Carabistouye

http://carabistouye.blogspot.com/

because, apparently, i can't write in english anymore

Mi vida Quiteña

[1] I'm currently sitting in the FLACSO (a library) cafeteria trying to drown out the almuerzito (lunch) crowd...dozens of conversations are bouncing off the high ceiling, poorly insulated walls and windows, trying desperately to distract me from work. Two months ago, these conversations probably wouldn't have clouded my thoughts one bit. In fact, I usually love working with white noise, I seem to stay focused longer. So what changed? I can now understand everything. The noise around me is no longer white and I can't help but lose myself in the chaos of all the colors...

A taste of the country, Quilotoa

My weekend in Quilotoa was, without a doubt, one of the best I've had yet. The countryside, the people, the food... everything was beautiful. The trip started with a 2 hour bus ride to Latacunga, a small city South of Quito. Sophie and I didn't stay stay long in between our buses after some horror stories I heard from a few other travelers. After finding the station (no help to the Latancungan locals who ignored all of our questions... really, straight up ignored us), we caught another 2 hour bus to Zumbahua, an indigenous peublo up the mountain. The drive was long and windy but spectacular as the sun began to set. We had planned on staying in Zumbahua that night, but after talking to a fellow American in the seat behind us, we decided to spend the night next to the lake, in Quilotoa itself.

We hired a truck to drive the five of us to Quilotoa, about a 20 minutes drive from Zumbahua. It was freezing, windy and bumby as hell, but the uncovered truck gave us a perfect view of the stars. We arrived in Quilotoa a little numb, but warmly welcome by the hostal owner. We exchanged some Kichwa and sat down to a hearty three course meal (as per usual in Ecuador).
Because there were elections on Sunday, all of Ecuador was supposed to be dry until Monday, but that didn't stop us from procuring rum and boxed wine. Sophie, the three Americans (Chris, Andy and Mike), Finn (from Ireland) and I played drinking games till the morn and probably kept the whole town up with our laughter.

The next morning, we all set out to the lake. Words can't even describe its magnificence.
Mike, Chris, Andy and Finn were set to hike the crater rim, while Sophie and I were going to brave the 23 kms to Chugchilan. We parted ways a quarter of the way through and Soph and i set off with Alfonso and Alfonso (the guide and his horse). For the first time, Soph and I were able to put out Kichwa to use with Alfonso, among others, and we realized how little we truly know how to say (beyond the typical conversation questions and names of animals). It was nice to practice and gain Alfonso's respect, but a little disheartening to realize we can say so little.

niñas lindas



view from the lake's ridge

couldn't have been more spectacular

Along the way we encountered some sweet little girls, with whom with shared our PB sandwiches (they were extremely poor), some very angry dogs (absolutely terrifying) and some overwhelming huge hills to climb. Needless to say, the hike was one of the hardest I've ever done, especially at 10,000 feet where breathing is difficult, but it was well worth it.

A sheep 19km into the hike

catching our breaths, looking at breathtaking things

When we finally arrived in the tiny town of Chugchilan 5.5 hours later, I was beyond exhausted and a little wet from some rain. But the Black Sheep Inn (the eco-lodge we stayed at) was extremely welcoming and rather luxurious compared to our previous night's stay. That night, we chatted with other travelers at a family style dinner of cauliflower soup and vegetarian sheperds pie (YUM!). Sophie and I went to sleep sore and tired, but extremely satisfied.
We awoke the next day, Sunday, the election day, so a massive pancake breakfast. I could barely move my legs but my mouth worked just fine so I was pretty content with the day's start. The view from the lodge was breathtaking (surprise, surprise) and we set off with some travelers back to the lake for one last look. The truck ride was very dusty, so much so that we all covered our faces like bandits to avoid breathing it. In fact, my hair and skin were literally a different color after the ride.

From the lake, we hitched another car to Zumbahua, climbed one last hill and waited for a bus down the moutain. Seeing as it was election day, everyone was trying to do the same thing and we ended up not having seats for the 2 hour drive to Latacunga. I fell asleep on the floor of the bus and everything thought I was drunk... just a little embarassing.

From Latacunga we had to wait another 2 hours to get on a bus because of the crowds. It required some serious pushing to finally get on, and when we did, didn't have real seats, yet again. What we did have, though, was quite an interesting conversation with an older afro-ecuadorian woman, an indigenous family (with some very graphic breastfeeding... i mean REALLY graphic), and a Colombian immigrant. We were quite a crew. The bus ride was long thanks to election day traffic and we arrived back home exhausted, wet and a little sun burnt. I could only stay awake long enough to eat some soup and change out of my dirty clothes... needless to say, I slept well that night.

Baños

Some photographic updates:

cuy, ie guinea pig

jas, dani, yo, lianna, herman

niños

bella vista

the closest you'll get to an ecuadorian sunse

abuelitos de la calle

[1]
It was my second day at Abuelitos and Dona Suzy had me working in the kitchen. I was handed a knife and preceded to chop frozen cantaloupe until my fingers were red with numbness.... and that's when I knew I had to get out of the kitchen for good.
After finally escaping the wrath of frozen fruit, I joined a group of abuelitos in their morning exercises (which involves stretching, wiggling fingers and twirls). After loosening up our muscles, Dona Suzy told us partner up, close our eyes and stand facing one another, palm to palm. And as such we stood, in silence, for almost five minutes, after which we were asked, "¿Como te sentían?" (How did you feel?) My partner raised her hand, smiled at me with her eyes and said, “I felt very loved. I felt so much love."

mis abuelitas

yes, swordfighting is part of morning exercise

me encanta quito

Courtyard in Museo del Ciudad

Centro Historico

La Virgen

amor

morning sky outside my house

Beautiful art exhibition at Centro Metropolitano

Gorgeous Church

I illegally took this picture so it doesn't even begin to do this church justice

Nukaka super unkushkami kani.

Ah to be sick at 10,000 feet... is it possible that altitude makes everything feel so much worse? Granted, I probably could have taken better care of myself. For one thing, I should not have gone dancing Friday night, nor should I have eaten that cheap ass Chinese food... or street Shawerma (although, according to Jed, shawerma cures all)... or gone to the casino (there's free beer!)... or taken an hour long busride to El Mitad del Mundo, but it was all so wonderful, I'd do it again. Needless to say I spent all of Saturday morning/afternoon in bed and on Sunday I passed out at 4 and slept until 7:30 this morning. I wish I could say I'm fully recovered, but I'd be lying.

Jed and one of his many shawerma men... some might call him a shawerma slut, but I like to call him an enthusiast.










It's incredibly hard to beleive I've only been here a week, but that's what the calendar keeps telling me. So far, my schedule is as follows:
Monday- Kichwa 9-12; Seminar 4-6
Tuesday- No classes = adventuring in the city
Wednesday- Kichwa 9-12; Ethno Methods 4-6
Thursday- Voluteering at Abuelitos de la Calle (Grandparents of the Streets) 10-1
Friday- Kichwa 9-12
Kichwa is proving to be both a hilarious and frustrating experience. Hilarious and fun when taught by Jose and terribly frustrating when taught by Jaime, his brother. Jose is the type of language teacher that inspires students and is a constant reminder of why we're taking the time to learn Kichwa. Jaime on the other hand, well... I think he tries, but its just a pretty miserable experience. The only "redeeming" quality of Jaime's teaching are his drawings...













Fig 1. happy and/or angry
Fig 2. bad
Fig 3. sad
Fig 4. happy and/or angry
Fig 5. angry (notice the pinneapple)
Fig 6. sick
Fig 7. a mouse
in essence, nothing he draws makes any sense and you're always wrong in your interpretation.

More later, its lunch time in my house and my brothers just got back from their first day of school...

la casa del rio oglan

my street, rio oglan


my house's fruit basket... i can't even name all of these


the planes overhead are so close, they set off car alarms

the light in quito is so, so spectacular

After a long summer of anticipation, I am finally in Quito.
My first few days here were spent at the Hostal Santa Barbara, reuniting with Pitzer friends, going through tedious orientations and adjusting to the altitude change. I've never been so winded after going up two flights of stairs or so drunk after una cervesa. But now that my red blood cells have doubled, I'm breathing easy and enjoying every moment in this city.
In brief....
My family is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Mi madre es Sonia, y mi padre es Diego. Tengo dos hermonos, se llaman Francisco, 13, y Juan Diego, 12, y un perro, Luke Skywalker. Perfecto, no?
I've only had one Kichwa (Quichua) class so far, but it was quite fun. Nukaka Camillami kani. Nukaka kuchillami kani. Nukaka Washingtonmantami kani. (My name is Camille. I am happy. I am from Washington). It's a very strange language....
La comida es muy muy rico! There are so many fruits I've never seen before and every morning I wake up to fresh squeezed juice.
I go to sleep and wake up to the sounds of airplanes directly over my head. It seriously looks as though they're going to crash into the buildings (I'll post a picture of this soon. Secretly really really terrifying).
Anyhow, I'm having a hard time putting together complete thoughts seeing as my brain is a little fried from all the Spanish. I've realized I know more Spanish than I thought, but being here reinforces how much more there is to learn.
Besos a todos, mas fotos y cuentas manana.

ke rata botswana

dios mio

today i leave for amsterdam... i don't want to go! saying goodbye to the little ones was hard, especially laone and ofentse (who i just found out is hiv +). more on the trip up north (what an adventure!) and my last days in tlokweng when i can get more reliable internet.

lots of love.

tlokweng, route 4

dumelang bomma le borra! i'm having a hard time focusing on anything but the thought of holding my little nephew... but i'll do my best.
last night we were blessed with some pula and had a little thunderstorm. it made me nostalgic for the intensity of east coast thunderstorms, especially the ones in celo, north carolina. thanks to the pounding of the rain, i had no trouble getting to sleep last night.
i think i drink about an average of 4 cups of tea a day, actually, i'm underestimating because its only 4pm and i've had 3 cups today. the US definitely needs to jump on the tea time break bandwagon...
tomorrow i leave for the north. i take a night train to francistown, arrive at 6 in the morning, catch a bus at 10 and arrive in kasane sometime friday afternoon (some say the trip is 6 hours, others say more because of the potholes and because botswana time works, well, differently). i have a feeling i'll be out of reading material by the end of this trip. once in kasane, we're supposed to stay with this woman named wame, who is arranging our day trip to victoria falls. she drives us to the zimbabwe border, someone else picks us up. we're planning on bringing some goods for bartering, like soap and food, considering zimbabweans don't use their own currency. crazy, huh? after vic falls, we'll either spend sunday in kasane or head back to francistown for the night. we'll see where life takes us...
today at s.o.s. was better than yesterday... quite frankly I think the little ones had used up all their energy fighting each other the day before. little laone is doing better, too. yesterday he was our special assistant, helping to hold up the picture books, pass out materials and collect plates... he found every little chore fun (i even caught him scolding his classmates for not listening and misbehaving...) he is absolutely glowing from the attention. goodness, i wish i could take him home with me.
alright, that's all the focus i've got in me right now. its far to sunny outside to be on the computer, anyways.
besos!

BABY!!!!!

On May 31, 2008 my sister gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Luca!!!!!!! I can't wait to see pictures, I've heard he is beautiful and, "has perfect hair" (not sure what that means). He will certainly be the best part about coming home.

More updates later, I desperately need a nap. The little ones were out of control today, way more tears and ninja kicks than usual.....

Lots of love, Salang Sentle.

PS. Madagascar and Botswana tied their match, 0-0 (also referred to as "nought-nought").

zebras

I'm finally going to see a football (soccer) game! The match is Botswana vs. Madagasgar.... GO ZEBRAS!!!!!

granadillas and baboons

Evertying in Tlokweng is greener than I remember. There must have been more pula (rain) this year. The bougainvilla is in full bloom even though May marks the beginning of Botswana's winter. Also, there is a family of baboons at my apartments.
Today has been the warmest day yet, at 3 oclock I was still soaking up the sun outside. Since arriving on Monday, I've been spending every morning/afternoon at S.O.S. It was so wonderful to see my "babies" from last year (even though it took a day or two for them to really remember "Teacha Naledi"). A good number of my Green Rabbits from last year are still around, but I was sad to learn that nearly a third of my babes were no longer at S.O.S. Some orphans, like Dimpho, moved in with their extended families while others, like Mototlegi, simply stopped coming. NO one really knows where or why they left. I guess I should have known better than to expect to reunite with all my kids... but S.O.S. feels different without them.
THe ones that are still around have certainly gronw up. Not just in size or appearance, but in demeanor as well. Mickey cut his dreds and now goes by Michael, for instance. Particularly striking are the changes in little Laone, a boy I was very close with last year. He has become very aggressive, externalizing his angers and fears. Last year, it become clear that he was beginning to experience some abuse at home, but now, the frequency and severity of the abuse is much more apparent. He is quick to flinch and recoil from teachers when they reprimand him (verbally). It's as if he even expects a beating if an adult physically reaches out to him (for instance, if you try to hold his hand). This shift is rather heartbreaking for me, especially because the only thing I an do is provide him with as much love as he'll let me and help him to express his emotions in a less violent way, a pretty lofty goal for the next 2 1/2 weeks. Again, time is my biggest challenge here.
But ultimately, things are much easier this time around. There was relatively no ajustment period at S.O.S. or back into Botswana language and culture, it all just kind of came back (I remembered far more Setswana than I had thought). Every morning, I wake up at 7:30 and catch a Khombi by 8:30 (enough time for granadilla yoghurt, yum!). By 9 oclock, we're at SOS serving breakfast to the little ones and chatting over tea with the staff. Tshepang (a teacher affectionately known as Tshepi) finished his last day at SOS today, which is particularly sad for me because he had become a good friend (we worked int he same classroom last year, as well). During recess, we sang all the songs we had taught each other, he still remembered them all, as well as some of his choir songs (including Con Te Partiro, though he had never heard the Andrea Bocelli version, I shall have to send him the CD).
My days at SOS also consist of lots of snotty hugs, "teacher look! teacha me! teacha push!"s, tears (its truly survival of the fittest on the playground), and sometimes failed attempts at lesson plans. Yesterday, recess was especially crazy ebcuase one of the Canadian volunteers was passing out mini Canadian flags to the children (little Batswanas running around with Canadian flags was quite a sight to see). Every child started with one, but by the end of recess, only a handful of kids were in possession of the flags--some acquired by bartering chips, but most by force. It was C-H-A-O-S.
Hmmm, what else...
We were lucky enough to overlap with the semester students here, so I got to spend some much needed time with Sonya, among others. Sadly, they've left today to continue their travels in Africa and elsewhere. Speaking of travels, Olivia, Megan and I are trying to make a trip next weekend to the North to explore Kasane and Victoria Falls. We're trying to do it cheaply though (unlike Mita who is doing a big 4 day Safari), so that means taking an overnight train to Francistown, a 6 hour bus ride to Kasane and crossing the border to Zimbabwe. IT will be long, but definitely worth it. I've heard only the best thigns about Northern Botswana (in fact, Sonya couldn't stop raving about Maun and Kasane--she even went bungee jumping at Vic Falls!).
Honestly, I could write on for hours, but I don't have more time. Next time, I'll try to write more anecdotes rahte rthan little updates. Maybe Ill even post some pics, though my camera screen completely broke on the airplane (no idea how, it was on my carry on...). Lots of love from the other hemisphere!
Salang Sentle (remain well where you are).

Dumela bomma le borra!

I have finally arrived and damn it feels good to be back. The weather is warmer than I remember and so are the people. The trip was very long, butI met some wonderful people along the way. The highlight was befriending Zuluboy, a South African hip hop artist, at the Amsterdam airport. He seemed to take a liking to me and visited me a few times throughout the twelve hour flight (though I was asleep for most of it). I had forgotten how suave South African men are, and I found myself almost agreeing to hanging out with him in Johannesburg. But, alas, I came to my senses and we parted ways. As I was leaving, he gave me with a CD of his music and offered me a condom, which I politely turned down.
Upon arriving at the hotel in Johannesburg, I was greeted by a little Daschund (who I later learned is capable of jumping 6 foot fences and climbing ivy like a monkey...). Despite having slept most of the plane ride, I slept through the night and woke up to the sound of planes overhead and beginnings of a rainstorm.
.... more later, someone else needs the computer!

i wanna botswana.

Leaving for Botswana on May 25.... the countdown begins.