Big list of little things.

In the two months I've lived in Ecuador, I've noticed plenty of little peculiarities that this country holds that I'll want to remember someday, or that you all might find interesting.  It's usually never enough to make a whole blog about, so I'm going to make a list and add to it as I think of more.

• Change shortage - They warned us about Ecuador not having change but this is interesting when put into practice.  First of all - I never use my debit card here which is weird in itself.  But $20 are sometimes not even accepted so you have to get in the practice of breaking big bills when you can, usually with the cashier making a face or groaning at you.  We use American currency here, but they've added gold dollars and large 50 cent pieces.  It's like a private joke between exchange students about how excited we get when we get all of our change in coins, sometimes $10 worth.  Makes everything so much easier.
• Lack of animal control - There are homeless dogs everywherrrre.  They roam the streets, ribs visible and usually just having had puppies.  It's so sad, and watching them avoid the crazy cars here is especially harrowing.  I've not really encountered a dog that was particularly violent yet, they mostly just walk by.  Especially sad is if you need one to get away from you, you can raise your arm like you're going to throw something and they'll back right off, proof they've all been abused as well. :/
• Buses - Buses here are an experience in themselves.  You ride them to get everywhere.  Some are owned by the government, others just by some people trying to make a living.  These last ones may be adorned with religious figures and posters, or just about anything else.  Every bus costs a quarter and bus stops exist but you can get on and off anywhere, if the driver feels like stopping.  For girls they mostly stop completely but sometimes you have to jump on or off of it while it's moving.  Tripping or being thrown across the bus is extremely normal and there's no point being embarrassed.  On government-run buses like the Ecovia or Trole at rush hour - seriously I can't tell you how crowded these buses get.  It's more crowded than being crushed again the front row of a concert, against the gate.  You have a human touching every side of your body - your legs could give out and you go nowhere.  Of course, this is why it can be so dangerous - very easy for people to slash your bag if you can't move.  
• Crime - You can't really avoid it here.  The idea of getting robbed scared the crap out of me when I came here - it's not like I'm not a little freaked out by now still but a little time here helped.  People in the US commit violent crimes - in a bad neighborhood at night, you're afraid for your life and less for your iPod.  Here, people are just poor and that's what motivates their larcenous behavior.  I never take my iPod out of my house or carry more than $30 with me (unless I'm traveling).  I only take out my debit card if I need to get money from the ATM.  In general, they tell you to not wear too much expensive jewelry or take out your electronics because it makes you an easy target.  Since I've been here, I've known a handful of people whose purses have been slashed in buses (while holding them or while on long trips with the bag on the ground), scammed in the historic area, pickpocketed in crowds (such as the fútbol game the other day) or actually been cornered at night and robbed.  Unfortunately, escopolamina (commonly known in the US as a date rape drug) is also sometimes used to rob people - in powder form, it can be absorbed through the skin and the effects are the same.  I've heard of people accepting flyers from strangers, then drugged, willingly went with the robbers to his house and helped them remove all the valuables from it.  Scary stuff!  Apart from that last one, it's fairly easy to avoid sad losses - don't carry expensive stuff or appear rich.  But also don't be surprised because the people here do it for a living and they know what they are doing.
• Machista culture - As a young, foreign woman in this country, it's completely normal to expect men to whistle, make comments, or holler at you while out in public.  Younger guys of university age are usually more respectful but older men, not so much.  This one guy leaned out of his truck window to holler at me while I was waiting at the bus stop.  Hair and skin color makes a giant difference - if you are blonde, pale, and skinny you get it the worst (my poor friend Julie is an example of this).  I've actually noticed more comments as my dark hair dye has slowly faded out (and also on days I wear more shapely clothing).  Just in general though, it's interesting being in a society where my appearance is the minority - definitely an experience.
• Almuerzos - I love little almuerzo places!  Almuerzo means lunch, and if you go to a cute little lunch place, you sit down and the meal is ready and brought to you - soup, main dish, fresh juice, and sometimes dessert.  It's never more than $2.50, but sometimes only $1.50.  It's always typical Ecuadorian food, and hot, and delicious.
• Taxis - Another thing I was terrified of before I got here.  I had never ridden one in the states so I can't very well compare them.  I do know they are fairly cheap and that you can haggle like crazy.  To go to the bar/dancing part of town at around 7 or 8pm, I can haggle to around $3 to get there; later at night to come home, it's around $4-5.  The other night, we went from one end of the city to the other, something that could cost an upwards or $10-12 if you don't know to haggle, and we got it for $5.  Being better at Spanish now helps a lot.  Taxi drivers will sometimes talk and sometimes not - I always try to talk because it's great practice.  Of course, this week was terrible because both cabs I've taken have ended with the cab drivers trying to get with me or at least get my number, and once even being a little afraid he wouldn't actually bring me home.  I was ready to jump out - kind of scary.  But it was fine and it makes me wonder if in the future I should just shut up ;)
• Hot water - Everyone has a different experience with bathing here - most people complain about how sporadic the hot water can be.  We definitely have it but depending what anyone is doing the hot water may disappear, or the pressure.  Or become scalding.  Makes showering an experience, for sure.
• Toilet paper - Small detail: can't flush it.  Just kind of a curious thing - apparently because the water pressure is too low for the plumbing to really work correctly if you flush things.  Pretty easy to get used to for me but I had some friends who were horrified by the concept...
• Getting sick - I won't go in too much detail for this except by saying that it's the most normal thing in the world here to have digestive issues if you're a traveler and to have conversations about it, without being too embarrassed.  It's usually impossible trying to figure out what made you sick in the first place, though you can usually guess it's water/juice/fresh veggies, but apparently stress can play into as well.  Luckily, Cipro (the medication they prescribed before I came here) is a serious miracle worker.  The first time I was really sick, I pretty much spent my night in the bathroom, stubbornly refusing to take it.  Next time, the issue was resolved in an afternoon and I couldn't believe I could have prevented hourrrs of misery.
• Living with a maid - Very cool at first, but I have to say, after 2 months I'm done with it.  Ours is very sweet so it's not about that - it's just awkward as hell and I prefer doing everything myself.  She cleans everything, does dishes, laundry, cooks 2 meals a day (soups made from scratch, freshly-squeezed fruit juice), takes care of the pets, WILL COME IF SUMMONED BY HER BELL (for breakfast in bed for my host family, for example), how ridiculous is that!?!?!  She makes my bed and if my stuff is too messy she organizes it.  It's too much - you think it'd be nice to be waited upon like this, but it makes for a weird kind of tension.  And I like making my own food, eating when I want, cleaning my clothes when they are dirty, keeping my room how I want it, etc.  But I am living here and I'm very grateful so for while I am here, it's fine.  Maids here are fairly cheap and I think the culture reflects the need to have one - not like the rich people are lazy - but.... kinda yea, that's exactly it.  On weekends, when ours doesn't come, we eat takeout.  

I might add to this later.... we shall see!

Cyn

Cultural Adaptation.

I'm writing today because I remembered this chart they showed us at the study abroad meeting.  Let's see how I compare:

1.) Predeparture ups and downs - To be honest, I had no giant illusions about the semester.  I knew it would be very difficult so my excitement was always tempered by my nervousness about living in a 3rd world country in a language I sort of speak.
2.) Honeymoon phase - Pretty sure I skipped this and went straight into Culture Shock and Acute Homesickness.
3.) Culture Shock and Acute Homesickness - The first week was rough.  I definitely wasn't the only one who thought this - before I got into the swing of school and taking buses, I questioned why I was even here!  Didn't seem worth it but I also knew going home wasn't an option.  Lots of things made me cry.  Not a fun time but inevitable.
4.) Adaptation - Wheeeeeee!  That's where I am now.  Am used to everything - living with another family, getting around the city, balancing work with fun - it's like I've always been here.  Except that there's a lot I miss, and I realized that this week marks the halfway point for me!  Which also means I'm feeling these Pre-return Ups and Downs coming.  I'm already missing a lot of things, excited to come back but knowing it's going to be weird leaving this place I'm coming to love.
Will update about the remaining steps later :)


 
So that was my cute entry about Cultural Adaptation.  Have done nothing of interest this weekend - just relaxing and going out, and today I need to do some homework.  Big surprise - don't feel like it at all :)  I also have a blog I wrote a few days ago that I'm going to publish because I can't think of anything to add to it.

Chau amigos!

Cynthia

Cuenca.

It happens to be Wednesday afternoon, but my weekend ended this morning at 6am.  Long story...where shall I begin?

Well, Carnaval was this weekend, which meant there were no classes on Monday and Tuesday.  In Ecuador, Carnaval is kind of like Thanksgiving, in the sense that everyone does something or goes somewhere.  Typically, people go to the beach, but many just spend the weekend with family, relaxing.  Every city has a different tradition, variations of the same.  In Quito, people throw water; in Ambato, they spray silly string.  In Cuenca, where I ended up spending my weekend, they throw waters balloons and buckets of water from cars and windows!

We were warned to plan our trip for Carnaval early because hostels and buses fill up, but between most of us going to the rain forest last weekend and our friends not taking initiative while we were away, we settled on Cuenca and had to take a bus on Saturday night - not really ideal but fine for what it was worth.  The other option was paying $20 a night at the beach, and so I definitely wasn't feeling that one.

Anyway, so 10pm Saturday night we all meet at the Panamerica Internacional bus station and settle in for the 10 hour bus ride.  We were 9 of us again.  I got to see Iron Man 2 in Spanish and managed to sleep a little bit in the night.  We arrived at 8am and took a cab to the hostel, where we put down our stuff and then set out to explore and find some breakfast.  We did a pretty quick round of the main part of the city and realized nothingggg was open because it was. a) Sunday b.) Carnaval. c.) 8:30am.  Luckily there was a cute French crepe place across the street so I had some quiche and coffee and was ready to go.

We walked around some more in the afternoon, visiting churches and the market.  My friend Milijana and I bought some toy water guns and as we walked, we were all on our guard because at any given moment, water balloons would fly from cars or rooftops, or kids would come running out of houses with their silly string.  It was pretty sunny, which was great because we got soaked several times.  It got to where the sound of a car or children laughing would send us all running!!! But it was so fun - these kids got us this one time and the sound of their laughter absolutely made my day.  I would have loved to be a kid in Cuenca during Carnaval - pelting unsuspecting Gringos for 3 days straight sounds like the best time ever! :)

Anyway, we walked and walked.  Sat by the river, played in the park.  We came back and relaxed for a bit, then searched for somewhere to eat.  Not exactly a lot to choose from, but we settled on this Mexican restaurant.  We were a party of 10 by that point so they seated us in this back room with couches and a large coffee table in the middle - it felt like we should have been smoking hookah or something in there, not having dinner.  It ended up being delicious - best guacamole I've had in Ecuador (which is saying a lot since I eat avocados with everything) and I annoyed everyone by playing question games, like going around the room and asking everywhere what their favorite thing in Ecuador has been so far, etc.  They were picking on me but I know everyone secretly was happy at what a great group we have :)  After leaving, we performed what became a ritual for the next night as well: stopping at a little store to buy some beer and we hanging out on the hostel patio until we went to bed.  Because we arrived so early, all of our meals were a little off, so it was literally only 7:30pm and some of my friends were veryyy tipsy.  We had a great time though, and were all in bed by 10 (:

The next morning, we got up early went to the bus terminal.  After a 2-hour bus ride (can you believe I'm not sick of buses yet?!) we arrived in El Tambo, where we dodged more water balloons and hailed a truck/cab to bring us to Ingapirca, the oldest Incan ruins in Ecuador (part of the Incan trail).  We spent a few hours here; the ruins were awesome and we took lots of pictures.  Didn't pay for a tour guide so I know very little about the ruins, just that they are ruins and I went there.  We had a $1.50 almuerzo (lunch) and took a short hike to see this rock along the mountain that looks like a face and then I called back our cab/truck driver, Ricardo, who picked us up and brought us back to town.  Ricardo was so sweet - I sat up front with him and we talked the whole way about languages and his crazy experiences when he hopped the border in Texas, trying to get work in the US.  It ended up being great that I befriended him because when we got back to town, we realized there were no buses going back to Cuenca.  We negotiated and he drove us back for $30... such a typically Ecuadorian experience as I'm coming to realize - sitting in the back of a truck with 8 other people ("like a bunch of immigrants" as Ricardo said) for an hour and a half, trying to get back to a hostel, 10 hours from where I'm actually living in this country.  We were back before we knew and found another restaurant for dinner, more beer for dessert ;) and played card games in the hostel until midnight.

Oh!  When we were walking back from the trip to Ingapirca, we saw that a store 2 doors down from the hostel was actually open - it was called Carolina Bookstore and it had used books, so of course I was like, "VAMOS!"  Come to find - the owners are a retired couple from Hickory, North Carolina!!!  They couldn't believe 80% of our group was from NC so we spent a good hour there, talking to them, browsing books, getting recommendations for things to do/eat.  What a small world!!!  They were so sweet - one minute we're discussing classic literature and the next we're discussing the scores of the Duke/Carolina game.  Love itttt.

Anyway - we had such high hopes for Tuesday but they mostly all fell through.  We had a good breakfast at Coffee Tree then checked out of the hostel, then walked around the city pretty much all day.  We wanted to go to the museum and discovered - surprise - it was closed!  And so was everything else.  We had a late lunch, took lots of pictures of the beautiful buildings here (which really can't be under-emphasized - this city is AMAZING - the buildings are ancient and beautiful, and with the blue sky in the background, absolutely jaw-dropping.)  Of course - suddenly the sky turned grey, rain started falling, and rain turned into hail!  We made it back to the hostel just in time.  Though we had checked out, we were allowed to chill there for a while, so we hung out in the giant living room and met all these other people staying there - a guy from Vancouver, London, New Zealand, Louisiana, and Barcelona - all there for various reasons and all super friendly.  Some of them left and we got cozy watching TV.  I felt like I was back at home - we watched an episode of The Big Bang Theory and Friends as the rain poured and people in the background played cards.  Typical hostel, right!?  

We finally got hungry and went to the same restaurant as the night before, and hung out there until around 9.  We went back to the hostel to get our bags then hailed some cabs to bring us to the bus station.  The bus again left at 10pm, but we arrived in Quito at 6am, so it was shorter and gave me time to sleep a little at home and make it to class (almost) on time.  I slept a lot on the bus though, so the time pretty much flew by.  

Class was normal and easy, and now I'm in my bed, in pajamas, very sleepy and happy to be home.  It was an awesome weekend - different again from any of the others before it and exactly what I needed - a very chill and relaxing couple of days with my good friends.  We were kind of disappointed that everything was closed but we still got to enjoy the beauty of the city and some greaaat food.  And it was cheap since there were no crazy stunts or activities to do ;)  

So that was my weekend!  This weekend I'm happy to say I'm doing NOTHING.  Maybe little things around Quito, who knows.  I feel like reading and watching movies so that's my plan.  Hope to talk to everyone soon!

Love, Cyn

Tiputini (the Amazon)

Amazing weekend!

I realize it's Thursday - things have been pretty busy all week so I'm gonna try to update the best I can about my weekend in the Amazon rain forest!!!

I skipped classes Friday and my host mom dropped me off at the airport at around 7:10am.  Immediately spotted the group I'd be going with - we were about 16 and so we went through security (which is significantly less harrowing than in the US, especially with this being a domestic flight) and waited around for about an hour, sleepy and trying to find breakfast.  The flight was so short - barely 30 minutes and we landed in Coca.  Here we waited for those who checked bags and then got on a little bit, which drove through town to a little riverside hostel.  From here we got on a boat which had lawn chairs and sat for 2 hours.  The river looked more like a lake - veryyy big but this is where we got our first glimpse of the forest.  Beautiful.  They passed out a good bagged lunch and we bundled up because the wind made it chilly.

After 2 hours, we got out at this little oil company place, where we had to present ID and scan our bags, and here we got on a chiva, which we rode for maybe an hour and a half.  (A chiva is an open-air bus, if you don't remember.)  Around this oil place we weren't allowed to even take out our cameras because apparently nearby there is one of the largest illegal animal markets around (apparently totally sad and cruel) and in the past they've had some issues with tourists taking pictures.  Anyway, we got off the chiva, climbed down the side of this river and jumped on another giant boat.  2 hours later, we come into site of the Tiputini Biodiversity Station.  By this time, you can imagine, you're seriously in the middle of NOWHERE.  There is no way to get back except by boat.

We climb up the pier and they give us a quick tour.  There is large open air "comedor" which is the dining hall, then you walk through the forest using these makeshift steps, made by wood they bolt down to the ground (otherwise you'd be traipsing through mud all the time) which leads to the lab/library (the only air conditioned building) and the you continue and reach the cabins where we stayed.  Instead of walls, we had screens so it really felt like we were sleeping outside.  We only had electricity from 10-2 and 6-9:30.  There was no hot water and we were expected to be quiet at 9:30.  Also, breakfast was at 6:30am every day so you pretty much wanted to sleep that early.

The first night we just ate, got a presentation about current projects then we went to bed.  They have what they call "camera trap" put up everywhere (sponsored by National Geographic) which snaps pictures when motion is detected.  They've gotten thousands of pictures so far, sometimes of animals never before photographed.  This way they can keep track of the wildlife, including jaguars!!!!  Also giant anteaters, deer, tapirs, monkeys, etc.  It's an amazing project.

Next morning, we had our delicious breakfast and split into two groups.  They gave us rubber boots (heaven-sent seriously) and we set out.  Oh also, we soaked ourselves in bug spray.... very important.  Our group took a boat upriver, disembarked then just followed the guide as he searched for things to show us.  If I can for a second reiterate - WE WERE IN THE RAIN FOREST.  That fact alone made the walk just incredible.  Of course it was hot and humid, and there were so many species of plants and bugs I'd never seen.  And birds.  And MONKEYS!  We were always running around trying to spot monkeys in the canopy - ended up spotting 5 of the 10 kinds that live there.

You'd think the rain forest would be super dangerous but as far as I can tell, the worst is these giant black ants that are pretty common - they bite you and apparently you experience the worst pain for nearly 15 hours.  If more than one bites you, you get a fever and shivers, and more than that you could just die.  They were pretty easy to avoid though.  There are jaguars, anacondas, crocodiles, manta rays, and tarantulas but of these I only saw one tarantula (story later).  Sort of disappointing.

In the afternoon, we climbed a giant tower and stood basically above the canopy.  We saw lots of birds (like macaws!) and saw some monkeys pretty close up.  What a view though - it was so high up and a seriously incredible feeling to see everything from such a private view.  You also truly realize how you are in the middle of NOWHERE.

On Sunday, we climbed up another tower, but this time we had to harness ourselves in and we got to walk on these bridges from platform to platform.  This was the same kind of canopy-excitement effect, which lottts of ants.  From here you actually got to climb up a ladder and sit on a platform EVEN higher, which was terrifying and awesome.  The harness didn't reassure me too much here.

Anyway, we came back, had another great meal and commented on how ridiculously hot it got.  Of course, within 2 hours it was pourrringggg down rain and we gather for the next event completely soaked.  Luckily, we were just going to go swimming in the Tiputini river, which is a tributary of the Amazon.  We waited until the rain stop and jumped out.  It was colddd, maybe because we were cold from the wind in the boat.  The water was pretty swift so we got carried downstream for around an hour, the boat close behind.  So while we were floating and making noise and generally being obnoxious, 2 of my friends start screaming because 3 feet from them was a tarantula, floating on water!!! It was squirming and kind of moving.  So apparently they can swim, didn't know that.

At one point, it got dark, windy, and rainy again so we got back in and returned.  I was so happy to put on real clothes and eat some more delicious food.  Another quiet early night.  We got up early again the next morning, had breakfast, and resumed the longggg voyage home.  Seemed even longer - we left at 7:30am and I walked in my front door at 6pm.  In Coca this time, we chilled for a bit at the resort, got to see peacocks, I gave food to a cute monkey and a bird, and there was a giant turtle too.  Pretty exciting.

Anyway, of course I got home and passed out after doing a little work.  Didn't do too much this week except go on a date last night (that was fun!) and TONIGHT was crazy too.

I went with Julie to el Centro at around 7 to support her art teacher's art exhibit.  He was legit - he stayed with us and explained his art while we sipped wine.  Felt so sophisticated.  A little later, we argued with a cab and went to the other end of the city and get to watch LIGA play someone Independencia in fútbol.  That's Quito's team and of course everyone gets crazy here.  It was an exciting game - we won - but unfortunately 2 of my friends didn't enjoy it too much because were robbed!  Someone stole Juliana's phone and camera from her jacket pocket (outside - which is sad because it's kind of a 'duh' thing - never put them in a jacket pocket!)  But then my friend Stephen had his wallet and camera on an inside pocket of his jacket, with a zipper!! And someone jacked that as well.  They were so upset but what are you gonna do!?

So that was my week - I'm exhausted.  We're going to Cuenca for Carnaval, but the buses only leave on Saturday night so we'll be coming back probably Wednesday.  We get Monday an Tuesday off and the bus to Cuenca lasts around 10 hours.  But we're going on a night bus so I can sleep I guess.  I'm pretty excited - Cuenca looks beautiful and fun.  I'm happy to have Saturday off too - I just need to chill, seriously.

Anyway, I am SO tired.  I love you all and miss you!

Cynthia

Baños.

Dear friends and family, I'm about to tell you about the craziest weekend of my life.  I thought ziplining and tubing was insane.....

On Friday afternoon, 9 of my awesome friends and I met up at the bus terminal in South Quito where buses to Baños depart.  To get to this terminal took all of an hour in the electric Trole bus, so that was already an ordeal in itself.  We bought our tickets - $3,50 for the 4-hour bus ride to Baños got settled.  We left a little before 5 so it was dark right away and we didn't get to see anything.

We arrived late and settled into our hostel, which was a walking distance from the bus station.  Within 10 minutes of arriving we ran into our other friends staying in town this weekend too.  Our hostel was adorable - 4 floors with nice clean rooms, hot water, and comfy bunk beds.  And towels.  We went out to dinner then explored the nightlife... Baños is known for its partying and sure enough the streets were packed and filled with music and excitement.  We stayed out late then walked home and crashed.

Early in the next morning, we got ready, had breakfast on the top floor (facing the beautiful mountains and waterfall), then set out to our first activity:  riding horses through the mountains!  All nine of us got a horse and followed a guide through town, then through some paths, weaving through the paths.  I was so preoccupied with the fact that I was on a horse that the first half hour I could not focus on the amazing sights.  The horse was totally fine but listened to the guide more than me so that was a little worrisome.  Another girl's horse was kind of ornery and even kicked my horse in the side, narrowly missing me!  So I was a little on edge.  We then decided to go by the waterfall path and got on this steep narrow path leading to the waterfall!  Karl, my horse, did not like this and kept hesitating and freaking out.  We made it eventually and on the way back I finally figured out what I was doing so I felt a lot better.  I talked to the guide in Spanish, telling him to stop making me force to go faster cause it was freaking me out, and he just laughed and asked me if I drank coffee - I said yes and he proceeded to tell me that's why I'm so nervous all the time.

Anyway, we came back, had lunch and went to our next activity - puenting!

Everyone's been freaking out when I tell them about this particular activity.  Puenting means strapping yourself to a harness and a rope and jumping off a bridge.  It's not a bungee cord so there's not spring when you reach the end, but the rope is hooked to the other side of the bridge so you fall and swing right away.  I heard about this a few weeks ago and knew I wouldn't let myself not do it.  So lo and behold on Saturday I'm trying to get the others to do it with me!

We get to the bridge and everyone just freaks out.  It was HIGH and WINDY and suddenly seeing someone just free-fall from a platform seemed so unnatural and unnerving!  Well obviously.  So we all freak out a little, take pictures, and before we know we are strapped up.  My friends Lauren and Brein decided to do it too, while the others climbed to the bottom and watched and took pictures.  The bridge was like, 300 feet high, and of course I put my feet on that platform and all I could think is - humans are not meant to do stupid things like this!  And that it'd be impossible to convince my mind to throw myself into nothing!  So I decided to just not think at all and when the harness guy yelled "salta" I JUMPED and it was the scariest thing I've ever experienced in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!  I keep shivering just thinking about it.... you're just... falling and I closed my eyes and though I jumped with my arms out of course I was immediately clutching the rope and screaming my lungs out.  When the rope reached the end, it jerked a little but nothing horrible.  I opened my eyes and couldn't believe I was hanging under bridge, swinging like crazy.....but I was so happy.  They let down the rope and I joined my friends who were sitting there.  The other girls had already gone and we just mostly screamed and freaked out and what we had done.  Absolutely no regrets!! I knew I had to do this once in my life :)

I honestly would have had enough adrenaline for the weekend, but we had already signed up to do canyoning.  We hop in the back of another truck and head to the waterfalls, where we are all given wet wetsuits and wet Keds and a helmet and harness and prepare to repel down some waterfalls.  This was something different... this looked hard... you actually had to focus and get it right (unlike throwing yourself off a bridge).  So we all tried the first one and the guide laughed and told us we were all horrible so we couldn't actually do legit repelling and instead he'd be doing all the work.  Which was fine with me.  So on the next one we did some sliding and on the final one, we repelled a little, then basically threw ourselves backwards again off the edge - a 100 foot drop -  and he just let the rope drop - in other words, let US drop.  We'd drop in about 20 feet increments, and this too was just terrifying.  Right at the end, when I thought he was gonna let us land somehow carefully or gracefully, I, in HORROR, realize this is not happening as I get dropped onto a giant rock, being thrown from one side to another, smashing my hip and hitting my head.  Luckily my helmet stopped any brain damage from occurring but I have a pretty nice purple bruise on my hip now.  Disoriented I join the 2 last guys who were waiting for me, because as we discover there is not stairs or a nice path to get back up, just an impossible climb, trying to pull yourself up by roots, literally crawling in the dirt up the side of this mountain.  So they helped me up in the beginning and we all made our way back.  We had the chance to do that last fall again and I just laughed - you can call me many things but I'm not dumb enough to let the guy who DROPPED me down a waterfall do it again.  Luckily and unluckily, my friend Ally got something in her eye earlier and couldn't get it out so she was pretty hysterical and crying, so I stuck with her and tried to make her feel better.

After this, we headed back, brought Ally to the emergency clinic where she got the piece of sand removed, and we headed back and took warm showers, changed and headed to dinner.  We ate quickly because at 9 we were getting on a chiva, a party bus, and headed to the top of one of the mountains to see if we could see any volcanic activity.  We met a really nice guy and girl on the chiva from Guyaquil and we hung out with them for the rest of the night... we'd been drinking a little so our Spanish was incredible, go figure.  But we really hit it off, so it was awesome!  Of course it was really cloudy so there was nothing to be seen around the volcano but the city lights were beautiful from up there and we had a good time.  We got back in the chivas later and headed back out to the bars.  I ended up coming back to the hostel at 4:30 am....

Then at 8am, opened my eyes, tried to move, and seriously felt like I'd been hit by a bus.  I forgot to mention this whole time that I've had a cold all weekend; it was pretty mild for a while but on Saturday night it flared up a little.  By the end of the night I'd completely lost my voice.  So Sunday morning, every muscle was sore from riding horses, repelling down waterfalls, dancing for hours, being slightly hungover, and from coughing and having my head feel completely inflated around my sinuses.  Very pleasant.  Oh and sleeping for 3 hours.

Somehow I took a DayQuil, drank some herbal tea at breakfast and made it through the rest of the day.  We split up - Julie, Ally, Alli, and I took another chiva ride, this time touring waterfalls outside of Baños.  It was a beautiful warm sunny day so that was perfect.  The others decided to rent some bikes and did the same route with a lot more effort.  They had bought our bus tickets beforehand but we didn't know for what time.  When we finish with our tours, we grab a bite to eat, and try to call them to get an ETA.  After lots of unanswered calls, we find out the tickets are for 3:30 - it was 3 - they were just leaving their last waterfall.  We try not to panic about this but if we miss that bus we lose money and may not get another for several more hours.  Fast-forward to 3:30 - Julie and I frantically calling the others while begginggg the bus driver not to leave... workers from the terminal yelling at us that the bus has to go, us yelling back desperately that they are close, they are running.  Our dumb friends weren't exactly running, even though we called 3 times absolutely screaming at them.  The bus pulled out on to the street, stopped again, and finally after delaying for about 10 minutes almost of of our friends come up.  Unfortunately one of them came back into town and his bike broke, so he didn't see where everyone else went and has a terrible sense of direction.  So Tim and Joe stayed behind and caught the next bus while everyone else jumped on this one.  All of our friends from the other group were on this bus too so it was a fun trip back.  I didn't talk obviously - but we laughed and eventually everyone fell asleep for a bit.  4 hours later, we get to Quito, take another hour on another train, and then I come home to my host family, who loves hearing my stories.  Unfortunately my host mom needed quite a bit of convincing that me being hoarse does not require a doctor visit, but I think she's good now.  She had saved dinner for me - rice and shrimp - and I told her my stories.

Then I came upstairs and here I am.  So many pictures are already uploaded to facebook - I'll be downloading for days.  Video of puenting is coming.  Otherwise I'm tired and sick and should probably get some rest.  In 4 days I'm headed to the rain forest for another field trip - this one university-lead.  Should be incredibleeeeeee.

Alrighty, so that's it for me.  Hope you enjoyed reading about how insane my life has apparently become.  I was never the daredevil or the brave one so this is hilarious to me.

Looooove, Cyn

Otra semana aquí.

Heyy there.

It's been another week in this lovely town - though I didn't go on any crazy trips or pull any wild stunts, it was still pretty fun.  Monday and Tuesday I managed to stay in and do homework, which was nice because I knew the rest of the week would involved little free time.  On Wednesday, I went to Julie's apartment to watch the UNC/Dook game.  We were streaming it from her computer - her parents bought a box back in NC that would allow her to watch cable all the way in Ecuador.  She passed out all of her Carolina Blue attire (I shamefully own none here) and we all huddled around the screen, shouting in unison first in joy then in horror and disappointment.  We were 7 of us - Julie, Lauren, Alli, Cole, Liz, Shannon, and I - missing just a few of the other Tar Heels in the country.  It was a fun, if triste, night.

On Thursday, we attended the info meeting for our trip to Tiputini in March, which is the biodiversity station owned by the University in the Amazon rain forest.  They explained about how we get there - plane then canoe - what we should expect to see - monkeys, snakes, spiders, piranhas, birds, thousands of plants and bugs, and though it's almost completely doubtful we'll see one - jaguars!!!  It will be a weekend of humidity, cold showers, and WONDER because we'll be in the rain forest - swimming in rivers and climbing the canopy.  Sounds absolutely incredible.  But of course, I'll tell you all about after it's done.  And no worries, I'll be taking thousands of pictures.

That night, Lauren invited just about everyone she knew to her place for dinner.  We went shopping in Cumbayá, and about 6 of us went to her place her to make everything.  We made a taco dip, pico de gallo (that was me!  freaking delicious), guacamole, then tacos with all the fillings, and finally chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert.  About 20 people showed up so we had a great atmosphere going.  We got the place nice and clean after and everyone had a pretty good time I think.  The one awkward thing was of course that the apartment belongs to Lauren's host parents, so when they arrived at one point during the night the party kind of died and half the people ran out - almost like the cops showing up.  They had asked that no one drink so that'd be the reason for the flight of the Americans.  Anyway, we all lamented not living in our own places for this kind of event - the freedom of people trashing the place and not worrying about it until the next day ;)

Afterwards we went out and had another fun night out on the town and came back at 3:30am..... luckily our driver Carlos is an angel and will always make sure all of us get home safe and sound.  That makes me feel infinitely better about going out every time.

Of course I had class on Friday, so I made it to campus and went to weaving, where I'm starting my final project.  There were only 2 other people in class, so I spent the hour talking to Alejandra, the sweetest Ecuadorian girl.  She has lived in NYC for a year so she's good with English but we spoke in the Spanish the whole time.  I loved hearing about her impressions of the US - she thought it was weird for example how her host mom in the US had a box for "winter" and "summer" clothes.  Anyway, it was great to speak to someone new in Spanish and made me feel so great because I'm getting better and better and it makes me so happy!  I even spoke a little in my literature class which was awesome as well.

Afterwards, Powers and I got lunch then headed to her place, where we watched this terrible animated owl movie and then skyped with her boyfriend in the US (who is French so we make fun of each other, it works out.)  We were dyinggg for some burritos so Powers' host sister came with us and drove to a cute little Mexican restaurant - the burritos were not like Chipotle so mission failed but it was still tasty.  After, her host sis got an emergency call from the vet clinic where she works, and so we all headed over and watched as they put an IV in this poor dog's leg - the dog has an autoimmune disease and is slowly dying.  I guess it took it hard because all of a sudden I felt terrible and nearly fainted.  They had to put me outside where it was cooler and get me water.  SO embarrassing!

Anyway, after that I came home and talked with my host mom and sis for a while, then went to my bed and passed out for real this time, of pure exhaustion.  I guess you know you're getting older when you can only handle one night of 4 hours of sleep. :)

That leads to today... it's nearly 3, I'm in my PJs sitting on my bed.  Should do homework, etc but instead I'm going to spend my time on listentoyoutube.com which is an amazing site that rips mp3 off of youtube.  So I'm currently adding to my itunes library.

Time to go... love you guys!

Cyn

PS.  Without adding too much detail, Thursday night had some interesting occurrences and possible awkward ramifications.  Anyone interested in hearing more details, chat me up sometime :)

Lazy Sunday.

It rains a lot in Quito at night, but seldom during the day. Today is a beautiful exception. I get to stay in, continue pouring over Eat, Pray, Love and work on some of my literature homework for class, while listening to the drops on the roof cover up the noises of traffic and bustling city life.

Also, I get to happily turn down the endless invitations today and do my own thing. Hordes of Gringos in this city will be stuffing themselves into bars to try and catch the Superbowl (even though apparently Quito is playing Guayaquil in fútbol and I'd imagine that age-old rivalry will be taking precedence on the screens) and so my natural response is to cozy up in my blanket and maybe make myself another coffee.

I had an amazing Saturday in Papallacta, the natural hot springs resort about 2 hours from here. My usual group and I left very earlier in the morning, then enjoyed a day soaking in the sun and the minerals from the steamy water. We were surrounded by views of the beautiful mountains and blue skies - hard to imagine anything more incredible. Best part? Only $7 to get in for the day. Got back late and went to bed very early. We had been out on Friday, dancing until nearly 2:30am and so my 4 hours of sleep could only carry me so far.

In other news, I also tried salsa last week! I didn't know how - nor do I now, really - but I managed to get by and had a few guys let me know que yo tengo rítmo :) (that I've got rhythm! haha). It was a fun night, and I met a few nice guys, a few sketchy guys, but mostly just had fun and hung out with my friends.

The biggest thing I'm dealing with while living here is balancing going out and staying in. I don't party at UNC, and my best nights are spent hanging out with friends, talking, laughing, or watching movies. I've been exposed to drinking within my family and friends for years, and have spent a fair amount of time where I'm allowed to drink, and so arriving here, going out does not hold the appeal it does to me as it does to all the others. What I've witnessed is actually a very stereotypically-American reaction of kids who are suddenly allowed to drink going overboard and I just honestly find it ridiculous. That being said, I have lots of friends here and I'm invited out nearly 4-5 times a week to go to bars for trivia, salsa, regular dancing, etc etc. And I feel like I'm turning people down all the time. At night, we take taxis to get anywhere, and then get at least one drink while out. It gets expensive. The area of town where people go out, while very busy, is only more-or-less safe and you have to be careful. I have always fun those nights but I can only handle it once or twice a week. And feel guilty those other nights because I'm missing out on some fun times. So I'm trying to figure out how to balance this desire to stay in and relax and make the most of my other nights out...

After days like yesterday though, I try to not let myself worry and convince myself that my time and money are better spent planning incredible weekends out, visiting the country, than being accosted by sleazy strangers in bars. I'm sure you agree??

Enjoy your Sundays, everybody!

Love, Cyn