Estado de Emergencia en Ecuador

All I wanted to do today was go to the historic part of Quito.  But that didn't happen because Ecuador was in a state of emergency.

The police officers were protesting la Ley de Servicio Publico.  BASICALLY, it would affect the police officers' salary.  Here the police are called "chapas."  My host mom told Yonseili this morning as she was coming up to my room and all we did was laugh... but out of nerves... it was so weird.  What made things a little more serious was the fact that they suspended all incoming and outgoing flights.  We did not leave the house ALL DAY.  I am sick of looking at this computer screen.

We literally just stayed online, ate, watched a movie (the Love Guru), aaaannnnddd watched the news.  I recorded about 15-20 minutes of live news.  We saw a police officer get hit and fall to the ground-I did get that on camera.  It was frightening but thank God he didn't die.

After Correa was rescued he went to the president's palacio and talked and talked and talked and talked.  I was over it within the first 30 seconds.  Now I understand what people mean when they say he is arrogant.  Dear goodness.





The following are links to what happened today:
Rescate a bala

Protestas, saqueos y caos...

Presidencia de la Republica del Ecuador

Highlight of the day:  Hmmm... it's tough to decide between The Love Guru and the president being held hostage... NOT.  Of course, the highlight is the fact that I was here in a day that will go down in history.  September 30, 2010.

Good Food + Good Friend = Good Finish to the day

I went to school today surprise surprise.  I didn't study much for Spanish cumulative exam, but I felt comfortable with doing, or I guess not doing, that.  Before we started our test, however, Christian Yonseili and I went to speak with wonderful Patty to confirm next module's classes.  It is confirmed I will be taking 2 hours of Advertising, an hour of grammar and an hour of literature.  I look so forward to the grammar and literature because Raquel will be our professor.  I can't wait for the literature because I can't wait to read Spanish literature.  That will definitely help me with my Spanish speaking skills.

Then we finally went to take our test and it was okay.  The preposiciones was a bit hard, but I should be fine.  Then we did our oral presentations.  Christian did his and was told for the fifth week in a row that he can't say "mas mejor."  Yonseili talked about the weather and she was told that she sounded a lot better today than Monday and Tuesday because apparently those days she sounded Colombian....  THEN I talked about how to grow olive trees thanks to you-know-who-is-obsessed-with-them.  The woman (Yonseili) even asked Christian to take a picture of me while I was talking about it.  I did a fair job and was just corrected on a few things.  I still can't believe I talked about olives.  BTW, I read they are good for preventing some types of cancer, alzheimer, and other stuff.  So if you like them, good for you!

We had our test in marketing.  It was a group test.

Yonseili left after school to go straight home because she needed to make some phone calls.  I went to lunch with Brian and Julius.  It was good.

Since Brian needed to work on a few things on the computer at school, I decided to just go home.  I REALLY enjoyed my walk home.  I went at my own pace and I stopped a bit at the park to just observe people.  It rained a bit and that made the walk better.

I picked up my laptop from my house and went over to Yonseili's.  We just chilled, worked on our blogs, and listened to music.  We knew we wanted to go out and do something - in the end it turned out to be a girls' night out.  

Highlight: Girls' night out. We stuffed ourselves so much at Pizzeria el Hornero.  The pizza, the garlic breads with cheese and tomato were delicious.  The french fries and lemonade were scrumptious, too.

No rush

Uhmmm...crappy day at school because I didn't feel much better.
I had yucky Spanish and did my presentation in Marketing. Definitely not my best presentation. Whatev.

I chilled at school for a while after marketing and then Brian and I went to a restaurant called ch7.  It was bueno y barato.  They had TV screens and they were playing a concert of Marco Antonio Solis.  That guy's music is good.

Also found out my cousin Gabriela Martinez Acosta is engaged.  Felicidades a ella!  How exciting!

Yonseili and I went out to get ice cream and snacks in the evening.  Specifically she got a magnum ice cream and I got a snickers and also 4 packets of oreos and one of ritz cookies.  I was really craving junk food.

Carlos' nephew, Javier, turned 17 today so happy birthday to him!  I just met him today and he was really nice.  He is in his last year of high school and had to work on a lot of homework today.

Today we have confirmed that we are missing Brian's jacket.  Yonseili and I got it for him from the Bungalow 6 precisely so that he wouldn't forget about it and leave it there.  Well, that probably would have been best!  We know we had it on this property... it's like the earth swallowed it.

Highlight of the day:  Just staying home... it's good not doing anything once in a while because I feel like most of the time I'm in a rush to do something or on to the next agenda item.  Plus, my body needs to recuperate.

Sick

My sickness continued this morning.  I definitely didn't sleep well.

This week's Spanish is with Hilda.  She has short hair, like really really short hair, and has glasses.  I believe I saw on her paper that her last name is Chuquilla.  She is strict and she really tested our knowledge today.  Dayum - and it had to be today when I don't feel so good.  But, at least we didn't have marketing (because Nacho went to Colombia with his wife).  Score.

Lauren from England went to school today.  She went to the Academia for a week or two but then left to the Galapagos for a  month.  She came back and is leaving tomorrow back home.  She said her trip was just amazing and that has reconfirmed to me that I need to go.  I can't wait.  She, Brian and I went to have lunch together at the $2.50 place... there was a different cashier lady.  There is ALWAYS a different cashier lady.

The rest of the day I stayed home because I wasn't feeling good.  My host mom is amazing, though.  She fed me stuff to help me feel better, such as chicken soup.  Then, during one of my naps I noticed my host mom had brought into my room a hot beverage of lemon and I guess honey... she's awesome.  I just can't imagine what I looked like knocked out on my bed in front of my laptop.  Oh yeah, I looked knocked out in front of my laptop... duh! But I wonder what she thought.  I finished up my homework and knocked out after washing my face and brushing my teeth.  I hit the bed by 11:30pm... boy I wish I could have gone to sleep earlier.

Highlight of the day:  Awesome hospitality by my host mom.  Adriana, thank you!

"Please don't get kidnapped" -Brian

This was fun.

Yonseili woke me up at 5:35 to catch 6am ride for $2.  I asked for for five more minutes, but she responded with a, "I already gave you five minutes."  Damn, I had to get up.  We got ready and it was a good thing we had packed up stuff up the night before.  I took quick pics and vid of the place and we walked down to the dirt road.  We waited for a while and then saw the gray pickup truck that Rosario told us about.  The driver's name was Lirio.  Sure enough we confirmed it and hopped on.  He drove to the community to pick up some stuff and while we drove that way, Yonseili realized she had left her phone under the pillow.  We were going to ask the driver to wait by so that she could run up to the cabin and get the cell phone BUT as we were arriving, we saw Rosario there on the side of the road with the cell phone.  That lady was a great host and it's great that she got that for us.

As we drove to Garcia Moreno, we picked up people and dropped off people as well.  The ride was very enjoyable.  One of the people picked up was an older gentleman named German.  He was handsome.  He had a chicken with him named Vile.  He told us the chicken was for fighting.  Chen was making jokes that the chicken was our almuerzo.  I took a picture of the men with the chicken and they were really happy with the picture when I asked if they wanted to see it.  One of them was amazed at how clear the picture was.  German wondered if I would remember the name, and I assured him I would.  Chen even made up a "song" so that we could remember it... "Vile, Vile, Vile from Junin."

When we arrived to Garcia Moreno, we paid the man $8 and looked for a place to have breakfast.  We knew we were going to be there until 1pm so we had a lot of time to kill.  We ended up at some place with interesting posters.  Yeah.

The town is just made up of a church, a few stores, a few restaurants, and a good view.  There is a huge square, like a courtyard, in the middle of everything where there is a volleyball net.  I went into a square and borrowed a soccer ball for 50cents.  We played volleyball and then later just did soccer passes.  The sun was our enemy once again.  People in the town just sat outside their homes on the benches and watched us play, but even when we stopped people just sat and chat with each other.  We walked around for a bit and returned to the same spot.  Then Yonseili and I got a ride from two guys on motorcycles.  We paid them $2 for the ride.  The guy who gave me a ride was 18 years old and his name was Angel.  His motorcycle was a SUKIDA.

Later Chen and I had lunch at one place and Yonseili and Brian at the same place we had breakfast.  Chen and I had white rice, chicken and french fries with a coke.  It was good and we watched Superman in Spanish because they had DirecTV.  When we finished we headed to see Yonseili and Brian and as we arrived they were barely getting their plate, so we waited outside and Chen wanted me to tell him a story.  So I made up one... it was kinda funny.

We hung out for a little while and then got on the bus with like ten minutes 'til 1.  We bought snacks for the 4-hour ride that was ahead of us.

The ride was sooooo long.  It was hot.  The freakin' bus didn't have big enough windows.  I was miserable for like the first two hours.  The ride would probably only be an hour long on a freeway but this bus went through dirt roads and through the mountains.  We drove through PLENTY of curves, and at most curves the vehicles always BEEP to alert any oncoming vehicles.  It was horrible when I was trying to sleep because the BEEPS always WOKE ME UP.

I was so happy when we finally arrived.  We got on a taxi, dropped off Chen at his 'new' location with another uncle, then we went home.  When I showered I felt like I was reborn.  It truly was a good shower.  Since Brian doesn't get dinner on Sundays we decided to have dinner with him.  The original plan was to make dinner at his place, but since his kitchen isn't fully equipped we just went out and ended up at an Asian food place.  They got sushi I got chicken and vegetables.  By that time I wasn't feeling too good.  I felt much better, however, when we went to get french fries.  I just can't have enough of good french fries. =P.

'twas a long day. fo shizzle.

amen.

Highlight of the day: motorcycle ride.  I really do like motorcycles.  Before we took off with the dudes, Brian made sure to tell us, "Please don't get kidnapped."

Bye Rosario!

Waiting for Lirio

Lirio getting a package from someone in the community

I love this picture

Don German and his chicken Vile

Garcia Moreno

Looks like a ghost town

breakfast

caterpillar

Brian pointed out the shadow looks like a hummingbird. So true.

aww

Picture taken from the bike

With Angel on his Sukida

You'll never guess what's in those bags

On our way to Quito... finally.  And yes, the kid has a SUPERMAN t-shirt on.

BIENVENIDOS A PALMITOPAMBA

"El Velo de la Novia"

To walk to the waterfalls we needed to wake up early.  Well, it wasn't too early but we did wake up at 7am.  Then we had breakfast at 8am.  We had delicious pan de yuca.  It was like having pancakes, except I didn't have milk =(.  For those of you that know me...you know that I l<3ve milk.  Unfortunately Chen woke up not feeling so well, so only Brian, Yonseili and I got ready for the 2-3hour walk to the waterfalls.  We geared up with our bathing suits, shorts, shades, mosquito repellent, and last but not least our rain boots.  We met our guide, Jorge, and he was really cool.  He was quiet but cool.  He was wearing a cap, a white and blue striped polo, jeans and his rain boots.  As you can see.

With Jorge

With Rosario

We began our walk, and boy I sure had no idea what I was getting into.  We started off well.  After a while I took off my XL comfortable sweater that Yonseili and I got at Pinto because we needed one, plus it was on sale.  Yonseili and I talked along our hike and wondered how on earth we were going to explain our experience on the blog.  Well, here's my try:  As I walked I really thought it was never going to end.  The sun was our enemy today and it was a blessing from God to feel a breeze once in a while.  It was almost like He whispered, with every breeze, "Keep going, you're almost there, just keep going."  Honestly, for me it wasn't a hard walk, it was just long and tedious.  The ground we walked on varied from soft and dry, to soft and wet, to hard and wet, to cow poop, to walking through tall grass and other plants.  We got a few scratches here and there, including a few mosquito bites.  FYI-Mosquito bites look a bit different here.  Anyway, it was humid, then dry and hot, then fresh and cool.  When we were directly under the sun, I remember thinking I couldn't wait for the cold waterfall.  But, by the time we got there and we had our tuna sandwiches that Jorge brought along for us in his backpack and the chips that Brian carried in his, it got kind of cold.  I was second-guessing whether I should get under the water because, who likes to get sick? I had to think about it differently, however.  Did I really want to miss out on this?  Uhm... NO.  So we did it.  The water was definitely cold, but it felt great.  What was painful was stepping on the rocks, the pointy rocks.  Yonseili and I hadn't brought our sandals so we had to walk barefoot under the waterfall.  It hurt soooo much.  I even got a small cut under my right foot.  When I first got under the waterfall, "El Velo de la Novia," the water banged on my head hard enough to push it down a bit.  It sounded funny.

Our guide Jorge took the picture

I must dedicate some space for the rain boots.  I thought they would be hard to walk in, but they really weren't and I am so happy that I went ahead and wore them instead of my Nike's.  It was great walking through the water and  not getting my feet wet.  Their grip made it so easy to walk as well without feeling like I would slip... although I did slip once.  So thank you boots.

The walk back was faster but a bit harder for me.  As hard as it may be to walk up... I would rather do that than walk down.  My toes weren't too happy with me.

Can you see the bird?

Momma cow and baby cow.  Tell me you wouldn't be intimidated.

Along our walk there were plenty of cows.  It's different seeing them up close than seeing them from a distance in a dairy farm from the freeway.  It was funny to see our guide just smack their butts with his machete so they would move.  Nonetheless, on our walk back, Yonseili and I had a roadblock.  Momma cow and baby cow were intimidating and we didn't want to upset Momma cow by getting near her baby cow.  Brian was just yelling at us to go around them... well, I'm sorry Brian but it's not that easy to cross a 600-1000lbs creature and its baby.  But when I look back at how easy the guide moved the cows over... I should have just gone for it.

During our walk to the waterfalls, Yonseili lost her camera case and I my camera... good thing I noticed sooner than later and Brian walked back not too far and found it.  He confirmed my camera looked sad on the floor.  We recovered Yonseili's camera case on our way back by our first rest stop.  I also found an old machete, but the guide said, "no vale," so I just put it back on the ground.  Yeah, it was really rusted.

As soon as I saw the cabin I was very relieved.  We put our stuff down, took off our boots and Yonseili and I went straight to the hammocks outside under the gazebo.  We had lunch and after we took a nap.  After a while I went to my room to take the rest of my nap because it had gotten kind of cold.  When I woke up I could hear Chen, Brian and Yonseili talking so I went back down to the gazebo and we just hung out.  Dinner was at 8ish.  We had a mountain of spaghetti that I couldn't finish.  Yonseili and I showered and then we played cards in the guys' room.  Chen showed us a game called Yaniv that is played in Israel a lot.  It was fun.

looks like worms, huh?

Then we went to sleep.

Highlight of the day:  Going under the waterfall, "El Velo de la Novia."  It's named that way because the way it curves as it falls down sort of looks like a wedding veil.

Tarzan status.

Cow

Red Toyota

Good thing I had packed everything for the trip the night before.  I definitely wouldn't have had time this morning. Yonseili called a taxi and when it got here we headed to school. 

Yonseili and I asked Raquel, our professor, to let us leave as soon as we finished our oral and written tests so that we could leave to the bus station La Ofelia.  Of course she said yes.  I finished mine first and looked for Brian to get him out of his Spanish class.  As we waited for Yonseili, Brian went to the internet and then Chen met up with us at the school.  But then Chen had to talk with the director of the school and needed to get some paperwork done; he told me that we should go ahead and that he'd meet us at the bus station.  When this happened, Yonseili and Brian had left to get money from the ATM.  So I walked to the ATM and let Yonseili and Brian know. Wait... let me get some air... okay...I think I'm good.

So we went ahead.  We decided to get breakfast and ended up at some place that was good and cheap by the bus terminal.  We walked over to the station and Yonseili noticed some guys stared us down and then one mentioned to his buds that we had Nike tennis shoes.  Hmmm... yeah... that concerned me a bit.

Chen met us there, we bought our tickets and left to Junin Cloud Forest.  the seats we got were 13, 14, 15 and 16.  Last time we had gotten 14, 15 and 16.  I got the same window seat, 16.  Crazy, huh?

Good pic.  Pic by me.

I had to call Rosario Piedra, whom we did the reservations with, so that she can have a truck wait for us at Chontal.  She let me know that a red truck would be waiting for us there.  We tried to guess what kind of truck it would be.  Yonseili guessed correctly when she said Toyota.  When I saw the truck, I knew I would enjoy the one-hour ride, but I had no clue it would be one of the coolest rides of my life. I l.o.v.e.d. it.

Bad*ss ride.  Yonseili burst out laughing as soon as we got
out of the bus not knowing the driver was right in front of her.

Our shtuff all over the place

Brian. Chen. Moi.

deniSe. Yonseili.

Sign

It was amazing to ride in the back of that truck and feel the wind and see the beautiful landscapes.  It wasn't safe but I just couldn't let that chance go.  I sat on top of the trailer until it started to rain a bit.  Then we arrived to some place where the driver had to pick up our food to take to the cabin.  It was an overall amazing experience that ride.

Yeeeaaa

Animals

Beautiful green everywhere

When we got there, Rosario welcomed us and she showed us around real quick.  We put our stuff down and just began to relax.  Brian and Chen got a room across ours.  We were served lunch a bit after we arrived.  We ate with two other girls who were there until Saturday evening.  They were interesting.  When Yonseili mentioned that we should have brought snacks, one of the girls was going to say something (that they had snacks) but the other girl just looked at her briefly, gave her a look, and shook her head.  She was so conspicuous we noticed.  I didn't mind; I thought it was funny.  For lunch we had rice and meat and water, well, at least Yonseili, Brian and I who were coincidently sitting on the same side and opposite of Chen and the two other girls who didn't want meat.  The girls were vegetarian and Chen is Jewish.  I enjoyed having lunch out in the middle of the forest.

It was humid.

There was a "green" restroom in which you don't flush, but instead you scoop up a cup of humus (dirt) located next to the toilet and put it into the toilet after you do your business.  I used it once.  The sink was right outside, out in the open.

Green toilet

Sink

There were three showers and only one had warm water.  The two outside, detached from the cabin were similar looking to the restroom. 

The hammocks were great.  I couldn't remember the last time I had laid down in one.

It was really cool to listen to all the insects, birds, and animals throughout the day but especially at night.  After dinner all four of us, plus one of the girls, walked about 15 minutes to the community.  It wasn't too safe to walk because it was really dark, nonetheless it was fresh.  The community has two volleyball nets and older male adults were playing on one of them, and three kids were playing on the other.  There were women cleaning beans on the side.  Other folks were just watching the volleyball game.  Volleyball nets can be found in pretty much every village.  They play with soccer balls, though.  I have yet to see them play with a real deal volleyball.  I then asked the kids if I could play and the little girl in jeans, a blue blouse, and a cap replied, "¡Claro!"  So I joined in and then Brian and then Chen.  Of course Chen made it all funner by entertaining the kids running after them and simply being his crazy self.


Chen became a spectacle.  The adults that played volleyball finished their game so all the community folk who stuck around just watched Chen and Brian play with the kids.  Chen was making everyone laugh.

We walked back and showered.  Wow, Yonseili and I couldn't stop laughing.  The shower is basically a little wooden shack in which bugs can easily get in through the cracks and, oh yeah, the huge "window" it has.  We had to take turns.  As I showered she made sure no one, who ever that no one would be, could look in.  Then she showered and I did the same for her.  The water was in fact warm.  Rosario had to turn on the gas for us so that we can have that.  It gave off a funky smell.


Then we went to sleep. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Highlight of the day:  RIDING THE TOYOTA!!!