querido diario

my jungle book

2008-05-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

i am back from the jungle. it was by far my favourite trip of the whole semester. even cooler than the galapagos islands, in my opinion.

view of mount tungurahua from the plane

the huaorani tribe

sarah and i are so primitive

so much joy...

i have almost all of my things packed up. tomorrow is my last day here in ecuador. i have a few errands to run and lots of goodbyes. it feels surreal. i wish i had more to say, but i really don't want to think too hard about it right now. i feel some reverse culture shock coming on.

21st birthday and jungle adventures

2008-04-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

on my birthday, i woke up to ten dozen flowers in my room with a note that said "happy birthday. love, blake" im not totally sure who helped him sneak that one, but it was so incredible. i couldnt even see my desk because it was entirely covered in flowers.

also, blake bought us two tickets to go see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra this summer.

Anyway, the whole gang jumped in the van and we headed off to the jungle. I spent about four hours of my birthday in the car, but the scenery in ecuador makes all car rides a privilege, so i didnt mind.

we arrived at the jungle sometime before dusk. we are staying in Shell, Ecuador, which is famous because it is where the American missionary Jim Elliott and his other missionary friends lived (and got speared to death). in fact, we are staying next door to the house they lived in.

at night, we all went out for dinner, and i had a cake and whatnot. the day was not super eventful, but i enjoyed myself and i did a lot of reflecting on the past year. Being 20 years old was so much fun. it was without a doubt the best year of my life. here are some reasons:

-i had michelle, annie, and jami as roommates
-i started dating blake, who changed my life and whom i love so much.
-i was able to travel to scotland to be in my best friend's wedding.
-i also had the opportunity to go to ireland, england, germany, france, italy, and the czech republic.
-i started my junior year
-i came to ecaudor, where i've been able to experience incredible things. standing on top of one of the worlds tallest mountains, riding a boat on a lake inside a volcano crater, seeing some of the most impressive waterfalls in south america, meeting tiny quichua villages hidden up in the andes mountains, swimming with sharks in the galapagos islands, football games, building deep friendships, finally making my bed, dancing and throwing spears with the huaroni tribe, canoing and rafting in the amazon, flying little planes over the amazonian rainforest, learning a ton of spanish and latin american politics, and learning a lot more about myself.

so. being 20 was pretty incredible. im excited about this next year of my life. so far, its looking pretty good.

the day after my birthday was the best day of my life. i mean that really honestly. it is no exaggeration. it really was the single greatest day of my life.

we flew five-passenger cessna airplanes over the amazonian rain forest. sarah, alex, ben, and tommy flew in the plane with me. it was one of the most beautiful things i've ever seen. i can't even explain how vast it was. it was just the thickest, greenest, most beautiful, vibrant part of the earth i could ever imagine. we landed on a small clearing of land at a huaorani village. you may have heard of the huaorani tribe. they are famous for being featured in the movie "End of the Spear", which is a true story about five missionaries who were speared to death by the huaorani in the 1950's. obviously, they don't spear people to death anymore.

the huaorani people were the most beautiful people i've ever met. most of them couldnt speak spanish, so we communicated with smiles and dances and laughter. we hiked through the jungle to get to their hut. we were greeted by the women who gave us all a grass headband and painted our faces with the inside of a really strange bright orange fruit. we had a spear throwing competition, which was nearly impossible for us. then we did blow darts. sarah and i actually hit the target, which was awesome. we then went inside the hut and the women started to dance for us. they invited me and sarah to dance. then the men joined, including tommy, alex, and ben. when we were all singing and dancing in their hut, i felt so much joy filling up my whole entire body. i was close to tears. it was just the single most incredible experience of my life.

after the singing and dancing, everyone pushed ben and this huaorani girl together. apparently, they got married. we didnt know he was getting married, but afterwards, our pilot explained what had just happened. then, they proceeded to wed sarah and a 12 year old boy. alex even got married. fortunately, tommy and i weasled our ways out of that.

anyway, the huaorani are the most beautiful people in the world to me and the only reason they were ever called "savages" is because they refuse to let their culture and their land be taken advantage of. i commend them. as we were flying back over the rainforest and i was sickened by the bits of deforestation and oil refineries, i knew that if it weren't for the huaorani, the entire region would be deforested.

so that was the best day of my life.

tomorrow looks pretty promising as well. we are hiking and then canoing and then trekking through the jungle to get to a Shuar tribe. I don't know much about the Shuar tribe, but they are probably as cool as the Huaorani.

the day after that, we are doing some "extreme rafting". i dont know what the "extreme" part entails, but it sounds life-threatening, which i classify as fun.

the day after that, we are biking around Mount Tungurahua, a huge active volcano. that should be fun, considering active volcanoes are equally as threatening as "extreme rafting.

then, we head home to quito to pack up and say goodbye to Ecuador. i will be home on saturday wow.

2008-04-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

on friday we had gringo day. we went to our professor's house and cooked up a storm of deliciousness. the menu? barbeque chicken sandwiches (courtesy of me and conrad), fries (alex and ben), mac & cheese (sarah and ashley), and coooooooookies!!!!(the rest of the girls) oh it was so tastey and fun. i love our group. i could never have asked for more amazing friends to learn, laugh, and travel with. bff.

anyway, i just got back from staying with an awesome ecuadorian family. everything was great. i cooked loads of food, ate a LOT of food, danced a LOT, talked a lot of politics, and played a LOT of futbol, of course.

also, i learned how to make peruvian food! its pretty similar to ecuadorian food; loads of chicken, rice and potatoes.

anyway, when we got back on campus, we all reunited in lucy's house to talk about our experiences. have i ever mentioned that lucy is one of my favourite people in the world?? she is one of the NILI leaders and she has become my mom away from home. she is probably one of the greatest people i have ever met. im going to cry like a baby when i have to say bye to her.

the semester is aaaalmost over. ?!?!?!?! i am freaking out a little bit. i have a lot of mixed feelings, of course. i am convinced ecuador is the most beautiful country in the world and i really don't want to leave.... but i am so ready to be with my family and friends back home. and i am so so so so sick of missing blake. ugh. i need to focus though. i still have three essays to write, a final exam, and a trip to the amazon. there are still lessons to be learned. its not over yet.

//jack.

otavalo revisited.

2008-04-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

we went to otavalo again. it is north of quito, across the equator, and about two hours away. it is famous for having one of the biggest artesian markets in the world. we stayed in the most beautiful adobe lodge hostel that was hidden up in the mountains. there were lots of puppies there. in fact, we had a puppy party. on saturday, we went to the market. i bought some beautiful little things.

i am not good with words. here are some photos...

in ibarra

cachorrito!!!!!!

our room in the hostel.

PUPPY PARTY!!!!!!! XOXOXOXOXO

this fabric is worn as a skirt by the Tsachila tribe. so many colours!!!

nativity set

my box!

i love sarah! we are going to live together this summer!

i'll be home in SIXTEEN DAYS. better get ready! i am going to squeeeeeeze all of youuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!! especially blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm gonna see my best friend/boyfriend BLAAAAKE! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo i'm gonna hug my parents and miss ecuador with sarah and get my photos developed and patronize my roommates and speak english and tell stories and flush toilet paper and annoy my brothers and be tanner than all of you and eat burrito loco too but NOT eat rice!!!!! and love blake!!

2008-04-08T17:15:00.001-07:00

so so so much has happened since i last updated. i am really horrible at this blogging thing. plus, my computer no longer works and the internet here is not reliable at all. i dont feel like writing a long coherent collection of detailed paragraphs... so i'll just be lazy and use bullet points.

we spent a week in Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador. it was an eight hour drive to the coast. Guayaquil was pretty cool, but Quito is waaaaaay cooler. it was terribly humid there and i was so happy to leave at the end of the week.

my pet chicken died. a huge black dog attacked her. he didn't eat her; he just chomped on her jugular vein once or twice and let her die slowly. anyway, we ate her for dinner that night.

on friday, our group was given complete control over a local school. each of us was in charge of three classes. I taught a craft/music class and two art classes. I loved it so much. The kids were so beautiful and we had so much fun together.

Tomorrow, I am going to the Supreme Court of Justice to interview a Lawyer. I am really nervous/excited.

Our Latin American Issues class is super intense. Every single day i get so so worked up and angry and i really struggle not to cry. It is hard to wrap my mind around the injustice and corruption in Latin America because it is just so immensely overwhelming. The machismo and the abused women, the racism towards the indigenous, the countless homeless children, the lack of jobs, the oil industry, the depletion of the rainforests, drug trafficking, the lack of essential human rights. Even more frustrating is that i cannot fix it all. It just runs through my head all day and i get more and more worked up. It consumes me and i dont know what to do to release it.

we are going to the AMAZON on my 21st birthday!! we are staying for a week. We are going to stay in an awesome little hostel, fly Cessna planes over the jungle, ride bikes, hang out with a tribe, trek, canoe down the amazon, white water raft. it is going to be incredible.

i have twenty four days left. I don't want to leeeeeave. I think you all should just come here.

i leave you with some photos....

good friday in quito.

2008-03-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

we spent the day in Colonial Quito to observe the Good Friday parade. It was disturbing, to say the very least. "Los Cucuruchos" dress in purple clothing that resembles Ku Klux Klan robes and they walk in the streets to show penitence. i think it was initially disturbing because of the KKK stigma that surrounds the type of garb they were dressed in. some carried huge crosses. Some were bleeding because some of the crosses were made of cacti. Some whipped themselves. Some were wearing sharp thorn crowns and were gushing blood down their foreheads.

procession of the cucuruchos video

tomorrow morning, we are leaving for quayaquil. it is the biggest city in ecuador. it is in the coast and they tell us its going to be hot, hot, hot times five. i will be back in one week.

mitad del semestre/ our new pet

2008-03-15T16:38:00.000-07:00

the semester is half way over. i have so many mixed feelings. i miss my family, blake, my roommates, and my friends so so so much. however, i cannot imagine what it will be like to leave ecuador. this country and its people are so beautiful and they have changed my life immensely. it is really hard for me to put it inwords. i doubt i will ever be able to. so i won't try.

on thursday we went to the basilica, which is stunning. i will get photos developed soon.

on friday, we went to the market to buy the groceries for the cafeteria. we were each assigned to pick up three different things. i was assigned to buy six avocados, 1 pound of peas, and six maracuyas. prices were a bit higher because of something to do with holy week, but regardless, everything was incredibly cheap. i also bought 1 pound of grapes for eighty cents and one pound of ecuadorean coffee beans for one dollar.

also, ben, conrad, alex and i decided we needed a pet. so, we bought a hen for four dollars. we named her Frida Kahlo. the other names considered were whoopi goldberg, luzita, nilita, niliana, and so on... Although she lacks the signature unibrow, she definitely looks like a frida. we put her in what used to be a rabbit house, but we felt it was a bit too small. so today, alex and i made a palace for her. she has a courtyard and a place for shade. we feed her our leftover rice. she is surprisingly tame and docile. we like to take her for walks. the latinos threaten to eat her the day that we go back to the states. over my dead body.

a week in pictures.

2008-03-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

if you didn't already know, i really love BBC. i spend probably way too much time on their website. they always have several different stories that are told through a set of pictures. i thought all of their featured stories were notable today...

this picture story is my favourite of the three. it shows the current situation in ecuador/colombia/venezuela.

i do NOT miss this. suckaaaaaz.

okay, so i am not a feminazi, but Women's Day was yesterday and i like being a woman and i always like a reason to celebrate. so raise your glass to feminity. right on.

in other news, the new cloud cult album is really good, the colombians are teaching me so many dance moves (papa, nonnie, mom, and daddy, i'll be sure to teach you), i am mastering the art of making chifles (tastey little plantain chips), i found a bunch of bjork covers by radiohead that are excellent, i talked to my parents for a little bit the other night, my spanish is getting really really good, there's a possibility of visiting Macchu Picchu (!!!!!!!!), and i still live in the most beautiful country in the world. all is good in the hood.

lately

2008-03-05T18:55:00.000-08:00

first off, i am alive. there has been a lot of concern due to the current situation in latin america, but i am safe. for those of you who have not seen/read the news, you can read it here.

it is certainly an interesting time to be here. it is also really upsetting. at this point, ecuador and venezuela have severed all diplomatic ties with colombia, who has been fighting a civil war for more than forty years. the corruption is almost unbearable. sometimes i think maybe i should stop reading the news because nothing else makes me quite as depressed. aside from lots of ecuadoreans and venezuelans, i have lots of colombian friends here on campus. in fact, the colombians have become some of my dearest friends here. right now, they fear that they will either be deported back to colombia or not allowed to go back to colombia.

i do have hope though. last night i was watching the news. it showed an angry hugo chavez and an angry rafael correa, dead bodies, george bush, scared civilians, and military troops at the recently closed borders..... but then i went over to the cafeteria for dinner and sat down with my friends. right across from me sat a colombian, and ecuadorean, and a venezuelan. we all ate dinner together and talked and laughed. i know it sounds really cheesey, but i got really emotional at that moment.

enough of that.

anyway, i had a great four day weekend. we went to riobamba. so far, it is my favourite of all the ecaudorean cities we've visited.... here are some highlights.....

i climbed mount chimborazo. it is one of the highest peaks on the entire earth. although mount everest is the highest mountain, chimborazo is apparently the biggest because it is furthest away from the core of the earth. it has something to do with being on the equator. i am not sure i understand it, but hey, i climbed one of the tallest mountains on the world.

we also spent some time with an indigenous community, which was my favourite part of the weekend. i became quite close with some of the little girls. they taught me words in their native language, quichua, and they let me take lots of pictures of their most beautiful little faces so that i can always remember them.

mount chimborazo

2008-02-28T14:20:00.000-08:00

this weekend, i'll be climbing mount chimborazo.

2008-02-27T20:55:00.000-08:00

what's going on

2008-02-23T06:40:00.001-08:00

I guess i should mention that i made it back from the Galapagos Islands last week. It was a really awesome trip. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to go to such a unique little corner of the world. We lived on a boat for a week, so i was quite sea sick off and on, but overall, the experience was unforgettable. I regret not giving more frequent day-by-day updates. Trying to sum the whole trip up in retrospect is quite overwhelming. We did a lot of hiking and snorkeling, and saw loads of sea lions, sea turtles, crazy fish, blue footed boobies, other rare birds, giant tortoises (there has got to be a better sounding plural form of tortoise, right?) penguins, iguanas, et cetera....... but all that really matters is that I SWAM WITH GALAPAGOS BLACK TIPPED SHARKS!!!!oh yeah, better believe it. I almost swam with hammerhead sharks too, but they didnt want to come out to play.... i saw them after we got out of the water, but they just werent willing to approach me in snorkel gear. Also, i got really really really tan and i would classify that as exciting news.

Yesterday marked the end of Block 1 of classes here on campus. (There are three blocks each semester). So we had quite a bit to get done. For Spanish class, I wrote and presented an on the Ecuadorean Environmental Movement.

We also had a big International Day Festival yesterday. There were two North Americans in each group and each group was assigned either a region of Ecuador or a different country. Lauren and I were assigned the coast. There was a surprise grand prize, but we still werent too motivated or competitive. Anyhow, everyone worked so hard and it was a blast. Everyone's booths looked incredible and we all danced like crazy. Lauren and i got up at 6am to make battered fried shrimp, plantain and cheese empanadas, chicken and plantain tamales, patacones (fried, mashed, salted, green banana chips), chifles (thin fried green banana chips), and pan de yuca (the most amazing little balls of the tastiest bread in the world). Anyhow, Lauren and I ended up tying in first place with Colombia!!! (colombia's group was elizabeth and conrad.... you should have seen conrad dancing La Cumbia.... oh my word.) So we split the prize (casssssh monay$$$$$$$$$$$) and then danced some more!!

Anyway, we also had our one-on-one end-of-block 1 evaluations with our professor. Mine went super well and i got an A. Some people think that studying abroad is like a blow-0ff semester where you don't have to do any work. welll, i'll have you know, my class was super intense and it really challenged me. spanish class from 9-12:30 every day is NOT easy. I learned a TON already and my spanish is being de-gringa-fied more and more everyday. Next block, we are doing mostly coversation class which should be fun. Our prof said it is going to be really creative.

So mom and dad, you should be proud! And, hey! while i'm at it, here are some other great accomplishments in my life that may be hard for you to believe:

I go to bed and wake up early EVERY day. Today i "slept in" until 9:00!!!!!

I MAKE MY BED EVERYDAY!!!! I know this one might be kind of hard to wrap your minds around, but i swear it!!! This may be the single most impressive revolution that has taken place in my lifestyle since the time i became potty trained.

Also, my room is CLEAN. GASP!!!!

andddd, i have been eating fish!! mom, remember when you used to make that orange ruffy and i was pretty certain that it was the end of the world??? well, the cafeteria serves us fish a couple times a week and i EAT IT. it is not that i necessarily love it; i am still getting used to that SICK smell, but it certainly doesn't bother me.

Well, it is now the weekend and i feel an almost-unbelievable amount of peace right now. Block 1 is over so there is NO homework. This is probably one of the first entire free days that i've had since arriving last month. The sun is shining and the mountains out my window are looking extra green today. aaaaaah. goooood to be alive.

The Original Cold Warrior

2008-02-20T12:45:00.000-08:00

After nearly 50 years in which he has dominated almost everything in Cuba, Castro appears to be going quietly. I think his people were well prepared for his resignation. The country was spared sudden shock and given time to prepare for the future.

Due to the smooth political transition, I can't imagine anything too radical taking place in the near future. I doubt any sort of extreme short-term change. However, I am still really interested in what the future holds. This Sunday, the National Assembly will most likely elect Raul Castro as Fidel's successor. It is of course possible, although unlikely, that Raul will not be the next president of Cuba. Fidel never mentioned a specific successor in his note of resignation and he has spoken of handing over power to a younger nation. If Raul is not elected, it opens up some interesting possibilities. Other likely candidates are Carlos Lage Davila and Felipe Perez Roque, both loyal admirers of Castro. However, I doubt they have enough support of those within government circles.

All in all, i'd say this is a time of great opportunity and risk for Cuba.

galapagos

2008-02-09T18:24:00.001-08:00

tomorrow, i am departing for the Galapagos Islands.

i.
can.
not.
wait.

volcanic eruption

2008-02-07T05:47:00.000-08:00

Mount Tungurahua has been violently erupting.
i was just there. craaaaazy.
please be thinking of the displaced families.

|the scoop|

greetings from ecuador.

2008-02-04T09:03:00.000-08:00

after trying to send individual updates to each of my loved ones, i decided it would be much easier to give in and start a blog that everyone could access. forgive me if it seems as though i've dropped off the face of the planet. we have been moving forward nonstop and i havent had much time to communicate.

i don't know where to start, i have been in ecuador for maybe three weeks, but so much has already happened and there is no way to put it all into words. here are some highlights of my trip thus far:

//i live in a dorm on a seminary campus in northern quito, ecuador. it is a couple of miles from the equator. i have the most incredible view from my window. my roommate is a girl named rosa from Santo Domingo, Ecuador. She is just incredible

//our group consists of eleven students. we have really united as a group and are really close. everyone is super down-to-earth, easy-going and flexible. i don't think it could possibly get any better.

//my spanish is improving like crazy. i have spanish class Monday through Friday from 9:30 until 12:45. it is really intense, but our teacher is incredible and we have loads of fun. my classmates are Ben, Sarah, Betti, and Keren.

//i am also taking a Philosophy of Theology class that is really racking my brain. The class consists of nine students, so it is pretty interactive. I have only studied a little bit of philosophy prior to this class, so a lot of the concepts are really new to me and sometimes i think my head might explode, but i am learning a lot and learning is good. can i get an amen?

//we went to an incredible art museum called La Capilla del Hombre. It consisted of artwork by the ecuadorean painter Oswaldo Guayasamin. His paintings were huge and very heart-wrenching. I encourage you to check out some of his work and read up on his life.

//last weekend we went to Baños. I am not referring to toilets; I am referring to a town. Anyway, we ate lunch there, shopped around a bit, and then went out into the WILD. We drove past Mount Tungurahua, which is an active volcano. It was steaming out of the crater. Then, we hiked down to an enormous waterfall. Then we took a tiny open cable car across a huge valley and over a waterfall. In twenty years of life, i had never seen anything so beatiful. I cried. God seemed more real than ever.

//we went to our first futbol game. Ecuador v. Colombia. We went crazy. Ecuador lost by a point, but regardless, we had a blast.

//i am adjusting to the bathroom situation. Most places dont have toilet paper, and you cannot flush toilet paper anywhere. I am a creature of habit and i am probably responsible for several clogged septic tanks. It just seems silly that if you can flush a mass of human waste, you cannot flush an itty bitty 2-ply square of paper. excuse my impropriety.

//it is a bit colder here in quito than i had anticipated. although we are right on the equator, it is rainy season and we are way way up high in the mountains. i understand that chicago has been a lethal tundra as of late, so i am by no means asking for your sympathy.

//for once in my life, my lack of punctuality is acceptable. living in a culture where the clock holds little value has been quite the blessing. i think my mom would die here.

//ecuador is a very touchy culture. personal space is not as important. I think it has come from large families living in very small spaces together. you ALWAYS kiss eachother on the cheek to greet eachother. if you don't, the other person might think you are mad at them.

//we do all our shopping at the local store called SUPERMAXI.

//over the weekend, we went to Otavalo. It is an indigenous town north of the equator. I am still trying to process the experience. We spent our days outside of town way up in a village hidden in the mountains. we spent our nights at a hostel in town. The people were so incredible. They have held on so tightly to their culture and have refused to conform. It is crazy to think that for the most part, they are the same way that their ancestors were before those dirty spanish conquistadors arrived.

//meals are very important community time here. we eat breakfast at 7:30, lunch at 1:00, snack at 4:30 and dinner at 8:00. Lunch is the biggest meal. We eat some form of meat, mixed vegetables, an enormous pile of rice, and soup. (soup is one of the national specialties) Snack is fruit usually. Dinner is about the same as lunch, but smaller portions and without soup.

//i ate guinea pig yesterday.

//Yesterday, we took a boat out on a lake in a crater in a volcano. un-be-lieeeevable.

// i have been taking photos. you can see them HERE.

overall, i am having the most amazing time and things are going well. I will be leaving for the Galapagos Islands on Friday!!!!

love,
jacki

p.s. my posts won't usually be this painfully long and difficult to read.