Viajes

While most of my WorldTeach friends started teaching immediately after orientation ended, three of my friends and I had close to a month of vacation. We decided to take advantage of this time off and do some traveling in Ecuador and Colombia.

Our first stop was a town just a few hours from Quito called Baños. Baños is known for its adventure sports, hot springs, and spa treatments. After a nice, easy hike, hot springs, and facials/massages the first day, we were ready for something more challenging. We biked 60 km, from Baños to Puyo, a town in the jungle. The ride was difficult but well worth it; it was amazing to see the change from mountains to jungle. A trip to Baños wouldn’t be complete without a rafting trip, so we spent our third day on the Pastaza River. And what a rafting trip it was! I was one of two people who had to be rescued after falling out of the raft, and the van taking us back to Baños broke down not once, but twice. We had to hitch a ride back on a double-decker tour bus.

After some quick stopovers in Ambato and Quito, we set out for Colombia! Though everyone in the US warned me to be careful, I actually felt much safer in Colombia than I do in Quito. Arriving in the Cartagena airport, we saw a sign saying, “Colombia, the only risk is wanting to stay.” So true!! It is a beautiful country with wonderful people. Our travels began in Cartagena, a romantic colonial city on the Caribbean coast. This was my favorite place because of its unique Afro-Caribbean culture, warm climate, and incredible beaches! We spent two days on an island off the coast with the clearest blue water and whitest sand I have ever seen. Sleeping in hammocks under the stars was the icing on the cake. We then spent a few days in Medellín, a modern city most famous for being home to Pablo Escobar. Salento was our final stop, a peaceful town located in the coffee region. I was not ready to leave Colombia and will definitely be back sometime!

I am back in Quito now but will set out for Manta in a few days, where I will be living for the rest of the year. I’m excited to get settled there with my new host family and start teaching!

Carnaval

According to Lonely Planet, “Half the fun of Guaranda is getting there.” It was certainly an adventure from the very beginning…

This weekend was Carnaval, when some of the biggest parties take place all around Ecuador.  Four of my friends and I decided to take a trip into the central highlands (originally, there were going to six of us, but sadly one of my friends spent the weekend sick in Quito).  We spent time in a small town called San Miguel and Guaranda, a small city that is most famous for its Carnaval celebrations.

We should have known what a ridiculous weekend we were about to have from the start.  We tried to buy bus tickets a couple of days in advance, but the bus companies insisted that we had to buy them the day of our trip.  When Saturday rolled around, we made sure to be at the bus terminal by 7 am.  Even arriving early, we encountered massive crowds.  Of course, people refused to wait in lines and continued to push their way to the front.  Realizing that we would have to do the same, we split up until my friend finally managed to secure five tickets, but only after being shouted at for not respecting the (non-existent) line or the country of Ecuador.  Overwhelmed and suffering from claustrophobia, we made it to the bus and collapsed onto our seats, finally leaving Quito around 9 am.  Traffic was terrible, but the scenery was incredible and it seemed like we passed through every season.  We got to San Miguel in the evening, where we were immediately doused with water.  San Miguel was absolutely beautiful and we watched a parade of many different dance troupes that night.

Sunday was the main event in Guaranda.  On the 30-minute bus ride between the two cities, we were introduced to a Carnaval song that we would hear non-stop for the rest of the holiday.  Seriously. People played it everywhere, on repeat, at all hours.  If you´re curious, you can listen to it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuBnUsZ8OJ4 Guaranda’s Carnaval was definitely an experience!  The parade began around noon (though it was scheduled to start at 11), but people had already begun drinking early that morning, mostly a special homemade liquor called pajaro azul.  People of all ages also got into the Carnaval spirit by spraying carioca, a type of foam, and throwing water balloons and flour at any and all passersby.  The parade was quite impressive, but the real party started when it ended.  Everyone flooded into the main square for live music and dancing.  We met many more WorldTeach and Peace Corps volunteers—together they have named the group World Peace Teach Corps.  By the end of the day, we were covered from head to toe in carioca and flour.  Additionally, a baby puked on one of my friends, and I sat in gum.  At least we avoided being egged!

We had a more low key day on Monday when we chose to visit another nearby town called Salinas, which is known for its cooperative-run cheese and chocolate factories. The fastest way to get there is to take white pick-up trucks, so we hopped in the first one we could find. It was definitely worth the trip, though we had a disastrous ride back when there wasn’t enough room for all of us in the truck and my three friends who had to sit in the bed of the truck got seven buckets of water dumped on them.  And it was not a sunny or warm day.  Overall, we had a fantastic Carnaval, but at that point we were more than ready for it to end and to get back to Quito! 

Quito!

I´ve made it through my first week in Ecuador! After about 24 hours of traveling and getting rerouted to Guayaquil, I finally arrived in Quito early last Thursday morning. There are a total of 15 of us here, and we are going through intensive orientation this month, with sessions on culture and teacher training.

Quito is a large, polluted, and congested city.  However, on the days when the rain stops and the fog lifts, it proves to be an incredible place with the most beautiful surroundings.  There are also a number of parks where you can go and find some respite from the noisy city. I have a host mother and sister who are very sweet and encouraging when I am struggling with my Spanish.  They took me to the "Mitad del Mundo" (the equator) last weekend, and I have plans to go to Papallacta, some natural hot springs, and a soccer game this weekend.

Some things I am still adjusting to here:
- Leaping onto and off of the bus when it refuses to come to a complete stop.
- Using my bra as a wallet to make me a harder target for theft.
- The electric shower going from burning to freezing in a split second.
- Making sure I request cold milk for my cereal.