So, an update:
I am intensiving! (Except not today, because I was sick today...and then I went to a pharmacy and got a week's worth of cold medicine: 45 cents) But anyway. The intensive is PRO. I am learning so much, not only language wise (try reading the Ridvan 2010 letter and consulting on the main themes, in Spanish!) and just the material. The first day we had this crash course in the administrative order from Baha'u'llah to the regional councilors and LSAs. And its so wonderful, I love working with the other youth from Ecuador, the United States, and Guatemala! My Spanish has definitely grown grown grown in this past week, more than the weeks at school which I spend instructing English! A funny effect of this is that I know lots and lots of words that have to do with the institute process: programas intensivas de crecemiento (intensive programmes of growth), desintegracion del mundo viejo (disintegration of the old world), el desarollo de comunidad (the building-up of the community) but still have problems with some simple words!
I get my share of slang terms during lunch and breaks. And we have some really fun loves, such as:
Which we are all learning to sing (although the only words Maryam and I know are "cuando me enamoro!!" so we sound like "cuando me enamoro doo doo doo doo doo doo do doodo")
Also:
This cracks me up so so so much (and if you speak, have ever taken, or live within 500 miles of a Spanish Speaking country, you will crack up too).
IN OTHER NEWS: Today the police attacked the Ecuadorian President. Because I was sick today, I didn't find out until this evening when Maryam came home and broke the news to me. How weird, huh? The president's okay, apparently the police were annoyed with their pay and promotions or something, so they attacked him for the third time. As a result, we don't have school for the next week (which works out pretty good from a selfish point of view, as I can now spend all my time at the intensive!) and yeah...definitely shows the desintegration of the world, huh?
Oh, and one more thing: check out Maryam's latest blog: she has some really cool quotes by 'Abdul-Baha about cows and birds that are inspiring!
*I'm referring to the fact that the POLICE JUST ATTACKED THE PRESIDENT. That just made me think of the West Wing episode where the President asks his docter "how do I know you're not poisoning me as part of a military coup? Get the Secret Service in here!" to which the doctor replies "in the case of a coup, how do you know the secret service would be on your side?"
30 September 2010
24 September 2010
Life, or some of it.
So, I had promised my readers (all 22 of you!) that I would post photos and describe my life, now that I've moved into my VERY OWN APARTMENT (uh-huh. I pay rent and everything) and am into the swing of things at school. I've been super busy, and I'm not going to apologize for slacking in the blogging department because its my blog, and if I choose to sleep instead of describe my thoughts, so be it! (I am having this little independence epiphany right now...have you noticed?) Truly, though, one of the things I am learning to do (and reveling in) is making sure I'm able to relax. Its so easy to overextend--so much to see and do--that if I don't take a nap or spend a Saturday doing nothing except sitting at home reading, praying, cooking...I just would crash. So I'm pressing my limits while also making sure I don't crash. Because crashing sounds bad to me right now.
So: life. I am at home! It is a small (3 rooms: kitchen, bathroom, bedroom) apartment that shares a wall with a Baha'i family who also teach at the school. They've been very good neighbors so far, helping us light our stove and hot water heater (with a match!) and dropping off mail and just being friendly in general. Their names are Jose Luis, Jaconda, and they have two children, Kendy and Dogma. Also, some relatives live there too...I'm not exactly sure who...but they're all very nice! Behind our kitchen, we have a little backyard which is full of chickens and children, who belong to the 3 or so houses which share our backyard.
The house has a few quirks, but we live with them. Some of the quirks we couldn't live with, so we fixed them:
Some unfixed quirks include slugs in the bathroom (we've only found a few, but we have no idea where they're coming from), a door without a unlockable latch (we have a padlock but can't actually latch the door without having to break in...don't worry, we're in a very safe neighborhood), and the interesting dilemma of having one working electrical outlet in the kitchen, and no internet in the kitchen, and only semi reliable in the bedroom (better near the ceiling, so we spend an absurd amount of time standing on top of the beds waving our computers around like we're looking for cell reception...yeah, we're cool). We also have no refrigerator (or cabinets, for that matter...but no problems with pests yet...) and so we've been very good about eating leftovers. The weather here is fairly chilly in the mornings and evenings (especially when your shower is randomly semi-lukewarm, another quirk) and because its shady inside, nothing gets warm and spoiled from sitting in the house. And because the weather here is pretty much the same, all year, we probably won't have to get a fridge. The odd food we throw out will be much cheaper than the 300$ expense of a mini fridge here. And we haven't bought meat yet (it looks decidedly unappealing to buy a chicken with feet and neck and head still attached) but we'll get protein from veggies and the once a week eating out (tonight is Chinese! They have a surprising number of Chinese restaurants here...its odd to hear someone speaking Spanish with a Chinese accent!).
So that's our apartment. My favorite thing about it is the bold colors: our bedroom is bright blue, our bathroom this skype-blue, porta-potty color, our kitchen three shades of yellow. We have a miniature kitchen table, bright red, and primary-yellow chairs. My second favorite thing is the thick blankets that keep me warm at night!
Now, school life:
I have a lot lot lot of classes. I am teaching English to las clases de prebasica, segundo de basica, tercero de basica, sexto de basica, octavo de basica, y colegio (preschool, 1st, 2nd, 5th, 7th, and high school) I also teach the preschoolers computers, and I learned today that instead of co-teaching the most advanced english high school class with Maryam, I'm teaching a beginning class (that means giving 50% instruction in Spanish!) of 15, by myself. And I write lesson plans for preschool and high school. So yeah, they keep me busy here.
I think that I am the most surprised of anyone at this, but I am starting to like kids. Yes, it is disgusting when after teaching preschool I discover a booger on my jeans (actually happened. Grossssss!) and yes, it is frustrating when the 6o de basica won't focus on writing and whine whenever we make them write out the date but on the other hand, its so so rewarding when the little 1st graders finally finally stay in their seat and complete the assignment! And its so touching when I miss two days because I went to Quito (ehgf. That's a story in itself. but one for a later day, we video diaried that one) and I come back and three come up and ask where I was, and if I'll still come to class. And for those amigas of mine that love looking at cute children: we have a ton. Here's a few photos:
So there's what I have for school...when I'm in more of a writing mood, I'll add some more description...but now its time for me to get some dinner!
So: life. I am at home! It is a small (3 rooms: kitchen, bathroom, bedroom) apartment that shares a wall with a Baha'i family who also teach at the school. They've been very good neighbors so far, helping us light our stove and hot water heater (with a match!) and dropping off mail and just being friendly in general. Their names are Jose Luis, Jaconda, and they have two children, Kendy and Dogma. Also, some relatives live there too...I'm not exactly sure who...but they're all very nice! Behind our kitchen, we have a little backyard which is full of chickens and children, who belong to the 3 or so houses which share our backyard.
The house has a few quirks, but we live with them. Some of the quirks we couldn't live with, so we fixed them:
Some unfixed quirks include slugs in the bathroom (we've only found a few, but we have no idea where they're coming from), a door without a unlockable latch (we have a padlock but can't actually latch the door without having to break in...don't worry, we're in a very safe neighborhood), and the interesting dilemma of having one working electrical outlet in the kitchen, and no internet in the kitchen, and only semi reliable in the bedroom (better near the ceiling, so we spend an absurd amount of time standing on top of the beds waving our computers around like we're looking for cell reception...yeah, we're cool). We also have no refrigerator (or cabinets, for that matter...but no problems with pests yet...) and so we've been very good about eating leftovers. The weather here is fairly chilly in the mornings and evenings (especially when your shower is randomly semi-lukewarm, another quirk) and because its shady inside, nothing gets warm and spoiled from sitting in the house. And because the weather here is pretty much the same, all year, we probably won't have to get a fridge. The odd food we throw out will be much cheaper than the 300$ expense of a mini fridge here. And we haven't bought meat yet (it looks decidedly unappealing to buy a chicken with feet and neck and head still attached) but we'll get protein from veggies and the once a week eating out (tonight is Chinese! They have a surprising number of Chinese restaurants here...its odd to hear someone speaking Spanish with a Chinese accent!).
So that's our apartment. My favorite thing about it is the bold colors: our bedroom is bright blue, our bathroom this skype-blue, porta-potty color, our kitchen three shades of yellow. We have a miniature kitchen table, bright red, and primary-yellow chairs. My second favorite thing is the thick blankets that keep me warm at night!
Now, school life:
I have a lot lot lot of classes. I am teaching English to las clases de prebasica, segundo de basica, tercero de basica, sexto de basica, octavo de basica, y colegio (preschool, 1st, 2nd, 5th, 7th, and high school) I also teach the preschoolers computers, and I learned today that instead of co-teaching the most advanced english high school class with Maryam, I'm teaching a beginning class (that means giving 50% instruction in Spanish!) of 15, by myself. And I write lesson plans for preschool and high school. So yeah, they keep me busy here.
I think that I am the most surprised of anyone at this, but I am starting to like kids. Yes, it is disgusting when after teaching preschool I discover a booger on my jeans (actually happened. Grossssss!) and yes, it is frustrating when the 6o de basica won't focus on writing and whine whenever we make them write out the date but on the other hand, its so so rewarding when the little 1st graders finally finally stay in their seat and complete the assignment! And its so touching when I miss two days because I went to Quito (ehgf. That's a story in itself. but one for a later day, we video diaried that one) and I come back and three come up and ask where I was, and if I'll still come to class. And for those amigas of mine that love looking at cute children: we have a ton. Here's a few photos:
 |
| Danae, a 2o de basica student |
 |
| Mattias and Charis, two of my prebasica students at lunch |
 |
| Cute, huh? |
20 September 2010
The Pink Cacti!
THE MYSTERY FRUITS, PART 2:
We weren't even sure if this WAS a fruit. But apparently my dad knew that it was a fruit (thanks, dad, even 5000+ miles away you can help me!) and today, we learned from Paolo that the fruit is called a Tuna (not to be confused with the fish) and it is the fruit of a (get this) cactus!
We weren't even sure if this WAS a fruit. But apparently my dad knew that it was a fruit (thanks, dad, even 5000+ miles away you can help me!) and today, we learned from Paolo that the fruit is called a Tuna (not to be confused with the fish) and it is the fruit of a (get this) cactus!
19 September 2010
Laundry Day
Today I was able to finally clean my clothes.
I have not done laundry since I arrived. And before you get all grossed out, I'll have you know that its been 19 days, although it seems like way longer than that to me. So I was definitely in need of some clean socks.
Luckily, José Luis, our somewhat-landlord and friend who lives next door, was very welcoming. He let us use his washing machine. This was a relief to me, because I had seen the other people who live in this same area washing clothes in large tanks outside, by hand. This seemed like a lot a lot of work, especially because the water did not look completely clean. I was so happy to see the little Whirlpool sitting in their kitchen (the house has only a few rooms, and the kitchen apparently doubles as a laundry room). After we finished a load of whites, we hung up our socks in our room (conveniently there is a clothesline hanging diagonally so its always in your way!) and shirts along with the multitude of other clothes in the courtyard. Weekends are laundry days here, and everyone was hanging clothes, taking dry clothes down, washing, etc:
And so I just thought I'd tell the world: I have clean clothes! (although most are still wet, and its night, so hope it doesn't rain tonight.) I have cold hands! I have to read directions on dissolving laundry detergent better! I have school tomorrow!
Thats it for tonight!
I have not done laundry since I arrived. And before you get all grossed out, I'll have you know that its been 19 days, although it seems like way longer than that to me. So I was definitely in need of some clean socks.
Luckily, José Luis, our somewhat-landlord and friend who lives next door, was very welcoming. He let us use his washing machine. This was a relief to me, because I had seen the other people who live in this same area washing clothes in large tanks outside, by hand. This seemed like a lot a lot of work, especially because the water did not look completely clean. I was so happy to see the little Whirlpool sitting in their kitchen (the house has only a few rooms, and the kitchen apparently doubles as a laundry room). After we finished a load of whites, we hung up our socks in our room (conveniently there is a clothesline hanging diagonally so its always in your way!) and shirts along with the multitude of other clothes in the courtyard. Weekends are laundry days here, and everyone was hanging clothes, taking dry clothes down, washing, etc:
 |
| The courtyard behind our apartment |
 |
| Our room with clean laundry |
Thats it for tonight!
16 September 2010
The Mystery Fruit: Tomatalope
So, I am in my own (well, shared) apartment! Its very nice, very basic. And I LOVE having my own space. I can shower when I want (as long as I light the hot-water heater with a match 15 minutes in advance), I can go to bed when I want (which is early, because I get up literally before the dawn each morning), and, possibly the best part, I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want.
This was somewhat of a challenge for me when I was staying with Jorge David and his family. They were very hospitable, and a perfect way to acclimatize to Ecuador. But a cultural aspect of Ecuador is that here, the people eat three large meals a day. Being someone who is used to snacking, this was kind of awkward to get used to...I would have to force myself to finish what was served to me (or even half of it) but then be starved a hour before the next "mealtime"...So Maryam and I are now able to buy our food together, which includes crackers, fruit, and fresh veggies for snacks!
Oh, and another thing: We don't have a fridge. So far, we've just bought food that we could eat that night, and non-refrigeratable stuff. We're getting progressively better at cooking on our tiny little lite-with-a-match stove! We've eaten pasta and soup for the past three nights...we've had plenty chicken-and-rice meals for awhile.
Anyway, the whole buying-food-every-day is actually something I like. Its about a 5 or 10 minute walk to the market, where tons and tons of fresh food is being sold. (and very very cheap...Especially being used to Alaska prices, buying fresh bell peppers at 10 cents each is delish!)
Tonight, we decided to experiment with one of the many "unknown fruits" here. The Mystery Fruits, which will soon be a regular submission on my blog. I am documenting our experience with different fruits. Here is the first installment:
So. Eggbert the Watermelon Fruit, after a second tasting, tasted less like a watermelon and more like a combination of a tomato and a cantaloupe, so we changed its name to a Tomataloupe. And the delish consensus? Well, definitely not something I'd choose over strawberries, but I'd eat it if I was, you know, starving. Or if I had to be polite...but probably not otherwise.
This was somewhat of a challenge for me when I was staying with Jorge David and his family. They were very hospitable, and a perfect way to acclimatize to Ecuador. But a cultural aspect of Ecuador is that here, the people eat three large meals a day. Being someone who is used to snacking, this was kind of awkward to get used to...I would have to force myself to finish what was served to me (or even half of it) but then be starved a hour before the next "mealtime"...So Maryam and I are now able to buy our food together, which includes crackers, fruit, and fresh veggies for snacks!
Oh, and another thing: We don't have a fridge. So far, we've just bought food that we could eat that night, and non-refrigeratable stuff. We're getting progressively better at cooking on our tiny little lite-with-a-match stove! We've eaten pasta and soup for the past three nights...we've had plenty chicken-and-rice meals for awhile.
Anyway, the whole buying-food-every-day is actually something I like. Its about a 5 or 10 minute walk to the market, where tons and tons of fresh food is being sold. (and very very cheap...Especially being used to Alaska prices, buying fresh bell peppers at 10 cents each is delish!)
Tonight, we decided to experiment with one of the many "unknown fruits" here. The Mystery Fruits, which will soon be a regular submission on my blog. I am documenting our experience with different fruits. Here is the first installment:
15 September 2010
Jam Sesh!
This is what we do for fun here.
Okay, we do other things for fun too. But this was definitely one of the most fun things! The people are Maryam , my lovely roommate (We're moved to our apartment a few days ago! photos to be posted soon) and Marlon, a youth pioneering in Ecuador. (He's from Guatemala!) We had a very exciting time with the Spanish/English/pots and pans. And there was a lot of kicks and giggles when the family we were staying with walked through the door and saw us singing "The Soccer Song" with pots and pans. So fun!
Okay, we do other things for fun too. But this was definitely one of the most fun things! The people are Maryam , my lovely roommate (We're moved to our apartment a few days ago! photos to be posted soon) and Marlon, a youth pioneering in Ecuador. (He's from Guatemala!) We had a very exciting time with the Spanish/English/pots and pans. And there was a lot of kicks and giggles when the family we were staying with walked through the door and saw us singing "The Soccer Song" with pots and pans. So fun!
09 September 2010
Top 10: Emotional Twinism or, Reasons I Love Elika.
Disclaimer: this is (mostly) unrelated to my travels to Ecuador. Instead, this is (mostly) about one of my best friends and emotional twin, Elika.
Because Elika is amazing, and has mentioned me in her blog multiple times, and because its been a while since I indulged in my top 10 lists, here are, in no particular order, the Top 10 reasons I love having Elika in my life (albeit 5,613 miles away. Thank you google maps.)
10. She is my emotional twin. Which, for those of you who don't know, means that where other people are similar on the outside, we are similar on the inside. So physically, we are peas and carrots, but emotionally, we are carrots and carrots. Yum, vegetables.
9.She has amazing curly hair, which can be used to make mustaches.
8. She is in the business of surprise weddings, which is going to be the next big trend in event planning.
7. Her family is pretty amazing. They put up with a lot of youth devotionals and sleepovers and showering in the early morning, and I have had a lot of fun times with them which include Balderdash, nerf wars, body bags, super spying at Fred Meyers, and cats.
6. If she married someone with the last name of Book, her name would be Elika Roohi Book.
5. She is unafraid of weird looks (in fact sometimes she tries to get them) and completely immune to societal pressures of conformity. Which allows her to do amazing things like wear tights on Sundays, dance like a jellyfish, and bring her ukulele to supermarkets.
4. She plays the ukulele! And was the impetus of my own uke obsession. Also, she has been my exposure to many other amazing things like Regina Spektor's chord progresh, Firefly, Dr. Horrible, and fire extinguishers.
3. She is really quite good at communication despite distances ranging from an hour's drive to 5,613 miles. And she takes the time to email a person, and share links on facebook, and is all around not a slacker in the communication department.
2.She has really good ideas when it comes to writing songs. And, she can find better rhymes then the online rhyming dictionary.
1. She has an amazing writing skills! She's actually getting paid to write for the UAF paper. Possibly photograph too. And her blog is fun to read! www.elikaa.blogspot.com Go there. Read. It will change your life.
Love you Elika!
Because Elika is amazing, and has mentioned me in her blog multiple times, and because its been a while since I indulged in my top 10 lists, here are, in no particular order, the Top 10 reasons I love having Elika in my life (albeit 5,613 miles away. Thank you google maps.)
10. She is my emotional twin. Which, for those of you who don't know, means that where other people are similar on the outside, we are similar on the inside. So physically, we are peas and carrots, but emotionally, we are carrots and carrots. Yum, vegetables.
9.She has amazing curly hair, which can be used to make mustaches.
8. She is in the business of surprise weddings, which is going to be the next big trend in event planning.
7. Her family is pretty amazing. They put up with a lot of youth devotionals and sleepovers and showering in the early morning, and I have had a lot of fun times with them which include Balderdash, nerf wars, body bags, super spying at Fred Meyers, and cats.
6. If she married someone with the last name of Book, her name would be Elika Roohi Book.
5. She is unafraid of weird looks (in fact sometimes she tries to get them) and completely immune to societal pressures of conformity. Which allows her to do amazing things like wear tights on Sundays, dance like a jellyfish, and bring her ukulele to supermarkets.
4. She plays the ukulele! And was the impetus of my own uke obsession. Also, she has been my exposure to many other amazing things like Regina Spektor's chord progresh, Firefly, Dr. Horrible, and fire extinguishers.
3. She is really quite good at communication despite distances ranging from an hour's drive to 5,613 miles. And she takes the time to email a person, and share links on facebook, and is all around not a slacker in the communication department.
2.She has really good ideas when it comes to writing songs. And, she can find better rhymes then the online rhyming dictionary.
1. She has an amazing writing skills! She's actually getting paid to write for the UAF paper. Possibly photograph too. And her blog is fun to read! www.elikaa.blogspot.com Go there. Read. It will change your life.
Love you Elika!
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