Fuzzy Moment

While looking at carry-on bags at a store near my house that I like, a tote price tag caught my eye. It read $2.38. I don't have a card there, so I looked closer at the price under that one, and it said $2.50. I pulled the bag out and looked at it to see if it was worth buying. The pics included are of the bag. IT'S FROM IDAHO! Most things that are imported are more expensive, but that random tote with a zip top was under $3! I bought it, and used it for school today.

A lady got off the same green bus I did at Rio Coca with her little girl. I walked passed them, across the road, across the parking lot, and down the stretch to my bus stop. I got on my bus, walked to the front because there were still opened seats, and sat next to a lady. About 3 minutes later, the lady and the girl that I passed took the two seats in front of us. The little girl, probably 5, would not stop cuddling her face into the lady (mother or grandmother, not sure) because she was so scared. The two seats they were in were facing two other seats, rather than having the backs to them. The older lady had candy in her hand, and she reached to give some to the scared little girl. The little girl shook her head no, and the mother figure thanked her. The other lady smiled, then said something in a high pitched baby-talk voice ot the little girl. That seemed to help the situation. The little girl pulled her face out of her mom's side and pulled her arm around her instead. The 4th seat was taken by another lady, probably in her 50's. She said something sweet to the little girl too, and the mom figure made a response on behalf of the little girl, which encouraged her to shake her head. Then the little girl sat up, and stretched her neck and cuddled under her mom's arm. When she stretched, I saw that she had Down's Syndrome. She was so scared to be getting on that bus, and I don't blame anyone for that feeling, but the other ladies were trying to make her feel better. I know that many women, and men for that matter, would go out of their way to make a child feel comfortable, but it made me happy to see them being cheery with this little girl.
I feel like in the States most people would have taken the 'don't stare' approach and completely ignored the situation. I might be wrong for some, Mema could have been one of those ladies across the space to that little girl. I guess there is a difference in staring and doing what those ladies were trying to do. Why aren't we taught as children to be like that? Is that something that comes with age that we decide on our own?
The next moment on the Ecovia made me feel less warm and fuzzy. This guy takes the standing space next to my seat and the way my arms were folded, and me being me, all I could think was, "My hand is entirely too close to his package." Thankfully, the people in front of him scooted up, so he moved up. Then his girlfriend stuck her butt with to-tight pants in front of me. It always impresses me at how people can fit into such random spaces like that on the Ecovia. She was actually leaning into where my legs were in front of my seat.

When I got home, Camila and I had an umbrella/light saber fight. I chopped her arm off, but she killed me. I don't think I'll ever be to old to have an umbrella fight. =)

Little Blurbies

-Broke my old cuticle scissors, so good thing I bought that other pair, right?

-Been sick off and on. Last night, I laid on my floor for about 2 hours. There were many children running back and forth in my apartment. Yesterday was the big party for Abulita, but I stayed laying on my floor after I got back from doing my thing. I had a day to myself complete with movie (Revolutionary Road), Cinnabon, coffee, and buying playing cards, nail polish, and a bag from Idaho. I was really proud of the Idaho bag because it was under $3 and I bought it in Ecuador. Fancy.

-woke up at 3:45 this morning needing water. I drank about half my can, and thought I would go back to sleep. No, The last time I looked at the clock, it was 5am. That is an issue I never have. I'm going to blame Blair for this one since we just talked about sleepless nights. haha.

-Breakfast was cake, potatoes, a fruit that I can't remember the name of that I haven't had before, and chammomile tea. Cake and Potatoes? That's what I thought. It was some kind of spice cake that had guayanaba (mmm!) and some other fruit in it. Not my favorite, but it was edible. I have no idea about the potatoes. I can reference hash browns, but in reality if you had them, you would say, "Hash browns, Lacy? Really?" I know. They are not like hash browns, but as a breakfast item that is potatoey, that is what I would say. It was kind of a crumbley mess. I don't know.

-Camila's cousin Anna, from Germany, speaks German and Spanish (father's 1st language, mother's 1st language). She has had 5 years of French, and 4 years of English. She couldn't understand my two sentences to her in English because she is learning British English, so my accent is crap to her. I think that is really great to send your kid to learn a language. She's 14. Good for her and her family. It'll be something much appreciated later in life.

-Going to see The Watchmen with Deanna today. Maybe I'll take my peanuts and munch on them in the theater.

-Finished disc 2 of Season 2 of Scrubs. On to disc 3, maybe tonight? I love that show. It really is my favorite. Every line is great for one reason or another.

-still hate shaving. Why do we start in the first place? A lot of girls don't shave here. I may go back to that and everyone can deal because it's a personal choice. However, I am going to the beach this weekend for my final Geology field trip, so I'll go ahead and shave for that. woot.

Five

Lindsey and I were talking via Skype while she was in class last night and I listed my 5 Hottest guys to her. I thought I would go ahead and share them on here. Feel free to Google them.
1. Viggo Mortensen
2. Sgt. Paco Balderama (Thank you OKC)
3. The Chairman from Iron Chef America
4. Fausto Miño (Ecuadorian singer...he sings the theme song to the telenovela #5 is on)
5. Fernando Colunga (Thank you Telanovelas!)

I'm grinning right now. Lindsey made fun of my #5 choice because he is on a soap. Telenovelas really are better than Soap Operas in the States.

Today is moving slow. I don't mind it, but my eyeballs would prefer the lids were closed on them. I will hopefully watch disc 2 of season 2 of Scrubs tonight, and pretend to work on homework. I'm sleeping in tomorrow, and going shopping. I look a little on the homeless side since all my clothes are too big. My jeans today are barely hanging on my hips. My hand-me-down cardigan can over lap in the front, and my perfect-fit Old Navy is not so perfectly fitting. I tried to order clothes online, but both cards were not accepted. NY&Co has an anti-theft prevention system that doesn't allow you to buy outside of the United States.

My list is growing for things online that can not be done outside the US: NBC.com, ABC.com, FOX.com, NY&CO.com, FOXSports.com, where ever I tried to watch the SuperBowl. ok, a lot of TV related sites.
Avon and Sephora both will allow you to purchase outside the States.

It's funny that the internet frustrates me like that. When Leslie studied abroad (I was a JR in HS, so 2004), she didn't have access to Skype. It didn't exist, so she called maybe once a week to say that she was alive. I can call when I feel like it thanks to my Skype package. Internet has changed our lives. I can be as in touch as I want. My favorite thing was when I called Brandon and then Mema. Mema didn't know where he was, but I got to tell her he was at a BBall game from Ecuador. hehe.

It just thundered. I must note how weany the thunder is here. I miss silly Oklahoma weather. I'm doing better with the personal space issue.
On my way to the bus stop this morning, a guy gave me a political flyer, aka presidential candidate info. Lacy can not vote here, but aparently is looking less white. Then after I got on the Ecovia, a guy gave me the open seat rather than taking it himself. The guy I had been standing next to took the open seat next to me when it was availble. He asked me a question and I told him in Spanish "colegio, sî" as in the next bus stop. Then he mumbled something, and I said I didn't know. Then he waited for a few minutes and asked me something else. I caught the words, "Tumbaco, autobus verde." So I said Rio Coca (where the green buses to Tumbaco leave from), then he said something really fast and smiled, and I said, I didn't know and sorry. O my.
On Monday, the bus attendent asked me if I was Ecuadorian. I guess I can look it....?

More Cookies, Less Chicken and Soup

Lindsey and Laura brought my requested Peanut Butter Cookies from Mema. She sent them in a red plastic circle box with snow flakes on the side. She lined the bottom and between each layer with classified adds and bubble wrap. Mema bubble wrapped my PB cookies. I remember when people commented on her wrapping my coke can in foil to keep it cold. Mema knows what's up. There wasn't one broken cookie in that entire box..even though the lid popped opened in Laura's suitcase and crums got all over. I have never enjoyed PB cookies so much in my life. I'm sad because I only have 5 left. I have stretched them out from their arrival of March 17th to the present. I wish I could make those 5 last longer, but they'll be gone by Friday I'm sure.

Margarita's mom turned 80. I went across the street with Ximena to take candles and celebrate. Lucy, Margarita's sister from Germany, had me sit at the table across from Abulita. That is prime realestate, and it was given to me. I felt bad. Abulita offered me this and that and I took some habitas, but not chips, o my. I had cedrôn tea, which tasted really sweet. I have no idea how the family is divided now. I can't figure it out. I'll have to have Camila help me or something. I talked to Rosario for a while when things were winding down. It was mainly me saying basic sentences or yes and no. She was really nice. I was thinking she was around my age, but then, when I asked who the boys were to her, she said the two older ones were hers. The oldest boy was probably 13 or 14. I didn't see that coming. I also think she is married to Tio Fernando. Didn't see that coming either. O well. It turned out all right.

I want to make a brief mention of the mutilation of chicken bones. The only person that I have ever seen prior to coming to Ecuador naw on the end of a bone is Nanny. She eats the meat off. It grossed me out because I can't even stand to eat the stringy pieces on a piece let alone work every bit off the ends. People here actually break the knobbley end off with their teeth and suck the marrow out or use a fork to get it out. There is only 1 particular person who does this everytime we eat, but I have seen others do it irregularly. I'll probably go back to being primarily vegetarian when I get home. I'll eat meat at other people's houses so they aren't put out, but when I do my own cooking, it'll be veg.

No more soup please. I'm still hatin'.

Long, but an Entire week!

Lindsey and Laura arrived on St. Patrick's Day. I had on my Clover socks on, which is the only time they have been worn for the appropriate season. I bought them last year at Stein Mart AFTER St. Patrick's Day on sale.
Wednesday-Lindsey and Laura rode the Ecovia. Of course it was a jam-packed morning, but we managed. The Green bus wasn't bad. They waited on me. I took the hardest test of my life. I'm in my 8th semester of college and have never taken a test that hard in my life. It's a 1000 level class. The teacher told us it was OUR problem if we all did bad because we had all the information. The whole class met outside the building and we had a gripe fest.
After we got back to Quito, we went to Hassan's and had great food. I had the Falafel plate again and loved it. We walked took a cab to Old Town and walked aroud a while Laura was sick on the plane the day before and also sick off and on Wednesday and Thursday. We went to Rose's and bought a few things (grocery wise). We walked up the hill (5 streets away, BIG hill) to their hostal. Laura stayed there, but Lindsey went to my apartment with me. She met Camila and Tia Rita (my hater). We went back to the hostal and we watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. My pirated DVD skipped, but that was tolerable. That movie was very disappointing. I was really excited about it, but O my! They could have done so much more with it. The movie was so incredibly slow. Disappointing. The night guy called me a taxi. Taxi driver tried to charge me $4 for 4 blocks because it was night. No Thanks. I gave him $2. Jerk.
Thursday- I went to campus by myself, took my Jazz test, got an 83, got back to Quito, realized I forgot my keys (THE FIRST TIME), let in by Luis, laughed at by Ximena for forgetting my keys, chilled, then we to L&L's hostal. The owner talked with me a bit. We walked down to a big street, got a cab, drove to the entrance of TeleferiQo. We paid our $8 for foreigners, got in line, and got in the sky cab. Two Ecuadorians got in the sky tram with us, and he took our picture. (TeleferiQo is a sky tram {like a cab on a sky lift} that goes up Pichincha.) We got to the top, Laura had altitude problems. The clouds came almost immediately, so we had bad, and then NO, visibility off the volcano. After taking a tram down with 3 Middle/High schoolers (they talked a little to us), we went to the mall and got ice cream. Then we went to my apartment, Laura met Camila, we grabbed Superman Returns, and walked up the hill to their hostal. I slept almost the entire movie. The nightman called me a cab again.
Friday- We planned on going to Papallacta (Hot Springs), but I didn't think I could handle the bus for that far since my tummy woke up in a bad mood. Instead, we went to the Equator. Ecuador said, "Hi, Here's some rain for you." We shopped and shopped. Then we went to the real line, and our tour group had 2 people from Maryland and 1 from Quito (AKA Married an Ecuadorian woman {Bless her} and now lives here). He was a know-it-all and needed slapped. One lady had a question or comment for everything like what the wood type in the remake of the hut was, or that she knew merrygolds were strong scented (They were/are used to keep fleas off the guinea pigs). UH! We got on the bus around 5, and drove to Quito in the dark rain. I expected the bus to go to the Terminal we got on because we paid .40 like last time. WRONG! We ended up heading back to La Mitad del Mundo. I asked a lady and she told us that, so we got off the bus at a random stop. We tried to flag a taxi, but no luck. We were standing there with 5 or 6 other people, but still not a great idea. A random silver car pulled up on the perpendicular road to where we were standing. She hollared, "Taxi?" We got in her car. If it had been a guy, we would NOT have done that. She said $2.50 which was very impressive. We got stuck in Traffic, but made it to my apartment. We mutually agreed on $3, because I had no idea where we were when she picked us up (Could have been anywhere!) + traffic, so I was thankful to make it back to my apartment. Nice lady. I walked them back to their hostal. Nightman called me a taxi.
Saturday- We were going to the market at Otavalo, and my friend Deanna was going to go with us. I saw a cab outside my apartment at 4:28am. By the time I got through all the doors and down 5 flights of stairs, the cab was gone. I walked to Lindsey and laura's and woke up the nightman AND the owner. We went back to my apartment. I messaged Deanna, and we took a cab to her place, then to the terminal. We got on the bus, and headed out. We bought lots of things, and left Otavalo. We had Sushi at Kukkos. The waiter was so bored and was cracking us up. He walked us out, and didn't go back in until we had turned the corner. Deanna went home, and L&L and I had tea with Margarita's family later that evening. Her sister and niece got in from Germany that day, so we met them. Margarita apparently has a brother too. I met him, and Tia Rita and Anita Sofia also came up to visit with us. Interesting. German, Spanish, and English were spoken off and on (majority was Spanish). Walked them back to their hostal, and the owner gave me keys to the gate and the front door so I wouldn't have to ring the bell (Thank you 4:30 wake up call, right?). Nightman went to the road and got me a cab. ($1 to my apt!)
Sunday- Deanna got to my apartment around 7:40am. We walked to L&L's, took a cab to the Terminal, and paid for 6 people to go with us. Then I held out my fingers and said "Cuatro." The lady shook her head and said yes. Then the 2 people standing behind us who I paid for, paid for themselves. Then Deanna said we only needed 4 seats, so the lady gave me back $4 and marker on our ticket 4 seats. Uh. A dirty man and a boy were in 2 of our seats. No big deal... Well, he stank, kept scratching, rammed his seat into my bag and bounced it until I moved my bag. Deanna called him a bad name and he turned and looked at her, then did nothing but continue to stay too close. Jerk. Papallacta was beautiful. It's a hot springs, and is incredible. It's higher up (3300m), so it was cool. We sat in several different pools, some warm, some hot, some cool, some with regular water--cold. We enjoyed ourselves. My camera is officially waterproof. I took a pic of Lindsey underwater. We had lunch, and stood outside in the 50 degree weather and light wind waiting for a bus for about 20 minutes. We managed to all get seats, which was impressive. A little boy on the bus reminded us of Ephraim. Cute, but is a brat. Go figure. We got around to go with Margarita's family to Old town. I went and got them, and we ended up not going with them. I bought Toto's Greatest Hits and A Lot Like love on Saturday, so we watched it. I feel asleep the last 15 minutes. Lindsey got snippy with me, and instead of getting the nightman to call a cab, I walked home out of sleepy anger.
Monday-Met them at their hostal at 6:30am, gathered the last little bit, paid, and took a cab to the airport. They got into check-in, and I left. I played Tetras all the way back to my apartment. I met Margarita in the hallway this morning, and she asked what I was doing with my sisters today. I said they just left and she told me about something and then asked again what I was doing with my sisters. and I answered thinking maybe she meant what they were doing tomorrow, so I said class. We ended up in English that they left today. Whew. I had Crunchy PB on bread and some rocking Strawberry juice for breakfast. Now, I'll get around for the day. (& I'M NOT RE-READING THIS TO PROOF IT. MY APOLOGIES.)

That Tattooed Guy and Scissors

Remember that guy with the tattoo on his hand that I absolutely praised on how adorable he was? I saw him again today. I thought it was him, but had to look at his hand to make sure. Instead of leaning on the place I was last time looking towards the front of the bus, I stood opposite of the doorway, where he had been the first time I saw him, and faced backwards. For whatever reason, I can stand up easier that way. When we pulled up to the stop, I saw the guy, made eye contact and immediately looked away. The bus wasn't crowded, so that made the odds of seeing him again were very low. I had to bite my lip so I wouldn't laugh. I'm sure he thought the same thing of, "why is that gringa staring at me?" His fault for being so adorable and standing across the doorway from me again! I feel so silly.
I keep expecting that my 12 year old self will grow up and not be so Ecuadorian boy crazy, but that has yet to happen. I have 59 days left, meaning I've been here longer than I have left. Downhill slope, but it just keeps getting worse. Well, I keep thinking in general I'll finally get past my 12 year old squeely girl self, but again, yet to happen.
I just ate a chocolate bar. mmm.
I had a Spanish test today. I feel like it went alright, but then I'm pretty good at not being able to judge my tests. I can feel like I nailed it and come out with a D, or feel like I got a D and do pretty decent. It's a special gift I have really. Tomorrow I have a Geology test, and then I have an Evolution of Jazz test on Thursday morning. Want to know the real excitement? Lindsey and Laura are on a plane right now to see me! They will be here in 3 hours and 16 minutes! WOO!

I should study for Geology before I leave to pick them up, but it's so hard to concentrate. We've seen each other on Skype off and on for the last 2 1/2 months, but really, is it the same? NO!

If you know me, you know that I'm kind of obsessed with my nails (Boogies are good for them, and that's why my finger inside B's {I MISS HIM!} nose) and always have been. Well, I pulled out my very condensed bag of nail things (makes me sick I didn't bring more) and went to use my cuticle scissors. THEY WERE GONE! I seldom misplace my things because everything has it's place. The pink nail file sits next to the semi-creepy angle. The striped shoes stay on the front row to the left. My carmex stays on my nightstand, in my make-up bag, in the bookbag's center pocket next to the yellow highlighter, in the bottom zipper part of my purse. Get it? The scissors stay in their little ziptop bag with the other things. I kept thinking I would find it, because if I manage to boob, I usually do find it. This discovery was made LAST Wednesday. That's almost a week. I broke down and bought a new pair at Fybeca (like Wal-Greens) yesterday. I assumed would find them since I just bought a pair, so I let them sit on my night stand, in their package. Nope! I opened them in the bathroom today, and then used them. I sat them back on the nightstand. Craving chocolate, I went to my right hand drawer where I keep my candy. I pick up the chocolate bar, and what is under them? THE CUTICLE SCISSORS. I didn't put the chocolate bar there until last night, so I don't know how I missed it. O my!

Cotocachi-today part II

Geology Field Trip
I woke up at 4:30AM yesterday, but laid there until 5 til 5, left my house around 5:30am. Rode with Sofia, her dad (oddly safe driver for being an Ecuadorian), Lily, and Jessalie to Cumbaya. We were suppose to leave there at 6, but did not actually leave until 6:37am. We drove to Zambisa and looked at the giant rock wall (folds, faults, and such). Sketched it. Back on the bus, drove, stopped at an ash cave. Got covered in crumbly wall dust (pretty neat).
The people from my class that went with on this outing were the good ones. There were issues in class Wednesday, and several other people couldn't go. The nice kids went, thankfully.
We stopped at a Mirador and looked around. My Camera said, "Hey, thanks for using me three times, but I'm gonna go ahead and die." I thanked it, and put it back in my purse. It was so beautiful. We were on a small hill/mountain in a valley that had several larger mountains around it. Very beautiful. There was some kind of bug that one of the English speakers called a bumble bee. I told her that it was solid black and not a bumble bee. She said it sounded like one...Yes, true, but not a bumble bee like in the States.
We drove a little further to Cayambe. This is ANOTHER active volcano that produced the ash cave (a long time ago) that we had just been too. This area is very green, as is much of the North. We stopped looking for Bizcohos (I think this is how it's spelled). The first place was closed, so we loaded back onto the bus and drove out of town to a place on the side of the road. We got Bizcochos there. I got some mozzerella like cheese wrapped in a banana leaf and my favorite drink of Lime fizz water. The Bizcochos (I didn't purchase any, but had one of Sofia's) were a little sweet, and kind fo dry, but not make you choke dry. They were squarish sticks about 3/4'' wide and 4 inches long. They were being dipped in Manjar de Leche (SO TASTY). One of the boys outside was eyeing my cheese. He's not in my class, so it made me feel very weird. He even said something about it, awkward!
We sat to where we could look at Cayambe. There was a llama tie up in the back yard just hanging out. I then bought a peach juice and loaded back on the bus with everyone else.
We drove further to Cotocachi. The lake was beautiful. We sat on a ledge looking onto where a boat was loading. WHen Jessalie went to the bathroom and I was alone with her camera with a full memory card that didn't fit my camera, I discovered that her battery fit my camera. WOO! Lily came over and said that the lake could kill us all. I said, "O ya? Why?" She said that it's actually a volcano crater opening and is a sulfur lake. It was so beautiful and bluish green, but a threat.
Then the teacher called us all over closer to the boat area. She talked about it being named in Quchua (indeginous language) meaning Guinea pig lake. The area had a lot of guinea pigs found there apparently. I also heard Toto on the little whistle pipes. I had to sing with it
We sat and waited. Lily and Jessalie asked about this phrase and that, and then we ended up learning bad phrases. Jessalie wrote them in my little notebook that I carry with me, since she was taking notes over what the teacher was saying. Really cool.
It started raining, but that doesn't stop anyone. We drove to a town outside of Cotocachi and had lunch. We had some kind of red seasoned pork, mote, little corn like kernals, a great cheese sauce, little potatoes, and some sweet banana (different kind that the US sells) empanada with a coke.
We waited to load the bus. Lily wanted to learn how to click her heals in the air (which I apparently can do and didn't know). She looked goofy. Then Jessalie tried and looked just as goofy and managed to bruise her ankle in the process. Then Sofia the ex-ballerina did it and made it flawless and look easy. The teacher walked up, and we got her to try, and she was also unsuccessful. Good laughes.
We made one more stop, less interesting. We got on the bus to head back to Quito. We all chatted with each other, which was nice. A lot of the USFQ kids don't socialize with the international students, but our class is cool. We got to Quito, let off at an intersection, and then I took a cab to Quicentro (mall).
I met Tricia, Deanna, and Kelsey there with the Ecuadorian boys. I made it in time to see her blow out 6, then 1 candle. (They were making her work her way up to 20). I got to hang out for a little bit with them, but was really tired. We split up, two walked Deanna and I to the Ecovia. They road one stop and got off. I rode by myself and walked up my hill to my street, and then my apartment. I had tea and bread with Camila and Margarita and was asleep by 10. woot.

Friday Evening-Post 1 for today.

I was invited to a Bible study by Tricia's friend Andres, but I told him I didn't know if I could make it. I needed to make a study giude for my test that was suppose to be tomorrow. I told them it depended on how much I got done. I worked on it until 7 (Bible study started at 6), so I missed it. I felt a little bad, but I also had not done as much as I wanted. Camila knocks on my door about 8 and said that she and her mom want to invite me to the movies. I said sure. I took my sock money house shoes off and put on my blue socks with hands on them with my bright blue shoes. Did I match? never.
I grabbed my jacket, purse, and keys. We got in the stairwell and I asked her what we were seeing. She said depending on tickets, we were either seeing the Jonas Brothers 3-D concert or that Brenden Fraiser movie about the book that comes alive. Loving Brenden Fraiser, I was really hoping for that. We stoped at the bigger mall so my host-mom could do something. Camila stayed in the car.
The store was closing, so the doorman would only let one of us in. I stood outside the store (in the mall open area) playing Russia (Tetras) on my phone. I heard "Wind Beneath My WIngs" and felt like I should be watching 'Beaches'. I got almost 900 points by the time she finished. We got in the car, drove to CCI and stood in line. Camila said the long line waiting to go into the theater was for the Jonas Brothers. I think she was heart broken. We got to the front of the line. What did we get tickets for? Jonas Brothers Concert in 3-D. I WATCHED THE JONAS BROTHERS. Camila and I got seats (not bad ones either...) and waited for Margarita. She bought us Lime Teas (I LOVE lime things and I LOVE tea. The two together are lacking however), popcorn, and hot dogs. (I haven't had hot dogs since I've been here. I think hot dogs are a scary concept of food, but had chopped pieces in my rice medley for lunch and at the theater in the same day.)
When the commercials started, all the 8-12 year old girls squeeled. When the movie started, the screaming was almost unbearable. When they first showed the boys, they screamed more. Kid you not. I have to say, I enjoyed it. Now, let me explain why I enjoyed this. The man sitting two seats down from me was saving a seat (I assumed his daughter). O no. His girlfriend, older than me, sits down next to me. She sand everyword to every song. She and her boyfriend laughed so hard. It was really funny. I'm still in shock that I actually watched it.

Novios?

I wanted to post a picture of my loveable dog, but since Brooke stole the day with Molly, I'll let her have it.

We celebrated Tricia's birthday with Bolwing and ice cream OR food. She brought Andres (who asked if my name meant someone who doesn't like to do things--lazy), Carlos, and Jose. Juan showed up mid-game. Ecuadorians apparently don't bowl. A few lanes down from us had a really fun group. Everytime one of them would knock down more than 3 pins, they hooped and hollared.
We had fun. My Spanish is bad, so that was tragic. The group got onto me several times (mainly Deanna and Tricia, but Andres helped eventually). Juan and I were doing just fine, until Andres heard him speaking English to me, so he said something to him. Juan said that I was answering in Spanish so we were both practicing. ha. fun.
Carlos reminded me so much of Casey Perry that I could barely stand to look at him. Talk about absurd. Casey Perry, blonde hair and blues eyes for those who don't know my dear friend, was looking at me in the form of a dark skinned, black hair and eyed Ecuadorian. Talk about creepy. I think their humors are similar too. creep-y.
When it was time to go home, one of the boys took a girl-as in, make sure she gets home safe and not mugged or knifed. haha. Deanna, Carlos, Juan, and I took a cab to 6 de diciembre and got on the Ecovia. Awe, all four boys were so nice.

TODAY.
After some confusion of what time i was suppose to meet Tio OR Abulito, Tia called and said her dad was leaving at 10:30. I went to his apartment at 10:30 and Hilda, his maid, was like, O, let me call him. She finally got a hold of him, and I met him downstairs outside. He was walking in, so I went out to the car. Driver talked to me, asked me where I was from, chit chat. He was nice. I've seen him around a lot, but didn't know who he was. He asked me HOW many boyfriends I have here. I laughed and said zero. He then asked about at home, and I laughed a little harder and said none. He didn't beleive me. After Abulito got in the car, he asked if I planned on returning to Ecaudor eventually. I said I want to. He then said that I would have to to visit my boyfriends. {Insert boystrious laugh of driver.} I said I don't have any boyfriends. and they both kind of made fun of me for sticking to my true no.
We got to the school. I met with Magali, the VP figure, and she instructed me on how they do their spelling bee which is different than the US. She said she had to finish some things, but I was welcome to walk around or sit up in her office. Well, I saw the little kids outside, so I assumed Patricio (teacher I met the first Tuesday I was here that was so nice) was outside. Lacy was right. Cesar (teacher I kind of met that same Tuesday) called him off shortly after we started talking, but he came back. We chatted for about 45 minutes, joked with me about partying til 5 or 6 am, my non-existent boyfriends, and how Little Grandpa was a funny name [Abulito]. Magali found us, both judges, and showed us the list. I did the best I could at concealing my horror for the words the English as a second language kids were about to take on. I'd list some, but that would you probably couldn't decifer them.
We met the third judge, Pablo. Patricio went and got his suit jacket and put on a tie, and the three of us went to the room where it was going to go down. We took our seats, and Magali had me write my last name on a piece of paper. I also corrected the spelling of my first name, LaZy...ya.
Camila won her grade. She had 5/5 right, but so did Abigail. They had a spell off. Abigail got a word that I didn't know and she mis-spelled it. Camila got her's right. The kids are so smart. I'm so happy for them that they are getting this chance to learn so much. The United States should really consider teaching languages at an early age. The US is arrogant in the fact that we do speak English and 'everyone else' does or should learn. Those 7-12 graders can spell in English better than I can. I know people have different strong suits, and that isn't one of mine, but those kids have worked very hard to learn new words (I helped Camila write sentences to help her practice. English teacher is from South Africa {tall, skinny white boy with blue eyes and blonde hair mind you} and gave them Apartheid). I'm 22 and struggle with my broken Spanish. It's incredible at how different languages are viewed around the world.
ok.
We had snacks in the teachers lounge. Tia Rita was Tia Rita to me. I answered her and she stared at me, so Patricio cut in and helped out. Thank God for Patricio. He had to leave for a seminar, so I sat with an empty chair between me and Pablo who was connected to the rest of the group. Abulito filled that chair for a bit.
When we left, we went to a fruit market. (O, Abulito played the basic Spanish game with me again, he's so sweet. What's a subject? What's a verb? teehee). I talked to him more, so I think he got the idea that I was slightly past that. When Abulito got out at the fruit market, I asked the driver what his name was. I meant to do it earlier, but didn't. He said Marco and stuck his hand out to the backseat where I was. I shook it with my left hand. (Pablo shook my hand to greet me, which threw me off. When he was leaving, he shook my hand and I started to good-bye kiss his cheek, so he did the same to me still hand in hand haha. It was weird because no one ever acknowledges my Gringaness in that way.) We talked more in the car, and Abulito asked me my name again. (For the 10th time today.) He said it over and over trying to convert it to memory. I get Dacy or Daisy a lot, so it's understandable. He then told me it was a very pretty name.
ok then.

It's not Raining or Monday, but..

"Rainy days and Mondays always get me down" is the song I always reference to days like this, Thank you, "About a Boy." My alarm was a little crazy this morning and went off every 2 minutes after I snoozed it, unlike the 7 minutes it usually does. I got around, and sat to eat breakfast. Bread and orange-alope. I don't know which melon it was, but it's a tongue-itchy one. I only ate three or four pieces out of it and no drink. Grabbed my stuff, and saw the bus pull away jam-packed. No big deal. The bus I waited for wasn't busy at all which happens occasionally. I even sat for a bit. I sat next to a classmate on the green bus, and one of her friends stood up next to us. Then, all was fine. Then, all was not fine. The bus next to us about 15 minutes into the drive rear-ended a car, who hit a car, who hit a car, who hit a car. Yes 1 bus and 4 cars. That delay made me late to class..blah blah blah, sour mood not because I was late to class.

I want to speak of my Ecovia experience yesterday. I got my foot shut in the door. No big deal, it was packed, driver was moving right along. I finally managed to wedge myself into the aisle and away from the door. The driver shut the door on people at the next 3 stops. No one got on at the next two, and then the next stop... A man with an arm cuff crutch got on the silver platform (piece that is the dock more or less, it flips up on top of the two doors that open out). The two red doors shut before he got past them. The driver leaned out his window and hollared something, and everyone was saying, "cuidado! Cuidado!" (Careful, careful). The man started to shuffle off the platform, and I turned to look at the driver and then everyone made gasps and such. I turned back around to see a lady (who was waiting for the bus in the other direction) helping up the man who was completely leveled on the ground. The bus driver then re-opened the doors and let him on. Someone kindly gave him a seat, and everyone chittered the rest of the way about what happened. The driver looked so incredibly mad. Since I had my foot shut caught between the two doors for a moment, I know he was clearly having morning issues prior to this man. I don't know why he was in such a hurry, because he would be running the same route after he let us all off, but that really surprised me. And not because he had a crutch, but because I haven't seen people here be that rushed or agitated in public like that before. It happens of course, but after 2 months of fair tempered people, it surprised me.
The Internet is on Ecuadorian time today. fun.

On to great news...LAURA IS AWESOME!

The Deuce

Baños was the second leg of the weekend trip with the Volcanolgy class. I didn't include things on the Ecuadorian Students to Cotopaxi, so I will start off with that. I read about Deanna's description of the Ecua students in her first weekend trip to the Orient-aka the Jungle. I just assumed they weren't as willing to get down and dirty as she was. After this last weekend, I fully understand that is not the case. When we picked them up in Cumbaya (where the university is), many of the girls had their designer wear on, as well as styled hair, earrings, and make-up. I thought maybe they were going to change at some point. I was in my tennis shoes, jeans, my 2001 PTHS Football shirt, and two poorly done braids. Make-up? not alot. After that initial shock, I wasn't really surprised when they were whining about everything. They didn't want to go down the hill, they didn't want to do this, they wanted to stay on the bus and listen to Theo (teach) talk rather than being outside. Blah blah blah, Deanna, Tricia, and I kind of made fun, but did so quietly since we were outnumbered.
I'm not going to harp on about how spoiled the USFQ kids are, but it's true. A few more things, then moving on. USFQ is a private, liberal arts school. It is the wealthiest university in Ecuador. In Orientation, we were informed that loans have only recently been given, and they are seldom for the full amount of tuition. That being said, most of the students, if not all, are paid for, out of pocket, via parents. That's something like $4000 PER semester for Tuition alone. However, books are seldom used. Most classes have packets or outside readings that are no more than $15 per book. My total book cost this semester was $17.00. THe students do not live like United States college students. Most live with their parents who have a maid that takes out their bed/bathroom trash, makes their beds, does their laundry, and cooks. Turns out, I hate that. I love our maid, but my goodness, I like to do my own laundry (Mema just smiled and she doesn't know why).
Ok, so I did harp on..

Baños as promised.
We got to Baños after dark, grabbed some food, then went to bed. We got up at 5am to go on an optional hike. Forget showers--ponytail and brushing the teeth-DONE. The Ecuadorians who went with us were primped beyond belief. One guy was in Jammy pants, and I enjoyed that. We hiked to the waterfall, Pailon del Diablo, and waited our turns. Kelsey went out with the first group (7 people, instead of the recommended 5 as the sign shows). Deanna, Tricia, and I were promptly cut in line by the 'TA' and her 3 friends. The 7 of us went on the bridge and I was enjoying everything. The 'TA' had the nerve to ask if I would take a pic of her friends, but I did it anyway. Then we waited for the rest of the class to look. The hike to the falls took about 20 minutes, all downhill. The hike back took 45 minutes, major uphill action. We did stop to look at rocks, but I took that time out. It was completely beautiful.
We watched Love Actually, Harold and Kumar 2 (ya..), and a third movie that has escaped me. We stopped a few times to look at things along the way. The pic of the valley has dust flying all around. It's pyroclastic ash from the past (teehee). My mouth, clothes, shoes, hair, and everything else was gritty. It was wonderful though. I took a picture of the trash because there are places here that are really dirty. There are littering laws, but they aren't enforced. It's incredible how far away from a town I thought we were, but someone still managed to dump their trash down their country's beautiful landscape. It's sad.

Mondays are seldom an Issue

I did say I was going to write about Baños today, but Monday proved to be a day on it's own.

With my group being slackers, I got up early to work on the project. I kept thinking I would get an email from one of them. When I got to class (I was not greeted politely, it was an inquiry to MY progress), the one I was waiting on said someone stole her computer in the library, and I was stunned because campus is really safe. After she went on, I cut her off and clarified if she did or did not mean her lappy. She did not, she meant a library comp. I got over that one fast. She said she would email me her part BY 4.
Well, I don't know when exactly I got her email because I got sick again today. I stopped at MegaMaxi for shampoo and conditioner. I got some crackers, an orange, and a chocolate bar. I got home, Camila was already at the table (3:10pm). I started my soup, and put some popcorn in it. I finished it, and Xime brought my food. I was excited because it kind of looked and smelled like a version of Mexican food. It was shredded chicken with little chilis and tomatoes in it, but wrapped in something leafy. I thought that was a good idea. It was accompanied with white rice. I ate about 1/3 of it when I started feeling off. I grabbed an apple out of the fruit basket and peeled half of it with my butter knife. It tasted great, but I did not enjoy it. I laid my head on the table, and Xime brought out dessert-vanilla ice cream, with mora swirls and chocolate sauce. Uh-huh. I had 3 bites of it and was finished. I put my things in the kitchen, and felt bad. I thought, like last time, if I laid down I would be okay. I sat in my room for about 10 minutes and then went to the bathroom pulled my hair back, and got into a fetal position on the floor. I laid there for about 30 minutes. My stomach calmed and I thought I was alright to get up. When I sat up, I got dizzy, and then expelled my lunch.
I felt better because it was out, but my stomach still was upset. I opened my bottle of lime flavored fizz water, and drank some of it. It helped a lot. I managed to barely talk to Laura for a few. I ate a few saltines thinking it had been long enough, but no. I let Laura go, and laid on the bed trying to sleep. I tried to make myself comfortable, but it took about and hour to actually fall asleep, which is unusal. I slept til Margarita got home about 8:30p. I had bread and hot tea by myself because she went downstairs to her sisters, and Camila stayed in the back room and watched tv.
I feel a lot better now, thankfully, however, the night is not over.
I tried to work on the project again, but the internet went down, and off. I read the part that had been emailed to me at some point, and rather than being both topics, she decided to do just one. That leaves the second half of everything unfinished. I didn't have internet to work on it, and it's due today. I think the teacher will be nice..or hope she will be.
Bedtime, why not? I pulled my door shut, and walked to my bathroom. I ran into a step machine, and made a noise. No one stirred, so I was glad for that. I should have turned on a light, but didn't. Lesson learned? ya right.
I went up the 6 steps to make my way down the hall to the kitchen. I sat my mug in there and washed my little container--with the lights on. I smartly had turned my lamp on and left my door cracked to get back to my room without any mishaps. Good in theory. Since my eyes were adjusted to the kitchen light, I didn't think to let them correct to the dark. I got back to those 6 steps and thought, "uh-o, walk slow so you don't fall." If only the rest of me listened to that helpful bit inside. I thought I had a few more steps because the stairs didn't start until after the window, SLIP-I was wrong. Whatever went down, I managed to be quiet about it. I fell on my left butt cheek and the right arch of my foot was rammed by the corner of a step. I made sure my door made a noise when I shut it incase someone heard me bite it. I'll be impressed if neither place bruises.
That was the decided factor that today's blog wouldn't be about Baños. I'm going to bed now. Class at 8:30-10, work on my project and hope to finish it, then work on my Spanish presentation that I still haven't finished before Spanish at 11:30-1, lunch, more homework, then class 2:30-4 (ish). Then, more homework.
Thank you for finishing this.

Cotopaxi

My lungs have never hurt so bad in my life. Prior to yesterday, I've never had a reason for them to physically hurt. I went to the active volcano or Cotopaxi. It's beautiful. Although there were no trees, it still managed to be green from the little tiny bits growing on the ground. (See PICS.) It felt really nice outside the first time the class stopped to look at the rocks (friends volcanology class trip). The higher we went, the cooler it got. I bought a men's jacket for $21 for Friday. It did the job.
We got up to the highest drivable point on the volcano (by big bus), and got out. I put my men's jacket on, and started out with the class. We got to a nice slant area. He talked and then said, "Vamos!" He ran down the slant. A few people started out after him, but the rest were in shock. (This is the pic where the people look very tiny on the large brownish hill.) The second half was a lot easier than the first half. You could sink your feet in and get some traction. The top half was not as soft, so it was more difficult. All was good, we rested at the bottom to hear him talk, and all wondered, "How do we get back up?" Well, that was soon answered. We climb the way we came down. The bottom part was easier, and then the top laughed at us all. One girl needed a band-aid because she feel into a spikey lava rock. I have a small scrap on one knee, which is impressive because I was having major issues.
The class could go up the volcano to the station if they could make it. I started out with Kelsey, but did no make it far (Kelsey touched the snow). After getting over being light headed, I moved up a little further. I did that two more times. I sat in the complete volcano silence for about 30 minutes taking pictures, and made my way back to the bus. They were watching the Ecuadorian made, "Que tan lejos." I only caught the second part, so I didn't know what was going on.
Movies watched: SuperCool (Pirated SuperBad. Same movie, just translated to that), Sin City, and Yes Man. Food was random the entire day. We got to our hostal in Baños, and Deanna, Tricia, Kelsey, and I went to a place to get food. I hate a room temperature chocolate shake and a ham sandwich. For the 4 of us to eat there, it cost $4.90. One had a coke and a cheese sandwich. Another had a Sprite and chicken nuggets with frieds, and the fourth only had a shake. Yes, UNDER $5.

Tomorrow will be about Baños. I am covered in pyroclastic crap from a place we stopped, so I have to make that go away---not proofing this, so I apologize for spelling and grammatical errors.

Smoke Stack

This is all takes place on a class 'field trip.'
Smoking here is very common. One darling dear in my class got on the bus and asked our professor if he could smoke. All I could think was that the sign clearly says not too. The teacher told him to ask his class. He chuckles, then turns and asks the rest of the bus. No one cared, and one said, "only if I can too." He gave her a cigarette, and the windows were opened. (Since they smoked to and from Cumbaya, I smell like a smoke stack. It's unusual for me.)
I sat with Sofia, and we chatted. She really wants me to speak Spanish. I tried, but my Spanish is so bad. We laughed about it. woo. Thankfully, I had my baby dictionary and the words she didn't know, we looked up. (Lana=wool. That's what shigras are made out of. Shigras are bags made by indigenous people.)
Our bus ride was very bumpy and through towns. Outside the Panamerican highway, the idea of an inter-state does NOT exist. We stopped at a rocky destination and there were 4 English-as-a-first-language speakers present. All four of us are also in the English taught section of her class. She asked if we wanted English or Spanish, and one girl piped up and said Spanish. The other three of us just kind of took it. The Ecuadorians wanted Spanish, so it was in Spanish. Denise (prof) came to use to explain what she was saying to us in English aftewards. All the pictures are taken here.
We got back on the bus after about 20 minutes. Robert (not Roberto) turned around in his chair to talk across the row between us, and asked me something in Spanish. Then, without pausing, he sang-talked, "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round." That made me laugh and I said, "uh-huh" through my girly giggles. He then turned to his friends, satisifed that he was right.
We got to our desitination (after some confusion on bus driver orders) of Papallacta. We went to see the mountain wall, but it was so foggy we couldn't see across the ravine. Two from the States got in the pool of hot springs. The Ecuadorians kind of made fun, but it was good fun. We all laughed, and then loaded back on the bus.
We walked from the university to the stop to catch the bus to Quito. I sat next to a guy who was taking up more than his own seat, but was not big enough to do so. Normally, I would fight as much as possible to avoid contact, but he was nodding off, so I let it be. I got a cab FROM the Rio Coca station TO my apartment. I told him the streets, like usual, and then asked how much. He said $2.50. I think he was waiting for me to question, but since I've be charged more for a shorter distance, I was expecting to pay more and did not argue. When we got in front of my apt building, I handed him a $5. He said he didn't have change for it, so I gave him the coins I had. I got that ride for $2.10. He wasn't super thrilled with it, but he took it. So, I WON! Eh eh eh! It's a big day. I've been charged $3.50 from my friend apartment which is half the distance from where I started at tonight. I dislike many taxi drivers.

Snooze to Laugh

It's Thursday. I had no reason to fight the wake-up this morning, but apparently, my brain felt otherwise. I had the day off of school yesterday-Small university and they had a professional devlopment day- so I guess today should have been Sunday. I laid with my eyes opened and urged the muscles to work. After waiting for a response til 7 am (should have been IN the shower 30 minutes before that), I finally decided I would gather my things and go get around. I haven't moved that slow in a long time. If it had been rainy or cold, there's not way I would have gotten up. Most mornings are nice, so that was in my favor.
The Ecovia wasn't packed like usual, but it was the Ecovia at 7:30am with a bunch of other people in the same mood as me. On the 2nd bus, I had a seat to myself, but a young fellow got on shortly after my excitement and took that empty place. That bus was full and had people in the aisle (that's a 30 minute ride by the way). I played Tetrus, or Russia as my phone calls it, and lost severly.
After my first class, I was back and forth in email land. No one had responded that I was waiting on-Max Mathis, Spanish advisor, my mother, L.Alonso, Dr. Smith- but did have personal emails, so that was nice, but I got through those rather quickly. I rushed through my Spanish, then went to class. Three people were absent, so it was the professor, Josef the Swede, Nathan, and Lacy. Fu-un. It was actually really nice because one of the three people missing is most likely an only child to a lawyer, NY housewife, and a nanny. Get it? I acutally participated today. I'm sure the teacher was impressed that I'm not a dummy. I usually just sit there because special one over-roles her Rs and nearly shouts everything that comes out of her mouth. I just want to turn her volume down.
Moving on, I printed 10 pages for a project that I skipped last Tuesday and will do this coming Tuesday in Spanish. Today's nutritous lunch, cough cough, was a slice of Hawaiian pizza with a mandarin dasani (they should sell it in the States). All of $1.50. wooo food prices here!
We are off of our syllabus in Shakesphere, so Mark (prof extraordinaire) decided today would be a sonnet day. There are 4 others besides me in that class, and one was absent. Interesting like always.
Then, it was group timefor geology (in English) project. Three Americans and 1 Ecuatoriana. The one who didn't show up even responded to my good ole Facebook message that she would be there. Ya, she didn't want to come, so she didn't, but she feels the need to be boss of the group. uh-huh. The three of us there got some stuff done. Sofia and I rode back to Quito together via Green Bus. She said to me, "I have not heard you speak Spanish, you should. ?Como te vas sobre de viaje Papallacta?" She asked me how I thought tomorrows geo trip to Papallacta would be (not exact trans, but that's what it means). That embarrassed me, and I majorly stumbled through a very poorly constructed sentence. and we laughed and I said I would practice with her next week. lacy=lame. yep. But I do want to practice, so I think I will try with her. hehe.
Ecovia was great as usual. Some light-eyed (ya!) Ecuadorian guy with curly hair shared my space with me. I made it to my bus stop. Walked up my huge hill, and turned the corner. When I got to my apartment, Camila's dad (wearing his aviators, olive green trendy-ball cap, sweater, converse, and cargos) was standing outside. We greeted each other and he said he was waiting for Camila because they were going out. I said in Spanish, You know you are here? and he looked at me, and I didn't realize I said YOU not SHE. He, being the very nice guy he is, looked past that and said ya, and then his phone rang and it was her. I was in the stairwell and realized I said the wrong thing and laughed. Then I passed Abulito. He was in a cheery mood, as usual. He nearly rivals {my} Papa on greatness.
I got in, washed my hands of the Ecovia, and had water and crackers with guayaba jelly. mmm.
Somehow, I managed to make a novel out of today. It started off crummy for whatever reason my brain felt was justifiable, but it turned out to go just dandy. Off to homework.

School and a Rant.

Brooke gave me this cute award! There's a catch, I have to list 10 not so cute things about myself!
Because Brooke's a dear...
1. I have personal space issues, and dislike being touched. Ecuador is trying to help that.
2. I have a nice farmers tan.
3. When it comes to important things, like school, I tend to do enough to be average.
4. I use English a lot more here than I should, and usually find ways to get around using Spanish.
5. OCD...
6. After the gum has been in my mouth for 10 minutes (max) I play with it, rather than chew, then spit it out. It's a waste.
7. Daydreams
8. I tend to let things slide, rather than be critical.
9. Impulsive, but paranoid...
10. Terrible Speller!

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Today, we went to 4 museums. Two of my friends have to do a presentation dealing with museums, so I tagged along. We had a good time and successfully found Hassans (Lebonese food)!! I have looked for it off and on, and we found it by accident. I had a Falafel Pita, green salad (cabbage), and tabouli with a coke. Seriously? My favorite thing is that meal. The beverage is changable (Coke here is better than in the USA), but uh! Tasty!
We also discovered that I live very close to La Mariscal-Camila's dad called it "Gringo-landia". I did not realize it, because I don't go there. It's a big club and Gringo area, so I don't go there. & It's ALL over priced.
I am..putting off homework. Woo! This is the homework that I skipped class on Tuesday because I didn't do it. I'm not overworked here at all, but I am tired of silly work. If it was something I enjoyed, I would do it. I was really starting to get into my major (except for NAFTA hah!). I like history and politics. This semester, I have--Spanish, Evolution of Jazz, Shakesphere, and Geology. As you might notice, none of those fall into my likes. Shakesphere is at least taught by someone who LOVES the subject (He reminds me of Mrs. Willy in the weirdest way). That class is doable, but the assignments are so blah. Evolution of Jazz has good music (We're Swing era right now), but it's a blow off class. Geology...O Geology. The teacher is so interesting, but the class is so disrespectful. The Ecuadorians talk, and chitter, and are disrespective. The Americans annoy me more than the Ecuadorians. Most of the students from the States are well off. I'm pretty sure you know the type. They speak to others as if they are better. Two girls talk to the prof like she's a moron (Which she is far from). A third girl is off in her own world and thinks our scheduled class trip is less important than her friend trip. One of the girls asked about missing class. She made it sound like that at her school, it's easy for EVERYONE (local and international) to go to the doc, but if she were to get sick here and need to miss class, it would be hard to go to the doc. This bothers me because, like US schools, there is an ON-CAMPUS clinic for the students and faculty. It may not be top notch, and even equivalent to Goddard, but it's there. If they, like Goddard, were to only tell students "you have an STD" or give them a Z-Pack as, is the norm, you still get a note saying-SICK.
So, I suppose I would like to thank the all the United States citizens who perpetuate the idea that we are ignorant, arrogant, and deserve to be disliked. Feel free to be kind, informed, and not a sterotype.

Looking Forward

I will be taking summer and fall classes. I'm very excited for this summer, for it will be my last summer as an Undergrad student, but it will be so crammed. I'll take 9 hours, plus one independent study making 12 hours, sky diving (!), scuba diving school with Laura (hopefully), and catching up with everyone. I also plan on visiting Ashley in Ft. Smith, and Casey in Tx (currently drawing a blank on the city.. Houston? Something in that area). I have a million things I want to do, but one girl can only fit so much into 98 days. Maybe I'll have a power blast summer. Sounds good now. O, And I'll have to find a job and add that in. I'm in limbo of college student to real life lady. lady..haha, who am I kidding? I'll always be Lacy the 12 year-old, old-woman. Pearls and a trampoline, right?
As much as I feel like I have going on, I also have a lot of undecidedness in my life. Graduating in December will give me a lot of free time... that is, I don't know what I will be doing after December. 2010 will be a terrifying year, but I hope to make the most of it. I have numerous options, I just don't want to count on anything because it might not work out. (Grad. School, Peace Corps, TeachforAmerica, Teach English abroad?)
I know that I'm dealing with what a lot of people my age are dealing with as well, so I'm not special in this feeling. I need to find the strength to make decisions, start carrying a pocket dictionary, and get my business in order. I just feel like if I was in OK, all my school things would be easier because I wouldn't be waiting on Max Mathis in admissions to email me back, or having to constantly email my advisor about classes and Max Mathis NOT emailing me back.

That being said, I CAN DO IT, even if Max Mathis is a silly goon working for OU.

Soup to Twilight...

I have never been much of a soup eater. That all changed two months ago. I have had soup everytime I've eaten lunch at my apartment or with the family downstairs. It's all homemade soup too, so I was enjoying it. As of two weeks ago, I have stopped finishing my soup. I had a strong six weeks of regular soup-ings, but my goodness, I do not want anymore! Todays was broccoli, carrots, and potatoes in clearish juice. O my goodness! Soup is such a big thing here. I have had so many different kinds, it's a little unreal. At week 5, I bought a soup cookbook, thinking someday I'll want to recreate my food from Ecuador. Today, I feel like that soupbook will sit with all of my other cookbooks, unused.
While food is the subject, let me tell you how sick of potatoes I am. French fries are pushing it for me on a good day. I'll eat a baked potatoe when Nanny makes it to where it can stop your heart..and that one time Lindsey microwaved one for a Saturday lunch break from Stein Mart. But really, I'm not a potatoe eater. Funny funny. I've eaten potatoes more than I have had soup. I've had a quarter of a potatoe in my soup and then little tiny potatoes (check the pic. those are from the Equator) on my plate with the rest of the meal. Potatoes originated here, so it makes sense to eat so many varieties, and with the altitude, one needs the energy. I need a break. I was doing good about not eating 'American' food and being adventurous, but have been slipping. Kind of makes me sad. I even had a dream that Lindsey and Laura brought me Mema's chocolate chip cookies. That's not even one of my favorites that Mema makes, but I guess I am looking forward to my version of 'normal' food.
Bread. O my. We occasionally buy loaf bread from the super store, but more often than not, my host mom buys loafs, rolls, etc, from the corner bakery. I eat bread for breakfast with some kind of spread and sometimes fruit, with homemade juice. I've stopped calling it dinner here because Camila (host sis) and Margarita (host mom) call it 'taking milk.' It's appropriate. We have hot tea, hot chocolate, or hot coffee (instant) with bread. Sometimes we vary the bread. Two nights ago, we had crepes to be filled with tuna and squeeze cheese (not like US squeeze cheese). Generally though, we have bread then too.
It took me about two weeks to adjust to our eating schedule here. In Norman, I was on my own schedule and really liked that. I'm looking forward to having celebratory fajitas with Lauren on the spur of a moment of joy, or 10:30 pm runs to get chips and salsa.

I'm not having a sad day, but these things keep creeping up.. like the cookies in my dream. In my defense, I dreamed that a guy in front of me on a sidewalk got pooped on by a bird, so that makes the cookie thing less dramatic.

Camila is listening to Weird Al's version of 'Blue' right now (Daniel is here and he's singing so loud!). This is a first, but she plays Katy Perry a lot, and The Jonas Brothers..and now the soundtrack from "Crepûsculo"...that's Twilight. (While I was rereading this to get the noticable errors out, she played "I Kissed a Girl," by Katy Perry just fyi).

La Mitad del Mundo

Deanna and I have attempted to go to the marked equatorial line once before, but had unrelated problems, and didn't make it.
My guidebook has been fantastic in helping us have semi-success for different things. The La Mitad del Mundo excursion is NOT one of them. I will have to write the book company and tell them that tranportation has changed.
The total cost for me to take the bus to the site should have cost .40 cents. That was not the case. We paid the quarter to take the Metrobus, which was allotted in the .40 cents. We successfully got off on the stop my book listed. After waiting 5 minutes, a security guard came down the platform, asked us if we needed help, and when Deanna started to tell him where we intended on going, he cut her off and told us what to do. He was nice to us, and we could wait at the corner OR walk 2 stops down to the station. We didn't want to stand on a random street corner, so we walked. The last two stops to the big station were more spaced out than the previous stops, but we like walking, so it was fine. We paid another quarter to enter the station to get on a GREEN bus. (Book says GREEN!) There were no green buses in this part of the terminal, so we crossed another turnstyle to where we saw the GREEN buses. We quickly realized that all the buses on this side were headed to places at least 2 hours away. We walked back to the turnstyle and the guy said we had to pay again. We paid a third quarter to get to the place we just walked through. (Up to .75 cents now). We got on a bus that was possibly the right one. The lady gave us little plastic cards that said 'La Mitad del Mundo,' so we were feeling pretty good. She collected out .15 cents (total-.90 cents)
The boy in front of us was probably 16 or 17 and kept playing with his tiny brother (maybe 1) and tiny sister (maybe 3). The other two brothers, probably 15 and 12, also joked with the tiny ones. Between watching how cute the 4 brothers and sister were with their dad and my obsession with the giant aloes here, I hardly looked out the other side of the bus (side with our destination). We made it to a town with a dinky monument and everyone got off the bus. Deanna and I followed. She asked the driver what was up, and he said we missed the stop. We waited 10 minutes about 30 feet up the road for the exact same bus to pick us up, where we paid another .15 cents. This time though, the driver and the lady attendent directed us where to get off. Our .40 cent journey turned out to be $1.05.
We had a blast! I took a lot of pictures at the faux-equator line. The Europeans deemed it accurate. We took more pictures at the real line (where the ancient people had many ceremonies in honor of the sun-knowing the equator was there). Here, I got to shoot a giant blow gun (& I hit the cactus target...I wasn't very far from it, and the gun was very long. haha). You can stand an egg on a nail. The Guide did so, but Deanna, German Guy, and I all failed! It's suppose to be harder to walk a straight line with closed eyes on the line because of the opposing forces pushing on both sides. Surprise, I failed! My sangria was not a positive force in that either. Our guide had pretty good English. I'm sure he's given that tour a billion times (Deanna argues with me that it isn't possible the number is that high. I say she's wrong).
We walked back to where the bus dropped us off, and the German Guy from our group was there. We got on the bus, paid .40 cents this time (so we didn't have to pay a quarter in the terminal and could board a new bus 'no charge'). I got to sit down about half way through the drive. German Guy got on the Metrobus with us because he wasn't sure where he was going. We ignored the creepy old man on the bus, and thank God for the German Guy who speaks English and Spanish. He spoke to the creepy old guy, and Deanna and I avoided eye contact with creepy old guy. We exited the bus after we made sure German Guy knew where to get off at. All was good. We took a cab back.
I decided I would be productive and do homework. I wrote about half my essay over a movie we watched for Spanish class, and the doorbell rang. Camila was busy, so I opened my door to go answer it, but Xime beat me. Margarita saw me and invited me to a dinner downstairs at Grandpa's. Dinner? Weird. We eat lunch there on Sundays, but our dinner is tea and bread (Lunch is the big meal, they aren't poor)! It was with her cousins, one sister, and grandpa. They are so loud and lively! I didn't follow most of it because all 10 people were talking over each other, but they laughed so hard they were crying often. There was a birthday involved and 4 people put their rings on the delicious cake. I didn't get why, but thought it was cute. The dinner was so fancy. We used the real china. Margarita called me Mija. That was a first. One of her cousins also called me that (not unusual to call someone that, just the first from the fam). A son of one of her cousins check kissed me. Snuck up on me mid-meal. They came down from our apartment, and I turned and he was there. Silly polite middle school boys!
Whew.. I'll try to shorten my posts.