Brief Intermission

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Woo hoo!

(Late) Pic of us on the Chiva

I'm back in the States right now. I got here on the morning of 18 December and my flight back to Ecuador is on 03 January. Christmas was good, snow is good, malls are bad. Malls have always made me anxious and twitchy, but during Christmastime and after five months in South America, it's just too much.

Christmas Tree at the Beaver Dam

Best parts about being in Michigan include: snow, seeing friends and family.

Worst parts about being in Michigan include: being frozen at all times, lack of Wolf Pack, not having any money.

Also, I've experienced a lot of weird cultural-mindfuck things since being back. First, I feel weird having to throw toilet paper in the toilet. Totally alien. Also, really really tall people. And United Statesians are boisterous, pushy and impersonal. Yikes.

Our program director at Michigan State University fucked us over big time about living in the apartment. We had gone over the plan 10,000 times: we would move in to our place and then receive the money we would have paid our host families to pay rent and stuff. Long after this was decided and we moved in and started our new lives, our director sent an e-mail to the three of us saying that there was no way he could pay us the host-family-money because it was 100% against State's study abroad policy. He said that he could credit our accounts with the money, but how the hell am I going to buy groceries and pay for the bus to school with a MSU tuition credit? I've always been majorly disappointed with the Stateside regulation and communication of the Ecuador program, but this takes the cake.

Anyway.

I feel like this two(ish) week break is just a pause from my real life. I long for the Ecua bio-dome. As much as it's been wonderful to see everyone here, I'm ready to go back, just like how it would be if I had come back from State for vacation. But kind of more, because it's Ecuador.

Two pics from the Huasipichai (housewarming party) at the Beaver Dam

New Years resolutions include speaking more Spanish, making more friends (especially people in my classes), and being more responsible with money.

Next semester I'm taking El Boom Latinoamericano (a lit class about the Latin American literature boom), Política Ecuatoriana (Ecuadorian politics), Temas de America Latina (another politics class), Conversación Avanzada (advanced Spanish conversation), and Dibujo Básico (basic drawing!!). How exciting!! Three classes count for my Spanish major and one for James Madison. Drawing doesn't count for anything but it's gonna be awesome anyway.

That's all I have to report.

It has recently come to my attention that people actually read this thing... so I guess I'd better commit to updating more often. Haha.

Gina.

Craziest week of my entire life.

Quick update time. I have too much to say and not enough time to say it, so any questions should be directed to yours truly WHEN I GET HOME ON FRIDAY!!!!

Chiva
Moved in to our new apartment
Last week I had a grand total of $15, and today I have $0,50.
Pancakes, videogames
Huasipichai
Impromptu party until 10AM... yesterday morning
School is done!!!
My flight leaves at midnight on Friday, then Estados Unidos for two weeks!! <3

That's it. Love.

Family Affair

Reading other people's blogs and comparing them to mine is giving me an inferiority complex. Maybe I should start writing about things that matter instead of whatever my fingers want to type. I could. But I probably won't.

Generally, the things going on in my head are good. Generally. The semester is nearly over which is terribly sad, and thinking about my new friends--my new family, really--leaving is something I'm just putting off until they actually do. And then it will be Sob Fest 2009, at least on my part. I'm so grateful for the people I've met here. I am perpetually in awe that any of them even want to hang out with me at all. What do I have to offer these incredible human beings? Why in the world would they pick me, voluntarily, to spend time with? I told someone this in a moment of ill-timed sentimentality and he made fun of me, which was upsetting.

We move into our apartment on Monday. I wish you all could see it. We were trying to name it and were debating between The Fox Den, The Hutch, and The Beaver Dam. We decided on The Beaver Dam.

I'm sad to leave my host family so early; I wish our landlady would have let us wait till we got back from Christmas break. When I told Rita that I was moving out early, I definitely got a little teared-up. I don't know if she noticed--in my mind, she totally didn't and I was totally cool about it--but it happened. She told me that I'd always have a family with them and if I ever needed anything, to come by.

How can I be friends with José and Daniel in real life? I swear to you, they're both far too cool to hang out with me. I mean, shit, José is gorgeous and climbs mountains all day, and Daniel is an artist and is hilarious and so cute. What do I, as a lame gringa, have to offer the two coolest people on the damn continent? I'm going to just have to pull an "Umm-can-we-just-please-be-friends-forever-please?" thing. I don't even know them that well, and yet I feel a huge surge of love for both of them whenever I see them. I want them to know that, but how do I confront two near-strangers about my affection for them, and in a foreign language no less!?: "José and Daniel, I have the lovings for you. Kissing, not in that manner, but more in the ways of brothers. Desire I do to stay friends for always. I loves you." Ugh, dorksville.

My main problem with my family this whole time is that I think I like them more than they like me. Usually I say it in jest, but it's always been true. Rita told me something like they have been hosting students for 17 years. I feel like I--as an exchange student--am just old news to them, whereas I adore them and am fascinated by everything they do and say. I don't want to be someone they just forget, like when Rosita tells me stories at lunch about such-and-such a gringa who did something funny but she was only here for a little while and we forgot her name. I don't want to be forgotten! It makes me horribly sad to even write that.

I'm really looking forward to visiting the States for a couple weeks. As excited as I am, I'm a little nervous too. Going back to Royal Oak after being at Michigan State is fun for like a minute and then I suffocate. Going back to Royal Oak, Michigan, United States of America after living on Calle Rusia, Sector Carolina, Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador is going to be trip. I hope I make it. Any anxiety I have about going home is totally eclipsed by my excitement to see my family, friends, and kittens.

Songs I've been listening to lately are:

"Love of an Orchestra" by Noah and the Whale (thanks ARW)

"Stars of Leo" by M. Ward

"Brothersport" by Animal Collective

"Dark Center of the Universe" by Modest Mouse

"Rock Lobster" by the B-52s

Mostly very happy things.

I have some tiny solemn caterpillars that mosey through my brain every once in a while--about boys and self-esteem, mostly, though I suppose the two subjects are inseparable--though not so much recently because all the schoolwork that I've been doing lately acts as welcome distraction from my solitary pity-party.

But everything will work out. It always does and it always will. That's one of the most valuable lessons I've learned so far. Everything will be okay, so just relax. It always works out.

I have a final presentation due in 9 hours, so I should probably get to sleepyland.

Goodnight,

Gina.

Thanksgiving, etc.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! What a silly couple of days I've had. Before getting into Thanksgiving, lemme just say that Annie, Bess, and I move into our apartment one week from today! Hooray!! Also, next weekend is the Fiestas de Quito, a celebration of the city. The celebration has already started, really, but the official holiday is next weekend. We're going to get a chiva, a party bus, to celebrate.

Wednesday night, the Ecuadorian fútbol team, Liga, won their championship 5-1 in a super epic game that I actually watched and enjoyed. Later, Annie, Keon, Scotty, and I met up with "the Funkers," our Ecuadorian friends who are in a funk band. We went to a bar called Lennon, then we all kind of split up. The United Statesians ended up at Psycho (of course!) where we befriended some dude named Lenin (seriously!). We talked a lot about music, books, and politics. It was excellent.

The next day was Thanksgiving, or for all you hispanohablantes, El Día de Acción de Gracias. Annie came over early and she cooked a salad and I made vegetarian stuffing. I had never made stuffing before, but it turned out awesomely, even at the high altitude. Our empleada, Rosita watched/helped and was fascinated by the whole process (and all the butter we used).

Stuffing success! Two cups of butter!

Annie and I got fancy, then Keon came over and we took a taxi to Martin's apartment. Bess was already there, and we continued the cooking. In addition to stuffing and salad, we had green beans, sweet corn, rolls, mashed potatoes, apple pie, apple crisp, ants on a log, and a lot of Pilsener. And no turkey! In fact, it was a completely vegetarian Thanksgiving. Alright!

Roommates! The Beaver Dam!

One of the coolest parts was that Martin's Ecuadorian roommate and her boyfriend were there, plus, in addition to Martin, there were two more Germans who had dinner with us, Jan and Ezia. It was something completely different for everybody: Thanksgiving not in the States, and a new holiday altogether for the Ecuadorians and Germans.

Scooter feeding pie to Martin, who is obviously enjoying it a lot.

After dinner and drinks, we all packed up and went home. Just kidding! Jan, Ezia, Scooter, Keon, Annie, and I went to a drum&bass/dubstep show at a bar in La Mariscal! Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!!

Friday night, Leslie, Dave, Cameron, Scooter, and I went to the Centro Histórico to see the beginnings of the Fiestas de Quito. We drank a lot of canelazo and took a lot of pictures. Then we went to La Mariscal and ran into our Ecuadorian friend Jonathan who took us to a club called Next Level where he works, I guess, and got us in for free. We danced, played pool, got drinks in fishbowls... it was a good time.

Last night, Annie and I planned to go to a big band show that was put on by the music department at la Uni, but on the way there we got a phone call from my long-lost friend, Edgar, who I hadn't seen since we met at the internet café. He said there was some club on Shyris that was free to get into, and we could hang out, etc. Annie and I get there before he does, and the bouncers won't let us in without ID. The thing you have to understand is, in Ecuador, no one cards. Everyone drinks. Everyone goes to clubs and bars. No one cards. And what's more, the age to get into said club was twenty-one, which doesn't make ANY sense because the legal drinking age is eighteen. The dude asks us for cédulas, and we tell him we don't have them because we're foreigners. We do have our censos, but neither of us are twenty-one, so we play the extranjero card. The dude talks on the phone to Edgar (who I have to call for help) and lets us in. Ha!

We get in, they give us two plastic cups, and we go to the bar. And the bartender dude just gives us drinks. No paying. No nothing. He just pours some margaritas into our glasses and walks away. Awesome. We sit down and wait for Edgar. The club is huge! A giant room with a dancefloor and two bar areas and tables and lights and it's like, legit! Like a real club for real people. Crazy.

Edgar eventually gets there, and he's with three friends, Alex, Alejandra, and some girl whose name I never learned. We drink, we talk, we dance. Annie dances with some GIANTMAN, and I bounce between Edgar and some Cuban dude in a shiny Armani shirt. Hahaha. We dance to some normal clubby music, and then a mariachi band comes in! Or something? I don't know. And someone wins some kind of prize? And from then on, it was straight salsa music the whole night. Edgar tried to teach me how to dance--bless his heart, he was so patient--and I was awful, like really awful, but it was fun anyway. The friend whose name I don't know was a dance champion. She was from Esmeraldas, which I guess automatically makes you an amazing dancer.

So that's the story of how we went out four days in a row. I have a hundred million thousand gajillion projects and papers and tests, PLUS we're moving soon, so I suppose I should start doing some work.

Chao!

Gina.

Brasilian metal, Argentinian rap, Mexican ska

Success!!

Today Bess, Annie, and I found a wonderful apartment (although, maybe it's actually a condo, I don't know) that has everything we were looking for. It's mad cheap, close to Estación Río Coca (like a five-minute walk), three (well, threeish) bedrooms, totally furnished, three bathrooms, and in a safe neighborhood. The moment I walked in, I loved it. Plus, it has a bodega, a barbecue, a "service room" (which is where the empleada would live), a front yard, a back patio, and... it's wonderful. It's two stories which is impressive. All the rooms are upstairs (except for the service bedroom, which is next to the bodega, separate from the house), and everything else is downstairs.

I love it.

Last night, Cameron, Brent, Annie, Keon, Xavier, Scott, Bess, and I went bowling. It was ridiculous. Brent, Bess, and I played the first game of bowling while the others played ping pong, and none of us could remember how to keep score. We ended up deciding that a spare would get you +10 and a strike would get you +50. Any points scored in the "beer frame" counted triple. For the last frame, if you knocked down an even number of pins, you got +100, and an odd number got you -100. If you got a strike on the last frame, you got +1000. So Bess and I each ended up with like, 180-something, and Brent, due to his excellent last frame, ended up with over 1000 points. Awesome.

I'm really excited for apartment, I'm really excited to visit the USA and buy things that I desperately need, I'm really excited for everything.

Love,
Gina.

Medium

So. We only have a month left in the semester and that scares the shit out of me. I'm going back to the USA to visit in nearly exactly a month, then returning here, then five more months. Sheeze. For those of you who aren't aware, Bess, Annie, and I are apartment-hunting for next semester. I absolutely adore my family, but it'd be awesome and fun and kind of scary to live in an apartment alone (not alone, but you get it) in South America.

Although I'm not even halfway done, I feel that it's important to note how much I've changed since I've been here. And I'm not just talking being really (really, really) tan. I'm not totally exactly sure of the magnitude or in what capacity I've changed, but I know it's there. I'm more independent. I'm more optimistic. I'm more driven to get what I want. I'm infinitely more confident. I'm more cautious but also more trusting. I'm better at solving problems.

I think--I think--I'm a better person.

The thought of the majority of my friends leaving in December makes me so sad I can't even really think about it (holla-shout-out to SM CW KD BL DP LW etc.) and I know I'm going to cry like a baby-baby when they go. But I'm super excited to meet the new MSU kids, and Annie, Bess, and I are going to be the cool-girls-with-an-apartment/moms/people-who-know-where-everything-is/expert-Spanish speakers.

I have humongous final projects in all of my classes. Ughhh.
Also, Rosita hasn't done my laundry in like a week. One of my pairs of jeans is (presumably) in the washer or something, one pair is newly-ripped (that's what you get for gossiping), and one pair doesn't fit anymore. And I wore my last clean shirt today. I wonder what I'm going to wear tomorrow...

That's all I really have to say.

Love,
Gina.

Oh hey fwiend.

Oh, hey everyone out there in blag-o-land. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I got my new computer a couple weeks ago or something, and I had to read ALL the Vice Magazine DOs and DON'Ts and all the new XKCD comics and be obsessed with Facebook for a while and tweet excessively.

What has happened?

Bess, Annie, Scarlett, and I went to Mindo for the weekend a couple weeks ago. We stayed in a really cute hostel (La Casa de Cecilia) and went ziplining, waterfall-ing, and tubing. We ended up tubing with this couple from England who had just quit their jobs, sold their house, and was traveling around the world for a year. I think about them often, and I hope they're having a really fun time.

Pre-zipline with my favorites

And then we had a long weekend during Halloween because of Día de los Difuntos, which is basically the Day of the Dead. There's not Halloween here (President Correa outlwed it...) so Annie and I went to Canoa (another beach!!) with Eli. Leslie, Cameron, Dave, Brent, and Cameron's host brother Xavier were there too, and we spent a lot of time with them. The first day was sunny and beautiful, and the next days were cloudy. On the last day there were tons of clouds, but I got super tan anyway. I have never been so tan in my life, it's like I changed races. When I came home, Rita called me "Negrita." Hahaha.

We had our evenings timed out so we hit three consecutive happy hours beginning at 5PM and ending at like 9PM. We hung out with surfers, went to bonfires, played board games and Egyptian Rat Screw (hello, sophomore year at Dondero!), at pizza with bananas on it, drank caña straight (not something I would recommend), and had a generally good time.

Annie, Brent, Xavier, me, and Cameron sitting in a hole at Canoa
[cred: Leslie]

What else? Oh, I'm sick. I HATE BEING SICK. SO MUCH. Annie and I intended to go to a museum of medicine yesterday but we couldn't even find the street it was on. We ended up finding a book sale and she bought Harry Potter III and I bought Twlight. BEFORE YOU JUDGE I wanted to get Twilight because 1) it will be easy to read in Spanish, and 2) I feel like I'm missing out on a whole part of Culture of the Two-Thousandses by not having read it. So although it's angsty and not that great, I'm reading it anyway.

That's it. I'm gonna keep reading my book and Rita is making me tea.

Chao,
Gina.