Upon returning from the cloud forest, I've now experienced culture shock within culture shock. I didn't even realize it was possible....
First of all, the cloud forest was absolutely amazing. We stayed at a small farm called la Florida in the area of Intag. La Florida is owned by a couple from the US who discovered this completely gorgeous piece of land, bought it as a protected forest, farm beautiful organic food and shade-grown coffee, and live a completely idealistic life. We arrived Saturday afternoon after a five hour bus ride and one hour walk to a delicious lunch and adorable little cabins waiting for us. The rest of the weekend was spent swimming in waterfalls, hiking, playing games, doing art, and learning all about local social movement mobilizing women and local people to earn proper wages and fight against the horrors of the mining industry. Learning about the mining industry was by far the most intense part of the experience... I won't go into the crazy details (mostly because it's getting dark, and I want to walk home while it's still light out), but these companies commit the most disgusting atrocities in terms of the environment and human rights violations. Look here http://decoin.org/ for more info (although I imagine they probably leave out all the death threats and corrupt government officials in their telling)
Yesterday we left Intag after breakfast, stopped briefly in Otavalo to buy pie, an old man alpaca sweater and some earrings, and was picked up by my host sister. I was absolutely dirty and exhausted, but she thought we should all go hang out with six of her well dressed, extremely made up, upper-middle class friends in a giant, gorgeous house. Huge shock after enjoying dirty Ecuadorian summer camp in the cloud forest all weekend... It is nice to be back to a family, though, even if they are crazy. We all just realized that we only really have 9 more days in Los Chillos before we head off to the rainforest and then the next homestay in Quito. This is going so fast! I need to appreciate it while I still can...
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
¡Dios Mio!
I've been neglecting this... A lot (well, kind of) has happened since I got to Los Chillos. It's hard to explain, though. It's not like I've done a lot of awesome, exciting story-worthy things, but I've just been busy trying to adjust to life in a different country with a whole new family.
I'll start with today and try to work my way backwards... I've been feeling pretty sicky all week. Such is the joy of studying abroad in a third world country. I'm hoping to get over it soon, but it's been a huge pain trying to keep up with classes and the family when all I can manage to eat is a little bit of bread and rice each day... I hope this passes before this weekend because we get to go on our first excursion! We're heading out Saturday morning to a farm/commune/campground/nature reserve place called La Florida in the cloud forest. It's supposed to be a really lovely relaxing weekend where we basically just hike and swim in rivers and eat good food (fingers crossed that I can) and speak English and take a break from the stress of classes and host families. Plus I get to wear rubber boots and my new pantalones de Otavalo (essentially, brightly colored, striped, flowy Ecuadorian hippy pants). So stoked.
Why are classes and host families stressful, you might ask... Classes are going really well, actually. I feel like my Spanish is drastically improving and that I'm learning way more than I have in any Spanish class in the US. But they're exhausting. Five hours each day of Spanish, and then we often have other seminars (at least these are in English for the time being) until 4 or so. At which point I return to my gigantic host family and immediately am listening to and trying to respond to tons of people in a language that I'm still not completely familiar with. It's great, but tiring. I can't remember the last time I was so tired all the time...
The weekends are especially intense. Although we don't have classes, that means we have to spend pretty much 100% of the time with our host families (or some combination of other students and their families), which means lots and lots of Spanish. Last weekend we went on a hike to a waterfall on Saturday. It was gorgeous after we finally left the house hours late, got lost a few times, and followed a machete armed guide down a crazy trail for a while. Sunday, as usual, completely revolved around lunch. My host mom and aunt cooked up an entire goat to serve to about 15 people. It wasn't ready until around 4 or 5, but until then we entertained ourselves by drinking beer and watching the baby dance (that seems to be my family's greatest hobby). Quite the afternoon... By mondays I'm always ready for classes to start again so we can all exchange stories about how weird our lives are.
I should get home before my mom worries too much. I'm really not used to the general lack of independence I have here... I spent the day in Quito with my class, where we went to an extremely strange wax museum illustrating the revolution against Spain and the presidential palace, where we were all given masks to protect ourselves or perhaps the president against la gripe porcina (Ecuador is all sorts of freaked out about the swine flu). One more day until cloud forest relaxation!
I'll start with today and try to work my way backwards... I've been feeling pretty sicky all week. Such is the joy of studying abroad in a third world country. I'm hoping to get over it soon, but it's been a huge pain trying to keep up with classes and the family when all I can manage to eat is a little bit of bread and rice each day... I hope this passes before this weekend because we get to go on our first excursion! We're heading out Saturday morning to a farm/commune/campground/nature reserve place called La Florida in the cloud forest. It's supposed to be a really lovely relaxing weekend where we basically just hike and swim in rivers and eat good food (fingers crossed that I can) and speak English and take a break from the stress of classes and host families. Plus I get to wear rubber boots and my new pantalones de Otavalo (essentially, brightly colored, striped, flowy Ecuadorian hippy pants). So stoked.
Why are classes and host families stressful, you might ask... Classes are going really well, actually. I feel like my Spanish is drastically improving and that I'm learning way more than I have in any Spanish class in the US. But they're exhausting. Five hours each day of Spanish, and then we often have other seminars (at least these are in English for the time being) until 4 or so. At which point I return to my gigantic host family and immediately am listening to and trying to respond to tons of people in a language that I'm still not completely familiar with. It's great, but tiring. I can't remember the last time I was so tired all the time...
The weekends are especially intense. Although we don't have classes, that means we have to spend pretty much 100% of the time with our host families (or some combination of other students and their families), which means lots and lots of Spanish. Last weekend we went on a hike to a waterfall on Saturday. It was gorgeous after we finally left the house hours late, got lost a few times, and followed a machete armed guide down a crazy trail for a while. Sunday, as usual, completely revolved around lunch. My host mom and aunt cooked up an entire goat to serve to about 15 people. It wasn't ready until around 4 or 5, but until then we entertained ourselves by drinking beer and watching the baby dance (that seems to be my family's greatest hobby). Quite the afternoon... By mondays I'm always ready for classes to start again so we can all exchange stories about how weird our lives are.
I should get home before my mom worries too much. I'm really not used to the general lack of independence I have here... I spent the day in Quito with my class, where we went to an extremely strange wax museum illustrating the revolution against Spain and the presidential palace, where we were all given masks to protect ourselves or perhaps the president against la gripe porcina (Ecuador is all sorts of freaked out about the swine flu). One more day until cloud forest relaxation!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sangolquí
I'm currently in an internet cafe in my new home, el pueblo de Sangolquí en la Valle de Los Chillos. From what I understand (which is never completey reliable), my host sister was trying to do something to the internet in our house and broke it right before I came, and I think they're in the process of fixing it, but as usual, I have no idea.
I'm staying here for the month of September living with an incredibly nice, enormous host family. I have two parents, a sister, two brothers (although they come and go, and I'm not sure whether they actually live with us), and a few thousand aunts, uncles, and cousins (and a kitten, a bird, two dogs, and a ten day old puppy). I'm constantly meeting new family members, and I honestly have no idea what most of their names are and how everyone is related. They're all super friendly and gregarious and try to include me in everything even if I don't always understand.
The lifestyle of my family was actually quite shocking. My host parents own a panadería (small bakery/store) and seem quite wealthy. Their house is nicer than mine at home, they have new cars, wear expensive clothes they buy at the enormous mall (which they think is small), and would be considered upper middle class if not higher in the US. It's rather difficult for me at times when they ask me how expensive houses, cars, tuition, etc. are at home and what things are like when they live in pretty amazing conditions themselves. Many of the other families live in gated communities, have wireless internet and tons of electronics and are exactly like the American middle class.
It's very strange for me to live with such a large family (especially in comparison to mi familia chiquitita at home). In Ecuador, one generally lives with their family practically until marriage. One of the cousins, who is 24, announced yesterday at breakfast that she is suddenly moving out of our house and to Quito (to pursue music, I think...), which has thrown the family into chaos. My host mom is extremely upset, and today at lunch, my host parents, aunt and uncle were all nearly in tears over her departure and then the other children and relatives of each who have moved out. I know my mom misses me, but in the US we're all about setting children free and teaching them to be independent... This level of total interdependence is hard to adjust to. My host family wants nothing more than for me to find an Ecuadorian boyfriend and settle down here with them.
My Spanish is already improving immensely. Immersion really is the way to go, it seems. From time to time I even find myself thinking in Spanish already. On Saturday my host sister (and like 8 cousins) took me to a midieval castle themed karaoke bar, which was one of the more overwhelming experiences I've had thus far. By 1am, I just sat there thinking to myself "estoy muriendo de sueño" and then was constantly impressed by the fact that I was thinking in Spanish even with such exhaustion. It's still difficult to include myself in conversations at meals or to understand what people say to me when giving directions and whatnot, but it's getting easier by the day.
Today was also the first day of classes. I somehow managed to make it into the highest level, I think, which has done wonders for my speaking self-esteem. I don't think any of my Spanish classes have ever been comforting or complementory towards my Spanish, and I'm always very shy about speaking in class in Spanish, so this has been a huge help. We're in classes of six students with one professor for language & communication and another for the culture & history class, amounting to 5 hours of intensive Spanish each day all month. I think it's really going to do wonders for my Spanish.
I've probably been online for an hour now and should probably head home before my host mom worries too much. They already think I'm a little pathetic after I somehow got lost on my way home from school today (I took the right bus, got off at the right place, and took what I thought was our street because it had the same name, got rather lost and was taken home by a friendly taxi driver who didn't even charge me because I was so pitiful looking). We may have internet in the house soon, but for now I'm limited to the cafes and will only be writing occasionally. My life shouldn't be too interesting here anyway... Just class and family each and every day.
I'm staying here for the month of September living with an incredibly nice, enormous host family. I have two parents, a sister, two brothers (although they come and go, and I'm not sure whether they actually live with us), and a few thousand aunts, uncles, and cousins (and a kitten, a bird, two dogs, and a ten day old puppy). I'm constantly meeting new family members, and I honestly have no idea what most of their names are and how everyone is related. They're all super friendly and gregarious and try to include me in everything even if I don't always understand.
The lifestyle of my family was actually quite shocking. My host parents own a panadería (small bakery/store) and seem quite wealthy. Their house is nicer than mine at home, they have new cars, wear expensive clothes they buy at the enormous mall (which they think is small), and would be considered upper middle class if not higher in the US. It's rather difficult for me at times when they ask me how expensive houses, cars, tuition, etc. are at home and what things are like when they live in pretty amazing conditions themselves. Many of the other families live in gated communities, have wireless internet and tons of electronics and are exactly like the American middle class.
It's very strange for me to live with such a large family (especially in comparison to mi familia chiquitita at home). In Ecuador, one generally lives with their family practically until marriage. One of the cousins, who is 24, announced yesterday at breakfast that she is suddenly moving out of our house and to Quito (to pursue music, I think...), which has thrown the family into chaos. My host mom is extremely upset, and today at lunch, my host parents, aunt and uncle were all nearly in tears over her departure and then the other children and relatives of each who have moved out. I know my mom misses me, but in the US we're all about setting children free and teaching them to be independent... This level of total interdependence is hard to adjust to. My host family wants nothing more than for me to find an Ecuadorian boyfriend and settle down here with them.
My Spanish is already improving immensely. Immersion really is the way to go, it seems. From time to time I even find myself thinking in Spanish already. On Saturday my host sister (and like 8 cousins) took me to a midieval castle themed karaoke bar, which was one of the more overwhelming experiences I've had thus far. By 1am, I just sat there thinking to myself "estoy muriendo de sueño" and then was constantly impressed by the fact that I was thinking in Spanish even with such exhaustion. It's still difficult to include myself in conversations at meals or to understand what people say to me when giving directions and whatnot, but it's getting easier by the day.
Today was also the first day of classes. I somehow managed to make it into the highest level, I think, which has done wonders for my speaking self-esteem. I don't think any of my Spanish classes have ever been comforting or complementory towards my Spanish, and I'm always very shy about speaking in class in Spanish, so this has been a huge help. We're in classes of six students with one professor for language & communication and another for the culture & history class, amounting to 5 hours of intensive Spanish each day all month. I think it's really going to do wonders for my Spanish.
I've probably been online for an hour now and should probably head home before my host mom worries too much. They already think I'm a little pathetic after I somehow got lost on my way home from school today (I took the right bus, got off at the right place, and took what I thought was our street because it had the same name, got rather lost and was taken home by a friendly taxi driver who didn't even charge me because I was so pitiful looking). We may have internet in the house soon, but for now I'm limited to the cafes and will only be writing occasionally. My life shouldn't be too interesting here anyway... Just class and family each and every day.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Rancho Alegre
So, orientation has been intense... But in a good way I think. The past few days have seemed incredibly long but also full of learning and adventures. The mornings and early afternoons are generally rules and common sense things (health, safety, how to live with a host family, etc.), interspersed with enormous meals and snacks every few hours. We're then free to explore the town for the afternoon, which mostly consists of finding internet cafes, visiting the equator, playing with local children, and ogling delicious looking pastries in the panaderías. After another enormous meal for dinner, we have another activity (ridiculous Ecuadorian movie, traditional music group, salsa lessons) before drinking rum mixed with strange sodas and juices and going to bed. Basically, it's been exhausting but great.
Today we also had our Spanish placement test, which was interesting. I think I'm probably around mid-range in skill for our group, which is just fine with me. The oral test was really interesting, actually... It was kind of frightening, and they start simply but really try to push you to more complex topics. Him asking who I lived with and what my mom did somehow turned into a deep discussion about the causes of crime in the US, the many failures of the prison system, and the potential for rehabilitation. Not exactly what I anticipated talking about, but hopefully it was ok. I'll find out Monday when we start our super intense Spanish classes (and some of the other classes... this program actually has a lot more academic requirements than I thought, but they're based in a different kind of learning and research than we're all used to...). We spend 5 hours Monday-Friday in Spanish class, and then every-other afternoon is a cultural lecture. It's intimidating, but it's exactly what I need to improve...
Tomorrow is going to be a crazy adventure with our "drop-off". We're broken into groups of three and sent to find our way from San Antonio to another small town for lunch (and observation and an object as proof of our being there) and back to our hotel in Quito with only a map of the main area of Quito and $5. It's somewhat intimidating, but it should be fun once we finally figure out what we're doing.
Friday we go to our host families, and I'm both excited and kind of scared. We got the letters and photos of our families today, and mine seems incredibly nice. It's an older husband and wife and their three children (ages 22-31) and a cousin who may or may not live with them... It's so very different from my tiny little family at home, but it'll be a nice change to see what a big family is like.
I seriously don't think I could have chosen a better program or place to spend this semester. Wow. I don't think I've ever gotten along so well with so many people (well, 23 people) so instantaneously. Both the directors and the students on this program are some of the most intelligent, funny, and genuinely interesting people I've encountered in a while. I know this is kind of the honeymoon period, but if the rest of the semester continues this way, it's going to be amazing.
Today we also had our Spanish placement test, which was interesting. I think I'm probably around mid-range in skill for our group, which is just fine with me. The oral test was really interesting, actually... It was kind of frightening, and they start simply but really try to push you to more complex topics. Him asking who I lived with and what my mom did somehow turned into a deep discussion about the causes of crime in the US, the many failures of the prison system, and the potential for rehabilitation. Not exactly what I anticipated talking about, but hopefully it was ok. I'll find out Monday when we start our super intense Spanish classes (and some of the other classes... this program actually has a lot more academic requirements than I thought, but they're based in a different kind of learning and research than we're all used to...). We spend 5 hours Monday-Friday in Spanish class, and then every-other afternoon is a cultural lecture. It's intimidating, but it's exactly what I need to improve...
Tomorrow is going to be a crazy adventure with our "drop-off". We're broken into groups of three and sent to find our way from San Antonio to another small town for lunch (and observation and an object as proof of our being there) and back to our hotel in Quito with only a map of the main area of Quito and $5. It's somewhat intimidating, but it should be fun once we finally figure out what we're doing.
Friday we go to our host families, and I'm both excited and kind of scared. We got the letters and photos of our families today, and mine seems incredibly nice. It's an older husband and wife and their three children (ages 22-31) and a cousin who may or may not live with them... It's so very different from my tiny little family at home, but it'll be a nice change to see what a big family is like.
I seriously don't think I could have chosen a better program or place to spend this semester. Wow. I don't think I've ever gotten along so well with so many people (well, 23 people) so instantaneously. Both the directors and the students on this program are some of the most intelligent, funny, and genuinely interesting people I've encountered in a while. I know this is kind of the honeymoon period, but if the rest of the semester continues this way, it's going to be amazing.
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