April Update--New Friends and Adventures

On Tuesday, April 17, I made some new friends, Paola and Javier, in the hospital.  They actually worked for the Ministry of Agicultura, Ganaderia, Aquacultura, y Pescaria (MAGAP), or basically the Department of Agriculture in Ecuador.  We incidentally sat by each other at lunch because the hospital cafeteria was full.  It had been awhile since I met new people (yes, I am pretty shy…and I’m doing an independent project, so don’t really have coworkers or peers), so it was nice to chat with Paola and Javy.  That weekend Javy invited me to check out a waterfall outside of Pedro.  It was a short hike back through the sub-tropical jungle and the waterfall was gushing.  The river was really full due to all the rain we’d been having (even though it rains a ton during rainy season, people were saying that this season was more rain than usual).  The spray from the waterfall was quite refreshing in the hot, humid afternoon.  We ended the afternoon with ice cream and then beers and dancing at a small beach in the near-by town of Puerto Quito.  It was a great Saturday!

Cascada Azul from a distance

Lots of pretty rocks

On Monday, April 23 I had a meeting with CENIT, an organization with which I was considering volunteering the following year.  I’d been contemplating deferring admission to Tulane since February, when a friend told me about a clinic she worked at that always took volunteers.  Since then, I’ve been looking for volunteer options and found CENIT in Quito—the idea of living on the coast lost a bit of its glammer, and the idea of living in Quito seemed like a better option, as I was getting to know more people from Quito.  Ironically, there were four students from WI or MN at CENIT’s headquarters, doing various projects!  One of them gave me a tour of the facilities, I talked with the volunteer coordinator, and also talked at length with the WI students.  Talking with them gave me a better idea of the structure and support of volunteering at CENIT—something that I was concerned about considering the lack of structure and support with my project in Pedro.  In conclusion, CENIT seemed like a great option if I decided to defer Tulane and stick around Ecuador for a bit longer.

Waiting for the game to start with Javy

On Saturday, April 29, I went to a soccer game in Quito with Javy and some of his friends and cousins.  Soccer is an incredibly big deal here…so the excitement of the game was very similar to a UW football game (but there was less intoxication).  But lots of screaming and cursing and whistling.  This game was particularly a big game because it was La Liga (Quito’s team) against the rival Barcelona (Guayaquil’s team).  Guayaquil is the largest city in Ecuador—Quito is the second largest—and also the commerce center of the country, whereas Quito is the cultural/historic center.  Barcelona had not beat La Liga while playing in Quito in 14 years, so you can imagine the anticipation of this game!  It was like UW playing Ohio in 2010, when students stormed the field after we beat the #1 Ohio.  Woo!  Javy taught me one of the songs/chants, so I chimed in as best I could, feeling like a real Quiteña (person from Quito).  La Liga didn’t win, but they tied.  So next year it will be 15 years that Barcelona has not beat La Liga…perhaps next year I’ll attend the same game…

The "White House," as the stadium is called, filling up

Excitement for La Liga!!!