Where to begin... I’ll just touch on the big things that I can remember. Then you aren’t all stuck reading a very detailed, pointless recap on my previous two weeks here. After the 20 somethings group on the 2nd I made some friends who told Maria and I that we should meet up with them on that Thursday for this girl’s birthday. So we did and it was a lot of fun : ) We went to CoffeeTree and then to a discoteca called Bungalow (but just to play pool and hang out). Then Friday I hung out with Cathy’s son, Danny, and his girlfriend, Caro. We went to the teleferico (cable cars) and visited the Centro Historico of Quito. It was a LOT of fun! Then that night I ended up going back to Bungalow with my friend Fernando and we met up with some other people. It was pretty fun but mostly just North American music was played. Saturday I went to Otavalo with Xavier, Ann Marie (Annie), her sister & her sister’s friend who were in town visiting. I bought LOTS of things!! : )
Then there was a whole lot of nada, or at least just randomness that isn’t super important, until the next Thursday night (11th)… when I went out for Indian food with Jenny, Tammy, Chantal (Jenny’s friend from Canada), and Maria. It was soooooo delicious. After dinner Maria and I met up with our friend Ivan from church and we went to El Café Mosaico. It had a beautiful vista of Centro Historico. I hope to go back there before I leave! Friday night (12th) I went salsa dancing with Maria and Ivan and his friend Enrique (nicknamed QiQue – no idea on the spelling… haha). It was a lot of fun but I’m not that good (so... Michael, you need to teach me. You know how to dance, right?).
Wow, I've caught up pretty fast. Just this past weekend I went to Mindo with Jenny, Chantal, Maria, and Ivan. We visited the butterfly garden which was super cool because they just landed on you and stayed there and they were ginormous. They made you kinda scared and jumpy… haha but it was still awesome. The hummingbirds here are amazing. There’s SOOO many and they aren’t as skiddish as they are in Minnesota. They are definitely more used to people. On Sunday we went on a hike to Cascada Reina. We didn’t spend as much time at the waterfall as I would have liked to... but we kinda had to go. Bummer. Oh well, next time! : ) Then I went ziplining with Chantal and that was very, very fun as well. Then we headed back to the town, grabbed some lunch, and went home.
Sunday night was officially my worst night here. I was sicker than I’ve ever been before – in my entire life! Must have been food poisoning or something but whatever it was, I never want to experience that again. I couldn’t sleep all night. I felt so absolutely, positively, horrible. I didn’t go to school on Monday but by that evening I was all better. Thank you Lord!
So here we are, it’s my last week of school. Tuesday I went to the 20 somethings group for the last time. Today I went to the market por la ultima vez with Cathy’s daughter, Stephy, and her friend Anthenela (I think…), and bought my final gifts. : ) Then Maria and I went and got manicures/pedicures and how it is time for bed. : )
Not sure what the rest of the week is going to look like for me but we shall see! Hopefully not too crazy busy, but at the same time filled with lots of fun and amazing times for my last week here. : )
See you all very soon!
Chao,
amc
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
A post for the most recent pictures.
In the first batch sent out, you'll see some shots from a bus of the city. Almost every store and house is surrounded by large walls. So when driving down the street it looks very different than in the states. Most walls have broken glass, spikes, or electric fences on top of them to keep robbers out. The random street sign is cause I thought maybe it would be cool to take pictures of all the different kind of street signs I take while traveling. There is also a lovely picture of my peeling shoulder.. this is just because I rarely burn, and when I do, I even more rarely peel. So.... I thought I needed to capture this. haha Sorry for that one.. There's also a picture of a notebook. The kids had to write sentences using some spelling words for homework. Look at the top sentence (they know I'm going to school to be a teacher and that's why I'm in their class). Oh, and that's me on the bottom. After Ariana showed it to me she gasped and said, "I forgot freckles!" And the note is from Sebastian. It's not an uncommon occurrence if mine and Cathy's name are written on the board with a big heart around them. It's awfully cute :)
The next pictures are jardín botanico, mitad del mundo, and the liga soccer game. I think I wrote about these things in the last post. There are pictures of Cathy's absolutely adorable house. It looks very puebla and authentic! The soccer picture of the goal with all the toilet paper is because fans throw toilet paper onto the field at the start of the game or at the beginning of the second half (in this case) right before the goalie gets there. They hope it will distract him and even though workers clean it up there's usually some blowing around for a while after.
That's all for now! I'm going to a 20 somethings group with Maria tonight. It should be fun! :)
Chao,
annmarie
The next pictures are jardín botanico, mitad del mundo, and the liga soccer game. I think I wrote about these things in the last post. There are pictures of Cathy's absolutely adorable house. It looks very puebla and authentic! The soccer picture of the goal with all the toilet paper is because fans throw toilet paper onto the field at the start of the game or at the beginning of the second half (in this case) right before the goalie gets there. They hope it will distract him and even though workers clean it up there's usually some blowing around for a while after.
That's all for now! I'm going to a 20 somethings group with Maria tonight. It should be fun! :)
Chao,
annmarie
Monday, March 1, 2010
fotografias
have no fear. pictures are near. i've uploaded bunches and bunches tonight and will share them with you all tomorrow.
con amor,
amc
con amor,
amc
quick update!
Yesterday was so great :) I went to church, met a nice girl named Maria. Went to the Liga soccer game, which was very fun. They won 5-0. After that I went to a cajun restaurant, named C'est La Vie, with a bunch of teachers to watch the very intense Canada vs. USA olympic hockey game. That was also a lot of fun :) Then I walked home, graded some math tests, and watched the closing ceremony.
Today I stopped by the director's office and asked if there were any openings for the 2010-2011 school year. She said there aren't but I should leave my resume and she'll let me know if anything opens up... So..... my goal is to apply to 2-3 schools per week. I'm not super worried. God's in control and if he doesn't want me at this school then there's going to be something better for me. I'm going to start applying to some in Quito, so if they wanted to talk to me while I'm here, they can. Then I think I'll try some in Central America, and then South America again. I met a couple who taught in Honduras so I'm going to talk to them about that.
That's all for now. Chao :)
annmarie
Today I stopped by the director's office and asked if there were any openings for the 2010-2011 school year. She said there aren't but I should leave my resume and she'll let me know if anything opens up... So..... my goal is to apply to 2-3 schools per week. I'm not super worried. God's in control and if he doesn't want me at this school then there's going to be something better for me. I'm going to start applying to some in Quito, so if they wanted to talk to me while I'm here, they can. Then I think I'll try some in Central America, and then South America again. I met a couple who taught in Honduras so I'm going to talk to them about that.
That's all for now. Chao :)
annmarie
Saturday, February 27, 2010
a very fun week :)
Goodness, it’s been a while since I last posted… I’m running out of steam here! Haha but I will try to keep you all updated as best as I can. Let’s see! This week…
Last time I posted I didn’t mention that on Sunday I was walking home from church and came up behind a lady who was signing the last song we had sang in church. So I said something and we walked to her house together. She was a very sweet lady. Divorced, lives with her son who’s not a Christian. She told me she’s praying for him and talked about how good God is. ☺ Jenny came over on Sunday night and we watched the Canada vs. USA hockey game ☺
On Monday, I did pilates after school. I really like all the ladies that go to yoga and pilates! On Wednesday, I decided I should go exploring so I went to the Jardîn Botanico. It was very pretty and it was nice to smell some delicious flowers and garden smells instead of car fumes. ;) I took a cab there, walked to the mall across the street, and then walked part of the way home. It was getting sort of dark so I hopped in a cab but regretted it immediately after because the traffic was so bad. Haha I definitely could have walked home faster – or close to it.
On Thursday I hung out with Kristen (a girl I had met at church on the first Sunday). We went to El Cafecito in the Mariscol (gringo landia). She’s from Virginia and has been here since September. It was fun getting to know her and just being out of the house.
Friday was a very nice day. After school I decided to get a manicure and a pedicure. So I walked to Jenny’s house but soon realized the lady who does them across the street was not open. So Jenny drew me a little map of another place that she’s gone to and I walked there. The ladies working there were all super friendly and it was very fun! It was around 7:00 when I left so it was kinda dark and I thought I should take a cab but I wasn’t sure if I was heading back to Jenny’s or going home. So I decided to start walking until I got a hold of her. I ended up walking all the way back to her house… haha and she called me just as I was walking up to her gate. We had dinner together and watched Blind Side. It was so fun ☺ And she was super cute. When we were getting dinner ready she goes, “It’s going to be sad when you leave.” It caught me a little off guard so I sort of chuckled and asked why and she said, “Cause I like having you here!” Here I was being worried that I was intruding on her life… haha just showing back up at her house without actually having talked to her about whether or not that was the plan. So that was nice to hear ☺ She is a very sweet girl. Oh, and Blind Side…. SUCH a good movie!
Today I went to La Mitad Del Mundo (the middle of the world) with Cathy (my teacher) and her son, Daniel. I was officially in two different hemispheres at one time! The “museum” was very cool. We were able to see lots of old houses and learn about indigenous cultures and then do some experiments with being on the equator. Very cool. We got to see water spin different directions (and straight down), we experienced less forces (or something like that) because the opposite forces partially neutralize each other. You actually weigh almost 5 pounds less on the equator! We balanced an egg on a nail (easier to do on the equator) and tried walking in a straight line, one foot after another, with your eyes closed. Most people had an extremely difficult time with it. After that we went to Puluhua. This is a ginormous volcano, which apparently erupted millions of years ago, and it was such a huge eruption it blew the side of the mountain out. So there is a large, flat, crater area where people live at the bottom. You can see the mouth of the volcano and it was pretty cool. It is currently inactive (has been since the last eruption) but some geologists say it is reactivating. Apparently, you can see smoke come out of the ground sometimes and they say if it erupts again, it will wipe out almost half of Ecuador… crazy. After that, we went to a little restaurant on the way back home and believe it or not… I tried “cuy” (pronounced coo-wee)… guinea pig. It didn’t taste much different than chicken… a little salty. But just knowing what I was eating, I didn’t eat very much. To make matters worse, they just deliver the thing whole. Everything is inside of it. Ewwy… and you’re supposed to eat everything – intestines and all. Blech. So that was the extent of my day!
Tomorrow I’m going to church and then to a Liga soccer game. Then watching the closing ceremony! How sad… I’ve really enjoyed watching the Olympics every night before bed. Next weekend I’m going to Otavalo (a big, big market place)! So if you have any requests of something you’d like from Ecuador… let me know! ☺
Chao one and all! I’ll be home before you know it! Only 23 days left… crazy!
con amor,
annmarie
Last time I posted I didn’t mention that on Sunday I was walking home from church and came up behind a lady who was signing the last song we had sang in church. So I said something and we walked to her house together. She was a very sweet lady. Divorced, lives with her son who’s not a Christian. She told me she’s praying for him and talked about how good God is. ☺ Jenny came over on Sunday night and we watched the Canada vs. USA hockey game ☺
On Monday, I did pilates after school. I really like all the ladies that go to yoga and pilates! On Wednesday, I decided I should go exploring so I went to the Jardîn Botanico. It was very pretty and it was nice to smell some delicious flowers and garden smells instead of car fumes. ;) I took a cab there, walked to the mall across the street, and then walked part of the way home. It was getting sort of dark so I hopped in a cab but regretted it immediately after because the traffic was so bad. Haha I definitely could have walked home faster – or close to it.
On Thursday I hung out with Kristen (a girl I had met at church on the first Sunday). We went to El Cafecito in the Mariscol (gringo landia). She’s from Virginia and has been here since September. It was fun getting to know her and just being out of the house.
Friday was a very nice day. After school I decided to get a manicure and a pedicure. So I walked to Jenny’s house but soon realized the lady who does them across the street was not open. So Jenny drew me a little map of another place that she’s gone to and I walked there. The ladies working there were all super friendly and it was very fun! It was around 7:00 when I left so it was kinda dark and I thought I should take a cab but I wasn’t sure if I was heading back to Jenny’s or going home. So I decided to start walking until I got a hold of her. I ended up walking all the way back to her house… haha and she called me just as I was walking up to her gate. We had dinner together and watched Blind Side. It was so fun ☺ And she was super cute. When we were getting dinner ready she goes, “It’s going to be sad when you leave.” It caught me a little off guard so I sort of chuckled and asked why and she said, “Cause I like having you here!” Here I was being worried that I was intruding on her life… haha just showing back up at her house without actually having talked to her about whether or not that was the plan. So that was nice to hear ☺ She is a very sweet girl. Oh, and Blind Side…. SUCH a good movie!
Today I went to La Mitad Del Mundo (the middle of the world) with Cathy (my teacher) and her son, Daniel. I was officially in two different hemispheres at one time! The “museum” was very cool. We were able to see lots of old houses and learn about indigenous cultures and then do some experiments with being on the equator. Very cool. We got to see water spin different directions (and straight down), we experienced less forces (or something like that) because the opposite forces partially neutralize each other. You actually weigh almost 5 pounds less on the equator! We balanced an egg on a nail (easier to do on the equator) and tried walking in a straight line, one foot after another, with your eyes closed. Most people had an extremely difficult time with it. After that we went to Puluhua. This is a ginormous volcano, which apparently erupted millions of years ago, and it was such a huge eruption it blew the side of the mountain out. So there is a large, flat, crater area where people live at the bottom. You can see the mouth of the volcano and it was pretty cool. It is currently inactive (has been since the last eruption) but some geologists say it is reactivating. Apparently, you can see smoke come out of the ground sometimes and they say if it erupts again, it will wipe out almost half of Ecuador… crazy. After that, we went to a little restaurant on the way back home and believe it or not… I tried “cuy” (pronounced coo-wee)… guinea pig. It didn’t taste much different than chicken… a little salty. But just knowing what I was eating, I didn’t eat very much. To make matters worse, they just deliver the thing whole. Everything is inside of it. Ewwy… and you’re supposed to eat everything – intestines and all. Blech. So that was the extent of my day!
Tomorrow I’m going to church and then to a Liga soccer game. Then watching the closing ceremony! How sad… I’ve really enjoyed watching the Olympics every night before bed. Next weekend I’m going to Otavalo (a big, big market place)! So if you have any requests of something you’d like from Ecuador… let me know! ☺
Chao one and all! I’ll be home before you know it! Only 23 days left… crazy!
con amor,
annmarie
Monday, February 22, 2010
Carnival tradition
I forgot to write about this. And it's been almost a week since I last updated... just a glimpse at me already getting a little tired of blogging... haha I will try really hard to keep posting!
The school has a competition between the 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. It's basically just a beauty/popularity contest but it's supposed to be more. Each grade chooses a girl based on academics, extra curricular stuff, personality, etc. Then one night there's this massive show where each grade "presents" their girl. They put on this really big presentation. Basically the entire grade participates by telling a story and people are split into groups and dance. It is a HUGE ordeal. Some $14,000 was donated by parents for it to happen. The set up of the stage and costumes is pretty extravagant. Here are some photos, enjoy.
That was the first group. Here is the second.
And the third...
Veeeery interesting... haha I have some videos too. But I don't think I'll post those on here. Takes too long. Well, hopefully you'll hear from me again sometime soon!
Chao!
amc
The school has a competition between the 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. It's basically just a beauty/popularity contest but it's supposed to be more. Each grade chooses a girl based on academics, extra curricular stuff, personality, etc. Then one night there's this massive show where each grade "presents" their girl. They put on this really big presentation. Basically the entire grade participates by telling a story and people are split into groups and dance. It is a HUGE ordeal. Some $14,000 was donated by parents for it to happen. The set up of the stage and costumes is pretty extravagant. Here are some photos, enjoy.
That was the first group. Here is the second.
And the third...
Veeeery interesting... haha I have some videos too. But I don't think I'll post those on here. Takes too long. Well, hopefully you'll hear from me again sometime soon!
Chao!
amc
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Big day tomorrow!
Cathy's husband's grandma just died today so tomorrow she will not be at school. Therefore, I will be flying solo with the kids! We have a TA that comes in for one of the hours in the afternoon but that's it. Please pray that everything goes well :)
Thank you!
annmarie
Thank you!
annmarie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)