Full Cansada...chuuuuta

Oh hey, remember me? Cálmense, two weeks of visitors isn't as easy as it sounds.

The weekend before 860 invaded Quito my friends and I went to Cuenca for a few days. It's a smaller historical city 9 hours south. We actually spent the majority of the weekend on buses, literally one of my favorite activities in this country. We went to a little town outside Cuenca called Chordeleg - the most dangerous place I've been so far. Why? The place is a silver jewelry jackpot. The main square is lined with shops selling jewelry, and we visited almost every single one and contributed generously to Chordeleg's economic activity. Another day we visited the Incan ruins of Ingapirca about an hour from Cuenca (although we missed the direct tourist bus and traveled like locals making it over two hours. Totally worth it for the entertaining conversations with Ecuadorians.) The ruins were really cool, especially this big temple in the center. The landscape around Cuenca is beautiful, hilly and green with little farms and cows on the side of the road.

Tim, Kelc and Ty rolled into Ecua Friday night. Kelc wasn't feeling good on Saturday so I took the boys to Otavalo. They experienced a standard-issue harrowing Ecua bus ride - accelerating around corners that wind through the mountains, passing uphill, etc.Ty bought every hideously obnoxious item he could find, I bought excessive amounts of jewelry and finally got myself a poncho, and we all worked on our bargaining skills. Being exposed to U.S. culture again made me realize how cheap this place has made me, like when I thought our delicious 4 course lunch was a tourist rip off at 7 dollars.
We wandered around the historical district with Ibis on Sunday and got to tour the Presidential Palace. Ty started doing his Ty tricks like handstands and Ibis said, "No wonder his mother worries!"
The rest of their visit was less than successful because everyone got sick. We headed to the coast for a few days but didn't have much fun other than hanging in our beautiful little hostel next to the beach. Apparently I'm full Ecuatoriana now because I felt fine the whole week, other than being sad that my friends couldn't enjoy their vacation! Back in Quito we had one fun night out on the town with some of my friends here, and didn't do much besides shop more at the artisan market. Unfortunately the cable car up to Pichincha was closed because of scheduled blackouts when we tried to go the last day (yep, three hours a day in every neighborhood). I was sad to see them go without knowing what Ecuador is really like besides being sick.

Avi and Jess's visit was a different story. We had a great time hanging around Quito, and they did lots of exploring on their own while I was in class. We went to Mindo for a few days with my friend Barb and her sisters who were also visiting. We spent the day ziplining then swimming and jumping off a 40-foot waterfall. There was also a stone waterslide into the river that was way faster than it looked, and terrifying. Don't worry Mrs. Long, NO BUNGEE JUMPING!
I talked to our guide for a while when we were hiking and he told me that twenty years ago, Mindo was an agricultural town based on farming, hunting and forestry. Some foreign students came in and lobbied the locals to focus on conservation and turn to tourism as an industry or the cloud forest would be destroyed. He said that at first they thought they were either crazy or on drugs, but within a few years they were successful, replanted most of the forest, and created trails and tourist infrastructure. Now there's a three year prison sentence for cutting down trees. I thought it was the coolest success story for conservation, especially since the guide himself used to hunt monkeys and birds and think nothing of it.
I don't care what the calendar says, I can't believe Thanksgiving really happened. Mainly because it was 70 and sunny Thursday! [I might go into shock when I get off the plane in Hartford. Actually, maybe I'll just stay here.] We had some delicious hamburgers for lunch, doesn't get more Amerrrrrrcan than that. Last night IES got a chiva for everyone in my group and it sadly started much too late for Jess and Avi to enjoy before their midnight flight. I had a great time though - man do I love those chivas. I spent the day in Otavalo buying an entire flock of sheep in wool products and now I'm resting for the first time in two weeks. AY. This week is the Fiestas de Quito, a celebration of the city's founding (I think) but I still have a lot of papers to write and some pesky grad apps to finish.

It can't possibly be November, I just got here. Now I'm going to attempt to get some sleep, but the neighbors are farreando like it's 1999 and taunting me for staying in on a Saturday night.

P.S. If hypothetically I were ever to come back to the states in a few weeks, anyone have a job for me? Se habla Español:)