Small Paradise

“Small Paradise”

7/20/12

            So I have quite a weekend/week planned ahead of me, and I’m pretty excited to spend my last days here doing some really awesome things. After I last wrote, Santiago and I went to the mall to see if we could go see a movie. Unfortunately, the only movie in English with Spanish subtitles was Spiderman… much later that night, so we had to pass on seeing a movie. Instead we went shopping and got some things I will need to last me through this next week. Then at night we watched “About a Boy”, which was interesting, to say the least! Buttttt enough about Monday because Tuesday was definitely my favorite day this week.

            Before leaving early in the morning, Santiago and I had a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs and avena al horno (which is like a cake of cooked dry oatmeal that you pour milk onto). Then Santiago and I took a truck taxi to Yunguilla, which is this gorgeous town in Ecuador about twenty minutes or so from Calacali. Much of Santiago’s family lives in Yunguilla. The taxi ride was awesome. We stood up in the back of the truck and watched as we passed the most gorgeous landscapes I have ever seen. The trees and mountains were a fresh green, and the land was filled with rich colors and flowers. There were cows and horses on the side of the road just grazing, and beautiful medium-sized wooden houses lined the town. I suggest you stop reading for a second and go to my Facebook to see the pictures I took of this amazing town!

            We finally stopped at a hill that overlooked the town’s houses. We walked down, and Santiago showed me several houses and fields that belonged to his family. We stopped at one spot that was pretty much a hill that lead down to the farm where the cows and horses lived. It all belonged to his family. We sat there for a long time talking, resting, and taking pictures. It was so peaceful. Santiago told me that it was “pequeño paraíso”, which means “small paradise”. We could see all of the mountains and trees; it was incredible.

            We stopped in his grandparent’s house to eat some bananas before heading back. We also got to talk for a bit with his cousins, and then we waited for the truck taxi to return. We went to Santiago’s and had wonderful fish with Yuca for lunch and relaxed for a bit. Then we headed back home and hung out for a bit with my family. Rebecca asked me to play marbles with her, so I did. I was surprised at how much this child just enjoyed throwing marbles around. There wasn’t any set game or anything else but marbles… lots and lots of marbles.

            When it came time for me to eat dinner, which I think was pasta, Rebecca was upset that she had to stop playing with me; it was cute! I’m really starting to love my meals here. I either get to sit with my family and eat, or sometimes when we arrive when everyone else is in bed, Santiago and I eat together alone at the kitchen table. Santiago is the best cook, so he prepares food, while I set up everything. I make our Tang, which the flavor of this week is lemon (like lemonade), and I put out what we need in order to eat. Then we sit down together and pray and eat. It’s such a wonderful “bonding” experience” that I really enjoy. =)

            That night we watched “Catch Me If You Can”, which, of course, is an awesome movie. After watching all these movies, we like to quote them every so often. I also got to finish a song of mine that I started back in May. So there you go, Mom, I finished a song while here!

            On Wednesday we got up early to go to the waterfall. We had eggs for breakfast and met up with our friend Jhonatan in the park. We took a truck taxi to the waterfall, but it was crazy cold. I stood up for a while, but it got so cold. Oh, and here’s something funny! I was wearing a dress with my bathing suit underneath, and when I was standing up, my dress would fly up. Even though I was wearing a bathing suit (which is a skirt, not like a bikini), Santiago held onto my dress so it wouldn’t go up.

            We got to the place with the waterfall, and it was so much warmer; I loved it! It was the same place I went to in January, and to my surprise, the infamous cook was still there. My Ecuador team from January has a wonderful story about our teacher/team leader, Juliet, and the lady that made her fish when she tried to explain (in only English) that she wanted fritters. I laughed to know she was still there!

            We took a walk through the place and saw a lemon tree. We picked some lemons to save for fish later, but they were SO strong in flavor! We just looked around for a bit before going to the big waterfall. We waited for water to fill up the little pool-like area, and then we hung out in the freezing water. We went around the waterfall, and, as always, it was exhilarating! We basically hung out and went on the hammocks while we waited for the taxi truck. I pretty much fell asleep on the ride back because we were exhausted.

            We came back around 2 or so, and I wasn’t feeling that great, so I took a nap. Santiago came back with Yuca so we ate and then watched “Sleeping with the Enemy”, which was just a pretty annoying movie, but it was funny to watch Santiago gasp whenever something bad happened. We basically just hung out for the rest of the day before deciding to go get pizza.

            It was pretty late, but we took the bus to San Antonio to get pizza. As always, we shared pizza, a cheeseburger, and fries. Then we went to a shop to get an ice cream cone before going in the taxi truck to go home.

            Yesterday Santiago and I talked for a bit with Angelica and ate lunch before going to the center of Quito, where all the cheap stores are located. We took two buses, and it took about an hour and a half to get there. We spent the time on the bus listing all the names of countries in specific continents that we could think of.

            We finally got there around 3:30 or so and started looking for gifts for my family. It was so frustrating because there were a lot of people, and some things were NOT cheap! I was trying to find the best prices in a large market-like place, and I got tired pretty quick. However, we found almost everything we were looking for. I was able to buy the twins boxer underwear (if you’ve been reading these, you should know why), mascara and eye shadows for my host mom, and a shirt for my host dad. I still have yet to find something not too expensive for Rebecca. I kept looking for princess lunchboxes (she starts kindergarten in September), but they were all pretty expensive! Yet we did pretty well on our journey to find good gifts.

            Last night we did a trial run of peanut butter pancakes. They weren’t bad, but I think they’d be better with chocolate! Santiago ate fries and chicken, while I had scrambled eggs and pancakes (breakfast for dinner!). I made the pancake batter and then started to mix the eggs and peanut butter. It wasn’t looking at all good, and then I asked Santiago to mix it for me. He mixed it for about twenty seconds and handed it to me. He mixed it perfectly. I was literally shocked at how good of a cook he is. He knows exactly how to do things; it’s incredible.

            Today we are hanging out and packing for the BEACH this weekend! We will be there until Monday! I’m so excited to be finally going to a beach after all of this cold weather! It’s a six hour bus ride, and we leave at 12am tonight, which is insane. Yet I will wake up at the beach, I will have a room with my favorite Ecuadorian girls, and I will be maybe shopping for a new bathing suit (mine barely fits now)!

            You know, I think I could use the words “pequeño paraíso” for all of my experiences here in Ecuador. I’ve gotten to do and see some pretty awesome things, and I will hopefully be able to experience some more before I go home! All of these experiences, which I will summarize and reflect on next week before I leave, have been this “small paradise” for me. Ecuador is a “small paradise” for me, and it’s a place I will really miss when I return “home” in twelve days.