La clave para la vida es aprender

SPOILER ALERT: outlandishly long post. 

So glad to finally be in Ecuador! The flights weren't terrible. The international flight had dinner and great movies (though I slept 4/6 hours). I was nervous to go through customs, but it was extremely simple. When we got off the plane we were told to look for someone holding a sign that said Ohio State. Instead there was this:

I've ALWAYS wanted to get off a plane to someone holding a sign with my name so I'm so excited to have that surprise in Ecuador! We stayed in a cozy hotel for the night that had a delicious breakfast and was a good intro to Ecuadorean food.

We had a tour of Quito planned for the day that was extensive and fabulous. We visited a number of churches and cathedrals since most of Ecuador is heavily Catholic. They were IMMACULATE. There was one made nearly completely of gold. We weren't allowed to take photos, but it was crazy gorgeous.

We also got to see La Plaza Grande y La Plaza de San Fransisco which are two main areas of Quito. 

Then we trekked up a mountain to El Panecillo which is the Virgin of Quito and can be seen from most parts of the city. The view was breathtaking and they weren't lying about how big the statue is!

Next we traveled to La Mitad del Mundo: the middle of the world! Latitude and Longitude are both 0! We got a tour of the outdoor museum where they told us about indigenous Ecuadorean practices. And then we got to try a bunch of tricks on the actual equator to prove we were on the line. So cool!

We left there and headed to the airport for our domestic flight to Cuenca. It was a mess from start to finish but let's just say it's a good thing we were two hours early because our flight left an hour and a half early! With no notice! Luckily our host families were notified because they were scheduled to pick us up and the flight is only 40 minutes, so they had to drop what they were doing and head to the airport.

My family is so sweet. I live with our host mom María Dolores, her daughter María Alejandra, her two sisters, her mom, and her brother-in-law and two niece/nephews. There's also a woman traveling South America who's using our house for a homestay as well. She's from canada and she's awesome! Our house is in a great spot. We meet at the University if Cuenca every day, and we're a 3 minute walk from there. We are also in the middle of downtown, so we are close to pharmacies, bakeries, clubs, everything.

On our 1st full day in Cuenca we started with a welcome breakfast with our partners at the university. It was beautiful and refreshing, both the food and the conversation. 

I LOVE that we have plátanos, fresh fruit juice, bread, and rice at almost every meal. Everything is delicious! 

 

We headed to the university which is located along a river and has a mountain skyline. So. Beautiful. 

After an orientation to our time in Ecuador, we had some free time, so my American host siblings and I walked along the river until it was time for a Cuenca tour! We got to see a food market and a textiles market, which were both really cool. Then we got a tour of a hat factory because panama bars are extremely important in Ecuadorean culture. The indigenous people wear Panama hats as a last of their outfits like shoes. So even if it's raining, they still wear hats, they just cover them with bags. It was cool to see behind the scenes!  The rooftop view was also a high point. 

(My host siblings from OSU, Marisa and Andrew)

After the tour we had a quick dinner at home and headed to a concert on campus. Our partner Gabriela was performing amongst other acts. It was probably the coolest thing I've ever been to. There were traditional dances, classical music, Andean folk songs, and then a rock concert at the end! We all agreed anyone who didn't come seriously missed out. 

Finally, this morning, we were able to go to the school! It's in a community called Cahauzhun Grande, which is an indigenous community at the tippy top of one of the mountains. You can't find it on a map, and it doesn't show up in google searches. The drive was ~ 1.5 hours, with about an hour of scaling a mountain. The views on the way up were beautiful. I've never been that high before! 

Our driver had to ask for directions twice because there are no road signs and no maps to this community. We got there and the kids were shy and observant. Together with the teachers and students, we held a traditional welcome ceremony. It was so cool to see their culture immediately. We played with the kids for at least an hour. It was so good to be able to dance, play games, learn their names, see their community, and start to gain trust on both ends. An easy conversation starter eith kids in any country is to let them see your camera! (And your bracelet). 

I worked in a classroom today with los chiquititos (really little kids). They were ages 2-5. They sang us songs, told us the story of the Big Bad Wolf (both in Spanish), and learned a little English. They also taught us Quechua! Quechua is an indigenous language of the Andes region. Our host mom taught us the words for cat and cold, since she uses those a lot. Most people in Ecuador know at least some Quechua, and in the indigenous regions they're usually fluent. I was nervous about translating or not being able to communicate with the kids, but my Spanish has been pleasantly surprising me! This is GREAT NEWS!!

After the kids left (their day is over at 12:40) the teachers had us stick around and learn a traditional dance. We're going to have a special celebration with everyone from the community soon, and they invited us to be a part of it by participating in the dance.  Because this is all a cultural exchange, they wanted to learn a dance too. So we taught them the Wobble. And the ChaCha slide. And the Electric Slide. 

When we finally left, we visited two other communities on the way down (Gualaceo y Sigsig). We got to try llapangacho which is big in Ecuador. It's a cheesy potato dish. And we finally saw cuy. Cuy is the Spanish word for guinea pig, which is a popular dish in Ecuador. They cook them whole and eat as much as possible. I'm not thrilled to try it since we keep them as pets, but I know my days are numbered before I will have to. Say yes to everything once right?! (Jk mom, not EVERYTHING) 

It took us an incredibly long time to get home. We were an hour and a half late to dinner and our host mom was worried. We can't contact her since we don't have cell service. It was nice to see how much she cared, and she had dinner ready for us. I'm so ready to curl up in bed and excited to see the kiddos again tomorrow! When we met the teachers today, one said "la clave para la vida es aprender" which means the key to life is learning.  I said in my last post how important learning has become to me, and it was so ironic and humbling to hear that theme across cultures and languages. Can't wait to see what's next!