That time I spent a week in Quito

This past week in Quito was not in the plans for my internship, but I think the dog bite was a blessing in disguise. It moved me closer to my next site in La Calera, allowed me to see some cool things in Quito, work on the soap project with reliable Interent, visit the office and talk to a lawyer about the soap women creating an association,  I got to stay with a great family that is now allowing me to keep some luggage at their house while I travel after my internship, and it has allowed me to relax, catch up with friends and family, and take hot showers.

ECUAOR: LOVE LIFE

Who I'm living with and where I'm living:

I am staying with the parents of someone who works for ceiba. Their names are Mildred and Augusto and they have two kids, Carolina (ceiba coordinator) and Carlos. Carolina is married to Diego and they have a 7 year old, Nicolas. Carolina did her Masters at UW- Madison and Mildred and Nico both lived with her in Madison during that time so it's been fun getting to talk to them about Madison!

Walked into the house with all the Bucky Badger things on the wall because Caro just finished her masters.

They are all very nice and welcoming. M&A live in a nice house in Quito, it's 5 stories, but each floor is just a room or 2! It's so interesting the set up of the home. When you walk in theres a little office and living room, then the next floor Is the kitchen and dining room, then the next floor is the parents bedroom then the next floor is 2 bedrooms (one which I'm staying in), then the next floor is like a family room. 

My room & there is a Bucks banner on the other wall

Mini papayas

Tomatillo del arbol- really yummy fruit!

Monday:

I took a taxi to the ceiba office and carmen brought me to the hospital because I was supposed to get my second vaccine. She was going to wait in the car while I got the vaccine taken care of. I went in and of course had to wait a while and then when the nurse called my name I went into the room. I said I had my last injection on Saturday and she said that I was supposed to come in the next day.. So I was super confused and concerned why the other nurse told me I was supposed to get it monday. Then the nurse showed me the vaccine and asked if that was my name and it wasn't, it was a 44year old male... And that's what my vaccination record said too.. So then I was super concerned that I got the wrong vaccine on Saturday. However, I had the right vaccine and they just had a mix up and made an error with the names. Also, the nurse that told me to come in on Monday for the second vaccine was wrong, I was supposed to get my second vaccine on Tuesday. So we left the hospital accomplishing nothing other than me freaking out, but staying positive!! 

I then went back to the house and had dinner with Mildred and Augusto. We had yummy chicken and potatoes and rice!

Tuesday:

Worked out this morning and boy is the altitude different here! After running for aproximately 30 seconds I was having trouble breathing! The weather is really great but man oh man, we are high up in Quito! After the workout I went with Carolina, that ceiba coordinator and daughter of the parents I'm living with to her son's school concert. Her son, Nico age 7, goes to an American school in Quito that is bilingual and super big and nice. The kids were all so so adorable. They played xylophone, sang a song, and did a little dance! It is so crazy to compare this school to the one in Camarones and how Camarones has such little resources, and the one in Quito has everything.

That little blonde girl with the glasses was the most precious thing ever

After the concert I took a taxi to the ceiba office and then went to the hospital with Carmen to get my second vaccine. I ran some errands with Carmen and then went back to the house.

At the house, they finally figured out the wifi password so I was able to catch up with friends and family. For dinner, I had soup and pasta with homemade pesto which was delicious!

Wednesday:

I went to do some work at the Ceiba office with Carolina and then we went to MIES, which is the organization we have to go through for the soap ladies to form and association. We talked to a lawyer there and got most of our questions answered. Then we went to pick up Nico from school and had lunch at the mall. It was around 3:15 when we ate so I was starving and ate 2 sandwiches for only $3 and then split a slice of key lime pie with Carolina. Afterwards I worked on some things for the soap project, answered emails, and talked with friends and family. Mildred and Augusto got back home around 9:30, I didn't eat dinner because I was so stuffed from my late lunch, but I did have some fruit and tea and crackers and chatted with M&A for a while about Madison and other things for about an hour before going to sleep.

Thursday:

This morning I went to the Teleferico, which is a cable car to the top of a mountain, by myself. I decided, when in Quito, I should probably try to see/ do things even if I have to do them alone. I'm so glad I did because the views from the top of the mountain were amazing and I met some pretty interesting people in my cable car rides! On the way up I was with two older men, both from the states, but one has been living on the Galápagos Islands for over 20 years doing marines work and the other has traveled all over the world for marines work as well. Their names were Bill and JC and they were super cool, especially Bill who had all these stories from his many travels. On the way down I was with members of the tribe, yes, Jews straight from Israel, they were an adorable young couple traveling for a month in ecuador and Peru and it was so fun to talk to them! I also met a couple from Argentina and was able to chat with them for a bit on the top of the mountain!! All in all, worth it. 

Bill and I were each other's personal photographers, so we felt it was necessary to take a selfie together.

Bill told me to wave to my mom, so hi mom!

Also didn't really want to come down from the mountain because it was so beautiful up there, so no shame, put my iPhone camera on self time and attempted some artsy pics:

Took a taxi to the ceiba office and did some work in the afternoon and then went with Carolina to pick Nico up from school. Then the whole family went together to an Ecuadorian food festival. I absolutely maxed out on samples of the desserts, oh man were they delicious. It was this huge event with a bunch of different vendors, people singing, games for kids, people in costumes, the whole shebang. The most odd/ surprising thing for me was seeing women dressed up in super revealing/ tight dresses with the names of grocery stores or food products on the dresses. In the states, this would not fly. It basically said "Kraft" on the front of their dresses. I also saw women with dresses like this promoting cell phone companies.

The event

Really good ice cream/ sorbet! I had the blackberry flavor. I also had a bunch of other typical Ecuadorian desserts: a corn cake, a fried dough with honey, bread with something sugary inside, and there was a chocolate fountain which we dipped Ubillas into.

We also went to a conference about coffee and got a lot of coffee samples

I babysat Nico for a little bit and watched him as he jumped around with his boundless energy 

We spend quite a few hours there and then went back to the home where I threw up a load of laundry and finally faced the three dogs in the courtyard, which I had to go through to do the laundry. I'm not scared of dogs now, just easing my way back into trusting them.

Friday:

Today was a relaxing day. I worked out, did some work, played with Nico, got some travel plans taken care of, packed my bags (because I leave tomorrow)and hung out in the hammock. In the evening, I went to the movies with Carolina, Diego and Nico. We saw Intesament, which is the new Disney movie, Inside Out. It was really cute!! And I got to put my Spanish comprehension skills to use! At the movies, when you buy your tickets, you also pick your seats, which is something different than the US. I really enjoyed the movie! 

Chillin with Nico

Happy place

Saturday:

I went on a morning trip to the middle of the world. If you read of one of my first blog posts, you're probably thinking, didn't you already go there Rebecca? Well apparently the one I went to last time wasn't the real one! So now I can officially say I've been to the middle of the world.

Hanging out on both sides of the equator

View from the top of the monument, and there is a museum in the monument

Apparently, water swirls one way on one side of the equator and the other way on the other side of the equator...hmmm.. Science...

After roaming around the equator for a while, I headed back to the casa. I finished packing my bags, ate some lunch and then my ride Luis was supposed to pick me up and take me to the hospital and then to la calera. I was talking to Luis on the phone and he told me that Rodrigo was coming to pick me up. So I went with the flow and Rodrigo picked me up from the house and then took me to the hospital. He was super nice and I think Luis's brother or brother in law or something mildly related. He dropped me off at the emergency room and I told him I would come out when I'm done getting my vaccine. I managed to navigate the Ecuadorian hospital system completely on my own today, with only a few hiccups. I checked in and they told me to have a seat and wait, which is usual. Then it was taking a while and a nurse came up to me and told me that I would have to wait an hour until a nurse could give me the shot (which I figured meant 2 hours), and I thought that was ridiculous considering it takes literally 1 minute to pop in the needle and stick it in my arm. She said there weren't any rooms available and I told her she could give it to me in the waiting room. She said I'm sorry but you're going to have to wait. I really refused to accept that, because I felt so bad having Rodrigo wait. She said there was a hold up at the pharmacy and no one could go get the vaccine but that if I wanted to speed up the process I could go buy the vaccine and bring it up and have her give it to me, so that's what I did. This was my 4th visit to hospital Metropolitano, so I'd say I know it pretty well by now. I had to go to the pharmacy in the basement, show her the prescription the nurse gave me, the pharmacist gave me another paper which I had to take to a different lab/ office where I paid for the vaccine, then they gave me the receipt which I brought back to the pharmacy. The pharmacist gave me the vaccine between 2 blocks of ice because the vaccine needs to be kept cold at all times. So here I am, gringa, walking around the hospital with ice, the vaccine, and numb hands. I bring it back to the ER and after about 20 minutes the nurse brings me into a room and gives me the shot.

I peace out of that hospital for the last time and head on to la calera! But first wanted to make a pit stop for a photo opp, and rodrigo was so nice to do this! I had seen big letters that said Ama la Vida, which as I mentioned before is ecuadors slogan, and I really wanted a picture with it. It was near he hospital, so rodrigo and I each took pictures of each other with the letters.

We then headed up to la calera, which is about 2 hours north east of Quito. I was dropped off at the home of the family I will be living with for the next month. I am living with Marisol, a women in Sumak Muyo. Sumak Muyo is the name of the jewelry micro enterprise I am working with, I also sell their jewelry through my student org Wisconsin Without Borders Marketplace, which is why I'm here!

There are 10 people living in the house I'm staying in. Marisol is married to Byron and they have 4 kids, 2 boys and then 2 girls, the oldest is Byron (21), then Elkin (14), then lilibed (6), and Camila (4). Marisol's brother also lives with them, and his wife and their 2 kids. So it's a full house, but it is nice, I like it a lot!

Where I'm living

I played with the two little girls for a while, they have so much energy and are so cute! I was also introduced to the family's collection of dogs, there are 6 big dogs and then 5 new baby puppies which are adorable!!!! They also have a collection of guinea pigs, but these are not pets, they are dinner, so so so sad. 

After dinner, which was rice, potatoes, and spinich omelet, we went to the dance by the church. There was an indigenous dance festival for some religious festival going on in front of the church. We watched a few dances, which were really neat, and then headed back to the house to sleep, because the dancing goes on all night long!!!! They also have fireworks!

Really excited for this new adventure in a new city with a completely different culture. My family is so welcoming, I really like them already!

I just have to make sure I don't make the mistake of thinking that a boy is a girl (all the guys have long braids here, so I honestly mistaked my host brother for a girl when I first saw him)! I'm learning though!

Camila and el perito

Religious, indigenous, dance festival 

Sunday:

I had breakfast with the fam, which consisted of some fruit, bread, tomatoe de arbol juice, and I made myself a mocha with hot milk, instant coffee and cocoa powder. Yum.

I then went to the village of cotacachi which is super close to la calera. I went with all the kids, Byron jr. Drove, I also met Richard who is a cousin of theirs and 18 years old. We went to pick up a grill from Luis's house to to use for Father's Day lunch. Luis had an amazing garden in front of his house and I absolutely loved how he used tires as plant holders and flower pots- so creative!!

We then went back to calera and to marisol's moms home which is a few doors down from Marisol's home. That is where the whole family went for the Father's Day lunch. We also took a ride into otavalo to get something that I'm not sure what we bought because I fell asleep in the car (typical) because I wasn't feeling too well.

We got back to the mom's home and ate. It was delicious! I had chicken, guac, potatoes with a cheese/parsley sauce, and mote (which is a different type of corn).

There were probably 20 people at lunch! Marisol, her husband and 4 kids, Luis, his wife and their 2 kids, another family with 2 kids, 2 grandmas, and a few more people I couldn't identify. Big family!! Also, Richard's brother, who is 5 and has lived in North Carolina his whole life just arrived in Ecuador for his first time. He speaks English but is too shy to talk to me!

We then had dessert, cake and ice cream, which was so yummy!

Marisol showed me Luis's other garden, he has 2 gardens!! It was so cool! 

Me and Byron (my dad for the month)! FELIZ DIA DE LOS PADRES!

I then told Marisol I was going to take a little siesta because I still wasn't feeling great- and yeah after resting for about 30 minutes I made a quick sprint to the bathroom to puke. Then I felt much better. But decided to lay low and get some rest so I'd be completely ok in the AM!

Very excited for this next adventure in La Calera!

Sending smiles from La Calera,

Rebecca