My Last Two Weeks!

First off, my apologies for the lack of blogging; I ensure you that I was very busy…The last time we left off we were about to go to Papallacta to visit the natural hot springs, and do some hiking. Papallacta was amazing, the hike especially. We were able to walk along these small rapids and took numerous pictures. Although I have numerous pictures I’ve displayed the ones of my attempting to jump on to a rock in the middle of the river, as well as the actual “staged” photo… After the hike we headed to the hot springs pools, which was very relaxing. The whole day was amazing; the night, not so much. I became sick Saturday night, proceeded to go out (everyone was going out for the first time so I felt obligated to make an appearance) got nice and saucy, and made it through the night alright. I woke up Sunday feeling not so great, but proceeded to go on a 18 mile bike ride with my host family. Sunday night-Wednesday did not treat me well. Many over-the-counter and prescription drugs were taken over those few days as I needed to gear up for my visit to Cuenca!

Cuenca:

I visited my host family in Cuenca Thursday through Sunday. They were very nice and the city is gorgeous. I didn’t really take any pictures but I literally live two blocks away from the center of town, one block from the party strip, and 15 minutes from my work. P-I-M-P set-up going on... I also met my supervisor at La Universidad de Cuenca. He is pretty cool, speaks pretty good English, and is a soccer nut. I found out that I will be teaching three English classes as well as one U.S. History and Culture class. As my mom would say, “how are you qualified to teach those classes?” My response, I have no idea, but that’s why I’m down here, to learn, grow, and hopefully be a decent ambassador to the good ole US of A.

Back in Quito:

After being in Cuenca for the weekend, Keith and I got back and instantly turned in to “Cuencasnobs”. Here comes my venting time. Although Quito is awesome, it’s way too polluted, the transportation system SUCKS, and the people are not as nice as Cuencans…I’m sick of feeling like I’m taking bong hits off the back of the exhaust pipes of numerous cars, buses, etc. in the city here. I’m ready to walk in some fresh air! Vent session over. With that said, Monday was our first practice teaching day. I was extremely nervous, but it went well. I think I’m really good at embarrassing myself, and bringing the best out of others, so it worked well. Monday was also Keith’s (remember Keith, My roommate?) birthday, so we had to go out to celebrate…no pictures taken but you can see some taken by other volunteers on my Facebook page! The rest of the week consisted of both my roomies getting sick, practice teaching, orientation, and tonight will be a culmination of numerous birthdays, by going out in El Mariscal/Gringolandia. Tomorrow, Keith, Tara (remember Tara, my other roommate?) and numerous other volunteers are hiking up a mountain. I’ll be sure to post later with pics… Sorry about the no show for two weeks, won’t happen again…hopefully.