2 weekends ago (Nov. 1-2):
A good friend of mine from WT, Melea, visited me from her small town. When she got into the "big city", as she called it, we had a nice leisurely catch up time in a cute cafe that has really good, like really American, apple pie. Then Debby, the other WT volunteer who works with me in Ibarra, caught up with us and we really indulged and got facials (this is because there are no such services where Melea works). Afterwards, more indulgence by going to this awesome Italian restaurant where a real Italian lady, Tiziana, hand makes all the pasta. DE-LI-CI-OUS gnocci! I swear, I usually don't live like this in Ibarra, but I wanted to show Melea a good time. =)
The next morning we took the tourist train, El Tren de la Libertad, from Ibarra to Salinas, this small Afro-Ecuadorian town. We sat on the top of the train (kind of like a double decker bus) and got to get a really good view of the beautiful scenery. We went through the mountains, through several tunnels in the mountains, and then down into the valley where it was much warmer. At the beginning of the ride, we were wearing jackets and by the end, we were wearing tank tops. Ecuadorian weather is very fickle and I will have to write about that another time. Here are some pictures from the train ride.
Me, Debby, and Melea cheezing on top of the train.
The scenery from the bus. You can see some of the tunnels we went through.
Melea and I in front of the train when it got to Salinas.When we got to Salinas, we decided to get off the train and catch a bus back to Ibarra instead of riding the train back (which took much longer and cost more). So, we got off and walked around Salinas, which is very small and poor. It's very different from Ibarra, which is quite commercial and has many stores and industries. Salinas is almost entirely a town of farmers. And culturally, it's quite different. It's almost entirely Afro-Ecuadorian. Not completely black (or as small) like Santa Ana, but enough so that it felt like a different culture. We walked around a bit, looked at the church, and well that's pretty much all there is to see. We stopped in what looked like the only comedore and ordered Cokes (nothing better than coke in a glass bottle!) and papas fritas. Then, we headed to the "bus terminal", which is essentially a bench on the side of the Panamerica highway. We were sitting there for a while waiting for the next bus when this car with "EV Noticias" on it drove by. They saw us, did a double take, stopped the car and immediately brought out a news camera and started filming us. Not talking or anything. Just nonchalantly started filming us. Being awkward me, I started to wave and make faces. As weird as it was I figured it was Debby's blonde hair that gave us away from the road as gringos and that they wanted to film us. It's funny what you get accustomed to. Finally, someone came out with a microphone and began the first communication. They came up to us with the microphone and camera and began to ask us questions. Mainly, "why are you here?", "what are you doing in Salinas?", "what do you think of Salinas?", "what are you doing in Ecuador?", and the always present question, "what do you think of Ecuador?". We all answered their questions in Spanish and there was a good chunk of time with me struggling to answer back in Spanish. They said they were from a news channel in Quito and that they were going to put it on the news. I never saw it, but I don't really watch TV. So, I'm sure that Debby, Melea, and I were on the news at some point that week, speaking in broken Spanish about how much we love Ecuador. It's probably better that I never see it. They zoomed in on me speaking after a 3 hour dusty ride outside. We flagged down our bus and made it back to Ibarra, where we packed up and caught a ride to Mira, the small town where my host family is from, to celebrate Dia de los Difuntos (Day of the Dead) with them. Yeah, we were busy that weekend.
So when we got to Mira, we immediately went to the family's house where I swear the whole family had gathered. Probably 15 or so people in the house, coming and going. We got some Merienda, coffee, and then headed to my host aunt's house as there was no room in the regular family house for us. So that night we were super lucky and got to sleep 3 girls to one small wooden slat bed. Wooooo! But before we went to sleep. Way before, we got ready to go dancing in Mira. Mira is a really small town, a pueblo, of probably less than 10,000 people. So, our version of pre-gaming was standing under the roof of a bus stop in a circle of probably 12-15 people (mostly all cousins), in the rain, passing around only one cup that was constantly refilled with whisky and sparkling water for each person to drink before being passed to the next person. Melea and I didn't partake because women don't really drink whisky here. But we were standing there in the cold (really high altitude) and in the rain and were starting to get antsy. After what seemed like an eternity we finally went dancing. This is the part in the story where Melea and I gave Americans a bad rep forever in Mira. We were holding our own for all the latin songs, then oddly enough, a rock bands comes out and starts playing. Immediately all the Ecuadorians sit down as I feel they only dance with steps and there are no steps to this music. So there was no one on the dance floor, but Melea and I were already in the dancing mood and started doing crazy hippy dancing, like interpretive dance and stuff. You would not believe the stares we got! And my host sister was literally begging us to stop. Hahaha. Really, it was not that bad. We were just being crazy and free! Oh well! Just reinforcing the idea that gringas are loca!
The next day was Dia de los Difuntos and we went to the cemetary where my host mother's mother had just been buried 3 months ago. This was my very first Day of the Dead and it was really interesting. It's not really a somber occasion at all, but very festive, with people selling flowers, food, little decorations outside of the cemetary. Inside, families were gathered around their graves, cleaning and decorating and some just hanging out. Even some with crates of Pilsener (the local beer). It was really pretty too, looking at all the graves. And there was this one really old indigenous woman. I was watching her and I noticed she kept going to all these different graves and was quietly talking. I thought it was really sort of beautiful, praying for each of the people there. That, or she was crazy.
So when we got to Mira, we immediately went to the family's house where I swear the whole family had gathered. Probably 15 or so people in the house, coming and going. We got some Merienda, coffee, and then headed to my host aunt's house as there was no room in the regular family house for us. So that night we were super lucky and got to sleep 3 girls to one small wooden slat bed. Wooooo! But before we went to sleep. Way before, we got ready to go dancing in Mira. Mira is a really small town, a pueblo, of probably less than 10,000 people. So, our version of pre-gaming was standing under the roof of a bus stop in a circle of probably 12-15 people (mostly all cousins), in the rain, passing around only one cup that was constantly refilled with whisky and sparkling water for each person to drink before being passed to the next person. Melea and I didn't partake because women don't really drink whisky here. But we were standing there in the cold (really high altitude) and in the rain and were starting to get antsy. After what seemed like an eternity we finally went dancing. This is the part in the story where Melea and I gave Americans a bad rep forever in Mira. We were holding our own for all the latin songs, then oddly enough, a rock bands comes out and starts playing. Immediately all the Ecuadorians sit down as I feel they only dance with steps and there are no steps to this music. So there was no one on the dance floor, but Melea and I were already in the dancing mood and started doing crazy hippy dancing, like interpretive dance and stuff. You would not believe the stares we got! And my host sister was literally begging us to stop. Hahaha. Really, it was not that bad. We were just being crazy and free! Oh well! Just reinforcing the idea that gringas are loca!
The next day was Dia de los Difuntos and we went to the cemetary where my host mother's mother had just been buried 3 months ago. This was my very first Day of the Dead and it was really interesting. It's not really a somber occasion at all, but very festive, with people selling flowers, food, little decorations outside of the cemetary. Inside, families were gathered around their graves, cleaning and decorating and some just hanging out. Even some with crates of Pilsener (the local beer). It was really pretty too, looking at all the graves. And there was this one really old indigenous woman. I was watching her and I noticed she kept going to all these different graves and was quietly talking. I thought it was really sort of beautiful, praying for each of the people there. That, or she was crazy.
The cemetary on Dia de los Difuntos. Old indigenous woman is on the right.After that, we went back to the house where we ate Cuy (Guinea pig) for lunch. From there, to the family's land to pick mandarin oranges and avocados! They have a gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous area of land. I mean gorgeous. Perfectly set in the mountains. With mandarin orange trees and avocados!!!! We spent the whole afternoon climbing trees, picking avocados, and eating on the mountain. I might never come back!
Here are the some of the kids climbing in the trees.
Obligatory picture of me with my avocado, displaying the mountains. Overall, a really good weekend.
ELECTION NIGHT!
Yup, those of us outside of the U.S. were eagerly watching it too! We wanted to watch the election in English so Debby and I after teaching classes booked it over to Caribou, the Canadian bar in town to meet up with our gringo friends, mostly PC volunteers and other professors at other schools. It was a super exciting night for us and we were glued to watching the TV. We were just a giant group of gringos and the local newspaper, El Norte, came around and took pictures of us. Yeah, what can I say, I'm just a local celebrity. Haha. We thought they were doing a story on the U.S. election, but it was really a social pages thing on the bar we were at. But we did have a giant color photo in the newspaper. Overall, it was an awesome night. Go Obama!
ELECTION NIGHT!
Yup, those of us outside of the U.S. were eagerly watching it too! We wanted to watch the election in English so Debby and I after teaching classes booked it over to Caribou, the Canadian bar in town to meet up with our gringo friends, mostly PC volunteers and other professors at other schools. It was a super exciting night for us and we were glued to watching the TV. We were just a giant group of gringos and the local newspaper, El Norte, came around and took pictures of us. Yeah, what can I say, I'm just a local celebrity. Haha. We thought they were doing a story on the U.S. election, but it was really a social pages thing on the bar we were at. But we did have a giant color photo in the newspaper. Overall, it was an awesome night. Go Obama!
Our gringo group watching history!
Debby and I super excited and pointing to Election stats, which disappeared on the screen just as we took the picture.Last weekend:
Does this post go on? Yes. Yes, it does. Isn't it exciting? =)
Last weekend, Debby and I were supposed to meet up with some of our Quito friends to go to the La Mama Negra festival in Latacunga. But that was canceled unexpectedly because of a horrible freak accident where when they were getting the floats ready, a school boy died from a fire work going off. Sad. So, we changed our plans and decided to go to Banos, which is a really touristy town in central Ecuador (a good 7 hour ride from us). It's a small town thats set in the mountains and is really pretty. There is a lot of adventure sports and hiking there and they have thermal springs. After spending Friday night at our friend's house in Quito, we set off for Banos, which is a good 4 hour bus ride on some windy mountain roads.
Debby, my host sister, and our Quito friend, got there, ate, and then by that time most of the day was gone! We decided to take a bike ride to enjoy the mountain scenery and see some of the cascades. Never mind that it was already starting to get late (4 PM), that I hadn't ridden a bike in probably 10 years, and that we had to ride our bikes on the downhill, curvy, and busy highway (still set in the mountains and gorgeous, though). I was being all romantic and thought it was going to so poetic to enjoy the mountain scenery and cascades on a bicycle. I mean, I did. It was really pretty. But I probably would have it enjoyed it more if I had listened to the others and decided to do the ATVs. I was so preoccupied about how to ride a bike and not get hit by cars! And then thats when we biked through the dark tunnel through the mountain, where we had an almost collision between bikes and almost subsequent being hit by cars. Yeah, sometimes I'm not so smart. But don't worry! I'm all safe. =) After that, though we hit a path that cars couldn't come on and we saw some cascades and really enjoyed the biking and scenery at that point. At least, I did. And we also got a little follower. This little 13 year old boy biked with kept talking about how he was only 13, but he had a 15 year old girlfriend. Hahaha. Finally, we hit the highway again, and got a ride on a bus back to Banos with our bikes.
At that point, we got some food, some vino and then hit the thermal springs. I mean thats what you do in Banos. That's why it's called Banos! It was a really nice setting (there was a waterfall right next to it), but I was overall disappointed in the springs. They were really crowded and only luke warm. Papallacta is so much better! After that, I was sleepy and a party pooper. Some of the girls went out dancing. I went to sleep. I live a crazy and dangerous life. what can I say? The next day, we checked out the church, but that was it. We got back on the bus to Ibarra (7 hours on the crazy bus ride back with our driver that kept eating fritada and driving the bus with his elbows). I definitely think that if I go back to Banos, that I will need to spend more time there and do some hiking.
Does this post go on? Yes. Yes, it does. Isn't it exciting? =)
Last weekend, Debby and I were supposed to meet up with some of our Quito friends to go to the La Mama Negra festival in Latacunga. But that was canceled unexpectedly because of a horrible freak accident where when they were getting the floats ready, a school boy died from a fire work going off. Sad. So, we changed our plans and decided to go to Banos, which is a really touristy town in central Ecuador (a good 7 hour ride from us). It's a small town thats set in the mountains and is really pretty. There is a lot of adventure sports and hiking there and they have thermal springs. After spending Friday night at our friend's house in Quito, we set off for Banos, which is a good 4 hour bus ride on some windy mountain roads.
Debby, my host sister, and our Quito friend, got there, ate, and then by that time most of the day was gone! We decided to take a bike ride to enjoy the mountain scenery and see some of the cascades. Never mind that it was already starting to get late (4 PM), that I hadn't ridden a bike in probably 10 years, and that we had to ride our bikes on the downhill, curvy, and busy highway (still set in the mountains and gorgeous, though). I was being all romantic and thought it was going to so poetic to enjoy the mountain scenery and cascades on a bicycle. I mean, I did. It was really pretty. But I probably would have it enjoyed it more if I had listened to the others and decided to do the ATVs. I was so preoccupied about how to ride a bike and not get hit by cars! And then thats when we biked through the dark tunnel through the mountain, where we had an almost collision between bikes and almost subsequent being hit by cars. Yeah, sometimes I'm not so smart. But don't worry! I'm all safe. =) After that, though we hit a path that cars couldn't come on and we saw some cascades and really enjoyed the biking and scenery at that point. At least, I did. And we also got a little follower. This little 13 year old boy biked with kept talking about how he was only 13, but he had a 15 year old girlfriend. Hahaha. Finally, we hit the highway again, and got a ride on a bus back to Banos with our bikes.
At that point, we got some food, some vino and then hit the thermal springs. I mean thats what you do in Banos. That's why it's called Banos! It was a really nice setting (there was a waterfall right next to it), but I was overall disappointed in the springs. They were really crowded and only luke warm. Papallacta is so much better! After that, I was sleepy and a party pooper. Some of the girls went out dancing. I went to sleep. I live a crazy and dangerous life. what can I say? The next day, we checked out the church, but that was it. We got back on the bus to Ibarra (7 hours on the crazy bus ride back with our driver that kept eating fritada and driving the bus with his elbows). I definitely think that if I go back to Banos, that I will need to spend more time there and do some hiking.
This is our bike riding group in front of one of the cascades. You can see it in the bottom left corner.
And this is me with another cascade. Pretty.Well, that's pretty much it so far. Tomorrow I'm going to the El Angel Biological Reserve with my host sister. I've heard it's gorgeous. And then on Sunday, going to prepare the final I'm going to give to my students. I hope they do well!!!!
Ahora, estoy feliz!
Ahora, estoy feliz!
No comments:
Post a Comment