Ugly with Great Personality!

Well life is back in full swing only its 100 times better than it was just a short 5 months ago. It sure has taken a long time to truly settle in, I had no problem settling when I went to Ecuador, but this has been an entirely new culture shock experience. This is why it is so much more worth while to go abroad for more than 6 months, you spend the whole first half trying to settle and get used to it and right when you feel settled, comfortable and at home its time to get on an airplane, have your life shattered against the walls of your return, and try to settle back into the mold left for you at home which you may have outgrown or shifted within. The return is often times almost harder, it is important to find people who have experienced the same extreme shifts and who understand where you are at mentally, emotionally and physically.


Its been absolutely wonderful having all the visitors I have had the past 2 months. Of course Lloyd and Leona showed up right before my birthday, then the next weekend Ursula and Sasha, two fabulous Pitzer ladies on a wild and fun adventure through south America showed up. It was so wonderful to synthesize Colombia life, Pitzer life and Elk life. Mixing and synthesizing these aspects of my life has always been a challenge, but I find it happening more and more often creating in me a stronger sense of who I am, where my experiences have lead me and my strengths.

Elly, Steve, Ursula, Mary, Me, Sasha and the french girl at a night out in parque lleras!

 Leona ended up sticking around a little bit longer than expected due to Brazilian visa issues. She came back to Medellín from Bogota and we did a Karaoke night, and headed to Laura's (Alex my roommate's girlfriend) family's finca in Guatape.


If I haven't already explained the finca deal here in Medellín let me do so briefly. Finca's are a huge deal here, most family's have a finca in some rural area outside of the city. Some are small family inheritance actual farms and others are huge mansion style country homes. Regardless of the style of the finca they are generally used to get away and relax from city life or to rage and party all weekend long. I had one finca experience in October that I would like to pretend didn't exist that was in the style of the latter. But this weekends finca experience was the former, and just what all of us needed. All of us (Meg, Leona, Lloyd and I) are from small rural (ish) towns and city life really wares on you maybe even without realizing it. Laura's family is "bien campesino" meaning they like rural life, they like being in el campo. So they have a few fincas outside of the city. This one was a sweet small and ordinary house sitting atop the hill over looking mountains on one side and the lake or dam of Guatape on the other. It was far from civilization with only a few neighboring finca's owned by family and friends that Laura's family had sold off to them.

The finca looking out at the lake and our jungle mobile that we travelled in. When we were leaving, it was dark and the headlights didn't work. Luckily they kicked back into gear. 

On the way to the finca.

We all sighed with relief as we (finally) got out of the car and breathed in chill fresh air, there were frogs and crickets sounding away and the sky was completely dark. Black, black, black, with millions of beautifully twinkling stars. It was like looking up at the sky in Elk... except a slightly different orientation in the sky. We spent the night drinking rum and coke (our personal favorite at this point in time), staring out into the sky and the mountains lit up by the waning moon and talking about life happenings, funny stories, Colombia, the Paisa way of life, personal experiences and general all around life. It was a truly beautiful night. We spent the next day relaxing in the sun, smelling the grass, listening to the birds and swimming in the surprisingly warm lake during a rainstorm. It was one of the better weekends I had had in a long time and the best part was not spending an entire day hung over and lazy due to late night dancing extravaganzas.

morning walk to the unbuilt house. poses! 

Leona and Gracia lounging in the grass. 

In other news I'm officially back at work and loving it. (what a change!?) Nothing in my schedule has changed and nothing in the English department has changed, in fact i just keep learning more reasons for why it struggles, but my state of mind is changed. I am positive, I am confident and I understand how classes work, how the students are and I am familiar with the various lessons, subjects and readings in the god awful book. I am loving teaching and back to thinking that it is what I would like to do in my future, despite moments when I never wanted to step into an English as a Foreign language classroom.


I am also dancing my little tooshie off and enjoying it fully! I dance 4 days a week. Two 1 hr salsa classes with my favorite instructor/would be love of my life Norman from Cali, a 1.5 hr ballet class which is hilariously amazing and fun, and a 1.5 hr contempoafro class on friday afternoons which I absolutely adore!!! Its the best dance class i have taken in a long time.. its hard core, i'm always sweating and exhausted at the end and i have to go buy kneepads for the class.. hard core amazingness. Leona went to the class with me last friday, we had a blast and have been dancing ever since, bringing back the days of tap... (there might be an epic return to tap when i return back to mendoland). I've been dancing and i've been happy, its been blissful.

Gracia looking ridiculous and hilarious.

The apartment has life in it now, which makes Alex and Laura have life and enjoyment in them. Our relationship has totally changed and I think they are pumped to have us all around. We have been eating together, cooking together and grocery shopping together, it actually kind of has the family feel I am used to in a house. A lesson learned: I like living with people in a happy communal family atmosphere. Alex has decided he wants to use this opportunity to really practice English and he's been doing a great job at speaking with us almost every day in English. English teaching has really taken on a whole new shape in my vida colombiana. Furthermore, better energy in the house and the fact that lloyd absolutely adores the bull dog Gracia she has now started to seriously grow on me. She's pretty hilariously ugly and pathetic pretty much hideous, but she has a great personality!! She really does! As Alex says she is "una chimba de perra" and true, she's a pretty cool dog. I found myself growing more fond of her after I learned of the timely passing of dear old Mr. Buddhi. Lately, spending time with Gracia has just triggered so many great (and hilarious) Buddhi moments. Gracia still is a puppy though and still good at getting into mischief which gets really annoying at times, but she's truly getting better and growing up. Its actually pretty entertaining to have pets in the house, especially cause Lloyd and I are pretty good at making fun of them.

Alex and I at the finca. 

I was hoping to  keep this post short as a slight update to my much improved vida colombiana. :) Lloyd and I bought a blender yesterday so we've been smoothie-ing it up and with all the fruit here its quite fun, cheap and delicious! ok, time to eat some beautifully colorful stirfry with quinoa! yummmm...

Santosa

Don't worry everyone, I'm still very much alive and doing very very well. I apologize for the blog posting hiatus, but the end of December and all of January have been a whirl-wind of new places, faces, life lessons, exciting adventures, contemplative thoughts and overall fun and enjoyment. What have I been doing you ask? Well the question is what haven't I been doing? and the answer to that is work. I have now been on vacation for over two months and I still have a week of vacation, thank you Fulbright for two months paid vacation.

Over the past few months there have been many moments where I've found myself contemplating insightful realizations about myself, life and the world that surrounds me, some of them I've written down in hopes of sharing them through this blog, but then another adventure would cross my path and blog writing was pushed to the back burner of life.  Truth is the past two months have changed my life. Not in any one big wild life-changing event like in my teens I would have imagined the out of country experiences that have filled my life to be, but in a subtle and enriching way. As I lay here in a hammock on the balcony of my apartment in Medellín, with the warm andean sun warming my legs, the gentle breeze of perfectly temperatured air brushes across my face, moving the wind chimes gently and a fruit seller passes by on the street below ringing his bell and I realize for the first time since July last year I feel perfectly 100% happy and content. Lloyd is sitting on the ground behind me writing in his journal in his thai beer tank top, I can hear our favorite reggae songs playing from his ipod and Leona is inside planning her next big south American move. The future and the past are far from my mind and I am entirely here in the moment listening to the birds, the Paisa voices down below and the open and close of car doors, the only thing plaguing me is a slightly upset stomach from gluten consumption last night and over the past few days. Since when have I totally been able to contently be in the moment? Its something I've strived for and worked on my whole life, but especially these past 6 months during my Colombian adventure, and without even realizing it I have reached it, well at least for now.


A few months ago, during an emotional rough patch, I learned the yoga philosophy word santosa during an in-home yoga class I did through yogaglo... the only thing bringing any yoga and meditation into my life. As the instructor explained the philosophy behind santosa before the practice began I thought to myself through tear-stained eyes how appropriate this concept was for my current state of mind and the struggles I encountered daily during the first 4 months of my experience here. Santosa is explained as modesty, as contentment for what we have and an acceptance that there is a purpose for everything. "When we accep that life is a process for growth all of the circumstances and experiences we create for ourselves become valid teachers and vehicles for expressing our highest nature". I knew this was the truth and I knew that I would one day look back on this experience with this attitude but at the time it seemed so far off and all I wanted was to return to the santosa I felt before embarking on the Colombian adventure. Now I've finally reached a new santosa.


What has brought me this new level of contentment? Unfortunately (for my physical shape's sake) it has not been yoga. It has arrived through settlement, time, old friends, new friends, travelling, love, the ocean and hammock time. 

ECUADOR

My almost 4 week trip to Ecuador was an amazing and healing experience. Theres a love that surrounds and warms me there, despite the frigid mountain temperatures I suffered during my weeks in Quito. My host family is truly a family to me.  A family so different from my real family, but equally as loving and equally as important to me and my life. It was so unbelievably normal to be back and living with them, and despite the year and a half that went by with minimal communication I am closer to each and every one of them. My friends there, also completely different and unique from my friends from home are a true family too, great people who understand me in a way that my friends from home don't, and since they are all boys, they are like brothers I've never had. Apart from seeing old beautiful Ecuadorian friends, I got to finally share a moment of Ecuador with many people who share the same love for this beautifully unique and quirky country. Plus, I was truly able to recognize how well I knew that country, how much i trusted it and how comfortable I felt there.

Maribel and I in front of the nativity scene

ferni and i!

Cuenca

First and foremost I was able to spend lots of time with the Peña-Dolls in Ecuador. I met them in the Quito airport to fly to Cuenca to spend Christmas with Juan's family. As I hugged Cynthia in the door of the national terminal we looked at each other and remarked at the same time "well this is weird! But so good to see you!". The time I spent with them was amazing, Cuenca is beautiful and Juan's family is beautiful within it. They all came from far and wide with many kids in tow to share moments together in the large beautiful white house surrounded with trees and flowers and the river running in front. I felt very warmly welcomed by everyone in the family despite being the awkward high school friend tag along. Despite being thousands of miles away from my own family I felt a sense of family with them in that house, the laughter, movement and kid's toys everywhere reminded me of a more relaxed, chill and Ecuadorian version of our Christmas visits to Los Angeles during my childhood. Cuenca in itself was a beautiful experience, as it is a much smaller, more beautiful, colonial, educated, clean and tranquil Ecuadorian Andean city. It is a more sustainable or green, safer, mellow, culturally and socially educated, less racist, and all around "mejor educado" place than Quito. On Christmas Eve we went to La Pase del Niño, a parade of primarily the indigenous people of the region as a sort of pilgrimage in honor of the baby jesus. It was bizarre in its own way but proved to me that Cuenca does a much better job of honoring, integrating and accepting the indigenous culture that plays such a hugely important role in the history and character of the country and all Ecuadorians. Cuencanos are proud of their city and you see that in the many well known family names that people proudly represent. Juan's family are kind of the shit in Cuenca, they are well known and well respected for their history as a family and the many amazing things they have done for the city and the country, Juan himself being a prime example of the wonderful influence the family has had on Cuenca and Ecuador in general. 

The Cathedral. so beautiful!

Christmas time! Juan's parents, Ami, Andreas, Me, Mateo, Cynthia and Juan!

colonial cuenca

the best float of la pase del niño

Montañita

I left Cuenca in a post Christmas frenzy as Andreas and Cynthia hurridly tried to plan for the next portion of their trip in Bahía de Caraquez. This was the portion of my trip that was most unplanned and what should have caused me the most nervousness but for some strange reason didn't. I got on a bus to Guayaquil and then to Montañita, totally by myself. I had never really entirely travelled by myself but after my four months in Colombia I was feeling more independently capable than ever and it was an experience I wanted to have, to see how I was travelling alone, if I liked it or not. Montañita is probably the biggest backpacker destination in Ecuador. I had spent only a few hours there before and felt like I needed to further experience it. Montañita had greatly changed in the two years since I had seen it before. It is a total surfer, party beach town especially in the days leading to New Years. I have further decided that I do not entirely enjoy the international backpacking scene, its fun for brief moments but gets old quickly, there are too many bizarre pressures, too much focus on appearance and having to prove your coolness. Furthermore, Argentinean backpackers are the worst and they were all over the Pacific and Caribbean coasts these past months since its summer vacation. They are beautiful and they know it, arrogant and for the most part cold and reserved into their Argentinean way, if I ever see a maté gourd again it will be too late (thats a total joke and exaggeration, I love Argentina and I love maté). My friend Damian from Quito was in Montañita raging so I spent some time with him. Another friend from Quito, Santiago was down there as well and had no idea I was in the country again so running into him my first night on the streets of Montañita was quite a surprise for him. He lived 7 months in Humboldt so we have a lot in common and to talk about. I ate Ceviche de Camaron, did yoga at my hostal (finally normal vinyasa!), chilled in hammocks, walked on the beach, relaxed on the beach, drank cocktails (my favorite the coco loco is condensed milk and coconut shavings. so good!) and bought jewelry. After meeting a wonderful half Ecuadorian man who has lived in the U.S. for longer than Ecuador and spending two great days together talking about and sharing our perspectives on life, Ecuador and the U.S. and two days alone on the beach in Montañita, I found myself eager to find "family" again before the impending New Years celebrations. 

The beach in Motañita

hanging out on the rocks in Montañita

Bahía

I cruised up the coast to Bahía de Caraquez to find the Peña-Dolls. The trip was not as easy as I expected and involved taking three busses and hopping in the back of a random guys truck for the last leg. However, I sat patiently and quietly not listening to music not reading, doing nothing but looking out the window. I got a true vision of the deep back roads and the truth of life in the Manabí province. Apparently Bahía is the place to be for most Serrano families (people from the mountains) in the winter time. The coast is lined with tall white condos and the beach is filled with families covered in sand because Ecuadorians like to literally roll around in the sand. Bahía is another place I had only ever spent a matter of hours as it is not necessarily a young backpacker's top Ecuadorian Coast destination. However, my host family loves it and Bridget, Andreas's girlfriend, is stationed there for her current job thats why the the Peña-Doll family were there. Coming from Montañita Bahía was quite a change of scenery, pace and overall vibe and at first I wanted to immediately turn around and go back to Montañita but it quickly grew on me  turning into my favorite part of my coastal trip and I ended up staying an entire week there abandoning plans to continue up the coast. Here it was me and Ecuadorians, I could take it in, absorb it, enjoy it, ponder it and be me. I didn't have to wear my cutest brazilian cut bathing suit, wear feathers from my ears, strut around the beach, brag about my backpacking adventures or pretend to be a surfer, I could just be me. Bahía is the first and only "green" city in Ecuador, unfortunately this doesn't mean too much yet. As Bridget began describing to me the insights of the place she had learned during her two weeks of living there and I began to witness life go by in Bahía through eyes well trained at exploring the inner workings and truths of a place and culture. Bahía is kind of a remarkable place, it is a truly resilient place that has experienced some crazy things in the past few years and you can see that on the faces of people and facades of buildings in the city. In 1998 Bahía was horrible rampaged by El Niño, it ruined the town, the mangroves and the overall ecosystem severely hurting the fishing industry, the livelihood of the majority of the locals. A few years later in the early 2000s a large earthquake shook the shores of Bahía again crumbling the city and the lives of the locals. The history of the city rings true on the faces of the locals, you can see that they are trying to rebuild but economic and natural pressures have made it difficult. But they are optimistic, happy and content. Bahía is a poor city trying to build up its tourism infrastructure (hence all the white condos filling the skyline) however for the majority of the year these condos remain empty, and the town and the beach are filled with a small handfull of locals. The days leading up to New Years and right after were hectic in Bahía. People were everywhere and they were all Ecuadorian tourists. The Tuesday after New Years I rode a bike along the coast and it was different place, the beach was empty, the city was calm, and everyone seemed to be sighing with relief. I thoroughly enjoyed spending girl time with Cynthia, catching up with Bridget (we haven't really met many times before but both instantly knew we liked each other), and adventuring, chilling and laughing with Andreas and Mateo. 

The Bahía-San Vicente bridge over the bay

beautiful rock formations

the best beach I went to! Andreas and Bridget on the beach!

On our beach bike ride! so epic!

The hotel we stayed at in Bahía was also a farm, it had over 300 animals (cynthia did an inventory) and had many peacocks that were in heat! Therefore there were males showing off their feathers all over the place.

Off to Isla del Corazon to check out some birds and learn about the mangroves!

pacific sunset handstands

new years with Mateo, Andreas and Bridget!

I made my way back to Quito a little earlier than I had planned so as to be able to spend time with Santiago and Laura before they headed off on their Ecuadorian travels. We spent a lovely night together drinking wine, talking about life and catching up. It was so beautiful to see them together, still so happy and in love. A love that I introduced and watch grow and flourish. Not to mention they are two of my favorite people in the world. I also was able to spend more time with Ms. Andrea Blanton, who is in Quito teaching English and see another Claremont friend Diamond who studied in Ecuador the year after me. And of course I got to spend more quality time with my host family, celebrating my host father's birthday with Ceviche and my favorite Ecuadorian dishes. I was sad to leave Ecuador but also so excited to return back to Colombia, it felt like going home. I came home to beautiful Medellín, it was no longer rainy season and the city was warm, sunny and as alive and wonderful as ever. 

My last view of Quito <3

RETURN TO COLOMBIA

I couldn't have been happier coming down the mountain from the airport and returning to my city of eternal spring. I had met a man waiting in line at the airport in Quito, he grew up in LA and now was working all over the world building orphanages... pretty cool if you ask me. We ended up sharing a taxi down the hill from the airport together and his overall excitement to be back in the city just enhanced mine. He pointed out to me out in many ways Medellín almost reminds him of LA many years ago.. There are many stark differences but the weather and general positivity makes sense. As I ponder on this thought, I realized that particularly my neighborhood actually almost felt like Claremont to me at times, with tree-lined streets, families, old people sitting on balconies and windows, children riding bikes and people walking their dogs. It may be a slight stretch but there is definitely something similar there. I went out dancing with friends celebrating our love for this love city. I immediately felt some negative reality vibes coming back to me upon this return as I stressed out about getting my life on a better track for next semester. But after spending a day going on a run, sending emails, catching up with important people and signing up for dance classes I felt better and back on track. Then without losing a beat I repacked my bags and headed back to the airport (I have taken 21 flights in the past year... yea.. my Eco-footprint is not looking good) to fly to Cartagena. 

Cartagena

After being delayed for a painfully long amount of time I finally arrived in Cartagena alone and without a place to stay. Cartagena is a huge tourist destination and has been the only place in Colombia people continued to visit throughout these years of violence. I felt like I had stepped into a movie, as if I was walking the pages of Gabriel García Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera (which does take place in Cartagena) or travelled back in time. Cartagena is extremely gorgeous, it's colonial buildings, painted pleasantly alive colors, are huddled together overlooking small cobblestone roads, majestic plazas and sculptures, protected by the strong and powerful Spanish Colonial fort and wall that surround the old city, protecting it from foreign attacks and Pirates and overlooking the blue Caribbean. I could have walked around the old city of Cartagena forever. However, all the obnoxious tourists, more Argentine backpackers, expensiveness and lack of fun passionate Colombian nightlife quickly drove me out of there ready to see more of the Caribbean Coast. But not before we took a day trip to a mud volcano (one of the stranger experiences and sensations of my life) and a boat ride to some beautiful islands off the coast and Playa Blanca and over-run typically Caribbean beach. Meg, Erin and Emma (another Fulbrighter) came the next day and Miles was there for my first night and we met up with Elly for a day as well. Meg has a boyfriend in Cartagena who played tour guide for us having to remember back to his grade school history classes. Miles and I had an unfortunate run in with a brothel, that really turned out fine and allows me to now say "I've used the bathroom in a brothel".. it was called the pink dream, i guess we should have figured that one out sooner! 

colonial cartagena

handstands along the wall

at the mud volcano!

arriving at playa blanca!

classic cartagena view

colonial streets

islas de rosario!

Santa Marta, Taganga and Minca

After four days in Cartagena Emma and I left Meg and Keko for some romantic couple time and headed to Santa Marta (I had already been to Santa Marta but am not one to avoid return trips) to meet up with another group of Fulbrighters to celebrate one of their's birthday. We drank gin, danced, caught up and played pool. The next day we headed to Taganga a smaller more touristy beach town 15 minutes to the North just for the day. After a slight mishap with some foreign hostal working men, and the loss of ONE of my flip-flops due to the hurricane force winds, we decided it was time to leave La Brisa Loca so we headed into the mountains to Minca a small mountain town overlooking Santa Marta and the beautiful Caribe. We had had pretty good luck with bugs until we reached the jungly mountain town, during our hike up the hill to our hostal we each received upwards of 5 bug bites each. We then went canyoning and tubing along a beautiful river, then on a coffee plantation tour that I couldn't enjoy due to the bazillion bugs that were sucking my blood. Minca was beautiful and chill reminding me in many many ways of Mindo in Ecuador, however I hit a slight low during our stay there due to the over 100 bug bites I acquired and the sleepless night I had deathly ill making trips from the bathroom to a hammock outside.

taganga!

travel partners!

fishing boats in taganga!

waterfall jumping in minca!

the river we tubed in MInca!

coffee!!

Riohacha

The next day I woke up finally able to consume water without running to the bathroom and felt strong enough to make the next leg of our trip up to Riohacha in La Guajira a region known as the "Wild West" of Colombia. I was eager to explore what this wild west was but due to limited time we only left ourselves one day to only explore the city of Riohacha... there is definitely a return trip in my near future as there is so much more to explore in this region. We experienced A day in the life of Callan (the fulbrighter living in Riohacha) which was mostly culinary including a breakfast at his favorite breakfast place, beach time, a frisbee game on the beach, delicious juice of various crazy tropical fruits from his favorite juice man, a visit to the best arepa place in the city, drinks at a beach bar, an early morning swim with his swim team, the traditional post swim coffee and arepa de huevo and sleeping in the most comfortable chinchorro hammock ever. I loved Riohacha, but then again I'm a fan of small intimate towns. It really was the wild west, which meant people were quite down to earth, country and hardworking, in a weird way it felt like the Rural Northern California Coast of Colombia. I was sad to go but we had big plans and not enough time to head up to Cabo de la Vela the main attraction of the region. 

the beach in riohacha!

Barranquilla

Next we hopped on a bus to Barranqilla, our plan was to spend the night with the two Fulbrighters in Barranqilla then head to Mompox for a day and then back to Barranqilla for pre-Carnaval celebrations and then back to Cartagena. However, when we arrived the plans changed, turns out Mompox is extremely difficult to get to and not really worth it for only one day/pretty much impossible to do. So instead we stayed in Barranquilla (Shakira's hometown) for three nights. We pretty much went nocturnal partying until the sun came up, finally getting out of the house by 5 or 6 to get a meal and starting the whole cycle over again. Turns out there isn't much to do in Barranquilla other than party, especially in the month of February when the entire city shuts down in celebration of Carnaval. It was fun, giving me a taste of what Carnaval will actually be like, but not something I could do all day everyday, it was exhausting. We the hopped a bus back to Cartagena, Emma went straight to the airport to fly out back to Cali and Erin and I met up with Meg and Keko to stay in Meg's friend's house for a few days truly entirely relaxing for my last few days on the coast. I pretty much spent two whole days in a hammock listening to reggae music........... bliss :)

Back to Medellín

After having explored new areas of Colombia I came home to Medellín super content for being able to live in this city. Colombia has wonderful regions and cities but Medellín is the bees knees for me :) I spent a few days sorting my life out then headed back up the hill to the airport to pick up my two dear lovely friends Leona and Lloyd at the airport. It was amazing to see them, and so normal to have them in my life here. I was halfway worried that it'd just be too strange to so intimately mix my two lives, but its been wonderful. They arrived just in time for my birthday celebrations and its been wonderful! I've felt so comfortable and normal, I've felt like myself having them around. I am excited to have Lloyd around for the next two months and I think he will enjoy it here, especially once he gets a little routine down. Its truly amazing how close and wonderful all my friends are from home. I am so blessed to have grown up in such a wonderful and amazing community! 

up the metrocable on my birthday!

family visits! 

My life here in Medellín will never be the same as last year, so much has changed. Friends have left and friends have come and when I look ahead to the next 4 months there are only bright stars, sunshine, butterflies and flowers...in other words only good things on the horizon. Its insane to think that I only have 5 more months left here in Colombia, but I know that it will be a great 5 months and I'm looking forward to everything even working again (kind of). 

Happy very late new year to everyone, may 2012 bring all joy, happiness, love, health and laughter! 

My Love Hate Relationship with Quito

It seems that most times I am flying over Quito my eyes are filled with tears. When I left a year and a half ago I was crying tears of sadness that the life I lived for that year in Quito would never exist again, I felt like i was dying to my Ecuadorian life. This time the familiarity of the city and a rush of good memories came back to me filling me with joy to be returning. As I stepped off the plane I was immediately greeted with a rush of cold Andean air and the smell of Quito. You know how all cities often have their own smell? It was all so familiar. I was met by my host mom and Ferny, the oldest brother. It was awkward for about 3 minutes and then it just felt completely normal again, as if nothing had changed. I was welcomed back into the comfortable home I had lived in for 10 months and although initially I wasn't sleeping in my old room because the Pitzer student was still there, it still felt like nothing had changed, like I had never left. 


Moments into my stay however the love hate sentiments I feel for Quito came back to me. I love Quito because of all the amazing good times and for how much my experience here changed me. In a certain way, I think of my life as before Ecuador and after Ecuador. Its hard to pinpoint the exact things that changed me but I certainly developed and keener sense of myself and a deeper self confidence, an ability to show people and be myself honestly and without shame. I felt a freedom here that I had never felt before, and it was an important way to live for that period of time. I love Quito because I have an amazing family and group of friends here. I love Quito because it is beautifully placed in the middle of large grandiose mountains and has a true Andean feel and deep indigenous influence. I love the Mariscal and going out in Quito, its amazing how at home i feel wandering around La Plaza Foch. This past weekend it was insane how many people recognized me. A bartender in my favorite bar walked up to me and gave me a huge hug, earlier in the same bar (the first bar i walk into in la mariscal) there is my favorite Colombian chilling in the corner, i go up to him he looks at me smiles gives me a huge hug and responds "wow you're so much smaller..." haha thanks i guess. We spent the rest of the night drinking, catching up and talking about Colombia and Ecuador. In that same bar a beautiful afro-Ecuadorian guy was eyeing me. I was pleased of course, and then he came up to me and said "regresaste" (you returned) i looked at him as i didn't really recognize him and he went on to explain that he was from Atacames. We had met in Atacames when I was with Elvis and he had danced samba in this bar one night when I was there. I love Quito because its such a small city and crazy coincidences happen all the time. I love Quito because the artisan products are amazing and gorgeous, Colombia has none of that going on. I went to the market today and was overwhelmed by the beautiful products. I realized that I may not be returning to Ecuador for a while so I might as well stock up on beautiful tapestries, table clothes, napkins etc. for my future houses and to have found memories of the beautifully colorful country Ecuador is. I love Quito because I have forgotten about all the delicious traditional foods there are, I think Ecuador is winning in the food category.. although i do love arepas. I love Quito because in a strange way it feels like home. 


I hate Quito because its so polluted, everyday i have black boogers. I hate Quito because it takes FOREVER to get anywhere and its never easy. I hate Quito because busses are always so ridiculously packed. I hate Quito because every man I pass on the street says something, whistles, honks or makes some sound (way worse than in Colombia... haven't come up with a theory about that yet). I hate Quito because I get extreme side walk rage as people move super slow and I naturally move quickly plus I'm tall with long legs. I hate Quito because surprisingly there isn't THAT much to do other than party (really realizing that now...) I hate Quito because of the poverty, inequality and racism that is smashed into your face everyday. Truth is, after living here for a while you get used to it, and the question is it that a good thing or a bad thing? Its amazing how accustomed I am to having empleadas in the house, and poor people and children begging you to clean your shoes. I hate Quito because there are so many gringo travelers who act so stupid and ignorant and some who don't even speak Spanish. I've been amazed at how many more gringos and tourists i see in Quito than in Medellín. 


The truth is that I really do love Quito. There are just many small little things about Quito that I can easily criticize and that easily frustrate an extranjera. I love Quito because I feel like I understand it in many ways, and in its own way it understands me. 


I've been overwhelmed in thinking about the many small yet real differences between Ecuador and Colombia. From an outside perspective they are very similar, but when you know the two countries or one of the two, the differences are countless. The biggest differences can be boiled down to a few things. 1) The indigenous influence in Ecuador is so strong and important and a reason for many of the problems and inequalities but also the beauty and uniqueness of the country. 
2) Colombia is way more developed than Ecuador. Surprising but true. Then again Colombia is rich with drug money and support from the United States. They have also not been in a million wars that have put them deeply into debt and had 8 different constitutions in 10 years.
3) Colombians are beautiful. This makes them super vain, especially Paisas and Paisa Women above all. But although I know and see some gorgeous Ecuadorians, the Colombian beauty especially in women is breathtaking. 
4) Ecuadorians have a higher level of English. My theory here is because Colombia has been so shut off from the world (tourism and business speaking) that there has been less reason to learn English. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult for a Colombian to get a visa to any country in the world (getting easier but still difficult) therefore, there are less opportunities to live and work abroad therefore less incentive to learn another language. 
5) Ecuadorians appear more machista. Its really hard to measure the levels of machismo, but I do have some experience with this having written my thesis on this topic. On the surface, meaning piropos in the streets and respect for women, Colombia is definitely slightly more educated in this respect. Again, I cannot exactly pinpoint the reason for why I get many more cat calls on the streets of Quito than in Medellín but its definitely true. In fact I get way more attention here in Quito in general. I used to walked into a bar or disco and literally be grabbed at. I couldn't get away from Ecuadorians, but in Colombia at times I hardly feel noticed. 
6) Racism. My friends in Colombia are often shocked by the level of racism expressed by Colombians. To me I've been impressed by the lack of racism. I have witnessed way less racism in Colombia than in Ecuador. I think this is because there is less of an inferior indigenous population and in general Colombia is just must more racially mixed. You see people with bright blue eyes and red or blonde hair in Colombia.. and they aren't Meg, Elly and I. They are true Colombians. Of course the social hierarchy and general system is racist, but Ecuador is a different story.


Regardless of the differences, I still cannot really answer the question "which do you like better?" Some days I answer with Ecuador and other days with Colombia. The truth is that my experiences in both places are super unique. I am a different person now than I was in Ecuador and my life in Colombia (although it has its similarities) is very different. Both countries hold a special place in my heart, and both countries have taught me very valuable life experiences that I will hold onto forever. 


As I mentioned before, I cried and cried leaving Ecuador in June 2010 knowing that I would never get that experience back. It would never be the same. This return trip has proven that to be true, but not entirely. Sure, I don't have my dear gringo study abroad friends to explore the city with, and who are available and willing to do something at all points of the day. I don't have gringos to tell about the crazy thing that happened on the bus, or in the mariscal last night, or the story my empleada told me at lunch. True, I am a different person now, more mature and more independent (and los jibaros certainly pointed that out). But, as I said there is still a feeling of sameness, as if I had never left. I still have the most fun partying in the Mariscal. I still kind of feel like a rock star here. I still love Next Level (which is now The Attic) I still love going to rugby games and hanging out with the Jibaros. I still love my host family and everything involving them: having dinner, playing with Jose, tickling Jose, talking to Ferny about life, laughing at my brothers (mainly jose), talking to Jaime about interesting cultural and scientific facts, cuddling with my mom on her bed watching telenovelas, telling my mom the truth of every detail of the night before, or my most recent love interest, chatting with my host dad about politics or cultural differences or food, hearing stories from Luzmilda (our maid's) past, waking up from the boys getting ready for colegio and being able to fall back asleep and the general comfort and welcoming atmosphere that I feel in this house. I still know my way around the city and how to get almost everywhere on public transportation. I still have to control myself when I walk into the artisan market. And lastly I still enjoy just being here. I haven't done much the past week and it feels so good. I don't feel the need to run around the city and see all the touristy things, i've done it all and most of them aren't that exciting. I came to Ecuador to spend a week in Quito with my family, because they really are my family. Its the holidays and that is what the holidays are all about. I've been thoroughly enjoying just being. And that my friends is something I strive to do everything single day of my life, somedays are better than others, but somehow here, in this country, in this city, in this house I can just BE and I'm ok with it. 

Some photos from my Ecuador trip so far...

Jair, Pablo, Edison and I at Santiago's house Saturday night

pablito and i

Edison and I and Juanka and the trophy!

juanka and i (he had a spill)

Tomorrow morning at 11 I will meet up with Juan, Cynthia, Andreas and Mateo in the Quito Airport to fly to Cuenca to spend christmas with Juan's family there. I am so grateful that they have invited me to spend christmas with them and so happy that I will have people from Elk to be my family for the holidays. I am also super excited to see Cuenca, I never went when i lived here years ago and many people have told me its a beautiful city! More updates from the trip to come... probably not until early January since I am leaving my computer behind in Quito so has not to lose it. :) 

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! So thankful to have all of you in my life. <3 <3 <3

Its starting to look a lot like Christmas....

.....Well actually that’s kind of a lie.... for a few reasons.... first of all because stores have been filled with Christmas decorations and they have started putting up decorations around the city since SEPTEMBER! Also, I am on the equator, the days are still exactly 12 hours long, temperatures still average around 20-27 degrees Celsius and very little has changed in terms of the weather, except now its almost always cloudy (which sucks, I miss the sun and I'm losing my tan) and it rains everyday, sometimes it monsoons, this is what they call the rainy season.  Regardless, this does not feel like Christmastime. Except that Paisas are pretty much Christmas crazy. No joke. As I said decorations have been around since SEPTEMBER! Furthermore, every Paisa asked me if I will be here in December and then precedes to tell me how great and amazing Christmas is. I knew about the elaborate lights over the river that light this Saturday I think and how everyone goes out and sees them and takes pictures and that December 7th and 8th were crazy party days in celebration of the Virgin Mary and they light many candles in honor. I also knew that all of December is filled with Christmas parties and Chivas. However, yesterday I learned about a new event and so far its my favorite as it is the only one I have experienced and because I think its hilarious. On November 30th, people fill the streets and bars of the city and especially of the smaller municipios of Envigado and Sabaneta to party and celebrate... what are they celebrating you ask? The beginning of December. My students explained this celebration to me in my conversation class and when I asked why the response was that people wait all year long for December to arrive, so they party, set off fireworks and celebrate on December Eve. All evening long it sounded like the city was at war with the sounds of fireworks going off, but at Midnight things really went crazy. Unfortunately, the night kind of failed us or we failed the night because we couldn't really get straight answers as to where the best place would be to go to watch the fireworks and enjoy the party. We ended up in Parque Envigado which was chalked full of people drinking and playing music, but no one was setting off fireworks right there. Furthermore, people just set off bottle rocket type fireworks so there wasn't too much too see... but we heard it all... Afterwards we tried to find a bar or club to hit up in Envigado, but apparently on Wednesday nights most bars close early. So we never had success in truly partying it up like the Paisas were, and perhaps we got to Envigado too late as we rolled up at 11:30. But either way Medellín is happier today, now all the radio stations pretty much solely play Christmas music, on the way to work this morning I had to laugh when a song with the lyrics "viene la alegría bienvenida Navidad" (Here comes the happiness, Welcome Christmas), there are also frequently heard shouts both on the radio and on the streets "Estamos en Diciembre!!!". 

Arriving at Parque Envigado wednesday night, lots of decorations everywhere 

The Christmas Tree in the park right outside the church, pretty groovy....

The way Christmas stories and traditions vary around the world is very interesting to me and today I learned many of the Colombian (or Medellín) Christmas Traditions and stories. I successfully got my students to actually TALK and have conversation today in my Conversation Class. I was proud and impressed by them. Here in Colombia they do not have the Santa Claus belief or story. Instead gifts are brought by Niño Jesus (Baby Jesus) or Dios Jesus (Jesus God). I asked them how he arrives, and each student's family had a different story. He walks, he flies, he becomes a white dove and files into the home.... They also play a game where they hide figurines of Niño Jesus and the children search for him and win candy... reminded me of an Easter Egg hunt. Furthermore, they celebrate what is called La Novena, I believe it runs from the 16th-24th and its basically one week of praying and family celebrations filled with music, dancing, stories of Niño Jesus and the whole history of Jesus' birth and good food. Colombia has many traditional Christmas desserts, Natilla for example is some sort of corn pudding, sounds bizarre but at the same time I think I'm gonna like it (and its gluten free!!). They also eat lots of buñelos which are basically fried breaded cheese balls (which might also be corn based), ohuelo (also gluten free) and empanadas (also gluten free). I told my students about some American Christmas customs and traditions and of course shared my love for Christmas music and told them all about the Elk Christmas Sing-a-long and while I was telling them all these things and about what my family does, I got really sad. My body filled with that familiar feeling of Christmastime and I got sad that I wasn't going to experience it at home in Elk. However, I'm sure the Peña family in Cuenca will celebrate it in good Ecuadorian style!

Despite the many ways that it does not feel like Christmas, my apartment building is now seriously decked out in holiday flair with icicle lights hanging from every balcony, wreaths in the lobby and a flashing (fake) christmas tree. As pathetic as fake christmas trees seem to me, they also have a lot of benefits for example think about how much money you save only buying a christmas tree ONE TIME.. those things are kinda expensive... Also, its so much better for the environment and the world. No wasting of trees! :) However, there is something to be said for the tradition of going out and picking your tree either at the store or in the forest, bringing it home and the wonderful smell that fills your living room... definitely a classic smell of christmas. 

The building across the street, adding flair to Transversal 37!

Firenze Apartments! My home and where the dog house exists.

Last Saturday I was in a Salsa Performance (actually it was a chachacha rhythm) at my Dance Academy. It was so much fun! I danced with my Caleño instructor Norman and there were two other couples dancing in the same piece, Chloe ( an english teacher from England) and Daniela (a colombian student who happens to literally be my neighbor!), and Sheva (a girl from Sacramento who just happened to be travelling through Medellín) and Sergio (another salsa instructor at the school). The whole evening was super fun, there were a ton of people there watching and there was lots of time for free dancing as well as many presentations. I wish I had more pictures but since I was dancing it was hard to take the pictures. I have a video that a friend took for me, but Blogspot is not letting me upload the video, so we will see what we can do about that... I was able to upload it to facebook, so for those of you who have facebook or access to it you can check it out on my profile or under my videos.

While we entered, before we danced!!

one of my favorite moves, sliding between the guys legs! 

Sheva me and Chole after the dance... looking fly!

In other news I have about one more day of work left!!! Halleluja!!! We head to Bogotá early Sunday morning for a four day Fulbright conference, although the conference will probably be deathly boring I am excited to see all the other Fulbrighters after having had 4 months of similar but different experiences! We've had quite a few visitors to Paisa land this past week and its been so great seeing everyone and showing them our city! 

Me in my classroom during conversation class. Picture taken for my presentation I have to give about my experience teaching in Bogotá next week!

Well this is just Part I of the Colombia (and Ecuador) Christmas Chronicles (check out that alliteration!) so please stay tuned for what is more to come! Happy December everyone! Lots of love....