So here goes my first entry from my time spent in Ecuador. Simply to please Sally because she will not leave me alone!!
I have been in Ecuador almost a week now and much has happened.
Traveling for more than 16 hours is really exhausting, seriously. I was sooo tired by the time I got off the plane in Quito and I was just ready for bed. I arrived and went through customs which wasn't too bad. Next I went for my luggage and that was fine. Now the moment that I had been nervous for had arrived...I was to meet my host family.
What was the most terrifying part about the whole thing was that I knew absolutely nothing about my arrival in Quito. NOTHING. It was as if I was just traveling to Portland for the day with nothing planned. I was freaking out!! WHAT IF MY HOST FAMILY HATED ME?! WHAT IF THEY DIDN'T COME PICK ME UP?!!!!!
Of course I was being rather irrational but who wouldn't?! Well, I was thrust into the arms of my host family and whisked off to my home. My host mom's name is Leonor and I have three host siblings. Diego, Maria de los Angeles and Cristina. Only Cristina and Maria de los Angeles live at home still and they are about 30ish. This is apparently normal. They are not married so they remain at home until they get married. Very normal in Ecuador.
They are the best. Even though they work a ton they are very nice and helpful. I do not know them that well yet though because On my second full day I was whisked off to the Galapagos!
We flew from Quito to Guayaquil and then to Baltra, a Galapagos Island. It was so hot and it was still early! We then got on a cruise ship, it was my first time and we got settled. The first island that we disembarked at was Bartolome. This island did not have much wildlife on it and it was rather desolate but some of my best pictures came from this island.
We first went snorkeling and it was AWESOME. I had never been snorkeling and I am not a very good swimmer so I was pretty nervous to do this whole open water thing but it was worth it. I swam with sharks, penguins, fish, sea lions and saw a lot of underwater things. Super chido. The "hike" that we went on was said to be of "intermediate level" which meant it was difficult.....well it wasn't and they are liars!
The hikes were nature walks really, which makes sense since they want the Galapagos to remain "untouched". I think every single nature walk had a much better view than the 16 mile hike of death that I did on the 4th of July. However, I did miss the two idiots that I would normally hike with (Sean and Laura).
On Saturday I decided that it would be a good idea to have a couple of free drinks...and then some. As it turns out, being hungover and seasickness are not enjoyable, especially at the same time. Throwing up over the side of a dhinghy or however you spell that shit, was not my best moment.
The Galapagos was seriously an amazing time with great friends. The weather was great and I probably spent too much time in the sun without enough sunscreen on but it was totally worth it. We also celebrated Alec's birthday on that damn boat and it was pretty fun.
Another highlight of the cruise? Getting told not to grab flyers from people on the street because those things will fuck your shit up. Okay, Fernando didn't say it quite like that but that is what we all heard. If we grab those flyers during the night, then our organs will be stolen....okay, okay he didn't exactly say that either. He just said it was LIKELY that we could have our kidneys taken while the drug knocks us out in less than 5 minutes. I am actually scared to leave my house at night....FUUUUUU.
Although, I think we plan to go explore Quito a little more in the next couple of days...I will keep you posted if my organs get stolen!
Anyway, so much has happened and it is hard to fit it in this blog. I will post more concise ones once I settle down. Enjoy the pictures.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Noodles for arms
Sun’s out guns out. This is the motto that I live by. Okay not really, mainly because I don’t have any sort of guns, especially not the kind that refer to one’s biceps. I do however have nice calves. I am also very modest. The lack of biceps does not really matter because I am a runner and I don’t really need to have “guns”. Or at least that is what I tell myself in order to sleep at night. However, coming home served as a reminder as to how weak and pathetic I am and how I need to work on these “guns”.
I live on a ranch and my dad sometimes requires help. I cringe every single time he asks for help that requires any sort of physical strength. My body goes into fight-flight mode and I begin to hyperventilate. I look down and avoid eye contact, hoping that he will pick somebody else (even though he is staring at me for so long that I can feel where his eyes are boring a hole into my skull). This reaction is a result of having a Dad who is 6’ tall and has “guns” that are bigger than my ENTIRE body. He is intimidating He is the man that makes lifting hay bales easy. As if it were something everyone should be able to do. If only….
ANYWAY, my Dad walks into the house and says, “Alright, I need two strong arms”
This particular time my sister is home and chimes:
“I guess that means me”
I am really bad at comebacks and retort with the most pathetic response.
“Well….I can type fast!”
BURN!
My sister looks at me as if I am the dumbest and strangest person on the ENTIRE planet. Do you know what it’s like to have a younger sibling that is more witty than YOU?! I do. It sucks. But hey, I can type fast!
I throw some jeans on and some old shoes not knowing what to expect. I also put on a long sleeve shirt because I know the mosquitoes are preparing to feast on my blood. I like to think that it’s because I taste DELICIOUS.
I know you’re probably saying, “Well why the hell didn’t you put on some bug spray, you are so dumb sometimes always”. Well, nobody else was doing it and I didn’t want to look like an IDIOT.
My sister takes one look at me and says, “Wow, you’re wearing nice clothes. That is a bad idea.”
I respond, “DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO. I AM OLDER AND WISER THAN YOU!!!” even though she didn’t tell me to do anything but I just know she was going to, I could feel it in my bones.
As it turns out we were going to a canal and pulling apart pipes so that Dad could weld them. They had been leaking so there was about a foot of water, mud, cow shit and algae sitting near the pipes.
These pipes weigh a TON. My “guns” would have snapped off if I had lifted them any higher than the back of the truck. As it turns out, I had to go through this DISGUSTING water. Nobody told me that mud is slippery. So naturally I stomp through this water feeling so cool because it was too heavy for my sister to lift and Dad was asking for MY help. Then the worst happened...
I slipped in the mud and my legs went out from underneath me. I landed in this lake of ALL DISGUSTING THINGS IMAGINABLE, with a pipe on my legs!
Normally my Dad would have said nothing and just waited for me to get up. But what does he decide to do?! HE BURSTS INTO LAUGHTER.
At first I was laughing, “Haha clumsy me. Look at me covered in cow shit and other disgusting things. How funny. I am so dumb. LOL. Okay, I need to get up guys…help???.”
They just keep laughing at my obvious misery. I mean seriously, where is their empathy?! I haven’t done manual labor in AGES (like 6 months) and here they are laughing at this poor kid who only has been learning how to type fast for the past 6 months.
I manage to get out from underneath the pipe COVERED in crap all the way up to my elbows. Did I mention that I smelled really good? So good in fact that I am thinking of pitching it as a cologne fragrance.
Name: Rotten Everything
Then as if I wasn’t HUMILIATED enough, my sister says, “I told you”.
Oh, thanks.
I get up and help load the pipe into the back of the truck. That is when I realize that I have to hold on to this pipe or it will fall out.
How the hell was I going to hold on to this zillion pound pipe going uphill?!
I have no "guns", so how would I do this?? I wrapped my legs around it because I have amazing calves, and managed to hold on to this pipe while Dad went way too fast around way too many curves. I went the rest of the day smelling awful and had mud in places you don’t want mud.
Even though I smelt bad for the rest of the day, even after I showered, I had a good day. I got to spend it with my sister and my dad. It was a ton of fun.
Living in the middle of nowhere is sometimes always fun.
On another note these are some pictures of the landscape surrounding my house. The best thing about these pictures is that I did NOT have to hike 16 miles to MAYBE see amazing landscape. All I had to do was walk out my front door or run up the mountain behind my house.
1)Family...duh!
2) Being able to see the stars at night
3) Waking up to birds chirping and not cars
4) Going on a run that does not require the use of crosswalks
5) AND obviously the weather, which is much better than the rainy crap that the Willamette Valley always has...it is never ending..
Anyway, home was good but it is off to Ecuador on Tuesday!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
A summer in Salem
When I first agreed to do a research project in Salem over the summer I realized that I would have to be in Salem over the summer...I know you're probably saying, "Well duh, you knew you agreed to stay and you knew it. You're an idiot"There were two reasons why I was nervous about staying in Salem:
1) I thought Salem would be a snooze fest during the summer because it is during the school year
2) It seriously doesn't stop raining until mid-June and the sun doesn't start shining until July.
However, what I started out dreading, has been a pleasant surprise and a great way to spend my time before going abroad. While working on this research project has been a nightmare, to say the least, but I have learned a ton of stuff about things nobody will ever read (go me!. Thank goodness I am almost done with this godforsaken project because I am going crazy. I guess I can't really complain because I am getting paid to do it but if you know me at all I will complain regardless. I will say that I had a fun time working with my research community, going crazy over our projects all the time. Nothing brings people together more than academia.
I also played a lot of boardgames, and being the competitive person I am, I always wanted to win (which I did really). Except that I am TERRIBLE at bananagrams. Yeah, I know you're shocked but I seriously am not good at this game. I literally would get 3 tiles from winning and then somebody else would win. I am convinced they cheated. I am good at Catchphrase though! Which is more impressive than bananagrams because it was a team effort (and because I got skillz for dayzzz).
My summer also consisted of eating frozen yogurt, always.Which I didn't know I liked, until two of my friends took me to after a hike, or what they called a "nature walk" at Three Pools. Fro yo is the best thing EVER. Another thing we did was watch our fair amount of awful movies. For example, BAD TEACHER. Don't go to this movie. Ever. Unless you want to be miserable for 2 hours, then maybe you should go to this. I am convinced that everyone who left the theater left with a few less IQ points. Just sayin'.
One of my fondest memories of this summer took place on July 4th. I went with two friends on what I thought was a normal length hike of about 9 miles, but it turned into a 16 mile excursion into untamed forest with cougars and angry forest service workers. The trail was closed but we wanted to be adventurous, we considered ourselves trailblazers (haas nothing to do with the Blazers)! This hike was uphill on the way there and uphill on the way back (not really but it felt like it).
We made it about 4 miles before coming to a trail but passed on it because it was slightly overgrown. By which I mean there were a couple branches hanging over the path. I'll take the blame for this one, I scoped it out. Looking back, it is funny that we passed on it because we ended walking through berry bushes that scratched the shit out of us the entire way. I am surprised we didn't die ( not dramatic at all).
But we kept going because this thing called the INTERNET told us that our sweet reward would be a "beautiful waterfall and grassy meadow". Well internet, you lied. We saw A LOT of grass but this waterfall was missing in action.And because we are trailblazers, ALWAYS.
We then realized we still had to hike the rest of the 8 miles back to where we had parked...again, all uphill. It really wasn't that bad, except the part where I felt like dying. That part really sucked. At some point I complained and my friend responded by saying, "It's okay, my mental anguish is on par with your physical anguish". I think that might have been true but that did nothing to ease my or my other friend's pain. Unless his mind is still in anguish today I don't agree that we were in equal levels of pain because my legs still hate me. They actually told me this morning when I tried running.
All things considered, I had a ton of fun with these two bozos and the rest of the crew. Playing boardgames for days. Now that I am getting ready to take off to the Basin, I realize that Salem is not that bad. Especially when you have friends who will go on nature walks that are a mere 16 miles, eat frozen yogurt, are willing to get stomped during boardgames and everything else that I win at.
I know I will miss my friends and it will be hard leaving Salem come Friday, but I also know that on July 19th I will be in Ecuador running around like a kid in a candy store for 5 1/2 months.
As I sometimes always say, it's time to grab life by the horns.
1) I thought Salem would be a snooze fest during the summer because it is during the school year
2) It seriously doesn't stop raining until mid-June and the sun doesn't start shining until July.
However, what I started out dreading, has been a pleasant surprise and a great way to spend my time before going abroad. While working on this research project has been a nightmare, to say the least, but I have learned a ton of stuff about things nobody will ever read (go me!. Thank goodness I am almost done with this godforsaken project because I am going crazy. I guess I can't really complain because I am getting paid to do it but if you know me at all I will complain regardless. I will say that I had a fun time working with my research community, going crazy over our projects all the time. Nothing brings people together more than academia.
I also played a lot of boardgames, and being the competitive person I am, I always wanted to win (which I did really). Except that I am TERRIBLE at bananagrams. Yeah, I know you're shocked but I seriously am not good at this game. I literally would get 3 tiles from winning and then somebody else would win. I am convinced they cheated. I am good at Catchphrase though! Which is more impressive than bananagrams because it was a team effort (and because I got skillz for dayzzz).
My summer also consisted of eating frozen yogurt, always.Which I didn't know I liked, until two of my friends took me to after a hike, or what they called a "nature walk" at Three Pools. Fro yo is the best thing EVER. Another thing we did was watch our fair amount of awful movies. For example, BAD TEACHER. Don't go to this movie. Ever. Unless you want to be miserable for 2 hours, then maybe you should go to this. I am convinced that everyone who left the theater left with a few less IQ points. Just sayin'.
One of my fondest memories of this summer took place on July 4th. I went with two friends on what I thought was a normal length hike of about 9 miles, but it turned into a 16 mile excursion into untamed forest with cougars and angry forest service workers. The trail was closed but we wanted to be adventurous, we considered ourselves trailblazers (haas nothing to do with the Blazers)! This hike was uphill on the way there and uphill on the way back (not really but it felt like it).
We made it about 4 miles before coming to a trail but passed on it because it was slightly overgrown. By which I mean there were a couple branches hanging over the path. I'll take the blame for this one, I scoped it out. Looking back, it is funny that we passed on it because we ended walking through berry bushes that scratched the shit out of us the entire way. I am surprised we didn't die ( not dramatic at all).
But we kept going because this thing called the INTERNET told us that our sweet reward would be a "beautiful waterfall and grassy meadow". Well internet, you lied. We saw A LOT of grass but this waterfall was missing in action.And because we are trailblazers, ALWAYS.
We then realized we still had to hike the rest of the 8 miles back to where we had parked...again, all uphill. It really wasn't that bad, except the part where I felt like dying. That part really sucked. At some point I complained and my friend responded by saying, "It's okay, my mental anguish is on par with your physical anguish". I think that might have been true but that did nothing to ease my or my other friend's pain. Unless his mind is still in anguish today I don't agree that we were in equal levels of pain because my legs still hate me. They actually told me this morning when I tried running.
All things considered, I had a ton of fun with these two bozos and the rest of the crew. Playing boardgames for days. Now that I am getting ready to take off to the Basin, I realize that Salem is not that bad. Especially when you have friends who will go on nature walks that are a mere 16 miles, eat frozen yogurt, are willing to get stomped during boardgames and everything else that I win at.
I know I will miss my friends and it will be hard leaving Salem come Friday, but I also know that on July 19th I will be in Ecuador running around like a kid in a candy store for 5 1/2 months.
As I sometimes always say, it's time to grab life by the horns.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)