...another begins!

Well, school is done finally. I finished my classes earlier this week. They were very interesting. I really didn't have to work all that hard, and it will be interesting returning to Case next semester and actually have teachers that expect things and don't just get walked over by students because their dads are government ministers.

But now the real fun begins. There is a decent chance that this will be my last post for a while. Tomorrow one of my best mates and I are heading out on what is to be the adventure of a lifetime. We semi planned out a route that will take us to some of our planet's most amazing natural wonders including the world's driest desert (Atacama) in northern Chile, the highest navigable body of water in the world (Lake Titicaca) as well as what we have read is the second deepest canyon (Colca)--roughly twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. So we are pretty stoked.

There will be tons of pictures and videos and thoughts to get caught up on upon our return, but for now I just wanted to thank each and every one of you for taking an interest in my trip. I can't wait to get back to all of you in a few weeks or so, but until then keep well, keep safe, and keep EXPLORING in whatever way you can!!

As one adventure winds down...

I am a week away from the end of classes.

These past few weeks haven't been the most exciting of my time here, but they have been necessary. Sometimes you are able to put school behind you, but other times you really have to buckle down. That is what the past few weeks have been.

There isn't too much to update except that I have my end of semester activities under control. Essays, exams and a presentation coming up but in a week I will be all done. Oh, and lots of enjoying the company of good friends

One of my best friends is leaving Thursday morning which makes the reality of this all sink in much harder. Thankfully I have 7 more weeks.

So there you have a few scattered thoughts. I have done a good job of planning my work out so I am actually free tonight to just relax which will be nice. Hope that all is well in each of your worlds and I can't wait to come back to be a part of it again.

50 days and I'll be home.

Spring Break

So when I quickly wrote my last little post I was literally running out the door to the airport. I did not have classes last week for a sort of Spring Break. My program took this opportunity for a wonderful 5 day trip to the Galapagos Islands. It is one of those things that I will never have an opportunity to do again and I am very glad I got to take this chance.

The islands themselves are crazy. In such a small ecosystem there is so much biodiversity. We saw so many different kinds of plants and animal it was ridiculous. We did so many different things I can't even keep it all straight. I am not gonna go into too much detail cuz I am very tired but there are definitely some things you should hear about.

Obviously, we saw turtles. And then we saw more of them, and then even more. Over the 5 days we spent time on 4 different islands. Apparently, the turtles on each island are different. Don't tell our guides, but I couldn't really tell the difference. I was just amazed (the first time...) by the sheer size and weight of them. We got the chance to climb into a shell and it was ridiculous.

We spent one morning hiking around a really cool volcano. Its claim to fame is that it has the second larger crater of any volcano in the world. It was still active and its last eruption was only a few years ago, but it wasn't a huge eruption like you think of in science textbooks. Still, you could see a difference in the color of the rock on the top of the crater where it was more fresh. We also got to climb around on the base of it where there were tons of volcanic rocks and other little spouts. Don't tell the national park, but I snook a little rock out with me.

Probably the coolest thing we did, though was snorkeling. We got to go in a few different places which brought tons of different kinds of marine life. First of all, there are sea lions everywhere. On our first adventure I was swimming by myself and one swam up behind me (scared me quite a bit) and just stopped, looked at me, swam a few circles around me and then was gone. Once I realized what had happened, I was floored. When will that ever happen to me again?! Some of my friends and I spent some time following a huge sea turtle as it headed back out into the open water. It did move a lot like the one in Finding Nemo. Probably the coolest thing that happened though I barely got to enjoy. We were swimming off the island Floreanna and I was just following this little group of silvery fish (like the ones in Nemo that give Dory directions to the EAC) and all of a sudden they started to scatter. Before I know what was going on, a pair of penguins zoomed by me, about 6 feet from my face! Thankfully they came back a few minutes later and I was able to get a better look. That was by far one of the coolest natural things I have ever seen.

So, overall, it was a wonderful trip. One of my friends put a quote up from Darwin about how words can't truly describe the beauty of the islands. It is pretty true. Just flying in you get this amazing sense of peace like you know you are entering one of nature's true treasures. While I don't know if it is anything that I will get the chance to return to, it definitely was a wonderful experience. I got some pretty sweet pictures and I will try to put a few of them at the end of this post.

Upon our return from the islands, my friend Katy and I decided that we were gonna switch things up and trade in our swimsuits and towels for hats and gloves. The wonderful thing about this country is that one day you can be relaxing on a beach and the next you can be heading toward the refuge of a 17,000 foot mountain. There were a few mountains close by that we wanted to play around on so after a day of prepping, buying food and picking up some more cold weather gear we headed off for what was to be a four day adventure.

Unfortunately things did not go as planned. When we arrived in the small town at the base of Iliniza Norte, the refuge office where we were planning to inquire about maps and guides was unfortunately closed. We figured however that we should easily be able to make it to the refuge where there were some workers pretty easily. We were regretably mistaken. The first three hours of the hike were fine. We safely arrived at the parking lot described in Lonely Planet and after a short lunch break set off for what the posted sign said was a 3.5 hour trek to the refuge. Somewhere along the way we missed a sign for the refuge and started following the cairns (rock piles used to mark trails) that would eventually have led us accidently to the summit that we weren't planning on getting to til the next morning. About 4 hours after leaving the parking lot we decided that something was definitely wrong and with darkness and steadily strengthening snow storm setting in, the safest plan was to just head down. I cannot lie to you all and say that I wasn't scared. To those of you who heard me joking about how if I die on this trip it will probably be while doing something amazing and that I will have no problem going out that way: the thought definitely crossed my mind that afternoon that my jokes might have become a reality. Somewhere around the time that I could no longer move my fingers after 3 hours of rain and snow and all I wanted to do was keel over and puke (either from altitude or shock) I thought there was a definite chance I was not going to ever get off that mountain. I do not recount these details in any way to garner your sympathies just to explain how I was reawoken to the awesome power of nature and how I was reinstilled with a healthy fear for the environment. (Blake or Jeanne, if you are reading this, I promise Brandon and I will not be climbing any mountains this summer and we will be totally safe. Well I can't promise that we will be totally safe but that will be all on B.) Miraculously, we had cell service up at about 16000 feet and were able to call our program office that arranged for a truck to pick us up at the parking lot and to bring us back to Quito. I will hold for a long time that Katy saved me from a very unpleasant experience that night (we would not have died but it would have been very very uncomfortable). Neither my brain nor my body was functioning in a proper state to arrange anything in English, let along Spanish. Heck, I couldn't even zip my coat back up after taking it off to try to put on some more layers.

All this to say that sometimes things don't quite turn out the way we plan them to. But I can imagine that this experience will probably be one of the most beneficial from this entire trip as I continue to live an adventurous life.

After surviving what I have taken to calling a near-near-death experience, it may be cliche but life sort of has taken on a slightly different appearance. I may make jokes about it now just as that is my way of dealing with stuff like this, but the reality is that at some point I thought I might never get to see any of you again. And you can't have a soul and not have something like that affect you. I am so very much looking forward to that first sight, those first words, that first hug. And the best thing is that I know that I get to have those firsts so many times from the so many of you who have each had an integral part in shaping my life and molding me into who I am.

10 more weeks. Man the time is flying.

Ahhh craziness!!

Life the past few weeks has again been crazy, yet amazingly chilled at the same time. Done some cool stuff around the city, but am desperately in need of a high quality adventure. Good thing I don't really have time to post details cuz I am heading to the airport and bound for the Galapagos! Details will come thought I promise.

Peace and Love

Quick Update

I just went to the Delta office here in Quito and changed my flight home. I will returning to the United States on June 23 after almost 6 weeks of traveling around South America. As much fun as I am going to have in these last 3 months I am also very much looking forward to getting home to see all of you and to catch up on our lives. I am presently sitting in my program office with several other American students and we were discussing how odd it was that our lives have been going on without us while we are abroad and how our friends are making new friends and dating new people. It is odd to think about all the things that will have happened by the time I get back it will be amazing to hear all the stories.

I love and miss you all!

And just when I didn't think I could feel any other emotions

If there is one thing that has characterized the past few weeks, it has been that I think I have felt every single emotion known to man. While much of this has been phenomenal, there have also been some hard times where I have really had to look at myself. All these experiences though have been necessary and I am glad for them.

Two weekends ago, I, along with about 10 of my friends headed out for another beach weekend, this time in a super chill town called Canoa. Super good time. Amazingly chill beach with cool food and drink stands. Fishermen. Plenty of hostels and other tourists. Overall, it definitely is a place that I will try to make it back to if I have some extra time. Friday, I decided that I was going to teach myself how to surf so I rented a board and just got tossed around all day (emotions: anger, frustration). It was so much harder than I thought it was going to be. I have always known that the ocean is an amazingly powerful force, but I don't think I had ever truly experienced its strength until that day. That Saturday morning was the terribly earthquake in Chile so several of my friends woke up to text messages from the US Embassy or friends that we were potentially gonna get rocked by a tsunami that was part of the after effects. Luckily we were able to hold off leaving til we talked to more people and we ended up being fine. It turned out to be a beautiful day (emotion: peaceful) for just relaxing (I stayed out of the water and in my hammock all day). I would say that it would have to rank as one of the best weekends so far.

But as tends to happen here, the very next weekend tops the last again. This past weekend brought a trip to the small town of Baños which is described in my Lonely Planet guide as a "tourist mecca". And they really aren't lying. While my friends (a smaller group this time which was much better in my opinion) decided to leave Friday morning, I skipped town Thursday afternoon, got in around 8:30, just in time for a wonderfully relaxing evening. This turned out to be my first true experience in a hostel staying with all completely random people (emotion: awkward) which was interesting. When the others arrived Friday afternoon we did one of the craziest things I have ever done in my life: puenting (spanglish for bridging jumping/swinging). This consisted of strapping into a harness that is connected to a bridge that is about 100 meter (for all you non metric people, thats over 325 feet!) over a beautiful river gorge, jumping off (emotion: insanely scary), free falling about 100 feet (emotion: liberation), then swining underneath the bridge and slowly being let down to the ground. It was not bungee jumping because there was no up and down but it was still amazing. (The craziest part of the whole experience was how relaxed the whole thing was. There were no waivers. You didn't have to sign your life away. It was just another one of those "oh yea I'm in Ecuador" moments.) Saturday morning we got up decently early, rented mountain bikes and headed out down la ruta de las cascadas or the highway of waterfalls. In about a 6 hour trip we saw some of the most beautiful waterfalls and natural scenery I have ever seen. The waterfalls were all falling off the mountains that form the river valley so you we got rivers, waterfalls and mountains all at the same time (emotion: awe). It was semi ridiculous. Like Lord of the Rings/New Zealand ridic. I honestly don't even feel the need to travel to NZ anymore cuz it was that beautiful. After several nice hikes and about 20km of riding, a nice rain, and a wonderful traditional Ecuadorian almuerzo we all piled into the back of a truck (bikes and all) for a ride back up the hill. Overall, another phenomenal weekend. I also hope to return there if I have some time.

This past week back in Quito has been interesting and is where a lot of my recent angst (I'm not sure if that is exactly the right word or not) stems from. Recently, I have really been realizing how much of a joke academics are at my school. And its not just my classes that I am not taking terribly seriously. Everyone is feeling the same thing. This is leading to some amounts of boredom because I don't feel like I am being challenged. Even though I know that school isn't the reason that I am down here, it would be nice to at least be engaged in my classes. This feeling, similar to what I was feeling at the end of my last semester at Case as well, allows my thoughts to wander into looking too far forward at what is next instead of really enjoying the moment I am in. So I have been spending a little bit of time recently thinking about my summer and next school year and what I want to do after college, planning more adventures instead of really enjoying the one I am in. The other day I had conversation with one of my best friends down here about how we aren't sure if this is going to be that truly life changing experience that most people make studying abroad out to be, just because we aren't stepping as far out of our boxes as most people in doing this whole crazy thing. This can be kinda disappointing in some ways just because I fear that this whole thing might not live up to the expectations I have for it, but also it has been good to keep that in the back of my mind so that I don't let my expectations get too high. It has also been weird because many of my friends have had their friends or family in town which just makes me miss all of you guys back in the States. So basically I have been on the top of the world and kinda down in the dumps a bit recently, but its all part of the experience.

Thats what I've got for all of you now. It is currently a little after 11 AM on Friday morning. The rest of this weekend is going to be nice and chill. I went out the past two nights and I really just need some time now to recover and sleep a bit. Probs just gonna do homework and maybe bake a bit.

I can't say enough how much I appreciate everyone who reads this. But don't be bashful. Leave me a comment or email me so I know whats going on in your lives!

What a country this is?!

So again, I apologize for the long gap between posts. Life has just been so crazy and awesome. I will try to do it justice without getting two long.

Three weekends ago was sort of a recovery weekend. After a long but amazing beach weekend, I needed some time to just chill. So the majority of the time was spent just bummin around Quito, exploring bars and clubs as well as the parks.

Saturday, however, my host dad and I along with several students from my program climbed Rucu Pichinca, the roughly 15,500 foot volcano that I see out my window every morning. This was by far one of the coolest things I have ever done. After taking the Teleferiqo (the little ski lift sort of thing that takes people up to a really cool look out point over the city) we hike almost 3 hours up to the summit. Then it decided to rain. To put that in perspective, that was only the second or third time in over a month that it had rained in Quito. When I first got here, they were having to ration power because the rivers that feed the hydroelectric plants just weren't high enough. So it rained. A lot. All the way down. Everything was soaked after the hour and ahalf descent but it was still amazing. To think that for a while I was at least 1000 feet higher than any person in the continental US was just mind blowing. I am planning on climbing some more mountains while I am here and i can't wait to get that feeling again, especially keeping in mind the poem I included in the last post.

Two weekends ago was Carnaval. THanksfully, I was able to find a bar that was showing the Olympic Opening Ceremonies so that was fun to watch on Friday. Because we had Monday and Tuesday off of school, my program took us on a field trip into the Amazon rain forest. I really had no idea what to expect with this, but my mind was blown. After spending the the first afternoon exploring and swimming in a cave and climbing around an amazing waterfall, we headed to a quaint little town for the night. The next morning we piled into motorized canoes and headed down the river. After a pit stop at little animal rehab zoo and a close encounter with some wild monkeys, we reached our jungle lodge destination. After a late lunch, we headed a little farther up river and got to visit an indigenous family and see their house and their way of life. After dinner the (highly intoxicated) village Shaman came and performed a short ritual. Monday morning brought a really cool hike through the jungle learning about plants and animal and also eating some lemon ants which I would recommend to anyone looking to add a citrus flavor to your favorite dish. aThat afternoon was probably the most fun of the whole trip when we made Huck Finn style rafts out of balsa wood and floated down the river for a while. Because our group was so large we had two rafts which inevitably turned into a war. I am proud to say that the USS Hernan Es Mas Sexy Que Fabio came out on top. Through this experience, I think I might have found the inspiration for my next adventure: floating the Mighty Mississippi on a homemade raft. This sounded like a wonderful idea til I did a little bit of looking into it. It is still possible though, we will have to see. Tuesday we stopped at a few more museums and zoos on our way back to bus and home. Overall it was a phenomenal experience. It was exactly how I had imagined the rain forest. Buggy, extremely dense forests, humid, and just lush green everywhere. I hope to make it back to do some insane white-water rafting later in the semester. Although I was a little disappointed that we didn't get the whole Carnaval experience, it was still a great trip. Ecuadorian Carnaval is not like what you think of from Rio and other Brazilian cities. Basically here it is just a country wide water fight. The whole week you never know when you might get hit with a water balloon. I was on several busses that got hit and in the more rural areas people would just take their hoses out into the street and soak whatever passed by. It was super fun and harmless (although apparently in some towns people throw eggs which could get kinda painful).

Unfortunately, I didn't take too many pictures on this adventure. Sometimes it just wasn't practical to have a camera. Others I was just enjoying the moment too much to want to see it through a lens. I sang a lot of 3x5 by John Mayer:

Didn't have a camera by my side this time
Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes
Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm
in the mood to lose my way
but let me say
You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes
it brought me back to life
You'll be with me next time I go outside
NO more 3x5's

After a short week of class, another weekend of just chillin in Quito was necessary. It was also nice because I got to celebrate 'the beginning of my third decade on this celestial ball' (as my dad referred to my 20th birthday) with my host family and friends this past Saturday. After making ice cream cake and helping my mom with empanadas about 10 people came over and sang and ate. We then headed down to a wine and tapas bar for more celebration. (Side note for any wine people: I don't know if you can buy it in the States, but if you are looking for a phenomenal red, go out and find a bottle of Concha y Toro (Chile) Sunrise Tinto Carmenere. One of the most amazing things I have ever sipped in my life.) After four hours of just sitting, tasting and talking, we called it a wonderful night. Sunday morning was another great Latin American experience. My host brothers favorite futbol team which is from Guayaquil was playing in Quito, so he invited me to join him for the game. It was one of the craziest things I have ever been a part of and there were definitely times that I didn't feel safe. Drums and songs and flags and chants and confetti. At one point someone who didn't like a call throw a waterbottle a good 75 feet and hit the assistant referee. Unfortunately the game ended in a draw so I didn't get to experience victory craziness but I'm sure that i will get to another game while I'm here.

So there you have an update. If you made it all the way through that I applaud you. This weekend we are off to another beach where there will hopefully be big waves and surfing lessons. I'll let you all know.

Please know that the fact that you all take the time to read this blog means the world to mean. Please email me about what is up in your lives and i will do my best to respond. I love and miss each and every one of you.

Take care and keep well.

One month gone by...

And how wonderful it has been. I have been thinking about this post for several days now and there are times when I feel like it couldn't possibly have been that long yet and there are others that feel like its been more like a year. But looking back, I am so amazingly glad that I am here and I would not want to be anywhere else in the world right now.

I am borrowing an Ecuadoring hiking and climbing guide from a friend right now to sorta start thinking about some of the more wildernessy adventures I want to take and I stumbled upon this poem that I think is amazingly applicable literally, but also figuratively as well.

One cannot stay on the summit forever - One has to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this. What is above knows what is below - But what is below does not know what is above One climbs, one sees- One descends and sees no longer But one has seen! There is an art of conducting one's self in The lower regions by the memory of What one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, One does at least still know. Rene Daumal

On this adventure I hope to literally stand on summits and while I will not be able to remain on them forever, the feeling of accomplishment will live on forever. I will stand on figurative summits as well and these more likely than not will probably end up being the ones that are truly the most defining. But by the same token I will not be able to remain here forever.

Although I might give that the old college try.

This morning, upon for the first time measuring my stay in months not days or weeks, I started thinking about how much longer I will be here. Although this is still officially undetermined, I sorta started mentally preparing myself for the fact that this adventure isn't gonna last forever. I know I'm not even a quarter of the way done, but I also know that the time is gonna fly. I started a list of things I wanted to make sure that I do before I go and just in my uber-excessively-plan-loving brain I was able to start thinking about how long I would need to do everything. Upon my departure I had grand schemes of finding an awesome job here for the summer and staying for the fall semester, but somewhere along the way those had been transformed into grand plans to enjoy a summer of excellent traveling and exploring. Those then became maybe half the summer of traveling and then returning to the US to work a little bit before going back to school.

But this afternoon greeted me with a bit of amazing news. I have started playing Ultimate once a week with a really interesting group of people from all sorts of walks of life. Upon talking to some of them, it was brought to my attention that it is actually very easy for gringos to get jobs in Ecuador and that these people all have amazing connections. I talked to a women who works for a chocolate company who said she could probably get me an internship and possibly a small living stipend. Several people said that they got there jobs because of people in the club.

So I guess what I realized is that in this first month I have become amazingly comfortable here in this city, but maybe almost too comfortable. I think I might have lost some of my adventurous spirit. But as I begin this second month, I think I may have found it again. Although I have a lot of time to figure summer stuff out everything is back on the table.

It was nice to get this little kick in the booty early on forcing me to reexamine what has been going on since my arrival. I truly believe that the most meaningful and permanent ways in which this experience is changing me as an individual can't be understood or even realized until I am gone. But it is important to keep in mind the changes in the daily stuff like the complacency that I had settled in to.

So I'm not sure if any of that really made sense or if I connected all the dots that are loosely floating around in my head right now. I would encourage all of you though to think about your summits. What mountain can you climb that will make an eternal difference in your life? How will you change because you reached that summit? Whatever you do, never stop climbing.

I'd love to hear about some of the great stuff that everyone is up to. Of course keep me posted about your summits but about the small hills you crest as well.

Peace and Love

Sun, sand, surf and spaghetti in Same

This past weekend, for my first independent travel adventure, I went to the beach with 8 other IES students. We were technically in a small town named Same (Sah-may) but our hosteleria was several kilometers down the beach and was very peaceful, quiet, and isolated. It was ridiculously awesome.

First off, let me say that the transportation here is phenomenal. There are buses that go anywhere you might want to at just about any time. And they are ridiculously cheap. We decided to leave Quito late on Thursday night which would get us in to the beach early Friday morning giving us essentially an entire extra day on the beach without having to pay for an extra night of lodging. This ended up not working out quite as well as we'd hoped. Somehow we got stuck in traffic for 5 hours between 1:30 and 6:30 AM on a little two lane mountain highway. We think there was some sort of car accident but we have no idea how it took so long to clean up. It might have something to do with the impatience of Ecuadorian drivers who unnecessarily clogged the road not allowing anyone to get anywhere. But eventually we made it.

The little resort we were staying at was essentially empty. We got two big cabanas complete with kitchens, an ocean view, and all the privacy anyone could want.

My first trip down to the water was at the peak of an amazing high tide. It was fun to be able to put my knowledge from Astronomy 201 (what up Gwen?!) to use explaining tides and why they were higher at the full moon. The waves were great. I was however blown away by the ocean bottom. Instead of sand, it was essentiall carved rock. When I first stepped on it without being able to see, I had no idea what was going on. Luckily I was able to go back out during low tide and explore and take some cool pictures. The nights were super fun. Friday we were all very tired so after a nice walk down the beach to a great thatched-roof restaurant and an great bonfire, we all crashed pretty early.

Saturday morning, one of the other guys really wanted to make pancakes. So, with the meager utensils we managed to scrounge up a wonderful breakfast (complete with mamosas). The sun finally came out Saturday afternoon so there was plenty of time for swimming, lounging, and studying of course. We opted for an early spaghetti dinner then got on a bus and headed in to Atacames, the bigger town nearby, for some fun evening beach activities.

My Lonely Planet travel guide describes the bars on the beach as "virtually indistinguishable from each other," and they were absolutely right. With music blaring, just walking up and down the beach was an experience. Of course we stopped to enjoy a fruity beverage or two just cuz they were so extravagantly decorated with fresh fruit. A bus back seemed a little more difficult to come by so we piled 6 people into the back of a motorized rickshaw for a very exciting trip back to the hostel.

Sunday morning brought an early check-out in order to catch our morning bus home. We got back to Atacames with a little time to spare so I took the liberty to explore a bit and find a great panaderia (bread shop) for breakfast. The ride back was much less eventful and we got home right on time for dinner and an evening of homework.

Overall, it was a phenomenal weekend. The weather might've been better, but nothing is gonna be perfect. (And it sure beats the snow of Cleveland at this time of year!) This was also a great experience for general traveling. I got to see how easily the bus system works and will definitely be taking full advantage of that in the next couple of months.

Gotta run now to class but enjoy some pictures!

An interesting perspective...

My host brother just got home last night from two weeks of visiting family in New Jersey. At breakfast today, he was talking about his experience and it was very interesting to hear his perspective on NYC and Times Square and how they compare to Quito. As a person who has no real desire to visit New York (other than Central Park) and is loving Quito, it was interesting to hear how he loved all the lights and the screens and thought that Quito was boring and lightyears behind because there was no area like that. He loved the hustle and bustle. I guess this difference is mostly just due to what we are accustomed to, but it was cool to get a foreigner's perspective on the whole thing.

It was also great that he brought back an entire suitcase full of American candy! Yummm, Reese's and Skittles...

So its been quite some time...

But quite some time it has been!!

First off, I apologize for the long lapse between posts. The past two weeks have been pretty crazy with getting settled in to classes and balancing homework with fun. Also I will apologize in advance for the nature of this post that is the result of these many experiences. Please just bear with me as this will most likely be long and rambly.

Since my last post, several extraordinary and many just plain awesome things have happened. It has been a time of exploration but also introspection. I will try to recount it as best I can.

I guess I will start with school because after all that's what I'm down here for, right? (actually, if I get the boring stuff out of the way first, it gives you incentive to read the whole post ;) ) Classes are in full swing. My schedule is finalized and it shaping up to be a fairly easy semester. I can already feel my Spanish speaking abilities improve meaning that my conversations classes are having the proper effect. My poli sci and Iinternational Relations classes so far have been a decent amount of reading, but I am steadily improving in this area as well as I learn the vocabulary.

I did go through a semi-dark(er) period this week as the novelty of this whole adventure began to wear off and the reality of schoolwork set in. Whenever you are talking to people about their study abroad experiences, they always say "I loved every minute of it!" And while I have no doubts that looking back I will feel the exact same way, it is important to note that, while you are actually here, you don't love every minute. I spent 7 hours last Tuesday wading through 25 pages of reading about the Theory of Dependence (and quite frankly I'm still not exactly sure what I was reading...) By Wednesday afternoon I was just totally spent wasn't sure how worth it all the effort was. The conclusion I came to was that the next thing I need to work on is learning how to balance my learning and fun during the school week. Until now I really have just spent my school night studying or watching futbol or the Australian Open. This socializing, however, is much more difficult than when I am living in a dorm or in the fraternity. I no longer walk out of my room and have 30 people in the same building who want to do something spontaneous. I do have 2 friends who live about a 5 minute walk away and we have all sorta been feeling the same thing recently so hopefully together we will work through these issues. I have also been looking into finding somewhere to play Ultimate while I'm down here. I believe my school has a club that plays on Tuesday afternoon but I haven't yet been able to get into contact with anyone about more specifics. But that will come.

But enough of the boring stuff. Oh, what I have been doing the past two weekends...

Last weekend, my program planned a day trip to several fun sites north of Quito. The two highlights were the indigenous market at Otavalo and the Peguche waterfall. The former of these is just ridiculously huge. (I will attach some pictures at the bottom. I haven't yet figured out how to do the whole layout and get the picture where I want them and quite frankly it is too late right now for me to experiment.) There was a plaza the size of a city block just completely filled with people selling sweaters and hammocks and hats (who'da thunk it that Panama hats are actually made in Ecuador...) and art and jewelry and carvings and just about any artisan sort of thing you could thing of. There were amazing displays of fresh fruit as well as people frying fish whole. It truly was a remarkable experience to barter with the vendors and to see their handiwork. Personally I made off with a new ring, a coin pouch and a phenomenally hand-carved wooden box that will be perfect for storing cigars when i get back to the States. When I figure out what my living situation will be for next year I might go back and buy some really cool paintings and carving (Delts, if anyone with a lower badge than me is looking to have a sweet looking room in the house next year, pull me up and we'll work something out.) And also I'm sure than many a gift upon my return will be from here as well, so if you would like something let me know. After a great lunch of typical Ecuadorian food, we headed to Peguche which is about a 75 foot waterfall quaintly nestled back in the woods. With a little bit of exploring we got to chill at the very top of the falls and also found a second smaller one just a bit up river. After a fun filled day (in which I felt just a bit closer to home having crossed back into the northern hemisphere...) I returned home to watch a wonderful Colts game and crash. Sunday brought another trip to the historic center, this time with my host family. We were hoping to get a tour of the government palace but unfortunately they were all full. We still got to enjoy some places my first tour didn't make it to including the Museum of the City where my dad decided it would be fun to thwart the rules and guards by taking as many pictures of me as possible when they weren't looking. He enjoys doing funny things like that. Overall, it was a very nice weekend of still just getting acclimated and adapted.

This past weekend was my first extended trip out of the city. I went with my host family to my mother's parents house in Riobamba, a decent sized town about 3 hours south of Quito. Saturday was one of the biggest days of adventuring of my life. After a quick driving tour of the city with my brother, he, my dad, and I climbed into the car and drove to Volcan Chimborazo. Although it is no longer active, it does have quite a claim fame: the point on the Earth closest to the sun! Because our planet isn't perfectly spherical, Chimborazo's summit is actually farther from the center of the Earth than Everest's. We were able to drive to a refuge at about 48oom hike to the second refuge at 5000m and then hike a little more to about 5200m. For those of you not familiar with the metric system that is an altitude of roughly 17,000 feet, which, to put that in perspective, is over 2500 feet higher than any peak in the continental US. Lets just say I was very tired and short of breath upon our return to the second refuge for one of the greatest cups of hot chocolate I have ever had made with natural water from the mountain. After a great lunch back at the house, the whole family piled into cars and headed out to this small rural indigenous village where we got to see (actually it was more of an experience) another absolutely amazing natural phenomenon. Volcan Tungurahua is presently erupting and I got to see the lava spewing from the top as well as hear and feel its raw power. Everyone should experience a volconic eruption just as a reminder of how small we are in this world. Natural disasters that we see on the news do a decent job of this, of showing us how powerless we truly are, but to actually see and feel something as magnificent as I felt last night was just awe-inspiring. I know that this was a rare experience and it is one that I will remember and cherish for a long time. (Unfortunately, kind of..., we were not close enough to the volcano for me to get any good pictures of the lava. We were sorta on the back side so the spouts weren't huge, but it was still incredible.) This morning I just decided to hop in the car with some of the family having no idea where they were going (which I have found myself doing a lot of recently) and it turned into a fun adventure to some fabulous fruit markets and bread stores. That is something that I have really enjoyed recently, the spontaneity and randomness of my life here (yes, fresh fruit and bread too). I just do whatever, eat whatever, go wherever. It is a good life not really worrying about what is going to happen. Obviously I am doing these things in a controlled setting but it is still fun and it is a good lesson that I am hoping to translate to the rest of my life as well.

So there you have it. If you got to the end of this with both eye open you should go out and reward yourself. If you are in Cleveland, head to Presti's and enjoy a cream puff and hot chocolate for me.

I truly appreciate all the feedback I have been getting about this blog; keep it coming. I would love to hear from you guys too about the exciting things that are going on in your lives. Although my life may seem more interesting right now I know that there are fun things happening to each and every one of you. And if there aren't you should do something spontaneous. So drop me an email (eric.ahearn@gmail.com or ema25@case.edu) or add me on Skype (eric.ahearn).

Until next time (at which point I will hopefully be a little more tan from my first adventure to the beach!!) take care and keep well.

Peace and Love



(I'm sorry I can't figure out how to turn this one. I don't know why its sideways...)

La Hora Ecuatoriana

What a wonderful phrase
La Hora Ecuatoriana
Ain’t no passing craze

It means (almost) no worries
For the rest of your days
It’s our problem-free
Philosophy
La Hora Ecuatoriana


Someone asked me the other day what my favorite part about Ecuador has been so far. "Wow, that's a hard question" was the first thing that came to mind. But just a few seconds later, I had it. Not to discount the wonderful weather or the amazingly fresh fruits and vegetables at all, but the best part of my adventure thus far has been la hora ecuatoriana. Everyone around just knows and expects that Ecuadorians operate on their own time. You really aren't late for something unless you arrive at least two hours after it the appointed starting time. This translates to an amazingly relaxed environment. People aren't running around like chickens with their heads cut off from one engagement to the next (as I have the tendency to do...) but instead or relishing the moment that they are in and the people that they are in it with. To that end (and this is what really drove the point home to me this morning at school), there are very few clocks. I was searching for one in class today and it was no where to be found, and after thinking back on my classes so far, the same holds true. An American school has one in every room as well as up on the walls in the hallways. While at times the inpuctuality can be annoying for an American, learning to be patient and to relax a little more is something that I already know will be a positive lesson to come out of this adventure.

So I have no idea why that thought never crossed my mind...

I have finished my first week of classes!! As I stated earlier, campus is beautiful. A few pictures are attached.
























I was surprised by the amount of wealth at USFQ. I had been told that it was the school where all the better-off kids went but I was not expecting the abundance of designer apparel that I encountered. If I had any knowledge of this sort of thing I'd be able to name some of the labels but I don't want to make myself look like a complete moron.

Classes were pretty good. I started my first day (Wednesday) with Introduction to International Relations. I'm thinking that it should be an interesting class but I don't really know because I could barely hear the prof talking about what we would be talking about about. I know that we are starting with a unit on Revolutions and that I have a quiz on Monday. Next was my Spanish Conversation class which I know already will be very helpful. The prof's main goal is to introduce us to new vocabulary which is really what you need in order to succeed in a foreign language. Next was supposed to be a political science class called Theories of Development but the professor didn't show up. We waited 15 minutes and then followed the native students when the left.

Today was a little easier. French 101 in the morning. This is to what the title of this post is referring. My professor was speaking Spanish with a French accent. I have no idea why I never thought about that but it was kinda interesting. Luckily I was still able to understand everything and I think that class shouldn't be too dificult. Finally today I had Intro to Ecuadorian Culture which is gonna be another very useful class in which I will learn lots of practical stuff and also be forced to speak in front of people.

I know I told a lot of you that I was gonna be taking a culinary class. Unfortunately there was a prereq for the one I was signed up. Taking that class was an option but I would've had to be at school at 7:30 in the AM and that just wasn't gonna happen. As disappointed as I was to not be able to take it, this relieved a major stress just because I was very unsure about what to expect from the whole thing.

So overall, it shouldn't be too difficult of a semester academically which means that I will have plenty of time to experience the rest of the culture. This weekend is gonna be full of exploring the city. I already took a nice walk through one of the biggest parks in the city this afternoon and got some cool pictures. Tomorrow we get a tour of Old Town and I will probably take the Teleferico (a little ski lift sort of thing) up the volcano that border the city sometime this weekend, so expect some cool photos to come!

So to sum up, life is good, I am alive, and I am already feeling amazingly at home here. I felt a sense of pride when I was walking in the streets that this was quickly becoming another one of "my cities". I am very very happy here and know that it will only get better as I start to explore the rest of the country. I believe that a trip to the beach is in the works for next weekend...

Sorry to all of you fighting snow.

But not really...

My First Impressions

So I've been here for two days and I've had a chance to sort of see the basics that will make up my life for the next couple months. These include my homestay, the office for IES, and la Universidad San Francisco de Quito where I'll be studying. I really had no idea what to expect out of any of these but the first impressions have been amazing.

I live with a family of three and a half. My parents are Gustavo and Paulina and there daughter Maria Paulina also lives in our house. Their son Fausto lives in the apartment attached to the house but he has an odd work schedule and basically lives on his own. There is a second son who is the oldest of the children but I've only met him once because he has his own place afuera de la casa. The house is great. Much of the residential areas are very much like you would expect in a large South American city. Everything is very close together and there aren't many yards. I was blown away the first morning upon seeing a huge volcano right outside my window. The bus station is right outside our door and the public transportation can take you just about anywhere (for cheap! Each bus in the city costs just $0.25). The IES office is about a 10 minute ride and USFQ is about 45 minutes and requires a change of bus. Gustavo y Paulina are immensely welcoming and helpful. The family functions in a very interesting way because everyone has different schedules (Gustavo works at a hospital and Maria Paulina is a student at another local university) so there aren't really family meals which isn't what I was expecting but I am coming around to it. Paulina basically cooks and you can eat whenever. On that note, the food is great. She makes a lot of soups and there are tons of local panaderias where you can buy a plethora of different fresh breads. The fruits and vegetables are also great because they are very fresh. I tried papaya for the first time yesterday and it wasn't bad. Sometimes I end up eating way to much because I don't exactly understand what they are asking me and then after I agree I have more food in front of me. So far my stomach and digestive tract are doing alright, a little diarrhea but nothing major. The only real drawback to my living situation is that the house is about 3 blocks from the end of the airport runway and I hear every plane that comes in to land. It isn't bad during the day, but at nights its a little annoying.

Sunday I spent the entire day at the IES office for an extensive orientation to just about everything I'll need to know for the semester in terms of academics, safety, security, health, etc... 8 straight hours of of Spanish was a lot to deal with on the first day but by the end of it I was could tell I had improved. The office itself is located in a newer part of town close to on the the biggest parks in the city. I haven't explored it yet but from the street I could see tons of people playing soccer and volleyball as well as a mountain biking course and tons of paved trails for walking and jogging. The center staff is phenomenal and the group of students also doing the Direct Enrollment program are great. I am the only guy out of 6 and am one of the worse Spanish speakers. Three of the girls have relatives in Latin America and are fluent already. I would say that I'm probably on par with the other two girls but I know that I am getting better everyday.

Today we had a half day of orienation at USFQ. First off, the campus is wonderful. It is located in a little valley to the east of Quito in a small town named Cumbaya (yes, I start singing the song everytime I think about it...) The bus ride is beautiful because you get the descend down the side of the valley and there are some fantastic views of the area. Campus is about a 3 minute walk from the bus stop and it is a very diverse place. The architecture ranges from the sort of cement block buildings that you usually see in poorer areas to awesome Spanish architecture and there is even a building that is in an Asian style. There are tons of open air gardens and walkways with sweet fauna and a little pond in the middle. Today was a little easier because much of the information (although it was the same as Sunday) was presented in English. However I still feel like today was good because I had to function on my own for the first time really and I was successful. Tomorrow is gonna be a low key day just chillin at the IES Office probably, but classes start Wednesday.

In general, the city (or at least what I've seen of it) is great. I know I haven't been to the rough parts and I know that they exist but for the most part it is much cleaner than I was expecting. You do see some crazy things though. Today on the bus to school a guy got on holding a live chicken. Also sometime when we are driving kids will walk out into the middle of a crosswalk at a red light and perform hoping for donations. Today I saw a girl juggling and several guys breathing fire. Just things you don't get to see everyday in the US. Also, the weather is great. I haven't checked for sure but I would guess that the temperature has been right around 70 degrees during the day (its a bit warmer at USFQ in the valley) and about 55 at night. Its funny to listen to the people say "Hace frio" knowing that back home people would kill for this kind of weather.

Well thats what I have for now. I promise I will have at least a few pictures in the next few days. My time thus far has been pretty structured but from now on I'm pretty much on my own and can take pictures at school and on the busses.

I hope everything is going well!

Paz y Amor

(P.S. As I spend more and more time here, its a safe bet that I will be throwing in more and more Spanish. Although it can be tiring now just having to be constantly thinking about what I'm hearing I know that pretty soon it is gonna be more natural than English. Just a fair warning.)

Cuando llegues in Quito...

I have safely arrived in Quito!! Right now I am in the middle of an orientation session which is a a kick in the face with Spanish. I might be in a little over my head, but I am sure I will be able to make things work. Gotta get back to stuff but I just wanted to send a quick update.

Peace and Love