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...)