commentary on television in Ecuador/my schedule

Some of the better graffiti I've seen around. Mostly you find text related to Rafeal Correa being some kind of dictator, or father of the country, or leader of Farc, or wonderful leader, etc.

So, every night when my host family and I sit down to dinner, if Braulio the 13 host brother of mine is home, the TV will be on. They only have a few channels that don't always work great, but you can count on one of a few shows to be on.

There is the Simpsons, dubbed into Spanish, and usually the humor is lost on me, without the real voices simpsons just ain't the same.

There is the news, which is a mish mash hodge podge of everything under the sun, although the majority lately is related to the upcoming vote on the new constitution. Correa in Guayaquil, Correa with the miners, Correa in Quito, etc. His adversaries will be reported on and various events related to Chavez. The rest of the news ends up beingsub-par reporting on this or that natural disaster, the olympics (an ecuadorian won the silver medal in speedwalking, and that was much talked about), or the US presidential race.

Then, the favorite, the telenovelas. The most popular one (at least the one watched most frequently) is called Cómplices (accomplices?) and is made in Colombia. I wonder how all characters in the show, being as wealthy and outrageous as they are, survive with the Farc around. I've heard they just get carted around everywhere with military personnel. Hmm...

without a doubt, my favorite title of a telenovela translates into "Without tits, there is no paradise." Unfortunately it is the story of a girl caught up in the drug trade to raise money for breast implants. I really have not seen a respectable female character on any of these shows, they are either overly emotional, completely idiotic, or vicious back stabbers. Ah well...

On another note, I think (hope, pray) my schedule is finally fixed. all my classes take place mon-wed-fri, which frees me up to volunteer in Lumbisí on Tuesdays and do homework thursdays. But on my class days I have: Meditation (also known as self-knowledge) at 9, history of Latin American Republics at 10, Anthropology of Religion at 12, geology/arqueaology at 1, and advanced spanish conversation at 2 30. Hope it all comes through, the only class still in question is the geo/arqu. mix in which I am the only student registered! I am a nerd indeed...no one seems to have the passion for rocks and ancient cultures garbage that I do...Hmm...

My next post will be Monday, with probably a photo album and many stories to boot. Until then all y'all in the states enjoy your Labor day now ya hear? :)

Comida, comida, comida

Just another beautiful nature scene from the botanical garden. After our excursion to the Hacienda on Cotopaxi this weekend, I will have many more photos to show. Not much to report, another day of fiddling around with my schedule and trying out the many places to eat in the university.

Today we went to the Italian trattoria, and the food was quite rich, and quite good. On the expensive side, however, we had to pay a full 6 dollars for a meal! usually a lunch here is anywhere from 1.50 to 4 dollars, and whenever it seems to be more my friends start complaining about price! I just remember working at Luna downtown champaign and the cheapest lunch possible was starting at 7 dollars, and that was a grilled cheese!

In terms of food, I have to say my favorite so far has been the salads. My host family always has organic, freshly picked cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce, and the dressing is always lime and salt. The lime comes from their bush outside the house. Everyone has a lime tree in their yard! If all I could eat was salad, I would. Speaking of salt, most of you who know may know of my addiction to it, but I tell you I fit in perfectly here, sometimes my family puts TOO much salt, even for me, on their dishes. Wow.

This might be all for now, I have all my classes tomorrow so I will have a good sense of whats in store for the semester.

Peace and love!

Students are here, classes underway, pictures finally uploaded

Mid-way through first day of classes. True, I have only been to one but it will honestly be about a week until I think things will be set in stone with my schedule. I am working on a nice balanced schedule, but not too easy, this is my time to totally immerse myself in my studies now that I dont have all my wonderful, but distracting habits from home.

I wanted to blog today to give everyone looking at this the link to my picasa web album site because I put about 20 pictures up from the first week. They are different than the ones already up here so give them a looksy. I promise to continue posting more and more, but those are the best so far. here is the link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/rebeckyrose/FirstWeekInQuitoEcuador

enjoy and I love hearing comments from everyone, thank you for that. It is great to feel connected to home and hear from all the ones that I love up there. I keep you all with me in my travels, so know that.

More later, there is a trip my group is taking this weekend to some Hacienda (basically a huge house) next to Cotopaxi, the volcano outside of Quito. I am not sure what all is involved, but I heard something about cheese....

Pictures, finally!

Here are a few good shots of the first week.

I am dressed in indigenous clothes in the first picture. I was part of a dance group that numbered 18 people in total, mostly students at the university like me, but some volunteers and some actual local ecuadorians. We just found out that out of all the dance groups, numbering more than 15, we were the group that won the first prize trophy. We all couldn't believe it, and weren't even sure who voted and under what premises, but we thought it was great nonetheless.

The second picture above is a typical firework from the Lumbisi festival. These different animals would be lit, begin to give off their different sparks and someone would pick them up, run into massive crowds with the thing spewing fireworks everywhere. This could last for several minutes and was funny if you had enough distance.

The final picture is taken in the historical center of Quito, and the massive statue on the top of the mountain is called El Panecillo, the guardian angel of Quito. The picture really doesn't do it justice, but it is nice to see the bright colonial style of the buildings below. We went to two amazing Baroque style churchs in the same historic center, one of them was just entirely gold on the inside. Wow. Sorry, no photos allowed in there.

Classes start tomorrow, my first one will be a meditation class. I will report later tomorrow on my first day, which we have already been warned can be chaotic ("some teachers dont show up, others late, others in different rooms...good luck"-from my wonderful resident director Maria Teresa)

Festivals of Lumbisi

There is still one more day to go on the Festivals of San Bartolome in Lumbisi, celebrating their 473 anniversary. These past four days, my quiet little pueblo has been turned into a veritable free-for-all. Fireworks, strange drinks, dancing, bands, clowns, banditos, everyone just seems to party and party forever.

It is a truly traditional time, with foods such as Guinea pig, which I tried last night and drinks made of sugar cane and cinnamon called Chicha. There are all kinds of different native peoples in their traditional dress, some selling their goods, some dancing in the festivals, others just enjoying themselves.

Ay! Ecuador does present confusion, however. Nothing really happens as planned, so it is necessary to learn to improvise and to go with the flow. For example I have just tried to upload a photo album onto facebook, and after an hour of waiting, the upload "failed." Getting a cell phone was tough but I have one now which is great and cheap to call the other international kids who are living here and going to school with me.

My brain is feeling a little confused with what I have already said, what I have left out and what is yet to come. Classes start wednesday, and I will be very happy to get into a routine. I promise to get some pictures up when I get the wireless code for my school. Much love to all!

Ay! What a week!

Ok ok, This first week is definitely unusual in terms of how much I will blog. The pueblo I live in has no wireless, and only two spots for internet. However, next week I will begin classes at my university and there is indeed wireless there. So, starting monday I can upload pictures (I arlready have over a hundred) and blog much more frequently.

Things have been overwhelming, beautiful, really cool, and fun so far. Right now there is a huge 4 day festival going on in my town celebrating the 473 anniversary of Lumbisí, my pueblo. From killing and cooking over 300 chickens, to massive amounts of fireworks, to the traditional dance that my group of university students somehow ended up taking part in, it is a crazy time here. Rafael Correa, the president of the country of Ecuador just finished speaking in the stadium in Lumbisí. One thing I did not realize was how politically charged this semester is going to be in this country. Correa re wrote the constitution, and there will be a vote from the public at the end of September. Things are heating up, because the constitution has a strong socialist bent, very anti-foreign countries (mainly US). Some things that would change would be:
-legalizing abortion in some cases
-expulsion of all foreign military bases
-shutting down all private schools (including the university I will be attending, one which Correa himself was educated and taught at)
-and other things I need to learn about myself

Basically, the opposition is a mix of Catholic priest and students from the private catholic university. They disagree with Correa for obvious reasons. I will of course keep you all posted on this situation. Another thing is that voting is compulsory here, so everyone must vote! Makes things a bit more interesting than the States, eh?

In the following posts, I will talk about my family and volunteer work because I will show you pictures. For now, know I am safe and happy, but only a week here and I realize how important my own family and friends are to me. I really want to begin classes, to learn, to stay busy, and get moving with the semester. More on Monday, te prometo (I promise you)

Ciao!

I wish I could plan and pack forever...and ever...and ever...

I promise to not tell lies in the titles of my posts, but sometimes one might find them there for an added sense of irony.

In general, one of my strengths is organizing. Whether in the form of activism, hosting social functions, or listmaking, I not only organize well, I get quite a bit of pleasure out of it (a pleasure I know many women share with me...to cross something off a list is wonderful). However, the planning that goes into successfully getting on a plane to Ecuador this Sunday, and subsequently surviving/enjoying my nine months there has grown old. The only way to push on through is to do things one bit at a time. Most of you know this by now, the one-thing-at-a-time nugget of wisdom. It works.

Basically I look forward to a few weeks from now when I can get over the whole moving to another continent and can return to my super-organizing skills that bring me joy rather than grief. Maybe I will post photos of every single list I make, in their stages of crossed off succession. Another lie. I would never do that to you. The pictures will be thrilling.

After Half Dome, its all downhill :)

Myself in Yosemite, July 2007. This is my test post before I depart. Scaling Half Dome last summer is what will get me to the top of many a mountain in South America in the coming months. Once I was terribly afraid of heights, but Half Dome finally broke me of my fear. It is just about having control, and a sense of calm.