Hello world! I am writing from the city of Quito right now and it is a beautiful, sunny day. The group decided to splurge a little bit on the hostal for our last 2 days in Ecuador.. . and the extra few dollars per person has definitely been well worth it. Last night, most of the group gathered on the rooftop (which has an amazing view of all of Quito) for a game of Gin Rummy 500. There was great music and bottomless tea/coffee (all compliments of The Secret Garden Hostal)… an absolutely perfect way to end Ecuador. I find it difficult to believe that half of our semester is already over. BUT- Peru here we come!
This past week has been packed with activities so I will try to include just the highlights. We entered the town of Pucara (in total about 186 residents) around lunchtime and was welcomed by many members of the community and some live music. Three boys from Pucara (which a couple of the girls had developed minor crushes on… myself included) had prepared a few musical numbers in advance, and then we danced! After, Pete (the president of Pucara and our host) announced which family each Carpe student would be staying with. One by one we were paired up and welcomed with open arms into our new families. I think I speak for everyone when I say that this opening ceremony definitely set the tone for the kind of warm, loving and laid back community that we found Pucara to be.
During our short stay in Pucara, we planted 300 trees (attempting to offset our carbon footprint), worked in Pete´s hacienda (hacienda= large farm), and became informed on the issues that the surrounding communities have faced as a result of mining companies taking interest in The Intag Valley. After staying with the host families, we continued on to another community, Junin (about 30 minutes from Pucara), to explore and become further educated on the intricacies of the mining conflict. We stayed in a nice guest house (complete with hammocks AND dessert), hiked to the potential mining site and went on the fastest/longest zipline in Ecuador! -Such an adrenaline rush. After flying 60 mph through the Intag Valley we were able to rest for a night at a lodge where we had access to hot springs. It really was such a fun and informative week.
On a more personal note (I will try to wrap up quickly), the group has been getting closer and closer… it definitely feels like we have adjusted to the quirks of traveling together as group as well as adjusting to the customs of a foreign country. A few of these ¨quirks¨ include:
- Having to throw used toilet paper in the trash can rather than flushing it, (it took me a few weeks to get used to this one.)
- Ian´s long sighs when he is tired.
- Cole´s incessant chatter about how amazing Taylor Swift is.
- Ordering a milk shake only to receive an extremely ¨milky¨ shake… (How many times does this have to happen until we learn?!)
- Claudelle´s very specific (and often unanswerable) questions about how future activities are going to unfold. (I never had to get used to this one, I always loved it!)
- How Ecuador universally uses margarine in place of butter (a very difficult one for me to accept).
- Dan´s emphasis on certain words while he is asking questions… often times making it sound like he has a British accent.
Alright I feel like I have overwrote my welcome on this blog so I am going to end here. I hope everyone is doing great and we will talk to you in Peru!
Much love! -Julia