end of week 1

Hola amigos y famila!

So clearly I am a little behind on this blog...with that being said let me just do a brief overview for now for the rest of the first week and then later I will maybe get around to going into more detail at a later date...or lets me honest not at all hahah

So let’s cont with Thursday...

Thursday was a hard but AMAZING day...in brief overview we basically climbed another mountain...but we found in the end was well worth every struggle we had on our way up. We took the boat literally 10 min from the lodge and then we got to the location got out and then started to walk which we thought was part of our hike, which is not. We went a little farther when our guide stopped us and found a termite nest where he put his hand in it and they all came across his hand and he told us that if you wipe those all over your body no other bugs or creators will bug (get it bug you ha-ha no pun intended) and you won’t get bitten (aka it’s like bug spray but more intense!) After we watched him so these we traveled a little a little more and crossed a road and started the adventure up the mountain. He stopped us not too much longer so put the typical indigenous warrior paint on our faces as if we were part of the indigenous tribe about to go fight for our food! (Pics to come!) after this we continued the hike, and after that he stopped us again to show us different plants that if we touched we could die, plants that help with wounds, and plants to make objects out of (he made some of us crowns) we continued yet again for about another 30 min and then we reached the best destination ever!!!! THE WATERFALL! So worth the long hot hike up a mountain! We all could not wait to get in the water and go swimming after the long walk! It was AMAZING! We stayed there for about 30 min before we had to continue on our trip back down to the boat. Once we reached the bottom we got very excited once again as it was not time to go down the river in tubes back to our lodge! It was so peaceful and the relaxing as the current took us out down the river (though we would get stuck sometimes!) it was a perfecting ending to the morning. After we reached our lodge in our tubes we had about 10 min to change and get ready for lunch! We ate lunch and after lunch we were off on another adventure to go see a butterfly “museum” right across the river, it was cool but we were told we were going to another indigenous tribe to see how they make chocolate but that didn’t work out as planned.  After the butterfly exhibit we took a little boat rides up the river to get the breeze to cool off a little bit. After we got out the boat we had a little time to relax and charlar (to talk) and hang out! After that we had dinner which was so good but so filling as usual! After dinner we were hanging out in the center when they announced that the brother of our guide from the week Alfredo would be showing us how they made chocolate! As we watched them make for a while we all pitched into to help. After they were done with making the chocolate they said bon appetite or buen pervchecho aqui and we ate the chocolate with fruit! It was good but too rich for me aka 100% chocolate. After we scar fed down the chocolate we finished the day and called it a night as it was very late and we were all tired.  

Friday!

Today was our last day in the jungle! L We left very sad but getting more and more anxious to meet our host families and our new city Cuenca. We started our morning off around 7am as we had to pack up our belongings and then haul our luggage up the hill to the lodge center. (Wow was that hard! And took a while! Nothing like hauling a 50lbs bag up a hill) after that long tough haul we went to eat breakfast and after breakfast we headed out on about 5 hour adventure in the bus to Patate. The bus ride was a bit long but on our way through the mountains we went through about every climate possible…even snow! We got out of the bus to experience the snow! After that we got back on the bus and went passed the time by playing diff games and practicing Spanish. We stopped for lunch in a place called BANOS (which lit means bathrooms) but it was so cool to see there was mountains all around us and that is the place that everyone (the tourists) go to do a bunch of things like bungee jump and zip line etc. after lunch we continued on the journey to Patate and when we were almost there we were stopped by a parade of people and kids on donkeys. It was a festival parade in celebration to this day I do not know what, but they shared with us through the bus window their traditions of a honey type drink. It was cool to see and they invited us to come dancing later. Then we were able to pass and continued to 5 min to our new cool hotel to stay in. while we were in our hotel we had internet and were able to send out more emails and I was able to Skype my “sisters” back at NPU! It was cool. After we got settled a little bit and took a siesta we went to dinner, where I found my little buddy the dog! He was so cute! (Though I think I had a lot of allergies of the dog or the town because I had hard time breathing with a stuffy nose and watery eyes.) After we waited a bit we had dinner and after dinner they had a mariachi band come in and play and which we were all in shock and then we all started dancing. After a long day in the bus and a night of dancing we went back to our rooms and fell asleep instantly esp. with us knowing that tom we would have an 8 hour bus ride and then be meeting our new families.

Saturday,

Today was the day that we would be meeting our families! WE ARE SO EXCITED! But we know that we have about an 8 hour bus ride before we actually get there! We woke up and packed up all of our things before dragging them to the top of hill to pack up the bus! We put our things on the bus, went to have breakfast and then we were off on our adventure to CUENCA our new home for the next 2 months! We were all in joyful excitement as after a week of waiting we would finally be meeting our families and not be living out of a suitcase anymore!! J On the bus we passed the time playing games and working more on our Spanish and flute skills. We made an hour stop in a local town where we did a little shopping as we had time to kill because there was an accident on the road we needed to take and they had to clean up the scene before anyone could travel down that road. Then all of a sudden our bus driver all of a sudden came to a stop and we found out that we had a flat tire! (Or in the works of getting one) luckily he figured it out and we got it fixed in the city. With this delay it caused us to not be able to eat lunch so we were just getting snacks inside the local shop and waited on the bus while eating while our bus driver and the other guy fixed our tire. After about an hour delay again we were on our way. They whole way there we did the typical childish thing of are we there yet? Hahaha (estamos aqui) we did that most of the way there and then when we saw a big city we were like is this Cuenca is this Cuenca! When we finally arrived in Cuenca we could not wait to get to our school! We were in aww of the city and it was great! We got to CEDEI our school and met our staff that we would be working with through the time here. THEN IT WAS TIME!!! FINALLY FOR meeting our families…we sat in a room with a current and the housing lady would bring in the families and go this is the family of…and they would do a drum roll and then we would go with our families to another room and get further details of the plans and then we were off with our families and away from each other until Monday! (That was weird to not be with my other gringo friends anymore!) hahaha I was the second one to be called to meet my family and they seemed really nice I was really excited after the lecture we loaded the car and went to my new home. As soon as I got there I loaded my things into my room and I met my brother! (Lisa our leader had my neighbors for a family when she was here…and now Laurens neighbors so we were neighbors so Lisa had told me my brother was a hipster) I met my brother Mario who was wearing purple pants, big glasses and an eyebrow piercing it was a little interesting (eyebrow piercing is really big down here for guys) and then after my mom gave me a tour of the house and we went over to my neighbors house where my friend Lauren lives to have dinner and to talk. We ate dinner together and it was really weird to be surrounded my native speakers all the time. After dinner we went to the top of a hill to a church was we could see the entire city it was cool to see and we both forgot our cameras. We went home and I had time to unpack and then I feel asleep after a long day and tomorrow I would be meeting the rest of the family and going to church with my family. I am excited to see what else I will be doing while in Ecuador!

SUNDAY will come soon but my comp is about to die! so I am off for now!