A Word about Learning Spanish

Though I’ve been sharing lots of stories about my time here in Quito, I have rarely shared anything about my progress learning Spanish, which is in fact the reason I’m here. I actually feel pretty confident about how I am doing. Learning a language is really a mental game. It requires one to realize that for a long time he/she is going to sound like a six year old child but, despite that realization, to go ahead and talk as much as possible to as many people as possible. By some stroke of luck, I have been able to accept and embrace this fact. I really do try to talk as much as possible and at this point, I can hold conversations, though I talk very slowly and probably do sound like a six year old. This week is my fourth week of class and I have learned what I think is equivalent to a little over one semester of college Spanish. Not too bad!

I take my Spanish classes for four hours each day with Aislinn, as we are the only two in our group here who have never learned Spanish before. I feel blessed to have the advantage of six years of Latin plus four semesters of Italian under my belt. It’s amazing how much this helps. Spanish grammar is virtually identical to Italian grammar, so I can just transfer a lot of the rules. Additionally, I often find myself encountering a word and knowing what it means before finding out its actual definition because of my Latin background. ¡Que suerte!

This being said, I do have two comical little stories to share. Number one: My host sister’s boyfriend was telling me this long story the other day. I was so pumped because it was the first time that someone had told me a long, involved, story, and I basically understood the entire thing. His story involved Pinchincha, the peak that I, at that point, was to be hiking the next day. I decided I would reciprocate by telling him about the time Elise, Phong, and I hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back in one day. I tried to tell him, “When we were finished, we were so hungry and ate a huge dinner.” In Spanish, to say “We were hungry” you say “Tuvimos hambre,” which, if translated literally means, “We had hunger.” Instead of saying hAmbre, I told him, “Tuvimos hOmbres,” which means “We had men.” He looked at me for a minute, then pointed out what I had said, and we had a good laugh. Oh the trials of a second language!

Story number two. One day in class, Aislinn and I were learning reflexive verbs. Our teacher, a relatively quite, modest, Ecuadorian man named Arturo, would introduce a verb, have one of us conjugate it, and then ask the other to use the verb in a sentence. He asked Aislinn to conjugate the verb “desvertirse,” which means “to undress,” and then asked me to use it in a sentence. I was focusing so hard on my grammar that I said, “Tengo que desvestirme ahora,” which translates to, “I need to undress now.” Again, just my luck! Hope you all had a good chuckle on my behalf. I’m sure there will be more stories like these two to come!

15, 696 ft., No Big Deal

On Saturday, I completed what was probably the most mentally challenging hike of my life. That morning we embarked on a journey to the teleferiQo, a relatively new tourist attraction in Quito which is comparable to a gondola at a ski area. The teleferiQo, which is located at the only amusement park in Ecuador, is quite popular among both Ecuadorians and tourists. It starts at an elevation of 8,850 ft and ascends roughly 4,450 ft., offering tremendous views of the entire city.

When our group decided to go to the teleferiQo, we thought we would ride up, take a nice little hike to enjoy some more scenery, and return. Though I had read about the teleferiQo in my guide book, the book neglected to mention that the hike was actually quite RIGOROUS, that you should probably dress as if you were going SKIING, and that the winds and clouds might ENVELOP you. So, thinking I might sweat a little on the hike, I suited up in capri-style yoga pants, a long sleeve dry-fit shirt, and a t-shirt underneath (in case I got hot!). I also brought along a windbreaker for good measure, thinking I was playing it safe.

The minute we stepped off the teleferiQo, I was immediately reminded of the cold, gusty days I have spent skiing, the kind of days where you prefer to linger in the lodge over hot chocolate rather than hit the slopes because the wind and fog are just a bit too biting. At that moment, I thought, “Hmmm. I could do without the hike. Maybe just a little hot chocolate inside the mountain top restaurant would suffice.” However, the rest of the group seemed pretty game, so I kept my mouth shut; hence the power of traveling in South America with 6 other cool people.

To put things in perspective for y’all, the elevation of the city of Quito is roughly 9,000 ft. When I lived in Tucson for the past two years, the most difficult hike I ever completed did not even equal that elevation. On Saturday, after taking the teleferiQo, I was already 13,400 ft. up in the air. Breathing at that kind of elevation is not cake to begin with. So we began our climb, which was truly “breathtaking,” in more ways than one (couldn’t resist that one.) While I did get winded during the hike, I was actually pretty proud of the way I was able to navigate the “physical challenge.” The more we moved, the more I warmed up. Now, the tricky thing about this hike was that we could NEVER see the summit that we were trying to reach. We’d arrive at the top of a crest, feeling pretty good about ourselves, sucking wind, only to see through the looming clouds ahead that there was yet ANOTHER peak we needed to ascend. This happened over and over again, until we were literally walking INSIDE the clouds. We could not see far ahead of ourselves, frost literally formed on Phil’s hair, I could see my breath, and I was afraid that I had lost ALL feeling in my fingers. Now this is where the mental challenge came in. I have never before pysched myself out on a hike. In fact, the time I hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back in one day, I felt simply great. However, this was something different. I was really ready to give up and turn around, mainly because my flimsy little clothes were doing NOTHING to block the bitter, all-encompassing cold, I could barely see ahead of me, and the footing was getting progressively more dangerous. Again, thanks to my awesome companions, I finished the ascent (though I didn’t “scale” the final rock that would have taken me to the actual summit) and felt like a champion.

Our descent was a gradual, yet steady, resurrection of my spirits and body temperature. By the time we were halfway down, I literally turned to Greg and Francisco and said, “I feel like a new woman.” By the time we finally finished our hike (4 ½ hours later) we were famished, so we went into the mountaintop restaurant (I say mountaintop because we had already ascended one mountain on the teleferiQo simply to start our hike) and in the words of my brother Charlie, “quaffed” some serious food. That night a few of us finished off the job with some delicious desert.

Overall, this hike ranked among the most memorable hikes I have had in my short career as a “hiker.” I think what truly made it so powerful was how mentally challenging it was and how good it felt to hurdle my mental obstacles. Beyond that, the views were simply incredible and it might just be the highest altitude which I will have ever experienced in my entire lifetime.

This picture attempts to capture the clouds towards which we were continually hiking.

This is me at our STARTING elevation. Do I look just a little cold?

Otavalo, Lago Quicocha, y los Muchachos Trabadores

Aislinn, Phil, and I on our Lago Cuicocha Hike

I am already slipping on my blogging! Those of you who care to read, please start bugging me to keep me accountable. Anyway, here are some highlights from last weekend’s trip to Otavalo. If you have no idea what Otavalo is all about (I didn’t until a week ago), I suggest you google it, because my pictures simply do not do the place justice.

1. Where’s Jan and her “swingset fund” when you need it?

This is just one booth in the market. It can't come close to capturing the entire place.

Unless you are in my immediate family, you probably do not understand this reference. The “swingset fund” refers to the money my mother started saving back when we were wee ones because she deemed it absolutely necessary that we have a swingset in our backyard. From then on, any money that Jan chose to lavish on us O’Leary kids was “fondly” referred to by my dad as the “swingset fund.” Suffice it to say that if I wanted to, I could have spent enough money at the markets in Otavalo last weekend to build swingsets for every single Ecuadorian child. THAT is how AMAZING these markets were! I simply have never witnessed such incredible markets in my life. We took a $2 bus ride to Otavalo early Saturday morning and arrived to rows upon rows upon rows of amazing artisan craftsmanship. Acapulco sweaters, beautiful, detailed paintings, hand-made pottery, embroidered bags, funky jewelry, fresh foods, and much, much more lined the streets of this humble Ecuadorian town that boasts a large indigenous population and is famous for its markets, which are open daily. We basically spent the whole day wandering throughout the markets, trying to barter with the vendors (another reason why I could have used Jan and her New York sass), and taking in the incredible craftsmanship. Despite my talk of buying out the markets, I was actually quite self-controlled and only purchased one item for myself—a pair of socially-acceptable pajama pants that are commonly worn by Ecuadorians, which I proceeded to wear out to dinner that night!

2. American Gringos—Keeping stereotypes alive since . . . forever . . .

Aislinn, Garrett, Phil, and I decided to spend the night in Otavalo while the others returned to Quito. After wandering around for a bit, we stumbled upon a hole-in-the-wall pizza place. Two weeks into our stay in Ecuador, we decided it was finally time to abandon our pretenses of experiencing culture, and grub on some pizza. We were pretty hungry, so we decided, why not split a large pizza between the four of us? A typical pizza comes with 8 slices, so 2 slices per person. Right? We went ahead an ordered our “family” pie. Our waitress told us that the pizza came with 8 sodas. No problem, we thought. Those cups look pretty small! Well, when the pizza came, not only was it so big that it needed its own table, but it also probably could have fed the entire village. We enjoyed some chuckles, and were joined by the Ecuadorians who sat at neighboring tables. I would love to say that we tried our best but simply couldn’t finish it. But no, we crushed the entire pizza within 20 minutes, keeping those stereotypes of fat Americans alive.

3. Hiking with bulls

It’s a good thing we ate all of that pizza, because we needed some hearty sustenance for the next day’s hike! Early Sunday morning the 4 of us headed to Quicocha Lake for what we thought would be a leisurely stroll. Lago Quicocha formed when a volcano erupted and left a giant crater in the ground. Then, it snowed and when the snow melted, the lake formed. It is pretty wide in diameter and the hike was simply beautiful. Despite our hopes of a nice little walk, the hike actually ended up being quite rigorous. When we were nearing the end, 4 hours later, the trail suddenly ended and we found ourselves on a backcountry dirt road. The views from the road were beautiful, but the cow droppings and bulls that we encountered were not so beautiful. Literally, we walked right past groups of cows. Finally, a cab passed us by and we were able to get back to Otavalo a little tired, but otherwise unscarred.

4. Kids can really steal your heart, especially Ecuadorian kids

For those of you ND ’08 readers, you might remember Laura Bradley, who graduated with us. Laura and I are acquaintances from ND and when I realized I was coming to Quito, I e-mailed her. She’s been volunteering here since we graduated and is now a fully-integrated, Spanish-speaking gringa. Since I arrived here Laura and I have been trying to meet up and we finally got some time to catch up on Thursday night, which was fantastic. The next morning, Greg, Phil, and I met Laura at “El Centro del Muchacho Trabador,” or “The Working Boys Center.” Here in Quito, it is very common to see young kids selling cigarettes, gum, candy, etc. on foot and during all hours of the day and night. It’s actually quite difficult to witness but it is common for these street kids to be sort of “ordered” around by an adult to whom they have to give all of the money they earn on the streets. Most kids who sell things on the streets can never escape this lifestyle. The Working Boys Center, where Laura works, has been around for a long time and successfully helps kids who work on the streets escape poverty. The center actively recruits on the streets, provides some meals for the kids, offers school, and requires that the parents of the kids who are involved in the center are actively involved. It really seems like a fabulous organization, and if you want to read up more on it, you can visit the website: http://www.workingboyscenter.org/

So the long and short of it is that I got to interact with these kids on Friday and I immediately fell in love with all of them. The minute we entered the center, we were greeted by a hoard of kids who ran up to us, hugging us, introducing themselves, and wanting to hang out with us. One little girl took my hand and proudly gave me a tour of the center. Then the kids taught us every single game Ecuadorian children play; cultural variations of London Bridges, David and Goliath, etc. Imagine a group of adorable Ecuadorians chanting in Spanish as three gringos try to keep up. After hanging out with the kids at the center for a while, we went with them to a rooftop of a nearby building which offered a beautiful view of some of the surrounding mountains. Some of the kids at the center had been practicing for most of the summer for a dance recital, so we went to watch them on top of this roof. It was really pretty surreal. The kids were all dressed in white dancing to the Ecuadorian version of Enya. One little boy from the center sat next to me the entire time, clinging on to my arm and smiling at me. I was astounded by how polite, hospitable, well-behaved, and genuinely happy all of the kids seemed. One of them bought an ice cream and insisted that I have part of it. Though these kids have nothing, they seem to have a lot more right than I do at times. They all asked when we would be coming back and seemed genuinely excited to have some new friends. I had such a great time and plan on visiting the center at least once a week, if not more, for my remaining weeks.

That’s all for now, though I have some updates about this past weekend’s epic hike coming soon. Hope everyone is doing well!

Me, sporting my Ecuadorian pajama pants, and our GINOURMOUS pizza.

Weekend Trip and Crazy Wildlife

So last weekend was a ton of fun. Here goes it . . .

Weekend at Isla de la Plata--"The Poor Man's Galapagos"-- We left for a coastal town called Puerto Lopez on an 11 hour overnight bus Friday. In case you might be worried that I had nothing to do for those 11 hours, put those worries aside. Shortly after our departure, the bus driver put on two John Cen

a movies plus a documentary of John Cena's life. In case you don't know who John Cena is, google him and you should be redirecte

d to the WWE website. Suffice it to say that I succeeded in comprehending my first movie in Spanish because 90% of the dialogue consisted in explosions and John Cena showing his muscles. Anyway, we arrived in Puerto Lopez at around 5:30 in the morning, which was earlier than our hotel was expecting us. We were greeted with Ecuadorian hospitality. Because our rooms were not yet vacant, and we were all pretty exhausted, the cute little couple that runs the hotel offered us three cots which were in a courtyard in the middle of the hotel and proceeded to drag three mattresses into the courtyard for us to crash on. Imagine that you are an Ecuadorian on vacation with your family and you wake up to find roughly 12 gringos sleeping on mattresses in the middle of your hotel. It was great!

Puerto Lopez is a small fishing town but it has some amazing beaches. We took a guided tour of one of the beaches on Saturday and saw some views that I can only compare with the

time I was in Cinque Terre, Italy. We also visited in indigenous village and took a natural sulfur bath. At first you have to bite the bullet and accept that you are about to jump into a pool of water that smells like rotten eggs, but once you're in there it's pretty cool. You have to swim down to the bottom, scoop up some sulfur, and then cake it on yourself. It was really pretty fun and our skin was simply "glowing" afterwards. That night we enjoyed an amazing seafood feast and my friends Garrett and Eamon became instant celebrities at a local karaoke bar.

The next morning we took an hour and a half boat ride to Isla de la Plata where we were lead on a 2 hour hike and saw some of the most crazy wildlife I've ever experienced. I was literally five feet from a pair of blue footed boobies who were doing their mating ritual. We also got to see an albatross, a bird that only exists on this island and two other places in the world. The views from this island blew away the day before. The entire time I could not stop thinking about how blessed I was to be there. We left the island and went snorkeling! Then, on our ride home, we went whale watching, which

was by far the BEST part of the entire weekend. We were literally 20 feet from three gian

t whales who put on a show for us, jumping, etc. It was simply incredible. Once we returned we basically hustled to get on the boat and took the 11 hour bus ride home, though this time we were not graced with the same excellent movie selection.

Overall it was such a great first travel experience and I feel extremely lucky.

Los Ladrónes

It's been an interesting couple of days complete with basketball, a robbery, canelasos, cooking lessons, scenic views and an education in Latin pick up lines and cat calls. I'll explain . . .

1. On Tuesday, a group of us took a trip to Parque Carolina where we got involved in a game of pickup basketball with dos Fernandos y un otra persona. It was fantastic. The altitude took it out of us, but it was great. Our new amigos, Fernando, Fernando, and the other guy (I can't remember his name) told us that they play every Tuesday and Thursday, which leads me to point number 2.

2. We returned on Thursday with as little as possible. I had 25 cents for the bus and mis llaves (my keys--got to try to use the Spanish as much as possible). We all put our stuff in Greg's mochila (backpack) and of course, the backpack was stolen from right below the basket, leaving us with no bus fare home, no keys to our houses, and leaving Greg without a camera. Well, we learned our lesson! Luckily, our friend Fernando lent us a dollar so that we could get home!

3. On Wednesday, a couple of us explored a bit of the night life with our fearless leader Andres, host hermano to Garrett. Andres doubles as an Ecuadorian body builder and member of the competitive Ecuadorian Vampire Warriors 2 National Team (apparently this is an online video game). Needless to say, he is a character. Andres introduced us to canelasos, which are warm, fruity drinks. They seem to be all the Ecuadorians drink.

4. Over our canelasos, Andres began to engage us in a conversation about gender relations and the differences in costumbres (customs) between North and South Americans. When I say "us" I am mainly referring to Garrett, seeing as Aislinn and I can mainly contribute such phrases as "Sí" and "No." We learned that in Ecuador, it is completely acceptable and flattering to call a woman "gordita" because almost none of the women are fat. Obviously, this would not fly in the United States. Though I contributed very little to the conversation, I understood most of it, which was exciting! One of the best parts about living in another country is engaging in cultural exchanges like these.

5. Greg and I took a cooking class. It was great! I now know how to make a sweet Ecuadorian dish!

6. Last night we took a tour of the city at night. Fui muy bonita! We took a ride to one of the highest points in the city and got a beautiful view.

There is so much more to share, but these are just some of the highlights. To get a little more serious for a minute, it has been very interesting for me to feel so incompetent. Not knowing the language can make me feel dumb at times, but it also encourages me to work harder and learn quickly. It has given me a great perspective and admiration for all of the immigrants that come to the United States and navigate all of our laws and customs. Que fuerte!

This weekend we're taking a trip to a beautiful island on the coast that is the "poor man's" Galapagos. I'm sure there will be many updates about that. Miss and love you all!

Arrivo en Ecuador

Hello everyone. I am in Ecuador! I know such little Spanish that there is probably something grammatically incorrect with the title of this entry, but hey, I've got to start trying. It's been a great two days so far. The group arrived late on Saturday night and were picked up by our host families. My host family lives on the fifth floor of an apartment building with a great view of Quito. Quito is surrounded by beautiful mountains. I've been keeping a pretty good record of living in gorgeous places. My host mom and dad work in a cafeteria and my host brother, Pablo, is an adventure sports tour guide. He is two years older than me. My host sisters are twins who are my age. One of them, Sofi, just finished culinary school. I have not met the other one yet. Her name is Pamela. There is also another American staying with the family. She comes from Idaho. It's nice to have another gringa in the house. I have been trying so hard to speak Spanish and am probably sounding ridiculous but I don't really care. It's amazing how much Italian is coming back to me. The problem is the words are not always the same, so I'm trying to learn. I feel like I'm pretty lucky because all of my Latin/Italian is helping me pick up words quickly.

Today we had our first day of class. Aislinn and I are together with one teacher for four hours. It's intense but is going to be really great I think. I'm trying to learn and ask questions as much as I can. Today we played hangman in Spanish! The school organizes activities each afternoon. Some activities we have this week include salsa dancing lessons, a walking tour of churches, and a visit to an internet cafe. Wouldn't you all like to be flies on the wall while I try to salsa!

The food here has been great so far. So fresh and lots of fruits and vegetables. The portion sizes are way smaller, which is probably a good thing.

Aislinn and I went on an adventure today to a local park to go for a run. We took a taxi since it was our first time and of course neither of us thought ahead to remember the cross streets we needed to return to. Nevertheless, we figured it out and came home safely. The altitude will definitely get you here. I am going to be in tip top shape by the time I leave, or so I hope.

This weekend we are all going on a weekend trip to la playa! Apparently this beach is beautiful and you can whale watch. It is going to be an 8-11 hour bus ride, so it should be an experience.

I am going to stop talking now! If you made it this far congratulations. I will try to be more brief so as not to bore you all.

Chao