It ain't me, babe.

No, no, no. It ain't me you're lookin' for. (Another title inspired by Johnny Cash.)

But seriously, leave me alone.

The desperate attempts to gain women's attention have me pitying some of these guys more than anything...and I am increasingly thankful for the many awesome men I've gotten to befriend in the last several weeks.

So, instead of a tirade, I will share the funniest lines I've heard as of yet!

"I need someone to espeak English with me. You could be my friend, no?"--a student.

The ever-popular, super-cool, whistle and/or comment then "Where are you from? Do you speak Spanish? etc" --creepers everywhere.

I jokingly told a female student how I was looking for a boyfriend with a motorcycle in order to avoid the heinous traffic here. Then I heard another student pipe up "What about a boyfriend with a car?" --a 50-something business man, who had just told us about his car. (I merely congratulated him on his good fortune of owning a car and proceeded to change the subject.)

And the winner: I was at a restaurant with my friends and others, including a guy I just met. They were drinking beer, he offered me some, so I declined and explained my gluten intolerance. He proceeded to offer me a variety of refreshments, "soda? Coca Cola? algo?" I said 'no thanks.' And, last but not least, he offered "Un chico?" (a.k.a. "a guy?"). Smooth, very smooth. I laughed and said I'd let him know. He certainly won points for creativity and general friendliness.

This is absolutely typical: no need to be alarmed.

In other, more tasty news, I am branching out in my cooking experiences and have really enjoyed getting to cook for friends here over the last month. My most recent creation was a Thai meal at a friend's house. My third ever--and rather successful, if I do say so myself--attempt at peanut sauce was well received, though my Venezuelan, Colombian, and Ecuadorian friends were perhaps a bit skeptical at first. (Apparently, the typical indigenous dish of guinea pig (cuy) is often served with a sort of peanut sauce! I have yet to try it, though I'm looking for an opportunity to do so.)

 

Cooking with friends for friends is so much fun! Click here for September's photo album

Some teaching news: in my most recent class, the students did a writing exercise about professions and what it takes to be a good teacher, homemaker, lawyer, etc. Several students chose 'teacher' and volunteered to read their statements aloud. They said teachers should be patient, kind, intelligent, friends of their students, explain things well etc. Then they all started pointing to me and said, "that is you!" Well, of course I blushed, and of course they said "you're red!" (Darn Latinos and their non-blushing skin.) It was indeed a sweet and embarrassing moment. I really love teaching sometimes. At the end of class, a student told me to keep the marker he lent me, because I was a good teacher. I guess it's the updated equivalent to giving one's teacher an apple? I'll accept that.

Another highlight of late has been meeting people from the Communion and Liberation (CL) group here in Quito. Among those I've met are an American and a handful of Ecuadorians from various cities around the country. I won't be able to attend meetings until the next cycle of teaching, as my hours run too late, but I just spoke with our oh-so-accommodating director today, and am quite hopeful that I'll be able to participate in October.

I've spent time conversing with them and I adore the Spanish language all the more when it's used to communicate the deep truths and beauty I've come to know and love. Faith is reasonable! No bit of our daily life is banal or unimportant! What a joy it is to infuse the language I love with the truths I'm longing to express! It's such motivation to increase my vocabulary and allow myself to wield a foreign tongue with dexterity, to enjoy soul-sharing truth, beauty, and goodness. I'm glad to continue my liberating education--thanks, Hillsdale. The freedom to pursue the good is a wonderful thing.

I am reminded of El Libro de Buen Amor which I halfheartedly read my sophomore year of college (oh, to take that class over again! Between God and Man--medieval literature from Spain...at the time, I was overwhelmed by the saints.) From the introduction:

 "Y cuando el alma, con buen entendimiento y buena voluntad escoge y ama el buen amor, que es el de Dios, con buena "remembranza lo pone en la guarda de la memoria para recordarlo y obliga al cuerpo a hacer buenas obras por las cuales se salva el hombre. Sobre esto dice San Juan Apóstol en el Apocalipsis, hablando de los buenos que mueren obrando bien: Beati mortui qui in Domino moriuntur: opera enim illorum sequuntur illps (8)."

To paraphrase: "when the soul, with sound understanding and will chooses and loves the good love, which is of God, that profitable habit encourages and obliges the body to do good, thus contributing to our salvation. As St. John said in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation, verse 13: "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them."'

Everyday is an opportunity to discover truth, be challenged, eat delicious food, laugh with friends, learn new jokes, delight in the sunshine and perfect the virtues, thus enjoying life more completely.

A very rough paraphrase of a couplet near the end of the poem ("know" has the connotation to explore, discover, differentiate between):

Que probemos las cosas no siempre es lo peor;

el bien y el mal sabed y escoged lo mejor.

That we try many things isn't always the worst;
Know good and evil and choose the best.

So, I will start trying out other beaches, cuy, new clubs, exciting adventures of all sorts, Spanish Rosaries, motorcycles (maybe!), hot springs, more volcanoes and hiking, etcetera, etcetera...

On the brevity and beauty of life..and the beach

Shoot, I'm one day late! Therefore, this post will be hurriedly written--apologies for the scatter-brained manner in which I shall write.

I've been keeping up the routine of getting out of Quito on the weekends and this time it was a little trip to the beach with some friends! (the same people with whom I ran the 10K)

With Jillian, Luis, and Pablo--on our way to la Isla del Amor! (Thanks to Jillian, for the photo)
There are more on Facebook.

We had planned to go to Isla de la Plata--an island in the Pacific (the poor man's Galapagos)--but, of course, bus tickets were sold out. Therefore, we piled into a friend's car at midnight and drove the six hours on mountainous roads to the beach at Pedernales, which is the nearest beach. It was wonderfully refreshing to leave behind the bus exhaust and constant honking and whistles and lesson planning for a brief break. I loved strolling barefoot on the sand with nothing to hear but the salty wind and constant waves! We played Risk, napped on the beach, ate great seafood and bolónes (fried balls of mashed green plaintain with cheese, veggies and/or seafood inside) etc. Aside from the lack of sleep Friday night (the roads here make me so miserably sick to my stomach) it was a swell weekend!

Teaching is continuing to go well, and I hope I am improving. Because it is all new to me, I'm learning as I go--and all of my ideas for improvement are in retrospect. For the students' sake, I wish I were perfect...but, they seem happy enough. And as I literally just finished grading their exams today, I am pleased to say the class averages are not too shabby. Still, in the next cycle of teaching, I know I will be better prepared!

I am getting accustomed to my daily schedule and I so enjoy having time to organize my life, shop for food, cook said food, have friends over for movies, meals, and games, carve out time for reading, and especially, for daily Mass. The church I found last week, Iglesia de Santo Tomás Aquino, has Mass in the mornings at 7 and 8. I am so glad! Today I calculated the walk: it takes about 15 minutes to get there at a rapid pace and 10 or 12 to get back. It's a drastic uphill climb there, so I arrive fairly winded. It's worth every step, though. And every day I challenge myself physically at this altitude is a small victory--I cannot wait to run back at sea level! It's going to be the easiest thing ever.

I haven't been here for quite a month...and yet, I feel grounded and well-connected. Amidst the myriad blessings like that, I can't help but remember my utter transience. I mean in both the grand scheme of things, of course, and in my time in Ecuador. We're but a mist, and here in Quito, I'm like a molecule of a droplet of mist. I'm only spending one brief year of my life here! (As far as I know, of course. Everyone does say "but what if you fall in love?"...not planning on it, people. I am going to be 100% rational all of the time...ha. ha.)

If I get too caught up thinking about the brevity of life--I can be robotic and rational, surprise, surprise--I question the value of making friends, investing myself here, etc. Then, I realize I'm an imbecile...and I immediately invite people over to my house to feed them delicious food and continue cultivating our relationships. Each day is an opportunity to strive toward perfecting myself to God's glory and to the greater, purer enjoyment of this life. If the friends I make and the situations I face aid me in that--wonderful! And more than viewing them as mere opportunities to better myself, each person is a marvelous creation and adds a facet of the Creator's beauty to my life. I only hope I can pour out some love into their lives.

Maybe I will share a lot of myself with friends here. Maybe I will learn a great deal about their joys, sorrows, and aspirations. And maybe we will be in contact for only 1/80 of my life--but if we share just a bit of life's truth, beauty, and goodness, then that one-eightieth is of infinite value.


And now, off I go to talk with twelve souls about the good, the true, the beautiful, and English!


Also, I wish this made as much sense as I wanted it to. Alas, make of it what you will.

Teacher runs a 10K

As per usual, I have a few more details to report--most of which are fairly trivial and, I hope, entertaining.

This 10K was an absolutely spontaneous decision--I had several friends over on Saturday for a delicious Indian lunch, with spices provided by our token Indian, Debbie, followed by some bi-lingual games. Well, we ate and ate and drank and played hilarious word games...up until about an hour before the race. Then we discovered two of us had already been planning on participating, and of course, why didn't the other six join in as well? Sometimes, the all-for-one, one-for-all mentality is awesome. I don't think I had run in about three or four weeks time, and never at this altitude. I was up for something radically new! but was my body? That remained to be seen...

It was called la Carrera de las Iglesias (literally, Run of the Churches). Its path wound about through Quito and its historic center, passing by ten beautiful old churches. We ran on cobblestone, up sandy inclines and down winding passageways, on main roads, and my favorite scenes--the open plazas, strung with lights, allowing for a lovely glimpse of each church. It was a stunning sight to see the 12,000+ runners jogging through the city. Along the way, there were many people holding encouraging signs, even local musicians and percussion bands to cheer us onward.

Post-race photo: Jillian, me, Pablo, Luis, and Ruben. ¡Los campeones! 

I literally don't know how I made it. As each kilometer mark passed, I wondered how much longer I would continue. I had begun with the hopes of just running part of it then taking a cab home (I stuck a dollar coin in my shoe just in case). Little did I know my lungs were ready to make use of what little oxygen is in the air and get me from 0 to 10K. It was some quality time with new friends (I have been absolutely blessed with friendship here) and such a unique memory! And what a thrill to successfully complete it! After the race, we went to the historic center again--this time showered and ready to enjoy the evening--and had dinner in La Ronda. That part of Quito looks so much like Spain: I really love to reminisce while strolling on the curving cobblestone roads, seeing white-washed buildings, and planters over-flowing with red flowers hanging from the windows: it reminds me very much of Granada. (Unfortunately, later that night I felt tremendously ill, though I think it was pretty understandable following the run. I wondered if I had eaten something bad or was coming down with the flu, but lo and behold, I'm perfectly well now. My health has been another great blessing: not one big issue in this transition period, despite my culinary adventures!)


Tuesday, August 14th, was my first day as an English teacher. With five days down and many, many to go, I am feeling alright. Today captured quite an array of emotions: just this morning I told a friend I was ready to leave Ecuador (I was feeling incredibly unprepared). This evening, I was back to rejoicing I was here and I can honestly say I look forward to lesson planning and teaching English. There will be hard days, I will make mistakes, I will (and have already) embarrassed myself. I won't always know answers to questions. Teaching is going to be great for the ol' humility factor. I realize my greatest fear is that the students will be bored, yet I have at my fingertips so many sources of information. I need to put in the effort and prepare a fun and effective class! My plan is simple: be kind, engaging, and instructive.

I am so pleased to say the whole "being kind" goal is rather succeeding (maybe humility isn't?). Today, a girl told me "Teacher...you are sweet" and proceeded to compare me to other "rude," or "strict" teachers. I was blown away! Previously, I had found this particular student to be one of the few that was a bit intimidating: pretty sassy, only speaking up when she wanted, chit-chatting in Spanish, etc. I sometimes felt like she was laughing at me, but I just shrugged it off and kept a smile on my face. I tried to put myself in her place: frustrated with a new language, in a class with friends, etc. And so apparently, I'm doing okay. I'm extremely surprised. It's also a funny coincidence because I expected her and other students to consider me strict: when I hear Spanish spoken, I look at the culprit with a grin, but a fairly stern eye, just letting them know it's not acceptable. I've even sent one of the class clowns to sit in the corner for being a habitual offender! I have told them that it's for their benefit I don't allow Spanish--I guess they believe me. I do hope their grades reflect it, as well.

No Spanish allowed, and no calling me "Teacher." "It's the custom!" they always say. I remind them daily that it is not the custom in English to address one's teacher as such. If and when they do it, I say "student, student!" or muse aloud "Hmm, I wonder who so-and-so is talking to..." so they laugh and call me Juliann...or some variation of my name: it's a tricky one for Spanish-speakers. I've about cured them of calling me "teacher," I do believe.

My confidence certainly wavers, but over all, it's mostly a pleasant experience. I look forward to (oh look, a phrasal verb!) the day when it comes second-nature, and I can waltz into class ready to make them laugh and truly learn English well.

So, on the occupational side of things, I'm hoping to become more comfortable. Socially, I'm ridiculously happy about my new friendships. There exist chivalrous men, and kind women, and good, solid conversation--chévere! I've spent a good deal of time with a certain group of friends that include myself and my friend, Jillian. And boy, is it difficult to know who Ecuadorians are talking to: Juliann or Jillian. So, when we're all together, they've taken to calling me Celeste! (sounds like "cell-és-tay") I love it. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for giving me a middle name that means the color of my eyes in Spanish.

In other news, I am blending in a bit more here..though I'm as stubbornly blonde and blue-eyed as ever. How, you ask? Saldo. People tend not to use cell phone plans here, and instead purchase texting and phone minutes whenever they need it. More often than not, people are out of saldo. And, so am I, currently. For the second time. In two weeks. It's rather annoying, but it just becomes a joke. Whoever has saldo calls those who don't, you use your friend's phone to send a message, etc. Silly and lovably organized in latino fashion.

Out for a Colombian breakfast with Debbie and Jillian this morning!

My cup overfloweth. To further beautify my already splendid life, I found a more vibrant, and wonderfully traditional, parish within a 20-minute walk from home: St. Thomas Aquinas Church. The priest is from Spain (I confess, I miss the accent. And, here I've been told I have a Spanish accent! I'm torn between abandoning it and keeping it going..vamo' a ver.) I do hope to join the somewhat feeble choir at the church and perhaps boost its volume while forming new friendships.

Life is beautiful!

And, man, I really need to stretch.


Now, for just a touch of TEFL humor, I conclude with the following quotes:

(After listening to Coldplay's "Fix You") "Ignite your bones? What means that?" 

"How do you say "quieres casarte conmigo?" (Will you marry me?)

What are mistakes? "Mistakes are mistakes."

"Succeed...sexy!" Okay, but what does "succeed" mean? "Succeed is sexy." (They were overjoyed by how similar the words sounded.)

"I am deceptionated."

Go big or go home.

Day 1: Drink water from the tap.
Day 2: Eat food from a marketplace vendor.
Day 9: Camp by the side of a lake in the crater of a volcano. Wake up at 3 AM to hike about 11 kilometers at almost 14,000 ft.
Day 10: Eat a chicken's heart.

I'm tired. But happy and healthy.

My experiences here thus far have been phenomenal. I have met so many great people, experienced many things in the city--food, shopping, night life, long lines to deal with government papers and more--and most recently an amazing hike as well as an orientation meeting for my job, the reason I actually came here in the first place. I need to remind myself I'm not just here to bop around South America.

I really think I'll enjoy working at CEC (Centro de Educación Contínua). At my orientation meeting, I was happy to hit it off with a couple of the new professors. It's so nice to be abroad as a functioning human being, not just seeking diversion all the time. I say, bring on the work. I mean, I think so. Here's hoping I can make the transition from being the student in a desk to the teacher in front of the class in so brief a time as three months. 

Quilotoa

The hike. What a hike. I left Friday afternoon with Luke and Luis, took an hour trolley ride, followed by two 1.5 hour bus rides. The second bus ride was particularly unique, as Luke and I were the only gringos, and many of the bus's occupants seemed as if to come from a different age: in their manner of clothing as well as cleanliness. The indigenous people are fascinating here. And it's incredible to be able to finally hear Quecha spoken, since I first heard of it almost a decade ago in the book Beyond the Gates of Splendor, which my Dad read to Valerie and me. There was even a bird in a man's lap, just as anxious to get off the bus as we were. I wonder if it was his pet or his dinner.

At Quilotoa, we met up with several other people and began the trek down the crater to the lakeside to camp for the evening. It took over an hour to hike down the steep, sandy path--the whole way down, I was thinking about how challenging it would be to get back up. You could actually hire mules to go down and up the crater for eight dollars, and the local people would lead them. We didn't make use of that, though I did try other methods for going down the path, like trotting the way the locals do. Men and women (in absurdly non-hiking shoes) literally trotted down the sandy path with reins in hand, leading the mules burdened with Ecuadorians, gringos, and other foreigners. It was fascinating! It's a lot less effort to just jog down, since your muscles don't have to work to slow your momentum. This came in handy on the path as well as when we went around the lake in the wee hours of the morning.

That night, our group eventually totaled nine people--seven guys, and another girl from the US and me. In all we were three gringos, one Venezuelan, and five Ecuadorians. We spent the evening building a campfire, gathering all sorts of sticks and wood (borrowing some from a fence nearby...) and eventually just chatting, roasting hot dogs for dinner, and watching the stars come out. It was amazing to see a new night sky--to think of all the stars in view that I had never, ever seen before! Because we had created such a toasty fire, some others who were camping stopped by to get some of our fire to light their own, and two other men stopped by to enjoy the warmth. I do so enjoy the easy social interactions among this culture. It was not at all odd when we ended up chatting with the newcomers for over an hour. They loved to travel and were definitely aware of the world outside of Quito. That's not always common here.

In our hunt for wood, we stopped by the meagre hostal to inquire about their wood supply. It was no better than what we had found, so we thanked the man for showing us what was available and said we'd find our own. Though we had already gathered some, he informed us that it was impossible to find. We again assured him we had already met with success, and he again told us there was none to be found...the stubborn determinedness (is that a word?) bordering on dishonesty isn't uncommon here. It's a cultural idiosyncrasy which one just has to put up with.

There is a worldview I have met with often in my travels: that traveling is one of the very few ways to learn about oneself, others, and the wide world surrounding us. I certainly disagree though I have done my fair share of traveling. In Spain, some of my professors and fellow students maintained there was no other way to broaden one's horizon. The men who stopped by the fire at Quilotoa, who had both gained much in their various travel experiences, said the same. What about books? What about conversing with a family member or close friend and fostering good, challenging relationships? You may be just as close-minded after traveling as before, even if you do have a few more stamps on your passport.

Hemingway, no stranger to travel said, through a character in The Sun Also Rises "Listen...going to another country doesn't make any difference. I've tried all that. You can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another. There's nothing to that."

And of course, in Ecclesiastes, a book which rather out-dates Hemingway, we find that there is 'nothing new under the sun.'

I love to befriend fellow travelers and foreigners living abroad, but I don't look down on the people who are happy to stay at home, while traveling miles and miles through a book or adventuring with good, solid thoughts and open conversation.


After a full evening, it was time to turn in. We concocted the crazy plan of waking a little after three in the morning to begin our hike, so as to see the sun rise from a certain high point on the eastern rim. Jillian and I got our own tent, set out our sleeping bags and tried to sleep. Within five minutes there was snoring from the guys' tent...and several hours later, after I hadn't slept at all, I couldn't lie still anymore and decide to watch the stars. It was two-thirty in the morning when I hopped outside of the tent, plopped down on the ground in my sleeping bag, and counted shooting stars--over ten in about twenty minutes! What a beautiful sky! Jillian couldn't sleep either and joined me: and so we sat in the moonlit night, counting stars and whispering and laughing, just waiting until we would pack up the campsite and begin the day's trek.

It was as grueling as a sandy, uphill path would be at 14,000 feet at four in the morning. We made it up though, and began the walk around the crater's rim. It was an absolutely fantastic hike, and without a doubt the most challenging of my life. Of all my muscles, my heart was probably the most strained. Nine days is not enough to adjust the altitude of Quito, let alone the altitude up in the volcano. Nevertheless, I made it without much altitude sickness...though halfway through I did have a headache. On two apples and water I made the journey (the other food we had was all chock-full of gluten). I must admit I'm rather proud of myself and I can't wait to hike again.

We got done around ten AM. I was the last to arrive, thought I started out near the front of the pack: first of all, because it was exhausting, but I also waited in the back so I could enjoy some of the walk alone. It was breathtakingly beautiful and I only wish I had a camera to capture some of it, but now you'll just have to come visit me so you can experience it for yourself.

Before leaving, I needed some more nourishment and ordered a soup from a "restaurant." (The soup was a dollar and the much-needed coffee, seventy-five cents. The restaurants and hostals at Quilotoa are the upstairs of people's homes. Going downstairs to the bathroom led you right into their own hallway of bedrooms. It was an odd sensation, as if we were invading their home...which was precisely what we were doing. But, we got food and a warm fire anyway.) My soup was tasty, with a chicken leg, rice, carrot, and yucca, but when I fished around with the spoon, I came upon an unusual little piece of meat. Two new Ecuadorian friends assured me that yes indeed, it was a heart. Well, with a bit of their encouragement, I ate it. It tasted like chicken, surprise, surprise...but it was really, really dense. It was like anatomy class in high school...except lunch. Next up in my culinary adventures? Cuy.

Yes, that's guinea pig. Stay tuned.


In other news, I had my first teacher's meeting today and tomorrow, my first day of classes! Time to prepare a bit...I will teach a couple sections of Advanced 2 English and co-teach a Conversation Club class. When I myself understand what that entails, I'll let you all know.