Let's see. The holidays in Ecuador. Since Thanksgiving is an American holiday, it isn't celebrated here but I am pretty sure black friday is kinda a thing. But Christmas and New Year's are pretty big here. Even well before Christmas, Christmas decorations can be seen in people's houses, on the street, and the very big Christmas tree near Downtown. On the lamp posts, they have little angels with trumpets or candy canes telling everyone one that Christmas is nearly here. Near Downtown, there is a big Christmas tree except for it's not a real tree. It is a very tall pole that was strung with a lot of Christmas lights to accurately resemble a Christmas tree. It even changes color. It looks really cool. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture to share. Last week, I went to a Christmas party for the exchange students and this was the main food. Turkey. It reminded me a bit of Thanksgiving back at home. It tasted delicious. Yay!!!! Food.
I learned from a teacher the tradition for New Year's here:
1. Buy or make a doll like thing that resembles a human or character out of paper or cardboard or something of that nature.
2. Have a contest at school to see who's is the best.
3. On New Year's eve (or after school) light it on fire.
On Friday, this happened. Everyone was leaving and then there was something that sounded like a small firework going off. I turned around in time to see the fire and smoke and what had been a doll thing made to look like a character from Mario Bros. In the U.S, everyone watches the ball drop in Times Square on TV; here, why not set off some fireworks at midnight.
Hope everyone has a happy holiday. No school for 2 weeks!!!!!! Whew!!!!!!
Monday, December 23, 2013
Thursday, November 7, 2013
It's hard to remember all the things that have happened since the last time I wrote.
News Update:
I don't want to go into details but I am living with a new family and they are wonderful. I have a host brother, Paul and a host sister Karlita and a host mom, Cumanda. They are all very kind and welcoming to having me in their home which I am super grateful about. My first day here, we went to the beach in a town near-ish Machala called El Guabo. The name of the beach was Baja Alto. It was super pretty. Unlike the Oregon coast, the water was actually warm enough to swim in. It was cool how you could go out pretty far and still not have the water being over your head. The fact that it was sunny (at least part of the day) made it that much better.
Then of course there's school which is interesting. I try to pay attention as best I can but it's a little hard. I am kind of starting to get the basic idea of the what the teachers are trying to say. My best subjects are English, History, and what I believe to be Government. These are the classes where I have started to participate (or at least try my best). Last week, I was asked to read aloud from the board in Spanish for the first time. It was a little hard but fun. After I finished, everyone clapped which I wasn't expecting. I think they are a little surprised and happy that I can read and write in Spanish.In Government, I tried my best to contribute to finding info from the reading. A little difficult.
When you think of P.E, you think of running or dodge-ball, right? Here, it's a little different. Yes, we run. A lot. Which is tiring when it's already hot outside. Today was different. When we went outside, the teacher had the guys bring out foam mats. First we all had to take turns doing sommersaults. I forgot that I lost the ability to do this without embarrassing myself a while ago. Oops. I didn't know what to think. When we had all gathered around, the teacher said that we would be doing Judo, a form of Martial Arts, I believe. I just stood there and said aloud ''Say what?'' as if he were crazy. It turns out that Judo is pretty entertaining to watch. The guys went first. The goal was simple, try to flip the other person over on the ground as they try to remain in place. We just watched the guys and laughed. It was pretty funny looking. Next up were the girls. Our goal was to try and make our partner lose their balance by tripping them. Try as I might, I ended up as the one who was tripped. It was fun anyway. Fastest way to get all sweaty and gross. Yay! Humidity!!!
Speaking of the weather, a fact I have a hard time getting over even though I haven adjusted pretty well to it physically. The fact that it is November and still hot and humid outside. It's weird wearing shorts everyday and then remembering what it's like back at home. I guess there are some perks to being right South of the Equator. You don't have to worry about being cold all the time. I wonder what it will be like next year going back to the cold Novembers of Portland. It will be a shock, literally. Oh and the idea of it ''raining'' in Machala is Portland's equivalent to it sprinkling.
I almost forgot. Last weekend, my family and I went to Cuenca. Cuenca is a town in the Sierra region of Ecuador that I believe is known for it's history. I'm not really sure. It was a lovely 3 hour car ride. It was interesting to see the landscape change from banana plantations to hills and mountains pretty rapidly after we got out of Machala and nearby areas. Cuenca is really pretty because you can see all the mountains and there are actual hills, not all flat like Machala. Cuenca is known for their bread. There's no real way to describe it without tasting it. The best way is a little sweet, I guess. We stayed at my host aunt and uncle's house a little outside of the town. It was nice and quiet and at night we could hear the rooster and chickens calling. On Saturday, we made the last minute decision to go to concert that was part of a music festival that night. The festival was part of the weekend long celebration of the foundation of Cuenca. The concert was none other than Marc Anthony. He is American and most of his music is in Spanish. He is pretty popular here. It was fun to see all the people in the stadium and here the music live. It sounds so much better than a recording, also because at the start and end of each song, everyone is cheering. Plus everyone is singing along. In our section, there was a guy who kept on saying ''Listos'' (meaning ready) then ''Un, dos, tres'' and starting the 'wave'. It took a couple of tries, but eventually it made it to the other side of the bleachers. I'm pretty sure the guy was American. I think this is one of my favorite recent memories. I should probably mention that Cuenca is freezing at night. With good music, the cold didn't matter very much. I am happy to be back where it's warmer though. Music is what counts.
I'm gonna stop writing now. I will write again when more fun things happen that are worth sharing.
Chao!
News Update:
I don't want to go into details but I am living with a new family and they are wonderful. I have a host brother, Paul and a host sister Karlita and a host mom, Cumanda. They are all very kind and welcoming to having me in their home which I am super grateful about. My first day here, we went to the beach in a town near-ish Machala called El Guabo. The name of the beach was Baja Alto. It was super pretty. Unlike the Oregon coast, the water was actually warm enough to swim in. It was cool how you could go out pretty far and still not have the water being over your head. The fact that it was sunny (at least part of the day) made it that much better.
Then of course there's school which is interesting. I try to pay attention as best I can but it's a little hard. I am kind of starting to get the basic idea of the what the teachers are trying to say. My best subjects are English, History, and what I believe to be Government. These are the classes where I have started to participate (or at least try my best). Last week, I was asked to read aloud from the board in Spanish for the first time. It was a little hard but fun. After I finished, everyone clapped which I wasn't expecting. I think they are a little surprised and happy that I can read and write in Spanish.In Government, I tried my best to contribute to finding info from the reading. A little difficult.
When you think of P.E, you think of running or dodge-ball, right? Here, it's a little different. Yes, we run. A lot. Which is tiring when it's already hot outside. Today was different. When we went outside, the teacher had the guys bring out foam mats. First we all had to take turns doing sommersaults. I forgot that I lost the ability to do this without embarrassing myself a while ago. Oops. I didn't know what to think. When we had all gathered around, the teacher said that we would be doing Judo, a form of Martial Arts, I believe. I just stood there and said aloud ''Say what?'' as if he were crazy. It turns out that Judo is pretty entertaining to watch. The guys went first. The goal was simple, try to flip the other person over on the ground as they try to remain in place. We just watched the guys and laughed. It was pretty funny looking. Next up were the girls. Our goal was to try and make our partner lose their balance by tripping them. Try as I might, I ended up as the one who was tripped. It was fun anyway. Fastest way to get all sweaty and gross. Yay! Humidity!!!
Speaking of the weather, a fact I have a hard time getting over even though I haven adjusted pretty well to it physically. The fact that it is November and still hot and humid outside. It's weird wearing shorts everyday and then remembering what it's like back at home. I guess there are some perks to being right South of the Equator. You don't have to worry about being cold all the time. I wonder what it will be like next year going back to the cold Novembers of Portland. It will be a shock, literally. Oh and the idea of it ''raining'' in Machala is Portland's equivalent to it sprinkling.
I almost forgot. Last weekend, my family and I went to Cuenca. Cuenca is a town in the Sierra region of Ecuador that I believe is known for it's history. I'm not really sure. It was a lovely 3 hour car ride. It was interesting to see the landscape change from banana plantations to hills and mountains pretty rapidly after we got out of Machala and nearby areas. Cuenca is really pretty because you can see all the mountains and there are actual hills, not all flat like Machala. Cuenca is known for their bread. There's no real way to describe it without tasting it. The best way is a little sweet, I guess. We stayed at my host aunt and uncle's house a little outside of the town. It was nice and quiet and at night we could hear the rooster and chickens calling. On Saturday, we made the last minute decision to go to concert that was part of a music festival that night. The festival was part of the weekend long celebration of the foundation of Cuenca. The concert was none other than Marc Anthony. He is American and most of his music is in Spanish. He is pretty popular here. It was fun to see all the people in the stadium and here the music live. It sounds so much better than a recording, also because at the start and end of each song, everyone is cheering. Plus everyone is singing along. In our section, there was a guy who kept on saying ''Listos'' (meaning ready) then ''Un, dos, tres'' and starting the 'wave'. It took a couple of tries, but eventually it made it to the other side of the bleachers. I'm pretty sure the guy was American. I think this is one of my favorite recent memories. I should probably mention that Cuenca is freezing at night. With good music, the cold didn't matter very much. I am happy to be back where it's warmer though. Music is what counts.
I'm gonna stop writing now. I will write again when more fun things happen that are worth sharing.
Chao!
Sunday, September 15, 2013
A month in Ecuador
As of today, I have been in Ecuador for a month. In a way, it feels like a lot longer. When I got here, I was really nervous because I didn't know what to expect. Now, I feel more at home. I remember on the first day of school, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or even where I was supposed to do. But I found people to help me which was a relief. I am grateful that people were so willing to help me. I have been going to school for 4 weeks and am starting to get used to the routine and schedule of things. A shocker last week was having to do a lab in Biology and having almost no idea what we were supposed to do. I am even starting to understand more of what the teachers are saying. I am working on writing and speaking in Spanish but it's still hard to listen and understand. It's actually really cool to be completely surrounded by Spanish all the time. I am also learning new words everyday and I try to not speak very much English, even though that doesn't always work because it's hard to communicate clearly not knowing all the words I want to say. I can say most of the things that I need but not all the things I want to say. In the last month, I have made quite a few new friends. It's nice to have people to talk to at school or hang out with on weekends. Some popular things that teenagers like to do are of course shopping, going to movies, or just walking around downtown or hanging out. On the weekends, my family and I enjoy watching movies which is fun. Seeing Alice in Wonderland and Narnia in Spanish was interesting. Best way to learn more Spanish: listening to music, watching tv, or watching movies. Lots of fun. Here's to a wonderful rest of the year!
Chao
Chao
Friday, September 6, 2013
From August 18th, 2013
Excerpt from Travel Journal:
For Mom,
Today was my first full day here Machala with my host family. I still haven't met my host father because he has been busy working in Quito. I don't know when he will be returning. Soon, hopefully. First thing to know, there are literally thousands of arboles de platanos here in Machala, or on the outskirts of town I think. Look, there's another one. On our lovely 10 hour bus ride from Quito to Machala, most of the towns/cities we past had many shack like houses that people lived in while in Machala it is a little more urban. Not too many big skyscrapers though. I also noticed that there are a lot of stray dogs just roaming freely around town. Also, there were a lot of cows, donkeys, goats, sheep, and oxen along the road between Quito y Machala. Yesterday, my host mother Marjorie and sister Bernarda (Berni) drove through town so I could see the different things. We drove past the school I will be attending as well as Puerto Bolivar on the Gulf of Guayaquil which is part of the Pacific Ocean. Puerto Bolivar is about 15 minutes from Ciudad Verde, a very nice/pretty housing development where I am living. Today, we drove 1 hour to the smaller town of Arenillas. I think it's the last town of any size before you reach the frontier or boarder between Ecuador y Peru.
Here are some pictures from my travels so far:
Myself and my host sister's grandparents adorable puppy in Arenillas, Ecuador.
Excerpt from Travel Journal:
For Mom,
Today was my first full day here Machala with my host family. I still haven't met my host father because he has been busy working in Quito. I don't know when he will be returning. Soon, hopefully. First thing to know, there are literally thousands of arboles de platanos here in Machala, or on the outskirts of town I think. Look, there's another one. On our lovely 10 hour bus ride from Quito to Machala, most of the towns/cities we past had many shack like houses that people lived in while in Machala it is a little more urban. Not too many big skyscrapers though. I also noticed that there are a lot of stray dogs just roaming freely around town. Also, there were a lot of cows, donkeys, goats, sheep, and oxen along the road between Quito y Machala. Yesterday, my host mother Marjorie and sister Bernarda (Berni) drove through town so I could see the different things. We drove past the school I will be attending as well as Puerto Bolivar on the Gulf of Guayaquil which is part of the Pacific Ocean. Puerto Bolivar is about 15 minutes from Ciudad Verde, a very nice/pretty housing development where I am living. Today, we drove 1 hour to the smaller town of Arenillas. I think it's the last town of any size before you reach the frontier or boarder between Ecuador y Peru.
Here are some pictures from my travels so far:
View from the bus ride of Quito, I think.
View of the mountains near Quito.
The church next to what is called Central Park in Machala.
Myself and my host sister Bernarda next to a sea-like thing. I don't know the name of the town.
The sign that made us really happy after almost 10 hours of driving. Welcome to Machala!
Me by a really old boat near the same sea-like thing.
Signs in the boarder town between Ecuador and Peru. It's called Huayquayas (I doubt I spelled that right).
Happy puppy!!! I took this picture right as the puppy was trying to lick the camera.
I'm on my way, finally, to Ecuador at the airport.
I thought the name of the street was funny. It translates to June 25th Ave. In another part of town, there are streets name after countries like Chile and El Salvador.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
On the airplane from Miami to Quito, August 15th, 2013:
I'll never forget the feeling of flying
down from the clouds and seeing
the land spread out before me.
It was the new wonderful feeling
you get when you fly over
somewhere brand new for
the first time. This is the land
of trees, mountains, and bananas.
Lots of bananas. I feel more
relaxed now after seeing
the continent (South America) for the
first time that I will be
living in for the next year. I can't wait!
Here's to many new adventures
to come!
I'll never forget the feeling of flying
down from the clouds and seeing
the land spread out before me.
It was the new wonderful feeling
you get when you fly over
somewhere brand new for
the first time. This is the land
of trees, mountains, and bananas.
Lots of bananas. I feel more
relaxed now after seeing
the continent (South America) for the
first time that I will be
living in for the next year. I can't wait!
Here's to many new adventures
to come!
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Te amo Ecuador
Well, I finally made it to Machala after arriving in Quito a day late as well as attending orientation. I'm pretty sure the place where we stayed was a convent with nuns. I was very excited to meet the other people also studying in Ecuador from all over the world. They are very nice. To start my adventure, the 4 other students and I took a 10 hour van ride from Quito to Machala. There were 2 people from Germany, 1 boy from Austria and a girl from Switzerland. On our way, we were all just staring out the window, marveling at all the new sights we saw. To name a few, the humongous mountains that surround Quito and neighboring cities such as Latacunga, Ambato, and Riobamba. They make the mountains in the Cascades look small, at least smaller. Another one was the houses people live in which are small and kinda falling down. It was quite a sight. When we finally got out of the mountains, the landscape morphed into banana trees on plantations as far as the eye could see. We arrived in the evening to Machala. Unfortunately, the sun was rapidly setting when we arrived so we couldn't see much of the city for long. What we did see was much more urban than the other towns that we drove through. Then, we got to meet our families. I was excited to meet my family but at the same time nervous. I felt relaxed once I met them and went to there house. The house I am living in is small-ish but it is quite nice. I am grateful that I have my host sister, Bernarda, because she tries to help me understand what going on cause my Spanish vocabulary is basically limited to hello, goodbye, questions words, and numbers. Maybe a few other words too.
I have been in Machala officially 4 days. And today, I started to attend school. It was kinda hard because the school year here started in May I think so starting half way is not easy. School is definitely different here but most of the subjects are the same as back at home. One difference is that, as a student, you only change classroom for one class. Other than that, the teachers switch classrooms when the class is over. This is kinda nice because then I have less of a chance getting lost in a new school. It was kinda overwhelming because everyone was looking at me because I am new and foreign. I guess that came in handy when trying to friends today. I did successfully make a few and they helped me to translate the material a bit so I could understand what the teacher was teaching. For one of the classes, I didn't even really understand what the subject was. I just know that it had to do with a map of the area and reading aloud what the symbols mean like different kinds of roads, trains, and bridges. For my sake, the teacher did have a map in English and had me read from the legend to the class. That was a little scary cause even at home, I have a slight fear of public speaking. Doing it in a foreign country isn't much better. Oh well. I survived. Hopefully it will be less confusing and I will be able to understand it better as time goes on. I wish luck to those reading this who start school in September!
Buenos Noches
I have been in Machala officially 4 days. And today, I started to attend school. It was kinda hard because the school year here started in May I think so starting half way is not easy. School is definitely different here but most of the subjects are the same as back at home. One difference is that, as a student, you only change classroom for one class. Other than that, the teachers switch classrooms when the class is over. This is kinda nice because then I have less of a chance getting lost in a new school. It was kinda overwhelming because everyone was looking at me because I am new and foreign. I guess that came in handy when trying to friends today. I did successfully make a few and they helped me to translate the material a bit so I could understand what the teacher was teaching. For one of the classes, I didn't even really understand what the subject was. I just know that it had to do with a map of the area and reading aloud what the symbols mean like different kinds of roads, trains, and bridges. For my sake, the teacher did have a map in English and had me read from the legend to the class. That was a little scary cause even at home, I have a slight fear of public speaking. Doing it in a foreign country isn't much better. Oh well. I survived. Hopefully it will be less confusing and I will be able to understand it better as time goes on. I wish luck to those reading this who start school in September!
Buenos Noches
Friday, August 9, 2013
Counting down the days
Hello
My name is Aviva and I am going to be an exchange student in Ecuador for a year. I leave in a little less than a week and am really excited to be going on this adventure. I can't believe it's finally here. I guess I'm keeping this blog so all my friends and family can see what I am doing while I am away. Oh, I'm gonna miss everyone so much but I know that I will make a whole bunch of new friends really soon. As they say in Ecuador, chao!
My name is Aviva and I am going to be an exchange student in Ecuador for a year. I leave in a little less than a week and am really excited to be going on this adventure. I can't believe it's finally here. I guess I'm keeping this blog so all my friends and family can see what I am doing while I am away. Oh, I'm gonna miss everyone so much but I know that I will make a whole bunch of new friends really soon. As they say in Ecuador, chao!
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