Cotopaxi/Travels

Greetings from the equator!

This first part is mostly targeted at my peeps in the States or those who do not really keep up with things going on around the world....or just not things in Ecuador. Ecuador is the land of volcanoes. It's a small country that houses 30 volcanoes on the mainland. When I first arrived here, all the newbies got a talk about safety in Ecuador and the volcano, Cotopaxi, was brought up. Little did I know before coming here that Cotopaxi was active and showing signs of an eruption. So we got a talk about it. Now don't worry, it's not close enough to Quito to damage the city with lava. However, apparently we will be receiving a lot of ash and I guess a shutdown of the city for a few days. I was told to buy a mask and goggles and keep it on me at all times. I was also told to stock up on food in my apartment for that unavoidable day. I think that it comes as no surprise to most of you that I have yet to buy myself goggles or a mask. I am kind of horrible at taking care of myself. And people think I should have kids... I have managed to actually put some food in my house though! When the volcano erupts, I will be dining on canned peaches, tuna with curry powder, and chocolate pudding. If I just stay inside, I won't need the goggles or mask, right? I hope Cotopaxi holds off long enough for me to stock up on some alcohol too... Anyway, so if you wake up one morning or hear on the news one night over dinner that a volcano has erupted in Ecuador, please don't freak out and start planning my funeral. As long as that is not the day I chose to hike to the top of Cotopaxi, I'll be fine.

This view can actually be seen from certain parts of the city on a clear day. Cool, huh?

Almost 3 months in and my Spanish is still pretty abysmal. This has not entirely been my fault. Anyone here that knows me can attest to my horrible Ecua-luck. Sometimes I don't even know why I love this country so much, because my run of luck hasn't been that great. My first two cell phones were stolen (I've been on #3 for about a week, keeping fingers crossed) and it was an obstacle to cash my first two paychecks. I think the bank had my picture hanging with a caption, Don't Cash This Girl's Check Under Any Circumstance, except in Spanish. So by the time I had money to pay for a tutor, I didn't have a phone to call. My friend finally helped me out and let me call the tutor from her phone. He would love to be my tutor, but that Sunday he was headed to the States for 3 weeks. So, I'm still waiting for those classes to happen. However, my neighbor above me has graciously offered to do a language exchange with me. She's from Poland but for some reason learned Spanish while she was still in Poland. She works in a college administration office here. She said she would help me with my Spanish if I helped her with her English. Too bad she doesn't know she has the raw end of the deal. My English sucks too. We've only met once, but we are set to meet again tomorrow and hopefully I can see the other tutor soon. I will become fluent! Eventually...

Let's see..what else to share? I've been on three other trips since the last time I blogged. Ecuador is a really beautiful country! For my 29th birthday, we traveled to an area called Banos. Yes....bathroom. It doesn't look like a bathroom though! It's a very outdoorsy area (well, I guess everywhere is outdoorsy here). Mountainy. A long river. Rafting. Canonying. Bicycles. Hiking. Everything! I'm sure you have all already seen the pictures. We took a long bicycle ride, went ziplining, and jumped from a bridge! Ziplining is a story better told in person, but I will concisely share the story. We stopped (our bicycle ride) and Stephen, my heart brother, said we should go first and do it in the Superman position together. Always liking an adventure, I enthusiastically agreed. We got the straps put on and then made our way to the top of the take-off area. My one big downfall is my fear of heights. As soon as I got up there and started looking around, I started having doubts. Stephen was very good, trying to pep me up and reassure me. However, as soon as the guy took one of my legs to put it up in the strap I started really freaking. You just feel so vulnerable just looking down into the valley that you are going to fall to your death in. Stephen reminded me that I lived a great 29 years so it would be okay if I died, but it wasn't quite convincing enough. I told him to go ahead, I just needed to watch someone and then I would come. So Stephen took off. I told the guys I would, but not in the Superman position. So they had to take me down, change all my straps, and put me back in. I finally went and I realized how ridiculous I had been. The view was INCREDIBLE and ziplining along was so much fun. When I got to the other side, I accidentally let my friends overhear me say, "Man, I should have done it in the Superman position." Well, it was my lucky day. Apparently you could zipline back across and not take the cable car and you HAD to do it in the Superman position. My friends easily backed me into a corner and I reluctantly agreed to zipline back across in the Superman position. Sometimes I should keep my thoughts to myself.... The guys warned us that going back across was harder because we are working against the wind. We were instructed to actually keep our arms tight against our bodies and not hold them out. With a deep breath, I went with my friend Linda. Once again, beautiful and sooo much fun! Linda was a bit ahead of me and when she got closer to the other side, they told her to put her arms out. I got confused and thought they wanted me to do so also. As soon as I stuck my arms out my body got slower and slower and slower. Then, stop. I started sliding backwards. My friends were laughing and yelling from the other side to stop myself, but I just couldn't reach up and grab the line (mostly from fear). I slid all the way back to halfway out on the line and just hung there. Over the valley. Pondering my death. Nah, I actually stayed remarkably calm. An employee quickly strapped up and had to come out and get me. The poor guy had to pull me all the way back and it was not easy work for him. Meanwhile, every person within a 25 mile radius showed up to the edge and had their cellphone out, filming and taking pictures of the poor girl stuck in the middle of the zipline. When I do something, I REALLY do it. No regrets.

                                    This is not when I was stuck. It was the first time, when it was fun. ;)

                 Even after the adrenaline rush of ziplining, I was still convinced to jump off a bridge...
                                                      I like to kick my fears in the butt...

I also went on a challenging but enjoyable hike around a crater lake. It's called cuicocha. Cui is the word for guinea pig. In the middle of the lake there is an uninhabited island where the guinea pigs roam free. A very beautiful place!

Then this past weekend I went to the biggest city in Ecuador called Guayaquil. We only spent one day there so we didn't do a whole lot. We went to an iguana park and hiked up a hill to a lookout. Then we continued on to a beach town called Mantanita. Mantanita is basically the Panama City Beach of Ecuador. Huge beach town with Ecuadorians and foreigners alike. You lay on the beach, drink beer, take a nap, then go out at night. The city doesn't sleep. A Sunday night and music is still going at 4am. It was a great time, but I'm probably getting a little too old for spring breaks. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures right now. I didn't want to bring my iPod Touch on the vacation in fear of being robbed again. I will steal my friends' pictures soon and show them off.

I also had a friend visit me at the beginning of October. We met while we were both teaching in South Korea. We haven't seen each other in about 2 and a half years. It was definitely surreal having him here. It was a short visit, so we hung around Quito. We did try Cui though. Pop quiz! What is Cui? That's right, guinea pig!! Not the best thing I've ever tasted. Pretty fatty....

                                                                         It's smiling!

                                                     He's not sure what to do with it...

Anyway. That's about all I'm going to write for now. Sorry if it's too much of a repeat of what you've seen on Facebook. I can't think of any interesting anecdotes right now. Each day I'm just trying to take in a little more of the culture. We were on a bus ride coming back to Quito yesterday and I just stared out the window of the bus, transfixed by the beautiful coast line. Today is All Soul's Day in Ecuador, so every so often, on the drive, we passed a cemetry. They were covered with people and lit candles. It was actually a really cool sight from afar. It is a lot of fun being an observer of another culture. And a part-time participator. It's definitely a fulfilling experience. 

That's all for now. I mostly just wanted to keep in practice with this blog so I don't stop. I'm well and happy and wishing the same for you, wherever you are!