Going Bananas

View from the window outside my bedroom!

It's only been a week? While discussing the fact that our arrival in Quito was simply a week ago, many members of the group and I have attested that this week has felt much longer. HECUA definitely does not want us to feel bored or that we have any down time it seems... :-)

When I last left off I was prepping for a day of biking around Old Town Quito. What I didn't know at the time was all that that statement entailed. Two Sundays each month Ciclopolis, a local organization, blocks all traffic to the roads in all of Historic Quito, and various other calles (roads) throughout the city. From 9am-3pm on these Sundays cyclists hit the road. Thousands of people participate in this event, and we were eighteen of them. The thing that I personally forgot was that the beauty of this city comes from the fact that we are nestled in a valley between the Andes. The Andes are mountains, and this means a lot of hills. I felt like it was an earily enough date in the scheme of my semester here, that I could still blame the alititude. But the truth is that those hills kicked my butt. At the top of one of the many, we visited the city's Bascilica. (Obviously I forgot my camera this day). Climbing the Bascilica was something that everyone who has visited Quito will tell you to do. We did it as a group, but it was probably one of the most sketchy tours I've ever been on. Standing in one of the bell towers, hundreds of feet from the ground, with some 2-in. metal beams and some chicken wire supporting you, as your tour guide tells you about the children who helped build the tower and how many of them fell to their deaths- is definitely an experience to be had!Needless to say it was great day, with awesome weather, and a really incredible way to see and learn about the history of the city.

After our many hours of visiting and biking, I headed home with the Miraflores Alto group. (Our neighborhood names are jokingly becoming a Sharks vs. Jets thing). I knew that my host mothers extended family was going to be in my house. They were celebrating Grandma's birthday. After a day of biking, and the walking home and up the many stairs, I was not looking ready for a party. I quickly said hello and then excused myself to change into something more appropriate and less- well let's just say less sweaty and disgusting! We had a great meal, I met a LOT of family members, a lot of names that I probably cannot remember. I was once again reminded of the difference between Ecuadorian Spanish and Mexican slang, something I must remember every day.

My host mother's dad, who everyone calls "Abuelito" reminded me so much of my mom's dad, Gramps. Sitting there and talking with him and watching his manerisms is definitely the most homesick I have felt thus far. But it was also a really awesome reminder of how people's spirits can really shine through regardless of the language barrier. Much to my delight- at family gatherings my host family is a family of card players... something I am very familiar with. They taught me how to play a game called Punto 40, which is a lot like Phase 10. We played a few rounds but only after I had explained and successfully taught them how to play BANANAGRAMS! Let's just say, I do not dominate at Spanish Bananagrams and I do in English. :-) My vocabulary is definitely not advanced enough to even stand a chance. Still, it was a fun opportunity to laugh and break the ice a little bit more.

We start/ed our official classes this week, one on Monday and the other tomorrow, Thursday. Members of the group have also begun their "interviews" for the internships. These internships are very relaxed and consist basically of a get-to-know you conversation that includes our work responsibilities. My internship has changed from what I had originally thought this summer. Instead of working at a Children's Home with children of immigrants, I will probably be working as a tour guide at a local Indigenous museum. A change of plan yes, but I'm trying to see the silver lining in the opportunity to learn so much about an area of study that I know so little. I'll post again when I know more.

Today we visited a really awesome art museum in eastern Quito designed around the artist, Guayasamin. This artists work focuses on his yearning for peace throughout the world, and many of his pieces depict the suffering of the human condition and especially that of Latin America. What made the museum incredibly fascinating was that the building was built and designed around this specific man and the work that he had already completed. He didn't live to see the building to completion, but I'm sure he would be pleased with the way his message is being presented. On one of the walls was a quote of Guayasamin's, "At first I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw a boy who had no feet." This really struck me as a reminder never to focus on what we feel we are lacking. Especially this semester it is so important for me to not get stuck on things that may not be turning out as I had planned.

Tonight will be a homework night-- reading and essays for class tomorrow!

Chau--
Eliza