ecuador) and a few other families close-by on his land.

Carlos organized the “Guardabosques” years ago to protect the forest against mining companies and other extractive industries that consistently try to enter the region. Saturday night he told us his whole history and about his/their struggle against these companies. A couple of years ago, he spent a month hiding out in the forest because police raided his house with search and arrest warrants based on a false charge organized by the pro-mining industries. Smaller mining companies first enter the region to push out its residents by using any means necessary. The police looking for Carlos were contracted by private military companies. Once the smaller mining company succeeds in clearing out all of the residents, larger companies clear the land and build their mines. Since his hide-out, Carlos has organized lawsuits against the Toronto Stock Exchange and letter writing campaigns to protect the forests from the construction of mines and clearing of the Intag Cloud Forest. I wish I could convey how incredible and convicting this man and his story are. Ask me more if you’re interested.

Before our talk with Carlos on Saturday, we had a few hours of free time. Alanna, Arielle, Alex, Amanda and I set off to find the farthest waterfall. We hiked along the paths and through the river. It was all so beautiful. As it started getting closer to dinnertime, we decided to turn around and follow the path. Somewhere along the way, we must have taken a wrong bend because we ended up in really unfamiliar parts of the forest. It was starting to get dark and we were running out of time, but everyone was really positive and encouraging, laughing it off and confident in each other. The dogs had been tagging behind and I decided it would be a good idea to let them lead us because they probably knew where home was and would be hungry for dinner. We followed them for a really long way, stopping many times to question ourselves and wonder if that conjunto accross the valley was La Florida. They led us to this barbed wire fence and we were sooooo ecstatic when we recognized Lauren in her bright blue shirt through the trees. Many group hugs followed :) Turns out everyone had been a little nervous, and Alex and I were both secretly thinking how glad we were that we had brought our towels for the waterfall in case we had to wrap up in them that night. Good bonding :)

On Sunday, we had an art lesson with Sandy and tried to draw/watercolor pictures of leaves, flowers and eachother’s faces. Sounds cheesy, but it was a lot of fun and really relaxing. She’s a really good teacher and it was a sweet exercise. That afternoon we had a talk with a young woman from DECOIN (Defensa y Conservacion Ecologica de Intag) to hear about all of the projects and initiatives being taken by locals against the powerful mining companies that keep trying to clear the region of its inhabitants and primary and secondary forests. Awesome movement. 

On Monday, we took a 4 hour hike through the forest with Roberto, leader of the Guardabosques who works on Carlos’ land. He pointed out the medicinal plants, had us try a lot of different seeds and fruits and taught us about the important plants and animals in the forest. He was so sweet and knowledgeable, and I think he really enjoyed showing us around. That afternoon we had a visit from a group of women who use the plant fibers and dyes in the region to weave bags and other products. Their story was really cool too.

We left on Tuesday and had ten more days in Los Chillos with our families. 

Last week, I went to Quito with my Spanish class (of 5 other students) to visit some museums. We went to the Museo Cultural Metropolitano and the Palacio del Gobierno with our teacher, then went to the Museo del Convento de San Francisco after lunch. The museum was a wax museum with scenes of people and moments in the history of Ecuador under the conquistadors and its formation as a Republic. The palacio was really awesome to visit, too. We had to wear masks and use hand sanitizer because everyone is scared of swine flu, and they took our passports while we wen ton the tour. The building is beautiful, with beautiful architecture and open courtyards. We walked through the hall where all of the government offices are located and saw the room where President Correa meets with his cabinet. Then we saw the banquet room, which has a table longer than I’ve ever seen in my life with enough chairs to go around and a golden altar/mini-church where the president has a private mass every Monday. The tour ended in the Hall of Presidents, which has a painting of every president on the wall, the podium where Correa gives speeches, and designated platforms for the press. After a great lunch, we went to the convent hoping to find the underground tunnel that connected the convent for men to the convent for women years ago, but nobody acknowledges that it existed and instead, we got a tour of the museum and saw all of its sculptures of Jesus’ life. We also got to go inside a little part of the old church (which is currently being restored) and it was so old and beautiful. We walked around the main plaza for a bit in the afternoon. Quito is beautiful.

I am so blown away by how loving my family is. Every night I chat with them for hours and come back to my room around 11 pm, consistently surprised at how the time passes when all we’re doing is chatting and just being together. This noteworthy is about my birthday, though. The entire week before, Ana Belén was telling everyone she introduced me to that it was my birthday on Saturday. On Friday, we went out with all of her friends (who are so incredibly fun and hilarious) to a live concert in Ichimbía and then to a club in Quito. At midnight, everyone yelled and wished me the hugest happy birthday ever. We were all dancing and having such a good time. Among the group, 10 minutes never passed without someone wishing me another happy birthday. Saturday morning we all woke up late after going to bed at 4 am and I had a beautiful breakfast with my family. The moment I walked in the kitchen, they all yelled happy birthday, got up from the table and gave me huge hugs. My mom gave me a beautiful purse from the family and we sat at the table for a couple of hours. Then, my dad started to get all of the food ready for the picnic. They had invited some of their closest friends for a barbecue to celebrate :) All of their friends are hilarious and so sweet, and they love to talk. It was so much fun. We just hung out in the back yard all afternoon and ate way too much. The women left after we ate to run out and buy a cake, and when they came back everyone sang and I had to blow out the candle. After the picnic, I went to the concert again with my brother, sister, their friends and some of my friends from the program. That night we came back to Los Chillos, stopped to say hi to my friends in one bar then went to another bar for the night. So much fun. Everything. It was incredible. Birthdays are not this big of a deal in the states. They hardly know me, but they were not about to skimp on my birthday. Love.

A couple of Mondays ago, there was a huge fire in a conjunto (fenced in mini-neighborhood of about 6 houses) across the street. My friend Lauren lives in that conjunto, and when we got home from school at around 2 pm, we noticed all the smoke. My family noticed it but didn’t think it was that close. My mom called to check on Lauren’s family to be sure, though. Apparently, the fire had started at 11 am and the firemen didn’t come until 4 pm. Nora (Lauren’s host mom) was calling and calling, but all of the firemen were busy and even said that they were a community and that they should work together to put it out themselves. The fire got closer and bordered the conjunto, and there was so much smoke that you couldn’t see for a good while. The weekend before, they counted 96 fires in the Quito area because it has been so dry. It’s dangerous and so scary. I can’t believe the firemen didn’t come for five hours, though. We went to the conjunto to check it out, and everyone was wearing masks and covered in dust. When we got there, though, everyone was laughing and joking and a couple of men even lit some cigarettes :) They put the fire out and everything was fine, but even from that conjunto, I could see 2 other fires in the distance in the hour that I was there. It seemed like the whole neighborhood was gathered at Nora’s house to talk about it, too. One neighbor made about 20 sandwiches and brought them along with some Sprite to the house for everyone to snack on after the fire. Every day’s an adventure :)

So I have a lot of catching up to do. I got here on Sunday, August 30th and haven’t written anything yet. Starting from the beginning…

The majority of the two SIT Ecuador program participants rode the same plane from Miami to Quito, and I met a lot of them there. We got to Quito a little late and took a bus to the Hotel Alston in La Mariscal Sucre. Karina had made us mitas and we had a short meeting with plans for the week. I ended up rooming with Margaret, the only other girl from GW on the program and got ready for the week. 

Monday through Thursday we were in San Antonio/La Ciudad-Mitad del Mundo for orientation. It’s a town that boasts its equator line and is about 45 minutes outside of Quito. We had a lot of administrative-y sessions during the day and stayed in the beautiful Rancho Alegre. The people there were so nice and we played soccer and just hung out with them a lot. Monday night we watched “qué tan lejos”, Tuesday night we listened to a group of about 9 men playing live Andean music (all of them were experts at each of the different instruments and sooo amazing), and on Wednesday night we had a salsa lesson. Thursday they split us into groups and assigned us to random small towns outside of Quito. We had to navigate our way there on our own and find our way back to Quito by bus. 

Thursday night we went out to a couple of bars in Quito. Friday we had interviews with the directors and had some free time to spend around Quito. That afternoon, we took a bus to Los Chillos to move in with our first host family. Mine is increíble. I love them. Mami stays at home and is soo sweet. She loves to chat and has really been opening up to me. We’ve talked about families, working, religion, and so many more things. Papi is a strong father figure that loves his kids and works a lot. He’s very opinionated and brilliant, and I’ve had some great conversations with him about politics, development, and everything. Ana Belén is 21 and so chill. She’s taking french classes in Quito until she knows what she wants to study in University. We hang out a lot though because she’s home most of the time. I’ve met a lot of her friends and had a great weekend with them last weekend. Felipe is 18 and studying music production at USFQ. He’s really funny, but I don’t see him as much as everyone else. He and Anita do have some of the same friends, though, so we’ve had some really fun times together.

My classes are going well. We start Spanish at 8, do a debate/history lesson/workshop at 10, and have another Spanish class at 12. The 23 students are divided into 4 classes of different levels. Some days I’m home for the big almuerzo (delicious) at 2, but other days I stay in class until 4 or 4:30. During the afternoons, mami Elsita, Anita and I hang out in the house or go to the neighbors’ houses. Everyone is so close and fun. 

This weekend everyone is planning big things for my birthday. I think we’re going to Quito Friday night and going to QuitoFest (huge live music festival) on Saturday. 

All of this has been very schedule-y, but I’m trying to catch up. I love it here. I love it so much. The people are so very nice, the history is so unique and the culture is so intriguing. I am really settling in to my family and have had such good times and conversations with them. The other students on the program are really great, too, and I’ve gotten to know them better now through classes and riding the bus together :) So many hilarious things have happened, too. Every day brings something new that’s interesting. 

The most incredible view from the plane. I thought sunsets over oceans were the best, but this was like a sunset over an ocean of clouds. Increíble.