Hey all,
So, last weekend I went to a small town called Mindo with 4 of the Linfield students and one girl from Oregon State University. Getting to Mindo was an adventure because none of us knew how to get to the bus stop. We left for Mindo in three different groups: Ali and Eli left on Friday and I am still not sure how they got there because they had a hard time explaining it, but they got there and found a hostel (another story). On Saturday morning Jen and Angela (the girl from OSU) left and took a taxi to a bus station, but found out that they had just missed the last bus (and the next one wasn't coming for about 4 or 5 hrs), so they took another bus from some corner that took them close to Mindo and then hopped in a truck to go the rest of the way...I think that's the story. Katelyn and I left later in the afternoon because we spent the morning volunteering at a Children's hospital for kids with Cancer (we basically we dressed up as clowns, sang and danced for the kids and it was SO much fun and we met some really cool volunteers who do this all the time). After we finished at the hospital I called Jen to get directions to Mindo, and it was confusing, because she wasn't even quite sure where they went to get the bus...so Katelyn and I decided to wait for the 4pm bus that left from a bus station that we didn't know how to get to, but we were lucky and her host mom's friend offered to drive us to the bus station. We got to the bus station, which was huge and started walking around trying to find a sign that said "Mindo", we walked by many signs and as we were passing one, a man said "Mindo?" and we said "yes, how's you know" and he said "well you have your backpacks and you are obviously tourists" which I guess means you are going to Mindo? So, we bought our tickets and 2 hrs later we arrived in Mindo.
We basically ate, talked, and went to sleep early. The next morning we ate a delicious breakfast in the hostel we were staying at and then took a chiva to a place to go zip-lining. There were 13 different lines and it was so much fun and the scenery was so beautiful. Afterwards, we were tired and sweaty and we began to walk back into town and a family in a truck drove by us and asked us if we wanted a ride, so we hopped in the back where their two kids were sitting and enjoyed the drive back into town. After we ate lunch we went to the bus station and caught a bus back to Quito. It was a fun trip and I hope to go back to Mindo because there was a lot we didn't get to do. Mindo is a popular destination to go bird-watching and to see many butterflies, but we basicaly only had time for zip-lining.
To see pictures of this trip go to: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024347&l=90284&id=65202295
During the week, on Tuesday Katelyn and I went to a College Fair in Quito because a representative from Linfield was here and we went to help him out. It was a lot of fun talking to prospective Linfield students from Latin America and I really hope that some of them apply and get accepted!
On wednesday I went with other Oregon students to listen to a band play. One of the guys in the band is one of our OUS program directors, Franco, and so he invited us to go listen to one of his five bands play and the program paid for our entrance fees. It was really nice to just sit and listen to music.
Today (saturday) the Oregon program had a trip to Otavalo, I think it has the second largest market in Latin America. It was SO big, there were so many colors everywhere and it was really cool to see and experience. By the end of the day my bargaining skills had dramatically improved...we did a lot of bargaining. I will hopefully put up pictures of this trip soon. We also went to see the waterfall, Peguche, that is in Otavalo and on our way back we stopped at a coffee shop where the real (not where the touristy monument is) Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World, aka the Equator) is and we were able to balance an egg on the equator! It was really cool!
Wow, this is probably going to be a really long post, but another cool thing: I signed up to get a conversation partner to practice my spanish with at the university and I got an email on Friday informing me that I had two conversation partners, I am hoping to meet them on Wednesday and I am really excited! (It can be kind of hard to make friends here)
Anyway, I think that is all I have to say for now :)
Peace,
Nadia
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Link to pictures
Hey all,
This is going to be really short, I just wanted to let you know that I have put some pictures on facebook and I think you can still see them if you don't have facebook, by going to this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024147&l=4a485&id=65202295
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024131&l=e1a92&id=65202295
There are two different albums. Please let me know if the links don't work.
I'll write more later.
This is going to be really short, I just wanted to let you know that I have put some pictures on facebook and I think you can still see them if you don't have facebook, by going to this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024147&l=4a485&id=65202295
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024131&l=e1a92&id=65202295
There are two different albums. Please let me know if the links don't work.
I'll write more later.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Baños
So, last Sunday the Oregon students went on a tour of the city. We visited a few catholic churches, which were absolutely amazing! The amount of gold in the churches is unbelievable. We also climbed to the very top of a church, the Basilica, and we had an amazing view of the city. This past week was long and busy. I finally have a set schedule now, I am taking the International Relations class, Grammar, Conversation, and Social Problems of Ecuador. I only have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays now, which is really nice because it will give me time to work on my research project and travel more.
Speaking of traveling, this weekend I went to a small town called Baños with four other Linfield students (Katelyn, Jen, Ali, and Elizabeth). We left on Friday afternoon and had a four hour bus ride to Baños. The scenery was amazing on the bus ride and I was so happy to just see land and trees everywhere (I really needed to get away from the city for a bit). When Katelyn and I got off the bus in Baños we were immediately bombarded by a guy who we later found out was named Daniele. He started to tell us about the Hostel he works for and asked us where we were staying, we tried to tell him that we already had a place, but he was very persistent. We finally gave in and asked him more about it, he told us it had hot water, our own bathroom, and was $6 per person, per night. When Jen, Ali, and Elizabeth got off the bus we decided to go take a look at it. It was a pretty nice place and we decided to stay there. After we settled in and ate dinner we went on a night tour of the volcano Tungurahua that was organized by the hostal. We went in Chivas (for those who don’t know what a Chiva is, it kind of looks like a double decker bus, but without a top, Chiva’s are generally known as party buses, however our Chiva was just used for transportation). The guides told the 5 of us to get into the back of the Chiva along with another American guy (so basically all of the Americans were in the back). When we were out of the city we were allowed to climb on the top of the Chiva, but as most of you know I am absolutely blind in the dark, so I climbed up and had no idea where I was stepping, there were two guys at the top who helped me up, but it was a little scary. On top of the Chiva I was sitting next to Katelyn and every once in a while I would feel something hit my head, I told Katelyn and a few minutes later she felt something hit her head. She turned to Elizabeth and said “Elizabeth, there are bats hitting our heads”, Elizabeth said “No, it’s not bats, it’s just the trees.” I felt much better when I found out what exactly was hitting my head, and I am glad it wasn’t bats. When we arrived at the volcano, it was pretty foggy so it was hard to really see anything, plus I can’t see in the dark anyway. We watched some guys do a comedy act and juggle with fire, so it was entertaining. Also, Katelyn was chosen to be in the center of a fire-juggling act between two of the guys. Shortly after that we got back into the Chiva and headed back to the hostal. The next day we went to the hot springs for a while and then drove 4-wheelers around to see the Watefalls. We had a guide with us (about 13 years old) and we stopped at a bridge that you could go bungee jumping off if you wanted. Jen was the brave one in the group who decided to go bungee jumping. I couldn’t believe it, but she jumped off the bridge (well she was actually kind of pushed off because she was a little hesitant to dive off). Driving the 4-wheelers was a lot of fun and kind of exhausting. We got back just as it was getting dark, we were a bit dirty after that, so we all showered and then went out to eat. Katelyn, Ali, Elizabeth and I went to a discoteca, but Ali and I left after about 15 minutes and Katelyn and Elizabeth stayed longer. Ali and I returned to Jen, who had already fallen asleep, we woke her up and played cards for a bit and then went to sleep. We left Baños this afternoon after a nice, quiet morning and now I am back in Quito getting ready to start another week.
For those of you who want to know my address here in Ecuador it is:
Nadia Abraibesh
C/O OSSHE
P.O. Box 17-12-280
Quito-Ecuador
If you send me something, please don’t claim any value on it because I will have to pay a lot of money to actually receive it. Also, if it is a package, try to put it in a manila type envelope and keep it under 2 kilos (everything over 2 kilos is automatically searched and most likely won’t make it to me). One other thing, if you have to say what is in it, it is good to say “used/old clothes” or “Bible supplies”, apparently no one wants your old clothes and people don’t dare touch someone’s Bible supplies.
Also, if anyone ever needs to get a hold of me by phone, my cell number is 087262860 (but you have to put the country code in front…I think it is 011?)
I hope everyone is doing well!
Peace.
Speaking of traveling, this weekend I went to a small town called Baños with four other Linfield students (Katelyn, Jen, Ali, and Elizabeth). We left on Friday afternoon and had a four hour bus ride to Baños. The scenery was amazing on the bus ride and I was so happy to just see land and trees everywhere (I really needed to get away from the city for a bit). When Katelyn and I got off the bus in Baños we were immediately bombarded by a guy who we later found out was named Daniele. He started to tell us about the Hostel he works for and asked us where we were staying, we tried to tell him that we already had a place, but he was very persistent. We finally gave in and asked him more about it, he told us it had hot water, our own bathroom, and was $6 per person, per night. When Jen, Ali, and Elizabeth got off the bus we decided to go take a look at it. It was a pretty nice place and we decided to stay there. After we settled in and ate dinner we went on a night tour of the volcano Tungurahua that was organized by the hostal. We went in Chivas (for those who don’t know what a Chiva is, it kind of looks like a double decker bus, but without a top, Chiva’s are generally known as party buses, however our Chiva was just used for transportation). The guides told the 5 of us to get into the back of the Chiva along with another American guy (so basically all of the Americans were in the back). When we were out of the city we were allowed to climb on the top of the Chiva, but as most of you know I am absolutely blind in the dark, so I climbed up and had no idea where I was stepping, there were two guys at the top who helped me up, but it was a little scary. On top of the Chiva I was sitting next to Katelyn and every once in a while I would feel something hit my head, I told Katelyn and a few minutes later she felt something hit her head. She turned to Elizabeth and said “Elizabeth, there are bats hitting our heads”, Elizabeth said “No, it’s not bats, it’s just the trees.” I felt much better when I found out what exactly was hitting my head, and I am glad it wasn’t bats. When we arrived at the volcano, it was pretty foggy so it was hard to really see anything, plus I can’t see in the dark anyway. We watched some guys do a comedy act and juggle with fire, so it was entertaining. Also, Katelyn was chosen to be in the center of a fire-juggling act between two of the guys. Shortly after that we got back into the Chiva and headed back to the hostal. The next day we went to the hot springs for a while and then drove 4-wheelers around to see the Watefalls. We had a guide with us (about 13 years old) and we stopped at a bridge that you could go bungee jumping off if you wanted. Jen was the brave one in the group who decided to go bungee jumping. I couldn’t believe it, but she jumped off the bridge (well she was actually kind of pushed off because she was a little hesitant to dive off). Driving the 4-wheelers was a lot of fun and kind of exhausting. We got back just as it was getting dark, we were a bit dirty after that, so we all showered and then went out to eat. Katelyn, Ali, Elizabeth and I went to a discoteca, but Ali and I left after about 15 minutes and Katelyn and Elizabeth stayed longer. Ali and I returned to Jen, who had already fallen asleep, we woke her up and played cards for a bit and then went to sleep. We left Baños this afternoon after a nice, quiet morning and now I am back in Quito getting ready to start another week.
For those of you who want to know my address here in Ecuador it is:
Nadia Abraibesh
C/O OSSHE
P.O. Box 17-12-280
Quito-Ecuador
If you send me something, please don’t claim any value on it because I will have to pay a lot of money to actually receive it. Also, if it is a package, try to put it in a manila type envelope and keep it under 2 kilos (everything over 2 kilos is automatically searched and most likely won’t make it to me). One other thing, if you have to say what is in it, it is good to say “used/old clothes” or “Bible supplies”, apparently no one wants your old clothes and people don’t dare touch someone’s Bible supplies.
Also, if anyone ever needs to get a hold of me by phone, my cell number is 087262860 (but you have to put the country code in front…I think it is 011?)
I hope everyone is doing well!
Peace.
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