A Year in Ecuador ...

Baños

Baños, Ecuador is a small town located on the foothill of the volcano Tungurahua. It is the gateway to the amazon for which it is located on the Pastaza River in the Amazon River basin. It is a huge tourist attraction with it's beautiful architecture as well as things to do such as canopying, canyoning, puenting, mountain biking, hot baths, go-carts, hikes, and much more!

My good friend came to visit from the United States and it also was my best friend in Manta's- Birthday! What better way to celebrate but to do it so in Baños.


Friday: 70 minute, $25  massages & facials. Nice Swiss dinner and a night out on the town.

Saturday: Puenting & Canyoning. I have never felt an adrenaline rush but when I was about to jump off a bridge. Who does these sorts of things? Apparently my friends and I do. It was exhilarating and I will never regret this moment! It was filled with excitement. It was rainy and cold the entire day but never failed to stop us from exploring. Later on in the night, we celebrated our friends birthdays with flaming shots, meeting friends of a lifetime, and some dancing! A night I will never forget. 

Catching Up

The past  few months have consisted of traveling, shopping, meeting new friends, losing friends, practicing my Spanish, playing on the beach, getting sick, and everything in between!

I had traveled to Salinas with a friend of mine and then headed further South to Machala. Salinas was absolutely beautiful. The water was crystal clear. The nightlife was not a big hit but the feel of the town was a Miami Beach feel. We ate a lot of pan de yucca with yogurt and seafood! We did happen to meet a few people. A girl from Esmeraldas, Karina, who was nice enough to pay for a night out. She was a bit wild and talked a lot but she got to practice her English with us and we were able to practice some Spanish. The other people we met were either married, 18 years old, or wore speedos who tried to flaunt their parts to us on the beach. Was not our thing. With lots of fun in the sun and a good adventure it was time that we travel to Machala.

Machala is the banana capital of Ecuador and most parts of the South America. Not a bad bus ride from Salinas until I started to sweat and feel a little dizzy. It was not until I was on the bus I began to feel a bit sick. When we arrived in Machala at another volunteer’s apartment, I was throwing up for the next 6 hours with a fever. Food poisoning! I believe it was from a sketchy restaurant from Salinas. What do you do? This is just a part of life living in a third-world country. You wait it out, get what you need to get out and move on!

 

After a long weekend of traveling, it was time to go back to Manta. No money but just enough for a piece of pan and maybe a coffee, I was on the bus from Guayaquil to Manta. They always say…there’s no place like home. I highly believe this statement true. Every time I am out and about traveling, all I can think in my mind is “ I can’t wait to get back on the coast where it is warm and you have the friendly atmosphere.”

Some time was passing and I spent a few weeks in Manta to catch up. I had a friend from Quito visit for a week while we published the Ecua-Vista for our program. The Ecua-Vista is a worldwide magazine for people who may be interested in applying to the WorldTeach program. With losing the document three times, we finally were able to complete it.

During the few weeks in Manta, I met some new friends. As awesome as it sounds, it’s hard to keep friends in a foreign culture. They usually are passing by while traveling or they may be of the opposite sex and want to marry you. It is important to choose your friends wisely! And that is good advice for wherever you are in the world.

Travelers of Machala

WorldTeach’s End of Service conference was peaking. I packed my bags once again and traveled to Quito. 

Parasites, Infections, Oh No!

Living in a third world country, you can't expect that your body is going to remain in the same perfect, healthy shape. New foods and a whole new diet is what you will experience. With that being said, not everything is as disinfected as it is in the states. For starters, you cannot drink the tap water here in Ecuador. The tap water is not filtered and is filled with bacteria that can make you very sick. You must buy water to drink or boil your water (which sometimes can tasty funky). There will be times where you will get sick and have diarrhea or vomiting close to twenty times a day. You know you have a bug! You may never know what causes the bug (it can be anything) but it is important to get treated before the situation gets worse. 


Other than gaining a little weight here in Ecuador I have remained pretty healthy! This is until last week. I began having sharp pains (knife stabbing, strong pains) in my upper abdomen. I was using the bathroom from 4-5 times every 2 hours. Oh no! I have a parasite, a worm, Hepatitis A, all of these thoughts were crossing my mind. I decided to take a trip to Clinica del Sol. Now, here in Ecuador they apparently like to inject you with all sorts of things through shots and Iv's before even telling what type of bug you have. I was injected with 3 different Iv's in the clinic. I was freaking out, I am not used to all these needles going into my arm when I don't even know what is wrong with me! Anyways, I immediately felt better. Whatever it was they gave me must have been a miracle. I am currently now taking medication for 7 days to detox my body in case I did have some type of parasite or infection. Phew! 


So the point of this short story is, you will get sick when you travel but it is not as bad as it seems! It is just another cultural experience living in a foreign county that you learn from (at least that is the way you need to think about it)!

Mom Takes on Ecuador

I know it has been a while since a good and thoughtful blog so here it goes!

The week finally came; Mom was on her way to Ecuador! She did not know I was picking her up in Quito at the airport. It was a big surprise. Our adventures began in Quito. I booked a nice hotel near the Mariscal called Hotel Fuente de Piedra. It was fantastic. First real moment my mom had in Ecuador was trying to book tickets back to Manta. I had forgotten it was Semana Santa here in Ecuador and therefore we could not get a flight back to Manta for 2 days. No worries! I knew Quito well enough to keep us busy. We began by taking the tram to the Teleferico where you get the amazing view of Quito as well as volcanoes. We drank Canalazos and walked around for a bit. It was misty 

and cold so we headed back to town. 

We then made our way to Centro Historico. We toured churches and mom really got to know the culture and architecture. We had a light snack (fruit & whipped ice-cream) and then experienced a local bus ride back to the Mariscal. Mom was amazed by the people who got on and off and by the people who would stand over your shoulder and play their guitars expecting money. We stopped at the Jorge Washington market. This market has about 9-10 aisles of the SAME stuff. But mom didn’t think so. We went through each and every aisle as I helped mom shop. It was her first market experience, so I didn’t mind. We grabbed lunch at my favorite restaurant, Aladdin’s. I introduced mom to Sharwarma and Falafel. We drank a few beers and headed back to the hotel. Mom began to feel the altitude and got very sick. So we stayed in for the night and relaxed.

                 

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We woke up early to explore Mitad del Mundo, (Half of the World) which is the equator line.  We were able to stand in two different hemispheres! Took many pictures and again, shopped in the markets. We ate a well-known Ecuadorian lunch: locro de queso (a type of soup) along with trout! Delicious!

                          

                    

We were now ready for the coast. We arrived in Manta pretty late night so we decided to unpack and hang out. Mom was not too thrilled about my new apartment but she definitely warmed up to the point she did not want to leave. We spent a few days in Manta going to the beach, meeting my friends, my family, and doing various things. My head began to spin talking Spanish and English every second!

   

I took mom to Montecristi, a nearby town very popular for it’s Panama hats. I like Montecrisiti. Everything is handmade and it’s a nice area to walk around and explire a little. You get to experience the different people as well.

Our next adventure was to Puerto Lopez, a small beach town near Manta. We took the bus. It was close to 3 hours on a bus but it was fun, being Mom’s first bus travel. We stayed at Nantu Hosteria on the beach. Ate at the Whale Café and simmered ourselves down on the sand to watch the gorgeous sunset. We held each other’s hand and in the other were a Mango Beach and a Mojito! No one else I would rather be with to watch a sunset like the one we saw but with, mom!

                              

The next morning we woke up early and jumped on a boat to Isla de la Plata also known as the “poor” man’s Galapagos. The boat ride was about an hour long to this silver island. We were served fresh fruit on the boat and we chatted with new friends from all over the world. When we arrived we sun blocked our skin and hiked up the mountain. It was a difficult but well worth hike. The views of the island were amazing and let’s not forget the extraordinary blue-footed boobies. These birds are tropical and rare and only found in various locations. They have blue beaks and blue feet! The interesting thing is they are not born with blue feet. They are born all white and as they grow older their feet turn blue. Cool to think about, huh? After the hike and hundreds of photos we hopped back on the boat and ate lunch. They served tuna sandwiches along with more fresh fruit. We stopped at a nearby location on the island to have an opportunity to snorkel. Mom’s first time snorkeling, you can only imagine. It was a blast!

                                                                         

               

   

Mom taking on Ecuador was coming to an end. We traveled back to Manta and said our goodbyes to the city, people, and the beach. I believe mom did well being her first time in a foreign country. I am sure she loved it as much as I love it here now!

Ama la Vida!

Independent in a Third World Country

Becoming independent in a foreign country takes bravery and a lot of courage. You need to know safety and how to handle things when other people are not around. I have currently taken the next step in becoming independent here in Ecuador. I moved out of my host family into an apartment. I am still close with my host family, which is fantastic. If I need anything, I have people I am able to call. 

My new apartment is not the fanciest place, but it is perfect for me. It needed a lot of dirty work. Fixing things, cleaning, spider killing, appliances, and much more under those categories. I didn't care. I was ready for the task. It took a good 2 days moving in, but once all settled...I had the view to the pacific and my own place to relax in. 

Some people search for beautiful places, in my case, I made a place beautiful! 

Take a Look!

  http://www.worldteach.org/site/c.buLRIbNOIbJ2G/b.6540953/k.7919/Day_in_the_Life.htm