My days here are running shorter. Some days I CAN'T WAIT to go home, other days I am so sad how I will miss my family here. Tuesday was my host mom's birthday. Maria had the amazing idea to go buy a cake. We went to this place to get pizza. Some shopping center/movie theater. I can't remember what it is called. The pizza was delicious. Sole was there (of course, it was her day) as was her sister Ana, her husband Ramiro, their kids Belen and Paul, Sole's parents, and her nephew Santiago, cousin to Belen and Paul. From what Sole had told me that morning, I had thought it would just be Maria and I and my host grandparents. So it was a nice surprise to see everyone, especially since I probably won't get to see many of them before I leave. Thank goodness for facebook and the internet machine, yes?
Speaking of internet, it has recently shown its value as an excellent classroom tool. My classes are slowing down, becoming slightly less busy. My professor of writing, JuanCarlos Davila, has used google search many times to show pictures of towns, food, markets, clothes, the like. This week we had a lesson slightly less relevant. He typed in ''peces feos'' or ''ugly fish.'' There is a backstory there, I will admit. Bagre is a type of fish, apparently not a pleasant one to behold. It has another equally flattering meaning, a rude name for a certain type of person that the Ecuadorians rarely use. Anyway he decided to look for a picture with google. Not sure if we saw one or just other random swimmers. Go on, look that up yourself, I dare you! (It really isn't that bad).
Today Google was used in a more professionally academic manner by Profe. JuanCarlos. Tomorrow the group, minus a few students who must return to the states early or travel to other South American countries soon (they will be missed!), are travelling to the Amazon region. To be specific, we will be staying near Rio Napo near the quaint Quechua village, Ahuano, as described by the brochure made by our, I must say, CLASSY hotel. Our trip will last somewhere near 42 hours, or two days. But after finding out in class today (thanks, google) what they eat around there, I am sure two days will be more than enough. Common meals include courses of: snakes, frogs, hummingbirds, and more. Hey, at least they have rice. It is has become a frequent occurance, on our group trips, for people to share, split, and trade plates or just unwanted portions with one another. My friend Sarah jokingly calls it something like ''the UTE-HSU trading card game,'' and she may be on to something. I can trade my meat with someone if need be.
Anyway Ecuador, also Quito, still manage to suprise me. I sure have learned a lot. I found streets in Centro Historico named Alaska and Canada which, incidentally, are quite close. I have also found out that anywhere from five to fifteen people can cram onto an already overfull trole bus with way less hesitation and difficulty than I can manage in similar situations. Some people already on board are frustrated with this, others are excellent at ignoring it. For myself, I find it extremely amusing.
I have returned, already, from the Amazon. I had hoped to finish this entry before leaving, but time escaped from me. Apologies. As it happens, I needn't have worried about the food. All our meals for all the guests at the upscale La Casa del Suizo (and indeed there were many guests along with our group of 27) were served buffet style. I enjoyed delicious chicken, potoatoes, pork, rice, and vegetables for the different meals. Breakfast included pancakes, but I declined those in favor of bread rolls and fresh fruit. The deserts were delicious, I have never had such chocolate cake, and the poolside bar served everything from piña coladas sin alcohol to hot chocolate to nice cold sodas in glass bottles. I could enjoy my beverages while watching a trio of fruit bats circle the pool at night in search of insects. Sarah managed to get decent pictures of them. Still, they were a shock to see, especially while I was swimming.
The rest of the trip was amazing. My room, which Sarah and I shared, was as close to the river as possible and far from our other group members. Every terrace, in every room (as advertized) was equipped with a hammock, the hotel offered many viewing places of the river and surrounding jungle, multilingual (English, Spanish, Quechua) staff, and most importantly no internet. This I liked, it was indeed a break from all things techologic (that is now a word!).
Unfortunately, wildlife spotting was a little bit of a letdown. I saw butterflies and a few birds, including an owl. I was hoping for frogs. Still our guide was entertaining, with his climbing trees and vines, braiding plants into crowns, convincing a sort of pidgeon bird thing to follow us down the trail, and his pretty darn decent accuracy at nailing a wooden monkey target in the heard with a...twig? stick? projectile out of a blow dart. My trial at such a weapon (I thank my Daddy for his advice, ''if you try using that thing, DON'T INHALE'') was not nearly as exceptional. Naturally, Pablo, our guide, made everything look easy. That would be his job in any case, and he had been doing so for a while. But that blow dart...blower? It was taller than I was. No joke.
We visited Ahuano and an island with the name Anaconda. Both were very nice places, though extremely hot. I bought things in both areas. Two different Quechua women showed us traditional habits, one formed a cup out of river clay using all natural materials, another made a drink out of yuca, which was supposed to be alcoholic, but I am not sure the sample we tried was. I didn't mind the taste (it looked like...hmm...I don't know how to describe it) but I wouldn't want a large serving. Local girls gave us flowers folded out of leaves. I got a symbol painted on my forhead out of the pulp from an odd red fruit. The inside was red, the outside was round, bright green, and covered in fuzz so it looked like a radioactive sea urchin, but less sharp. My symbol was sol in Spanish, or ''inti'' in Quechua. I liked it.
All too soon the trip ended and I had to go home. Unfortunately I think my immunity to windy roads and reading in cars is fading. I felt pretty bad on the bus ride home, not something I had experienced before. I had the two seats to myself, I laid down on both of them and napped. Waking up in the outskirts of Quito I felt a bit better, and my brief walk to my building helped me mend all the way. Gotta take a page from my family's book, maybe stop reading in cars. Hopefully though, it was just this once.
Got through the weekend sunburn and bug bite free. Thank you, 70 and 100 % (respectively) very much. Tomorrow I return to class, I get to find out how I did on my first ever, entirely Spanish, ten page college paper. I do think Prof. JuanCarlos will have written just as much as I did. And right now I have to take out the braids my friend Bailey so kindly put in for me yesterday before they complely fall apart on their own. My hair is growing slowly...
Until next time,
Juls
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