Getting Ready Round Two: Coming Home

As promised, this is going to be a contemplative and reflective post. So if you want action-packed adventure, this might not be to your taste.

First, I want to relate my experiences these last few days. Everything’s all connected now to that reflecting and the feelings surrounding going home, so I guess it’s not really “first” but just a way of introducing the topic.

Basically since I got here, I was planning on going to the coast for my last week in Ecuador. Gradually, all my Kalamazoo friends changed their plans, until there was no one else in the country with whom I could travel to the ocean. Deciding not to let that deter me, though a bit more apprehensive about it, I went to the coast anyway.

It was... an experience. I’m glad I went. I don’t know what else I would have done for the two days I spent there, so I guess it was a good use of that time, but it wasn’t particularly “fun.” I discovered quickly that a gringa traveling solo in the northern coast of Ecuador is pretty obvious (tourists go more to the southern coast it seems) and I wasn’t really prepared to be alone with my own thoughts for so long this close to going home. I might have been able to do it when I wasn’t so focused on home, but, being so close to seeing the people I love and miss, that’s all I’m really thinking about in my down time. I need distractions and interactions with other people or I regress into homesickness. And my psyche wasn’t helped much by the continued need to lie and say “Oh, yes, I’m alone right now, but only because my amigas are sleeping in/here already/didn’t want a pincho/are meeting me in ten minutes/etc. It’s tiring trying to keep up all those little fibs that very well may have kept me safe. I met a couple friendly people (all men, so those acquaintances only lasted a few minutes) but most of the time I walked along, ignoring any “Holas” or “Hellos” (even one “Hey you!” in a thick Ecuadorian accent) because literally all of them were intended as piropos. I counted at one point. In a five minute walk along one of the roads I received seven piropos.  Sometimes I felt like it would have been easier to be deaf, instead of just pretending.

But I did see some cool things. I first went to Esmeraldas, but didn’t stay long, since the streets made me feel a little uncomfortable (piropos again. And the fact that I stick out like a sore thumb in a population that is mostly black). The guy at the hostel that first night didn’t really flirt with me outwardly, but he gave me a business card to the hotel with his personal phone number on the back. I threw it in the first trash can I came across. Walking around that morning I spent in Esmeraldas though, I managed to run across a food market accidentally. The carts of fruits and vegetables were wonderfully colorful and the street was strewn with dirt and peels and other organic bits and pieces. I was even passed by a man carrying a squealing piglet by its hind legs. I ate a bit and then decided to hurry up and get out of town. On my way out, someone pointing up at the sky caught my attention. The sun had a full rainbow around it and there was another circle of light and a rainbow off to the side as well. I don’t know why they were there, but it was a pretty cool phenomenon to see.

From Esmeraldas, I took a short (and very cheap) bus ride to Atacames, a popular beach town a little way down the coast. I spent at least an hour wandering around trying to find a place to stay and finally found one that was completely over-priced and awful, but I took it anyway. Atacames was crowded and there weren’t many more gringos there than there were in Esmeraldas. Which didn’t help my sticking out. I had some good food, saw a couple salsa bands playing music on the beach, and got splashed with a lot of water and sprayed with a lot of foam.

Don’t worry, the water and foam is normal. It’s Carnaval. Apparently, in this area of the world, people splash and spray each other to celebrate. Whether they know each other or not. There were a number of teenaged boys who used this tradition as an excuse to chase me down the street with a foam spray can, but it was kind of fun, and the foam disappears quickly.

I spent most of my alone time thinking. And, as I said before, most of those thoughts came back around to just missing the people I wasn’t with. But I made a few attempts at redirecting them to things about Ecuador and reflections on all of my experiences.

You see, as I post this, I have only 95 hours left in Ecuador. That’s not much.

It’s been a good experience. I’ve improved my Spanish beyond recognition, and some other abilities as well. I use all sorts of Ecuadorian slang and some of the different sounds that people use to express feelings and reactions in their conversations have become part of my repertoire as well. I’ve even started remembering conversations I’ve had in English in Spanish, just like I used to remember Spanish conversations in English.

As far as other newly developed abilities go, I can now eat all of the meat off of a bone. And then some. My host-dad still puts me to shame. He can clean a bone so there is literally nothing but bone left. He eats all the tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and gristle in any piece of meat.  It’s impressive. I can eat considerably more gristly meat than I could before I came, but I’m still not that good.

I can now recognize a cacao (chocolate) plantation from a bus window. And bird of paradise flowers no longer make me excited. (Did you know that they’re actually super common?)

 I’ve gotten used to paying next to nothing for meals and transportation, and I know that when I go home, paying for food is going to be really hard. As if I wasn’t cheap enough already. In contrast, I will have a hard time remembering that I can actually drink the water out of the tap when I go home. I’ve gotten used to buying bottled water or boiling it.

Walking down streets is going to be interesting too. I’ve gotten very good at totally ignoring any man that looks in my direction, as any form of recognition just invites the piropos. I’m also good at being what they call “de pilas” which literally translates to “of batteries” but means to be “on your toes.” It’s just the best way to be when you’re on your own on the streets. I guess I’ll just be a bit off-putting to strangers for a while when I get back.

As much as I’ve gotten used to ignoring men, I’ve also gotten used to ignoring airplanes. I don’t even notice the noise anymore as they fly over my house coming in for a landing.

I can dance salsa.

I can flag down a bus or a taxi.

I can jump off of a bus while it’s moving.

I don’t use a seatbelt. That’s because, in most taxis, it would take you about ten minutes to find the stupid thing and retrieve it from the cracks between the seats, and by then you’ve already arrived.

I can tell you my ecua-phone number, in English, Spanish, and Quichua. But I’ve basically forgotten my US cell phone number.

I’m a pro at solving problems with skype, and knowing when they just can’t be solved.

I can run well at sea level (the result of living at a high altitude for 6 months).

A can both recognize and imagine the voices of just about every Kzoo student on my program.

I understand why curvy roads exist. (A concept that is rather foreign to flatlanders. And Michigan, my friends, ain’t got no mountains.)

I can follow a soccer game (though really, it’s called futbol).

I can sing along to the entire repertoire of car alarms that exist in Quito.

I can sing all the words to all the songs in my itunes that talk about home.

And I will not remember to throw toilet paper in the toilet when I get home. (This is me apologizing in advance.)

There’s a lot of things I’m going to miss about Ecuador. Some I’m sure I haven’t even thought of as possible things to miss, but others are pretty obvious.

I’m going to miss the food here. Granted, it will be nice not to be served potatoes, rice, and bread with a hunk of meat and a “salad” frequently as a balanced meal (Can anyone say more carbs please? No? Didn’t think so), but there are some really tasty things here. Ecuadorians have soup just about every day as the first course for lunch (the biggest meal of the day) and they certainly know how to make some good soups. The fruit here is also superb, since nearly every kind you can think of will grow here year round. (Though their apples are usually sub-par.) I’m going to miss the variety and abundance of bananas and plantains. Particularly the plantains, since those don’t really make it up to Michigan that often. I’ll be happy to get back to something besides mozzarella and queso fresco for cheese though. They don’t really eat any other kinds of cheese here.

I’m going to miss being able to hop on a bus, pay a quarter, and go anywhere in the city. And it’s not very expensive to go places outside of the city as well. I won’t miss having to take the bus though. In Kalamazoo, I can go just about anywhere I want walking, and at home I have a car I can use. Which is much easier than a bus.

And, of course, I’m going to miss the people here. Fortunately I’ll have my Kzoo people to remember Ecuador with at K, but it will be hard leaving all of my ecua-friends behind.

Looking back on my first impressions of Quito and Ecuador has been kind of interesting. Now that I’ve been here for so long, some of the things that originally made a big impression on me have become normal. The machete in the back of my host-dad’s car is now no more abnormal than the jackknife in my mom’s car at home. The walls lining the streets are just the way things are. It will be weird to go back to a city that has houses with porches and front lawns. The street vendors have also become an every-day norm, and I will miss buying the occasional ice cream or candied peanuts on the bus. Another normal thing is all the signs being in Spanish. When I hear tourists conversing in English, it’s a novelty. I’ll admit it. I stare. One thing that’s still impressive to me is the plants. There are just SO MANY in Ecuador. And I hadn’t ever seen most of them before.

But, as much as I’ve learned here, and as much as I will miss it, I am ready to leave. I am ready to go home. And I am ready to remember it all fondly.

Hasta pronto mis amigos! (See you soon my friends!)

A few tiny pieces of land.

Today, the day after my return from the Galapagos islands, just happens to be Darwin’s birthday.

The Galapagos are said to be the source of Darwin’s evolutionary ideas. People talk about Darwin’s finches, his trip there, and everything else you can think of. Actually, Darwin only spent a few weeks in Galapagos, classified the finches completely wrong, and made his evolutionary observations mostly on the tortoises that the Beagle, his ship, brought away from the island to eat. (All sailors who came through Galapagos in that time period took tortoises with them for food since they can live up to a year without food or water. That’s part of the reason that there are so few left now.) But all the same, Galapagos had a big influence on Darwin’s thought, even if he arrived in and left the Galapagos as a creationist.

Our trip, though much shorter than Darwin’s, was, I’m sure, much better informed.

We flew into Santa Cruz, one of the larger islands, on Saturday and immediately were fed and taken to the beach. Which I think is a grand start to a vacation. We were actually shown around town a little bit first, introduced to the sea lions all over the sidewalks, and generally welcomed to the islands. My first impression of Galapagos, even in the town, was that it is beautiful. You’re always surrounded by water, and the water is that pure tropical blue that only happens in warm waters close to the equator. The water, next to the black rock of the volcanic islands and the white sand of the beaches, creates a scene out of a catalog. Except that it’s real. And not only that, there’s new things to see everywhere. The sea lions are not so much friendly as they just aren’t scared. The same with the iguanas. They will all still run away from you, but you can get within a few feet of them before they decide to move or warn you to move instead. I think we just spent our first half a day figuring out that we really were in the Galapagos, it was gorgeous, and we had a whole week to enjoy it. Our first trip to the beach found us swimming excitedly and sunning as though we’d never seen the sun. Chandler and I swam way out towards where the big incoming waves were crashing, but found it impossible to get past the point. The current was too strong. The struggle was worth it though. We got to see a sea lion swimming along inside one of the big waves. It was incredible.

Day two, we visited the only fresh water lagoon on any of the Galapagos. It’s in a volcanic crater high up on Santa Cruz. Fragatas (Frigate birds) and other animals go there to get fresh water for themselves. Fortunately, the pond (it’s not really big enough to be a lake) is protected by the park, so the town doesn’t use it. If they did, it would probably disappear. We also made our first visit to a tortoise breeding center. It was actually pretty exciting at first to see where the tortoises are bred and taken care of until they are old enough to be released. The breeding centers are necessary because the tortoises need help rebuilding their population levels, and the young ones have a hard time surviving in the wild before they’re about 3 years old. Before that, they are just too small and get eaten by rats and cats and dogs and all manner of things. At three years of age though, they are big enough to be safe from such threats. Post-breeding center, we returned to the beach. We went swimming in the ocean just about once every day while we were in Galapagos. And I don’t think any of us were complaining.

Our third day, we set off early for the docks and boarded a couple of boats to set out on a (fortunately) calm sea. It was so calm, the captain was agreeable to having a few of us sit out on the prow of the boat. Michelle and I were the only two who took him up on the opportunity, and it was quite the experience. It was kind of cloudy while we were out there, but it never rained on us and the sky was still bright. At first, we were spotting sea lions and few sea turtles in the water ahead of the boat. Then, suddenly, there was a dolphin leaping up to the side of the boat. Then more. For about ten minutes, a school of them followed us and jumped around a bit, causing Michelle and I to jump up and down (seated) and clap our hands together, laughing like little girls. Eventually, we had to go back into the boat as we approached Floreana, another of the good-sized islands. We stopped first to snorkel around the base of a giant rock outcropping populated by blue-footed boobies and frigate birds. The snorkeling was amazing. I saw many types of fish, a number of sea lions and sea turtles, a couple manta rays (waaaaaay down from where we were) and even a shark. The Galapagos don’t really have coral reefs, or even all that many corals, but they have a lot of fishies and big animals. From the rock, we went up onto Floreana to see a small trickle of water seeping out of the rocks. The only flowing fresh water source on all of the islands. Floreana has an interesting history (which you can read a summary of here) because of that water. The first settlers on the island left a few other interesting things behind, and the geologic construction of the island is interesting, but it’s still a pretty small island. Floreana has a small community, barely able to be called a town, and ice cream (more important that the fresh water, if you’d have asked me while I was eating it). Once done exploring the island and eating our ice creams, we took off for the largest island: Isabella. We arrived on Isabella too late to do much except watch the sunset, eat dinner, and go to sleep.

Our first full day on Isabella was filled with an extensive hike up the volcano Sierra Negra to Volcan Chico (The little volcano that is part of Sierra Negra and exploded most recently). The volcanic rock and lava formations were incredible. I’ve never been that close to lava flows before. The volcano is still active, but not violently so. All you can see of its activity are a few clouds of steam emanating from holes in the rock. But the sheer variation in the colors of the volcanic rocks, their formations, and their structure was mind-blowing. Not to mention the fact that the landscape was desolately gorgeous as well. We ate two large snacks on the way out and back, to tide us over until lunch. It was nearly too much food, and would have been if I hadn’t decided to join the group that ran the last half of the way back to the trail head. We got back long before everyone else, so the guide that ran with us took us down to a little shop and bought us all beers. Once the rest of the group finally caught up to us, we went and got lunch and then headed back to town and had free time to swim or do whatever we wanted until dinner.

The next day we made a visit to the wall of tears. After WWII was over, the US tried to get a 100 year lease on the Galapagos, since they had had a military base there, but Ecuador didn’t give it to them, so they left, and Ecuador tried to populate the island with prisoners instead. They brought them there and gave them hard labor to do to keep them from revolting. The hard labor was to build a giant wall around the prison compound. Apparently many died in the process (the saying goes that there, “the weak will die and the strong will cry”) and some, if not most, were put into the wall itself. In 1959, the Galapagos islands were made into a national park and the prison compound was disbanded, finally halting the construction of the wall. For the time that the prisoners worked on it, the wall isn’t very long, but its story is still disturbing. After the wall, we went to another tortoise breeding center. This time though, we got to see a turtle egg, and even two turtles in the process of making those eggs. It can take them up to 4 hours. We didn’t watch that long. Our afternoon was supposed to be taken up with looking at penguins, walking an iguana trail, and snorkeling. But it started raining. We did see a few penguins, and some of us went snorkeling in the rain, but we abandoned the walk and eventually just returned to the hotel for hot chocolate.

Our last morning on Isabella though, we split up and some people went to see the iguanas while the rest of us went snorkeling in a little lagoon-y area. I saw way more sea lions, some interesting starfish, a swimming iguana, and a bunch of little tiny shrimp-y looking things. In the end, we had to pack up, eat lunch, and head out for the next island: San Cristobal.

San Cristobal has the largest population. Our first day there (after arriving the evening before), we went to a beautiful beach with a mangrove lagoon for our last bout of snorkeling. The lagoon was very shallow and murky, but I saw two sharks, a sea turtle, and some fish that were fun to follow around and annoy. The main beach was perfectly white, with clusters of black rocks and a HUGE population of iguanas. All the swimming kind. We regretfully left the beach for lunch, and then headed over to the Darwin Research Station. There, we saw more tortoises (by this time we were kind of sick of them, to tell the truth), land iguanas, and, the most exciting bit, Lonesome George. Lonesome George isn’t really all that interesting. He looks just like all the other tortoises, and he’s not even that giant. But his story is what makes him interesting. We had some free time after visiting the station, so we all ambled through town, buying delicious ice cream at one of the best ice cream places I’ve ever been to, buying little Galapagos trinkets, and generally having a good time. At some point, Adrianna, Katie, Mysha, and I found ourselves down by the Artisan Market, right next to the Ocean. There was a built up cement area with benches for sitting and looking at the bay and places to tie up boats where a large group of locals were jumping off into the water. Most of them just wearing clothing and not bothering with swimsuits. Adrianna and Katie decided to join them, and, after seeing their first jump into the water, so did I. Of course, I didn’t have any chance to back out at the last minute, since one of the Ecuadorian boys who had been jumping in came up and gave me a little push that sent me over the edge. What ensued was great fun. We jumped and dove into the water repeatedly, joined by the local kids and having a blast. It was an awesome experience I’m not going to forget.

Our last day in Galapagos, we had to cross the island to get to the airport island next to San Cristobal: Baltra. On our way we first stopped at an entrance point into a lava tunnel. It’s made by lava creating a crust and running hot under that solid crust, until it runs completely out of the middle and leaves the crust behind. It was a pretty cool thing to see. Our second and final stop of the morning was to see yet more tortoises. These were basically wild though, which I suppose made them something new and different. Sorta. The fun thing about the stop was an empty shell we were able to crawl into to pretend to be a tortoise. And ice cream. I ate a LOT of ice cream in the Galapagos. The islands are just so HOT.

In the end, we all had to return to Quito and to the realization that we have so little time left. In exactly two weeks, I plan to be sleeping in my bed in Michigan by now. I guess the feelings that brings up are the next to tackle. Stay tuned!

Galapagos pictures here! Sadly, these are only pictures from the last half of the trip (wall of tears and on) because the memory card I filled up in the first half is missing. I think it’s lost for good at this point, and I’m really disappointed about that, but there’s not much I can do.

Turning 21 is the least exciting thing I’ve done this week.

It’s true. Or nearly. I suppose sitting in bed writing a paper is less exciting, but it seems that life wants to convince me that the experiences I have are more important than the number of years I’ve been alive.

Last weekend Adrianna, Katie, and I caught a bus to Mindo, a town in the middle of the cloud forests not far from Quito. Adrianna went with the K group a while ago, but Katie and I had never been. We arrived Friday night and wandered the town looking for some food and a bank. We found both, though the bank was a couple of ATMs on the side of a truck from Banco Pichincha. It was the most jank bank I’ve ever seen. And that was the basic sentiment among all three of us. Our hostel turned out to be a really nice little place, $9 a night, breakfast included, and we got to sleep in the attic. It was a really nice big room with four beds, two hammocks, and a bunch of chairs. Access via trapdoor.

Our first full day in Mindo, we decided to do some canopying. Which is the Ecuadorian way of saying zoom across ziplines. We took a taxi (we rode in the back of a truck) up to the site, harnessed up, and spent an hour or so zipping across the sky. Katie and I topped off the experience by having a go on the “tarzan swing.” A giant swing from a platform. It was awesome.

Post-canopying we decided to go tubing. Turns out, this is white-water tubing, and the “tube” is actually 6 tubes tied together and guided down the rapids by a couple of guys who know the river. You sit on them and hang on for dear life. It started raining while we were on the tubes, so we were soaked with no hope of becoming dry by the time we were done, but it was fun.

Since it was so rainy, we ended up just walking around town a little and hanging out in our hostel the rest of the day. We actually stopped at a little shop and bought some string and I gave Adrianna and Katie hair wraps. It was nice and relaxing. We did try to find the only discoteca in town, and succeeded, but for some reason the loud noise and flashing lights just weren’t as inviting as we thought they would be. So we left.

We dragged ourselves out of bed before six the next morning to go bird watching with our hostel owner. He’s an accomplished bird-watcher and showed us a number of really neat birds. All before breakfast. We saw three different types of toucans, a couple hawks, some giant birds I don’t remember the name of, and a bunch of little colorful birds. After catching a taxi back to the hostel and eating breakfast, we decided to nap for a bit before attempting anything else.

Post-nap we went to see the mariposario, which is a butterfly house. Adrianna had already been, but Katie and I spent a good amount of time holding butterflies and taking pictures. We tried to go to a cable car across one of the ravines, but it apparently closed too early for us to do so. Instead, we went back into town to an orchid garden. THAT was gorgeous. We then had to hurry up and eat something and catch our bus back to Quito.

Unfortunately, it rained a LOT while we were there, and I came home with a pile of wet clothing. The only good side effect of rain is that it gives you a good reason to drink hot chocolate. So we got really wet, and drank a lot of hot chocolate. But overall it was a good trip.

Monday was my 21^st birthday. That’s a big deal in the US. It’s nothing here. None-the-less, I enjoyed it. At la Caleta, I was sung to in Spanish, English, German, and Danish by all the volunteers and the two kids who were there. In the evening, I went out with some friends to a really nice Chinese restaurant and we had a good meal. Nothing crazy, but plenty of good things.

Yesterday was a huge celebration in the entire Proyecto Salesianos for their founder Don Bosco. We spent a bunch of time getting ready and waiting for things to start (The volunteers were charged with keeping the kids busy), but finally walked over to the party. When we got there, nothing was happening, so the volunteers decided to check out what was going on in the theater in the plaza where the party was. We were ushered in as we approached the doors by a bunch of eager people and found ourselves in the audience for the filming of Ecuador Tiene Talento (Ecuador’s got talent). We sat through a bunch of sound checking and four of the entrants before giving it up and returning to our party. The four we saw were a band that was pretty good, a 14 year old boy who could sing really well, a girl who did a traditional dance (she got booted), and a lady who did exaggerated lip-synching (she also got booted, thankfully).

Back at the party, we got to see the four kids who had been sent off to Ambato again (they were back for the party) and we watched the salesiano’s talent show. It was much more interesting, particularly the group of kids called Circo del Semaforo (Stoplight Circus). They were surprisingly good for a group of kids all under 18 and most probably under 14. At the end, a couple of kids who looked to be about 13 were juggling fire, and another was doing crazy tricks with the fire clubs. Yes, Ecuador has talent, but I don’t know that the judges are actually going to see it in that theater.

When I got home, my family had a cake ready for me and I was sung to in Spanish and English again, with the addition of Portuguese this time, courtesy of my host-sister. So, turning 21 has been fun, but it hasn’t been a crazy party, and I’m ok with that.

Also: Pictures from Mindo!