Tooth pulling and catcalls

So after I stopped typing last night, I went into the shower and when I got out, I heard this screaming. I was pretty sure Enrique was pulling out Felipe’s tooth. I went about my business and sat down to my essay on political, sexual, and personal repression (so much fun. Why couldn’t I have picked feminism or something??) and the guys went in to use my bathroom for the mirror. The three-year-old Pedro (who is drop-dead cute) asked me what I was doing. I can’t tell you how exciting that was because one, foreign exchange students are scary and two, I actually understood him; little kids are a little hard to understand. Our conversation didn’t last too long; I think I scared him away. Later on I went to the bathroom to see how they were doing, and it turned out really funny because the boys were all over the place. I have left a bunch of stuff out because I hadn’t expected them coming, and Pedro grabbed my deodorant. It made Enrique really embarrassed, which was funny for me. They left, Z practically passed out after doing so much all day, and I finished my essay. More or less. The next morning the bus was late-ish, and I started reading about the Popol Vuh (Mayan Bible) because I was pretty sure I’d have to change the topic for my research paper. At school I corrected my essay then looked up JSTOR, this great collection of academic journals, to find some knitting. I found no knitting, but plenty of textiles, so I’m just changing one word in me thesis: “knitting” to “textiles.” Easy, and AM approved. I went to her next to help me go over my repression essay. Next it was off to the library to find some books with some success. I talked for a bit, checked my email to see if I was supposed to meet with my university buddy for lunch, went to class, realized I’d forgotten my book at the computer that I had been revising my essay, interrupted a class to retrieve it, and made it back to Survey class in time to talk about incest, militarism, and Puerto Rico. We read aloud a lot, which I liked because I’m really vain about the way my voice sounds in Spanish, especially when reading. My lunch buddy never made any contact, so I hung out with Margoh, Andrew, Lola, and Brenden for a while, then we met some Ecuadorians Rodrigo and José for lunch; Jacob the Clevelander and another Ecuadorian Stefi joined us. Another proof of Latin American’s weird health fetish: I rarely eat sweets at the apartment, so I do so pretty much every chance I get at school. I ordered a crepe with nutella, strawberry, banana, and cheesecake, and I enjoyed it. Germán came up to me and told me that I was punishing myself. I didn’t know what the heck he was talking about. I mean, I know that “castigar” means “to punish,” but I had no idea what he was referring to. He repeated himself about twenty times used motions, and translated to English, but he had to say that I was punishing myself because I was eating dessert for lunch. Really? I mean, really? It’s a crepe, it’s my lunch, and I’m not morbidly obese. It did bother me that I could not use my usual running excuse, but the entire ordeal was a little irritating. I don’t know how Latin Americans got to be such health nuts. Anyway, we had a good time talking about Chicago, kickboxing, cloistered nuns, lacrosse, and Amish people with the Ecuadorians, then we went to class. More talking about the Spanish conquest (it seems like that’s ALL I ever talk about here) and how colonialism is still present in Latin America today, getting sidetracked a lot. Next we talked about the novella “An old guy who read romance novels” loosely translated, of course, which actually has a lot to do with the rainforest. We had a nice average bus ride back, it started raining as I walked home, and I did homework. Kind of. A lot of solitaire. Problem is that my internet isn’t working tonight, so I can’t go online to find the journal articles I need for my humongous paper. So I worked, but not on what I wanted. Dinner was cold tea, quinoa soup, tomatoes, chicken pastelito (sandwich that has rice instead of bread that is so flipping good I’m going to try to make it as soon as I get home) and fried plantains. I showered (good, right?) and I guess I’m going to bed now, although I’m thinking of waking up early to try to get some internet.
For your entertainment: Because I am blatantly American, all of my catcalls in are English, but Ecuadorians are really bad with pickup lines. Example: walking back to the apartment today I passed by these three super ultra mature high school boys. After I had passed by, one of them said, “Beautiful woman.” Really? There’s another really creative one, too: “Pretty girl.” If Ecuadorian girls are in any way attracted to these guys (with translation, of course) they’ve got some serious problems. Anyway, I know this sounds super naïve, but I thought that hibiscus flowers were only in Hawaii. There’s some at the school. There have been police outside the Music Conservatory when I get out in the mornings. I think that there must be someone really important visiting because I can’t see my neighborhood as having a high crime rate (I also live next to a ballet school and a swimming school…) I have some exciting stuff planned for the weekend; get ready for some surprisingly not-mediocre posts!!

Knitting Catastrophe; Enrique's Birthday

Normal normal normal: PB&J and strawberry batida for breakfast. I walked to the bus stop (it's been cold the past two days) and got on the bus... we left Kevin because he didn't show up. At the university, I went right to the library and waited for Ana Maria. We talking about MLA citiation and my final project, a research proposition. I had chosen knitting in Ecuador, how it came with the Spaniards and how the indigenous people adapted it and now it's part of the culture. It was great, AM loved it and I had my thesis all ready. Upon doing some actual research, however, looking up books in the library, we discovered that there is no true equivalent to "knit" in Spanish and worse: no books on knittng AT ALL in the library. I'll probably end up having to change my thesis; I'm thinking of comparing the Popul Voh (pretty much the indigenous Bible) to Catholicism to demonstrate how the mix of religions came about. But I am bummed. AM and I went to the bakery after and I had brought 24 cents expressly for the purpose of buying a croissant, but AM bought one for me and affered to buy a coffee, yogurt, anything else. I need a job. I also ate one of her pan de yucas (er, yuca bread. salty, good.) She corrected my diario (on women in Ecuador and Nature) and I walked back to the University; I sat with Melanie and Andrew and listened to them talk about their desire to marry a Latin American, which was super fun. I waited for Andrew to finish the story we had to read then we went off to class; we discussed this really cool story about this lady who makes her life out to be an opera story (Isabel Allende. I want to read more of her...) and we ate lunch in the cafeteria afterwards (mushroom soup that kind of reminded me of Europe, zucchini and pepper salad, peanutty rice, green/curry pork, and cake with what I'm pretty sure was white chocolate. And mystery juice, which as always means that I just didn't recognize the name of the fruit...) I didn't have any class for the rest of the day, so I checked my next essay topic with a professor, then read aloud our story for tomorrow on this balcony (which was really cool) until it started raining, so I transferred to the library with Margoh and Andrew. It was okay at first, especially since Andrew left because he says I concentrate too hard. He eventually came back, though, and running club Ben came too, so we just talked about Georgetown parties for the rest of the day instead of doing work. The bus ride home was fun; Dan had a guitar and played it. I came back to a mess in the apartment; Z had made this big lunch for Enrique's birthday and hadn't finished cleaning up because one of her daughters called her. I got down to doing homework (more or less) and when I came out to eat dinner (soup, potato pancake, chicken) Z told me that Enrique's daughter Lis and her family (husband and two little bloys) were coming over for cake. I didn't know what to think at first because I was in the middle of writing a paper for Friday, but I figured that I should probably not care too much because it's only Wednesday. They came and we sat and talked a while; Lis is super cool (and her husband, too, and her boys ages 3 and 5 are SO cute)... she's like super mom super daughter super... and she's really pretty and collected. And she's learning English to teach. Z fed them although they weren't expecting it, although she did have cheese, potato chips, two types of boughten cookies, and cheese out for snack, plus she poured tea. We sang happy birthday to Enrique, which was super interesting because we sang in Spanish, in English, then what I'm pretty sure is the equivalent to "for he's a jolly good fellow" except it sounded more like "now you're a little old man." So that was super cultural and whatnot. I snacked like an American while I listened to them chat, or at least what I picked up. Their 5-year-old is losing teeth, and they put their teeth under their pillows, too! Although this guy got $10 (I'm pretty sure this family is really well off). It was still really cure because he went to the store and saw some sort of Spider-Man thing he wanted, which cost $14. Mom wasn't about to pay the extra $4, but somehow this little kid negociated the price down to $10! The boys like Iron Man, too. And I think it's woth mentioning that the older one doesn't like sweets. Anyway, I've decided that most Ecuadorians are a little health obsessed because they talked forever about how terrible it is to not eat breakfast, to eat a lot in the evening, and to not walk/do exercise. I'm pretty sure they were talking about a specific person, plus they kind of bashed the states because they heard that no one ever walks anywhere. I agreed, although I had forgotten about those Saturday adventures where we did nothing BUT walk... I must have looked really tired because they made fun of me for almost falling asleep and told me I could go take a shower, etc. and it's fine. So I didn't (yet) so I could tell you guys about the most exciting cultural experience since Sunday. I will shower and I'll be a sleep depreived student tonight so I cna finish my essay and ask AM to check it over tomorrow.
Random Facts: There are a few words the Ecuadorians use ALL the time. Chévere means cool, easy enough. They alsao say "Claro" a ton, which pretty much means "of course" altough they drag the vowel out so it's more like "claaaro." Finally, whenever you're in the middle of something and they interrupt you or you've finshed eating or something, they say "sigue no más" which means literally "continue no more" which makes little sense. But I think it's funny becuase Z uses it when I come home, after talking for a while, and after I'm done eating and she sends me off to do my work. BUT also she said it to Lis and Javier when they were waiting to eat because no one else was at the table yet. Oh, and the little kids? Almost impossible to understand.

Chocolate Day

So after blogging yesterday I had more or less finshed with all mandatory homwork, so I grabbed my knitting and sat down to watch some NCIS on the computer... except CBS doesn't service Ecuador. Not to be denied my few minutes of American relaxation, I transferred over to Pandora... only to find that they don't service ANYWHERE outside the US. I attempted to look up Tiva videos on youtube, but it was super slow. So that's how I ended my night. Morning was the same, taxi batida and PB&J... Z had saved me some cake from the night before, but somehow I had enough self-control to save it for the evening. I took a different route to the bus, which still goes a different way so we're not falling down a mountain every morning. I went straight to the library... I had planned to go to the bakery to study and eat sweets, but since I knew I had the chocolate cake waiting for me I purposely didn't bring any money. After writing a couple of diarios I began my final project (powerpoint) for Nature and Culture, which is going to be awesome so I'll translate it into inglés for you. After getting frustrated with the internet I wandered outside to "read," but Margoh and Abby found me so we went to the bakery; Margoh paid for me because I had covered her for the banana boat at the beach. Nutella criossant, yes. On our way back we met Alana, who has gotten sick... a lot of the kids seem to be coming down with something. Between travelling, the altitude, weird food, and egregious amounts of work, I never feel particularly great, but I've been lucky so far (especially since I still believe that travellers' diarrhea is still a myth). I went on over to my Survey class, which was actually really cool because we've gotten into the more feminist-y writers, and it's interesting to hear what Andrew (as the only guy in our 4-person class) has to say about it. We got our tests (midterm) back, too, and I'm happy. Margoh and I went to have lunch at La Pirámide, which means crepes. Mine was some kind of vegetarian thing. I had a little time after to check email and read, then I had Nature class (don't think I'm being antisocial; I talk with people a lot in-between classes...) which was fun, even though I had to present. Milan begged me to take him to the bakery, so I did, even though I gave him a hard time the whole way because I was psychotically convinced that we were going to miss the bus. We didn't. The bus made a different stop on the way back that was actually closer to my house. The only problem was that one girl was really confused, and I had to give her directions back to the normal stop. Exciting. Z was at the doctor's when I came back and the cake was just kind of sitting on the table, so I ate it, of course. I did homework fairly diligently. I'm getting lulled into a false sense of security because all of my immediate homework is done, although I have some essays coming up. Only 7 more days of school! Mom said that to switch my flight would take $200, but I'm not too worried because I found some travel books and plan to spend some days at museums and stuff; I'll learn how to take the bus. Dinner was lentil soup, beef, some kind of huge corn I didn't like, salad, apple. Z was busy because she was making an orange cake for Enrique's birthday tomorrow, plus she needed to ice her hand because she fell on her way back from the doctor's. I skyped Grace, and that was pretty fun. I miss my chicks on six! Afterward I contemplated my future. I don't know how apparent it seems from reading this blog, but Ecuador seems to give me good opportunitied to mess up any plans I've ever had. I've kind of given up my biology idea, but now I'm thinking of not going to Madrid and/or graduating early, taking two jobs next semester, reading every book in the classics section in the NR library, making panda bread, becoming a writer that writes about social situations but is read by only rich people who have the time and money to think deeply about allusions and literary symbols... I don't know. Anyway, I contemplated my life,took a shower, did more homework, and Z's gone to bed. Me too.
Fun facts: I don't know the work for "random" in Spanish and the true equivalent for "awkward" doesn't exists. I swear my windows are paper-thin; I can hear everything. The song "Firework" is super popular here. I'm going to miss Ecuadorian radio. I'm excited to go home. There's a mountain lion loose in Conneticut (Grace).

Back to the Boring

I got to get up 15 minutes later this morning because they switched our bus times, but I was still a little depressed. Being in the jungle was great, because I walked around in basically my pajamas all day. I don't think I mentioned this, but they told us to wear fast-drying pants so I had brought scrubs and my Otavalo pants, both of which are insanely comfortable. Anyway, I actually made an effort to look nice this morning: no more bandana, not-a-t-shirt, real pants. Did I mention how awesome it feels to have clean hair? Really awesome. Anyway, STRAWBERRY batida which was awesome and my PB&J, which never gets old. I got to the bus stop all right, and probably the only exciting thing that happened today was that the bus stops got switched around, so I rode to school with a bunch of new people. We ride university buses, by the way, and I ride with only Georgetown students. Normal school buses are yellow! Anyway, I had academic writing and looked up Diego Rivera, talked about essays (and Tiputini, of course) and began thinking about my final project on Ecuadorians and knitting. I had some time so I corrected some papers and sat outside with the kids. Andrew somehow coerced our Survey professor to have class outside, which was nice, even though the story we were studying was a little depressing and weird, about Argentina's dirty war. She let us out like half an hour early, so I sat with some girls and did work, then went with Margoh for lunch (Chinesey soup, cabbage salad, beef stew, rice big surprise, some kind of fruity cake and guava juice). THEN Margoh and I worked on a presentation, then I left for the library to concentrate on Survey homework. I can't decide if it's better or worse than Lau. I worked dilligently, almost falling asleep multiple times, then moved outisde to work until taking the bus back. The route change is a little depressing because it's not as beautiful, but what the heck? It is a little faster. I got a little depressed, as usual, when walking back because the apartment is kind of empty even with Z there. I buckled down to do homework right away because I got such a good chunk of it done at school; I'm hoping to either knit, read for fun, try to watch some NCIS, get ahead on homework, and/or go to bed early tonight. Not too long after I gothome, Z comes in my room with the GORGEOUS chocolate cake. She's going to a friend's birthday party or something (surprise!), is taking the cake with her, and will be back late. I can't tell you how depressed I was that I couldn't have some of the cake. Dessert isn't that big here. She left, the apartment was emptier, and I ate dinner (salad, quinoa soup, chicken, potato cakes, and some honey cookies I found, and jamaica juice)and found out that there is REALLY nothing good on Spanish TV. I kind of wish I had agreed to go walking/running with Maddy, because I think I need it.
Random facts: There are hookahs here. I only have two more days of malaria medication. I was cold this morning. The weather here is really bi(or tri)polar. That picture from a couple of posts ago is me and Jose, if you haven't figured that out. I miss graham crackers and good TV. My internet has been strangely cooperative. I think it's a conspiracy to keep me from working.

Weekend of nothing (not really)

Saturday morning I heard this car beeping, and I thought, “Oh, boy, those people are going to get in trouble. Making all that noise is going to scare off the animalitos.” Needless to say, my subconscious thought I was still in the jungle. I was proud of having slept in and a little weirded out the Z wasn’t home, but I just assumed she had gone to the gym and made myself a PB&J and hot chocolate. I also found as scale and (if it’s correct) I’ve lost 5 pounds since coming here, even though I’ve been eating tons of food and not running. Hopefully it’s not muscle mass I’m losing, right? Anyway, I spent pretty much ALL DAY blogging for you guys (and facebooking, and checking email, and occasionally doing homework…) As for Z, an old worker from her parents’ hacienda came over to visit. I said hi and ate lunch with them (to-die-for broccoli soup, really good fish, lentils, rice, fried plantains) but I didn’t talk to him much. At 3, a girl who had been here 4 or 5 years ago as a student from Georgetown came over to visit because she’s in a medicine-related program for the summer. She had the craziest story! I guess she came back to Ecuador after the summer program and fell in love with a host-brother (not Z’s) and they were super-serious, dating for like 14 months or something. They were going to get married, but the boyfriend finished his lawyer studies here and would basically have to start them all over again if he moved to the US, plus he wants to become a professor here to teach Ecuadorians because most good professors leave the country. She can’t exactly transfer her medical studies here, so they broke up. She’s still pretty upset and it’s really too bad they can’t work something out. She was really sweet. So I went back to blogging, ate the same dinner, and called Maddy to go out, Jacob wanted to come too. Z called a cab for me and I picked them up, then we went out. We managed to meet up with practically every other person in the program. We split up into groups, and I ended up staying with the group with the most guys. It was actually really a good idea because I felt infinitely safer (Maddy usually dresses too American and we get way too much attention) plus I was in high demand as a dance partner. We ended the night with nachos and strawberry juice (some people might think it’s a waste to be drinking juice when the drinking age is 18 and beer is so cheap, but the juice here is AMAZING. None of that Minute Maid disgustingness) and I took a cab back with Jacob. Ecuador has really spoiled me; I was upset that it cost $6, which is a lot because we are gringos. I got home fine and the guard gave me my key (I leave it with him before going out so no one has a chance to steal it). I woke up waay to early this morning, was treated to a big breakfast of omelet and PB&J and tea, and did homework/blogging until Enrique came to pick us up. His son, Quiquo, drove (crazily…) We went down to Cumbayá, the same district as USFQ, to this place that was half park, half country club. There were little pavilions to sit and eat, sidewalks to go for walks, a pool, and a little fish garden thingie. It was really nice. A few relatives were already there, with the two cutest little boys ever that reminded me of Danny and Nate. At first I tried to remember names, but then we went on a walk and more people came, and I gave up. I used to think that the whole Ecuadorian kiss thing was a little lame and rather inconvenient, but after today I am a strong supporter of a cultural adaptation in the US. Everyone came up to give me the besito, so everyone knew who I was and I had vague ideas of who everyone else was. They gave me Sprite and Coke (all pop is called soda) and I was offered beer. I didn’t really know what to do because I’m not sure if turning stuff down is seen as in insult or whatever, but none of the other women were drinking, so I just followed the gender roles. We ate soup (I’m pretty sure there would be a national crisis if Ecuador ever somehow ran out of soup) and chicken, rice, potatoes, French fries, and salad. I was a little freaked out because I couldn’t wash my hands and there were a couple breaches of hygiene that wouldn’t kill me, but whatever. I sat and ate, feeling a little awkward because I couldn’t really talk to anyone because everyone was old and I had a hard time picking up in the middle of conversations. The whole ordeal made me a little sad and a little homesick, because it reminded me of Ferenec family picnics and Ridgeville parties and stuff. The family in the pavilion next to us was getting really wild, dancing and stuff. There was a bulldog, characteristically ugly, but the entire family completely adored it. I asked its name, and I heard “helado” which means “ice cream,” and I was about to prepare myself to die laughing until they corrected me, his name was “Lalo.” Ecuadorians are so chill. Lalo wandered over to another pavilion and instead of getting angry or acting embarrassed, the family got all cuddly with him and took care of him for a while. Anyway, there was cake, too, this dry lemony thing, but there was also to-die-for ice cream (I had really wanted a milkshake last night, so this was perfect) oreo and chocolate brownie, plus another kind of cake with chocolate filling. It might have been just because it was father’s day, but the women did all of the work cooking, serving, etc. It was funny, because there was one mom who was obviously in charge and taking care of everything, kind of like what happens whenever there’s a get-together at home. After I finished eating I didn’t know what to do. Z was kind of a wallflower, too, because Enrique’s just her boyfriend and she’s not really related to anyone. There were a couple of younger guys there, and so I decided to be brave and sat next to this one guy on the grass under the pretense of watching a soccer game between another older cousin and the little boys. Even though he was kind of awkward, Alejandro was really nice and easy to talk to; college-age kids are always easy to talk to because you have a whole series of related questions: major, postgrad plans, extracurriculars, siblings (although Alejandro didn’t have any. Bummer)… and being a foreigner had its perks because I could talk about Ohio. It started raining so we moved inside the pavilion, and the grownups talked to me a little bit, too, always complimenting my Spanish; I think I completely shocked them. Like I’m sure I’ve mentioned, the last girl Z had hardly knew any Spanish at all and cried all the time; she must have left a lasting impression on Enrique’s family. There was this really cute cousin, too, who was a RUNNER, but he wasn’t chatty at all. As I was moving on to more distant conversation topics Quiquo said it was time to go, so I followed Z down the line of besitos. By this time it was cold. When we arrived, I had been burning up. Some four hours later, I was cold. Something random: there’s a lot of graffiti in Quito as in any other city, but a favorite blueprint tends to be [name], TE AMO. (I love you.) I know graffiti is a public nuisance and all, but the storybook side of me thinks it’s sweet and even a little romantic. So I was a little pumped when I saw an “Andrea, te amo” graffiti. It was pretty. Not that it had anything to do with me, unless I’ve unknowingly stolen the heart of some random individual with some red spray paint, but it was cool to see. I also heard a country song on the radio, which was cool. I miss really random things. Back at the apartment I finished up some blogs (AND I AM ALMOST DONE) and Skyped with my parents for some sort of ridiculously long record time, and I lost internet only once. Afterward Z fed me chicken, pasta, and Jamaica juice. I am really glad to be finishing up this incessant blogging because I’d like to finish homework and do something… like knitting. Two more weeks of class (cloud forest next weekend) and one week in the Galápagos. Here’s where I need some advice. The program ends on the 11th, my pane ticket is for the 18th so I’d have time to chill, visit some places, explore the city a little more, etc. However, nearly all of the other kids who are staying are going to Columbia. I would totally go, but it would cost $200 JUST to change my plane ticket, then I’d have to worry about money for hostel/hotels, food, and transportation. In any other case it would be worth it because my chances of returning to South America are slim (although not inexistent), but I’ve already taken out $9,000 in loans just for Ecuador. So no. I have no problem staying in Ecuador, but the thing is I don’t want to travel (or even go out in the city) by myself; I don’t have any host siblings or many Ecuadorian friends. Questions: Should I keep my ticket and risk being bored for a week, or change it back to go home earlier if it’s not too expensive?

Friday: Another long ride (or three)

Before I enumerate the despressingness of my last day, allow me to fill in a few gaps: I think it was on the second day, we were walking along the trail when Jose bends down to pick up a gum wrapper. He starts to joke around, “This is a leaf from a special tree here, called Trident…” and it was funny, but it made me realize how impeccably clean the forest was. Litter doesn’t exist because there are no humans to drop in anywhere. I knew right away that the gum wrapper was from one of the kids the day before because we had gotten the same gum in our lunch bags. Also, when I was wandering around wondering what to do during our free times, I heard this weird noise. I looked around and didn’t see anything, but when I looked again I saw this huge rat-thing gnawing on something. It was pretty cool and I watched it for probably over five minutes; it was bizarre-looking. I was also walking around the library (in broad daylight) when this really confused bat kept flying around my head. It was a little alarming, but I felt kind of bad because this bat was totally confused. Anyway, Friday: I got up and felt around in the dark, trying to make sure I had everything with me. That’s the thing about the forest; it gets darker earlier and stays darker longer because there are so many trees blocking the sun. I had shoved all my damp clothes in a bag the night before… did I mention that I would put my clothes out before I went to bed, and when I’d wake up, they’d be damp? From the humidity. Anyway, I gathered everything together and trekked on over to the dining hall (even though I was on time if not a little late, I was the first one there). Breakfast: Granola, watermelon and peaches, and PANCAKES! I was so happy. There are some things I just kind of forgot to miss. Once everyone finally was ready I took a picture with Jose and we got back on the boat for two hours. We saw a red snake and some more monkeys, this time with super-fluffy tails. Some kids fell asleep, but again I couldn’t. I looked at trees and stuff, but I also just kind of let my mind wander, which is actually really interesting because I start thinking about movies, etc. that I haven’t seen in ages. Fun. I sat between Jacob and Milan, and I always have to do the work in a conversation with either one of them, so I didn’t bother. We stopped and got out by a bridge, and most of us went to cross it to go to the bathroom. There wasn’t really a bathroom. While we were waiting for our truck, some women came and tried to sell us bracelets and bags made out of the same palm branches and method that Jose had used for our bracelets. Most of us didn’t have money, but Germán, ever the linguistics student, recorded them talking their native huorani (the only language they knew) and bought a bracelet to make up for it. The truck came and we watched the guides switch out the trash and empty gas cans for new ones and more food. At first I was squished next to Andrew in the truck, and I watched the natives in their open house; the kids climbing trees and running around. Space opened up in the front, and I sat next to Jose and Felicia. Jose tried to point out a pig to me but I missed it, but I did catch sight of a deer. He asked me about Ohio and I asked him about Uturi, but I got kind of tired and he and Germán got to talking. Felicia was reading a Cosmopolitan magazine (in Spanish) and needed help with some of the words. They gave us another bagged lunch (PB&J, ham and cheese, three types of cookies, a clementine, and two juice boxes) and we stopped at the military-base-looking place. We had to wait a while for our other boat, but we did get to see a couple other gringos. We make jokes about the gringos all the time, especially at the university because there are other American students there. Of course, WE aren’t gringos because we speak Spanish all the time. We got on our second boat and I watched Felicia flirt with one of her favorite guides, but then I fell asleep. I just kind of chilled when I woke up, although a lot of kids had brought out homework. I ate my clementine and felt all cool and North Ridgevillian because I spit the seeds into the river as if they were watermelon seeds. Brenden gave me an apple, too. We got off at Coca and I said my final good-bye to Jose. We waited in this really touristy looking area and a couple of kids took pictures of this toucan, but then most of us went inside a restaurant to “eat lunch.” Some kids ordered food, but I just got hot chocolate and joked around. We had to go back to the airport at Coca and we waited for our plane; I became everyone’s best friend when I whipped out the purell (I don’t expect soap in the bathrooms anymore, and if there’s toilet paper, it’s a good day…). I had to sit next to Germán on the plane, which wasn’t too bad because I love to bother him with questions about nuances in the Spanish language… like “warm” versus “hot” and other stuff I can’t find in a dictionary. I liked to look out the window at all the “broccoli,” plus they gave us peach juice. After we landed and Germán told us that our bus would come for us at 7:15 instead of 7 on Monday (YES) I caught a cab with Maddy and Jacob. It was a Friday night, but there was no way I was going out. I opened up Skype, ate, and pretty much started blogging, stopping only to shower and going to bed at 11.

Thursday: Miles up in the air

Thursday morning I woke up with a sore throat and my nose running as incessantly as it had all trip. My mood was NOT helped when one of my roommates told me that our bathroom was locked from the inside. I grumpily got myself ready using my water bottle again, and left quickly for breakfast. My mood completely turned around when I saw Milan brushing his teeth outside; he told me that there was no water. I thought it was funny, or at least ironic. We also had eggs for breakfast… and a boatload of more cereal for me. I was super excited because we were going to the puentes, or these platform things in the trees. Jose was out guide again, but Daniel didn’t come. We saw this ridiculously gigantic tree that had been felled my bugs as small as termites. Jose also showed us this one plant that his mom used on him when he was little and he was “sleepy.” It pricks you, then it burns. Jose said it’s good for muscle cramps. Brenden, Dan and I asked for it, and it didn’t hurt so bad, but afterward it left some really ugly bumps that faded, but I still have some now (I’m typing this on Saturday night). Jose brought us to the puentes and put my harness on me. There was a tall metal staircase that led to bridges, that led to various platforms. You had to hook your harness onto a cord when waling over the bridges, just in case you’d fall. I don’t know how high up it is. I felt kind of cool, like a mountain climber or something, snapping and unsnapping my harness on the cords. Brenden and I went first to the extra platform, where there was a ladder that led to an even higher platform. He had me go first. I was a little scared, but I’m pretty convinced that I conquered any fear of heights I might have had when I went up on the roof with Dad. I knelt on the highest platform and took pictures. Pretty darn awesome. Coming down was easier than I thought, and I watched a tiny little yellow and black frog while Brenden took his turn, then a black and white bird sat between two branches close to me. Then we switched sides with Margoh and Dan. Jose showed me a seed that looked like an animalito, then went down the stairs to look for some real ones. The other side wasn’t as cool, but it was still fun. We waited on the staircase afterwards, wanting another turn, and I braided Brenden’s hair in exchange for bug repellent. We finally coaxed Dan into coming down and I took another turn, this time standing on the platform as it started to mist. I saw the coolest salamander: it was normal and brown, but then it stuck out a bright red and yellow throat flap; I’m bummed I didn’t get a good picture. I finally came down and Brenden took another turn; I saw on the platform and watch flies eat my harness. I also saw something I never thought I’d see: a beautiful mosquito. Its flight was some sort of ingenious work of engineering, and its wings were a visible blue and white. But yes, I’m sure it was a mosquito. I watched Jose work with some sort of plant, then Brenden, Margoh and I came down; Dan already had. Dan showed us this red, sharp, funny looking plant that you could attach to your nose to look like a toucan or to your hands to looks like Edward Scissorhands. Jose was working palm branches, then used the single crochet stich to make bracelets for everyone (I’m still wearing mine right now). Next he have us a piece of plant and told us to chew it for two minutes. We did (although at this point, we knew that if Jose told you to do anything: do so with caution) and when we spit it out, our teeth and tongues had turned blue! Dan has a really good picture (my battery ran out). We walked out way back on the mercifully short path to the camp, when my knee unexpectedly gave out and I fell over. Bleh. Total, I think I’m looking at three or four falls. On our way back we also saw this creepy orange spider, but it was dead. I changed as soon as I got back, and relaxed a little bit, then Germán and M. Reese came looking for me because I was late to lunch (I thought it started half an hour later than it actually did, chicken and rice). We talked at out tables for a long time, and then I mooched a pen off of Germán (there’s a tarantula outside his room) to take notes, because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to remember everything for the blog otherwise. I listened to Daniel talk for a while, then miraculously did some homework until another lecture on oil at 4. We had the rest of the night free; everyone was getting a little restless with so much free time. We played cards (a version of spoons called kemps which was really fun) and ate dinner (meat, rice, lentils, TRES LECHES for dessert if I remember correctly). Most people wandered over to the library afterwards and a few people checked email on Brenden’s phone, then went to sleep. Last night 