Hi everyone!
Sorry I haven’t been able to update my blog very frequently. I have been so busy! Here are a few pictures for you! I hope all of you were able to see the pictures in the facebook album. Let me know if it didn’t work. I tried to post pictures with this post, but I am in an internet cafe and I can´t figure out how to use Publisher in spanish.
Last weekend I traveled with my group to San Miguel de los Bancos, a small town about 2.5 hours north of Quito. The trip was organized by CIMAS to help us get to know each other. We stayed at a beautiful resort in the Andes Mountains called El Encanto. We were right in the middle of the rainforest!
When we arrived, we ate breakfast and then started out on our hike through the rainforest. Along the way, our guide stopped to tell us interesting facts about the rainforest and show us unique plants and trees. There is a river at the bottom of the mountain and we went swimming in a waterfall that led to it. It was beautiful, and a lot of fun, too!
On Saturday we came back to Quito and that night I went to a discoteca with my sister Ale and her friends. They were all very nice and we had a great time! We were out late, though; I didn’t get home until 5:30 in the morning!
Tomorrow I am going on a day tour of Quito with my group. I am looking forward to seeing more of the city. In the afternoon I am going to a reggaetone concert with Ale and her friends. The concert is about 3 hours away and we’re staying the night there and coming back on Saturday. I’m very excited!
Let me fill you in about my days here. I have class at CIMAS from 9am-4pm Monday-Thursday. These are very long days, especially when our professors arrive late to lecture, because that sets back our entire day. Unfortunately arriving late is the Ecuadorian way of doing things, and it is a little difficult to adjust to. In my classes I am learning about the history of Ecuador, and how it has affected the economic and political situation that exists today. Right now, Ecuador is in the process of “revolutionizing” they way things work here, to strengthen the economy and its political practices.
Rafael Correa has been their president since January of 2007, and after two years of trying to change things, he still has a very high approval rating. Becoming a self-sustaining nation is a priority for Correa, so he has implemented very high taxes on all imported items. This is sometimes difficult to deal with because in a lot of cases, there is no Ecuadorian-made alternative. It is only part of a process that will undoubtedly take quite some time to run its course, but Correa has good intentions and is committed to achieving his goal of making Ecuador a strong, independent nation.
I miss you all!
-Lindsey
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Photos
Hello everyone!
I had a very exciting weekend that I can't wait to share with you all! For now, I have a link to some pictures that I have taken so far. They include my family and a rainforest!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023155&l=76f54&id=1178730191
Chao,
Lindsey
I had a very exciting weekend that I can't wait to share with you all! For now, I have a link to some pictures that I have taken so far. They include my family and a rainforest!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023155&l=76f54&id=1178730191
Chao,
Lindsey
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Que linda es la cuidad (How beautiful is the city)
Greetings from Ecuador! I arrived here on Monday night alter a long day of sitting in the Atlanta airport before boarding my flight to Quito. On the plane I was fortunate enough to have all three seats in the row to myself! I was able to stretch out and take a nap, which made my long day much more tolerable. That night I met up with my group in Quito and we all spent the night in a hostel.
On Tuesday, we were bussed to CIMAS, our school, to begin our orientation. We were introduced to all of the staff, and every single staff member emphasized to us that we are now a family and we shouldn’t hesitate to ask if we need anything. It was very comforting. That afternoon, we met and moved in with our host families. As I told you before, I am living with my mami, Bertha, my 19 year old sister Alejandra, or Ale as we call her. The other daughter that I mentioned in my previous post doesn’t live at home, and I haven’t met her yet. So far I love living with mami and Ale. They are very welcoming and concerned for my well-being.
We live in a 12th floor (which is the top) apartment in a building that is located in the middle of the northern part of Quito. I like to think of the apartment as a penthouse because it is so big! I have my own room and a huge closet! I would be lying if I told you I was roughing it here.
Ecuador is wonderful. Every single person here is very nice. I like Quito because it is a big city (6 million people live here), but it is also clean and friendly. I am a little scared of the traffic, because Ecuadorians are by FAR the craziest drivers that I have ever seen. Also, there is a good possibility of being robbed here, so I have to be careful about that. There is a huge amount of poverty in Ecuador, and so a lot of people turn to thievery to earn their living. For the most part, though, I feel safe here.
There are many cultural differences between the US and Ecuador that I have noticed so far. I think the biggest difference, and I don’t know if this would be considered a “cultural” difference, takes place in the bathroom. In Ecuador, they put their used toilet paper in the garbage can rather than into the toilet. This is because their septic system does not have the resistance to accommodate the toilet paper. I feel very strange doing it, but there is a good reason for it. A cultural difference that I like very much is the practice of greeting each other with a kiss on the cheek. It is a great way to welcome people!
Before leaving, one of the things I was most excited about in Ecuador was the climate. Here it is a balmy 66 degrees and sunny every morning. In the afternoons it tends to cloud over and it rains frequently. The sun definitely shines brighter here! Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I am 9000ft. closer to the sun. I was also a little worried about my Spanish-speaking skills. I have found out (pleasantly) that I am able to understand most of what I hear, but I have a little bit of trouble communicating my thoughts to others. However, as I write this I have been here for three full day sand I can already notice my skills improving dramatically. I think that within a week or two I will be feeling much more confident in my abilities.
Well, this post is clearly long enough, so I will cut myself off here. I hope you are all doing well back in the states. I would love to hear from you, so please let me know what is going on in your lives!
--Lindsey
PS-I was going to post some pictures with this blog, but right now I am in an internet cafe and the computer I am using won´t let me plug in my camera cord. I will try to do a picture post soon!
On Tuesday, we were bussed to CIMAS, our school, to begin our orientation. We were introduced to all of the staff, and every single staff member emphasized to us that we are now a family and we shouldn’t hesitate to ask if we need anything. It was very comforting. That afternoon, we met and moved in with our host families. As I told you before, I am living with my mami, Bertha, my 19 year old sister Alejandra, or Ale as we call her. The other daughter that I mentioned in my previous post doesn’t live at home, and I haven’t met her yet. So far I love living with mami and Ale. They are very welcoming and concerned for my well-being.
We live in a 12th floor (which is the top) apartment in a building that is located in the middle of the northern part of Quito. I like to think of the apartment as a penthouse because it is so big! I have my own room and a huge closet! I would be lying if I told you I was roughing it here.
Ecuador is wonderful. Every single person here is very nice. I like Quito because it is a big city (6 million people live here), but it is also clean and friendly. I am a little scared of the traffic, because Ecuadorians are by FAR the craziest drivers that I have ever seen. Also, there is a good possibility of being robbed here, so I have to be careful about that. There is a huge amount of poverty in Ecuador, and so a lot of people turn to thievery to earn their living. For the most part, though, I feel safe here.
There are many cultural differences between the US and Ecuador that I have noticed so far. I think the biggest difference, and I don’t know if this would be considered a “cultural” difference, takes place in the bathroom. In Ecuador, they put their used toilet paper in the garbage can rather than into the toilet. This is because their septic system does not have the resistance to accommodate the toilet paper. I feel very strange doing it, but there is a good reason for it. A cultural difference that I like very much is the practice of greeting each other with a kiss on the cheek. It is a great way to welcome people!
Before leaving, one of the things I was most excited about in Ecuador was the climate. Here it is a balmy 66 degrees and sunny every morning. In the afternoons it tends to cloud over and it rains frequently. The sun definitely shines brighter here! Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I am 9000ft. closer to the sun. I was also a little worried about my Spanish-speaking skills. I have found out (pleasantly) that I am able to understand most of what I hear, but I have a little bit of trouble communicating my thoughts to others. However, as I write this I have been here for three full day sand I can already notice my skills improving dramatically. I think that within a week or two I will be feeling much more confident in my abilities.
Well, this post is clearly long enough, so I will cut myself off here. I hope you are all doing well back in the states. I would love to hear from you, so please let me know what is going on in your lives!
--Lindsey
PS-I was going to post some pictures with this blog, but right now I am in an internet cafe and the computer I am using won´t let me plug in my camera cord. I will try to do a picture post soon!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Three Days!
For those of you that don't know much about my trip yet, I will take this opportunity to fill you in. I will be studying abroad in Ecuador for the entire spring semester. The program I have chosen is called the Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID), and it was started by U of M faculty. This program is based in Quito, Ecuador. I chose this program because of its "learn by experience" philosophy and because of the internship component it offers. For the first half of the semester I will be taking Spanish and Latin-American culture classes at Fundación Cimas del Ecuador, which is a school that MSID has set up for us. During the second half of the semester, I will most likely move to a different part of Ecuador to participate in an internship in public health. I won’t know specifics about my internship until I get to Ecuador, so I will keep you updated on that. I am very excited to see how health care is organized in a developing country, and I hope that my experience there will help to prepare me for my own career in medicine.
My departure is rapidly approaching, and I only started packing last night. Monday is the big day! I will be leaving from Cedar Rapids on a 5:35am flight to Atlanta, and then after an 8.5 hour layover, I will be on my way to Quito. Right now I am feeling pretty excited, and a little nervous about Ecuador. I must admit, though, that I have no problem leaving behind this frigid weather. Yesterday when the temperature was -52 degrees Fahrenheit, I don't think Ecuador had ever looked better! I should mention that the weather in Quito, where I'll be for the first half of the semester, will be a consistent 65 degrees and rainy. I would love some sunshine down there, but I will take what I can get!
In other news, last Wednesday I received some information about my first host family! I will be living with a family consisting of a mother and two daughters. The mother's name is Bertha, and her daughters are Alejandra (19) and Rosibal (23). I am looking forward to living with girls that are my age. Hopefully they will be able to introduce me to some other people my age and I can see what young adults in Ecuador do in their free time.
I have Skype up and running on my computer now, so if you haven't added me yet, jump on it! My username is lindsey.meyer1110. My email is lindsey.e.meyer@gmail.com. Please feel free to email me at any time!
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