Hello from Ecuador!
It was another normal dinner in the Mindo forest, or rainforest to be exact, and it was pasta... again. Don't get me wrong, I love pasta plus there were some freshly brewed cups of Hierba Luisa a lemongrass-like tea. I was sitting across from one of the Thinking Beyond Borders Program Leaders, Kelly, mentally preparing myself for the River of Life presentation I would have to give in half an hour and twirling my spaghetti when a giant tarantula fell into it. I flew backwards out of my seat and onto the dirt below.
This isn't a typical day in Ecuador though there are lots of bugs and, accordingly, lots of bug bites.
My time here so far has been absolutely incredible. Though it's only been 12 days I've learned so much more about world injustices, economic thought processes, and the Spanish language. Not to mention I feel like I've known these 3 program leaders, 11 girls, and 5 boys for at least 2 months .
We're currently in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, before we leave for San Jose de Minas in a couple days. Once there we'll be placed in home-stays and will act as teaching assistants in English classes.
We've been in Mindo for the rest of it all. Here's what we've done in the span of time that we've been on the trip: hiked around the rainforest, went swimming underneath a waterfall, had Spanish classes every morning, interviewed people in Mindo, participated in a Zumba class, visited the Equator, had seminars on "What is development?" etc, zip-lined, played soccer in the town square, had a campfire, visited a butterfly garden, and last but not least, I've kicked ass in poker.
Let me explain, my family and I play lots of card games: gin rummy, cribbage, hearts, etc. While getting ready for bed (by the way we lived in a treehouse and took showers in the nearby river) one of the first nights in Mindo I saw the boys shuffling cards trying to decide what to play, so naturally, I wanted in.
By the end of the night, though I needed reviewing, everyone sleeping overhead could hear Eddie yell, "Grace is f*cking hustling us!" and slam his fist on the table. At that point we were playing with some of Nate's collected currency (mostly Euros) so they all fell over. Now we play with beans that we bought in the market and on top of the roof of our hostel. The search for poker chips has been difficult.
We leave for Minas in a few days and already I can't wait to write again.
This isn't a typical day in Ecuador though there are lots of bugs and, accordingly, lots of bug bites.
My time here so far has been absolutely incredible. Though it's only been 12 days I've learned so much more about world injustices, economic thought processes, and the Spanish language. Not to mention I feel like I've known these 3 program leaders, 11 girls, and 5 boys for at least 2 months .
We're currently in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, before we leave for San Jose de Minas in a couple days. Once there we'll be placed in home-stays and will act as teaching assistants in English classes.
We've been in Mindo for the rest of it all. Here's what we've done in the span of time that we've been on the trip: hiked around the rainforest, went swimming underneath a waterfall, had Spanish classes every morning, interviewed people in Mindo, participated in a Zumba class, visited the Equator, had seminars on "What is development?" etc, zip-lined, played soccer in the town square, had a campfire, visited a butterfly garden, and last but not least, I've kicked ass in poker.
Let me explain, my family and I play lots of card games: gin rummy, cribbage, hearts, etc. While getting ready for bed (by the way we lived in a treehouse and took showers in the nearby river) one of the first nights in Mindo I saw the boys shuffling cards trying to decide what to play, so naturally, I wanted in.
By the end of the night, though I needed reviewing, everyone sleeping overhead could hear Eddie yell, "Grace is f*cking hustling us!" and slam his fist on the table. At that point we were playing with some of Nate's collected currency (mostly Euros) so they all fell over. Now we play with beans that we bought in the market and on top of the roof of our hostel. The search for poker chips has been difficult.
We leave for Minas in a few days and already I can't wait to write again.
Sounds awesome! But ditch the spaghetti and get yourself some ceviche! Preferably sans spiders 😛
ReplyDeleteXoxo, Alana