Culture Shock

I never thought I'd say this but, Boston just doesn't really feel like home anymore.

I had never thought of saying such a thing because Boston had always been home for me. All of a sudden the city and I don't flow, don't mesh, just straight up don't get along like we used to. What's up with that?

I'd bet my money on culture shock.

I feel great when I'm in my house in Brookline, relaxing alone or with the family. I will always consider home as where the heart is, if I may say so...

Before I begin with the whole new wave of culture shock I felt when I landed at Logan International, I will share an unforgettable experience I had in the Miami airport:

So, I was waiting to check in at the self-service counter, which was completely pointless, by the way, because after getting the ticket from the machine, everyone still had to wait in a long line to talk to a representative about baggage AND THEN drag the baggage to a special "baggage drop-off" location a ten-minute walk from check-in. Everyone checking in there was confused. Why? There were no signs, and most people did not speak English proficiently. Every single person that tried to check in at self-service messed up. Including me. In short, it was a mess. Thank you, American Airlines.

As I was waiting in line, a Spanish-speaking man and his family were walking by. In front of me stood a pretty a family I could safely label "gringos". The father was tall and upset about something. The daughters had super straightened, super dyed hair. The Uggs, the Northface, the designer handbag. The girls were spitting images of their mother. The Spanish-speaking man approached the white man, and told him that further down the hall it was possible to quickly check in and get the baggage taken care of at the same time. I assume he was talking about the regular check-in (which, I believe him now, must have been faster than self check-in). For self check-in you had to get this special white slip of paper (a waste of paper); anyways, all of a sudden the two men are in a yelling argument about the slip of paper and the right place to check in (I think both of them were right in what they were saying). The white man then said to the Spanish-speaking man, "So, then you're being stupid right?!" The Spanish-speaking man responded sarcastically/angrily, "Yeah, I must be stupid," and walked away. I couldn't control myself, and sighed, "Oh, America..." under my breath. The white man heard and growled.

Perhaps it was that I didn't understand everything everyone said to me in Ecuador, or perhaps it was the coarseness of the English language that I began to feel instantly when I landed in the States, but that moment in the Miami airport really stuck. In Ecuador, no bus driver had ever yelled at me. The first time I took the bus in Boston, the bus driver was giving me lip.

I know that I'm just angry and confused from "culture shock," but way too many people I interact with in Boston these days just seem rude. Maybe it's also the cold weather, or the economic crisis that's bringing out the bad in everyone. I'm not the only person to come back from Ecuador to share an experience of people in Boston being rude.


I don't know what shocks me more, the fact that no one talks to me in Spanish here or the fact that I'm no longer in a developing country. I miss the Spanish language dearly, mas suave. Though I hate to admit it (although I actually don't hate to admit it), especially as an immigrant, I am so thankful for being able to live in the United States (despite the occasional rudeness). I wouldn't have been able to see Ecuador if I were still living in Ukraine. Coming back from Ecuador has some benefits, too. I am shocked that I am able to walk around Boston alone, day or night. I am shocked that everywhere I go I can get change for a twenty-dollar bill.

Basically, every country has its problems. Coming back to the U.S., I really feel that I can see the world (a little) clearer. I have another piece of the bigger picture. And the effect of that little piece on my life is more drastic than I expected.

There is so much of Ecuadorian life I wish I could inject into American life, and vice verse. For instance, I wish I could just pop the personal space bubble that closes off too many Americans from each other. I wish democracy could work, really work in Ecuador. But, you can't have it all, I guess.

To sum up, I'm filled with many mixed feelings. As a result, I find myself walking around everywhere looking confused all the time.

I'm excited to leave for and get to Spain in exactly one week. I will miss my family, but maybe I need a little more time away from Boston to really miss it.

Saved in Miami

My house in U.S. got a call from American Airlines at two in the morning the night before my flight home to let my family know that my flight from Miami to Boston was already canceled due to the snowstorm. I got a call at my house in Ecuador at 6:30am. It was my mother letting me know that the day was going to suck. Big time.

We landed in Miami and immediately I called one of my best friends from BU and a resident of Miami, Elena. She was still stuck in Boston! After a couple hours of figuring things out at the airport, our plan went from splitting a hotel between three of us girls on the same flight to Boston to the two girls managing to get on later flights to Boston that night (which I'm glad they took, by the way). When all of this was being figured out, Humberto, Elena's boyfriend called me and offered to pick me up.

Well, if he insisted...

He and my friend Joel picked me up at the airport, treated me to a delicious steak dinner and took me home to Humberto's so I could rest.


(At dinner)

At night, I saw Elena, and Elena and Humberto woke up at 4am to take me to the airport for my early morning flight. I know I've expressed my gratitude, but I'd like to take a moment right now to express it again. Thank you guys for being truly great friends! I loved seeing you.

Not to mention, I spent all day speaking Spanish with them. That eased my culture shock..

Feliz Navidad!

Feliz navidad, feliz navidad, feliz navidad, prospero año y felicidad!!

Happy Holidays! I hope that everyone's holiday season has been full of cheer!

I had a very emotional transition from life on the equator to life in below zero (in celsius) weather in good ole Boston. Good-byes were hard. I mean, look at these lovely, beautiful, incredible people I called family for four months:


(The kids- Alex (18), Dany (19), me (20), and Juli (21))


(My Ecua-rents and I)



By the time I got on the plane and that beautiful city nestled in the mountains was fading from reality the farther we rose into the clouds, I had no tears left. Some of those tears went to a screaming fight I had with a cab driver the night before...

It was my last night in Quito. A few hours after meeting up with everyone from the program in the Mariscal (the going out center of Quito), we decided to go our separate ways. Some of us thought of going to a club that my host brother and his friends had gone into an hour or so before. After catching a cab to this club, we were told that the entrance was $12. Too much. At this point, I was very sad at the thought of not being able to say good-bye to my brother. Luckily, he came out for a second and I was able to give him a hug...and bawl my eyes out in front of him and the club security guards and my friends. So after this very difficult moment, it was time to catch a cab home. There were two cabs parked outside the club. My two friends went for one and I for the other. Now, I knew for a fact that during the day it would've cost at most a dollar with the meter to get home from that spot. At night, I would pay $2. Max. How much? I asked. $4, he said.

Four U.S. dollars! Now, in Quito, after dark the taxi meter goes off and you have to bargain for your price. But, four dollars!

(this was all in Spanish, by the way):

"No, sir, $2 dollars, please..."
"No, $4, nothing less!" (He wouldn't even lower the price by fifty cents).
"I know how much it costs to get where I'm going, and it's not $4. No sea malito, $2!"
"No way, $4 and that's it," he yelled out.

At this point, I let it rip:

"You're a bad man. You're a thief. Don't think that you can cheat me because I'm a gringa. I live here. I know exactly how much it costs to get home. You're a bad, bad man."

He kept firing back. And that's when I started to cry. On top of everything he turned to his friend and started calling me a stupid drunk even though I had had only one celebratory cocktail four hours earlier. I bawled. From this cab driver's nonesense, from saying good-bye to my brother, from leaving Quito, from leaving my friends. It all hit me.

My friends and I just walked away, and two blocks later I hailed down a cab that only charged me $2.



Study abroad is strange. You fly into this new place. You know you have four months. And you know that in four months, you'll wake up one day and everything, your friends, your family, your daily routine, the food you eat, the bed you sleep in will be gone. Just like that. I got home to Boston and hated the fact that it just felt like I had never left. But, I really had a life there.

At this point, I would like to make a special shout-out to the country of Ecuador for everything it has taught me about life. I didn't even realize until I got back to the U.S. how much clearer I see certain things about this world.

Odds and Ends...and how I got half a stadium's worth of soccer fans chanting my name...

First of all, I just got one of the best hair cuts of my life. Yes, my whole life. How much did I pay? 5 USD. I walked into this hole-in-the-wall salon tonight. The couch leather (or pleather) was peeling, "2012" was playing on the 10" TV screen, and cigarettes were cooling in an ashtray on the microwave. Enrique, 39, blue-haired (was bleach-blonde a couple days ago), and gorgeous, had me take a seat. He told me to trust him, and I did, after a few minutes. Because it only took him that long to figure out my hair. He knew exactly how I wanted it without even asking. It seemed so effortless.

So, after one of the worst days ever, worst because I took one of the most ridiculous finals in the history of college finals, all of a sudden I feel sane.

In a taxi on the way to get my haircut, I was listening to a talk show (in Spanish, of course). The host was interviewing an Ecuadorian Jew about Judaism. Fascinating, yet just a little awkward. It was interesting how the host was asking the Jewish guy why it's the year 5770 and not 2009. It got awkward when the topic of Jesus came up. The host was saying something along the lines of "I'm not trying to criticize you, but you're saying that for the Jews, Jesus is not the son of God?" The Jewish guy replied, "well, no." The host went on to say, "So, because most of the listeners of this show are, well, Catholic...ummm...so Jesus was a prophet then?" "Well, a teacher of sorts, yes." "So, what, in Judaism, is the equivalent figure of Jesus?" "Well, there isn't really...."

And on it went like that. I thought it was great to hear a relatively respectful discussion about religion on public radio in Ecuador. Especially, around an important holiday time for Jews and Christians alike. Yes, it was awkward, but it was a step. I think everybody learned a little somethin'.

FINALLY, I totally forgot to mention this around the time that Liga (one of the Quito teams/won the South American cup) won one of the final games. What I'm about to share with you, I can safely say was both my most glorious and most embarrassing moment.

Here goes...

So, all of us BU kids are leaving the Liga stadium, every emotional. We see this sea of people in front of us heading toward the exit. To our left is a twelve foot high dirt wall, so we decide to scale it to avoid the crowds. Everyone struggles a little but somehow manages to get to the top. Except me. Two things happened.

1) I was brought back to a very traumatic rocking climbing incident from earlier on this semester. I was the only one that failed and it was determined in my mind that I was indeed, the weakest link.

2) A uncontrollable fit of laughter overtook me.

Here I am trying to get up this wall by grabbing at roots. I'm smeared in dirt. My hands are black, my Liga jersey is blotched with soil. And to make this experience EPIC, hundreds upon hundreds of Ecuadorians have stopped in the middle of the road at this point to cheer me on. My friends recorded a video, and I'm trying to get my hands on it. So, every time I make progress the crowd explodes with cheers, and every time I slip the crowd gasps and feels my pain.

After about five minutes, there's no way I'm getting up there. My friend Garrett is yelling to me to grab his hand...I grab it but then I lose his grip. Eventually, my other friend Matt throws a big Liga flag down to me. With the flag in one hand and Garrett's hand in the other, FINALLY, I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I get up, the crowd cheers and I roll around in dirt from joy. I think one of my friend's peed her pants from laughter.

I've always wanted an epically embarrassing moment, and now I have one to share with the world!

Two Weeks Left: Separation Anxiety

Here I am. With just two weeks left in Ecuador. I know it' silly for me to say this, but I'm crying right now just thinking about it. And I know that it all is what it is, and I knew when I landed I only had four months, but as the date approaches I can't help but feel heartbreak.

I know that I'm sensitive, I know that I'm emotional. But, I also know that in two weeks I will leave a life that I created for myself here, or really this life that just happened that is now so much a part of me. My life started in Ukraine, and by the time that period of my life was over I couldn't remember all that much of it. Every since then, even though I've transitioned from middle school to high school to college, I've always been in Boston, and transitioning from one of these institutions to another with a big group of people going through the same thing. I entered the world of South America with twenty three people by my side. Even though others have taken on this program before, and many more will, no one will ever understand exactly what the twenty four of us went through. It's not to say anyone else with have a better or worse experience, but it won't be ours.

So, basically, I have never had to leave a whole way of life in this way before. My family that I have seen everyday since I landed, my friends and everyone I've met, my school, my block, my view of the city, my bus route, my places to eat, my casa, my room, my keys, my streets. I don't even know half of Quito, but I feel like it will always be my city, like Lvov or Boston. It will always be a part of me.

I'll miss my family here more than they know. They've been nothing but amazing to me. They've listened to me, and I've listened to them. I just want them to know how much I love them.

Anyway, I know that the time has come and I have a whole new adventure waiting for me in Spain, but right now...let's just say I'm having serious separation anxiety.

LIGA CAMPEON!

The Quito soccer team, Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito, is officially the best team in all of South America. Just less than two hours ago, la Liga met the Brazilian team, Fluminense on the battlefield to win the Copa Sudamericana. Liga Campeon! Not to mention, this is especially perfect timing because of the ongoing fiestas de Quito, which celebrate the city's founding with bullfights, chiva (a bus with no windows or doors) rides around the old city, drinking, and street parties.

Pookie and Froggie Reunited

So, my sister, Asya, just left today. She was visiting me for a week here in good ole Ecuador. I was very proud of my parents for letting her fly by herself. We had a fun, packed week. The highlight was either being at the game at which Liga (the Quito team) won or the epic five hour trip to the cloud forest in Mindo. Extreme. Anyway, miss her already, but I'll see her in a few weeks. Oh boy, just a few weeks left. On the one hand, I find myself tearing up once or twice a day at the idea of it. On the other hand, I have three ten page papers to happen by the end of next week. I haven't started any of them.

Lights Out

Take a city like Boston. For starters, multiply the danger of walking in a city like that by a hundred. Take away the traffic and crosswalk lights. Turn off all the lights in every building while you're at it.

That's been my evening experience in Quito a couple nights per week since the entire country realized it was in an energy crisis. The country gets the majority of its energy from hydroelectric plants. It hasn't rained. Someone needs to do the rain dance, ASAP. Peru and Colombia are potentially willing to sell energy, but political tensions seems to be preventing a definite deal. Either way, these "apagones" that occur daily in different sections of Quito for five hours at a time, as well as in all other regions of the country, could last until March.

What's worse, the economy isn't looking all that good either. Unemployment/desperation for resources + dark, abandoned streets = bad news for your average pedestrian carrying anything of value. Also, businesses are being forced to slow down or close early, clubs can now only be open till 1am on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (--> loss of profit from alcohol sales). It's bad. It's not as bad right now as it is in Venezuela, where neither light nor water are to be found.

Ojala que llueva, ojala que llueva. A country shouldn't face problems such as these, especially, potentially in the long term. We need solutions, and we need them fast.

LOVE

Six Weeks Left

I promise to write about the Galapagos very soon, but since I only have a few minutes at the computer, I just wanted to express my sadness at the thought of leaving this country.

After a little over two months in Ecuador, I feel like this has been and always will be my life. I feel alive here. I know the big streets of Quito like I know the big streets of Boston. Of course, I take the Ecovia bus line, of course, my classes are in Spanish, of course, I barter for everything I buy.

When I was sitting on the shore in the Galapagos this weekend, I started to tear up at the thought of leaving this place, leaving my life here. Yes, it's true I get very emotionally attached to people and places-my mom can tell you because she always sees me crying about giving them up, but this is big. Four months of my life.

Yes, I would like to see my family and friends because I miss them dearly, but other than that, there's nowhere else in the world I would rather be in this moment.

Perhaps this is all coming out because I'm still a little loopy from being on a boat all weekend, or perhaps it's all that sun, but I'm already really upset.

Also, I'm actually a little overwhelmed to be back in Quito. I will say that coming back from the serene, pristine Galapagos to good ole dirty Quito was quite the drastic transition. I could smell the fumes before I even got off the airplane. And I also almost got into a screaming fight with the cab driver at the airport because he wanted to charge me $4 to go home...that was before I realized the fare included the airport exit fee. Anyways, I'm going home right now to drown myself in homework. Wish me luck.


Oh, but as a special treat, here's a picture for the Galapagos to give you guys a sneak preview of my next post:

My Tropical Tiputini Adventure!

When I was seventeen years old, I went to Costa Rica. That trip is the reason I am in Ecuador. I´ll never forget my first night in the rain forest in Costa Rica, the night we took a late night walk across a shaky suspension bridge rocking back and forth over the Sarapiqui River. With no artificial light in sight, I looked up at the stars and had never felt so small, yet so a part of the big picture.

I didn´t change in Costa Rica. I discovered what had always been there, and suddenly I felt more like myself than I ever had.

While in Costa Rica, I kept a journal. It was the most important journal I had ever written because it documented one of the most important weeks of my life. I had all of my academic notes that came from using the rain forest as a classroom, all of my deepest thoughts, and all of the precious moments that sometimes fade from memory with time--all in that notebook. When we got back to Boston, the teacher that accompanied us on the trip collected all of our journals to grade them for academic purposes. She lost my notebook. Only mine. And ya know what? I cried. I had ripped out the especially personal pages, so those are safe in my room at home, but everything, everything I had learned, was lost.

So, when I went to the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in the middle of nowhere Ecuador, all of these thoughts and feelings from Costa Rica came rushing back. Briefly, Tiputini is located on the Tiputini River in the Amazonian Basin in the Yasuni Biosphere. It was founded by my university here, and co-financed by good ole Boston University (what else is new). It´s not a tourist spot. Students, academicians, scientists, and National Geographic photographers visit this spot.

Now, I will share with you some of the fun facts about the rain forest that I learned while at Tiputini.

1) Army ants can be used as stitches: you rip off their heads, which have huge scissor-like jaws attached, and close your wound by digging these "jaws" along the wound.

2) There's a plant called "yerba de amor", that some indigenous tribes use to show romantic interest; the man throws this sticky plant at the woman of his choice (Check out the picture below).



3) Red things in the rain forest often indicate poison, so stay away. Contact with the sap of this one tree with red roots that we saw would give a person a heart attack in ten minutes.

4) The Matapalo trees strangle the trees over which the grow, until the poor old tree ceases to exist.

5) There are these ants, that taste like lemon (we ate them!!), that are so acidic that they prevent vegetation around them. You know they're around when you see an empty plot of land in the middle of the rain forest. The indigenous call this spot the "jardin del diablo", the the garden of the devil.

6) You can tell the gender of the turtle common in the Tiputini area by the curvature of the underbelly of its shell.

7) Bullet ants, when they bite, give you the sensation that you've been shot.


Well, these are just a few, but now I must go! More coming soon!

Ley de Educacion Superior

Bueno,

Here's the deal. I'm at school right now. There's a raging thunderstorm outside and I'm soaked from it. I just got out of a school wide assembly, one of the most attended in the history of the school says the chancellor.

(The power just went off in the school, so I had to restart my computer)

There's a lot of tension in this country right now. The government (which basically equals the president) is proposing new laws to go with the constitution, Ecuador's twentieth, by the way. However, a huge part of the country is accusing Correa, Ecuador's president, of turning into a dictator. One of the laws, Ley de Aguas, spurred widespread indigenous revolts that included marches and blocking highways-we were advised not to travel that weekend. This assembly focused on the Ley de Educacion, which would basically centralize education, clump public and private education into one messy blob, require exams for specific careers that everyone would have to take to be able to apply for a job, determine a "country development plan" that would exclude the opinion of academics, and change the face of education in the country for good. Scary. How would you feel if the government determined what your education would be! We were told that with the new law, students would not be allowed to double major. What if someone told you: "You can't study what you want to study."

Tomorrow, there is going to be a peaceful march through the center of the city against this law. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to participate. My program director says I shouldn't go because I will get arrested or attacked. But I really want to because I believe that education can't look like this law. Especially because the law is so vague and contains so many loopholes, Correa would be able to do whatever he wants. Should I go?

Sorry!

Sorry I´ve been out of touch, dear friends! If you understood my internet situation, you would forgive me more readily. To illustrate, let´s take my two hour PowerPoint presentation on Total Quality Management and ISO Norms in relation to Sustainable Development (all in Spanish, by the way) as an example. Since I have no internet access from my computer in my house, my three internet options are as follows: 1)My brother´s laptop which in constantly by his side at home or in class 2) The University computer lab 3) the internet cafe across the street from my house. I started working on on the project on my brother´s computer. The day before the project is due, I call my brother from school to ask if I can borrow his computer when I get home. He says no because he has to take it to class. My thumbdrive is on me and he can´t find one at home. I´m so stressed out that I don´t even think about asking him to email it to me. Anyway, he finds a thumbdrive. I run home after class, it´s six in the evening by now, dash for the the internet cafe, which closes at nine. My brother is still not home. I use my family´s ancient desktop which starts to give me trouble. When I finally figure it out, my sister, in whose room the computer resides, wants to go to bed. Thankfully, my brother returns home at that point. But, to my dismay, he only have PowerPoint 2003 and my presentation is in PowerPoint 2007. So I stay up until two in the morning organizing my presentation in Microsoft Word, only to get up four hours later to get to school by eight to put everything into PowerPoint 2007 on the school computer before my midterm at eleven. I would get about six to eight hours of being productive lost.

So, that is why I can´t update the blog as much as I would like. When I´m not in class, I´m studying or reading, and when I´m doing neither, I´m traveling. Asi es mi vida.



On Monday, I fasted for Yom Kippur in a country with approximately seven hundred Jews, six hundred plus of which live in Quito. That evening, I went to the only synagogue in Quito. The cab driver couldn´t enter the street of the synagogue. I had to present my ID to enter the street. Then I had to go through a metal detector and bag check, as well as get a copy of my ID made. It was one of the most beautiful synagogues I had ever seen. All white, with a view overlooking the mountains. The place was packed. Even though I was praying half the time in Spanish surrounded by Jewish Latinos, I felt at home.

The day before, I went to a Liga (the Quito team) vs. Barcelona (the Guayacuil team) football game. They shot off the confetti before the game even began. We, Liga, destroyed Barcelona 4-0. It´s amazing to be in a football loving country, especially the days that the national team plays. Go Ecuador!

Two weekends ago, I went to Baños, an adventure town that sits at the foot of the (active) Volcano Tungurahua. Perhaps some of you have seen my profile picture of Facebook, but yes, I jumped off a bridge headfirst. Harnessed, of course. It was one of the most exciting experiences of my life. The feeling of standing one hundred feet above a roaring river surrounded by big rocks was almost too much for me. I don´t know how I finally decided to jump. I´ve never even been on an upside down rollercoaster. I´m scared to do cartwheels because I don´t like the feeling of being upside down. And look what happened. The moments of free-falling, before the bungy cord pulls are 99.9% of the experience. Pure fear. And joy.

Next week is my host mother´s birthday. The family is stumped about what we should do and what we should get her. She´s a fancy lady, so if anyone has any suggestions, I´d love to hear them. Speaking of my family, I don´t know how I´m going to leave them. I love having brothers. My parents suggested that I go home for winter break and come back Spring semester. I´m tempted.


My next post, which will come sooner rather than later now that hell week is over, will be about this country. Living here, I really see the beautiful and the ugly side by side in a way that I´ve only really seen it in Russia. Although, I must admit that the overall natural beauty here trumps that of Russia (or at least the city that I´m from). Scratch that, I can´t compare the natural beauty of two different climate zones like that.

Nos vemos!

Oye, Por Donde Ando...

Right now, I am sitting in my University computer lab, as my family still does not have internet. I have forty minutes until my next class. I was doing some Economic Development reading a few minutes ago by the little lake on campus that opens up to a view of the mountains that encircle this little valley of Cumbaya. Gorgeous. Sometimes, I'll sit through through six straight hours of class in Spanish, just going with the flow. Then, I'll get out of class and have a break down because I've just sat through six straight hours of class in Spanish. Oh well. I'm finally back into school mode, at least.

I've been making friends at La U (the University), but most of them men. I think I feel less intimidated by them. But really, when I'm living an episode of Laguna Beach everyday (which is what this U is), I'm constantly intimidated.

So, do you all remember this organization that I mentioned in an earlier blog post? I've started doing some informal work for it, helping write grant applications, etc. I still need to set all of my priorities for this semester with headquarters en Los Estados Unidos, and my friend that does work for the organization here, but I'm more excited than you can imagine!

Yesterday was Maria Antonieta's (our resident director) birthday party! We had spiked batidoes (yogurt-y drinks), spiked ice cream, and plenty of laughs. The party consisted of Maria Antonieta and her daughter, all the program participants, and all the host mothers chatting up a storm.

Oh yes, Saturday was a fun-filled day. As a group, we went to various historic sites around Quito that would probably be too dangerous to visit alone. The historic center of Quito is gorgeous (pictures to come, promise!)--especially the churches, some of which exhibit unexpected Arabic/Muslim influences in their design.

Going out has been a blast, by the way. I'm glad that all the BU kids go out together and get along great. I'm also glad that my brother and his friends go out with me because I feel safer dancing with them and going home with my brother. Still in love with my family. We're approaching our two week anniversary.

Fun anecdote before I run to class: Yesterday, I went to have lunch with this guy I met in class. We were joined by his friend, who for two minutes thought I was Quitena! Given, I was wearing my sunglasses, but still! I'm working on the accent, so hopefully my plan to assimilate will become a reality in no time. And this is for...well, for reduced admission to various sites around Quito!

Chao! Hasta la proxima post!

Saludos de Ecuador!

Yes, I'm alive. My host family does not have internet in the house, so I am actually sitting in my University's computer lab. This post will be rather long, so get ready.

I'll start off by saying this: all at once, I feel like I've been in this country for both months and just a few days. Actually, no, I feel like I've been here for months even though it's only been four days. My University is a little paradise. Check out their website: usfq.edu.ec, and follow the virtual tour to see what I mean. Beautiful buildings, palms trees, a lake--and everything surrounded by mountains. Everyone here is really posh, and even though I brought my favorite clothes, I still feel like a peasant. I take the bus, well, two buses actually, to school everyday. The weather is gorgeous. I just had my first class today, and it was terrifying (in the best way).

Everyone on the program is really nice. We went out Monday and last night for some bonding. I had a blast; the only problem I had was getting home because, I'll be real, it's a little sketch. Taking a (real) taxi is very safe, especially at night, but getting into my house is the hard part. My host family lives right in the center of the New Town. So, when I get home, first I have to kneel and pick at a lock that opens up a latch that in turn opens the gate. So, here I am standing in the middle of a street at one in the morning all alone, struggling with this lock. Then, there's the key to the front door, then the gate on my floor to the apartment, and then the actual apartment lock.

My family is gorgeous. I've already started to become close to them, and speaking Spanish helps because only my oldest brother speaks English. I really hope that I haven't offended them too much in the past couple of days by not eating everything they give me. Altitude sickness took away my appetite, my energy and my breath.

Oh right, I forgot. LAN, the airline that I flew to Ecuador, was one of the best plane experiences I've had in a while. The only pitfall was that the pilot decided to not take my second piece of luggage on my plane because the plane was getting too heavy. You can imagine, if you know me well enough, the stress I felt when one of my bags didn't arrive. But, I went on Sunday and the bag had arrived on the flight from Miami to Ecuador that night. Speaking of planes, I live right near the airport, which is part of the city. So the planes fly about as close to the houses as they can without hitting them. The first night I woke up at five in the AM thinking the end of the world was coming. No, it was an airplane landing. When I look out my window, I can see the plane pulling out the wheels for the landing.

That's actually all for now, as I have to head back home in a bit. I'll be back soon with more updates. Chao!

Promises to Self

I can't believe it's down to two days. My bags are packed (almost), I've said most of my good-byes, and my sanity is back with the arrival of my new debit card today.

Scariest, yet most exciting of all is the fact that I don't know what's to come. I keep on forcing expectations onto myself while simultaneously rejecting them. One thing I do know, is that while this trip will profoundly change me, there are some promises to myself that I must keep (in no particular order):

1)Be open. To people, to experiences, to food, to beliefs, to sharing about myself.
2)Cherish every single day of this adventure.
3)Be safe. Take the necessary precautions, carry a First Aid kit, don't draw too much attention that could turn negative.
4)Get to know the host family.
5)Be a support system for my BU buddies and hope they will do the same.
6)Update the blog regularly.
7)Go out salsa dancing regularly.
8)Know limits; living to the fullest can get exhausting.
9)Travel in spare time; I want to feel like I know the country (at least geographically) when I leave.
10)Be myself. Now, I know some of you might shrug off this last promise as cliche, or a given, but it's important to remind myself to hold onto what I love most about myself when I'm feeling lost in a new setting. I hope that with time this country and its culture become a part of me. I love layers.

Thank you dear friends for following my thoughts, it means more than you know. This is my last post in the States for a while. Hasta pronto, nos vemos en ECUADOR!

Ten days before I'm off!

I've only lost two objects in my life that I can remember actually mattering--as I very rarely lose things at all. One was my dorm key which cost me $100 to replace for all five of us roommates in Shelton Hall, and the other is my Bank of America card. Yes, I lost my debit card ten days before the big move. I realized only two days after the fact, and I have at most seven business days (which is what the BofA customer service rep told me it will take) to get my new card by mail. If I don't get it by then, then...well let's just hope that I get it by then. For those of you that know me well, you would be surprised how calmly I'm taking all of this in.

On a lighter note, tonight I realized what I want to do with my life. I found out about an environmental, public policy, economic development, education-friendly non-profit organization focused in great part on Ecuador. Granted, I might not be good enough to get involved (although I pray there is something I can do there), I felt something click as I read and re-read the organization's website in its entirety. I'll keep you posted, of course.

Update on the host family situation: I work at the abroad office, and last week a girl came in to talk to the Ecuador program manager about her experience in Quito this past spring. She and I talked only to find out that I have her host family from the spring semester! I didn't want to hear too much about them so I could find out myself, but I saw a photograph of them--they're so beautiful! Anyhow, I'll check in once more before I'm off and then I'll be writing from Ecuador and posting pictures, etc.

I don't even believe that I'm going. The more people mention it to me, the more distant the idea of going becomes. I've never been away from home for this long. It's like going to college for the first time...except in a different country, a different language, and a housing arrangement a little different from the Warren Towers sardine box.

A Call

Every few months, I'll get a feeling, a call, telling me to be on my way. I'm in search of something I can't quite put my finger on. I always want to return home from wherever I go, but go I must. This feeling fills me up with restlessness as it urges me to pack my bags and follow it past the boundaries of my daily life.

I have the feeling now.

In Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, an argument is made that travel is an escape, an easy way out. On the contrary, travel forces me to connect with myself deeper than I thought possible. Sometimes, I feel I know myself best when I stand against a backdrop of a nation other than my own. At the same time, I feel a connection to the people of these nations, a connection as strong as the one to my own identity because we are all on the same journey (a journey that began with the birth of man)to find happiness and fulfillment in the flicker of a moment that we have on earth.

I'll be at Logan in just a little over a month to take off for Miami, and then to Quito. I have my visa. I have a student ID number for Universidad de San Francisco de Quito (USFQ). I'm registering for classes tomorrow! I hear from my host family by the end of next week and I hope I come to love this family.

In Preparation...

I'm juggling three big summer commitments (work, internship and volunteering) with applying for visas, shopping for hiking boots and getting yellow fever shots. I have made time management an art form. I'm happy to be busy as Boston starts to look more and more like a repeat of forty-days-and-forty-nights--should I start building an ark? When I'm constantly doing something I can ignore the sad sight of the world looking like dusk at noon.

Working at the BU International Programs office, these incredible programs have in some ways become paperwork, and brochure photographs to me. Still, as the date of my flight to Ecuador approaches (August 22, 2009) and I realize how little I actually understand about life in these places, I get more and more excited (which is saying a lot, since I've been pumped to go since day one of college).