On Sunday, my family surprised me with an early breakfast and an hour long drive to the Cajas National Park. As I will most likely say about everything I see here, it is incredibly gorgeous. Apparently someone saw an angel there, so there is a church, covered boxes for lighting candles and a lot of religious paraphernalia, both at the bottom and at the top of the mountain. According to my phonetics and phonology professor at CEDEI, people come from around the world (or at least the country) to see this place. But Cajas isn't just a religious site. There is also a small market filled with slightly-overpriced indigenous goods (mostly for tourists) and a few paths up (at least) one of the mountains. My host brother, Diego, and I hiked up one of the mountains, only to get completely soaked by a rainstorm at the top (don't worry, my camera was very well protected!). The view was incredible, and I enjoyed spending time with my family. After our hike and frantic slide/run down the mountain and back to the car, the family stopped for lunch at a little place on the side of the road. I had a packed lunch because my family cooks vegetarian for me, but everyone else had either chicken, fish or cuy (or as we know them in the US, guinea pig). After lunch, we headed out to the family's country home (casa del campo), which ended up being about 25 minutes away from home (or at least that's what I calculated...I haven't actually timed it yet). Again, an incredible view. We picked some pears, little circular fruit and "zombie fruit" (the actual name of which I can't ever seem to remember), and visited the chickens. The adults made dinner from food grown/harvested on the property while Bridget and I played with the kids, Annalee and Litsy. Litsy said she was interested in photography, so I turned my camera over to her for an hour or so (I was right there the whole time, ready to grab it just in case!). Most of her photos didn't actually turn out, but she's learning. Technology is extremely expensive in Ecuador, so she probably won't ever purchase a nice camera unless she decides to study photography or saves her money for a very long time. To put the cost in perspective, semi-decent televisions that would cost about $300 in the US cost at least $1,400 here. Good thing I brought all the technology I'd need for four months... Overall, it was a nice day. I'm enjoying my host family, though the language barrier can be a bit rough at times. My spanish is improving every day (as far as I can tell). I have three weeks left in one of my classes, and five (or four?) left in the other, then we will be halfway through the semester. Part of the Spring Semester CEDEI group is going to the Galapagos Islands for "spring break" but it was a couple thousand dollars too expensive for my budget, so my family is planning on heading to the beach for a long weekend while I have school off. Nothing is set in stone though, so I'll figure it out later. But for now, I'm back to homework and studying for my midterm... ¡Adios!
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It has been a whirlwind two weeks since I last blogged in the airport on my way to Ecuador. Since then, I have done some pretty incredible things, such as tubing down the Napo River in the Amazon Rainforest, and some pretty gross (yet still cool) things, such as eating ants that tasted like lemon-flavored Starburst. So, a quick recap of the past two weeks... I arrived in Quito, Ecuador, the evening of January 12. Going through customs was surprisingly easy and took maybe 30 minutes maximum. My suitcase arrived with me (thank goodness!) and I met most of the rest of the Spring Semester CEDEI group. We then proceeded to take a 1.5 hour bus ride to Hotel Quito, which (until I arrived in Cuenca) definitely had one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen (see above photo for proof). From Hotel Quito, the group headed to Otavalo for two days. Otavalo is a small town located north of the Equator. The main attraction for us was the outdoor market (see photo above). Recently, the market has begun to focus strongly on tourist trade, but thousands of indigenous people from surrounding communities still come to buy and sell their wares in Otavalo. While I was there, I purchased a pair of jungle pants and a blanket (yes, it does get cold here at night, somewhere around 50*F). We also went to an Andean music workshop and a weaving workshop, in which we watched how to make a small pan pipe/flute and we were able to try our hand at weaving (it's actually harder than it looks, depending on the technology being used). After Otavalo, we journeyed to El Mitad del Mundo, which translates as "the middle of the world." So of course, I did a cartwheel over the equator. And I danced. And I just sorta walked around looking at the view away from the gigantic sundial that marks the spot that, according to our guide, is actually considered the MIDDLE of the world because it is the only place in which the equator crosses topography that is conducive to actually seeing the sun rise and set on the line that marks the equator. There are also two other places in Ecuador that claim to be on the equator line (one is a museum, one is something else), but GPS and 21st-century technology has confirmed this line as the real equator. We went to the real one. Once we had finished being tourists at El Mitad del Mundo, we spent one more night at Hotel Quito before departing for the Amazon Rainforest. We stayed in huts at the Cotococha Lodge in the Napo province. During our three days in the most beautiful place on earth, we were able to take part in countless activities. We hiked a lot, swam in a waterfall in the jungle, visited a wildlife preserve in which only some of the animals live in captivity (mostly due to adaptation issues...several of the animals used to be illegal pets). For once in my life, I left my camera in the hut and just lived. There are so many images I wish I could have captured, but it was worth it to have a couple days free of worry (especially since we traveled down the river to get everywhere). Photos are from my friend Jacque's camera (it's waterproof!) that I sort of took control of for a day. I made homemade chocolate from the plant (it's super easy), tubed down the Napo River, ate ants, tried and failed to watch the sun rise, had my first legal drink (the drinking age is 18 here), ate some of the most delicious food ever (apparently I've been missing out for years...mushrooms are INCREDIBLE), and met some of the nicest and most helpful staff members in the world. If I could afford to go back to Cotococha, I would do it tomorrow. Google it if you don't believe me-- this is the most beautiful lodge in the history of lodges. Hacienda Leito, like everywhere else, is absolutely gorgeous. The view, if you get up before 6:30am, is incredible. After 6:30am, there is fog everywhere because it is in the mountains. The food was stupendous, and the hot shower (after a few days of cold/no showers in the jungle) was better than the best ever. After a few days in the jungle, we headed to Hacienda Leito for the night. HL is basically a super-swanky motel partway between the jungle and Cuenca. Though we were only there for about 15 hours (probably fewer), I still found time to walk around and take a few photos. We left Hacienda Leito around 8am on Jan 19, and arrived in Cuenca at about 4:30pm to meet our host families and to start settling into our life in Cuenca. The first week of my trip was one of the must culturally-rewarding weeks I have ever had, and I wish I had more time to spend everywhere we went. Now I'm living with a family near "el mercado 12 de abril" and they are nothing but kind and helpful, when we can understand each other (my Spanish is less fantastic than I thought). But more about them later -- that and my first week in Cuenca is another story for a later time. When I woke up for the second time this morning, the sun was shining in my window. Unusual for two reasons — one: my window at home faces west, and two: the reason I woke up was most likely related to turbulence. Today is the first in a whirlwind five months of traveling through and living in a foreign country.
Unfortunately the wifi at the Miami International Airport in Florida is pay as you go, so I’ll keep this post short. In a few hours, I will truly be on my way to my next great adventure. I would upload a photo or two, but so far that isn't working out so well. Check out my twitter (@kmhiller) or instagram (@kmhiller527) to see the photos... sorry. It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that I'll be living in South America in a mere two days. TWO DAYS. My to-do list is a mile and a half long, and yet there are only three important things left to do: finish packing, drive to the airport, and get on a plane.
And yet today feels like just another day. I am returning to my high school newspaper to talk about the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and the high school workshop offered over the summer. I have to finish editing a few pieces for Scripps Showcase, one of the organizations that I was in charge of last semester. I should probably eat something too. My dog and I will most likely cuddle on the couch and watch the news, as per our usual winter break activity list. Maybe I'll even shovel the snow on the driveway...or maybe I'll just make hot cocoa, sit back, relax, and watch a few episodes of the Ellen show that my mom unknowingly recorded on the DVR that she accidentally bought last winter... But today isn't just another day. In two days, I'll be headed to one of the most beautiful places in the world, and one of the most exotic. I'm spending next week hiking in the Amazon Rainforest near Quito, Ecuador. Within a week and a half, I will have met my host family and started school at CEDEI. I'm about to have the semester of my lifetime...so come along for the ride. I will be blogging and/or posting photos as I am able to (depending on the wifi situation), and living life in the southern hemisphere. Adios, Kate |
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AuthorKate Hiller is a wannabe world traveler studying journalism and Spanish at Ohio University. This blog is about her experiences living abroad in Cuenca, Ecuador for a semester. (Spring 2014) Archives
May 2014
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