8.17.08..........Day 5
My host mom, sister and I woke up early to get ready for a trip to Latacunga, which is 2 hours south of where we live in Quito. My host mom's best friend Loli lives there with here husband (who is from Holland, I learned) and their 16 year old son and 19 year old daughter. I didn't really know what we were going to be doing there, so I couldn't really prepare myself for anything. I just figured we'd go eat almuerzo and come back. I didn't realize what that might entail.
So we started off, driving south through Quito. We turned onto a steep cobblestone road with hairpin turns that took us past antique, colorful houses lining the narrow street and clinging to the steep terrain. We were going too fast for me to get any decent pictures, but I swear I'll go back there before I leave to document how cute it was. After a major elevation change we reached a southbound 3 lane freeway with no speed limit posted. I noticed that everyone just drives however quickly they want on it. The scenery began to change from hills encrusted with buildings to hills with a little more greenery and trees. The highway also followed along a ridge, so I got a nice panoramic view of Quito and the mountains. As we drove south, the land became greener and greener and farms started appearing.
One thing that I noticed that made me really happy was that they have Pampus Grass here. I don't know if you know what that is, but it's really common on the Oregon coast and I've seen it in people's yards in Beaverton, too. I just think it's awesome that Quito Ecuador has the exact same plant as Oregon. Little things like that give me a little bit of strength, because they remind me of home and give me some comfort in the middle of all the unfamiliar. Another thing that makes me feel better is that they play a lot of American music here, and today I even got to watch The OC on tv IN ENGLISH. It was amazing. They have a love of American shows here, that they show with Spanish subtitles.
Okay, so back to our trip... I saw two dead dogs on the side of the road, which was horrible; I have never seen a dead dog before. There are a lot of wild dogs that just roam around here, so I guess it's just as common as hitting a raccoon. But I also saw a lot of cows grazing in green fields, which I loved, and didn't think existed around here.
The mountain Cotopaxi is very near Latacunga, so as we drove we got closer and closer to it. Right now it's dusted with snow and it was an amazing sight. Cotopaxi is the world's largest active volcano, and is 12,500 feet tall from it's base--bigger than Mt. Hood, which is 11,249 feet tall.
We finally reached Latacunga, which is a small rural town with farms and also a very cute antique district, with narrow streets lined with tall uninterrupted buildings with balconies and interesting old architecture. The family we visited lives in the antique area, so I got to see a little bit of it. We came inside the house and I met the everyone, who were all very nice. I got a tour of their large house and then sat down with Gabi and the son (whose name I forget). They were talking and making jokes together and not really including me in the conversation at all, which I was okay with for the moment.
After a little while, Gabi, Mony (the daughter) and the son walked a couple blocks to a nail salon. Mony was getting a manicure and asked if I wanted one. It was only $2.50 so I thought, "why not? My first manicure will be in Latacunga Ecuador." It was a pretty funny and awkward experience. First of all, I've never gotten a manicure before so I don't know what I'm supposed to do, second of all the girl who was doing my nails didn't speak any English, and lastly I had just bitten my nails pretty short the night before, so there wasn't much to work with. I also didn't have the vocabulary to talk about fingernails. Gaby kept laughing at my lack of communication skills and translating for me. It was enjoyable, though. I was in a good mood and just chuckled to myself about how funny the whole situation was. The manicure was actually really amazing. She rubbed my hands with sugar and oils to soften them, filed my tiny fingernails and buffed them, rubbed lotion on them and dipped them in hot wax then put them in plastic baggies and mitts until the wax hardened a little. She peeled off the wax and then asked me how I wanted my nails pained. I chose a bright orange color with diagonal white tips, which I though was kind of ridiculous but perfect for the first time. It was funny watching her try her best to paint the details on my tiny pinkie nails. They turned out very pretty and I payed my $2.50 and we went back to the house.
The adults finished preparing the meal and we sat down to eat. I was feeling okay about my lack of communication skills at the beginning, but when I realized that I couldn't really effectively be a part of any conversation, I started losing confidence with my spanish and became very uncomfortable and unsure of myself. Everyone was very good friends, making jokes, and talking very quickly. I got the jist of conversations occasionally, but I couldn't pick up on most jokes, and I couldn't contribute to the conversation. It was SO frustrating. After everyone realized that I really couldn't understand much, they just stopped talking to me as if I wasn't there, which has never really happened to me and was horrible. I have never felt so uncomfortable and isolated. There I was, sitting at the dinner table of an Ecuadorian family in the middle of Ecuador, South America, trying to eat food that I had never tried before, not understanding what was going on the majority of the time, and thinking to myself, "Wow, I can't even believe that I'm here. What am I doing here? Who are these people?" It was like for a second I stepped outside of myself and the situation and looked in, knowing what I know about who I am and what I've experienced, and just being in disbelief of what was happening. It was a very difficult experience for me. At one point, I left to use the bathroom and tried SO hard to hold back tears. I didn't know when we were going to leave and I really just wanted to get out of there and get back into some sort of comfort bubble, because mine was definitely broken wide open.
After a little more nearly unbearable time at the dinner table, eating donuts and coffee, which I suppose is the custom after eating a big lunch (my stomach is not accustomed to the amount of food), I followed people around trying to figure out what was going on and when we were going to leave. I think the reason why I was so overwhelmed by everything is because it was just way too much at once, and because I was there for a very long time. The stress just kept building. To my relief, we took a little trip to the family's farm so that the dad could show us his earthworms he's using to make good soil so he can grow Hummus (garbanzo beans, I guess). They also had cows on the farm, and chickens, a pig and some goats. I loved that they had animals there, and Cory took a picture of me petting one of the goats, who was very friendly.
After that, I felt a lot better, and I think Gaby could tell I was overwhelmed, because she spoke English to me in the car. We got back, hung around for a little while longer, then left for home. During the car ride home I slept, and when I woke up I felt very homesick and strange (You know that weird feeling that you sometimes get after waking up from a nap). I couldn't believe that I was in a car that was driving on a freeway in Ecuador, and the other people in the car had lived there their whole lives. As we drove, I was thinking about how they were probably having the same feeling I would have driving along I84 and through Portland and then onto 26 on my way home. It made me feel very homesick.
We finally got home after dropping Mony off at her apartment (she is going to la Católica too), and I needed to vent. After I did that for a while, thanks to the internet and it's amazing ability to connect people that I now REALLY appreciate, I got into bed and slept, wondering how class would be the next morning.
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