Volunteering

Hey party people! Guess what! I´m writing this blog from the comfort of my very own home! We got internet in the house yesterday, isn´t that great! Let me tell ya, I´m pretty darn excited about it. I’m trying to download skype onto it as I type this. I feel so blessed to have internet available to me. Lets see, what can I say about my life right now.

Well this weekend was a total blast. Had the sleepover, watched lots of movies and ate lots of pizza! It was really nice out so I was able to spend time in the park this weekend which is always nice. I also went ice skating with my friends, pretty random right! Who woulda thought there was ice skating in EcuadorJ It was a blast, I didn’t even fall once which has to be some sort of record for me. I also saw a movie this weekend called ´Que Tan Lejos. Of the parts that I understood I thought it was pretty darn good. I must admit there were times where the whole audience would erupt in laughter and my friends and I would just look at each other really confused because we didn’t know what was just said, but it was still a lot of fun. ´

Monday was a normal day at school nothing to exciting to report, but today was a little different. At my 8:30 class we started planning for our mountain climb this weekend, I believe the mountain is called Atacaso. I heard it is one of the easier ones so this should be a good learning experience. Good news, no ropes or helmets required for this one, so it should be nice and easy. I´ll tell you all about it. However I do have to rent a tent and buy a sleeping bag for this trip. I am determined to get back on Sunday for the SUPERBOWL!!! I really hope we get back in time, we are supposed to get back at 3pm so that gives us more than enough time to get to a TV. After my mountaineering class I went to volunteer for the first time at a local school by the University. It was a blast, seriously! I had so much fun, the kids are great. I basically helped the teacher teach English to the kids. He made me read everything aloud since I am a native speaker and it is good for the kids to be exposed to that. I think I´m going to do that Tuesdays for sure, maybe Thursdays. Tomorrow at 8am I am meeting up our director to look at another volunteering opportunity so we´ll see how that goes.

Tomorrow I have a presentation in one of my Spanish classes but it should be pretty fun. There is a lot of participation from the class so that always makes presenting easier. I think that is all for now but I miss you and can´t wait to hear from you!!

Hey everybody. Well it’s been a long couple of days for me unfortunately. I got sick for the first time on Tuesday night :( I think that I lasted pretty long without feeling bad actually! With all the new food and weather, etc. its pretty much bound to happen sooner or later. I feel like I’ve past some sort of test everyone goes through when traveling to a new place. The good news is that I am feeling much better now! My family has taken great care of me these past couple of days. I’m sticking to toast and water for awhile, just to be safe. I missed a day of school which is always a bummer but my teachers are very understanding so that is great! Today I tried to go get my Ecuadorian Identification card but I forgot one of the papers I needed so I must go back tomorrow. It is quite the process!! It seems like there are a lot of hoops to jump through in order to live and go to school here, but definitely worth it in the end! I’ve written my first couple of assignments for my classes which makes me feel better. One of my teachers said the exchange students can write their assignments in English because it is easier for him to read their English than trying to understand their SpanishJ I thought that was kind of funny. I tried to write mine in Spanish so we will see if he was able to understand! I think I’m going to lay low this weekend just to make sure I’m feeling 100% better. One of my friend’s mom has to leave this weekend so I think all us girls are going to have a sleepover. That should be really fun, haven’t had one of those for to long! Hope all is well and everyone is excited about the bears!!! I can’t believe I’m missing all the excitement! We’re trying to find a good place to watch it down here though so no worriesJ I’ll be cheering from here!

Lots of love
Jess

Traveling

I am so excited everybody!! Lindsay and I just discovered a plaza with wireless pretty close to my house!! This means more of everything, skype, e-mail, picture downloading!!!! I am so excited about this discovery!! I just got back from Ban‘‘‘‘os, it is a city about 4 hours from here, but actually first we went to a small town called Hausalata. I think I’m getting ahead of myselfJ

Saturday morning a group of us met up with Maria, our program director, for our first excursion! We got in a van and traveled 4 hours to an Indigenous village called Hausalata. It was an amazing experience; I’ve posted some pictures so you can see what I mean! We stayed in a hostel in the middle of town. It was a beautiful cottage made by the people we stayed with. Jose and Francesca were our hosts, they were so welcoming and gracious! Everyone in the town speaks both Spanish and Quichua, their native language. We arrived and put our stuff in the house, after that we started exploring! We were given a tour of the town. First was the house of Maria Teresa, she is very important to the community, she leads a group for the women who live in the town. There were many children who came to great us while we were exploring! We played soccer with them and they showed us their school. There are about 30 kids in the school at this time, there is about 230 people in the town. The kids kept us busy chasing them! I was quite tired by the time we were done! For lunch we ate cui, I think that is how it is spelled, it is guinea pig!!! I was so nervous about eating it but I’m really glad I did it, it tastes like chickenJ I recommend it to all!! After lunch we went for a hike to the river. They go every day to collect grass for the animals. They don’t buy anything, that includes food for the animals. They make only enough to survive. The trek down to the river was beautiful! But that was only the half of it, after we got to the river they took us up a mountain bear foot! I have pansy feet but I did it! It was kind of a hard trek up but the end result was well worth it. There is a spring with sacred water flowing through it. If anyone is sick they bring them up there to be healed with the water. After soaking up the view for a while we headed back down the mountain, slipping and sliding the whole way but having a blast! After that we went back to the village and went to the workshop where they make all the tapestries. Really amazing how they do it, we were able to watch as one was made. It was so fun to play with the kids and learn all the games they play. They loved our digital cameras and loved taking the pictures themselvesJ They also enjoyed piggyback rides, man was I tired! That night was so great, there was a group of musicians who played for us and we learned how to do traditional dances. We danced the night awayJ We also played with the kids and taught them dance moves, they loved it and so did we! It was such a good time I really hope I get to see them again. I was pretty tired after all that so I crashed pretty quick. That next morning we woke up at 7 so we could help milk the cows! That was a funny experience. Check out the pictures for proofJ Then we ate breakfast and hung out with the kids until we had to leave. We drove for awhile and stopped at some markets along the way. We arrived in Banos, it was about a half an hour away from where we were. There we walked around the city, stopped in a beautiful church and ate lunch together. We also say some waterfalls and tried sugar cane. It was a great time, we are definitely going to go back sometime when we have more days to spend there. We had to head back at that point but we were all pretty tired. That about sums it up!! I hope you enjoyed reading about my weekend, don’t forget to let me know how you all are doing! Tomorrow is school so I should head home soon but I’ll keep you updated!!

Lots of love

busy busy:)

Hey Hey!

Sorry it’s been so long since my last blog! The weekends are pretty much internet-less, so I have to wait till the weekdays. Let me try and update you on whats been going on!

Well classes wise I think I’ve pretty much gotten things figured out. I am in a conversation class, a Spanish literature class, Latin American Themes class, and Spanish grammar class, and the mountaineering class. Tomorrow I am going to try and join the Salsa dancing class which sounds like so much fun!! Also, since I don’t have much class on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have been trying to work out some volunteering opportunities. I am going to try and work at a local high school with teaching English, I’ll let you know what ends up working out!

This past weekend was quite the adventure! We went to La Mitad del mundo, the Equator! There was a real line and everything, granted it didn’t go that far, only about 10 feet! It was really fun, there was a museum which talked about the indigenous tribes that used to live there. They also showed us some cool things that happen when you are at the Equator, like water falling straight down a drain, it actually worked!! I always thought that was a myth! I’m glad we went, it just wouldn’t make sense to go to Ecuador without visiting the Equator! It took us about and hour to get there, but well worth the trek! We also took a trip to the top of a crater; we all jumped in the back of a pickup truck and rode to the top. The ride up was half the fun! Unfortunately it was totally foggy when we reached the top so we couldn’t see anything, but it was still a good time had by all! After seeing the Equator, we bought groceries and made dinner at my friend Adams house. So funny because we ended up making hot dogs, pretty American! It was nice to just sit and talk about our experiences so far.

This past weekend I was also able to check out some of the night life. There is so much to do here I can’t wait until this weekend to discover more things!! Actually, this weekend we are going to an indigenous village called la provincia de Tungurahua, en el sur de Quito. One of the professors that teaches at my school grew up there. He is going to show us around. I can’t even imagine what that will be like, I can’t wait! That’s all for now! I’m going to go home to eat with my family but I should be able to give another update in a few days! Thanks for always letting me know whats going on back home! I heard there is snow and the bears are winning!! All good news!!

lots of love!!

Hey Party People!!

I'm sitting here in the University waiting for my next class and I thought I'd write a little note:) Before I forget, Katie figured out how to call my cell phone for those who ever need to get ahold of me or want to talk:) Calling from a phone in the US, the number is 01159384781026. But aside from that today is my second day of school and a great day at that. My classes yesterday were a little intense but I'm sure they will turn out alright! Lets see, my temas class sounds like it will be very interesting, a lot of history and politics. Not always easy but really good to know especially when living in that country!! My second class is called El Boom, it sounds like it is going to be a lot of reading but interesting. Our first novel is called cien anos de soledad, a bunch of you have probably read this on in English already, one hundred years of solitude. My last class is art history, the teacher seems really nice but she talks a mile a minute. And since my Spanish isn't quite where I would like it I can tell I am going to have to concentrate really hard for that one:) Today I started classes with Andinismo, it sounds like so much fun! Next week we are supposed to bring rope, I'm guessing to learn how to use it when mountaineering. We go on four excursions throughout the semester that are pretty easy, and then a couple that are a bit more difficult! I can't wait to explore the country more and see the beautiful scenery! I will definitely keep you posted on that class! I also have grammar and modern dance class today, I'm looking forward to dance although I have no idea what to expect!! I have pretty much mastered the bus system to get to school which is exciting! I also tried this apple cake yesterday which was really good! So many new things to try, I'm trying to try them all!! Talk to you soon! Take care!!!

First Day of School Tomorrow!

Hey all,
Sunday night I went on the telegrafo to look at the city from on top of a mountain, it was everything everyone said it would be!! The ride going up was a little scary but I´m so glad I did it! On monday I went to school, took 2 buses which took my about 35 minutes total, not too bad. The day was beautiful, it was nice because we got a tour of some of the university. The day was also filled with speakers. The founder of the university talked which was nice, he is a really funny guy. We also heard about safety and and such. Basically never walk alone and watch out for the food from street vendors!! This is hard since it always smells soooo good!! I got to meet a lot of people today which was one of the best parts of the day! I even made some Ecuadorian friends! Always a plus! I also got a small salsa lesson, I can´t wait to learn more!! There are about 250 exchange students at the university this year so it was fun to see us all together. For lunch we ate on campus at this really good Italian resteraunt! I can´t wait to go back throughout the year. After that I had to rush to take a Spanish placement exam, it wasn´t too bad. Yesterday was a little harder than the others in that I was a little homesick, I suppose that will happen from time to time, but thankfully I got to talk to Heather that night and felt much better:) Today was a busy one! I registered for classes and got a more thourough tour of the campus which was really nice. The campus is a little complicated but I´m sure I´ll get the hang of it:) So far for classes I am taking: (translated roughly into English) themes of latin america, The boom, Modern art of latin america, Intermediate Grammer, Modern Dance, and Andinismo(a mountain climbing class). I am really excited!! My classes sound really good, I also might take an international relations class, I´m still working out the kinks in my schedule. The modern dance class sounded so fun, I will probably make a fool out of myself but hey it´ll still be fun!! Tomorrow is my first day of classes, I´ll let you know how it goes:) After school we got helado(ice cream) I think I´m addicted to ice cream, it´s literally on every street corner!! In a few minutes I am going to go bowling! And Katie just got back from Maine! I just talked to her and she said she had a great time! I´m so glad she got back safe! Hope all is well and I´ll talk to you soon!!!

Pics

So I posted a few pictures, I'll post more today or tomorrow, but it's a start:) Gotta go, time for school:)

Still goin´strong!

Hey guys!! Thank you so much for your posts, I always look forward to reading them! I read them all and love knowing what is going on in your busy lives. I´m going to make it my mission for the next few days to get my pictures up and skype working, sorry it´s taking so long! I´m going to internet cafe´s to use the internet right now, but I start school on Wednesday so then I can use my laptop!! Today is another beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky! Yesterday I went on a tour of Quito Antiguo, the older part of Quito. Jose was our tour guide, he is a professor at the university. We saw cathedrals and museums, I had a really good time although at the end I was pretty tired and ready to chow down! We went to a place called the Basilica, it is a beautiful church with 4 towers. We climbed up them yesterday afternoon, that was quite the experience! The stairs to get up are steep and outside! I tried not to look down:) I´m glad I did it though because the view was well worth the climb. After the tours were over we took the bus back and I did a little exploring. I managed to get to the supermarket and back by myself, I was excited! I had to get some lotion for my sunburn, it´s not to bad, I´m ready for the sun now, it just caught my off guard the first day! I forget how much closer to the sun Quito is. Last night I met up with some of my friends from U of I and we ate mcdonalds(comfort food:) Then we saw a movie, noche en el museo(night at the museum) I thought it was really cute! It was actually in English with Spanish subtitles, I was glad for that, it´s much easier to understand the jokes! Today my host sister comes back from Spain, I can´t wait to meet her, here name is Diana. I went to church this morning, didn´t understand half of what was said but I was just glad to be there. Everyone was so nice to me, I had to introduce myself to the congregation, I was pretty nervous! Today at 3 I am going to take the telegrafico up the mountain to see the view of the city. It´s pretty much like a ski lift so that should be fun!! Well I have to go meet up with my family, but I miss you all and am so glad to hear from you!!!

Universidad San Francisco!

Hey everybody!! I hope you are all doing well! Great news, I got my luggage back yesterday afternoon!! So no worries there. Let me tell you I was so happy when I saw it! It's amazing how much having all your stuff with you makes you feel more at ease. Things are still going great! I'm at the University today for orientation, it is absolutely gorgeous! I can't believe I am going to be able to study here for the next couple of months, once again I'll post pictures as soon as I can! Today we walked around the city of Cumbaya, so nice, a few more hills than I'm used to but good exercise I'm told:) Cumbaya is where the University is located, I live in Quito which is about a 30 minute bus ride to the University. Not bad at all! I take two buses to get here, it'll take some getting used but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. I'm very excited because many of the students who also came here from Illinois live pretty close to me! We are going to go and explore the city later and hopefully get cell phones also. The mall is also very close to my house, always a plus:) There is a beautiful park close to us called Parque de Carolina that I can't wait to explore! This trip to the University has pushed many of my worries aside, each day I learn more and more and feel more comfortable in my surroundings! I must say I have taken advantage of the fact that my family speaks English, but I'm letting myself off the hook for these first few days, then strictly Spanish! We talk mostly in Spanish but sometimes when I need clarification, which is actually a lot of the time:), we switch to English then. My family continues to be so gracious and loving, I am very fortunate. So far I've seen two KFC's and one burger king, it's so crazy how many american fast food resteraunts they have here! I've heard there is a taco bell also, I'm certainly going to find out where that is!! The food has been amazing and the views breathtaking, so far my stay has been most enjoyable! I am liking the fact that school hasn't started yet, it starts on Wednesday I believe, that will be a whole new adventure! Sorry this is so long! I'm so excited and always have much to say! Thanks for your comments, write me all the time I love to hear from you! Take care!

Universidad San Francisco!

Hey everybody!! I hope you are all doing well! Great news, I got my luggage back yesterday afternoon!! So no worries there. Let me tell you I was so happy when I saw it! It's amazing how much having all your stuff with you makes you feel more at ease. Things are still going great! I'm at the University today for orientation, it is absolutely gorgeous! I can't believe I am going to be able to study here for the next couple of months, once again I'll post pictures as soon as I can! Today we walked around the city of Cumbaya, so nice, a few more hills than I'm used to but good exercise I'm told:) Cumbaya is where the University is located, I live in Quito which is about a 30 minute bus ride to the University. Not bad at all! I take two buses to get here, it'll take some getting used but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. I'm very excited because many of the students who also came here from Illinois live pretty close to me! We are going to go and explore the city later and hopefully get cell phones also. The mall is also very close to my house, always a plus:) There is a beautiful park close to us called Parque de Carolina that I can't wait to explore! This trip to the University has pushed many of my worries aside, each day I learn more and more and feel more comfortable in my surroundings! I must say I have taken advantage of the fact that my family speaks English, but I'm letting myself off the hook for these first few days, then strictly Spanish! We talk mostly in Spanish but sometimes when I need clarification, which is actually a lot of the time:), we switch to English then. My family continues to be so gracious and loving, I am very fortunate. So far I've seen two KFC's and one burger king, it's so crazy how many american fast food resteraunts they have here! I've heard there is a taco bell also, I'm certainly going to find out where that is!! The food has been amazing and the views breathtaking, so far my stay has been most enjoyable! I am liking the fact that school hasn't started yet, it starts on Wednesday I believe, that will be a whole new adventure! Sorry this is so long! I'm so excited and always have much to say! Thanks for your comments, write me all the time I love to hear from you! Take care!

Universidad San Francisco!

Hey everybody!! I hope you are all doing well! Great news, I got my luggage back yesterday afternoon!! So no worries there. Let me tell you I was so happy when I saw it! It's amazing how much having all your stuff with you makes you feel more at ease. Things are still going great! I'm at the University today for orientation, it is absolutely gorgeous! I can't believe I am going to be able to study here for the next couple of months, once again I'll post pictures as soon as I can! Today we walked around the city of Cumbaya, so nice, a few more hills than I'm used to but good exercise I'm told:) Cumbaya is where the University is located, I live in Quito which is about a 30 minute bus ride to the University. Not bad at all! I take two buses to get here, it'll take some getting used but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. I'm very excited because many of the students who also came here from Illinois live pretty close to me! We are going to go and explore the city later and hopefully get cell phones also. The mall is also very close to my house, always a plus:) There is a beautiful park close to us called Parque de Carolina that I can't wait to explore! This trip to the University has pushed many of my worries aside, each day I learn more and more and feel more comfortable in my surroundings! I must say I have taken advantage of the fact that my family speaks English, but I'm letting myself off the hook for these first few days, then strictly Spanish! We talk mostly in Spanish but sometimes when I need clarification, which is actually a lot of the time:), we switch to English then. My family continues to be so gracious and loving, I am very fortunate. So far I've seen two KFC's and one burger king, it's so crazy how many american fast food resteraunts they have here! I've heard there is a taco bell also, I'm certainly going to find out where that is!! The food has been amazing and the views breathtaking, so far my stay has been most enjoyable! I am liking the fact that school hasn't started yet, it starts on Wednesday I believe, that will be a whole new adventure! Sorry this is so long! I'm so excited and always have much to say! Thanks for your comments, write me all the time I love to hear from you! Take care!

I made it!!

Hey Everyone!

I´m sitting in an internet cafe right now in the middle of the city with Pablo! Pablo is the son of Cecilia, my host mother, and is showing me the city today! The weather is amazing, no rain and very hot! I wasn´t quite expecting this but I´ll certainly take it! The flight went smoothly, unfortunately my luggage was lost, we are going to the airport today to see if it has made it here or not. I´m sure it´ll work out soon! My family is so nice and their apartment is beautiful with amazing views of the city. I´ll post pictures as soon as I can. I have to go for now, but I miss you all and can´t wait to hear from you!! I am also including my mailing address in case you are interested!

Talk to you soon!
Jess

Telegrafo 354 y Alcantara
Quito, Ecuador

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a fun New Year's Eve! We watched movies, ate popcorn and had a great time. We talked about new years resolutions, I think mine will be to become more fluent in Spanish, kind of a cope out since I have to:) But it'll do! Do you guys have one? My friend Katie came back from California yesterday, it was so good to see her! She kicked my butt in gear, at least I'm partially pack now! I still have today to pull it all together so no worries. Heather was in the city last night so she'll come back today, I'm sure she had a blast! Nothing quite like new year's in the windy city! We both leave on the second, I'm heading to Quito and she's heading back to Denver. The next couple days will be filled with emotion, sadness from leaving my friends and family but also excitment for my new adventure! Thanks for your comments, it is so great to hear from you all! Talk to you soon!!!