New Blog

I have started a new blog. 

Click here to go to the new blog. (In case that doesn't work, the address is: zoealiveandquestioning.blogspot.com)

I don't know how frequently I will update it, but I will try to update as much as I can. 

Thanks, 

Zoe

Home Sweet Home

I made it home alright, which most of you probably know right now.  I came home right into the Rand Marathon Christmas Celebration. We have pretty much been running non-stop since I got home last Friday night. Its really great to be home, and although i haven't had too much of a chance to think about Ecuador since i got home, it really was a great experience for me. I can already feel how much I have changed and grown (in a good way), and although it is a little hard getting used to being back in my old life, I am really thankful to be with my family. 

I miss all of my wonderful friends in Ecuador and I am glad they are having good Christmases. They are some of the best friends a girl could have, and even though I couldn't be with them for christmas, it sounds like they were able to make the most of it, and enjoy it in their own ways. I am so proud of all of us. We really had some crazy adventures, and we learned and are still learning so much. I love all my friends there like siblings, and I know that we will stay in touch no matter what. 

This will probably be my last blog post on this blog, although I think I might be starting a new blog....just about me in my normal life, because writing this blog has been so fun, and its hard to stop. 

Once I get a new blog I will post the address on here so you can all keep reading. 

Thanks for being such a great support while I have been gone. I hope you have enjoyed all the stories and adventures. 

Peace, 

Zoe

Uneventful Weekend

Last week was pretty uneventful. I say that, because, well I can't remember too much that happened during it. 

Lets see, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday went pretty normal. I took school off on Thursday because I hadn't slept too well the night before. On thursday afternoon I met Emily down in the Mariscal area to say goodbye to the missionaries of her church. It was really nice to say goodbye to them because they were really helpful to me my first few weeks here, and I know that they are always there to help me even though I am not a member of their church. After talking to the missionaries for a while I went with Emily to buy a Bible in spanish that she could take on her trip to Guayaquil. She searched everywhere in her backpack for her money. But she couldn't find it. She also couldn't find her mp3 player. Although I was still thinking hopefully that she had just forgotten those things somewhere, she was positive that they had been stolen. And she was right. We had been planning to go to the art market nearby but instead we went to Emily's house to do some damage control. She called her dad and cancelled her debit card and she called her friend to borrow some money. I lent her enough money for a couple of cabs so she could get where she needed to go that night and I was a shoulder that she could cry on. She left for Guayaquil that night and has been gone all weekend. She was supposed to get in pretty late last night, so you should all check out her blog for information on how that went. 

Friday I didn't go to school because there was a university fair for 5th and 6th courses and so 1st-4th courses didn't have to go. So I slept in again. When Gabi finished school she came over to my house and we hung out. Then we headed out to go to a family from church's house for dinner. Well, we headed out in the perfect amount of time to get there. And when we got off the bus we headed up the street to their house. Their house is very far up the hill, and I told Gabi that I would recognize it when i saw it. Well, it was raining and we had walked pretty far and Gabi and I gave up on my ability to recognize it when I saw it. So, I was going to call them. Well, I didn't have minutes on my cell phone, or their phone number. So we walked all the way down the hill, went to a Pharmacy so I could buy minutes and then we walked back up while I was talking to my host mom (who, I had, thankfully, given the number of the house we were going to be at) so she told me the number and I called them and aparently we hadn't walked far enough. So we ate dinner with them and stayed at their house until Saturday afternoon. 

So that was my very uneventful weekend. 

Peace, 

Zoe

The Equator Line

Ok, so this post is a week late. But it is here, and that's what counts, right?

Saturday, after my crazy Friday night, I went home relatively early in the morning. Well, early for the rest of Quito. The entire city was asleep, or at least, that's what it felt like. The city was eerily quiet, it was kind of a nice change from the craziness the night before. 

I rested up that morning because my host mom promised to take me to Mitad Del Mundo that afternoon. Mitad Del Mundo isn't actually in Quito, it has its own little town. It took us two buses to get there, although it probably only took about 45 min, so like an ordinary commute for some people. 

The first thing you see when you walk into the equator-line area is this huge monument. It was really really big. Like, I felt like it was touching the sky. (And now all you scientists can yell at me for that inaccurate statement. But I did not say it was a fact, i said it felt like. So really, you have no right to yell at me. ;-) I love that I can win an argument with people who aren't even yelling at me yet.) I felt like I was in a skyscraper city again, only of course, there was only one skyscraper. 

Mitad Del Mundo wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. I mean, sure, it was cool to get a picture of myself with a foot in both hemispheres, but really, it was just a line painted on the ground. 

There was a little area where they sold traditional crafts and there were some traditional dances. I ate ice cream and watched a traditional dance, but my host mom said that the crafts were pretty expensive here and that I could buy the same things cheeper in the city. 

So that was my Mitad Del Mundo experience. After that I went home and slept forever. 

More soon, 

Zoe

P.S. It took forever to get those two photos uploaded. So, enjoy them and check back for more later. I do have one with one foot in each hemisphere, I promise. 

Fiestas De Quito

Ok, so here is the promised blog post from last weekend:

Fiestas de Quito started the first day of December, but the climax was really Friday, December 5th. We had a huge party at school. It started with a balcony decorating contest. (Which I heard today that my class won.) It was my job to make some streamer things, and although when they explained them to me I am sure I looked very confused, I was able to make them, and they turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. Here is a picture of my class's balcony as well as one of Emliy holding my amazing streamer things: 

So I hope you agree that our balcony was amazing. And my streamers made it the amazingness that it was. After decorating our balcony Emily and I wandered around the patio. The 6th grade was selling traditional sweets and Emily bought some sort of paper thing filled with jelly. (It was like a cookie, but the cookie was about the same texture as tissue paper and it didn't really taste like anything.) I bought a little chocolate thing.  Then we just sat down and talked for a while wondering what else was going to happen at school that day because we still had about an hour until we could leave but no one seemed to be really doing anything. Then we heard there was going to be a little concert. The 1st grade (i just realized that I might be confusing you with the grade system. A quick explanation: High school here goes from 1st through 6th grade. So 1st graders are about 12, and 6th are about 18. I am in the 4th grade here,) have choir class and so they sang a couple of songs for us. They were really cute. They all had their formal uniforms on with little blue ribbon tied like a bow-tie instead of their normal red tie. The songs were good too. Some of the 1st grade boys accompanied the choir on guitar. Although the sound wasn't the best (and honestly, when is the sound at these kinds of things good?), it was pretty fun to watch. Then one of the inspectors announce that we were going to have a traditional ecuadorian band. Everyone started screaming with delight when they started to play and we all ran over to stand in front of them and then everyone started to dance. Emily and I tried to participate in the Ecuadorian dance, but we weren't too good so we started dancing like "gringos". Now, I am not sure how other gringos dance, but our gringo dance involved the grocery cart, the lawnmower, stayin' alive, the scuba diver, the sprinkler, and many more. I think everyone really got a kick out of watching us dance. We were having so much fun that we didn't really care who was watching. I found out later that a classmate of mine actually got video of us on his cell phone. I told him that when more gringos come he is going to have to show them the video to explain to them how they are supposed to dance for fiestas de quito. We have decided to call it "the gringo dance". 

After school on Friday, which ended at 10am, we went to my house to change clothes and wait for Gabi. Then Gabi, Emily and I went out for pizza and did a little shopping. (We always seem to be shopping, don't we?) Then we went back to Emily's house to rest up for our big night. Gabi had to go home because she has a rather strict host mom who wants her home before dark (which is 6pm here). I was going to sleep over at Emily's house, so I didn't have to go anywhere. 

Emily's host mom and host sister took us to the historical center of the city. We have always been warned about going there because it isn't the safest part of town. All of the buildings are really old and historical so all the tourists like to go there, but because the tourists are there, so are the robbers. But Emily and I felt safe with your her mom and sister, and nothing happened. The historical center was so beautiful. It was just getting dark so the whole city had sort of a twilight glow about it. I wish I had brought my camera with me so I could show you a semblance of what it looked like, but I didn't bring it. (So if you want pictures check Emily's blog.) We walked up and down this traditional street called Las Rondas. I am not actually sure what Rondas means, so you will have to go without an explanation of the name. 

Something rather funny happened on this experience. Emily's host mom kept telling us about this traditional drink for fiestas de Quito. She bought us one to share, so Emily and I could try it. It tasted a lot like someone had tried to make apple cider from Naranjilla (which is a fruit we don't have in the states, google it if you want to know more about naranjilla, i am not going to take the time to explain it). It was good, but a little bitter. I was just trying to place that bitter taste when Emily's host mom told us that if we had a few more of these typical drinks we might be more inclined to dance in the streets. Emily and I both exchanged surprised glances. Yes, these traditional drinks had alcohol in them. We couldn't stop laughing about it the whole night. We were feeling a little silly after the drink (which we through out as fast as we could) but I am convinced we hadn't actually drunk enough of it to be tipsy, I think it was more of a placebo effect. 

After the historical center Emily's host mom wanted to take us for dinner at a restaurant in the Mariscal area. I guess she didn't know how crouded the Mariscal area was going to be. It was literally packed like a can of sardines. I was barely able to move forward without having to push two people aside. Mariscal is an area with a lot of bars and discotecs, it is also know during the day as gringolandia, but at night it is packed with all kinds of people. I was pretty much terrified. I never took my eyes off of Emily's host sister who was leading us through the crowd. Well, we didn't go to the restaurant because well, I don't think we could have made it to the restaurant. So instead we took a bus to a mall called CCI and ate a Burger King. I know to a lot of you that may sound like a disappointing end to a cool night, but I honestly didn't mind all that much. I had gotten a great experience of the city and I was perfectly ok to be sitting in a Burger King eating a hamburger and french fries. 

I slept over at Emily's house that night, although sleeping was pretty much impossible for anyone that night, the city was so loud with everyone's fiestas. Saturday afternoon I went to Mitad Del Mundo with my host mom, but that will have to wait for another post because this one is already really long. 

Peace, 

Zoe

Coming Home

So before I get into the seriousness, I would just like to say VIVA QUITO!!!! Today was like one of the most important days of the Fiestas de Quito and everyone was partying. We even had a party at school. I am planning on writing all about my day today tomorrow morning, because I have a different matter to discuss with you.

Some of you may have noticed that I have added a new "gadget" to my blog. A countdown, to when I go home. Looking at this many of you (those who have been paying any attention at all) might have been confused. So I will explain. I am coming home a month early.

Before any of you go insane with questions and exclamations of surprise and things, I wanted to explain a little about why I made this desicion.

I know that by just reading my blog you might not be able to guess how homesick I have been, I tend to only like to write blog posts when I am happy and want to tell you my story. My journal, however, rarely gets the good things, and often gets the sad things. But basically, I have been really homesick for the past 3 weeks or so and seriously thinking about going home. This Tuesday I talked to my parents about coming home, and they listened to me and understood what I was saying. Mainly, my biggest fear/complaint (not sure what to call it) was that I didn´t want to miss a christmas with my family. I know that there will be times when I have to miss christmas with my family, and when those times come I will make the best of them, but I had control over this one. I could change it so I was happier, and so I did.

I have been thinking and praying about this desicion for a while now, and I truly believe it is the right one for me. I know that maybe not all of you would have made the same desicion. But this is my desicion and one I intend to stick by. I am going home for Christmas!

Love,
Zoe

P.S. I have once again had technical difficulties, and the new gadget has not posted :-( But basically what it was supposed to say is that my flight home is scheduled for the 19th of December and that I have 2 weeks left in Ecuador.

Food is Funny in Foreign Country

Mango Mania

I don't normally like Mango, but today my mom came into my room and told me that she had a mango for me. When she said mango I thought she meant like mango pieces or something. Well she said Mango and she meant Mango. (I don't know why I am capitalizing Mango....as if it was a name....hello, here is my best friend Mango. He's a mango.)

It was a lot bigger than I have ever imagined a mango....not that I spend much time imagining mangoes. Anyway, my host mom cut the mango into three pieces. And then handed me a plate with the three pieces and a knife. Being the Gringo that I am, I haven't had too much experience with Mangoes. So I sat there for like two whole minutes just starting at the mango and the knife...i truly didn't know how to eat it. It wasn't like the mango was cut into conveniently bite-sized pieces or anything. I didn't even know if I was supposed to eat the skin. I'm sure I could have just asked my host mom, but  I was American and I didn't. Emily ate Mango on Friday (although hers did come in bite-sized pieces) and I remembered that the pieces she had didn't have skin. So I decided to just cut little pieces out of the skin. So I did that for the two outside pieces, but I really had no idea what to do with the middle. It's a fruit right? So I knew that there had to be a seed or something somewhere, and since I hadn't run into that yet I figured the seed must be in the middle. Then when i stuck my knife in the middle part it hit something solid. So I just left it. My host mom laughed a little when she saw I completely left the middle part, but didn't say anything. I probably could have eaten the fruit until I got to the seed. But I didn't. It was an interesting experience. And guess what? I might actually like mango. I liked this one anyway. Food is funny in  foreign country. 

Kangaroos and Crabs

I don't have a host dad technically. But my host mom's ex-husband and my host sibling's father, comes over a lot. So he's like my host dad. Anyway, today he came into my room and asked me if I liked to eat "Cangrejo". I stared at him for a sec to make sure he was serious, because the only thing I could think of that Cangrejo could possibly mean was Kangaroo. Of course, I had heard that Ecuadorians ate guinea pigs (cuy) but I had never heard anything about Kangaroos. I wasn't even sure there were Kangaroos in Ecuador. Well, while all this was going through my mind he was still waiting for my response. I must have made a pretty disgusted expression, because he looked at me with concern and asked if I didn't like it. I told him I had never tried it. He seemed relieved and left the room to help make this cangrejo for lunch. I sat in bed worrying that I was going to have to eat Kangaroo for lunch. I didn't know how I was going to survive, I mean I just started eating red meat in August, so I still have to get over the fact that I am eating a pig or a cow.....but a Kangaroo? 

By this time I am sure anyone who speaks spanish is laughing hysterically at me. Because guess what? Cangrejo is not a Kangaroo. Its a crab. (To some people that might not be much better, but to a girl whose father grew up in Connecticut, seafood is not a strange thing.) So don't worry, I won't be eating a Kangaroo for lunch, just a crab. When I figured that out I was quite relieved, let me tell you. But guess what? I wasn't too far off with the whole Kangaroo thing. A Kangaroo is a "Canguro" and a Crab is "Cangrejo". See they are similar!  Food sure is funny in a foreign country. 

Laughing at myself, 

Zoe