Fui al Mitad del Mundo!

Good news?! Ecuador is getting better every day! These last few days have been exciting and quite fun...a bit lacking in Spanish but entertaining none the less.  Thursday at school we had 'activity day' where we took an hour making ceviche and sharing it with others and then we spent an hour doing a Zumba class (taught by one of the students!). For the ceviche, all the students were divided into three groups.  Each group made a different type of ceviche: 1-cevi(chocho) which is made with Lima bean type things, very popular here, 2- cevi(pollo) which was my group and we used chicken, and 3- cevi(camarones) which had shrimp.  Being completely unbiased, our groups tasted the best! ;). What I found interesting was that we used orange juice/soda and ketchup in our ceviche.  This may be normal but it seemed strange to me. Overall it was a fun activity! 

Friday afternoon several students and I went to 'old town' for some giant empanadas.  And when I say giant, I mean GiGaNtIc!!!  I would say they were the size of 7 hands.  Now, they were just  sugar empanadas with a bit of ricotta type cheese in them, but they were tasty...and HUGE!  We also tried some of the local liquor which is a cinnamon based hot liquor.  We had a blackberry flavor which was quite delicious! (No worries everyone, portions were small-no one was actin a fool) hehe. We continued to just walk around the area which was a bit touristy but nice.  We settled in a little cafe for coffee and then called it a night.  It was very quaint and refreshing! 

Saturday I was a super tourist as I walked on the equator line!!! Tis was really quite cool.  I was thinking while taking my many Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world) poses how amazing it was that I was there.  Had you asked me 10, 5, or even 1 year ago if I ever thought I would go to the equator, I would have given you a crazy face...but there I was! I am so thankful for the opportunities I've had in my short (almost) 27 years of life!  Anyway, we went to a museum while we were there which had several experiments that 'proved' we were on the real line.  I'm still not sure if they were real or rigged but either way, they were cool.  I was able to balance a raw egg on the head of a nail, I watched water swirl in opposite directions in the two different hemispheres, and was unable to balance due to the forces pulling me from both the north and the south.  (Pictures/video will be posted upon my return to the states). It was quite the fun filled day! And to top it off, me a few others went out dancing that night! I had a blast and fell a little more in love with this city!  

Today I was able to relax at home for a bit before venturing out to a mercado of artisan goodies! I didn't buy anything but got a lot of good ideas for gifts!  Yeah!  Today is also my Ecuadorian mothers birthday so the other girls in the house and I planned a little party.  We had balloons, cake, and flowers for her after dinner! I think she really enjoyed it!  

Anyway- that's the latest with me.  I'm heading into week 2 of classes.  I didn't switch teachers bc frankly I feel bad and the school automatically switches after 2 weeks so I figure ill be patient.  I did make some recommendations to my teacher though, so hopefully she'll take them to heart and change my class a bit!  Here's to hoping! 

I'll keep you posted on the days to come. Miss you all! 

Is it September yet?

So, I'm half way into my 3rd day in Quito.  I must admit, it has been a rough few days. Monday I practically was on the verge of tears all day long and at some points I couldn't hold them in.  I attributed this to the lack of sleep and the immediate start of 4 hours of intensive Spanish class. However, my third day isn't much better.  Granted I am controlling the tears a bit more but they're still there.  Why? I'm really not sure.  I do miss home (wish I could be in Mexico with my parents right now). Also, I'm not adjusted to the teaching method in the school.  We don't use books so its hard to practice the things I'm learning.  Also, my teacher talks a ton! Which is good and all for my understanding, but my biggest deficiency in Spanish is speaking, not listening! Now, contrary to popular belief, I don't have much to say most of the time, which makes it hard to practice speaking BUT this morning I was really excited to explain the dream I had.  So, I started class with that and it went well, however after, my professor shared a dream she had once...which took over 30 minutes!! (I may be exaggerating a bit but it felt like forever!) I kept trying to give signals that I was ready to get to the class material, but she kept talking...grrrr.  Also, I feel that when I make mistakes, she laughs at me! NOT a recommended gesture for a teacher! Another thing that makes me anxious to be home is the fact that I will be eating the EXACT same breakfast for the next 8 weeks...and I mean the exact same: 2 scrambled eggs, bread, coffee, and a blended fruit drink.  EVERY MORNING!  I will not want to eat eggs in a very long time! Anyways I am going to start focusing on the positive things bc otherwise these 8 weeks will be miserable! So, tonight there is a group from the school gong out - Ladies Night is what I hear.  Tomorrow, part of our class time will be used for making ceviche! Also, tomorrow night there are Salsa lessons and then time for dancing! Also, I'm hoping to do some sight seeing over the weekend! If things don't get better (Spanish included) I maybe wrapping up here earlier than I planned.  So please keep me in your prayers that I begin to enjoy my time here, I will learn a ton, and that my breakfast changes! :) thanks everyone! 

#2 was my #1!

Yesterday I did not post bc my roommates and I stayed up late watching a movie, so I didn't have my ritual blog before bed moment.  Yesterday was rather uneventful.  We did start the day off swell with real Crepes! I had a mozzarella/tomato/pesto crepe and a Nutella/banana crepe! Both were superb! Afterwards we traipsed off to the Gold Museum.  The museum was actually quite big...7 levels.  Unfortunately I was super tired so I didn't spend too much time reading all the explanations and history of it all.  I feel once I've seen one gold museum, I've seen them all (I don't mean to be insensitive to the different cultures and tribes...I'm just not into the history stuff!). We still spent a couple hours there, or so it felt, so I went back to the hostel and had a nice long nap! Then of course we got up and went to eat.  At the restaurant, there was a movie playing, Inside Man, so we all had the genius idea to watch it once we returned tour room.  My three roommates all have Netflix so we watched it from there. Chelsea and I snuggled up in one of our beds while we all watched the same movie on all our own devices...a little comical. Anyway, that leads to today. We didn't really have plans today-other than souvenir shopping! However it turned it to be a phenomenal day! Sunday is the day to be outside in Bogota! There we people everywhere! There were people on bikes, roller blades, walking; tons of dogs and kids...the weather was outstanding and we fund some decent artisan items! But he comes the best part of my day...as we were walking along, observing the various activities taking place (juggling acts, ppl singing, costumed creatures , etc..we came across a guinnea pig race! There were 6 pigs lined up and about 14 construction hats (with openings cut out) sitting at the other end.  It took us a minute to realize what was happening but basically you were to place money on the hat you thought the pig would run into.  So, in hopes to just get rid of the last Colombian coin I had, I placed 500pesos (around 25 cents) on hat #2.  Totally thinking I just wanted to see these creatures run...no expectation of winning...BUT I DID!  The first little pig he chose sprinted straight into hat #2! I totally freaked!  Could not believe it!  So, I got my 500 pesos back in addition to an extra 1900 pesos!  Woohoo!  I was on a high for lithe rest of the day!  I can see how people get addicted to gambling! Wow! But I was on cloud nine for most of the day after that!  Once I calmed down and the rest of us finished shopping we headed back home.  Chelsea and I snuggled up for another Netflix movie while the other girls slept.  After our ip movie we both slept for about an hour.  Then it was time to eat again before I hopped in a taxi to start the next leg of my journey! Our hostel hostess pointed out to us that all we did was sleep, get up and eat, come back for rest, then went out again to eat ...every day, same routine.  Oops! Hahaha. But we enjoyed every bit!  I was sad to say goodbye to my travel partners but I'm sure we will meet again! For now, it's time I get focused and learn me some Spanish!  Here it is almost 1 in the morning and I have to start school in the morning...yikes! Better get to bed! Night! 

Breaking it down in Bogota

By far, today was the best day yet! First of all, we totally slept in (some of them did-I did not). Then we went on a great adventure to find Crepes! However it took us over an hour searching to no avail, so we settled for another place - which happened to have Crepes. Little did we know, those Crepes weren't Crepes at all...at least not in the usual sense.  They were tasty, just unexpected. Later on in the day we realized the place we were originally looking for was only 5 blocks from our hostel...on the same street. Oops!  Anyhow, after brunch, we trekked it for the church on the hill! We walked about a mile (uphill) until we reached the gondola that took us up to an elevation of around 3500km! The church itself wasn't anything super spectacular but we still had a great time.  The view of the city was quite breathtaking! We stayed for a while just enjoying the scenery,  they had a beautiful gardened area with the stations of the cross which was also enjoyable to see. We came home and rested for a bit before heading to dinner!  We asked our host where he would recommend to eat and he told us the general area and said to look for the guy with dreads...we found him and boy were we glad! First of all, the place sold gyros which I found a bit strange. They also were playing reggae music.  Well the gyros were SO DELICIOUS and the music was jammin!  We found out there was a little raggae club underneath the restaurant so of course we made an appearance! We grooved it out for about 10 minutes before heading back. We would have stayed longer but it was already passed the safe curfew.  So we scurried home only to get ready for part two of the evening! Our host took us salsa dancing!  I am telling you, I haven't had that much fun in a long time!!! We had a group of 8 or so and we all had our time out on the dance floor! I was bustin moves I forgot I had! It had been so long since I danced salsa, I wasn't sure I'd pick it back up, but I felt Colombian right off the bat! Felt like home! I seriously cannot describe how much fun we all had! I even had the guts to ask a guy to dance with me,,,older gentleman with dreads...won-der-ful! Anyway, here it is around 2 am and we're just finishing up for the day! Overall, it was productive w a bit of relaxation and lots of exercise throughout the day! Love it! Time is flyin...Ecuador count down is less than 48 hours away! 

Buenos noches!

Sierra

South America or South Pole?

So we are here in Bogota, Colombia! We had an early morning, getting up at 5. We hopped on the plane and arrived safe and sound! Fortunately, we found a great taxista that helped us find our amazing hostel! My first impression of Bogota was not good-I actually wanted to head back to the smoldering heat of Cartegena. However, after exploring a bit of the city with Chelsea, I actually really like this city (despite the danger that lurks around every corner).  Our hostel hosts are AMAZING! (Shout Out to the Colombian Dream Hostel) Guillermo (host) took us to a place for some hot chocolate and bread and then helped me find the best deal for exchanging my money! After our walk about in the city, we decided to rest a bit.  Well that didn't go as planned. Seriously people, we feel (and look) as if we are in the South Pole swimming in the water naked. *by look I don't mean we are naked...I mean we are bundled in whatever we could find! Haha! Reminder that none of us brought warm clothes...we all have only 1 pair of pants and various t shirts to layer.  So, needless to say we did not rest well.  We requested extra blankets, which we received. My roommates found a burrito wrapping method w a blanket...I'll have to try it tomorrow night, if I survive! 

We did introduce the game of UNO to our hostel host and his brother! That was quite entertaining, but it went well. Then we were taught a game called Parques (similar to Sorry). That wraps up our evening and now we're wrapping up in blankets! Goodnight all you WARM readers! Don't take the heat for granted! ;) 

Sierra

Little bit of sun never hurt anyone...

Well, what a day I have had! It all started with breakfast of course...yum! Then we had plans to go see a castle with dungeons, dun dun dun! We began our journey across town in the smoldering heat only to find that the 'dungeons' were little souvenir shops that we had already visited! Who knew!? And the alleged castle was no castle at all but rather a military fort or sorts. (Haha, fort of sorts...sounds funny!) By the time we reach El Castillo de San Felipe, we were all pretty SOAKED from sweat (walking 20 min in hot sun), and we still had an hour or two to go in exploration of this place! Two of the girls headed back before entering but me and another girl ventured in despite the temperature and burning sun! *note that I did not put sunscreen on as I thought I would be indoors most of the day.  So, we begin our tour...completely in Spanish (which I am ashamed to say I didn't understand hardly ANY of it...:/). We had some great photo ops. But man was it hot...and I was sweaty! We were there for a good 2 hours, 80% of that being nearly 10 feet from the sun itself! (Yes, that is a slight exaggeration but I want you to imagine the pain I felt!) Anyway, the tour came to a close and even though we were tired and sweaty, we still opted to walk back, rather than hitch a taxi! The air conditioner was like heaven! Ahhhh...we cooled off for a bit and then decided to head out for a few last sightings in Cartegena! The night ended w some delicious pizza (authentic Colombian food, right?) and packing for our transitional move to Bogota tomorrow! Not really looking forward to the city, but definitely looking forward to the weather (mid 60s low 70s)! Oh yeah, after the fun in the sun today...my skin is looking a bit like my hair...RED! Oooops! Note to self, wear sunscreen at all times! 

Picture doesn't capture it too well but you can see the red glow on my nose and cheeks...

So, that sums up today! Check ya later! 

Sierra

Prick!

Well yesterday morning started off with an interesting sting...I got a yellow fever vaccination! Here's the back story.  One of the girls I met here in Colombia (Chelsea) asked me if I got my vaccines. I looked at her a bit puzzled bc I definitely had not even looked in to that...😳. So, we decided to look up if I needed anything.  Sure enough, Ecuador requires it IF traveling from Colombia! Just my luck.  And supposedly it has to be given 10 days in advance before entry.  Well, there's no getting around that bc I'm only in Colombia 8 days total and a few of those have already passed. I'm a bit freaked out as to what may happen at the airport on Sunday??? So, prayers would be appreciated in that regard! Anyway, I figured its better to have it for 6 days or so than none.  The bonus? Vaccinations are FREE in Colombia so there's the silver lining! No harm done; except the shot was just a tad painful.

After that exciting adventure we ate some great breakfast and headed to the beach! It was the perfect day for the beach bc the sun was out but there was a nice calm breeze that helped you not melt from the heat! Well, we had spoken to soon...not more than an hour or so after arriving we realized why it was such nice weather...STORM! Granted, we were already wet from the ocean but that didn't mean we wanted all our stuff to be soaked.  Needless to say, we packed up and headed back to the hotel! My roommate and I watched 'Our Family Wedding' in Spanish (good movie btw) and then after it stopped raining, we went exploring around the city.  We found a few churches that had great character on the outside, but we were unable to see inside😞.  That put a damper on our adventure but we still got some cool pics. 

We came back to the room and chilled for a few before heading out to dinner.  We found a cute little place women air seating which was perfect after the rain...nice and cool! We met a man from New Zealand who was spending 3 months in Colombia.  When I asked him why he chose Colombia his response was 'I'm running out of countries!'  What!?  I wish I had that problem! Granted he has 30+ years on me, so maybe I can catch up...? So cool though! Anyway, that was pretty much the day! 

We are heading into our last day in Cartegena, tomorrow we venture into Bogota. Updates to come! 

Sierra

What vacation is all about...

So, today was a wonderful day in Cartegena! It started around 930 for breakfast. I had a delicious plate of Colombian scrambled eggs and a large plate of pineapple and watermelon. Then breakfast was followed by 3 more hours of SLEEP! Ahhh...so relaxing! Our hotel room is nice and dark so it's nice and cozy.  Two of the other girls slept til about 4 so I think I did alright.  My roomie and I decided we wanted some exercise so we went for a walk. We had some nice photo ops and visited a little market. When we got back, I was able to FaceTime with my rents AND my beautiful niece! Best part of my day, for sure! Then I watched a lil Batman in Spanish before heading to dinner.  We had dinner on 'Bourbon Street'. Big open seating outside w multiple restaurants to choose from.  We ended up at a little pizzeria and enjoyed a wonderful dinner outside w a faint breeze and serenades from some locals. Overall today was just about perfect! Tomorrow we head for the beach! 😃🌊

Adios Honduras, Hello New Adventures

So, as most of you know, I have wrapped up my time in Honduras! It was a bittersweet goodbye as I have some very good friends I had to say bye to, but also exciting to start something new. What is that something new you ask? I'll get to that in a minute. First I want to sum up my time in Honduras-what I hope to take away from it all and such...
One thing that is undeniable about (most) the Hondurans I met is that they are selfless people who will do whatever is needed to help someone else.  This is how we should all strive to live as we share Gods love. I noticed many times that I was unwilling to do that-I didn't want to share my food to the person who may have forgotten theirs, I didn't want to lend my money to someone, etc.  Now, I may or may not have done it anyway but my heart wasn't right either way. The Lord has reminded me that it's not MY stuff anyway-it all belongs to Him and I should see how He wants me to use it.  Also, in the midst of moving back I had to sell/give many of my belongings.  Satan reared his ugly head in this as I felt I deserved all this money for my things and I became bitter when I didn't get as much as I thought I deserved...and once again I was reminded I am already blessed beyond what I deserve.  I said goodbye to many things I thought I HAD to have and I realize now, I can/will survive without them! There are many other things The Lord has worked on me with over these past two years and if you'd like to chat about, lets get coffee sometime!

Now, I moved home (with my parents ) last Monday. I got most everything unpacked and put somewhere just in time for me to repack and head back out for another 9 weeks! Which leads me to the now...I left yesterday(Friday) at 6 pm from kc, spent 3 hrs in Atlanta before heading to Bogota Colombia where I spent 4 hours (from 3am-7am) before making it to Cartegena Colombia.  Here I have met up with 2 girls I had the pleasure of  meeting last summer in Costa Rica! Our plan is to stay in Cart for 4 days and then head back to Bogota for 4 days.  After that, the girls return home while I venture on to Quito, Ecuador for an 8 week intensive Spanish Immersion program! Go me! My goal is to be nearly fluent as I return (IF I return...hahaha) to KC.  Upon my re entry to the states, my plans are the following...

That's right - I don't have any! 😱In reality, I plan on substitute teaching until something else comes my way...I will keep all options open until then!  Of course I welcome your prayers as I embark on this crazy next chapter of life! I'm excited to see where/what God has up His sleeve for me!

I will TRY and post updates along my way.  Unfortunately pictures will not come until I have returned in September, so be patient in that! Feel free to comment and give feedback along the way!

Abrazos y besos,
Sierra