Adventure!

2008-12-02T21:03:00.000-08:00

Cuenca and Guayaquil-

We went to Guayaquil first. Although it is the biggest city in Ecuador I was not as impressed as I thought I would be. We did a few cool things, but mostly the city is just huge and goes about its own business. There is a body of water in Guayaquil, and there is a pretty modern boardwalk along the waterfront. At one end of the boardwalk there is a lighthouse that no longer functions, but has historic significance to the city. We visited that at night, and the view was spectacular. There is also an iguana park in the middle of the city. We pictured maybe 2 or three iguanas, or some enclosures with lizards. There were more iguanas then people in this park. It was not what I expected at all, but it was sweet. There were iguanas everywhere—in the trees, the walkways, the statues, the grass, at your feet—the San Diego Zoo should reconsider their petting zoo, because this definitely showed them up.

The highlight of Guayaquil (for me) was being able to visit the LDS temple. I have been seeing catholic churches like I never thought possible (the conquistadors meant business when they brought Catholicism), but seeing the Temple was really special. All my friends ended up wanting to visit with me, which made it really neat also. The temple grounds were tranquil, and the building emanated the simplistic beauty of the Lord’s house. Seeing the careful craftsmanship of the architecture, and being so near to a sacred place reminded me how important it is to center my life around Christ.

Cuenca has been my favorite city in Ecuador, hands down. The buildings are old colonial style, and the churches are beautiful. There are little park plazas all over that give the city a really green feeling, and it is much more sunny than Quito. It’s a big city, but it feels small. Wandering around the streets was great just because I liked the feel of the area so much.

On our way back from Cuenca we went to some Incan ruins. Pictures will ell the story better than I can.

We stopped for dinner In the little pueblo outside the ruin area. I half jokingly told my friend that I didn’t want to order the chicken because in the little communities like this you never know which part of the chicken you are going to get. We kind of joked, but ended up ordering the chicken anyways because it was the cheapest, and it’s chicken—almost always a safe bet. The soup came out, and in my friends soup there was a whole foot, and in my soup I found the neck. It was nasty, but between the four soups we ordered, I am pretty sure we could have reconstructed the chicken.

This past weekend we went on our last group excursion to the Galapagos Islands. Incredible. I took zero pictures because my camera needed batteries and I never took care of that, but as soon as I thieve a plethora of images from my comrades I will write a post about the Islands of Charles Darwin’s finchtastic discoveries (even though I will be home soon enough to tell you about them in person).

Chau!

2008-11-22T08:32:00.001-08:00

Two days ago I sat at lunch with Sole (my host mom), and she says, “Ariel, we have to start doing all the things we have said we were going to do….you leave in less than a months…” and then she started to tear up when I said, “¡Olvidalo! Pensamos en otra cosa.” I cannot believe I have less than a month left in Ecuador.

With my study abroad group I have gone on two trips since San Clamente. First we went to the Amazon, and stayed at this awesome hotel on the Napo river. While we were there we visited several indigenous communities. The Zapara community was my favorite. Someone from their group spoke to us for a long time about how the Zapara people were dwindling, and trying to regain their culture. There are very few Zapara left because during some tribal type wars with other indigenous groups the Zapara women fought at the front lines, and many of them died. Due to the small number of women the population fell sharply over the next several years, and even now struggles. There are only three old women who still speak their language fluently.

While we were in the Amazon we were able to hike a bit in the selva, visit another mariposario (butterfly sanctuary), see indigenous methods of making ceramic pieces, and rope, and a native drink called Chicha which comes from a yucca plant and is fermented to become an alcoholic drink, we also got to go tubing down a river, and visit a zoological reserve. The Amazon may be my favorite trip thus far. Here are some pictures!

The other group trip we went on was to some afro- Ecuadorian towns, and then to the mostly afro-Ecuadorian populated beach area called Esmeraldes. Helen, my friend from high school, came and visited that week, and it was awesome to have her in Ecuador. In Playa del Oro, one of the communities we visited, a group of kids performed a marimba dance. There was live music, and the drum beats were incredible. The boys’ feet hit to the floor as the drummers palms sounded out the rhythm- the thuds echoed around the small community center, and the girls hips
swayed side to side, dictated by the music. Their dance was my favorite part of our visits to the communities. After their performance they invited us to dance with them at their town bar. It was tiny, but a lot of fun. I danced with an older man, probably in his late 50’s, and he was AWESOME. He spun me all around, and laughed when I couldn’t follow his steps, and moved our arms all over the place. His white hair, and missing tooth might have been unattractive to some people, but I thought they were entirely endearing, especially when his face lit up in laughter.
We went to the beach from there, which was overcast, but still great just because it was the beach. Here are some pictures!

I have also gone on some self-organized trips. Right before we went to the afro-Ecuadorian communities we went to a lake called Quilotoa. The lake formed a few hundred years ago in the crater of an old volcano. It is 250 meters deep at its deepest point. We hiked down the crater until we were level with the water. Even when you are there, the lake looks fake because it is unbelievably picturesque. Don’t we look cropped in?

Then a few weeks ago we went on another trip to a volcano called Chimborazo. It is the closest point to the sun in the western hemisphere due to the equatorial bulge. At the base there is a small graveyard for climbers. Some of the headstones have ice picks on them… We stayed the night in a refuge a little ways up the mountain (maybe an hour hike), that is at 5000 meters elevation. The air was noticeably thinner. We didn’t realize that we were meant to bring our own sleeping bags or blankets. Luckily the owner found some blankets to lend us, but I wore all my clothes to bed (three pairs of pants, and like 5 shirts), we slept cuddled up close, and it was still freezing. The next morning was so clear, and I could only wonder at the majesty of the mountains. I said a little prayer of gratitude for the beauty of the earth. Pictures!

Then last weekend we went to Guayaquil, the biggest city in Ecuador, and Cuenca, another of the notable cities in Ecuador. I will write more about those in a few days. Also, last night I went to a Juanes concert. If you don’t know who he is, you should youtube some of his songs (Camisa Negra, Fotografia, A Dios Le Pido) and google some of his pictures. He is beautiful, and I love his music.

I miss everyone, and can’t wait to be home!

2008-10-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

I should be doing homework right now, but I realized that I haven’t made a Blog entry in quite a while, and I would rather do this than write a report in Spanish.

Some of the highlights form the last few weeks:

Guapalo-

Some of the major roads in Quito are named after important historical dates, 12 de Octubre, 6 de Deciembre, and 18 de Septiembre, just to name a few. Someone explained to me in my first few days that most of those dates were significant in Ecuador’s struggle for independence. Apparently most towns also have their own day in which they gained their independence. There is a little area, kind of like a suburb of Quito, called Guapalo, and every year they have a big festival to celebrate their independence. Luckily we were in Quito when it happened. We climbed down a long rock laid road, past houses staggering on the steep hill, and shops with their lights on. With each step your toes slid to the front of your shoes, and you tried not to think about the hike back. When we got to the plaza there was a band playing brass and string instruments, smoke rising from the food tents, and hot canalazo being sold along the back wall (canalazo is an alcoholic cinnamon drink). Some people were dressed in costumes, and masks. At one point we noticed that in the center of the plaza, around what might have been a tall flag pole the people had started running in circles- not unlike the characters in Alice in wonderland before the flood comes. The people were close together, purposefully bumping into each other, and praying not to be the poor person who trips and gets stampeded. My friends and I ran in, arms linked tightly in an attempt to protect each other from the violence. Every so often the circle switched directions, which only made people excited about the circle running all over again. I was wearing some flats that kept getting stepped on from behind. A few times I lost my shoe, but knowing the area of the circle I lost it, would found it on the next round- except the last time, when I actually lost one, but found a hat that I ended up wearing as a shoe the rest of the night. See picture. At some point during the night fireworks starting going off right over our heads; I felt the sparks hot on my skin, and my friend’s shirt had a hole burnt through it. When the circle wasn’t going we danced to the music, and shouted, VIVA GUAPALO!

San Clemente-

San Clemente is a small pueblo outside the city Ibarra. There are only about 700 people in the town, or 150 families. They are all indigenous, and their way of life is completely different from anything you would find in the city. The women wear traditional Incan clothing, and the men wear panchos. All the milk we drank was from the cows in the back yard, and the eggs were “de la casa.” We were able to stay with host families in San Clemente for three nights. The parents in our host family, Mateo and Magdelana both spoke Spanish and Ketchua. They had four kids: Inty, which translates from Ketchua to Spanish as sol, and to English as sun, Sumac, which is the Ketchua word for beautiful, Sabina, and Edison. Their house was two stories, but the upstairs wasn’t finished for people, and so the only things that lived there were guinea pigs. Guinea pigs are important animals in festivals, and most families try to raise them, because a few times during the year they are very valuable- both as symbolic gifts, and culinary delicacies. While we were there we had the opportunity to celebrate with them, and learn about their calendar, and the way they view nature. They view themselves as a part of nature, and do a lot to try and preserve that connection in a rapidly changing world. We made food with them by digging a big hole in the earth- the earth in their ideology is feminine. Then we heated rocks, which normally are masculine, but because they were porous were feminine, and laid them in the hole. Then we layered potatoes, corn, and other vegetables over the rocks. Then we added more hot rocks, and food. On top of the hole we laid a cloth, and dirt then let it cook for two hours while we danced around the mound, and played instruments. The food was great.

Mindo-

A few weekends ago we went to a little river town called Mindo. While we were there we went to a mariposario, which is an enclosed area where they keep butterflies. In Ecuador there is an insane amount of different butterflies, and it was really neat to see them up close. Later we went hiked a bit until we came to some waterfalls. They were beautiful, and the best part was that we were able to jump off of some of them. There was a man working there who showed us where to jump, and went fist, then we followed. The highest one we jumped from was about 35 feet, and the shorter one was 12 feet. The water was freezing, but it was incredible. I think that scarier than the jump was the tiny old ladder we had to use to climb back up. We also went tubing down a river, but that was pretty tame.

This weekend we are taking a group excursion to the Amazon! I am really excited, and I have heard that we get to bungee jump while we are there…!

Rock Tango, Hymns, and Sand

2008-09-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I feel like I have finally settled into things here. I have gotten to know my host family much much better, and I am happy to report that I feel really blessed to have been placed in their home. The other American students in my program are way fun, and the Ecuadorians that I have met have been more than welcoming. I can’t believe that I have already almost been here a month, and I think this semester is going to fly by.

On one of the first nights we were here (maybe in the first week of classes?) we found an advertisement for a live, free concert in the centro de cultura near the university. Javier Calamaro, a famous Argentine singer, was going to be performing. His declared genre is RockTango, and none of us really knew what to expect. His band consisted of an accordion player, two guitarists, a pianist, and two drummers. Together they were amazing. When I think of an accordion player, an image of an old man in tavern, playing polka music pops into my head, but this guy was the farthest thing from that. He was wearing a black cut off t-shirt, a long silver chain necklace, and his hair was cut in a pseudo 1980’s voluminous rocker style. It was awesome. He played the accordion over his knee, and during his solos he rocked it. The pianist was on our side of the stage, and we could see the way he artfully bounced his fingers up and down the entire piano, jumping, sliding, and caressing the keys. One of the highlights of the show was definitely when the guitarist from the back had a solo. He was probably pushing fifty, wearing a Hawaiian print shirt under a black jacket, and looked slightly awkward holding his guitar. He started out slow, and it wasn’t very impressive, but just when we thought he was through the singer, Javier, yelled, “Dáme Más” and the guitarist went crazy. It was incredible. The lights were flashing on him, the crowd was echoing the increasing speed of his fingers on the chords, and he was lost in the music. I loved it. It was the kind of show that makes you wish you could play music. I have yet to mention the singer-- don’t let that make you think he a was let down. One girl described him as the Latin Josh Grobin, and I have to agree. He was a great performer. He walked all over the stage, dramatically extending his arm, and pumping his heel. He went off stage once and waited for us to demand he return, and when he did he had taken off his shirt, leaving only his under tank-top. Definitely a crowd-pleasing moment. I am not sure that I would buy his CD, but the live energy was phenomenal.

A group of 11 of us went to the beach this past weekend. We took an over night bus that lasted about 8 hours. From the next bus station we were meant to catch a short hour and a half long bus, which according to the website departed every half hour, to a ferry that would take us to Canoa, the beach we wanted. When we got to the bus station we followed one of the men who was saying, “Canoa, Canoa.” We ended up having to wait two hours for that bus to leave, and then once we were on the bus we found out that it was going some round about way, there was not going to be a ferry, and the ride would last for at least 4 hours. After driving for a bit, and then stopping at a station we had already visited the night before, the driver stopped for an hour for lunch. One of the things that is kind of fun about the buses, is that periodically someone will jump on selling food, or CD’s, or glasses. There were a few times that people were selling empanadas (so good), or one time we got this hollowed out starchy ball with goo inside, also really tasty. We got to see some parts of the Ecuadorian mountains that I am sure I wouldn’t have seen otherwise, but I am not sure that the saddled donkeys, and scattered bunches of cows were really worth the 18 total hours of transit it took us to get to the beach. At least it only cost $14 total for the bus rides? We got to the beach on Friday afternoon, checked into our $5 per night hostel, and went to the beach. It was overcast, but still nice. The water was amazing. We figured out the buses for the ride back, and got there in 8 hours, thank goodness.

Also, I went to church last week. I tried going the week before also, but I misread the starting time, and got there at 12 when they were finishing instead of 9 when they started. There are some really nice people in the ward, and the building is only a few blocks from my house. The whole meeting was in Spanish, obviously, and I am happy to say that I could understand almost everything that went on. Singing hymns was probably my favorite part of Sunday. The hymns have a special ability to invite the spirit, and always leave me feeling uplifted. I am so grateful for the church, and happy to finally be able to go again after being in China.

Our hostel in Canoa

The Beach

My hand next to a spider--in a restaurant

I haven't taken very many picture here because I am always afraid my camera will be stolen, but I'll try to work on it.

Welcome to Ecuador!

2008-08-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

After almost three days of waiting in airports, and sleeping on planes I made it to Ecuador. It is a miracle that my host family was wiling to take me in...when I met them I was wearing the same clothes I had been for three days, I hadn't showered, and I was definitely not ready for the switch to Spanish. Soledad, my host mom, and her son, Pedro, pretended that I didn't smell, and when I couldn't find the right words they just changed the subject. Great people. Pedro is 7, and he is great. He has so much energy, and he is really funny. Soledad is amazing too- she gave me such a warm welcome, is so much fun to talk to, and she makes great food. I am really happy with the program I chose. Most of the host families have participated before, and in effect they al know each other and like to hang out. Soledad has a business with one of the other moms making cakes and candied- again I love my host family.

I have been here a week, and I getting settled in, and I have already done some really neat things. All week long we had orientation. It started to feel like the same things over and over, but I guess better safe than sorry. It was probably good that they told us the same things so many times because it really takes a lot of concentration to understand what is going on when it is all in Spanish. If I zone out for even a minute I am lost in conversations or lectures... On Thursday we went on a short tour of Quito with the rest of the international students. We went to the centro historico and visited one of the presidential houses in Ecuador. It was beautiful. There was an awesome tile mural in the entry way, and then all the rooms were colorful, yet classy. After that we went to the equator. It is in a part of the city called La Mitad del Mundo. They have a huge monument built with a museum inside, and around that there are lots of shops and places to eat. As cool as I thought it was, it lost some points when I found out that the real equator was 200 meters over. When they built the monument they made a mistake, and now there is a much smaller place next door where you can see an egg stand up right on a pin when it is perfectly on the equator line. They also have a sinks on both sides of the equator line where you can see it swirl different directions. I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I didn't actually go to the real equator, but I hear those things are fun to see : )

I walked with Soledad and Pedro around the centro historico on Sunday, and started to realize just how beautiful the city is here. Most of the buildings have a spanish colonial feel, and there are more churches (catholic-haha mom) than you could think possible in one city. But the architecture of the churches is beautiful, and really adds to the character of the city (in my opinion, which might change after 4 months). I went into a few of the churches, and the gold molding, and ornate murals are muy hermosa.

This is a picture of Pedro and I on one of streets in the centro historico

Here are some pictures from the Equator!

Tour, RUSHHHHH

2008-08-10T21:36:00.001-07:00

Wow, I just finished a week and a half of traveling around China. I went to Hungzhou, where they are famous for the Westlake, among other things. It was incredibly beautiful. i saw a show while I was there that was directed by the same man that put together the opening ceremonies for the olympics. He is incredible. The lights, the synchronization, and the creativy was spectacular. Then our group went to Nanjing. Also some neat things here, but sad as well. In the 1930's China had a huge conflict with the Japanese in which Millions of Chinese people were killed. We visited a memorial in Nanjing where 300,000 people had died. It was extremely sad, as you might imagine. From Nanjing we went to Suzhou. in Suzhou we visited some famous gardens, including the Humble Administrator's Garden. In all three of these cities we went on long tours that lasted as long as 10 hours. It was amazing to be able to see sites that were thousands of years old, and visit stunning temples, amazing how much you can see in a day. There was also so much shopping. Everywhere I went there were more shops, and more things to buy. I was in awe that so many little shops could stay in business when a lot of what they were selling was the same.
After that week long tour of a day long tour, a day of traveling, I went to Shanghai with just a few other girls. Shanghai has something like 13 million people, and just seeing a city with that many people was shocking. Everywhere I went there seemed to be more people. The Subway there at rush hour is crazy. People pushing people to get on, the doors beeping, and people still rushing to get in. You have to be pushy or you have no chance for survival.

Here is a picture of me in Hungzhou

Here are some pictures from the Nanjing area

Pictures from the Humble administrators Garden

Picture from Shanghai
the first one is from the top of some building we wandered into, and the second one is me eating my new favorite dessert. They are candied plums, and they are so goood

I just go to Ecuador! more on that to come!

6,000 years of Culture

2008-07-25T07:07:00.000-07:00

One of the lessons that I prepared for my class was about geography. After talking about the different countries in the World I had the kids ask each other a few question, and then rehearse their conversations in front of the class. Elias, and his partner walk to the front. His partner asks him, “Where do you want to live when you grow up?” each single word has the stress of its own sentence, and her effort is clearly visible. Elias looks up, and puts his hand on his chin, then says, “China!” That is the end of the scripted conversation, but I intercede, “Elias, why do you want to live in China?” He waves his hand and says, with a smile on his face, “Because. China. Is. Good!” the words are short, but sure. I giggle at his light hearted, but genuine words. I am also giggling because I think I am seeing the result of a mindset that only exists in China. I think back to the Human Rights class I took last semester, “Most people in China think Mao is the man” our professor had said, and “People in China don’t know what happened in Tiananmen Square.”
At dinner one night we started to talk about different things that have been translated for different cultures. One girl says, “Well why did the US give China a new name?” someone else says, “A new name?” “Yeah, Chinese people don’t call China China, they call it The Middle Kingdom.” Another voice chimes in, “Well that’s probably why…” we all toss our heads back in laughter, and the conversation naturally moves away from the subject. I had never heard anyone refer to China as the Middle Kingdom.
We all sit around a table for breakfast in the hotel restaurant. The waiter pours tea in everyone’s cups. I have heard about wine being served like water in France, and now I know that China serves tea like nobodies business. Green tea exists as a flavor in just about everything, hot drinks, cold drinks, candy, pastries, even toothpaste. When they poured tea in Jessie’s cup she tapped two of her fingers on the table, “that is how you say thank you for your tea in China.” She explained that a long time ago one of the Chinese kings use to travel out among the people to see how things were really holding up. He traveled as if he were a commoner, with only a few of his servants. He would pour tea for the people he was dining with. His servants felt unworthy to have him pour their tea, but could not reveal his identity so they would tap their fingers on the table to express their gratitude, almost as if they were bowing. I had never thought about the dynasties of China, or the kings themselves, and I thought the story was really neat.
The school put together a Chinese cultural night earlier this week. The Chinese teachers performed songs about courtship, more traditional songs with dancing, and the kids did dances and skits. It was amazing to see all of the different things that they considered essentially Chinese culture. Jessie was MCing that night and said at one point, “We have 6,000 years of history, and many era’s of culture” I was impressed by that statement, and gained a new respect for China. In classes I have taken, and literature I have read, China is framed as an unfortunate country suffering from corrupt leaders, imperious laws, and detrimental foreign policies. Although some of those claims have validity in the recent past, and present China has a rich history that includes prospering dynasties, unique cultural traditions, and national pride.
We line up by age group, with the teachers being paired with the kindergarteners. The kindergarteners are the smallest kids here, and they have only Chinese teachers. Their little heads bobbed around our knees, and their curious eyes watch and mimic our cheerful smiles. We sit in a large circle around the unlit fire. I notice a zip line from the top of the building leading to the fire. The anticipation of the students is growing, as the hosts voice grows more excited. I don’t understand a word of what she is saying, but I’ve gotten pretty good at reading facial expressions and hand gestures. Two stories up, on the dorm building, two men fiddle around with matches. Then a triangle of fire speeds down the zip line, and the fire pit erupts into flames and the crowd explodes with cheers. I rub a little more OFF bug spray onto my elbow. The girl next to me leans over, and whispers, “These” motioning to the many children sitting in front and around us, “Are our best bug repellents, the mosquitoes like them more than us” I smile, and hope she’s right, because my legs haven’t stopped itching for the past week. As the fire grows, the older boys begin a dance around the fire. They are all shirtless, and their enthused dance produces rhythmic clapping from the audience. As we watched and joined in, I felt the energy of all the kids and the pride in their cultural traditions; suddenly I knew why the mosquitoes liked them so much—their blood is rich and alive.

I love it here but....

2008-07-20T22:32:00.000-07:00

   Our bus makes the wide turn out of the school driveway. There are two uniformed men a hundred yards away, and a police vehicle blocking the main road. Jeanette, our 23 year old host, stands up and addresses the bus, “they are blocking our road; I don’t know what it is about though.” Her voice sounds suspicious, and her eyes wander out of the bus to the flashing red light. Her twin sister, Jesse, stands up and quickly turns, her long stick straight black hair rises off her shoulders, “Welcome to China!” she says cheerily.
   It was nothing major, there was a government official coming by and the road had been blocked for him, but the effects of the Chinese government can definitely be felt here. In our school there are air conditioning units, and fans in just about every room. It is really hot here, if I haven’t mentioned that before. Not only is it hot, it is humid. And you can’t really sea the sky. It looks just like a light bluish gray color. This weekend we had a clear day where we could see brilliant blue behind puffy white clouds at we all got excited. Anyway, because China doesn’t have enough power for a full time supply for the whole country, they rotate though areas cutting off the power. If your area goes over it’s allowed power usage, it will be cut off as well (typically unexpectedly). The power has only gone out once since we have been at the school. It went out in a restaurant we were in this weekend too.
   One day a few other teachers and I were outside talking to Jesse. One of the two boys here said, “Hey Jesse, I am kind of embarrassed to ask this, especially since I was a government major, but what is the difference between China and Taiwan? Because there is a handful of kid here from Taiwan.” Jesse went through an informative talk on political strife between China and Taiwan. I came away with the very simplified and basic understanding that the Chinese people who are in Taiwan were members of a fallen political group from China who had been sent away by the new regime. We got into a discussion about the school system in China, and she told us that the government comes a few times a year to examine the text books the school is using, and regulate what is being taught. The visits are schedules, and Jesse told us that any textbooks that are not manufactured in China have to be hidden.
   I asked about church services in China. Jesse didn’t know of any local Christian services, and said that the government heavily infiltrates a lot of the religious activity that goes on. Because the government would rather that people not be religious they put their own men into the churches as monks and leaders, and a lot of the time they run the practice very poorly as to discourage religious activity. Last year the teaching group went to Nepal, and they saw a lot of corruption, and said that a lot of the government trained monks go home at the end of the day to wives and children. When I asked more about Christian groups in China she said that when they exist they are very low key, because they are making a huge effort to stay under the government’s radar. The TA for my class today asked me about God in the west, because she is writing a research paper about God in the west, and heaven in China. I am really interested to talk to her about how those differ.
   One of the teachers here did some research with a professors from Harvard before this, where she worked in a Chinese cell phone factory gathering information from the workers etc.. She told us a little bit about the working conditions: employees work 13 hour days; getting a half hour lunch break which is unpaid, and food is not provided. They receive only 7 days off a year. She recounted that many of them don’t keep track of the day of the week because it is pointless. They live in dorms on the factory grounds, and usually can’t leave within a year. A lot of the workers came from the country side, are trying to find a way out of it, will only be at the factory for a year to 2 years, and send a lot of the money they make home to relatives. The workers are really smart, and try to study while they are working. She talked about one girl who wanted to be a translator, so she brought vocab sheets to the factory every day and studied while she worked. The company puts out half a million cell phones a day. It was really interesting to hear what she had seen while she was there, and get a glimpse of another side of China.
   Most of my experience here thus far has been overwhelmingly positive. I love the kids I am teaching, and the school is great. This weekend we went to an incredible spa, and I have been lively pretty luxuriously, but I wanted to note the aspects of China that aren’t as tranquil and comforting as herbal baths, and the outbursts of “Teacher! Teacher!”

There are four tones

2008-07-13T04:47:00.000-07:00

I hope this find you well and happy!

I've been in China for over a week now. When I first decided to come on this trip I was mostly motivated by the free airfare and trip, but China is Fantastic--at least what I have seen of it, and the people I have met here.

My first week of teaching was harder than I thought it would be. Maybe teaching in English would be a little easier, but trying to explain things and getting blank stares in return can be a little frustrating. The good news, my kids really like games. At one of our night time activities I was sitting with one of the older girls in my class ( I have six kids who are 8, 9, 10, and then I have four girls who are 14-17) and we were just watching what was going on. She pointed to one of the teachers across the room, and said, is she Chinese? and I answered, that yes she was. A few minutes later she looked at me, and said, "are you Indian?" I kind of laughed, and said, "no, I am half mexican though" her face started to look a little confused. I didn't try to explain, I just decided that we should have a geography lesson. The school is really neat. When we were walking in it was night time. There were some Christmas lights blinking on the dorm, and some lights along the pathway. On the lights they have these 3x2 foot banners with pictures of the school, and the students from last year that say "Harvard Uniwise Summer Exchange." It was pretty cool. There is also a zoo of sorts here. The woman who cofounded this school with her husband had two dreams in life, starting a zoo, and starting a school. So there are two dogs here, a pig, two monkeys (one is a really cute baby), some chickens, and a peacock. There is also a stable with four horses.

On Saturday they took us out shopping. It was awesome. There are these warehouses that have tons of vendors set on each floor. Most of the items aren't priced, and you are expected to to barter with the people. There are a few different buildings, and each one specializes in something else. So some are clothes, and some are electronics etc etc. They told us before we went in to try and get the stuff for about a third of the price they first offer. That was a little intimidating, especially since I felt bad for the people, but after once or twice I got use to it. It helped that one of the girls who speaks Chinese was walking with Tara, one of my friends from the crew team, and I. There were so many people, and so many shops. We went to a tailor later in the afternoon, and they were able to make just about anything we wanted. I had a some pictures of clothes, and they took me around to pick fabrics, then took my measurements, and said to pick it up on Wednesday. I am pretty stoked about the custom tailored clothes. I got a few pairs of jeans, and a a suit, all for pretty cheap.

The night before they took us to this DVD store. Our host talked to the woman in charge of the store, Chinese that really does sound like pots and pans clinking together some times.... I have made a few attempts to learn Chinese. The people here are patient, which is helpful. One of my kids tried to teach me how to count, and each time I went to five she would say, "well, that time you got 1 and 2 right" or "that time 3 was good" but never could I get through 5 with all being right. Anyway, the shop owner took us into the "back room;" something I always thought was reserved for movies like The Godfather. There were tons of DVDs and CDs, and most of them cost between $2 and $5. When I said thank you in Chinese the women got really excited.

I am hoping to get better at blogging!