Phrase of the day:
Mandae? Tienes 25anos y estas soltero; estas muy viejo! ... Say that again? You're 25 and single; you're so old!
I've begun meeting with my groups from the highschool in the afternoons. The kids are ridiculous. They are very different from the Sierra(Highlands... aka Cayambe), not shy whatsoever and much more forward. It's only been 3 days, but so far it's going well. They ask me lots of questions, but they get some work done too. They all graduate in December, so that's our deadline for most of the projects.
A picture of my counterpart, Javicito(Javier), finally. Yeah, everyone calls him that because he's on the smaller side... and by everyone, I mean his students too. I actually respect him more because of that... everyone here goes by his/her title because of his/her job or area of study for undergrad: Engineer, Economist, Professor, etc. But he doesn't believe in that system, so his students have to call him by his first name:
When Dengue season comes, I'll surely be getting it. I learned this week that the mosquitos here can somehow bite me through some of my pants. Silly! (The Dengue will happen though with or without the pants; I'll definitely be using tons of repelent either way).Speaking of seasons, if possible, I wouldn't come to the coast any time from December to May :)
Mario and his water buisness. On an average day he sells about 40 bottles. I sometimes ride with him in the afternoon/evening to help him out/pass the time. (He is also trying to export coffee and chifles(banana chips) to the States with another man from town... pictures to come eventually, for sure. I'll definitely be bringing samples when I come home too):
One of Mario's aunts has tons of archeological pieces in her home. I'm hoping to explore the area soon with my tourism group to see if there could be any activities for tourists:
Lately, most nights here haven't been dreafully hot, so I've been walking around town to pass the time after dinner. (Yes, I usually get a batido at some point during my walk... I've now tried Mango, Peach, Blackberry, Berry, and everyones favorite, Oreo). They also have one called Tamarind? I'm just hoping that that's not the brown Indian sauce that you eat with samosas! Finally a picture of the better batido stand!... yeah, there are really only two. It's not better because it has a real sign rather than a white board with flavors, it's better because it uses real oreos, not fake-me-out ecuaoreos):
And this is the main square at night. It's pretty nice. Unfortunately, only the square itself is developed; the roads around it are once again just dirt. Supposedly the "state" government constructed identical squares in many of its cities to show that they are working to better the state. It's nice looking and all, but the people here don't feel that it represents them... I still enjoy it tons! (It has little patches of grass!... that's a luxury here!)
Happy Friday and Eid Mubarak!
Wow, a lot of interesting information in this post bro! I have some comments...
ReplyDelete-for your super mosquitoes: you can spray repellent on your pants instead of your bare legs (which might be nice so you're not taking in as much chemicals directly).
-for the picture of Senor Javicito: what does his shirt say, "fear the gl..."?
-for mario's aunt's artifacts: another idea instead of archaeological tourism could be a new subject offered by the Uncle Javicito's school - hands on learning about archaeology, excavation, and history of their own land...I would try to connect with Uncle Bill's wife since she does this kind of stuff and probably knows the right people to talk to. I fear the tourism would ruin the artifacts.
-for times to visit: when were you thinking of visiting home? will you stay there this christmas?
In closing, (and in the words of Indy)
"It belongs in a museum!"
Haha, just kidding. Do what you think is best for the town and the ecuaoreo.
-Good idea about the repellent!... now i can go out. i was just planning on never leaving my mosquito-free bed
ReplyDelete-I'll have to actually read his shirt when I see it next. The "cool"/trendy clothing here is totally like it was back in high school... American Eagle, Abercrombie, ... I'm not sure if they're real or knock-offs? The wealthier kids all wear them though. (Yeah, I have no idea why it's popular here either!) Maybe I can pay rent by giving them my old t-shirts?
-The idea about the archeology class is great! I mean, all you had to say was "Indy" and it was game-on!
-Good question about when to come... when is best for everyone? I'm not trying to come when you all are super busy at work, or off on some crazy adventure in Croatia, you know? Any more of those planned, haha? I won't be able to come back this Christmas, sadly. Don't go and break any traditions though. You know how serious I am about those. That goes for Thanksgiving and Easter too! (No worries, I'll be helping with the directions slightly). I definitely feel better that Cesar is usually around to help too. (Make sure mom isn't lame about any of it just because I won't be there this time). I'm planning on living vicariously through your pictures. Speaking of pictures, you better be using my sweet camera!
In conclusion, I'm aiming for some time in the Spring... and then whenever for Omelette's wedding.
Omelette's wedding is probably mid-September.
ReplyDelete