Fireworks

For the last three or four days, I have been woken up by a fireworks show. I have no idea what would possess people to fire off sparkley coloured lights at 7am, but let me tell you, nothing says "Up and at `em!" like a gunshot next to your head. It must be a Christmas tradition, because there have been fireworks nearly every night as well. Feliz Navidad! Bloody Ecuadorians...

Los Muchachos

These are three of the five boys who make my life a living hell on a day to day basis. Yet, how could I not love them? Chicos.

Chillax, it`s all good

I am finished classes for the semester!! Other than taking my 15 year old boys out for pizza at 4:30 this afternoon (they deserve it; they never once were able to push me over the edge into insanity!), and a two hour exam next Saturday, I`m done like dinner! It is a relief to be done. This semester is not what I expected, and I`ve been so stressed out about school and making friends that I`ve gotten myself into quite a tizzy on more than one occasion. December is my month for decompressing, and figuring out what I want and need to make this a more enjoyable experience.

The first thing we did to celebrate was go to a local hookah bar. I`ve never smoked hookah before (I`ve never smoked much of anything other than a puff or two of a cigar--eeeew!---and some clove cigarettes with Tam...). It took me awhile to get used to it, and everyone was making fun of my "gaggy-face" (for those of you who have ever spent a significant amount of time with me, you know which one I`m talking about!). As there were a few hookah virgins in the crowd, we got a combination of peach and mint flavour, and I have to say, the taste was very enjoyable. I would definitely try it again. And Mom, don`t worry, there was nothing but molasses tobacco in the hookah pipe. I felt like the Cheshire Cat!

Yesterday I went to Cajas National Park with my friend Ty. I`ve been dying to go since I got here, but circumstances had thus far prevented me from going. Cajas is about an hour away from Cuenca, and you can spend DAYS wandering around the mountain passes and visiting the hundreds of lakes. The views were absolutely incredible and I kept exclaiming "I can`t believe I`m in the ANDES!!" Every hundred feet or so, we were awarded with a new breathtaking vista, and I took a number of pictures (to view, go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=74172&l=49fcb&id=779435523). The day was perfect. It was a little chilly in the morning, but soon the sun came out, and a slight wind to cool us off. At the highest, we were about at 3000 meters, and the altitude definitely affected my ability to breathe. It was a gorgeous hike; we started on a trail called Tres Cruces (Three Crosses), or so we think, and ended about 5 hours later back on the highway. By the end we were more than ready to be done, and though we could see the highway, it was so far off. At one point, we were sludging through marshland, off the beaten track, so we could get closer to the road. It was quite a wet and mucky adventure! I was so tired afterwards, it was all I could do to eat dinner, and I was asleep by 8pm! I woke up with a bit of a sunburn this morning, mostly my neck and the right side of my face (I forget how easy it is to burn at high altitudes!), but surprisingly my legs aren`t stiff or anything. I can`t wait to go back (although next time I might do a less ambitious hike).

My Christmas plans are starting to sort themselves out. I leave next Saturday night for 11 days in the Galapagos, which I`m really looking forward to, despite the fact that it`s the start of tourist season, and therefore the islands will all increase their already expensive prices to make things outrageously expensive. I have to look at this as a chance of a lifetime, and not worry so much about money, but when I`m only getting paid $250 a month, it`s a little hard not to think about it. However, my generous parents have contributed to the trip as a Christmas present, and as I`m going with other poor teachers, I`m sure we will be as spendthrift as possible. I`m looking forward to seeing all the endemic animals, the Galapagos turtles, the walruses and all the amazing underwater culture. I can`t wait to snorkle and relax on the beach, to hike around and visit some of the other islands. It should be a blast. I will be back in Cuenca by Christmas, and apparently Cuenca is the place to be on Christmas Eve. After Christmas, I`m planning on heading down to Vilcabamba, otherwise known as "The Valley of Longevity," where some of the inhabitants claim their relaxed lifestyle has made them forever young. I`m planning on taking a horse trek through the Andes, and maybe a massage or two for good measure. Hopefully, someone or another will join me, although I`m not adversed to spending a little R&R by myself (deep down I am a hermit, although I hide it well!).

Always,

Emily

Random Thoughts

* The cheese is rubbery and squeeks on my teeth when I chew.
* All the toilet paper is scented, which makes blowing your nose an interesting experience.
* No Cuencano man with an ounce of masculity can let a gringa (white girl) walk by without exclaiming, "Hello! Hey baby!"
* Desserts may look delicious, but usually they are dry and tasteless.
* If you buy cheap seats at a reggaeton concert "you will get pregnant." (As told to me by my students!)
* It`s not unusual to see a clown in full make-up and costume, strolling down the street.
* You buy milk in a box in the cereal aisle, and eggs individually across from the chips and cheezies. There I was thinking they`d be in the refridgerator aisle!
* If you lean away, they`ll kiss you anyways.
* The idea of privacy is non-existant. So is the idea of feminism.
* Because I have blond hair and blue eyes, people assume they can rip me off (and often do).
* If you take a pamphlet from a guy on the street, it will be covered with a poisonous powder of persuasion.
* A bottle of Zhumir (sugar cane alcohol) is less than $3 for 26 ounzes, but a decent pair of shoes costs more than $40.
* "Latin blood is always HOT!" (As told to me by some guy who tried to grope me by the river)

Comida comida

They say the way to a man`s heart is through his stomach...thankfully that is not the case for me!

The food here in Ecuador is something to be desired. It`s not bad, but it often lacks imagination. I eat out quite a lot here, despite the fact that I have a kitchen at home, because it`s so cheap and I don`t like cooking for one. Each day I go in search of the best "almuerzo" (set lunch), although I`ve been frequenting a nice restaurant called "Sal Y Azucar" ("Salt and Sugar"), because they have REAL desserts, and perhaps the way through my heart is through sweets! Anyhow, a set lunch is usually between $1-2, which is a steal of a deal, when you think of all the food you get. Usually almuerzos consist of a bowl of soup, served with popcorn or corn nublets to throw in at your leisure (I love the popcorn, hate the tasteless corn nublets), a giant plate of plain white rice with some sort of meat on top, salad and dessert. Usually the meat is unidentifiable, the salad could be anything from shredded radish to unthawed frozen peas to actual lettuce and tomato, and the dessert a cookie or revolting banana pudding or sweet roll. Sal Y Azucar serves tiny slices of cake, peaches and cream, or ice cream, hence why I prefer them. To spice up the rice and often the soup, every restaurant has their own version of ajì, which is a hot sauce. Some of them are good, and some are disgusting. Plus, people in Ecuador put cilantro in bloody EVERYTHING. I HATE cilantro. I put it in the same category as racism, George Bush, and child molesters. It completely ruins the taste of anything it touches. I want to cry when I see tiny bits of cilantro floating in my soup, or in the ajì, because it means my lunch will be severely compromised. At least they don`t put cilantro in the desserts (although I`m sure they`ve tried).

Anyhow, I`ve found a few restaurants that I frequent at least once a week. My favorite is "Pancho`s", which is a Mexican restaurant right below my apartment. They serve excellent chicken quesadillas and tacos con carne. It`s owned by a friendly guy from North Carolina and his Ecuadorian wife. It`s a bit on the expensive side, at $3-4 a meal. Next is "Moliendo Cafè" which is a Columbian restaurant about a block away. They serve the world`s best guacamole, and arepas with tons of veggies and meat on top. It might be my favorite too. The owners are super nice and if I go in by myself, they make sure to provide me with a magazine to read so I don`t look like such a loser! :D A meal there rarely costs more than $2. Finally, the best burger joint in town is a Spanish restaurant called "Percal." It`s super small, so make sure you go early, and you`ll get a table. You`ll notice that none of the restaurants are typical Ecuadorian restaurants. It`s because Ecuadorian food is boring. It`s good enough for lunch, but if you want a taste sensation, you`re unfortunately going to have to look elsewhere.

Writing has made me hungry. I`m off to eat!

Bend over and kiss your ass goodbye!

Hey friends,

It`s been awhile since I`ve written, so I thought I would take a few minutes and update the blog. Last week was pretty tough, in that I had a bit of a bout of homesickness, and wasn`t sure I could handle Ecuador for another 6 months. However, I think that I can, with a few minor changes, so it`s all good now.

On Wednesday, an earthquake hit Ecuador. It went along the coast and down the Andes, and measured 6.7, and it went on forever! I was hanging out with my roommates in our top floor apartment, in the glass living room when the earthquake hit. My chair started rocking, and my friend Hannah jumped up. We realized it was an earthquake, and I had visions of the whole apartment building tumbling over into the river, 9 stories below. The others just sat calmly in the living room while Hannah and I scurried around, unsure what we were supposed to do. Eventually, I ended up jamming myself in a doorway, as if that would do a lick of good if the building decided to collapse...I couldn`t remember if that`s what you were supposed to do in a hurricane or an earthquake, but it made me feel better momentarily, so I guess it was the right thing to do at the time! That night I kept waking up and imagining my bed was moving towards the river. It was the very first earthquake I`ve ever really felt, although apparently I must have lived through several, being from Victoria.

On Friday, my roommate, Kristi, went in for surgery, to remove the cyst on her tailbone. As no one should go to the hospital by their lonesome, especially when you are in ECUADOR, I went with her. Truth be told, I wouldn`t be too put out if I needed to have emergency surgery done while I`m here. The hospital we went to, Santa Ines, is one of the best in Ecuador, and the doctor spoke English and had studied in the States. There was a translator who met us at administration who checked in every once in awhile to see if we were comfortable (although between Kristi and I, we pretty much understood everything). As well, Kristi was set up in this gorgeous hotel room, oops, I mean hospital room, with Direct TV and a very comfortable couch. We spent the day watching Desperate Housewives and sneaking chocolate.


Today, I taught in the morning, and after class tracked down a pirated copy of Stardust for $1.50. I`m supposed to go to a house party tonight, but I might just chillax with Kristi and watch it. Anyhow, I hope all is well back in the real world (wherever that may be!).

Always,

Emily

Hello, Old Friend

This weekend I went to Montañita, a surf town on the coast of Ecuador, approximately 7 hours away from Cuenca. There were about 14 teachers who went, although we didn`t all go together, and did a lot of different things, so it wasn`t like there was a whole group of gringos walking around together all the time. Montañita is a town that doesn`t sleep. Parties go from dawn until dawn, though I did not really witness this strange phenomenon (I got sick...more on that later...). We took a night bus to Montañita, leaving Cuenca at 1am! First leg, from Cuenca to Guayaquil, was a little rough. I sat right in the front, with a mother and a son smushed up next to me. The son peed on me, I`m pretty sure. Either that or my leg leaked a little bit. When we got to Guayaquil (at 4:30am), we had just missed the direct bus to Montañita, so we got tickets to Santa Elena, about 2 hours away. That ride was a little better, but I had just fallen asleep when it was time to disembark...Thankfully, we got on a bus to Montañita about 5 minutes later, and arrived at around 8:30am. After trekking around from hostel to hostel for about an hour, we finally found one with hot water, ocean view, enough beds so no one had to share, with enough natural sunlight to please everyone, and in a quieter (but not quiet by any means!) area of town. El Centro Del Mundo. After ridding ourselves of our backpacks, and claiming bunks, we set off for the ocean, which was right outside our doorstep. However, it was raining (misting), so it wasn`t exactly WARM (warmer than Canada, for sure, though!). The waves were huge and we played in them for about an hour, after which we ate lunch and everyone had a nap. Alicia and I napped pretty much the whole entire day, which I justified by telling myself I was on vacation, and naps are okay on vacation. That night we had everyone over to our hostel for some "pre-game" (which means drinking before you go out in American), and some creepy Columbians started hitting on us...Erin overheard one of them saying "where are all the drunken chicas? Where am I going to sleep tonight?!" The rest of the crew decided to go off to a night of dancing and drinking, but since I was feeling kind of funny in my tummy, I opted to stay home and chillax. The creepy Columbian tried to break into our room, and at one point grabbed my keys away from me, but I gave him a cheemo chop to the head and grabbed them back. Actually, he was drunk, so it was easy...but it scared me a little, and I locked myself in my room and didn`t even go out to brush my teeth. At any rate, it was a good idea that I stayed in, because my roommates stayed out till 5:30am, which is far to late for my granny-self. I woke up at 8:30 the next morning and chilled on a hammock, reading my book, watching the crazy surfers. Did I mention it rained the ENTIRE weekend? The streets were mud up to your ankles, and it was hazardous to your health to go anywhere! I watched at least 15 people wipe out in the mud, some down stairs even! Anyways, when everyone else got up, they took one look at me and asked me what happened to my face, which had broken out in red dots. At first I thought they were bed bugs, but they`re not itchy, and got worse over the course of the weekend, so I`m not exacly sure...they kind of look like chicken pox, but again, they`re not itchy, and I`ve already had chicken pox, so I dunno...

Since I had missed out the previous night`s festivities, I was determined to live life to the fullest, despite the fact that I was feeling kind of pooey. I swam in the ocean, went "shopping" at all the cool little beach stalls selling crafts and jewellery and stuff, had a piña colada, explored the town and the beach as much as the mud would allow, and laid in the hammock for awhile. However, by nighttime, the evil feeling was back, so again I "pre-gamed" at the hostel, but stayed back when everyone else went out. Plus, we were catching the 5am bus back to Guayaquil, so I didn`t really want to stay out all night anyways.

Today I am feeling worse, and am slightly freaked out about these stupid dots on my face. I`m pretty sure I`ve contracted some tropical disease, but no one can tell me what is wrong. Tomorrow I`m going to go to the doctor, because all my students tell me that I`m contagious (I don`t THINK I am...), but it means missing Spanish class AGAIN, and I`m already confused. ARGH! I hope he doesn`t make me poo in a cup. I don`t think I could handle that.

I`ve finally uploaded some photos on facebook. I think you can access it through the link below, even if you`re not a member. If not, let me know, and I can email you a link that should work! Cheers! http://uvic.facebook.com/album.php?aid=67441&l=2b264&id=779435523