Ecua-Christmas

The family made me feel quite at home. It was much better than my Chilean Christmas where I was thrown to the street, learned how to smoke cigarettes, and drank screwdrivers. I received several lovely gifts, including a stuffed horse which means I am getting pretty good at pretending to like horses if that is the gift I am given.

Still, I could not help but feel like I was on a movie set reenacting a Christmas scene instead of actually living it. No snow. No nutcracker. No mum. No live tree. I am left feeling empty in a way. However, the angry political discussion and conservative dogma did help me feel at home.

Monday I am off to Chile. I am scared, nervous, and excited all at the same time. Just the thought of seeing the Andes looming over me once again is thrilling.

P.S. I got a bunny but ti has to go to a new home because my host mom says there is no room for cute little Kitty Scherbatskaya.

Colombia

It has been a while since my last post and I would be surprised if anyone will read this one (so hopefully the fact that I am exhausted and will not be using good grammar will pass unnoticed...)
A few weeks ago I took the most epic trip of my life to Cartagena Colombia... IN A BUS. If you chance a look at a map of South America, you will note that Cartagena is very far away from Quito. However, the trip was worth it.

I am in love with Colombia. I only wish I had more time to spend there. If I had known what an amazing country it was before hand I would have chosen it for my study abroad. I feel like American media tends to focus on the negatives aspects of Colombia. We all know about the cocaine industry and the FARC guerillas but we never talk about the beautiful country side, fabulous cities, and friendly people. Colombia's tourist slogan is "El riesgo es que te quieras quedar" or "this is risk is that you will want to stay" playing on the image that many people have of Colombia as a "risky" country.

Cartagena was beautiful. The old city is rich in colonial style architecture. We also visited El Palacio de La inquisicion.... the place from which the Caribbean branch of the Spanish inquisition was conducted. Our hostel was full of friendly people from around the world. The first night however I had to sleep in a hammock as there were no open beds, and Naomi (my fearless travel companion) had to sleep on a very thin mattress on the floor. None the less, I would not stay anywhere else. I loved the sense of camaraderie and boundless spirit of adventure.

Then we went to Medellin, best known as the hometown of Pablo Escobar and his cartel. Since Pablito's death Medellin has cleaned up its act. They have an amazing metro system, beautiful museums and plazas, and GORGEOUS PEOPLE. Everyone in Medellin is absolutely beautiful. They say that during Escobar's reign, one way to stay alive was to be pretty, so everyone got plastic surgery... I am not entirely sure about the truth of this statement, but the beauty of the people there is astounding. One thing has not changed however: cocaine of high quality is still cheap and abundant there.Although Medellin has the same population as Quito, is is much less polluted, feels much safer, and there is little to no grafitti. Love it.

Going back to Quito was sad... I know Colombia is definitely on my list of places I need to explore more.

Hope you all are well. I will try to keep this updated better.

P.S. I hugged a sloth in Cartagena and it was the best ever.

Let's Get Hazed!

I just got back from a unique experience in the jungle outside of the Ecuadorian town of Santo Domingo. The anthropology students invited me to their "novetada" which is an initiation/party for incoming students. I decided there was really no better way to bond with some Ecuadorians then to go on a short jaunt to the jungle and it was a good way to see a new part of the country. There was one small catch however. The initiation process is basically what we would call hazing in the U.S.

First they took of the "novatos" (people being initiated) one by one and put us in stuffy, dark storage room, forcing us all to drink a hefty shot of "puntos", the Ecua-version of Everclear. Then we waited in the obscure humidity. After a few minutes they brought each of us a meal of rice and chicken. I was told before hand that I should eat everything that was given to me, I found out later why.

Soon we had all finished eating... but we were stuck in the room waiting... Simply waiting for the unknown was dreadful. One by one they began to take us out of the room. From outside, an occasional protest or outburst from a novato could be heard. My turn came. I went outside of the room and was forced to kneel down and take off my shoes. They bound my hands behind my back and blindfolded my eyes. Then they smeared mud all over my face, shirt, and hair. My nose and mouth were filled with grit. Another person came and lead me (still blindfolded) barefoot down a dirt path in the jungle. He was a friendly chap named Fernando, or so i thought. At the end of the walk he made me kneel in a puddle of mud and smeared more of it on me, then led me to my place around the bonfire.

I could distinguish the sounds of what sounded like people being thrashed by a bundle of plants or small branches. The sound grew nearer and the next thing I knew I was being smacked in the head brusquely with a scratchy plant. Another person came around and gently brushed another herb on my back. Then another, once again hitting me in the face. Then I hear "Abre tu boca" (open your mouth), a water bottle filled with puntos was put to my lips and I was forced to take a gulp. A voice began to recite a ritual more or less... The elements were represented accordingly: water= they drenched us with river water, earth=more dirt in our hair and faces, fire= they picked us up and passed us over the campfire, air= they blew cigarette smoke in our faces, blood= we had to take a bite of a sour fruit (we were lucky, in years passed they used raw cow heart). They spit more of the puntos in our faces and continued to circle beating us with the plants, forcing us to take sips of puntos. Then some of them came around and kissed us, the symbolism of which I still have yet to discern.

Finally, they let us take off our blindfolds and unbind our wrists. Then we all danced into early in the morning. All in all it was a fun ritual to be a part of. I never felt in danger.

Later I was lucky enough to bite the cheek of one of my classmates. His cheeks are so plump I simply could not resist.

All in all, life is going well here.

Besitos,
Maren

More Ecua-Newz

Today I finally feel terribly alone. I think it was the movie my exchange friend Naomi and I watched. I am jealous that Connor is enjoying his time in France so much.

School is going as well as can be. It is awkward how many of the discussions in class end up focusing on the United States and what we did wrong or right... It seems like a lot of my professors would not mind provoking an argument. Unfortunately for them, I tend to already agree with the Latin American view of the United States so there is really no risk of arguments.

I have yet to be robbed but I am steadily adding exchange students to the list of those that have been robbed. Most of us have been robbed now. Naomi- water bottle, Jessica -sunglasses, Other Jessica- cell phone, Andrew- wallet, Alex- cellphone etc.

I wish I had more time to write in this blog but 2 of my professors require me to write journals for them too in addition to my personal journal. Too much!

Tomorrow is the Bolivia vs. Ecuador soccer game. Vamos Ecuador! (but secretly i am rooting for Chile to go to the mundial!)

Hellz Yes

Grilled Cheese sandwich with caramel spread on top?


Thanks Host Mom!

Death By Food

Today was my first day at orientation with the other exchange students in the program. I felt like a popular girl! I fluttered from group to group and people received me well! Even girls! Normally, I have the hardest time conversing with girls and relating to them.

There are people from many countries and states. One boy came form Mexico which surprised me. I really enjoyed talking with the boys from Japan. They spoke so little Spanish and there accents were very thick but adorable.

I started signing up for classes. I think my favorite will be ethno-cultural-linguistics. Another class I will take is Art of Quito. We will visit various art museums. I am muy excited to learn more about the artist Guyasamin, Ecuador's most famous. Look him up if you want to see some hauntingly beautiful paintings. The art class is taught my a famous Ecuadorian writer/cook, or so says my adviser. I guess he acts a bit like a diva which makes the class slightly difficult.

The most exciting part of the day was visiting the biology department. In a recent National Geographic there was an article about rare frogs and efforts to classify them before they go extinct as well as preserve their habitat. Many of the photos were credited to PUCE (my university here). We actually got to see tons of these rare frogs. Some were highly venomous but beautiful and others were just plain ugly and safe. There were also many dead specimens :( all the same, I was perhaps a bit too excited to see all the frogs. Somedays, I think perhaps I should have stuck with biology...

Finally, to address the title of today's blog. I was also pleased today not to have my host mother near by to force feed me lunch. HA! School is going to be amazing, not only to learn but also to eat smaller portions. My host mother tries to feed me a 5 course lunch and then still expects me to eat a 3 course dinner... I would real rather not have to be rolled onto the plane when I leave Ecuador so this new opportunity to manage my own nutrition is more than welcome.

Well, that is all my darlings.

Besitos!

First Post

You all asked, and I am delivering (to the best of my ability). Here I am in Ecuador. The plane ride was my favourite ever. I was seated next to a French woman who spoke not a shred of either Spanish or English. Since the extent of my French is saying, "Your mom is on the table" I was quite helpless to communicate. BUT... communicate we did. We used elaborate hand motions and one word explanations. I was able to explain to her that the masks the flight attendants passed out were for swine flu (in case you were wondering, "gripe porcine" in one way to say it in French).

When I arrived in Quito, my family had a huge banner saying "Welcome Maren" as well as a large balloon that said "Welcome Home" in English and was very American themed. Since then, they have been amazing to me. I love my host family! I already feel way more welcomed than I ever did in Chile.

Yesterday we went to see a giant statue of the virgin mary called "Virgin del Panecillo". It was pretty impressive.

I am frustrated that I am not able to communicate everything. I know I am doing much better than my first week in Chile but I am impatient. I want perfection now!

So there you have it darlings, my first blog form Ecuador.

Besitos para todos!