La Basilica, El Parque La Carolina, y El Pichincha

Lets see, what have I done since last time I posted? I have found a running buddy who is super cool. Lately, my friend, Meghan and I have been corriendo (running) through El Parque La Carolina which is a huge park in the middle of the city which is also right next to ACLAS (my school). I am not entirely sure how far the run is but I think it’s in the neighborhood of 2.3-2.8 miles around once. So far we’ve only been going around one time because la altura (altitude) really gets to your lungs. I was breathing fairly hard after only a few minutes until my second wind came. The park is quite pretty but apparently is very dangerous after 6ish at night. It has a BIG skatepark and large dirt jumps which always remind me of Chris. It also has many basketball courts, super high volleyball nets, and several dirt and cement soccer courts (less than half the length of a normal field).

ACLAS, a little bit smaller than UW

I started classes el miércoles (Wednesday) and I have them every lunes-jueves (Monday through Thursday) from 1:30-4:50. The first term, we are only taking our talking/grammar course (Spanish 301) and the first two hours are with una profesora que se llama Pamela (a teacher named Pamela). The class is entirely in Spanish and basically in these two hours we basically just talk about stories we read in our text book and give our opinions on them. This teacher reminds me EXACTLY of a Latina version of Ms. Jones, my English teacher from high school. So naturally, I think she’s awesome. She dresses, talks, sort of  looks, and even sits on her chair the same way as Ms. Jones. Then we have another teacher after that for an hour named Ana Lucía and with her, we focus on grammar and writing type stuff.

El Viernes (On Friday) we had a free day and about half of the group went to Mindo, a nearby town that has a lot of outdoor activities, for the weekend and the rest of us stayed in Quito. We went back to el centro historico and took a 25 cent trole (trolley) there. We first went to La Basilica, a HUGE stone church that apparently has been paid for entirely with donations since the late 1800s. There are two sides of the church that have large towers and we got to go up both for a fee of $2 because we are extranjeros (foreigners) as opposed to $1 if we were local. There was an elevator but we all opted to take the stairs instead. On the way up there was a gift shop and very nice looking restaurant. We got to the top and got an AWESOME view of Quito and I could actually see my house from it. A cool thing about this church is that the gargoyles are all animals from Ecuador and the Galapagos. We went up the first side which has two clock towers then walked over a sketchy wooden bridge above the ceiling over the pews to the other tower on the opposite side. There were some very steep stairs and ladders that we climbed but it was definitely worth it.

Yo and nuevas amigas

The gargoyles are all indiginous animals like tortoises in this one

View of one tower from the tower on the other side

El Panecillo from La Basilica. Sorta looks like a little bread roll right?

Mis amigas climbing up the tower

Inside el reloj

Walking over the ceiling over the pews to the other tower

You can kind of see how the ceiling is shaped here

After La Basilica, we went back to la Plaza de Independencia and went inside the church I took a picture of last time but didn’t know the name of. It was called El Sagrario and was pretty similar La Compañía de Jesús but not quite as pristine. It still had extremely impressive walls and painted domed ceilings. The floor was SUPER creaky so everybody in the whole church knew if you were walking around. Then we went back to La Iglesia de San Francisco again and got to go inside for a little bit this time. The church was pretty huge but definitely less decorated than the others. A lot of the walls were merely left blank as opposed to El Sagrario and La Compañía de Jesús. After that we went to a restaurant on top of a building, called Vista Hermosa which had a nice view of el centro historico. Six of us shared unajarra de canelazo (jar of canelazo), which is a drink that has cinnamon, jugo de naranjilla, and a little bit of liquor in it. It tasted sort of like the drink “Tang” that I used to have when I was younger. My friend, Meghan, thought it tasted like Theraflu. Despite that, it still tasted pretty good.

On Saturday, I went to El Parque La Carolina with my friend, Zang and played some pick up soccer for a bit. I really felt the altitude after a few runs but it was pretty fun. It was more like futsal than normal soccer because of the shorter cement “court” and firm ball we played with. After that Zang and I explored the park and found a lake type thing in the middle and paid three bucks to rent a fun little paddle boat a for a half hour which was fun but surely a leg workout. I didn’t have my camera with me that day so I don’t have any pictures of the park unfortunately L. I will definitely go to the park again soon probably and take some pictures to post.

On Sunday, six of us met at Quicentro at 8:30 and took a cab to the bottom of El Pichincha, a mountain overlooking Quito to take El Teleferiqo, a gondola, up to 4,100 meters. From there we hiked farther up the mountain, almost to the top. We took MANY breaks along the way because the altitude was so high and it was very easy to become short of breath. We hiked probably a mile or two out and got some great views of Quito and the valleys of the mountain. It was about 60ish degrees most of the time except when it got later in the day and the sun wasn’t obscured by clouds. It felt a little warmer then. I wore sunscreen and a hat but still got extremely burnt in the face and didn’t realize it until later. It was wird to think that I got so burnt in 60 degree weather but it definitely makes sense since the sun is shining directly down on us here. On the way down, one girl in our group struggled with the altitude (and lack of water probably) and we had to descend pretty slow but it all turned out alright when we got to the bottom. We then went to a restaurant called Las Palmeras and I tried ceviche for the first time which is basically a cold, soupy, watery salsa with shrimp in it. It was SO tasty. Gonna have to try the type with fish in it next time.

View of Quito and some mountains

We hiked to the first little rocky bluff on the right side

Warning: 4,100 meters of altitude. Go slowly-Don´t run.

Quito behind us

Escalando

Reminds me of Hawaii

Mi amiga, Zang, y yo

Caballos for rent

We took many breaks along the way

We ALMOST got to the top. Several of us plan to return to complete the hike

There maaaay or may not have been an enormous cliff right on the otherside of us. No big deal :) Don´t worry, Mom. I was being safe.

That pretty much encompasses what I’ve done lately as well as a little homework (the really exciting stuff) here and there. This weekend, we have a group trip to Otavalo, a town a couple hours away that has one of the most famous Saturday markets in South America. I expect to do some regalito (little gift) shopping with a lot of bartering to bring back home. Wish me luck! I’ll post again after that unless something extremely exciting happens before then that I feel compelled to share.

Orientation and Tourist Day

Oh man! My first two days at ACLAS have been awesome! I have a lot to say so I’ll start from the top I suppose.

On Monday at 8:30 we went to ACLAS for orientation. All 32 of us gathered in a room and Fernando Miño, the executive director of ACLAS welcomed us briefly then gave the floor to a man named Piotr who had been living in Ecuador for 3 years but from Poland originally. All of the orientation was in English and we started by doing a strange/awkward ice breaking activity where the guys stood on one side with the girls on the other and we did Piotr’s rendition of the frigate (bird of the Galapagos) mating ritual which involved some testosterone from the hombres (men) which was just too much for las mujeres (women) to handle. They fell for us almost instantaneously. But anyway, Piotr said that that awkward icebreaker was pretty much to get us to try to be comfortable with each other and not be nenos y nenas (someone who always says no to everything and is a party pooper). After that, we all discussed the cultural differences between Ecuador and the United States which included things like personal space, food, and politeness. Then he proceeded to frighten us with all of the peligros (dangers) of Quito. He said that there is a lot of theft in Quito although for the most part, none of it is violent. We were basically told to just keep our wits about us, travel in groups, take taxis at night even if we’re not walking far, and not carry around valuables like our computer, camera, phone, or more than $20 all the time.

That night, some of us met at the mall, Quicentro near ACLAS and ended up going to a restaurant called Old West that had a Western theme (obviously) but served pizza and played Michael Jackson for some reason. Got to know some of the other students a little better and I encountered a green toilet in the men’s room. Oh the things you’ll find in Ecuador!

Tuesday was AWESOME. We started at ACLAS and took a chartered tour bus (thank goodness) to La Mitad Del Mundo (the middle of the world) and the outdoor museum there. We had a tour guía (guide) there that taught us about a tribe called the Wuaoran. The whole tour was in Spanish and while I am getting better at understanding it all, the main points I took away from the bit about the Wuaoran was that they liked going around naked and used blow dart guns that were about six feet long (for accuracy) to paralyze game and enemies from about 40 meters away.

Also saw some animals preserved in some liquid solution. These included a huge boa, other smaller snakes, spiders, and a fish from the Amazon that swims up the urethra while a guy pees and requires surgery for removal. Awesome. Pumped about that guy.

Snakes and Stuff

Big Spider for Millah

Not so little fellow that goes in the place with the thing

We also saw a replica tomb of the certain tribe of the area (not sure if it was Wuaoran or not) that was for the jefe (boss or tribe leader type person) and his wife. Apparently if the jefe dies first, the wife has to drink this poison from a certain cactus that kills her and she gets buried with the jefe too. No fun for her.

Tomb for the Jefe

Real shrunken sloth and human head

Wuaoran

 We then went to the actual equator part of the museum that had several cool sun dials along the big red equator line. There was also a movable sink type thing that when drained south of the line, would make the water spin clockwise, when drained north of the line, would make the water spin counter-clockwise, and when drained exactly on the line, just drained straight down. It was pretty cool to see. There was also an egg balancing test (on the head of a nail) which I failed but others succeeded in. Boohoo. But anyway, also found out that you weigh one kilogram less on the equator as well because gravity is less there I guess…

One sun dial

Straddling

Egg Master

Whoohoo!

We then bussed south to El Centro Historica de Quito (Old Town) but first we headed up to a place called El Panecillo (this is a hill that looks like a small bread roll or un panecillo). Atop this hill is La Virgen de Quito, which is an enormous 148 foot tall statue of the winged Virgin with a serpent at her feet attached to a chain. It was pretty impressive. Quite large. I want one for my birthday. We got to go inside it and and climb some stairs up to the first room-ish place which had a ton of stained glass windows and small models of the churches of Quito.

View of part of Quito from the balcony of El Panecillo

Sun Halo!

The statue is on top of the world and these are the numbered panels inside of the globe so it looked right on the outside

Then we went to La Plaza de Independencia. It is a square with grass and trees and such in the middle surrounded by the first cathedral of Quito, the president's palace, the archbishop's palace, and another government building. Atop the cathedral is a metal gallo (rooster) and there is a legend that there was a man that continuously would get drunk and challenge the power of the gallo. One night, the man was drunk and challenged him again except this time, the gallo came down, beat the crap out of the guy and put him in his place.

Front of the First Cathedral of Quito

El Gallo Poderoso (Powerful Rooster)

Part of the first cathedral of Quito from behind

We also learned about a president, Gabriel Garcia Moreno who was assassinated out front of the president's palace by a guy, Faustino Rayo, with a machete. Apparently Moreno had been seeing Rayo's wife and he had a problem with it I guess.

Front of President's Palce

The guards weren't very good at keeping a straight face

Spot where Rayo hacked up Moreno with a machete

Then we walked a short distance to La Iglesia de La Compañía de Jesús (Church of the Society of Jesus) which I was completely unprepared for. It was easily the most visually impressive thing I have ever seen in my life. We weren’t allowed to take pictures but even still, there’s no way they would have done justice to the beauty of this place. It had super high ceilings and the whole place was filled with gold walls and statues/paintings of religious stuff I know nothing about. It looked really cool anyway though. It had a couple domed ceilings with paintings on them. There were also windows that let light in which made the golden walls look even more magnificent. I was awestruck by this place. Truly incredible.

Building that we passed on the way to the amazing church

Outside La Iglesia de La Compañía de Jesús 

La Iglesia de La Compañía de Jesús

El Banco Central de Quito right next to La Iglesia de La Compañía de Jesús 

La Iglesia de La Compañía de Jesús

Inside La Iglesia de La Compañía de Jesús 

Here's a picture I found online of the church. Still doesn't capture how incredible this place was. http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/5737/quitocompania83mi.jpg

Then we walked a little bit to La Plaza de San Francisco that has La Iglesia de San Francisco where we heard about another legend. When the church was being built, Satan supposedly came down and said he’d help them finish building the church if the man in charge gave him his soul when it was finished. When the church was finished, the devil came down and demanded the man’s soul but the man pointed out that there was one piece (a keystone above a door) that was not there and because the church was not finished, he had fooled the devil and didn’t have to give him his soul.

La Iglesia de San Francisco

Yo enfrente

Random Street

Another random calle

Then we went to La Plaza De Santo Domingo where there was another church and a big statue of General Mariscal Sucre who played a key role in gaining Ecuadorian independence at the Battle of El Pichincha (volcano right next to Quito).

La Iglesia de Santo Domingo and the Statue of Mariscal Sucre

Then we went to a street called La Calle de la Ronda that used to be a really run down part of town with a lot of crime and prostitution. It has been restored and is now a popular tourist place with many restaurants, bars, and art galleries.

Walking to La Calle de la Ronda with el Panecillo in the background

La Calle de la Ronda

End of La Calle de la Ronda

Me in a random alley

That was basically a very quick version of the things we saw and learned yesterday. Hope you enjoyed it!

First Impressions

Hola Todos!

I arrived in Quito at about 10:30 last night and made it through customs in a flash. I found my program director at the airport entrance and he introduced me to my host family. I was met by two women, Rocío and her friend Helena and we took a taxi back to Rocío's apartment. Both are very friendly and thankfully, they aren't super fast talkers so I can actually understand what they are saying most of the time. I learned that Rocío is a maestra (teacher) at an elementary school less than a block away from her apartment and that Helena is her secretaria who also lives with her. Both of them are in their mid 50s (they openly shared this with me so don't worry, I wasn't being nosy or anything haha). Helena has 3 hijos (children) that all live on their own now and she has 3 nietos (grandchildren) while Rocío has one hijo and one nieto.

So far, I'm extremely happy with how everything has gone so far. My host family and I communicate pretty well and they were impressed with my pronunciation and the fact that I didn't sound like a typical gringo (white foreigner). Today they showed me how to get to ACLAS (Andean Center for Latin American Studies) where I will be going to school. It's about a 20 minute bus ride which costs 25 cents and is a couple miles north of the apartment. Other than that, I've basically been reading an Ecuador travel book to find out places I'd like to go as well as helping Rocía and Helena with some of their school work grading. I haven't gotten the chance to take many pictures yet but I've taken a few of the city from from Rocío's apartment on the 4th floor. The internet where I am right now is really slow so I'll upload those pictures later.

I have orientation tomorrow morning at 8:30 but I don't really know what is going to be going on because I lost the arrival instructions that the director gave me within 15 minutes of getting them. So I've got that going for me. Which is nice. I'll be meeting up with the one other student (and her family) that lives near here tomorrow to take the bus to school and then we'll see what happens from there. Don't think I've ever been this excited for a first day of school before! I'll try and post pictures tomorrow.

Until then, chao!