Koda: 2 , Ecuador: Alot

When an exchange student gets the chance to do something he or she  knows best, they jump on the opportunity. This is because they're usually treated or seen as these naive clueless kids because we're always asking how to say the simplest thigns or always asking what we should do or how or these types of things. It sounds stupid but because of this they will ask you if you know how to do the simplest things, and you just want give em a little slap on the face and say "I'm not dumb." But instead you say oh yeah i know how. So like i said, when you get the chance to do something you're good at you want to show that you're not dumb, incapable or lost and kind of in a little way, shape or form, rub it in their face. So with that being said, a week or two ago i got a few chances to display my briliance and talent. The first was in math class (which is the math that I did like 3 or 4 years ago, so its really easy for me) there was a few hard problems where the teacher gives in class and the first few to get it done correctly gets a point on the next text or some reward like that. So in this one day I was the first done with all of them and got all the free points and extra credit, even though i dont need them. All my classmates were like KODA! how can you do this ?(reference to the response i wanted to say above) but simply just said i already did this a few years ago. One of the problems no one could get and i was the only to actually get it done. So score 1 for Takoda! The next event that week was during our little recesses. For the first time since I've been here i saw an american football. Some kids were throwing it in the courtyard area. I was watching and laughing at how bad they were but i wasnt just going to over and be like hold on let me show you, that would be rude. So i just sat by quietly until butterfingers dropped yet another ball and it rolled over to me. So calm and collected i picked it up and threw across to the other kid in a nice spiral right at him. They all turned and just stared in amazement. So they told me to come over and throw with them. So of course i did and they were all like how do you do that. And my answer was just I'm from america, if you went there and picked up a soccer ball, itd be the same for you. So i taught them all how to throw a spiral.With both situations what was so cool wasnt the fact of actually doing it, but being able to show others how and helping them. Because this is the feeling you rarely see as an exchanger, you're always teh follower and being taught. So being able to teach others and have them look to me for guidance was a really cool feeling that i hope i can continue in other activities. Score 2 for Takoda!
       Also that week was Thanksgiving which was really cool to share with my friends and family here. I had asked if we could have a nice dinner and of course my family was on board and we invited some of my good friends as well. So we had a nice roasted chicken (its impossible to find turkey here. Its a thing of imagination), mashed potatos, a salad, and my friends brought a delicious peacan pie. So that was a really special dinner for them to in a way honor me by being there and sharing it with me. Definitely a thanksgiving I won't ever forget. As for the homesickness part during the holidays, its not really there. I honestly didn't even think of thanksgiving until a day or two before. And with the family gatherings back home I didn't really feel to homesick surprisingly. I still love you guys, but i have a great family as well as great friends here that really help me and make it easier for me.
       There was also for school an iniciation of some sort for the 7th graders. We all got matched up with one or two of them and it was a day of games at a park and having tons of fun. The point of the day is to get your little buddy as dirty as possible via eggs, dirt, paint, ect.. And at the end we make this disgusting mixture in a kiddy pool. It was gelatine, milk, water of course, ketchup, mustard, mayo, hair gel, eggs, onions, dirt, flour, rice, coke, spit, and a bunch of other stuff i have no clue what it was. So at the end they all wlak in a line and a group of us are dressed like tribal people and we have this kiddy pool in front of us and with branches fron the trees we use them like a paint bruch and cover these kids in this nasty fluid. Then theres someone who throws flour in there face and spraying coke all over them. Its pretty much hazing, but the kids love it. They went through 3 times each. So the whole thing is to welcome them to the school pretty much because its 7-12 grade. So after we finished that the president of our class was about to give them a little speech but all the kids and my friends started chanting KODA! KODA! KODA! and i was like oh jeez this is bad. So because I'm new as well they had me walk through and get the same treatment and it wasnt too bad until i started to walk away and my friends pickes up the whole kiddy pool with everything left inside and comes up behind me and puts it on my head and then hugs me and wrapps me in it. It was nastyyyy. But it was a great day cause i finally got to deal with little kids again which i love so much. I dancing and just goofing with all of them. it was great. It was a great week

3 Months

wow. I cannot believe that I have been here for over 3 months now. It's the weirdest feeling. I feel like I've been here for a a few weeks, maybe a month, but when I think about everything I've done and experienced it feels like a whole yeah. It's mind blowing for me. But my update is very good. Having a great time ( as always) but now with tennis and actually being able to participate in other activities because I understand whats going on is a huge moral boost for me. For the language they say 3 months and you shoudl be good, as I mentioned in an earlier post, but I must say its definitely more than that. I mean the improvement is amazing when I think about it. I can actually hold a conversation with someone or a few people and understand almost everything they say and can say almost anything i was too. Still when I'm in a group of people it's hard to get everything and keep up but it's coming along. In school, unfortunately, I can actually understand the majority of the material being taught so if I'm scared to actually do the work cause then they might give me more cause they know I understand. So I use the I don't understand card sometimes. But I actually have taken some tests and done some work (for the teachers I like) and they really respect that and see my effort in class so that's all fine. Still the chemistry teacher is making my life harder than it should be. She got mad at me today actually cause I was working on work she assigned a while ago but I've been plugging away at it but it's pretty hard in spanish. And she said to me what happened 3 months and you'll be with the normal class doing all the normal work. Well lady it doesnt work like that, Its not like 3 months and snap your fingers and I can speak and understand perfect spanish. But whatever, i have the support of all my classmates so thats nice. With some other teachers when they want to ask me something they still ask who speaks good english and can translate. I get kind of offended because I can understnad everything shes saying but I usually just do what she says before they translate it and the teachers always look dumb founded. ANYWAYS I cannot believe that my exchange is almost a 3rd the way done. I still feel like I just got here and am getting started. Amazing how time flys when your having fun. Now as for the actual activity of my 3 month anniversary two days ago, I went to the Ecuador vs. Peru world cup qualifying soccer match. I went with about 20 other exchange students so of course it was an absolute blast. Its at the same stadium I went to a while ago and i wrote about with picture below. But because it's ecuador, it unites everyone and EVERYONE wears the ecuador jersey which is a bright yellow so the whole stadium, besides the small section for the other team, is bright yellow. It's a really cool sight. So we all painted our faces and bought jerseys and went all out for the game. I learned all the chants for ecuador and all of that good stuff. As for the game, Ecuador won 2-0 which was great. Everytime they score everyone throws their beer and you get drenched in beer. Its a little gross but at the same time its part of going to the game so its all in good fun. So that was a great day cause I also got to skip school for the game. But 3 months in and i wouldnt change a thing. Being here I think a lot of home or friends as would be expected, and when I think of some of the best memories I have of vermont, my family, friends, and even harwood, I always ask myself if I had the chance would I go back to relive it and relive everything in between then and now. They may be amazing times of my life, but the answer is always no. I love where I am now in life and I wouldn't ever want to change that.

It's about f**king time!

Sorry for the vulgarness of the title but it's really how i've been feeling lately. As most of you know I haven't played much tennis at all since i've been here and it's been driving my crazy. I've been trying to stay positive and used all my resources to try and find ways to play but nothing was happening and it was quite frustrating. Anyways a friend of mine at school told me about some tennis classes that he goes too where you don't need to be a member like all the other places in quito. So i asked him for the number and called the guy a while ago but he never returned my call. Finally he did at the beginning of the week and gave me details and all of that and this week I went to the classes. For where i'm at right now they're perfect. They remind 100% of the classes i used to take and teach at at Tucker Hill Inn with Smitty. It's a few teachers and then just a group of about 10 kids in total that all play and just have fun playing games and things like that. Theres levels too so theres still good competition. It's not at a level as high as I usually play at but like I said, it's perfect for where I'm at now, which is quite bad to tell you the truth. Not playing for so long really takes a toll on your game. But just after my second class yesterday i was already getting back into the swing of it. (Tennis pun!) Anyways so I'm quite happy to be playing once again, and not to mention to actually use all these tennis cloths that i brought that were beginning to look useless. Weekend plans are looking like some parties with friends and family and then tuesday of next week Ecuador is playing Peru in a world cup qualifying match and its another home match so all my friends and I are going to that so that'll be a blast. VIVA ECUADOR!

Vacation

I know this is a bit late but better late than never right. Last week was vacation for day of the dead and its very celebrated holiday here in Ecuador. I was under the impression that it's only really significant in Mexico, but i was quite wrong. So everyone travels for the vacation to gather with families in various location. My family went to Riobamba which is a city about 3 hours south of Quito so an aunts house on my moms side of the family. It was beautiful. The city itself is kind of runned down and not as nice as quito but it's known as having some of the best mountains around the city. Being somewhat isolated from nature here in quito, it was such a relief to get out and hike and enjoy the wonders of nature. We hiked Chimborazo which is a inactive volcano. The peak is at 6310M which is about 19,000ft, but we only hiked to about 5000M (about 16,000ft) but still that the highest i've ever been. It was amazing. With teh first steps i took from the car at around 4000m my lungs were already burning. The farther i went the worse it got. Exhaustion kicked in a lot fast and my muscles just didn't want to move. It's amazing the effect of altitude. But never the less my father and I pushed forward to the second check point where we were greeted by a wonderful cup of hot cocoa. The last 100ft or so though was tough. Every 15-20 steps we'd have to sit on a rock for a few minutes to catch out breath and rest a little before going again. It was a littel scary at one point because I was really out of breath but when I breathed in I didn't feel like i was getting all that much air because it's so thin so it was a little nerve racking but i had to remind myself to just breath slowely. Scuba diving helped with that as the general rule for breathing (if i remember correctly) is 4 seconds on the inhale and 12 seconds on the exhale. Anyways that was amazing views above the clouds. I also played some tennis with my uncle each morning at a club that hes a member at and that was really nice. Besides that we really just hung out with teh family for the days and played cards and games and watched movies. So it was really fun bonding time. We went on other various walks as well through the city and as well as outside in the farm fields. It was a great vacation though that i'm so happy i got to share with my family.

145 exchange students, 16 countries, and a week on the beach

The hotel rooms and courtyard

talent show

 I thought I had the best and nothing could top the trip to Mompiche, wellll………..I was wrong. This trip to Crucita, Manabí was amazing. What made it better was that all the exchange students from all of Ecuador were there, 145 to be exact. And like I keep mentioning all exchange students are so fun and just love life so all that energy around was incredible. So another 9 hour bus ride and we arrived at our hotel which just so happened to be right across from the beach, so that was awesome. 

The excitement of arriving

Everyone was so excited to meet all the people they hadn’t met yet, everyone had a grin from ear to ear. We got there in the afternoon so we just hung around from the night and got to know everyone. The next day we went to a beach that was down the road a little ways and had a blast. We played soccer, Frisbee, and tons of other little games on the beach. Not to mention just swimming in the ocean and playing in the waves. Also the weather was perfect, as always in the coastal region here. It starts out a little over cast in the morning and by noon its blue sky, hot, and sunny. So even with lathering the sun screen on everyone, and I mean everyone, got sunburnt. After the beach we went to this look out place, el Mirador, which was atop a hill and over looked the coast and town we were in which was beautiful. Tons and tons of pictures were taken here with all the exchange students, which was perfect for picture taking. After that we had a talent show night which was such a great idea on rotary’s part. You could do it by country or just by yourself, obviously the goal being to display the talents of everyone. So countries did dances and songs that are traditional to their country. A friend and I decided some what last minute to throw something together. She plays guitar and has one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard. So I grabbed a trashcan and flipped it over and gave it some rhythm and also beat boxed and we ended up getting third place. It was such a surprise but it was great. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150439595775482 (The link is for the video I made of the whole trip with various videos.) And after that we had a big dance party, which we had every night actually. 

Volleyball on the beach

bonfire on the beach

The next day we just went to the beach across the street for a sports day. We had soccer, volleyball, little races, tubing out on the ocean and other little things. There were tournaments in the soccer and volleyball, which was really fun. Except for the fact that the Brazilians just made there own soccer team and just destroyed everyone else as you could imagine. 

parade in Portoviejo

 

at el Mirador

The next day was the most fun I think. No one really knew what we were doing but they told us to wear our rotary blazers and long pants. Well we ended up being in the independence parade of the city Portoviejo. So this group of 145 gringos all waving their flags and singing their national anthems and going crazy were walking down the street and for some reason the locals LOVED it. They were all cheering for us and would try there English or other languages they knew. Also everyone wanted pictures with us, which was really funny. So that was a blast. After that we went to a market in a town called Monticristi and we all bought traditional hats, shirts, pants, trinkets, and other native things. 

dance party in the rotary club

Then that night was our final night so there was a formal dinner at the rotary club in Portoviejo. So we went there and before the dinner we actually got to ride the chivas, which are these party busses pretty much. It’s a bus that drives around a town or city and plays music and you dance on top, inside, along side, or anywhere you want. So with three chivas we had 145 kids packed onto these things driving through the streets just dancing and having fun. Then with our final dinner they introduced us country by country as we walked out to our tables and sat. There were multiple speakers and then dinner and everything like that. Then there was a king and queen that were picked out of everyone. So every country elected a king and queen from their country and then they all went head to head in a runway show down which was hilarious to watch. And then after as always we had a giant dance party until 3 in the morning. The next morning it as quite sad as everyone gave their hugs and kisses and goodbyes. The next time we’ll all be together again isn’t until February I think when we go to the amazon. But overall it was amazing. I’ll admit the rooms, food, and hotel itself was much nicer at Mompiche with the all-inclusive resort. But this was just simple which I liked a lot more. The people though make it what it is. We would be put in a run down warehouse for a week and still have the time of our lives. These are without a doubt friends I’ll have for a lifetime. I love them all.

Gotta love sunburn

Patriotism  at its best

the chivas

bump in the road

Okay okay, I know it’s been a long time since my last post. I get so busy here and just get caught up in life and I forget to write in here sometimes. Anyways nothing out of the ordinary in the last few weeks. Just school, friends, and family for the most part. Oh I did start dance classes with a few other fellow exchange students that live near me. It’s salsa and hip hop which I think are the two greatest types of dances out there to be honest, so that’s really fun. It’s also really good exercise for me which I’ve been lacking since I’ve been here. Just from doing a little exercise though like in gym class for instance, I get winded really fast. The altitude really affects you and you don’t realize it until your moving around and you just get really tired really fast. But already since I got here I can feel a difference in becoming more accustomed to it. I should have great stamina when I return home. Another kind of interesting event was the Ecuador vs. USA soccer game the other day. It was only a friendly match meaning there wasn’t any world cup qualifying points up for stake, but still important none the less. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. In reality I didn’t care who won because it was a win for me either way, but still who do I root for? Well I was with a few other exchange students, none from the US, and we went to this mall to watch the game because they have a huge movie theater like screen in the food court. So lots of people were crowded in this place watching the game. I ended up rooting for the US because after all it is my home country. So I was the only one in this mob of Ecuadorian not rooting for Ecuador. So I would throw my hands up and get into it when US got close to scoring or a bad call or something like that. People were turning around and looking at me like I had 3 heads but it was all friendly, or at least I think. So when Ecuador scored everyone, and I mean everyone, turned to me and pointed and laughed or smiled which was a really funny moment. I knew they were all just joking around cause I was rooting for the US and I was talking to one of them sitting next to me so it was all in good fun. Ecuador ended up winning 1-0 if you didn’t know. Now onto a little more somber note, last week I have to admit I did get a little down and homesick for the first time. I was making a presentation of Vermont for my English class and I was going through all my pictures and just seeing all the pictures of Vermont it made me realize just how beautiful it really is. I’ve never taken for granted, but still now living in a big city makes me really miss that open landscape. Also my friends and family and everyone I just missed because it’s just now starting to sink in that I’m here for the year. It doesn’t feel like a vacation any more. It took two months for it to hit me.  Another part of the sadness was due to the lack of tennis playing. It sounds a little dumb, but most of you reading this know how much tennis means to mean and everything, and I’ve only played twice now in 2 months which is nothing at all. So I just got a little frustrated with not being able to just go play when I want like I can at home. I’ve put it out there as much as possible with all my connections and I’m just hoping something can work out to play more. As for the language it improving unlike anything else, it amazing. I can now pretty much hold a conversation with anyone one on one or in a small group. In the classroom or a bigger group of kids the words come so fast and topics change faster than I can keep up with so that’s still a little frustrating but it’ll come. Tomorrow I leave on another trip with Rotary for the week to Manabí. It’s the coastal region that I went to the first week I was here with my family. It another beach trip like Mompiche was but this time it’s all 145 exchange students in all of Ecuador so it is bound to be an absolute blast. I’ll be there for the week so I’ll check back in here when I get back. Hablamos pronto.

fun weekend

Last week wasn't anything special, quite boring actually cause I was just dreaming of being back in mompiche the whole time. Friday though we got out of school at 11 because it was the year anniversary of the people trying to take down the predient, Rafael Carrea. Last year on Sept. 30th the police went after him trying to kill him and the military under Correas comand fought back. Anyways it was crazy times here in ecuador. I mean if you thought Bush had mad approval ratings, this guy probably has close to zero percent. Anyways so more than 10,000 people came into to quito on thursday night to march on friday. So most of the school got out early to avoid trafic form the people filled streets. Anways so went to a friends house with all my good buddies which was fun. Saturday i went to my cousins birthday party which was really fun cause all the family was there. Later with a big group of other exchange students and friends we all went out and had fun with eachother. Sunday was really fun as well because I got to go to my first soccer game here. Like most people know south and latin americans are crazy about their soccer teams, well let me tell you, that's a 100% right. It was Quito vs. Liga, two of the biggest teams in ecuador and both are out of quito so it's like a civil war. Families and friends are torn apart and it gets hostile at times, it's ridiculous. It's like the Red Sox and Yankee rival on steroids. In my family my mother and brother are for Quito, and sister and father are for Liga. And at the moment I'm neutral, but I need to decide before their next match in a few weeks. Anyways it was $8 to enter and the stadium isn't huge, but it's quite big. Half of the stadium was white for Liga and the other half red/blue for Quito. There were police and fences separting the fans of each team. Each side seemed to have endless chants and dances that went on the entire game. There's this mote around the field separting the stands from the field so people dont jump onto the field. Anyways from all teh streamers people were throwing the mote was filled with paper. So when some fans broke out the flares and threw them down there small fires started. To accompany this people would throwing m-80 like explosives in there as well adn would echo throughout the stadium. As for the soccer itself it was quite great. It's really high level play and it ended up in a tie 1-1. Needless to say though it was quite the experience for me and I loved it. OH and also at half time they kicked out some balls into the crowd and one happened to come my way and i just so happened to be taller than everyone here so it was quite an easy catch.