Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Ecuadorean Christmas
So last night I celebrated my first Ecuadorean Christmas and it also happened to be my first Christmas away from my family. It's been a pretty strange experience due to the lack of snow among the lack of americans and english. So basically we went downstairs around 10 PM and started talking and hanging out. I got peed on by their dog so i had to go back upstairs and change haha. Afterwards more people started arriving. Then eventually we ate dinner, which was turkey with some pig thing that had olives in it, some potato or yuca thing with pineapple and cheese in it, rice, and something that I still have no idea what it was, vino, and some dessert type thing. Overall it was pretty fun. Then afterwards around one we started exchanging secret santa gifts and i got my second ecuadorean soccer jersey shirt as a gift. It was a pretty good time though. I didn't fall asleep til way too late cause I had a bunch of coffee. So yeah, merry christmas and/or happy holidays to anyone back home.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Well hello there
So clearly this blog has been put on the back burner for a while. I bet you guys are all assuming I've been doing great things and blah blah blah blah. But you'd be pretty wrong. I finished up exams and whatnot for the semester at USFQ. I finished that last Monday and immediately afterwards I hopped on a bus to go to the coast. What better way to pass the time in mid-December than on a beach in 80 degree weather with your friends and some waves. The sun was shining and we just hungout for like 3 days and came back. It was pretty fun. Other than that, I've been relaxing and hanging out. I'm just enjoying that I don't have to go back to school til April. So yeah, that's about it for now. Merry Christmas.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
December
What's up December?
Just got home from banos. We left thursday night and stayed there til early this morning. It was roughly a 5 hour bus ride there. We had to take the bus from north quito to the big central bus station in the south, which takes an hour then another bus to banos which is roughly 3-4 hours away. We woke up early and went on a 20 km bike ride stopping off at a few waterfalls and whatnot. We went swimming in the freezing cold and had a lot of fun even though I had a flat tire that took forever to change cause our air pump was broken. But we had lunch and got some sunshine. Then we got dinner afterwards and met up with bret and rachel.
Saturday we woke up pretty early once again and went rafting. We were in some 3,4 and 5 rapids. It was so much fun, we had to wear wetsuits and helmets which was completely new to me cause I've never been rafting. After that we grabbed a classic Ecuadorean lunch, rice meat and beans. we laid in bed for 5 minutes then went up for a hike the la casa del arbol (the tree house). this is roughly a 2-3 hour hike all uphill. it was so awesome though, definitely worth it. then when we finally got up there, there's this view from the tree house and swing that goes over a little cliff. it was so fun to swing on that and have no cares in the world. you literally see mountains and a volcano and you're so high in the air that you can't focus on homework or that your legs feel dead and your arms from rafting and that you're covered in sweat, or finals. it was such a great trip. then we met up with our friends from oregon cause they happened to be there too. mom feel free to stop reading haha. but we went out had a few beers and just walked around the streets meeting people and hanging out and then we got a free shot that was on fire. that was one of the strangest nights in the ecuador thus far.
yesterday was one of the longest days, but it went by so fast cause it was so much fun and so crazy. I'm still recovering from my lack of sleep this weekend, but i don't regret it at all. but now it's december, and there is no snow on the ground. what is this all about? it feels so strange. i can't explain it. i have three days of class left, then finals. i still feel like i just got off an airplane in august being a little naive gringo. i'm still that same naive gringo but almost 4 months have passed. this trip is nothing like i ever pictured it. i still feel somewhat jejune, but my life isn't really the same as it used to be. i don't know how i'll react when i have to go home. happy december all.
quick anecdote, i think i've finally conquered my fear of heights.
here's some photos. i'll have another post with all photos from the trip soon.
family photo with frosty
lake
end of the world
hiking photos
picture from the hike, this is a top view of banos (the city we were in)
Just got home from banos. We left thursday night and stayed there til early this morning. It was roughly a 5 hour bus ride there. We had to take the bus from north quito to the big central bus station in the south, which takes an hour then another bus to banos which is roughly 3-4 hours away. We woke up early and went on a 20 km bike ride stopping off at a few waterfalls and whatnot. We went swimming in the freezing cold and had a lot of fun even though I had a flat tire that took forever to change cause our air pump was broken. But we had lunch and got some sunshine. Then we got dinner afterwards and met up with bret and rachel.
Saturday we woke up pretty early once again and went rafting. We were in some 3,4 and 5 rapids. It was so much fun, we had to wear wetsuits and helmets which was completely new to me cause I've never been rafting. After that we grabbed a classic Ecuadorean lunch, rice meat and beans. we laid in bed for 5 minutes then went up for a hike the la casa del arbol (the tree house). this is roughly a 2-3 hour hike all uphill. it was so awesome though, definitely worth it. then when we finally got up there, there's this view from the tree house and swing that goes over a little cliff. it was so fun to swing on that and have no cares in the world. you literally see mountains and a volcano and you're so high in the air that you can't focus on homework or that your legs feel dead and your arms from rafting and that you're covered in sweat, or finals. it was such a great trip. then we met up with our friends from oregon cause they happened to be there too. mom feel free to stop reading haha. but we went out had a few beers and just walked around the streets meeting people and hanging out and then we got a free shot that was on fire. that was one of the strangest nights in the ecuador thus far.
yesterday was one of the longest days, but it went by so fast cause it was so much fun and so crazy. I'm still recovering from my lack of sleep this weekend, but i don't regret it at all. but now it's december, and there is no snow on the ground. what is this all about? it feels so strange. i can't explain it. i have three days of class left, then finals. i still feel like i just got off an airplane in august being a little naive gringo. i'm still that same naive gringo but almost 4 months have passed. this trip is nothing like i ever pictured it. i still feel somewhat jejune, but my life isn't really the same as it used to be. i don't know how i'll react when i have to go home. happy december all.
quick anecdote, i think i've finally conquered my fear of heights.
here's some photos. i'll have another post with all photos from the trip soon.
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