Cheerio!

I learned the origin of that term this past week. It is quite interesting- you should look it up!

Anyway, this weekend was really incredible. Yesterday we went to Bath and Stonehenge as a part of the social programme. Both places were AMAZING. I highly recommend Stonehenge if you ever come to the United Kingdom. It is so simply and yet so incredibly beautiful. Bath was very interesting as well, but in a different way. There is a place at Bath where you can drink the water- it is supposed to have magical properties. Personally, I thought it tasted awful, but that may also be due to the fact that it was hot.

One interesting thing I saw in Bath that I have not seen elsewhere is that most of the street performers were teenagers and children. There was one boy who looked about 12 years old who was doing tricks with his soccer ball. It made me wonder if the parents knew their kids were out doing this or if it was something they did on their own just to have some extra money. I was amazed at how much he had earned after just a few minutes. Emma (the social programme leader) said that usually the performers are closer to our age and that the performance often has to do with music. So I guess this boy and Bath was a rarity, but I still found it really cool.

It also shows how safe places are over here. There have only been a few times late at night, walking home alone, that I have even been remotely worried about safety. From what I have been told, most people around here feel the same way. Although there are obviously certain places which are best to avoid at night, crime is fairly low here. Which is even more surprising because I very rarely ever see cops driving or walking around.

I learn and experience something new every day and it is so exciting (well except today- it is 4pm and I am still in my pajamas).

Cheers!

P.S. I am still having a pretty hard time making friends. If anyone could give me some suggestions as to what they did that helped them, that would be greatly appreciated.

Drinking the “bath” water!

I have officially spent a month in Florence and have about two and a half months left to go! Though I am still getting over a cold I caught two weeks ago, I am still enjoying myself. The highlight of this past weekend was being able to spend a day in Munich, Germany for Oktoberfest. I have always enjoyed the county fairs back home, so experiencing this was similar to a very, very large fair with tons of people. There were rides and more food stands than I could count! It did get cold, but it was a great opportunity to attend an iconic event and explore Munich a little bit. I also got to go on a ferris wheel for the first time, it is pretty neat that it was in Germany. I also joined something at my school called Italian family club, and was matched with a family! It is a really neat way to spend time with locals in Florence and learn more about the culture firsthand. I have already had dinner with them and plan to spend more time with them throughout the term! I am hoping this will also be a good opportunity to practice my Italian language skills. Hopefully I will have more to say about this next week as well. It is hard to believe that I first arrived here a month ago. While it feels like I have been here forever, somehow it also feels like I just got here. I have experienced so much and yet have so much more exploring left to do!

Ciao for now!

The days have become weeks and the weeks are slowly turning into months on this adventure of a lifetime. Costa Rica continues to amaze me with all its beautiful beaches, where I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing the most beautiful sunsets that I have ever seen. The past month has been filled with completing an advanced conversation Spanish course, visiting the national soccer stadium for a friendly game (Costa Rica vs Uruguay) exploring different parts of the country (where we were able to kayak and see bioluminescent lights in the ocean) , horse back riding, waterfalls, hikes, visiting Panama, and experiencing Costa Ricas independence day like a true local.

As the first month is coming to a close, I start my second month at my internship with Fundacion Rahab and I can already tell that it will be an experience that I will remember for many years to come. Being placed at the child care center these past couple of days has given me an enormous amount of gratitude for people that are able to be so patient with children and watch over them as their own.

The food is good, the people are friendly, and the adventures continue.

Until next time! 🙂

My second blog post in three days! Each day is packed with so many new things that it feels like a week has gone by.

Last night, me and my two roommates, Lauren and Rebecca, went to an area of Quito called La Ronda for dinner. While there, we stopped at the Plaza de San Francisco. Words can’t describe how beautiful it was. The picture is blurry and doesn’t do it justice, but it’s too cool not to show.

While there, we realized everyone was interested in getting as much money out of us “gringas” as possible. Taxi rides that should have been $2 were given to us no cheaper than $6. Even if we explained we knew that was too expensive, we could never bargain cheaper than $5. If we argued, our ride would drive off. While eating dinner, we listened to amazing live music (with a $6 cover charge I may add. I highly doubt the locals were paying that, but it was worth it.). During dinner I had my first epenada…AMAZING. Something less amazing that I also tried was cow liver. I know now that it would have been extremely difficult to be a vegetarian in this country, because all their meals are surrounded by meat and grains. However, it’s definitely difficult to have meat at least twice a day. I’ve learned to not ask what meat I’m eating, or what part of the animal it comes from, and everything works out just fine. I applaud them for using every bit of the animal and not letting any go to waste.

Today was my first day of Spanish classes. 7 hours! I forgot my sunglasses this morning and on the fifteen minute walk to class my eyes got sunburnt! So all day my eyes have been burning like crazy. I should have realized it could happen that fast, Ecuador is 2 miles closer to the sun than Oregon.

On our break we stopped at a market for lunch. Here, we got to try traditional “almuerzos.” For $2.25 you got a glass of freshly made juice (today’s was cantaloupe), a large bowl of soup, then a plate filled with rice, your choice of meat, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, and some sort of homemade pickle. The soup I like the most so far has a cheese broth with homemade noodles, potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and cilantro. They also bring out homemade hot sauce you can add to the soup-so good! I decided I wasn’t ready to try the cow’s feet soup just yet.

When we walked into the tightly filled market and it’s food court, one of the waitresses kicked out some locals from a table so our big group could fit. I’m guessing they assumed we would be spending a lot of money, but either way this didn’t make us the most popular group sitting down for lunch. I felt really bad once I realized what had happened.

While we were eating, a little boy no more than 7 years old came up and begged for food. Before we could react, our Spanish teacher shooed him away. Although we had plenty of food to offer, we have been told not to give away food or money. According to our mentors, the minute you give out food or money, you are never left alone by all those in need. Still, I’m almost wondering if it’s worth it. I think the most difficult thing this far in the trip was denying a child food. It feels criminal. I wish I had ran into him again so I could sneak him some. However, someone DID benefit from our left overs. As we were finishing, an older homeless man snuck up beside us and grabbed what was left of our chicken. He was incredibly gentle about it and had a kind smile on his face. I felt relieved that our food wasn’t going to go to waste when so many people go hungry in this country.

The market had the most amazing produce. We plan on going back tomorrow because eating out twice a day, everyday, is already getting old. Around the market there were little shops that were hidden in what looked like small garages. Here you could find handmade goods, cheaper alcohol (although it’s still more expensive than in the US), bouquets of flowers, and even freshly made slabs of chocolate! (Also chicken’s feet if you’re into that)

That’s the chocolate people! $2 for a piece twice the size of your head! and off to the right is homemade peanut butter.

My Spanish teacher insisted on ending class 20 minutes early to teach us some salsa moves for my birthday. He told us to go home and practice and to plan on going to a salsa dance club this Wednesday to celebrate. I can’t wait!

As far as celebrating tonight, we’re having our first homemade dinner with our house mother. Then we’re probably going out for dessert epenadas (I’ll post a picture) and my first legal drink! Although, it will likely be just one because wine is like $5-$7 a glass. (which will probably be more than enough in this altitude). In comparison, that $7 drink could get me 28 trolle rides, 3 lunches, or a hand painted piece of pottery. However, beer can be bought for about $0.85 a bottle here, but I haven’t heard great things about those. At some point I’ll have to try it though.

Well that’s all for now 🙂 Thank you everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes. I’m very lucky to have such loving and supporting friends, family, mentors, and coworkers in my life 🙂 <3

Chao!

It is always the first couple weeks in a new place that are the hardest: the lack of skill, knowledge, or in-person support I’ve come to rely on at home take their toll on my day to day life. Whereas at home I am very organized and efficient, generally knowing what I am doing on a day-to-day basis, here my routine is not so stable. It is Tuesday, do I still do yoga even though I’m no longer at my gym and have a to-do list a mile long? At home the answer was simple: yes. Here, not so much. Every day I have to choose how I will spend my time and things are complicated by the fact that everything takes a little longer because I am not familiar with the system here. So without my routine or close friends to comfort me, it is easier to feel discouraged and frustrated. So rarely, during the first couple weeks, do my grand adventures look anything like I imagined they would before I came.

Thankfully, I have a six-week study abroad experience in México to draw from, so I am able to more easily talk myself down from the ledge, understanding that what I’m going through is just a part of the process and things will come together in time.

So, this week I’ve spent my time getting acclimated to London, becoming familiar with the transportation system and getting to know some of my fellow students. Thankfully, Roehampton has an extensive social program, so getting to know other students has been relatively easy, even with my daughter tagging along with us. This past week, the study abroad office organized a “Photo Frenzy Scavenger Hunt,” which was an awesome way to get to know London and some of the other students. Going out with my camera was fun, but I was especially grateful to get to know another student from France, who seems to have some similar interests to me.

I’m looking forward to the start of term and some externally enforced structure to my day. My class modules have been selected and my classes look interesting. I am especially looking forward to my American Literature class: Reading the American South Through the Lens of Race, Gender, and Memory. It should be pretty great to get perspective on American literature and culture through the English frame of reference.

After so much traveling this past year, I’ve gained a little confidence in navigating unfamiliar territories; and, therefore, wasn’t too concerned about my arrival in London. However, it was interesting having to navigate the London Underground with my nine-year-old daughter, Sydney, and three suitcases in stow. Thankfully, many a kind stranger stopped and offered help, getting my luggage on and off the trains as well as up and down stairs. It was a beautiful introduction to what would become my home for the next 3 months.

Sydney and I made our way home, well past midnight, by foot from the underground. It wasn’t until well into our walk that I thought it might not be all to safe to be walking to our new home, dragging our luggage behind us, so late into the night. The reality was, I didn’t know the conditions or safety of our new neighborhood.

Yet, the streets were quiet and clean and I felt safe. We made it home with no problems, ready to sleep and rest after a 24 hour trip from the states. Sydney and I decided that after the busyness of our last couple months, we would take some time to recuperate and do our exploring later. So, instead of going out and about, we made a list of things we would like to see and do and made a plan for our upcoming weekends. We focused our time and attention on getting to know our own neighborhood and learning how to navigate public transportation, rather than exploring all of London.

It turns out, London transportation is quite confusing! There are different rates for buses, the underground, and the national railway. To add to the confusion, the underground has different rates depending on which zone you are traveling in and the time of day you use the card. All of the transportation is paperless, so you have to put money on your “oyster card” before you can take any trips. I tried figuring it out online, but once again had to rely on the kindness of strangers to get me through the task.

Also, figuring out the best way to do things is tough. I’ve had to go to a variety of different stores to try to find the most affordable one. Without any previous shopping experience here, it is hard to know what a reasonable price is. It has really made me aware of how much I rely on a variety of previous experiences to make everyday decisions. Without any background knowledge, even the most mundane activities take on a certain level of challenge. I am looking forward for the day that my activities are more second nature and I will be able to spend my energy doing more of the things I like to do.