I am in love, alright, with my crazy, beautiful life.

I am a terrible blogger. My apologies for not updating you all on my adventures for nearly

two weeks! But I can explain…I promise. The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of fun/school/more fun. Two weekends ago(July 10^th-ish), Amanda, Ariel, and I went to a town called Baños for the weekend. Baños is about 3 hours south of Quito by bus and is famous for its thermal baths (baños, if you will) and extensive canopies, waterfalls, and mountains. We headed out on Friday morning on the bus and let me tell you, the busses here are sure a treat. There are not really any interstates here, so the bus spends a majority of time winding around two-lane highways and through small towns. Baños is only 180 km from Quito(about 100 miles), yet it takes 3 hours to travel there. Also, the bus drivers apparently enjoy scaring the shit out of passengers. Every speed bump and corner was taken with more speed than normal, causing us to fear for our survival. After surviving our bus adventure, we spent some time hanging out at our super nice eco-hotel which cost us each $12. Our hotel was a large home owned by an Australian couple and their little boy, John. The owners made a delicious homemade breakfast (included in price!) and bom

b snacks(available for cheap purchase). It was probably the best deal I have ever participated in. Also, the hotel had a massage therapist that offered an hour-long massage for $25! It was the best(and cheapest) massage of my life!! After some chillin’ in our swanky hotel, we headed to the town to dance/drink, where we were all hit on by various Ecuadorian men. Our Friday was a little lackluster, but little did we know we were going to have a fun turn of events on Saturday.

After hitting up the municipal hot springs (a little dirty, a little smelly, and a lot of scantily clad Ecuadorians), we headed into the downtown area to grab a bite. We were eating some sandwiches when a group of 4 boys and 1 girl came into the restaurant. We were confused becaus

e they were apparently bilingual but we thought nothing of it. As we got up to pay, the girl(Laura), began talking to us in perfect English. Turns out she is from Houston and is dating an Ecuadorian (Walter). After a couple minutes of conversation, they invited us to hang out with them for the afternoon and go hiking to a waterfall. Since you only live once, we decided that new friends would be fun. We packed up our stuff in their “Magic School Bus”, their

mode of transportation for the weekend, and headed out for some adventure. I have included a picture of me zip lining across a giant valley/waterfall, which only cost me $10(freaking cheap). Unfortunately, I did not have enough momentum to make it to the end of the zipline, so a small child had to come rescue me. Not embarrassing at all. After the ziplining adventure, we hiked to a waterfall in the dark, drank some beer at the base of the waterfall, and headed

back into the town to eat/go out. As the night went on, we found out that our new friend Walter is actually a semi-famous actor in Ecuador and that his family owns approximately half of Ecuador. What was awesome was that he is so incredibly humble. After a night of awesome drinking and dancing, our new friends invited us to the coast the following weekend to hang out with them. Even though it sounded a little bit like the movie “Taken”, we knew that these guys were awesome and decided to take them up on their offer.

Fast forward through the school week and we were on a plane to Guayaquil the following Thursday. When we arrived at the airport, we were greeted by Leche, Jack, and Laura with roses. We were then whisked away to Walter’s mansion to change our clothes and head to Montanita, the beach town we were going to(and where Walter has a beach house). We arrived in Montanita at about 2:00 a.m. and were informed that the party was about to begin. We dropped our bags at our hostel(which was owned by one of their friends, Picoto), and headed out to the bars. In Montanita, the bars get hopping around 2:00 and keep going until 8:00 in the morning. We ended up staying out until 4:30 a.m. on a Thursday. Latest I have ever stayed out, let alone on a Thursday. The next morning, we headed to some beaches to hang out, surf, and tan. We also bathed ourselves in mud(see photo), which is apparently good for your skin(but it smelled like ass). After a great day in the sun, we grabbed a snack, which I can’t recall the name of. It was basically a chunk of fish(maybe tuna?), wrapped in plantain, and fried to delicious perfection. It kind of tasted like a fish corndog. It sounds weird, but it was absolutely awesome. We headed back to town for a late dinner, pregaming, and headed out to a bar where our friend Leche was playing a show(he is a bassist in a band). The awesome thing about Montanita is that there are little tiki-hut bars in the street. You just walk up to them and they make you awesome (and cheap) drinks. I have honestly never seen a street so packed at 12:00 a.m. There are also all of these random food stands all over the streets. One thing we had EVERY night after dancing was peluche, which was grilled corn-on-the-cob brushed with mayonnaise and sprinkled with cheese. Peluche literally means “teddy” in Spanish, and our friend Jack, who speaks some English, kept calling it “teddy corn”. Hands down the best drunk food EVER.

On Saturday, we went to Walter’s beach house for the day, which was frickin awesome. As we were given the tour of the home, we noticed original indigenous artifacts(worth millions), as well as pictures of Walter’s dad with Jacques Cousteau, NBD. We got to spend the whole day on their private beach, where their maids prepared us a smorgasbord of seafood and rice. My life is awesome. More partying, tropical drinks, dancing, and peluche followed, and by our 3^rd night of partying I was feeling like a local. In summary, I had the time of my life and can’t wait to visit Montanita again(hopefully soon!!). Hope all of you are having fun, too J Hasta luego, amiguitos.

Gatas Locas

I haven’t written in a about a week because I got slammed with homework, which sucks. We have lots of essays, reports, quizzes, and a whole book to read IN SPANISH. I thought this whole “study abroad” thing was supposed to be easy. Anyway, the last week has been relatively uneventful in the fact that we have not gone to any indigenous street festivals. Things I have done in the past week: 1) Gotten motion sickness on a public bus 2) Watched 3 hours of Keeping Up With the Kardashians on a Friday night 3) Stood on two sides of the hemisphere AT THE SAME TIME (see photo). 4) Hit a cat with a pillow(see photo). My “host cat” Chica really likes to spend time in my room, for whatever reason. Apparently my disdain for cats does not cross language barriers very well. Despite the fact that I direct expletives her way, she enjoys laying in the middle of my bed right around the time that I get ready to go to sleep. When I try to ask her nicely to leave, she gets more comfortable. This is where the pillow comes into play. If I hit her with a pillow(gently, of course), she will eventually run out of my room. Although I do have to admit, this cat is kind of growing on me…

I am finally getting used to my host family and daily life here in Quito, but the last week has been really tough. I got really homesick last weekend (when you all were enjoying the 4^th and sunshine). I really started missing my family, my friends, and my independence, of all things (how cliché?). It is really hard for me to ask things of my host mom, such as “Can we please go to the grocery store because I need more to eat and want some ice cream and you don’t have ice cream.” I am so used to being able to do things by myself and doing these things when I want to do them. I don’t know the bus system of Quito yet (if there is actually a “system”, I am unsure. Most people seem to just jump on and off busses), and it is slightly dangerous for me to walk places alone. Anyway, I am sure that with time I will become adjusted to navigating Quito on my own. As far as the language barrier goes, it is getting better. I am less afraid of trying to speak Spanish all the time and less afraid of making mistakes, and I have found that if I just keep talking I eventually get my point across.

I am also getting ready for my first weekend trip away from Quito! This weekend Ariel, Amanda, and I are going to a town called Baños to hang out, chill in hot springs, and maybe do a little hiking. It will be nice to get away from Quito and do some outdoor activity(still not used to the elevation yet, though!). Anyway, I will post pics of my weekend trip next week! Miss you and love you all! Mil besos

-KNel

Pollo Loco

30 June 2011

Hola Amiguitos! I have compiled a short list of less than scientific findings. 1. Just because you are on the equator does not mean you will be warm. For example, my “pajamas” include, but are not limited to: fleece lined running tights, pajama pants, short sleeve shirt, long sleeve shirt, and sweatshirt. 2. Hot water is a relative term. “Hot” water has only existed for me two times thus far. Nothing says “Buenos Dias” like an ice-cold shower. 3. Two and a Half Men is much better when it is the only thing on in English. 4. One cannot call a cell phone from a land line. Que extraño. 5. There is no quicker way to feel like a contestant on “The Biggest Loser” than to try to go on a run at an altitude of 10,000 feet. 6. The words “lindo” and “rico” can seemingly be used to describe any situation or food. My dinner was “rico”, as was my walk to the corner store. 7. There ain’t no party like an indigenous party.

On Wednesday we went to a festival in the surrounding mountains called “Inti Raymi” or literally translated, sun party(from Kichua, an indigenous language). Inti Raymi is a nearly month-long festival celebrating the sun, the source of all things good for the indigenous people. Different communities have celebrations on different days throughout the month, but let me tell you, this was one BIG party. We arrived at the town, an hour-ish north of Quito, about 11:00 a.m. to find a carnival of sorts with a band, ice cream, and vendors. ON A WEDNESDAY. After a few minutes, we walked down to the very end of the town to give the president of the community our gift of gratitude for inviting us gringos to party with them. What did we buy the president? A bottle of rum, of course. Shortly thereafter, the Inti Raymi parade/dance commenced. Women were dressed in colorful blouses and skirts, while men wore what can only be described as gigantic, furry chaps. Also, dance was a relative term at this celebration (kind of like hot water), meaning that we stomped and shuffled our way across town for 3 hours. Yes. Three hours. About a third of the way through, we noticed our professor, Luis, pull out some rum to start making us some drinks. All of the natives were drinking, so we obviously didn’t want to be the Americans that didn’t fit in. After a few minutes, we were dancing with much enthusiasm and making friends with all sorts of folk (and making enemies with some fellow gringos from BYU). At the end of the epic dance/shuffle, there was a brief dance/shuffle competition, which we participated in with much enthusiasm, much to the dismay of our more serious BYU counterparts, who informed us that they, in fact, knew more about this party than our staff of 4 Ecuadorians who accompanied us. After the competition, we chowed on some empanadas, which were beyond amazing, and got back on the bus haggard and slightly hung over (“chichaki” in Kichua). We were running a little late, but something else I have learned is that no one really cares if they are on time. About halfway through our short trip home, one of our chaperones informed the bus driver that she wanted an ice cream. He stopped at a nearby truck stop, and about 10 minutes later she came out with her ice cream and three bags of fried (?) chicken. We thought this was going to be like regular fried chicken but it most certainly was not; it was Pollo Loco. She walked down the bus aisle handing us all a plastic glove and a bag full of chicken. WTF. The chicken was delicious, kind of like really greasy roasted chicken, and I am pretty sure I am going to demand gloves with my chicken upon arrival to the U.S. Anyway, hope you are all well and I love you!!

-KNel