El Autobus

Every morning I take the green bus to Cumbaya. The hubbub begins in the station in Quito where the conductor of each bus screams to passengers to "Sube" (get on) before the next bus begins to inch forward, shoving the original bus out of the way. The bus is moving yet the conductors hang off the side like monkeys, pulling the straggling passengers on. As the bus jerks around the corner, it is to your advantage to find the nearest seat or you will be left standing, sharing the aisle with a series of characters who hope on and off each green bus that passes, selling their goods. As we round the first corner Manuel and Jorge are the first peddlers on board. Manuel always wears a navy blue hat and a brilliant smile as he lifts a wooden pole with stacks of sweet and salty peanuts hanging from it. Just behind him follows Jorge who sells " 6 caramelitos por ese garganta que duele. Tengo naranja, fresa..." (6 caramels for your sore throat. I have orange, strawberry) he belts as he walks down the aisle, slyly placing the cough drops at an enticing distance in front of each passengers face. We make a right on Eloy Alfaro and a left up the hill. Then, my favorite seller hops on board. I don't know his name but he can't be older than seventeen. He jumps on the bus with six ice cream cones in hand. As he passes down the aisle he offers "helados" in the most deep throated nasal voice I have ever heard. I've never seen anyone buy a helado at 8 am but I hope his business picks up during the day. We race along passing the Panaderia, flower stall and rug washing stand before swerving around the round about, with a statue of a man riding his bike, and we are out of the city. We race the green bus next to us to see who can get their card stamped first by the lady who sits in her tiny green stand on the side of the road. The conductor practically hurls himself out of the bus to get the stamp and makes a mad dash to keep up with the bust as it moves away. We follow the curves of the road down the valley and if I'm lucky, I catch a glimpse of snow-capped Cotopaxi just before balancing myself close to one of the doors so I can hop off at my stop as the bus pulls away, billowing clouds of smoke behind it.

Aside from riding the bus back and forth from school, life in Ecuador has continued to become busier. My class workload has begun to pick up quite a bit and since all of my reading is in Spanish I find it takes me much longer than expected. I have also begun to get involved with a few other activities. I attended my first Rotaract meeting in Quito and I am really excited about being involved with them for the year. Rotaract is essentially the university level of Rotary. There are some wonderful club members who have been so kind to all of the "gringos". One girl in particular, Maria Fernanda (Ma Fer), has gone out of her way to take care of us. Two weekends ago she took us to Papallacta, amazing thermal hot springs that are located about an hour outside of Quito.
We spent hours soaking in the hot springs before heading back to the south of Quito for a very traditional lunch at Ma Fer's parents restaurant. This past weekend we spent Sunday wandering around Parque Metropolitana, a beautiful park in the north of Quito enjoying lots of fresh air and people watching. In the afternoon we visited a museum called Capilla del Hombre which houses the art work of the indigeneous Ecuadorian painter Guayasamin. His art work, marked as expressionist, reflects the pain and misery that the larger part of humanity has endured, and denounces the violence that every human being has had to live with. The paintings and sculptures were extremely poignant and powerful.

While not spending time with lovely new friends exploring Quito, I have continued to enjoy spending time with my host family and traveling. Located in the middle of the cloud forest, everything in Mindo is lush and green. I spent my weekend enjoying a butterfly garden with Carolina blue butterflies,A few weekends ago I visited Mindo, a lovely little town about 3 hours from Quito by bus, taking a cable car to see waterfalls, hiking, and zip lining through the cloud forest. I have to say it is one of my favorite things that I have done so far in Ecuador, I felt like I was flying!

Somos Equatorianos

A week and a half ago I had a true cultural experience: sitting in the stands as the Ecuador national team played Bolivia in soccer. We somehow managed to be in the "rowdy" section in the stadium. Before the game even started, a gigantic Ecuadorian flag emerged that covered our entire section. Every time Ecuador scored during the game we were essentially showered in beer because excited fans just threw their cups everywhere. Needless to say, Ecuador won the game and we all had a great time!

The following weekend I took my first trip out of the city to Otavalo, a small town two hours north of Quito that is known for the indigenous craft market that occurs on Saturday mornings. We arrived on Friday evening but only began to explore on Saturday. The market was quite a sight. It is centered in the main square of the town but sprawls onto various streets and alleys. From chickens, to scarves, to jewelry, to hammocks, the market had almost everything you could want! I spent a good few hours simply wandering through the various stalls admiring the beautiful embroidery and vibrant colors. Following our shopping stint, we wandered away from the center of town to find a tree called El Lechero.
According to ancient legend, the tree has healing powers and can cure ailments. While the tree was majestic, the surrounding scenery was simply breathtaking. We were lucky to catch a few minutes of sunshine before the clouds rolled in, covering the surrounding mountain tops. While we sat peacefully enjoying the scenery we suddenly realized that a large group of people with go carts had gathered at the top of the hill. We wandered over and asked a policeman what was going on, only to find out that a go cart race all the way down the hill, around some of the scariest curves I have ever seen, was about to begin. We hitched a ride with the race officials back down to Otavalo to witness the festivities. The streets were lined with people in anticipation of the race. I have no idea how they actually stayed on the carts because their mechanism of steering was simply leaning to one side or the other. It was quite a sight! We returned to Otavalo and thanks to the Lonely Planet, found a delicious pie shop that served hot apple, pineapple, blackberry, strawberry, and chocolate pies. It was the perfect way to end the afternoon!


On Sunday a few of us ventured about 15 km out
of Otavalo to Laguna Mojada. We had originally
thought about hiking but thank goodness we decided to take a taxi. The 15 km distance was essentially completely vertical and took almost 40 minutes by car. The Laguna originated from a volcano that erupted and left a basin that slowly filled with water. Although it was quite chilly, the crisp air was the perfect escape from the city crowds and pollution of Quito!

Since returning from Otavalo life has continued to be very busy. On Monday evening the Rotary clubs of Quito hosted the Rotary International President, Dong Kurn Lee. There are currently 5 Ambassadorial Scholars in Quito and we attended the event together. It is very interesting to note the huge differences between Rotary in Ecuador and Rotary in the States. I expected quite a few of the differences, especially in terms of the social/economic status of Rotarians here, but I don't think I quite anticipated the political influence that Rotary has. While the Rotary International president was addressing the crowd, everyone suddenly stood up to signal the arrival of the vice president of Ecuador. It was crazy! The dinner turned out to be better than expected as we were able to meet quite a few members of the Quito Rotaract club who seem to be active. I hope to be able to get involved with some of their projects soon.

I hope everyone is well and that I hear from you soon! Much love!

Una Semana

Hola todos! I've been in Quito for just over a week and I am slowly adjusting to life here. I live in the Northern part of Quito very close to the soccer stadium. My host family is wonderful. My host parents, Cecilia and Hernan, are both biochemists. Hernan works as a professor and Cecilia runs the family lab which is just down the street from my house. They have four children, but only the youngest and oldest live at the house. The oldest, Adolfo, is a plastic surgeon who just returned from training in Argentina and is trying to establish himself in Quito so he lives at my house with his wife, Judi, and two adorable children, Michaela (pictured above) is two and a half and Jose Matias, a very happy 5 month old. It is nice to have a family and a home to return to after classes.

Aside from life at mi casa, classes at the University started last week. La Universidad de San Francisco Quito is so beautiful! The entire campus has open hallways which overlook small grassy courtyards. Thankfully the campus is small so I know my way around pretty well. The University is actually located in Cumbaya, which is about 40 minutes by bus from Quito, in the next valley over. It has taken me a few days to adjust to the commute, but I have begun to enjoy the time on the bus to people watch or simply take in the gorgeous mountains which surround Quito on all sides. I am currently enrolled in five classes at the university: three public health classes (global health, occupational health, and a community health practicum), Andean Anthropology, and an Ecuadorian short story class. Thus far, they all seem incredibly interesting and challenging, especially the public health classes. My fellow public health classmates have all already started their professional lives so I am a bit intimidated by them!

Last weekend I went on my first Ecuadorian excursion. I packed a picnic with a few new friends (including a fellow Ambassadorial Scholar) and we ventured out to the Teleferico. The Teleferico is a cable car ride that takes passengers up to an elevation of 4050 m and overlooks the entire city of Quito. Although it was freezing at the top, the view was breath taking. For now, it is time for class again. I miss everyone and hope to hear from you soon!!!!

con amor, priyanka