I'm not even sure my penis works anymore!
So update:
- I watch The Simpsons here in Spanish and it's funny. A lot of the voices are so different and it's kinda weird... and Krusty doesn't say "hey hey"... he says "hola hola"... but the mouth doesn't move and it's awkward! But funny!
- Stef and I went to our favourite Chinese restaurant here in Cayambe on Monday and we wanted the bill. So we were like "la cuenta por favor" and they guys didn't understand and it was really awkward so I started doing the motions of paying... and then he said he understood... and then another guy came up to us and said that it would just be a few seconds... then the first guy comes back with an unopened deck of cards. So apparently, my miming paying looked like dealing cards. It's just really funny!!! Apparently, it seemed like I was like "fetch me cards" and then he did!!! That's service!!!
- I saw Ultimate Fighting on Friday. It was the season with Koscheck... I was happy and sad... experienced a bit of nostalgia!
- My brother bit me... not the 21 year old... the 17 year old. He told me he broke up with his "amiga con derechos" (friend with benefits... or friend with rights if you want the direct translation) and now is flirty... but the guy is physically flirty so we "play fight" a lot. But I definitely didn't start this and don't know how to end it... cause he doesn't so much "play fight" as beat me up! And then he bit me one day. I tried to pull away but it hurt more so I just had to sit there for 15 seconds while he clamped down... and it was upsetting. Then I walked outta the room... and he was like... Flora don't go... but seriously, who bites people after the age of 3????? AHHH every boy in my family is CRAZY!!!
- My friend Andreanne ate roadkill earlier this week. They drove by a rabbit in a rather gross condition and then took it home and ate it! She couldn't stop laughing all through dinner!
- People are kinda getting slightly frustrated here... you know... sexually. My friend Dustin who has become the best one-liner guy was like "I'm not sure my penis even works anymore". I went horseback riding for 4 and half hours on Sunday... there were fun moments...
So on Wednesday, I wasn't really feeling up to going to school but I did anyway because... well it's my job. So I get on the bus and none of my teachers are there and that was kinda scary. Then I get to school and no one is there... well all the kids were there but no teachers. I am freaking out because although my school isn't big, I do have about 70 kids and I don't know how to control all of them because they are sometimes crazy! So I pretty much cry for the first 30 minutes. Then I pull myself together and get the grade 7's working on their stuff first. The grade 5 and 6's want to watch a movie and 6 kids go to find a TV and DVD player. I let them. I rally the little ones and give them a ball... as all this is happening, a camionetta pulls up and it's the teachers and Delfin (the French girl who teachers environmental science). I breathe a sign of relief... I am not going to be alone here! Apparently, that day is some sort of party type thing. The grade 6, 7 and 8's are doing signs because they are doing a pretend protest about environmental stuff. I help with that... take a lot of pictures... it's rather fun. Then there is some award ceremony. The kids have been doing a lot of drawings and crafts about how to maintain a good/healthy environmental. The best crafts and drawings won the school competitions and were moving on to the tri-school competition which was to be held on Monday. So that day, I helped a lot with that and it was really fun. At lunch, they made empanadas. I had 7 and was so full but so happy.
That afternoon, I went to the office and there was a meeting. It was supposed to start at 4pm but the people here really take a long time with their shit. It ended up starting at 6pm and ending at 7. They talked about a whole lotta nothing and I was bored. Irene didn't show and when I tried talking to Alex (the Prez) about Irene's ideas, there was a lot of miscommunication. The only good thing that came out of that meeting was some information about a sexuality seminar going on in the local government building. There is a different session every week and I thought that would be interesting. The first one was last Saturday and it was on self esteem and sexuality. I was going to be in Otavalo, but decided to go back to Cayambe to catch the talk. So yay information!
Thursday, I didn't go to work because I wanted to get my time card. I went to the internet all morning. Ran into Niall randomly. Went home and got in bed. I was kinda sick. I kinda am always sick here. It's not the most pleasant thing ever. I basically was a bum that day and didn't do much. I packed my bag for my weekend trip and tried to watch some TV but that was when I was bitten so I went back in my room. Read some Butler and chilled.
Friday, I got ready in the morning and left for the office at 11am. I finished typing up some report and when the office closed at noon for lunch, I walked to Stef's school to pick her up. She and I took a bus to her house and for the first time, I saw how the other half lived. Her place is not all that nice!. It was rather sad and scary. The road leading up to her house is all dirt and rock. The house is basically a cement block. You walk in and it's just one room. There is a dining table in the middle, some kitchen stuff to the side and a guinea pig pen with lots of guinea pigs taking up about a quarter of the whole space. The bathroom is outside and her room is just to the side... and half of it is a store, which means there's a counter and about 30 random items for sale. Apparently, they open it once in a while... sometimes when Stef's not home. There are cement stairs leading up to a second floor which is not finished. The stairs have no roof above them and the second floor has no walls for the most part. There is one room to the side and that is where the parents and 3 children sleep. There are two beds but neither have mattresses and at the far end, there is a random computer (the one that the parents bought Stef randomly). It was intense!!!
Well, moving right along. We go back into town and use the internet for 20 minutes and then go and meet Niall, Dustin and Monica at the park. We all show up at the same time which is pretty nice and Stef and I stay in the park while the other three leave to find supplies (wine for the bus ride). A random guy come up and start talking to us. He is from Quito and speaks English. He wants to practice. We talk a bit and it's awkward. The rest of the gang show up and somehow, Niall starts talking about German and the 6 modes of articles they have. The guy says that he sounds like he has a passion for language and it's good that he is an English teacher. We all laugh.
The bus ride is pretty cool. I spill some wine on my crotch so it looks like I peed my pants... though I was the only one not drinking! Dustin is randomly funny and I love it! He has the most dry, sarcastic, somewhat pessimistic humour and yeah... love! Crazy one-liners! We arrive in Otavalo and have to walk to our hostel. The boys walk on ahead and forge the way. The gals are behind chatting. We finally arrive at our hostel and Stef is really tired because she over-packed... like a whole duffel for a weekend! But the place is really sweet and there are chair hammocks. We drop off our bags in rooms that randomly were gender segregated... I run straight to the hammocks to chill. We all talk for a while about how the Cotacachi people are always late. We were just about to leave to explore the city when they all arrive. We get them settled and chat some more. I find out that two people in the group are kinda dating-ish. It's news... and I love gossip. Later, Luis, Alya's friend who is a tour guide, show up and we all head out for dinner. The place we find is really cool and is designed for tourists. I have a banana milkshake, hummus with bread and a chicken schnitzel. It pretty much rocked. At dinner, Andreanne showed up (cause she was coming late) and told us about how her family drove by some roadkill and took it home and cooked it. It was rabbit and during dinner, she couldn't stop laughing... and the family was confused. That was by far the best food story I've ever heard.
I had a headache by the end of dinner, but that didn't stop us from going out dancing. It was interesting. I was definitely propositioned by a 14 year old. I danced a lot and it was awesome. Aingarin in our group is most amazing dancer... I am convinced he is a robot from the future! He also has unlimited energy. I also dance with some Ecuadorian boys who are good dancers but some of them smelled by the end of the night and that was unpleasant. There was an indigenous band in the middle of the night and they were absolutely amazing. They dedicated a song to Queen's because Luis told them about us. They were so good it made Andreanne cry tears of joy. We all danced ingeniously... or our version of their dancing and it was a blast. We went home at 3am and I couldn't sleep. I went upstairs and climbed into Alya's bed. Alya, Andreanne, Aneta and I talked for about 30 minutes until I was tired enough to sleep. This day, I found out a lot of stuff about a lot of people. Gossip... it follows you everywhere!!!
On Saturday, we were supposed to wake up early for the animal market but that definitely didn't happen. I woke up at 7:30 but no one was ready. By the time I left, I was about 10am. I was kinda upset because I had to leave my 12:30 to get back to Cayambe for the talk. So I got a little group together to go exploring. Rallying all the troops was impossible. So Stef, Dustin, Monica, Jane and I (I realize most of these names mean nothing to most of you... but whatever) headed to the market. We kept stopping to look at jewelry which upset Dustin who wanted to find a bank. He kept saying "girls focus" in the funnest way possible... oh I heart Dustin! :) That day, I bought a scarf, a really fun hat with tassels (Jane said I looked really cute in hats, which was weird cause I usually don't), a pair of pink sunglasses that I bargained down to $4 from $12 (I'm proud of that) and a purse. It was really fun. Then I headed back to the hostel with Stef and then back to the bus stop. On the way, I saw a shoe store with flip flops. Since mine broke, I had been looking for new ones. I went in and there were Chinese people there. They asked me where I was from and I said Canada. Then they said Canada in Chinese and I understood them so I said yes and repeated "Canada" in Chinese. That opened a whole can of worms. The girl invited me to sit and talk and asked me a lot of questions I didn't know the answers to... like immigration laws. But she was fun to talk to and the guy went back and got a lot of peaches to offer me... I couldn't eat them but it was a nice gesture. I finally told her I had to go... and got on the bus at 12:50... I was late! But coincidence, a teacher from my school also got on the bus with her daughter and they sat with me and we chatted. She bought two baby ducks for her kid, it was super cute!
I got to Cayambe late. The session started at 1:30 but I showed up at the place at 2:20. They hadn't started... God bless Ecuadorian schedules. I stayed for the session and met a Dutch girl here for the summer working with the organization. She's from the Netherlands. The session was interesting. A lot of second wave stuff... not that much about sexuality. They really skirt around the subject here. The only thing they mentioned was that when girls had 2 boyfriends, they are sluts and when guys have more than one gf, they're studs. The rest of the time, it was about valuing ourselves and our work and our intelligence as women. I left at 4:30 because it was when it was scheduled to end and I was falling asleep. But I was quite proud that I understood most of everything... Spanish is improving! For the bus, I buy myself a water, a thing of M&M minis, a little thing of Pringles and some Ritz crackers. It was a good food time. Then I get on the bus and head back to the gang.
That night, I arrive and chill with the group and the Greg for a bit. Some of us, Greg, Niall, Aingarin, Monica and I head out and get pizza. We all chill at the hostel and spend the night drinking and talking religion and politics. Alcohol makes me moody and I stay out of the conversation (weird for me, I know!) and learn about Incan history from Dustin (who knows things because he doesn't read fiction). Then, after everyone in the group went to bed, Dustin, Monica and I stay up to chat about life and gossip about friends. Two people in the group sex it up that night!
The next morning, I wanted to wake up early to shower in the nice shower with hot water and water pressure but my alarm didn't work. Niall's knocking on our door woke us up and Stef and I quickly pack and try to look half-way decent for the day. We pay for our stay and leave our bags at the hostel as Niall, Ali, Jane, Aingarin, Greg, Stef and I go out to find breakfast. We eat at a really nice place and I have this amazing waffle thing with chocolate sauce, chocolate chip cookies and ice cream... so basically a 5 year old's dream breakfast. We then head to the tourist office where we are to meet the guides who will take us horseback riding!
We are driven there and my ears are killing me on the way. Every time I travel in the country, I have a bad time with the pressure in my ears... too much altitude change. In the car, Aingarin tells us about his grandfather being the second prince of Sri Lanka and him having a bullet wound. This guy is the shit! When we get to the place, I find the horse I want... she really looks like black beauty, even has the diamond! She is gorgeous. We start off and I am randomly leading the group, which is scary because I have no idea where I am going. The horse does so I slack on the reins. I try to trot or canter but my horse is making me work so hard that I give up. A bit up the path though, Aingarin and I both get crops... basically tree branches... and he gets his horse going... mine, being a trail horse, follows!!! The first time I cantered for 10 seconds was the best time ever! Up in the mountains, I try to lead most of the time because I find people slow. A lot of these kids are beginner riders (Jane and Aingarin had never been on horses before... but Aingarin really did well) and as such, they don't really know how to handle the horses and they horses notice and are taking advantage. They are eating on the trail, they are stopping for minutes at a time and I got annoyed a few times. The other bad thing about the trail was the berries on the bushes that got all our pants really dirty. Mine are completely ruined and they were my favourite pair of jeans that made my butt look good... sadness! Greg's horse was a bitch and a half the whole time. He didn't want anyone behind him... which is stupid because he is a trail horse... but we kept him last because he kept kicking the others. He got Aingarin's horse pretty good and also Stef's leg! Greg's horse also threw him in the end because the horse lost his front shoe. He basically went down and Greg flew over. I didn't see this because I was really far ahead but apparently the horse looked like he had broken a leg at one point... but then got up and was fine! Which is good because I don't think that the people would take the horse to the vet if he broke a leg! It was all worth it in the end for me because I got into such a good rhythm with my horse. I really fell in love with her. She was the only horse that listened to command. I was really lucky. At the end of the ride, I was able to go far enough ahead and then double back to the group so I got to canter for a good 30 minutes... my thighs hurt and I have a lot of bruises on my inner legs from random rubbing... but best time ever!!! I am totally going to ride in Baños when we go in 2 weeks.
After riding, we get back to town and head to the restaurant from the first night.. Cafe Mundi (or something like that). I get a milkshake and try to order something different but every time I mention another order, they'd say they didn't have that. So I have up and got the schitzel again. I was really not hungry and was full by the end of the milkshake. When my meal came, Greg ate half my chicken and Aingarin got the other half while Niall got my rice. I paid for it though so I think I won in that deal :)... I was so quiet at lunch cause I was kinda pissy and really tired. I get quiet when I'm moody... people noticed... I felt bad but I didn't want to say anything I would regret later!
We finally head back to the hostel, pick up our stuff and go to the bus stop. We say goodbye the Cotacachi because they were going to go to a bank first. They are really close to Otavalo so they don't have to leave as early. They could get a taxi back to town if they wanted to and it would only cost $4. We had an hour long bus ride in front of us. On the way, we ran into the Chinese people with the shoe store and we said bye. They were really nice and invited Stef and Niall to come visit as well when they had a chance. Sadly, they said this in Chinese which was kinda amusing. As we were walking away, Niall turns to me and says, "it's nice that they said bye to us as well... at least that's what I thought they said." Fun for un-understanding-ness!!!
On the bus, we all pretty much crash. Stef actually manages to fall asleep. That night, I get home and try to wash my jeans and offically ruin them because the soap I was using was bleach and I didn't know! I am really sad and mad and I go to bed!
The next day, I get up and shower and go to the tri-school art competition that Delfin had organized. I am lost for about 30 minutes because I thought they were supposed to be at the Municipio but they're not. An old man talks to me in the park and kinda freaks me out. I finally find my group and then Dustin shows up which is good because he had no idea where the thing was or what it was! His shcool isn't involved but his teachers told him to come so he did. We take a truck a bunch of blocks down until we're pretty much at my house except a bit more downhill. This is where I sometimes pick up the bus. A lot of kids are there and there are costumes. My kids have the best wardrobe and are all dressed as flora! They have real plants on them made into hats or tied to their bodies... some are even holding up saplings. They also have the names of their plants on a sign around their necks. It is super cute. Some of the little ones have necklaces made of potato or okra. I take some pictures with Dustin's cam! Gloria's school is dressed in their uniforms and all of us (Dustin, Kristin, Tara and I) are helping paint their faces. I was the most popular face painter with my yellow paint. I think they liked me becaue I had huge sunglasses on and they could see what I was doing in my shades. The last school is dressed as indigenous peoples and looks more or less like Pocahontas's people! They don't wear shoes to get some sort of authenticity I guess but I feel badly for the kids who have to walk in the streets barefoot!!! We march from my bus stop place back towards the main square. It's really adoreable and I am responsible for making sure the kids don't run into each other!
The whole thing ends in the municipio where the ceremony is held. I am covered in blue paint at this point because all the kids are pushing each other and are running into my clean white shirt (my fault for wearing) with their dirty faces! I sit with Dustin for a bit and then leave at 10:30 to meet Stef in the park. We are heading to Quito today because my package had arrived and I am to go pick it up at the post office because it is too big to deliver to the house. I see Stef, call her over. We head into the place and sit with my kids... because there isn't room with the other grown ups. My kid are the best behaved!!! We sit through some boring speeches and some dancing. The girls dancing were kidna fun except when they spun, we all saw their underwear! Awkward!!! Considering they were 14!!!! Stef and I don't stay for long and head out because we want to catch the 12:00 bus for Quito. Dustin comes with us at 11:30 to show us the "most amazing" coffee shop in Cayambe. Neither Stef nor I share his passion for coffee but I love the cake at this place and Stef got a grilled cheese sandwich and was in heaven as well. I call Fernanda then and tell her we're about to go. She tells us that the post office actually closes at 3:00 and we probably wouldn't make it in time! Thanks for the heads up before Fernanda!!! We end up just chillin' in Cayambe and going to the internet! I get home that night at 7pm to tell Gloria that I need to go to Quito the next day. She also sees my pants and said she would be going to Quito as well and would help me find more. She would call me when she got into town and we'd meet up.
Tuesday, when I should have updated. I talk to Gloria and confirm the day's plans and go to meet Stef at the park for 7:15. We run into Niall who lends us his Lonely Planet guide since mine was in Stef's ill-fated backpack and has probably been traded for either food or drugs by now. We climb into a bus and it fills with children. We are slightly confused. After waiting about 15 mintues, one of the adults on our trip tells us that this is a field trip and we were in the wrong place. It's funny because Stef and I were just discussing how in Canada, they would rent a bus for field trips! We are slightly annoyed that they didn't tell us for a good 15 minutes that we were in the wrong place. We get on the right bus and call Fernanda. She basically tells me to do everything myself and I thank her for nothing. We get to Quito at about 9:30 and first go to the clinic for Stef to get tests done. Her skin condition isn't getting better and at one point the doctor in Cayambe thought that it was chicken pox. Stef had already had the chicken pox so we realized that the doctors in Cayambe don't really know what's going on. So she's at this clinic to get blood work done. It goes well and the place is really nice. I use the bathroom and am really happy!
Then we head to the shopping centre we were at last time and head to McDonalds. It was glorious! Then we shop for a bit and I find elastics. We are both in need of elastics but all they have here are scrunchies and 90's big ass clips! We finally found some blue elastics. Though two out of the package have flowers glued on them, we decide we could live with the purchase. We then walk around a bit more and fun into a girl from Queen's. She noticed Stef's Queen's shirt and Stef saw hers. It was random! She actually knows me. Her name is Yuri and she was like... so do you know Victoria Schwarzl... and we had also met at the Vag Mons... Small small world!!! I talked to her host mom a bit. She lives in Quito and is here learning Spanish. We exchange numbers and yeah.
Stef and I head to the office to pick up my order form for the post office. The taxi driver gets lost. We we another taxi and I get Fernanda to talk to him on my cell. We get to the office and get my paper and then head to the post office. We get there, they tell me I need two copies of an ID. Thank goodness I have my passport copy with me. Although I did know to bring ID to pick up a package at the post office, it would have been nice if Fernanda warned me I needed two copies. So anyways, I make my copies and I get to the back room. There's my package. They cut my box open and look through the stuff but not really. I realize that all they really want to is to get me to pay custom taxes. I am angry because these are my stuff. Most of it is not new. I don't understand why I have to pay tax for my own stuff. I am pissed. They originally wanted to charge me 30-something dollars US but I talked them down to $24 and change. Then, I need to go find a bank to pay it. This is not a happy day! I walk away and then end up at Payless Shoes and buy flip flops and a pair of wedge sandals. I shop when I am upset. The guy at that place is really fun and when I ask him which colour flip flops I should buy between the green and the pink he tells me I look more like a pink because I have a a cute "Hello Kitty" look. Apparently, you just need to be short and asian to have a hello kitty look. Then he asks me what colour my bikini is. I say blue cause I don't know how to say turquoise in Spanish. He tells me that it doesn't matter. When I'm in a bikini, the last things men would be look at are my feet. I laugh... he's fun. Then I go to the bank, pay and get my package. Oh, I also stop by a store that sells way too small clothing that makes me feel bad :)... I am not too happy that no one warned me that I had to pay taxes on any package over 2kg! Canada World Youth? Organization in Quito? Fernanda? Anybody!!!! The ball, considered it dropped!
With my almost-10-kg package, we head into a taxi. We are hungry again and head to the Pizza Hut to get food. We really like greasy American food stuff!!! There is a deal on that day and it's get two medium pizzas for the price of one. We get two medium pizzas and get left-overs! It's fun! The other fun thing was that Gloria never called. She was supposed to be in Quito by 1pm and by the time we headed back to the bus stop at 4pm, there was no call! Plans are weird here!
I get back to town and take a cab to the house. Then I head back to the internet place with Stef to figure out my iPod business and post on LJ. iPod sucks the life out of me and I am so busy doing that that I didn't have time to post. I just pay a dollar something and go home dejected! It is a sad day... minus the glorious food and the new shoes.
This morning, I am determined to fix my iPod even if it takes me a thousand years. I am here at the internet place again. But this morning... a really sad thing happened. As I was walking out of the house, I saw our boxer walk into the yard. First her two front legs just seized which made her fall forward. It was look kicking in two legs of a table. Then her back legs did the same and that was really scary and sad. She was just on the ground convulsing and I didn't know if she was going to be OK. Gloria was there and I called her but she said she didn't want to see it. She also told me to just close the door and go do my thing. I didn't really know what to do so I just left. I am slightly afraid to go back home because I don't want to walk in on a dead dog. SAD! And that is all for now... I have heart burn...
- I watch The Simpsons here in Spanish and it's funny. A lot of the voices are so different and it's kinda weird... and Krusty doesn't say "hey hey"... he says "hola hola"... but the mouth doesn't move and it's awkward! But funny!
- Stef and I went to our favourite Chinese restaurant here in Cayambe on Monday and we wanted the bill. So we were like "la cuenta por favor" and they guys didn't understand and it was really awkward so I started doing the motions of paying... and then he said he understood... and then another guy came up to us and said that it would just be a few seconds... then the first guy comes back with an unopened deck of cards. So apparently, my miming paying looked like dealing cards. It's just really funny!!! Apparently, it seemed like I was like "fetch me cards" and then he did!!! That's service!!!
- I saw Ultimate Fighting on Friday. It was the season with Koscheck... I was happy and sad... experienced a bit of nostalgia!
- My brother bit me... not the 21 year old... the 17 year old. He told me he broke up with his "amiga con derechos" (friend with benefits... or friend with rights if you want the direct translation) and now is flirty... but the guy is physically flirty so we "play fight" a lot. But I definitely didn't start this and don't know how to end it... cause he doesn't so much "play fight" as beat me up! And then he bit me one day. I tried to pull away but it hurt more so I just had to sit there for 15 seconds while he clamped down... and it was upsetting. Then I walked outta the room... and he was like... Flora don't go... but seriously, who bites people after the age of 3????? AHHH every boy in my family is CRAZY!!!
- My friend Andreanne ate roadkill earlier this week. They drove by a rabbit in a rather gross condition and then took it home and ate it! She couldn't stop laughing all through dinner!
- People are kinda getting slightly frustrated here... you know... sexually. My friend Dustin who has become the best one-liner guy was like "I'm not sure my penis even works anymore". I went horseback riding for 4 and half hours on Sunday... there were fun moments...
So on Wednesday, I wasn't really feeling up to going to school but I did anyway because... well it's my job. So I get on the bus and none of my teachers are there and that was kinda scary. Then I get to school and no one is there... well all the kids were there but no teachers. I am freaking out because although my school isn't big, I do have about 70 kids and I don't know how to control all of them because they are sometimes crazy! So I pretty much cry for the first 30 minutes. Then I pull myself together and get the grade 7's working on their stuff first. The grade 5 and 6's want to watch a movie and 6 kids go to find a TV and DVD player. I let them. I rally the little ones and give them a ball... as all this is happening, a camionetta pulls up and it's the teachers and Delfin (the French girl who teachers environmental science). I breathe a sign of relief... I am not going to be alone here! Apparently, that day is some sort of party type thing. The grade 6, 7 and 8's are doing signs because they are doing a pretend protest about environmental stuff. I help with that... take a lot of pictures... it's rather fun. Then there is some award ceremony. The kids have been doing a lot of drawings and crafts about how to maintain a good/healthy environmental. The best crafts and drawings won the school competitions and were moving on to the tri-school competition which was to be held on Monday. So that day, I helped a lot with that and it was really fun. At lunch, they made empanadas. I had 7 and was so full but so happy.
That afternoon, I went to the office and there was a meeting. It was supposed to start at 4pm but the people here really take a long time with their shit. It ended up starting at 6pm and ending at 7. They talked about a whole lotta nothing and I was bored. Irene didn't show and when I tried talking to Alex (the Prez) about Irene's ideas, there was a lot of miscommunication. The only good thing that came out of that meeting was some information about a sexuality seminar going on in the local government building. There is a different session every week and I thought that would be interesting. The first one was last Saturday and it was on self esteem and sexuality. I was going to be in Otavalo, but decided to go back to Cayambe to catch the talk. So yay information!
Thursday, I didn't go to work because I wanted to get my time card. I went to the internet all morning. Ran into Niall randomly. Went home and got in bed. I was kinda sick. I kinda am always sick here. It's not the most pleasant thing ever. I basically was a bum that day and didn't do much. I packed my bag for my weekend trip and tried to watch some TV but that was when I was bitten so I went back in my room. Read some Butler and chilled.
Friday, I got ready in the morning and left for the office at 11am. I finished typing up some report and when the office closed at noon for lunch, I walked to Stef's school to pick her up. She and I took a bus to her house and for the first time, I saw how the other half lived. Her place is not all that nice!. It was rather sad and scary. The road leading up to her house is all dirt and rock. The house is basically a cement block. You walk in and it's just one room. There is a dining table in the middle, some kitchen stuff to the side and a guinea pig pen with lots of guinea pigs taking up about a quarter of the whole space. The bathroom is outside and her room is just to the side... and half of it is a store, which means there's a counter and about 30 random items for sale. Apparently, they open it once in a while... sometimes when Stef's not home. There are cement stairs leading up to a second floor which is not finished. The stairs have no roof above them and the second floor has no walls for the most part. There is one room to the side and that is where the parents and 3 children sleep. There are two beds but neither have mattresses and at the far end, there is a random computer (the one that the parents bought Stef randomly). It was intense!!!
Well, moving right along. We go back into town and use the internet for 20 minutes and then go and meet Niall, Dustin and Monica at the park. We all show up at the same time which is pretty nice and Stef and I stay in the park while the other three leave to find supplies (wine for the bus ride). A random guy come up and start talking to us. He is from Quito and speaks English. He wants to practice. We talk a bit and it's awkward. The rest of the gang show up and somehow, Niall starts talking about German and the 6 modes of articles they have. The guy says that he sounds like he has a passion for language and it's good that he is an English teacher. We all laugh.
The bus ride is pretty cool. I spill some wine on my crotch so it looks like I peed my pants... though I was the only one not drinking! Dustin is randomly funny and I love it! He has the most dry, sarcastic, somewhat pessimistic humour and yeah... love! Crazy one-liners! We arrive in Otavalo and have to walk to our hostel. The boys walk on ahead and forge the way. The gals are behind chatting. We finally arrive at our hostel and Stef is really tired because she over-packed... like a whole duffel for a weekend! But the place is really sweet and there are chair hammocks. We drop off our bags in rooms that randomly were gender segregated... I run straight to the hammocks to chill. We all talk for a while about how the Cotacachi people are always late. We were just about to leave to explore the city when they all arrive. We get them settled and chat some more. I find out that two people in the group are kinda dating-ish. It's news... and I love gossip. Later, Luis, Alya's friend who is a tour guide, show up and we all head out for dinner. The place we find is really cool and is designed for tourists. I have a banana milkshake, hummus with bread and a chicken schnitzel. It pretty much rocked. At dinner, Andreanne showed up (cause she was coming late) and told us about how her family drove by some roadkill and took it home and cooked it. It was rabbit and during dinner, she couldn't stop laughing... and the family was confused. That was by far the best food story I've ever heard.
I had a headache by the end of dinner, but that didn't stop us from going out dancing. It was interesting. I was definitely propositioned by a 14 year old. I danced a lot and it was awesome. Aingarin in our group is most amazing dancer... I am convinced he is a robot from the future! He also has unlimited energy. I also dance with some Ecuadorian boys who are good dancers but some of them smelled by the end of the night and that was unpleasant. There was an indigenous band in the middle of the night and they were absolutely amazing. They dedicated a song to Queen's because Luis told them about us. They were so good it made Andreanne cry tears of joy. We all danced ingeniously... or our version of their dancing and it was a blast. We went home at 3am and I couldn't sleep. I went upstairs and climbed into Alya's bed. Alya, Andreanne, Aneta and I talked for about 30 minutes until I was tired enough to sleep. This day, I found out a lot of stuff about a lot of people. Gossip... it follows you everywhere!!!
On Saturday, we were supposed to wake up early for the animal market but that definitely didn't happen. I woke up at 7:30 but no one was ready. By the time I left, I was about 10am. I was kinda upset because I had to leave my 12:30 to get back to Cayambe for the talk. So I got a little group together to go exploring. Rallying all the troops was impossible. So Stef, Dustin, Monica, Jane and I (I realize most of these names mean nothing to most of you... but whatever) headed to the market. We kept stopping to look at jewelry which upset Dustin who wanted to find a bank. He kept saying "girls focus" in the funnest way possible... oh I heart Dustin! :) That day, I bought a scarf, a really fun hat with tassels (Jane said I looked really cute in hats, which was weird cause I usually don't), a pair of pink sunglasses that I bargained down to $4 from $12 (I'm proud of that) and a purse. It was really fun. Then I headed back to the hostel with Stef and then back to the bus stop. On the way, I saw a shoe store with flip flops. Since mine broke, I had been looking for new ones. I went in and there were Chinese people there. They asked me where I was from and I said Canada. Then they said Canada in Chinese and I understood them so I said yes and repeated "Canada" in Chinese. That opened a whole can of worms. The girl invited me to sit and talk and asked me a lot of questions I didn't know the answers to... like immigration laws. But she was fun to talk to and the guy went back and got a lot of peaches to offer me... I couldn't eat them but it was a nice gesture. I finally told her I had to go... and got on the bus at 12:50... I was late! But coincidence, a teacher from my school also got on the bus with her daughter and they sat with me and we chatted. She bought two baby ducks for her kid, it was super cute!
I got to Cayambe late. The session started at 1:30 but I showed up at the place at 2:20. They hadn't started... God bless Ecuadorian schedules. I stayed for the session and met a Dutch girl here for the summer working with the organization. She's from the Netherlands. The session was interesting. A lot of second wave stuff... not that much about sexuality. They really skirt around the subject here. The only thing they mentioned was that when girls had 2 boyfriends, they are sluts and when guys have more than one gf, they're studs. The rest of the time, it was about valuing ourselves and our work and our intelligence as women. I left at 4:30 because it was when it was scheduled to end and I was falling asleep. But I was quite proud that I understood most of everything... Spanish is improving! For the bus, I buy myself a water, a thing of M&M minis, a little thing of Pringles and some Ritz crackers. It was a good food time. Then I get on the bus and head back to the gang.
That night, I arrive and chill with the group and the Greg for a bit. Some of us, Greg, Niall, Aingarin, Monica and I head out and get pizza. We all chill at the hostel and spend the night drinking and talking religion and politics. Alcohol makes me moody and I stay out of the conversation (weird for me, I know!) and learn about Incan history from Dustin (who knows things because he doesn't read fiction). Then, after everyone in the group went to bed, Dustin, Monica and I stay up to chat about life and gossip about friends. Two people in the group sex it up that night!
The next morning, I wanted to wake up early to shower in the nice shower with hot water and water pressure but my alarm didn't work. Niall's knocking on our door woke us up and Stef and I quickly pack and try to look half-way decent for the day. We pay for our stay and leave our bags at the hostel as Niall, Ali, Jane, Aingarin, Greg, Stef and I go out to find breakfast. We eat at a really nice place and I have this amazing waffle thing with chocolate sauce, chocolate chip cookies and ice cream... so basically a 5 year old's dream breakfast. We then head to the tourist office where we are to meet the guides who will take us horseback riding!
We are driven there and my ears are killing me on the way. Every time I travel in the country, I have a bad time with the pressure in my ears... too much altitude change. In the car, Aingarin tells us about his grandfather being the second prince of Sri Lanka and him having a bullet wound. This guy is the shit! When we get to the place, I find the horse I want... she really looks like black beauty, even has the diamond! She is gorgeous. We start off and I am randomly leading the group, which is scary because I have no idea where I am going. The horse does so I slack on the reins. I try to trot or canter but my horse is making me work so hard that I give up. A bit up the path though, Aingarin and I both get crops... basically tree branches... and he gets his horse going... mine, being a trail horse, follows!!! The first time I cantered for 10 seconds was the best time ever! Up in the mountains, I try to lead most of the time because I find people slow. A lot of these kids are beginner riders (Jane and Aingarin had never been on horses before... but Aingarin really did well) and as such, they don't really know how to handle the horses and they horses notice and are taking advantage. They are eating on the trail, they are stopping for minutes at a time and I got annoyed a few times. The other bad thing about the trail was the berries on the bushes that got all our pants really dirty. Mine are completely ruined and they were my favourite pair of jeans that made my butt look good... sadness! Greg's horse was a bitch and a half the whole time. He didn't want anyone behind him... which is stupid because he is a trail horse... but we kept him last because he kept kicking the others. He got Aingarin's horse pretty good and also Stef's leg! Greg's horse also threw him in the end because the horse lost his front shoe. He basically went down and Greg flew over. I didn't see this because I was really far ahead but apparently the horse looked like he had broken a leg at one point... but then got up and was fine! Which is good because I don't think that the people would take the horse to the vet if he broke a leg! It was all worth it in the end for me because I got into such a good rhythm with my horse. I really fell in love with her. She was the only horse that listened to command. I was really lucky. At the end of the ride, I was able to go far enough ahead and then double back to the group so I got to canter for a good 30 minutes... my thighs hurt and I have a lot of bruises on my inner legs from random rubbing... but best time ever!!! I am totally going to ride in Baños when we go in 2 weeks.
After riding, we get back to town and head to the restaurant from the first night.. Cafe Mundi (or something like that). I get a milkshake and try to order something different but every time I mention another order, they'd say they didn't have that. So I have up and got the schitzel again. I was really not hungry and was full by the end of the milkshake. When my meal came, Greg ate half my chicken and Aingarin got the other half while Niall got my rice. I paid for it though so I think I won in that deal :)... I was so quiet at lunch cause I was kinda pissy and really tired. I get quiet when I'm moody... people noticed... I felt bad but I didn't want to say anything I would regret later!
We finally head back to the hostel, pick up our stuff and go to the bus stop. We say goodbye the Cotacachi because they were going to go to a bank first. They are really close to Otavalo so they don't have to leave as early. They could get a taxi back to town if they wanted to and it would only cost $4. We had an hour long bus ride in front of us. On the way, we ran into the Chinese people with the shoe store and we said bye. They were really nice and invited Stef and Niall to come visit as well when they had a chance. Sadly, they said this in Chinese which was kinda amusing. As we were walking away, Niall turns to me and says, "it's nice that they said bye to us as well... at least that's what I thought they said." Fun for un-understanding-ness!!!
On the bus, we all pretty much crash. Stef actually manages to fall asleep. That night, I get home and try to wash my jeans and offically ruin them because the soap I was using was bleach and I didn't know! I am really sad and mad and I go to bed!
The next day, I get up and shower and go to the tri-school art competition that Delfin had organized. I am lost for about 30 minutes because I thought they were supposed to be at the Municipio but they're not. An old man talks to me in the park and kinda freaks me out. I finally find my group and then Dustin shows up which is good because he had no idea where the thing was or what it was! His shcool isn't involved but his teachers told him to come so he did. We take a truck a bunch of blocks down until we're pretty much at my house except a bit more downhill. This is where I sometimes pick up the bus. A lot of kids are there and there are costumes. My kids have the best wardrobe and are all dressed as flora! They have real plants on them made into hats or tied to their bodies... some are even holding up saplings. They also have the names of their plants on a sign around their necks. It is super cute. Some of the little ones have necklaces made of potato or okra. I take some pictures with Dustin's cam! Gloria's school is dressed in their uniforms and all of us (Dustin, Kristin, Tara and I) are helping paint their faces. I was the most popular face painter with my yellow paint. I think they liked me becaue I had huge sunglasses on and they could see what I was doing in my shades. The last school is dressed as indigenous peoples and looks more or less like Pocahontas's people! They don't wear shoes to get some sort of authenticity I guess but I feel badly for the kids who have to walk in the streets barefoot!!! We march from my bus stop place back towards the main square. It's really adoreable and I am responsible for making sure the kids don't run into each other!
The whole thing ends in the municipio where the ceremony is held. I am covered in blue paint at this point because all the kids are pushing each other and are running into my clean white shirt (my fault for wearing) with their dirty faces! I sit with Dustin for a bit and then leave at 10:30 to meet Stef in the park. We are heading to Quito today because my package had arrived and I am to go pick it up at the post office because it is too big to deliver to the house. I see Stef, call her over. We head into the place and sit with my kids... because there isn't room with the other grown ups. My kid are the best behaved!!! We sit through some boring speeches and some dancing. The girls dancing were kidna fun except when they spun, we all saw their underwear! Awkward!!! Considering they were 14!!!! Stef and I don't stay for long and head out because we want to catch the 12:00 bus for Quito. Dustin comes with us at 11:30 to show us the "most amazing" coffee shop in Cayambe. Neither Stef nor I share his passion for coffee but I love the cake at this place and Stef got a grilled cheese sandwich and was in heaven as well. I call Fernanda then and tell her we're about to go. She tells us that the post office actually closes at 3:00 and we probably wouldn't make it in time! Thanks for the heads up before Fernanda!!! We end up just chillin' in Cayambe and going to the internet! I get home that night at 7pm to tell Gloria that I need to go to Quito the next day. She also sees my pants and said she would be going to Quito as well and would help me find more. She would call me when she got into town and we'd meet up.
Tuesday, when I should have updated. I talk to Gloria and confirm the day's plans and go to meet Stef at the park for 7:15. We run into Niall who lends us his Lonely Planet guide since mine was in Stef's ill-fated backpack and has probably been traded for either food or drugs by now. We climb into a bus and it fills with children. We are slightly confused. After waiting about 15 mintues, one of the adults on our trip tells us that this is a field trip and we were in the wrong place. It's funny because Stef and I were just discussing how in Canada, they would rent a bus for field trips! We are slightly annoyed that they didn't tell us for a good 15 minutes that we were in the wrong place. We get on the right bus and call Fernanda. She basically tells me to do everything myself and I thank her for nothing. We get to Quito at about 9:30 and first go to the clinic for Stef to get tests done. Her skin condition isn't getting better and at one point the doctor in Cayambe thought that it was chicken pox. Stef had already had the chicken pox so we realized that the doctors in Cayambe don't really know what's going on. So she's at this clinic to get blood work done. It goes well and the place is really nice. I use the bathroom and am really happy!
Then we head to the shopping centre we were at last time and head to McDonalds. It was glorious! Then we shop for a bit and I find elastics. We are both in need of elastics but all they have here are scrunchies and 90's big ass clips! We finally found some blue elastics. Though two out of the package have flowers glued on them, we decide we could live with the purchase. We then walk around a bit more and fun into a girl from Queen's. She noticed Stef's Queen's shirt and Stef saw hers. It was random! She actually knows me. Her name is Yuri and she was like... so do you know Victoria Schwarzl... and we had also met at the Vag Mons... Small small world!!! I talked to her host mom a bit. She lives in Quito and is here learning Spanish. We exchange numbers and yeah.
Stef and I head to the office to pick up my order form for the post office. The taxi driver gets lost. We we another taxi and I get Fernanda to talk to him on my cell. We get to the office and get my paper and then head to the post office. We get there, they tell me I need two copies of an ID. Thank goodness I have my passport copy with me. Although I did know to bring ID to pick up a package at the post office, it would have been nice if Fernanda warned me I needed two copies. So anyways, I make my copies and I get to the back room. There's my package. They cut my box open and look through the stuff but not really. I realize that all they really want to is to get me to pay custom taxes. I am angry because these are my stuff. Most of it is not new. I don't understand why I have to pay tax for my own stuff. I am pissed. They originally wanted to charge me 30-something dollars US but I talked them down to $24 and change. Then, I need to go find a bank to pay it. This is not a happy day! I walk away and then end up at Payless Shoes and buy flip flops and a pair of wedge sandals. I shop when I am upset. The guy at that place is really fun and when I ask him which colour flip flops I should buy between the green and the pink he tells me I look more like a pink because I have a a cute "Hello Kitty" look. Apparently, you just need to be short and asian to have a hello kitty look. Then he asks me what colour my bikini is. I say blue cause I don't know how to say turquoise in Spanish. He tells me that it doesn't matter. When I'm in a bikini, the last things men would be look at are my feet. I laugh... he's fun. Then I go to the bank, pay and get my package. Oh, I also stop by a store that sells way too small clothing that makes me feel bad :)... I am not too happy that no one warned me that I had to pay taxes on any package over 2kg! Canada World Youth? Organization in Quito? Fernanda? Anybody!!!! The ball, considered it dropped!
With my almost-10-kg package, we head into a taxi. We are hungry again and head to the Pizza Hut to get food. We really like greasy American food stuff!!! There is a deal on that day and it's get two medium pizzas for the price of one. We get two medium pizzas and get left-overs! It's fun! The other fun thing was that Gloria never called. She was supposed to be in Quito by 1pm and by the time we headed back to the bus stop at 4pm, there was no call! Plans are weird here!
I get back to town and take a cab to the house. Then I head back to the internet place with Stef to figure out my iPod business and post on LJ. iPod sucks the life out of me and I am so busy doing that that I didn't have time to post. I just pay a dollar something and go home dejected! It is a sad day... minus the glorious food and the new shoes.
This morning, I am determined to fix my iPod even if it takes me a thousand years. I am here at the internet place again. But this morning... a really sad thing happened. As I was walking out of the house, I saw our boxer walk into the yard. First her two front legs just seized which made her fall forward. It was look kicking in two legs of a table. Then her back legs did the same and that was really scary and sad. She was just on the ground convulsing and I didn't know if she was going to be OK. Gloria was there and I called her but she said she didn't want to see it. She also told me to just close the door and go do my thing. I didn't really know what to do so I just left. I am slightly afraid to go back home because I don't want to walk in on a dead dog. SAD! And that is all for now... I have heart burn...