Angsty Weekend and a Rainbow

Happy Halloween Everyone! Today is actually a civic holiday here honoring the national seal or something like that. There was a special segment on the news about it which featured the song from LOTR. I really have to question if the rights to that music were properly secured.

I'm going be angsty here and talk about my angsty weekend. I'm backtracking and talking about a week ago because I had wanted to write about it before but I've had a lot of things to do. I promise to write really soon about cool and fun stuff that's happening. There's actually a holiday this weekend and lots of festivities related to that.

My host family (parents and siblings) has been gone over a week. They actually went to Disney World. They're coming back tomorrow and I AM EXCITED TO SEE THEM. While they've been gone I've mostly been hanging out around the house and chatting with my host grandma.

Friday I decided I wanted to watch a movie in English and I went with Lost in Translation. I had always wanted to see it and thought it would be appropriate. It was more than appropriate. I recommend it though I'll say it's not a movie everyone would like. It's more about a mood than a plot. That mood just happened to really hit me right now and so I spent some time listening to the soundtrack and watching people in the street.

The thing is that it can be lonely being an exchange student, especially with my family being gone this week. Their absence and also hearing about other students having problems and changing families has made me remember how fortunate I am to have been placed with such great people. Let me reiterate: I am so excited for them to come home.

But this weekend I just wanted to stay in bed and not be here. I was having that lost feeling where you're changing but you're not changed yet. I know my year is going to change me and that's something I absolutely want. But there's that point where you aren't who you were but not yet who you're going to be, and so you're just kind of hanging.

Our neighbors are close family friends and they have a 20-year-old daughter who I hang out with a lot. She invited me to go to some town and eat some food on Sunday and I was pretty much trying to ditch and make excuses. She managed to get me to agree to go for a little while. They have a pick-up truck with a covered back and a mattress in the back. Traveling in the truck bed here is really common and that's what we did (sorry, Mom).

I honestly don't love a whole lot of things more than being in the car and looking out the window, and this blew that away. We ended up driving to about 3 different towns and eating lots of food and just exploring.

I can't describe the countryside here. I wouldn't want to take pictures; they couldn't do any justice. It's so rich. The colors, the smells, the farms and houses. There were clotheslines and horses and children playing soccer. I saw a woman milking a cow into cups and handing them to her children. It's all alive.

The weather here is insane, so naturally there were ten-minute intervals of rain and sun. When the sun was starting to set and shining between the mountains, the clouds moved and the volcano came into clear view. And then a rainbow appeared in front of the volcano. I would not make that up.

As we drove through the rural towns and past markets, I was reminded of what Reid (exchange student in Chile) wrote in this post, about how he was momentarily jealous of the tourist's grand adventure. Sometimes I have moments of doubt where I think I would have been better off to come visit Ecuador for a short time, to ride buses around and look at everything and then go back to being comfortable. But I'm doing the right thing. This land has a richness that I couldn't understand in a lifetime, but at least I get a moment to try.

The Theory

If you aren't familiar with Pitbull, you should probably just keep it that way and stop reading.

I can't say I'm a big fan of this man's art. His popularity has confused me since I first heard him rap. And I don't think there are a lot of people in the U.S. (at least the ones I hang out with) who really listen to Pitbull when they want to hear music. But he's popular here. He's Latino, and his music is great for dancing. He clearly is a better Spanish speaker than an English speaker...so why is he rapping in English? You might think its to appeal to the U.S. audience who generally won't accept any foreign-language media. But I have another theory: Pitbull is not a good rapper. Let's take his most popular song into account:

He's the creepy bald guy.

This song is big here. The only Spanish line is "que no pare la fiesta," which, as you may have guessed, means "don't stop the party." The parts where he raps in English are not good to listen to. I think that Pitbull knows he's bad. So he makes catchy songs to appeal to Latinos and then masks his lack of talent by making his horrible verses impossible for them to understand. I'm not saying I'm right, but if I am, you've got to give him some credit. Props to you, Mr. Worldwide.

I'm an Ecuadorian Cheerleader

That title isn't a metaphor. At my school back home we had the classic big football games with the band and the cheerleaders and the pommies (dance team). But here they don't have school sports and the culture that comes with them. What they do have is the November 12th parade with all of the high schools in Ambato.

My school has been hard at work getting together the marching band. And then there is a group of girls called the bastoneras who are like a combination of cheerleaders and pommies. They do this dance/march thing and do little tricks with a baston, which is like a metal baton with a pompom attached to one end. Aaaaaand I am one of them.

Now, if you know anything about me, you are probably thinking that this doesn't sound like something I'd sign up for. Allow me to explain: I had no idea what I was signing up for. Last week at our first practice (an hour after school each day), the girl in charge said, "The most important thing is that you be elegant in your movements." That's usually my cue to leave. The last time I had a practice for anything was in second grade, so for me those first days felt a little bit like:

(Minus the part at the end where they're good.)

But I decided to stick it out and I'm really glad I did. I have come a long way, and let me tell you, I had a long way to go (still do). There are about 25 and I think two are from my class, so I'm getting to know girls from all grades. They are all super nice to me and love to ask me to say things and English and get really excited when I do it. It's also cool because I definitely never would have done something like this at home, so it really is an opportunity. We get to wear a special uniform and get all done-up with our hair and makeup. I'm excited and I assure you there will be photos from the event.

This week was mid-trimester exams at school. My grades don't really count towards anything, so while I do try in school enough to not be disrespectful, I can't say I did a lot of studying. Grades are out of ten, and mine have varied from 8.5 to 2.9. That 8.5 was chemistry, and the 2.9 was math, which I am bad at in all languages. What's really hard for me is fill in the blank questions. Unless theres a word bank I just play Mad Libs.

I've been sick again, but not too bad. I haven't missed school or anything but I've been coughing for about a week. They are big on natural medicine here. I get a lot of vitamin C and take a cough syrup in which the only ingredients are honey and eucalyptus. The old woman who lives downstairs has been giving me warnings not to bathe. 106-year-old Virginita really wants me to drink some milk and brandy, but no one else seems to support that idea. Today when I came home, there were a bunch of branches outside my door.

Confusion ensued.

It's eucalyptus. I'm supposed to put it around my bed and just kind of hang out with it to help me breathe better. I'm almost better so I don't really feel like I need it, but I have to say, I'm kind of looking forward to having a little nature around.

I got my first package from home this week! My grandmother sent me makeup and candy and my colored pencils which I have been using every free second since their arrival. I was so excited that it had successfully arrived that I opened it at my art class because I couldn't wait to eat a Reeses. 

Ecuador qualified for the world cup on Tuesday. They actually lost a game against Chile, but because they still qualified everyone was excited. The streets were packed with people celebrating. After a big soccer success like that, all you can hear is car horns. People pile into pickup trucks and wave flags and beat drums. It's a party.

This month has been flying by. I've been so busy between bastoneras, art classes, school, friends and family activities. I'm almost done with my college application, but I still have to finish a few things. I'll probably cry from joy when that's submitted. Can't believe I've been here two months.

2 Cool 4 Colegio

I thought I'd give you a little more detail on my school and daily school routine, so Tuesday I took my camera to school to do a little bit of documenting. To give some more information: my school goes from 7-1 except some days it's a bit different for random reasons. I am in twelve classes: P.E., English, Chemistry, Physics, Religion, Math, Biology, Writing, Business, Civics, Literature and Research. If that sounds like a lot, I can confirm that it feels like a lot. Our class of 32 people stays in the same room and the teachers come to us.

My alarm goes off at 5:55. I stay in bed until 6:10. I need to mentally psych myself up for the moment I exit the covers. I put on my uniform and pull my socks all the way up, fix my hair and put on a little makeup. I grab my bag, which I packed last night for the classes I'll have today (Math, English, Bio, and Writing). Breakfast is tea, bread, and a boiled egg. At 6:50 my host dad drops me and my host mom off.

I go to the school yard and mingle with some other students until the 7am formation. Formation is when every class lines up according to gender and height. Theres a prayer and a short speech. Usually the inspector, who is in charge of discipline, tells us about 40 times the proper way to line up and that we need to stop talking and get our hands out of our pockets. Then we are dismissed, class by class, to go upstairs to our respective rooms.

Our first class is math. This teacher is one hell of a mumbler and he doesn't write anything on the board, so I never know what's going on. But today there's a weird vibe in the air. Apparently my classmates have an issue with his teaching style and that message made its way to him. He's giving us a lecture. It's awkward. Yesterday one of my friends had asked me what awkward means so I think I'll take this opportunity to explain. Our note-passing conversation is as follows:

Me: Remember yesterday how you asked me what "awkward" means? This conversation and the way the room feels is "awkward."

Her: What the teacher is saying or because we're passing notes?

Me: Neither...just the general feeling.

Her: Oh, because we're passing notes?

I don't respond. Supposedly there isn't a perfect Spanish translation for awkward and she doesn't really need to know anyway.

Also in math we are handed back this quiz:

Como se dice valedictorian.

Next class is English. I am so good at English. I actually don't have to do any work. I sit there and draw and listen to music and try to work my way through National Geographic in Spanish. Today the other students have an assignment where they're give summaries of 4 books: To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, Frankenstein and The Hobbit. They then have to write a short statement on how they think the story ends. Apparently my class likes to get creative because everyone keeps coming to me on how to translate their story about how Tom Robinson marries a movie star and makes the best chocolates in all of Paris.

After English is Biology. The teacher announces that we'll be watching a video and I get pretty excited until said video starts. You know in movies when they watch a video in class how it's just some footage of amoebas and someone talking really slowly? This is that video. I want to film it but can' figure out how to do so discreetly.

In the middle of Bio comes recess. During this time we can go to the school bar and buy food. There are two sides: one sells packaged snacks, and the other sells cooked food. The cooked food is actually really, really good. I'm sure since hundreds of kids now want food at the same moment, there's an orderly system of purchasing, like maybe a line...

Or not.

Recess is 30 minutes. We usually mill around and talk. Everyone shares all food, including ice cream cones and lollipops. Today, because I have my camera, we take some pictures. Naturally my friends start going up to guys I don't know and telling them that I want a picture.

 

Some of my friends and I.

At the end of recess we get to do the whole formation business all over again. After we finish the video during our second half of Bio, we get to have the rest of the class free. Ecuadorians seem to love pictures, so they get my camera out again. Everyone seems to have a preplanned pose/face that they do. On the other hand there's me, who often tries to look bad in pictures because that's sure better than looking bad when you're trying to look good.

Our writing class is called Messages. Today a group of students is presenting about the meaning of the word message. The teacher is mad because she's pretty sure everything in their powerpoint was copied and pasted. They show us a short video that I honestly can't remember much about besides the fact that it didn't connect that well to the definition of message.

School lets out at one and we hang around outside for a bit, talking and buying more food. Then a couple of friends and I set out for home. When I arrive at the house, lunch will be waiting. There are two things for certain: there will be soup, and there will be rice.