At last I will tell you all about the main focal point of why I decided to travel to Ecuador for a month - Manna´s programs.
First and foremost, the library.
It should be no surprise to any of my close friends and family as to why I love libraries so much. Its because it is my second home away from home. I love the large tables and chairs, private study spaces, and the rows and rows of books - all collectivity smelling like old musty paper - nothing could seriously be better.
So then, its no surprise to me that I would want to help with the library here after seeing it. Sure, I am most interested in health but the library really is an incredible space. Manna´s library is located in the community center on the edge of three neighborhoods: Rumiloma, Tena and San Fransisco. As you climb the three long flights of stairs on the left is the library, an open space split into different sections with colorful walls, dark wood floors and giggling children everywhere. The most obvious part of the library is the Kids corner. There is an art wall in which the kids put their art, make art or play games. Then there is the reading corner filled with bean bags and carefully leveled books in spanish, then some in english. Take a few steps left and you are in the adult section, made up of a couple of bookshelves full of books ranging from a Dummy´s guide on how to use photoshop to A Hundred years of Solitude - all in spanish. On the other side of the library is a teaching space and then the doors to the teen center - a large room with a guitar, board games, ping pong table and video game console. The teen center is decorated by a spray paint mural that is extremely beautiful and done to show that spray paint can be a form of art too.
Children´s english classes take place in the library as well as math and literature homework help. The most common visitors are the young regulars - kids who come every day and know all of the Profe´s names. However adults sometimes do come and the teen center is often filled with boys playing halo (some things are the same no matter what country you are in!)
While I am here, I hope to help a lot with the library. I am currently painting a column in the adult corner. It is a picture of flowers, bugs, sun, grass, clouds and sky. There is a space facing the column in which next week I will go get a plant for (which matches the plant theme of the column). I am not a natural artist, so drawing and painting such a large area has been an adventure. Many people, mostly the little kids, like to come and watch me and I get to practice my spanish skills and we talk about their favorite colors and if they like to paint. Its really fun. :)
I am also working with another volunteer, Allie, on promoting a reading club, in which kids read 8 books and home and fill in worksheets about the books. After each book they get a piece of paper which is part of an ice cream sunday. At the end of the ice cream sunday they actually will get to eat a real sunday. Some kids are really interested and one girl already has her ice cream bowl!
I am also working with Jen to make a toothbrush holder for the bathroom. When kids enter the library they wash their hands and brush their teeth, but as of now there is no holder...So that adventure will ensue soon. Lastly, I am working with a lot of volunteers on putting together a literacy class which will be taught twice a week for about an hour for kids who are struggling with reading, or on the brink of being a ¨proficient¨reader. I am really excited to start this because it reminds me of 4th grade in which we would help 1st graders read during the day. I loved it...they were our reading buddies. I'm really excited to be able to connect with the kids more too!
So in a nutshell, that is the library. It is just one of the many spaces in the community center, but it is definitely the focal point. What really makes this space though is the energy, creativity and happiness that emanates from this space. And it is unique as well. There are no other lending libraries anywhere near our area in Rumiloma. As a kid, what would life be like without that new shiny book you take home from the library? or as an adult, an interesting drama book or how-to book to read on the weekends? Life would be so different...
Although this is no college library teeming with young determined minds and hundreds of old books, it is in a way better, because it is the center of its own community: a place to learn, make friends and foster a love for learning - one of the most wonderful things I know of.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Adventure to Baños!
Baños is an outdoor amusement park well known to and visited by an assortment of tourists from Ecuadorians to Canadians. This past weekend we made the long journey to this town which is located in the ¨cloud forest¨: which is a cool name for just a higher altitude jungle. We left the house around 8am on saturday to begin about 4 to 5 hours on a bus. The first bus we took traveled through Sangloqui (the city in which the large market is located in) and our final destination was a small town, where we crossed the pan american highway to catch the fancier bus to baños. On the way, I bought homemade chips and a crossoint - both delicious. Then we were off to baños for the longer leg of the trip. Although buses are stuffy, small, smell and shake, I thourougly enjoyed this ride, because of the scenery. The blue sky and green mountains and hillsides, complemented by the brightly colored flat concrete houses of ecuador, made for a very picturesque ride indeed. The best though, was the Volcano located right outside of Baños. Its so cool to look at what looks like just any other mountain, but then realize that there could be boiling lava underneath just waiting to pour out. aweeeesome!
We arrived in baños late in the afternoon. As we pulled up to the bus station I was intrigued by most of the touristy snack stands everywhere. What I noticed was people pulling what looked like taffy around on the side of the walls of their stores, and stacks and stacks of whole sugar cane placed around the stands. What I would soon find out was that Baños is well known for both of these things- cut up peices of sugar cane that you buy and suck on, and taffy: sweetened with cane juice or with other flavors. Both are quite sweet and delicious. :) Next we adventured off to our hostel, ¨Hostel Eden¨which had a beautiful entrance covered with big leafed and brightly colored tropical plants. Because Baños is at such a lower altitude than Quito, it is much warmer and more humid, which I found enjoyable. We then grabbed a bite to eat at a mexican food restaraunt (i know, kind of odd...) and changed into our suits to go to the next famous part of baños - its thermal baths. These baths, called ¨La Virgen¨are a result of the nearby volcano and suprisingly did not smell badly of sulfur. However, they were overflowing with Ecuadorians, making for a very interesting and crowded swim. Sorry Ecuador, but Pagosa Springs CO is still my favorite hot springs spot.
After a delicious dinner at a restaraunt called Casa Hood, we all headed home and went to bed early to prepare for the busy sunday ahead. Sunday we woke up bright and early to start the real adventures. My choice? Biking in the Andes. It was a hard choice though, because Baños offers a myriad of things to do: hiking, canyoning, rafting, bungee jumping, quading, ziplining, and horseback riding. Seriously, you could spend a week there and never be bored. So, as I said, after long deliberatious I chose biking, and it was worth it. Two PD´s, Haley and Sarah, and two other volunteers, Sonia and Jen, also came on the ride. We had a guide the whole time named Israel who would try to talk to me in spanish but I would get so nervous and never be able to answer except a Yes or No. Nonetheless he was entertaining, especially because his bike was too short for him. The ride was on a highway that weaved through the surrounding mountains of Baños and we stopped to look at about 5 different waterfalls along the way. We stopped at one waterfall and rode an outdoor gondola and crossed a metal shaky bridge to get to it. The waterfall was gorgeous but the story behind it very sad. Only two months before there had been a huge lanslide above the waterfall. This landslide destroyed all of the grennery around it as well as a hostal nearby, killing 4 people. It was shocking to think about. There were still toilets and sinks left by the site of the falls. It made me pretty sad, but soon I cheered up by standing super close to the falls and getting soaked by the spray! There are no guard rails around any of these waterfalls so every visitor is free to roam as close to the falls as they like. It makes me feel so much less like a tourist - no annoying metal bar to hold me back.
We then stopped at the little town we were to eat lunch in (which I wanted desperately due to the grumbling calls from my stomach). Our guide then told us we should hike down to another waterfall while we wait for our food. We all somewhat agreed and then began about an hour long hike down into the jungle and to the waterfall. Everything on the trail was so green - huge leaves and trees. We also saw some really cool and huge bugs. The trail was pretty steep and busy, filled with other people coming up and down. Once we reached the end of the trail you could hear the water rushing. But in order to actually see the waterfall you needed to cross this little shaky metal bridge once again. Ecuador must love these bridges. However, this bridge was a little old as noted by the sign which read that only 5 people could be on the bridge at one time. Our group slowly crossed over the river and as we kept on walking (hoping for dear life the bridge wouldnt decide to just break right then) the waterfall came into view. It was also very beautiful. Waterfalls are so hard to describe. I guess you will just have to wait for pictures.
After the even harder hike back up to our lunch spot we ordered our food and sat and relaxed. I had chicken and potatoes for lunch and some of the PD´s got trout, which was really authentic because it was caught in a pool on the side of the restaraunt and grilled and served whole. It was delicious. We then biked to our last waterfall. By this point we were all exhausted - the ¨downhill¨bike tour was seeming to be more of an uphill climb than we expected. However, after we arrived at our final destination and hiked down we were excited to see the last waterfall, and what appeared to be lots of soaking wet ecuadorians playing in the water. What? we get to SWIM in the waterfall?! I was so excited. Led by our guide, we crossed over water and rocks to get to a deeper part of pool under the falls. He bravely jumped in while we watched. We then just layed on the rocks and played in the water. The sound of rushing water overpowered everything and the feeling of warm rocks and sun on our bodies was incredible. The final and best part of the day was the ride back to Baños in a large truck. Haley, Sonia, Sarah and I all stood up facing the wind. Our hair was flying, our eyes smushing and smiles drying out, but it could not have been more fun. :)
That night was another adventure altogether. Because all of the PD´s and summer volunteers went to the same guide place for our trips in Baños, we got a free ride on an Ecuadorian pary bus, called a Chiva. As we got on the bus there was spanish music blaring and bright lights flashing. We had no idea where we were going or how long it would be, so we were suprised to find ourselves climbing up a mountain and then stopping at the top. Our party got off the Chiva to see that about 10 other Chivas were parked on the same street, and a mass of Ecuadorians were walking in one direction, so of course, we followed. We then came to a clearing which was made up of people selling food, live music, flame throwing and an assortment of people ranging from old couples to little kids and teenagers. To top it off there was a beautiful view of the town of Baños at night. It was an Ecuadorian Fiesta- an unexpected cultural experience for sure. The best part of the night though was the ride home on the Chiva, in which I sat next to a recent college grad from Colorado College and is a Boetcher Scholar. What a small small world.
We spent an extra day in Baños because monday was a holiday. I spent the day sleeping in, eating breakfast and then getting a cheap, but amazing 25$ massage. We then took the long journey back home, me still smelling (and looking) of massage oil. Awesome.
Overall the weekend was amazing. So much more will be said when pictures come, but for now this will have to do. I wish you all could see the green hills everywhere, and especially the clouds. Everything is just so beautiful.
- Jenni
P.S. I promise that I am doing work over here too! Updates on programs will come soon!!
We arrived in baños late in the afternoon. As we pulled up to the bus station I was intrigued by most of the touristy snack stands everywhere. What I noticed was people pulling what looked like taffy around on the side of the walls of their stores, and stacks and stacks of whole sugar cane placed around the stands. What I would soon find out was that Baños is well known for both of these things- cut up peices of sugar cane that you buy and suck on, and taffy: sweetened with cane juice or with other flavors. Both are quite sweet and delicious. :) Next we adventured off to our hostel, ¨Hostel Eden¨which had a beautiful entrance covered with big leafed and brightly colored tropical plants. Because Baños is at such a lower altitude than Quito, it is much warmer and more humid, which I found enjoyable. We then grabbed a bite to eat at a mexican food restaraunt (i know, kind of odd...) and changed into our suits to go to the next famous part of baños - its thermal baths. These baths, called ¨La Virgen¨are a result of the nearby volcano and suprisingly did not smell badly of sulfur. However, they were overflowing with Ecuadorians, making for a very interesting and crowded swim. Sorry Ecuador, but Pagosa Springs CO is still my favorite hot springs spot.
After a delicious dinner at a restaraunt called Casa Hood, we all headed home and went to bed early to prepare for the busy sunday ahead. Sunday we woke up bright and early to start the real adventures. My choice? Biking in the Andes. It was a hard choice though, because Baños offers a myriad of things to do: hiking, canyoning, rafting, bungee jumping, quading, ziplining, and horseback riding. Seriously, you could spend a week there and never be bored. So, as I said, after long deliberatious I chose biking, and it was worth it. Two PD´s, Haley and Sarah, and two other volunteers, Sonia and Jen, also came on the ride. We had a guide the whole time named Israel who would try to talk to me in spanish but I would get so nervous and never be able to answer except a Yes or No. Nonetheless he was entertaining, especially because his bike was too short for him. The ride was on a highway that weaved through the surrounding mountains of Baños and we stopped to look at about 5 different waterfalls along the way. We stopped at one waterfall and rode an outdoor gondola and crossed a metal shaky bridge to get to it. The waterfall was gorgeous but the story behind it very sad. Only two months before there had been a huge lanslide above the waterfall. This landslide destroyed all of the grennery around it as well as a hostal nearby, killing 4 people. It was shocking to think about. There were still toilets and sinks left by the site of the falls. It made me pretty sad, but soon I cheered up by standing super close to the falls and getting soaked by the spray! There are no guard rails around any of these waterfalls so every visitor is free to roam as close to the falls as they like. It makes me feel so much less like a tourist - no annoying metal bar to hold me back.
We then stopped at the little town we were to eat lunch in (which I wanted desperately due to the grumbling calls from my stomach). Our guide then told us we should hike down to another waterfall while we wait for our food. We all somewhat agreed and then began about an hour long hike down into the jungle and to the waterfall. Everything on the trail was so green - huge leaves and trees. We also saw some really cool and huge bugs. The trail was pretty steep and busy, filled with other people coming up and down. Once we reached the end of the trail you could hear the water rushing. But in order to actually see the waterfall you needed to cross this little shaky metal bridge once again. Ecuador must love these bridges. However, this bridge was a little old as noted by the sign which read that only 5 people could be on the bridge at one time. Our group slowly crossed over the river and as we kept on walking (hoping for dear life the bridge wouldnt decide to just break right then) the waterfall came into view. It was also very beautiful. Waterfalls are so hard to describe. I guess you will just have to wait for pictures.
After the even harder hike back up to our lunch spot we ordered our food and sat and relaxed. I had chicken and potatoes for lunch and some of the PD´s got trout, which was really authentic because it was caught in a pool on the side of the restaraunt and grilled and served whole. It was delicious. We then biked to our last waterfall. By this point we were all exhausted - the ¨downhill¨bike tour was seeming to be more of an uphill climb than we expected. However, after we arrived at our final destination and hiked down we were excited to see the last waterfall, and what appeared to be lots of soaking wet ecuadorians playing in the water. What? we get to SWIM in the waterfall?! I was so excited. Led by our guide, we crossed over water and rocks to get to a deeper part of pool under the falls. He bravely jumped in while we watched. We then just layed on the rocks and played in the water. The sound of rushing water overpowered everything and the feeling of warm rocks and sun on our bodies was incredible. The final and best part of the day was the ride back to Baños in a large truck. Haley, Sonia, Sarah and I all stood up facing the wind. Our hair was flying, our eyes smushing and smiles drying out, but it could not have been more fun. :)
That night was another adventure altogether. Because all of the PD´s and summer volunteers went to the same guide place for our trips in Baños, we got a free ride on an Ecuadorian pary bus, called a Chiva. As we got on the bus there was spanish music blaring and bright lights flashing. We had no idea where we were going or how long it would be, so we were suprised to find ourselves climbing up a mountain and then stopping at the top. Our party got off the Chiva to see that about 10 other Chivas were parked on the same street, and a mass of Ecuadorians were walking in one direction, so of course, we followed. We then came to a clearing which was made up of people selling food, live music, flame throwing and an assortment of people ranging from old couples to little kids and teenagers. To top it off there was a beautiful view of the town of Baños at night. It was an Ecuadorian Fiesta- an unexpected cultural experience for sure. The best part of the night though was the ride home on the Chiva, in which I sat next to a recent college grad from Colorado College and is a Boetcher Scholar. What a small small world.
We spent an extra day in Baños because monday was a holiday. I spent the day sleeping in, eating breakfast and then getting a cheap, but amazing 25$ massage. We then took the long journey back home, me still smelling (and looking) of massage oil. Awesome.
Overall the weekend was amazing. So much more will be said when pictures come, but for now this will have to do. I wish you all could see the green hills everywhere, and especially the clouds. Everything is just so beautiful.
- Jenni
P.S. I promise that I am doing work over here too! Updates on programs will come soon!!
Friday, May 21, 2010
A weekend in Quito
Hello everyone!
I would like to fully apologize for not writing a post for a while. Combined with lots of traveling, starting programs and unreliable internet access, updating the events of my life has been somewhat difficult. So I am going to do this in a couple of posts. One of last weekend (which took place in Quito...for the most part), then a post about the past week or so, specifically about programs, and then after this weekend, of course another post will ensue. I can´t believe a week has already passed by....it seems like just yesterday I got here.
Last Saturday we woke up abruptly to an 8am spanish placement test. It was about 70 plus questions and quite brutal for that hour of the day. However, luckily for us, the PDs (program directors) then made us a delicious brunch consisting of home made pancakes and a fruit salad..side note, the fruit here is INCREDIBLE. fresh pinaple, oranges, mangos, papaya, pears, bananas, apples and more weird ones to come. after brunch we all packed up and headed out to quito, which is about an hour long bus ride. I will always remember the ride into the city. We live in conocoto, which is in a valley outside of quito, which is at a much higher elevation. Thus, the bus ride in consists of beautiful green hills and blue sky. As the bus descends into the city brightly colored concrete square houses start populating the mountain sides, looking as if they are stacked on top of one another. it is so beautiful. Also, right before getting off the bus, the highway lines a gorge with a river below. There is an old house at the bottom....its just all so picturesque!
We get off of the bus at La Marin bus stop, and then normally take Quito´s public transporation, the ¨Echo Via¨(i dont know if that is the correct spelling in spanish!) On saturday we then rode this jam packed bus one or two stops...then we got off near a park (which i do not know the name of). However, this park is pretty awesome just by the sole fact that it has....a MOAT! yes....it looks like a lazy river in a public park in which people can rent canoes or paddle boats and such and just ride around. Pretty awesome. We then walked up a giant hill (I am learning that ecuador is full of those...) to a beautiful old church called The Basillica. It was the perfect moment to break out my new camera and take a bagillion pictures. The church is built in the gothic style, thus it has lots of arches, stained glass and statues. after spending some time trying to capture the colors of the stained glass light on the concrete stones (yes...this beautiful church is somehow made out of what looks like cinder blocks), we then started the REAL adventure. Little did I know that the reason to come to the Basicllica was not to look as those pretty gothic arches, but rather to look at the spectuacular views from the top of the church!! So, we all started the ascent. First, we climbed up to the top of one of the spires. This consisted first of lots of stairs. we then crossed over the roof of the church (dont worry mom, this is all indoors..) and climbed up a ladder to the first outer level of the spire. (sorry if this is confusing, its hard to describe). We then proceeded to climb up ladders, however they were built on the outside parts of the church, so its like you are climbing up the side of the building. The view from the top was worth it....a 360 view of quito from high up. My favorite sites? Laundry lines on the top of buildings, the clouds moving in on the mountains surrounding the city, and lastly, this incredibly large statue of an angel on top of a hill....something that I had never seen until that day but now, only a week later, seems to symbolize Quito for me. The city also is soooo long! It has mountains surrounding it on the east and west so the only place it has to grow is north and south, making a very rectangular metropolis. After the even more frightning descent, we then proceeded to climb up another part of the church, one of the Two Bell Towers. The climb was all indoors and in fact took us higher up, to an even better view of the city. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. What i have come to realize, is that Quito, and even almost everywhere in Ecuador so far, is so close to the clouds. They seem to hover above cities and mountains until they get lonley and move in on whatever is nearest. It is such a unique thing to observe.
We then went to the centro historico and saw the main political plaza of Quito. Surrounding this plaza are the buildings in which the city is run from and then the president´s house. Pretty neat. We then went to the San Fransisco Church, which unlike the Basillica, was built in the Baroque style, which means overly ornate. Thus the entire ceiling was coated in gold and the alter was surrounding by lots of statues and stuffs which I can´t really remember or describe. It was like a mini vatican...very pretty. We then stopped for dinner and had Empanadas and fresh juice. yes, all of the juice here is freshly made. It is so delicious!
After a full day we all retreated back to Conocoto and prepared for a VERY busy sunday. Sunday we left the house bright and early (around 8 am) and once again rode the bus into Quito. We then all rented some bikes and participated in a weekely event in Quito, the Ciclo Paseo (again, I have no idea how to spell this). Every sunday this large street in Quito is blocked off from traffic and is used instead for recreational purposes, mainly biking but some runners as well. The street runs from the historical center until past the airport. We had such a fun time just leisurely biking for about two hours through the city! The best part was a pit stop we made in el parque de Carolina, a huge park in the city. On our journey into the park we managed to stop by about 100 ecuadorians doing arobics to Lady Ga Ga - yes, in the middle of the park! About 5 of us immediately ran into the crowd and started doing arobics with them. It so hilarious and fun at the same time. After both aerobics and biking we then walked to a chinese food restaraunt (yes...in ecuador) and ate a well deserved lunch.
After lunch was the long trip to Sangloqui, the largest city in our valley. To give you a mental picture, it is the city directly across from conocoto. It took about an hour and a half to get there from quito and so I napped very well. The reason for this trip to Sangloqui was to see the market, which is the largest one in that area. It was quite the cultural experience. The market consists of booths of fruit, vegetables, meat, shoes, pants, dvds, live animals, etc, that are in the street, which creates a walking mall sorta thing. As you enter the market you are surrounded by people all shouting out in peircing voices their product and price. I saw (and tried!) fruit I had never seen before in my life. To name three - this small red spikey fruit you tear open with your hands. Inside is a singular clear piece of fruit with one seed inside. How do you eat this contraption? You suck on the fruit and spit out the seed...It was not my most favorite thing. The other fruit we tried was called Granadia, and was a hard orange circle. The best thing to describe the surprise inside is ¨frog eggs¨. The fruit are these little seeds surrouding by a pulpy layer. You just slurp down the seeds...and it was suprsingly refreshing. The last fruit was green and misshapen. Inside were large white fleshy leaves with seeds in the middle...and it tasted like a cross between an apple and pear and other sorts of things. The next edible shocker in the market- the massive amounts of raw meat just sitting out in the open. Men walk around with platters of whole fish, there are stacks of crabs still moving on tables, cut up cow legs, tripe and intenstines sitting in tins...all waiting for you to take home and hopefully refridgerate! The best and final part of the market was the live animal section. They had ducks, chickens, roosters, turkeys and goats to name a few. Then the cute animals came...they had little chicks and then...PUPPIES!!! AND KITTENS!!! i just wanted to take all of them home...I guess I still want to take home all of the adorable stray dogs i see in ecuador anyways....but these were especially cute.
After that exhausting day we finally traveled back home and ordered in some empanadas. They were delicious. That night we then had a program ¨round robin¨in which each PD described the programs they were working on and after we ranked which ones we wanted to be involved in. It was really exciting to hear what Manna is really and actually doing in our community, and even more, what I can do for the community as well. In the end I officially am signed up to help with the Library, Painting a nearby school, the preventitive health center, agriment (sustainible agriculture projects), Adult english, womens exercise and cooking class. More information on specifics to come.
Before passing out from such a jam packed weekend I was pleasantly suprised to find that my chest, shoulders and back were covered in the bright pink hue of a fresh sunburn. Awesome....I guess spf 50 acutally needs to be reapplied every 50 minutes when you are this close to the sun. Trust me...ive learned my lesson, and gained some tanlines.
until next time,
Jenni
I would like to fully apologize for not writing a post for a while. Combined with lots of traveling, starting programs and unreliable internet access, updating the events of my life has been somewhat difficult. So I am going to do this in a couple of posts. One of last weekend (which took place in Quito...for the most part), then a post about the past week or so, specifically about programs, and then after this weekend, of course another post will ensue. I can´t believe a week has already passed by....it seems like just yesterday I got here.
Last Saturday we woke up abruptly to an 8am spanish placement test. It was about 70 plus questions and quite brutal for that hour of the day. However, luckily for us, the PDs (program directors) then made us a delicious brunch consisting of home made pancakes and a fruit salad..side note, the fruit here is INCREDIBLE. fresh pinaple, oranges, mangos, papaya, pears, bananas, apples and more weird ones to come. after brunch we all packed up and headed out to quito, which is about an hour long bus ride. I will always remember the ride into the city. We live in conocoto, which is in a valley outside of quito, which is at a much higher elevation. Thus, the bus ride in consists of beautiful green hills and blue sky. As the bus descends into the city brightly colored concrete square houses start populating the mountain sides, looking as if they are stacked on top of one another. it is so beautiful. Also, right before getting off the bus, the highway lines a gorge with a river below. There is an old house at the bottom....its just all so picturesque!
We get off of the bus at La Marin bus stop, and then normally take Quito´s public transporation, the ¨Echo Via¨(i dont know if that is the correct spelling in spanish!) On saturday we then rode this jam packed bus one or two stops...then we got off near a park (which i do not know the name of). However, this park is pretty awesome just by the sole fact that it has....a MOAT! yes....it looks like a lazy river in a public park in which people can rent canoes or paddle boats and such and just ride around. Pretty awesome. We then walked up a giant hill (I am learning that ecuador is full of those...) to a beautiful old church called The Basillica. It was the perfect moment to break out my new camera and take a bagillion pictures. The church is built in the gothic style, thus it has lots of arches, stained glass and statues. after spending some time trying to capture the colors of the stained glass light on the concrete stones (yes...this beautiful church is somehow made out of what looks like cinder blocks), we then started the REAL adventure. Little did I know that the reason to come to the Basicllica was not to look as those pretty gothic arches, but rather to look at the spectuacular views from the top of the church!! So, we all started the ascent. First, we climbed up to the top of one of the spires. This consisted first of lots of stairs. we then crossed over the roof of the church (dont worry mom, this is all indoors..) and climbed up a ladder to the first outer level of the spire. (sorry if this is confusing, its hard to describe). We then proceeded to climb up ladders, however they were built on the outside parts of the church, so its like you are climbing up the side of the building. The view from the top was worth it....a 360 view of quito from high up. My favorite sites? Laundry lines on the top of buildings, the clouds moving in on the mountains surrounding the city, and lastly, this incredibly large statue of an angel on top of a hill....something that I had never seen until that day but now, only a week later, seems to symbolize Quito for me. The city also is soooo long! It has mountains surrounding it on the east and west so the only place it has to grow is north and south, making a very rectangular metropolis. After the even more frightning descent, we then proceeded to climb up another part of the church, one of the Two Bell Towers. The climb was all indoors and in fact took us higher up, to an even better view of the city. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. What i have come to realize, is that Quito, and even almost everywhere in Ecuador so far, is so close to the clouds. They seem to hover above cities and mountains until they get lonley and move in on whatever is nearest. It is such a unique thing to observe.
We then went to the centro historico and saw the main political plaza of Quito. Surrounding this plaza are the buildings in which the city is run from and then the president´s house. Pretty neat. We then went to the San Fransisco Church, which unlike the Basillica, was built in the Baroque style, which means overly ornate. Thus the entire ceiling was coated in gold and the alter was surrounding by lots of statues and stuffs which I can´t really remember or describe. It was like a mini vatican...very pretty. We then stopped for dinner and had Empanadas and fresh juice. yes, all of the juice here is freshly made. It is so delicious!
After a full day we all retreated back to Conocoto and prepared for a VERY busy sunday. Sunday we left the house bright and early (around 8 am) and once again rode the bus into Quito. We then all rented some bikes and participated in a weekely event in Quito, the Ciclo Paseo (again, I have no idea how to spell this). Every sunday this large street in Quito is blocked off from traffic and is used instead for recreational purposes, mainly biking but some runners as well. The street runs from the historical center until past the airport. We had such a fun time just leisurely biking for about two hours through the city! The best part was a pit stop we made in el parque de Carolina, a huge park in the city. On our journey into the park we managed to stop by about 100 ecuadorians doing arobics to Lady Ga Ga - yes, in the middle of the park! About 5 of us immediately ran into the crowd and started doing arobics with them. It so hilarious and fun at the same time. After both aerobics and biking we then walked to a chinese food restaraunt (yes...in ecuador) and ate a well deserved lunch.
After lunch was the long trip to Sangloqui, the largest city in our valley. To give you a mental picture, it is the city directly across from conocoto. It took about an hour and a half to get there from quito and so I napped very well. The reason for this trip to Sangloqui was to see the market, which is the largest one in that area. It was quite the cultural experience. The market consists of booths of fruit, vegetables, meat, shoes, pants, dvds, live animals, etc, that are in the street, which creates a walking mall sorta thing. As you enter the market you are surrounded by people all shouting out in peircing voices their product and price. I saw (and tried!) fruit I had never seen before in my life. To name three - this small red spikey fruit you tear open with your hands. Inside is a singular clear piece of fruit with one seed inside. How do you eat this contraption? You suck on the fruit and spit out the seed...It was not my most favorite thing. The other fruit we tried was called Granadia, and was a hard orange circle. The best thing to describe the surprise inside is ¨frog eggs¨. The fruit are these little seeds surrouding by a pulpy layer. You just slurp down the seeds...and it was suprsingly refreshing. The last fruit was green and misshapen. Inside were large white fleshy leaves with seeds in the middle...and it tasted like a cross between an apple and pear and other sorts of things. The next edible shocker in the market- the massive amounts of raw meat just sitting out in the open. Men walk around with platters of whole fish, there are stacks of crabs still moving on tables, cut up cow legs, tripe and intenstines sitting in tins...all waiting for you to take home and hopefully refridgerate! The best and final part of the market was the live animal section. They had ducks, chickens, roosters, turkeys and goats to name a few. Then the cute animals came...they had little chicks and then...PUPPIES!!! AND KITTENS!!! i just wanted to take all of them home...I guess I still want to take home all of the adorable stray dogs i see in ecuador anyways....but these were especially cute.
After that exhausting day we finally traveled back home and ordered in some empanadas. They were delicious. That night we then had a program ¨round robin¨in which each PD described the programs they were working on and after we ranked which ones we wanted to be involved in. It was really exciting to hear what Manna is really and actually doing in our community, and even more, what I can do for the community as well. In the end I officially am signed up to help with the Library, Painting a nearby school, the preventitive health center, agriment (sustainible agriculture projects), Adult english, womens exercise and cooking class. More information on specifics to come.
Before passing out from such a jam packed weekend I was pleasantly suprised to find that my chest, shoulders and back were covered in the bright pink hue of a fresh sunburn. Awesome....I guess spf 50 acutally needs to be reapplied every 50 minutes when you are this close to the sun. Trust me...ive learned my lesson, and gained some tanlines.
until next time,
Jenni
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Bienvenido a Ecuador
I wasn't really nervous until I stepped through the customs doors and was surrounded by about 300 people talking in spanish, waving signs, asking me if I wanted a taxi and holding baloons, bears, etc to welcome their loved-ones home. I weaved through the crowd to find Sarah, who is a Program Director here and the organizer of all of the summer volunteers. Excited and exhausted, we then waited a couple of hours untill three other volunteers arrived. Then it was of to our house in Conocoto, a town south east of Quito that is located in a valley. The crazy car ride (people don't use turn signals...well I guess that isnt so new considering they dont in worcester either!) was my first peek into ecuador. Lots of concrete, cobblestone roads, and random grafitti a common sight.
We then arrived at the house, which is quite large and spacious. I live in the "apartment" which is connected to the house via the roof and you enter it through a small doorway in the concrete wall. I then chose a yellow room and a top bunk, only to find that the bed i chose squeeks with ever move I make. Thank goodness I am a deep spleeper, becuase with that noise, the cars and the barking dogs it is hard for some people to go to sleep. Little living quirks here that I have found: you can't put toilet paper in the toilet, the shower is hot, but the heating unit is connected to the shower, so it is fickle at best. They don't refrigerate their eggs, there is no peanutbutter, and the yogurt is liquid!
The first day consisted of orientation at 9am followed by a walking tour of Conocoto. We saw where all of the good ice cream, hamburger, and barbeque places were, including a place with two women cooking a whole pig out on the sidewalk. It was really interesting. We saw the centro and the church, which is painted a lovely peach color. The streets were busy and filled with children in school uniforms, cars, buses and people just walking around. We went back to the house and ate lunch, then later we took a bus to Rumiloma, the community in which MPI works in. The bus ride was an adventure in itself. The busses do not seem like a "normal" vehicle of public transportation as seen in the states. Rather, It is almost like an old greyhound bus that has been converted to run around the crazy, steep, windy hills of Ecuador. It was very busy and you get one right away. Then, a little boy with no uniform came by and collected our money. He was like a little monkey weaving through the mass of people while the bus swerved around sharp turns. It was really fun. :)
We then got off the bus and walked to where our library, teen center, and overall "community" center is. It was so beautiful. The library consists of a large room with different sections - adult reading in spanish and english, two large tables, then a kids reading corner with beanbags and spanish and english books as well as an arts and crafts/game corner with little tables. The library also has two computers that chilren can use for homework, reserach or playing games. Connected to the library is the teen center; one large room filled with a ping pong table, a couch, games, guitars, and an x-box and tv set up. I played ping pong for a while, then got the ball dented and paid 50 cents for a new one. Still such a little kid....
Then we went upstairs, which contained two rooms; one for the to be preventitive health center, and another bright green one wich is for art classes, english classes and more. We then went further upstairs to the exercise class/cooking class room that was a calm light blue color. One story up (more stairs!) was the roof - which has such a beautiful view of the mountains that surround us. Whew!
I hung around the library and teen center until cooking class started, then helped PD's Sarah and Eric run the class, which consisted of making an ensalada de oriental y chaulafan (fried rice). Four women from the community came - three sisters and one friend. They were so nice and funy. The food we made at the end was delicious and I was exhausted from trying to understand what they were saying in spanish for two hours. My brain HURT! We then packed up and went back to the house. The nights here are beautiful too - the stars are so bright and beautiful! (dont worry the days are super sunny, blue skied and beautiful too).
Today we travel to quito and tomorrow we go on a bike tour of a certain part of quito! I am very excited. Overall I like ecuador a lot. Things to note about this country: There are stray dogs EVERYWHERE! they are so adorable (most of the time) and if they aren't running around on the street they live on the roofs of houses, because most yards do not have backyards. Also, the women here seem to be incredible, especially the 4ft tall traditionally dressed barefoot ones that walk around with walking sticks and these great brown hats. The women carry their children in cloth behing their backs to sleep or to just sit awake and look at the world. That leads to the kids - there are so many kids! They are yelling and running everywhere! They are so cute with such big brown eye - I am excited to work with them in the library.
That is Ecuador in a nutshell. There will be more to come, especially when programs start on monday. I will be working on women's exercise, cooking classes, adult english and shadowing in a hospital the last two weeks I am here. I am really looking forward to taking in spanish and meeting the people who live here. The adventure begins! :)
We then arrived at the house, which is quite large and spacious. I live in the "apartment" which is connected to the house via the roof and you enter it through a small doorway in the concrete wall. I then chose a yellow room and a top bunk, only to find that the bed i chose squeeks with ever move I make. Thank goodness I am a deep spleeper, becuase with that noise, the cars and the barking dogs it is hard for some people to go to sleep. Little living quirks here that I have found: you can't put toilet paper in the toilet, the shower is hot, but the heating unit is connected to the shower, so it is fickle at best. They don't refrigerate their eggs, there is no peanutbutter, and the yogurt is liquid!
The first day consisted of orientation at 9am followed by a walking tour of Conocoto. We saw where all of the good ice cream, hamburger, and barbeque places were, including a place with two women cooking a whole pig out on the sidewalk. It was really interesting. We saw the centro and the church, which is painted a lovely peach color. The streets were busy and filled with children in school uniforms, cars, buses and people just walking around. We went back to the house and ate lunch, then later we took a bus to Rumiloma, the community in which MPI works in. The bus ride was an adventure in itself. The busses do not seem like a "normal" vehicle of public transportation as seen in the states. Rather, It is almost like an old greyhound bus that has been converted to run around the crazy, steep, windy hills of Ecuador. It was very busy and you get one right away. Then, a little boy with no uniform came by and collected our money. He was like a little monkey weaving through the mass of people while the bus swerved around sharp turns. It was really fun. :)
We then got off the bus and walked to where our library, teen center, and overall "community" center is. It was so beautiful. The library consists of a large room with different sections - adult reading in spanish and english, two large tables, then a kids reading corner with beanbags and spanish and english books as well as an arts and crafts/game corner with little tables. The library also has two computers that chilren can use for homework, reserach or playing games. Connected to the library is the teen center; one large room filled with a ping pong table, a couch, games, guitars, and an x-box and tv set up. I played ping pong for a while, then got the ball dented and paid 50 cents for a new one. Still such a little kid....
Then we went upstairs, which contained two rooms; one for the to be preventitive health center, and another bright green one wich is for art classes, english classes and more. We then went further upstairs to the exercise class/cooking class room that was a calm light blue color. One story up (more stairs!) was the roof - which has such a beautiful view of the mountains that surround us. Whew!
I hung around the library and teen center until cooking class started, then helped PD's Sarah and Eric run the class, which consisted of making an ensalada de oriental y chaulafan (fried rice). Four women from the community came - three sisters and one friend. They were so nice and funy. The food we made at the end was delicious and I was exhausted from trying to understand what they were saying in spanish for two hours. My brain HURT! We then packed up and went back to the house. The nights here are beautiful too - the stars are so bright and beautiful! (dont worry the days are super sunny, blue skied and beautiful too).
Today we travel to quito and tomorrow we go on a bike tour of a certain part of quito! I am very excited. Overall I like ecuador a lot. Things to note about this country: There are stray dogs EVERYWHERE! they are so adorable (most of the time) and if they aren't running around on the street they live on the roofs of houses, because most yards do not have backyards. Also, the women here seem to be incredible, especially the 4ft tall traditionally dressed barefoot ones that walk around with walking sticks and these great brown hats. The women carry their children in cloth behing their backs to sleep or to just sit awake and look at the world. That leads to the kids - there are so many kids! They are yelling and running everywhere! They are so cute with such big brown eye - I am excited to work with them in the library.
That is Ecuador in a nutshell. There will be more to come, especially when programs start on monday. I will be working on women's exercise, cooking classes, adult english and shadowing in a hospital the last two weeks I am here. I am really looking forward to taking in spanish and meeting the people who live here. The adventure begins! :)
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