update!

What a crazy past few weeks it's been! Sorry I haven't updated in a while! But here goes...

So, the week after my birthday..I received a beautiful card from my beautiful sister <3 and a package with GOOD chocolate from Amy and Carlos :) they're awesome!! I also got in the mail a "virtual birthday box" from my parents...with m&m's. I'm so loved :) haha. But yeah, last week was basically just classes and some excursions in the afternoons. On Friday night, we went to a Cuenca vs. Independiente and CUENCA WON! :) I bought a jersey...so I'll be sure to show that off when I get back, haha. It was crazy and super exciting! Behind us, these guys started a fire in the stands with newspapers that were previously used as umbrellas. We're hoping to get to another one before we all head out. 

Two weekends ago (2/11-2/12) we went to Saraguro, an indigenous community. We spent the night in a hostel. Abby and I had a room with five beds for the two of us..we used a few extra blankets from them because it was a bit chilly! But, it was great :) That Sunday, we went to this ritual in one of the communities. Such an interesting experience...different than anything I'd seen before. It was a ritual for Mother Earth (Pacha Mama). Very different.

This past weekend we went to Montanita to "descansar" a bit. It was a little vacation for all of us..but didn't seem like a very relaxing one! It's this crazy, beach town..which doesn't really fit the idea of relaxing for any of us, but we were able to find some rest on the beach! The beaches here are beautiful! Our hostel was located right on the busiest street and the entire town stays up until 6 or 7 am...music blasting and all. Haha, it was crazy! Thankfully, we were all able to sleep well through it...On the last full day that we were there, Abby and I decided to take a risk and go para-sailing! Oh my word, it was so incredible! I've never done anything so exhilarating in my life! We were up in the air for about 7 minutes (estimation...haha) and the water was so blue..and we could see all of the people along the shore. Overall, Montanita was not my cup-of-tea, but it was nice to experience something new! I'm definitely loving being back in Cuenca :) It feels like another home! 

Only two more weeks in Cuenca..it's definitely bittersweet right now! I know we'll make the most of these next two weeks..and then again in Machu Pichu..but I'm super excited to be back in Chicago with friends and four days later, my parents!! 

One final thought for today...I would encourage all of you to check out Psalm 86! I was really encouraged one day when I was reading through my spanish Bible and found it...one verse that stuck out to me in spanish was: ""Te alabare, oh Jehova Dios mio, con todo mi corazon, y glorificare tu nombre para siempre! - Salmos 86:12" It's just so beautiful! Enjoy the rest of your day/night/wherever you are in the world :) Remember that you are so incredibly loved!

Becky

Ecuadorian parade?!

Just a brief update...

Every Friday here we have an hour-long dance class....last Friday (2/3/12) four of us in our group were asked by our dance instructor to be in parade right before Carnaval. Yes..I mean DANCE in an Ecuadorian parade....hahaha. So...it's during our class time, but CEDEI is maybe figuring something out...I'll keep ya posted :)

This past Sunday, we went to Ingapirca and it was really cool! We had a tour of the ruins (I'll upload pictures when I get the chance) and then later went to this beautiful cathedral. And....I got a sunburn..but only on the right side of my neck/collarbone..haha. My camera suffered a lens error....but I think it's ok now :) I hope!

I think this Friday we're going to try to make it to a Cuenca futbol game! It's between 7 and 15 dollars to go...I'm so excited! And then this weekend we're going to Saraguro, an indigenous community.

It's crazy to think that my time here is almost halfway over! I'm looking forward to the next few weeks and what we are able to experience. Good news...my classes today were a little less stressful! It was even easier to understand and I then had more confidence when I went home for lunch. Please pray that this will continue!!!

I'm off to get some homework done and then head back to my house. Love you all so much! I hope you have a beautiful night!! :)



P.S...I'd just like to make a little shout out to my Grandpa, as it was his birthday yesterday..miss you so much, Grandpa and I wish you could be reading this too! Love you!

my 21st!

Well...I'm officially 21!!! My birthday was really great here :) I woke up around 6:30 to get ready for breakfast and then had breakfast with my host-mom. My first birthday present on my 21st birthday was a Bible...completely in Spanish :) I had mentioned before to my host-mom that I wanted to buy one....and she bought one for me! Then..my host-dad came down and gave me a present from him...a 2013 calender with a matching planner...with pictures of Cuenca for each month! So beautiful :) Oscar, Sarah and I walked to school together and when we got there, Abby and Kyle gave me a donut for my birthday!! So great! After two 2-hour long classes...we went into the courtyard area and we had chocolate cake and ice cream! Then, I went home for lunch and my brother, mom, dad, sister and her youngest (who calls me "Aggie" because she can't say "Becky" :) ) were there for my birthday lunch! We had this delicious rice (no surprise! :) ) and meat meal and after we had cake! Later that afternoon, we had a lecture thing...and later that night we went to a bar with live music. Abby slept over which was a lot of fun :) It was a great birthday! Excited to be able to celebrate back in the states with more friends and family though :)

Today...I went to the market with my host-mom this morning and we bought the food for the week. Standing next to the raw meat wasn't entirely spectacular...but it was an experience! Haha, she also told the guy that she bought her milk from that I'd like to try milking a cow someday. Hopefully! :p Then...we went back around 9 to the house and had breakfast together...and watched some cartoons in Spanish! And then I read for a bit..and we had lunch..and now I'm at a cafe with Oscar just catching up on e-mails and this :) It's been quite a relaxing day! And...later, I'm going to church with my host-parents and then maybe out to a movie with our group? Tomorrow we're going to Ingapirca! It's a bunch of Inca ruins...I'll make sure to take lots of pictures! I hope you're enjoying the pictures on facebook so far :)

Oh, I forgot to mention before....but last weekend we went to Cajas National Park...which was absolutely incredible! We went on Saturday and spent the night. It was a little chilly..but we had tents and sleeping bags and lots of clothes, haha. I loved it! On Saturday, we took this 4 hour hike..and on the way, I was just so overwhelmed by God's presence.. and his love for me! It was incredible. In the difficult times of being here...of feeling overwhelmed by the language barrier (getting better...), I have just been struck by His presence and it's amazing. So, thank you all so much for the prayers and thoughts! God is soo good, and I hope that you'll feel that and continue looking for his little planted blessings for you every day :)

Hasta luego!

Becky

la selva....y mas :)

Hey!


Ok, well I'm going to update you all with what's been happening since we arrived in Cuenca, and later I'll finish talking about the jungle :)


On Saturday, we traveled for the entire day and even had a flat tire! But, no worries, before anything happened, our bus driver, Junior, discovered it and had it fixed. Phew! Once we got to Cuenca, we went into CEDEI (our school) and sat in this room in rows of chairs. Our families were in a room across from us and the way we met them was kind of like a game show, haha. The coordinator would say who was there in the family and then everyone would drumroll...and then she would say our names! It was soo nerve racking! After we were connected with our families, we went and sat down in the room where they started out in. My host-mom, Carmita, and my host-niece were there. We had a chance to eat some "esnacks" and talk for a little while and then we left for our house! On the way home, we dropped off my niece at her house and I met my brother, Diego, through the window of their car. Here in Ecuador, it's important to greet people with a "beso" on the cheek. We then got to my new home and I met my host-dad, Angel. I already wrote about what we all did that night..but to refresh..we went to a church service and then later walked around the center of town. After that, I organized my room a bit and then slept!


On Sunday, we left around 8 to pick up my host-sister and two of her daughters to drive out to Santa Isabel. On the way, we stopped at this place on the side of the road to eat some more...I got to try the skin of pig? I can't remember the name of it..but, it was so good! We also stopped at this farm store to pick up some yogur de mora because my family knows I love it! They're so sweet :) We got to the little town, and my dad got out to take care of some business and my mom, sister and her two kids got out and walked around a little bit and got some "helado" (ice cream!!) I love it! When my dad came back to get us, he said it was very easy to find us because I was so tall and blonde! haha. After this, we stopped again for lunch. The servings here are so huge...and it's so hard to eat everything! But, my family is real relaxed about it and say it's ok to not eat everything..although I try! After that..we stopped at another place to try this drink called "mapanagua". It's only found in Cuenca they said and it's made from this tree root called "caña". My mom brought me up to this little cabin thing where they make it to show me! It tastes like honey...with alcohol....haha. We then stopped again so my sister could buy some vegetables at a stand on the side of the road. She said it was very cheap here and really good quality. My parents then told me that we were going to go to this little kid's birthday party! There were two clowns there who were making jokes in spanish..I wasn't able to understand them all, but laughed anyway...haha the kids loved them! There was this little boy who was about two years old and he kept slipping and falling on the floor because it started to rain! So cute!  And when they sang "happy birthday" it was on a recording in English with a funny accent. Later, we returned home and my mom and I went for a walk so she could show me where my school was. It's about a 20 minute walk. Then, we talked for a little bit and then I went to sleep!

Monday...first day of school! I woke up around 6:45 and got ready...had breakfast around 7 and left the house around 7:30 to meet up with Oscar I was soo nervous for my classes, so I prayed a lot about it and my first class was AMAZING! Talk about God-sightings :) Then we had a meeting with our group about the week and then we had our second class...from 10:30-12:30. This was a bit of a discouragement because I didn't understand a lot of what my professor was talking about...or where he was going with the material. It's a literature class of the Andean people...but...after that, we got our cell phones and went back to our houses for lunch. At lunch, I met another brother named Gustavo. He's 24 and lives close to where we live. He comes to lunch throughout the week and it's been great getting to know him! He knows a little bit of English, so we kinda help each other out with our languages, haha. This Friday, we're going dancing with my sister, other brother and my friends! I'm so excited! After lunch, we went on a tour of Cuenca and did a scavenger hunt. Found this AMAZING ice cream place...tutti freddo....soo good! They even have nutella flavored ice cream..hah. I love it! Later, I came home and did homework and ate dinner with my mom. Then slept!

On Tuesday, we had both classes again in the morning. The first class was still great and I was able to understand my professor very well! The second class was much better too. I understood my professor a lot more than the previous day...and we did this Andean ritual thing? Very hard to explain, but it was kinda neat. Then we went back to our houses for lunch and again...I ate a whole lot of food! I spoke with my brother for over an hour..so again, no time for a nap! But, it's ok :) After, we went back to CEDEI to meet with the group to then go to a school to plant flowers and meet some of the kids. When we were done, we went to the center of the city and got ice cream :) and coffee and then returned to our houses to do homework..and eat some more...haha. I also went with my mom to pick up some more bread! Then slept! It's so comfortable to sleep here! I love it!

On Wednesday....today....I woke up and had another delicious, but huge breakfast. Then I met up with Sarah and Oscar to walk to school. Classes were good..in my second class with my professor, Francisco, we listened to music of the Andean people and guessed the names of the songs....hahah. It was great! Then...for one of the songs, he had us stand up and dance? But..it was kind of awkward because we didn't really know how to dance to the song that he chose...but we made it fun :) Then we went home for lunch after class and I ate fast so I'd have time for a nap! Then our group went back to the school where we planted flowers yesterday and started planting more in another spot. So great! But...then it started to rain just as we were finishing one part. We'll finish next week, I think. After, Oscar, Abby, Marta and I went to this restaurant called "CoffeeTree" and got some food/coffee. Then I came home and had dinner with my mom and later skyped with Amy and Carlos! <3 Now...I need to do some more homework....but I hope you all are doing so well! 

Besos!

Becky

oh my word..

Oh my word...

I might start every one of these with those three words!

So...on Monday, we left Otavalo after breakfast and a couple hours in the market. We were encouraged to barter with the vendors...which was a little uncomfortable because I didn't want to offend anyone and what they made! But...I got some good deals! On our way to Quito to spend the night, we stopped at the Equator and learned about some astronomy and took lots of fun pictures :p soon to come on facebook! My professor asked the man explaining everything if the toilets flushed in different directions in the north and south hemispheres (here you go mom.....) and.........they do when they are farther away from the Equator....that's what I got out of the conversation. haha. After that, we went back to Hotel Quito and got ready for dinner at "Pim's" with Covenant missionaries who live in Ecuador. It was Sarah's birthday, so later that night we went up to the restaurant/bar on the top floor to celebrate! There was another group there who we later found out was from New York. Right before we left, the waiter came over to our table with "siete cervezas" (7 beers) and said that the group had covered the drinks some of us had ordered along with the beers. An awkward situation was presented before us....no one really wanted to drink because we were just about to leave, but we felt rude if we didn't take the already paid for drinks...so we took them and went over to briefly say "thank you." I think most of us drained the rest of them once we got back to our rooms.

On Tuesday, we left Quito and heading towards Cotococha (la selva - jungle)!! On the way, we stopped to get lunch in this tiny little town. After a few more hours on the bus, we arrived in the jungle! Abby and I were placed as roomies for the trip, which has been such a blessing! So..we started carrying our bags to our cabin when some workers at Cotococha took them from us and brought them to our cabin for us! So nice! Then we had a little orientation for our time in Ecuador before dinner. Dinner here starts with some sort of delicious soup..and then progresses on to rice, meat and vegetables (usually). That night we played "bananagrams" in Spanish...which was a bit tricky, but good practice, I suppose! Before we came back to play, Abby, Ryan and I went back to our cabin. We had lanterns, but I used my flashlight in the cabin, too (thanks dad!) ....but....I found a ginormous cockroach! Well...I think it was a cockroach, but either way...it was bigger than any bug I've ever seen...and I'm not really a fan! haha. The cabins were screened in so we were able to hear a lot of the noises in the jungle -- perfect for sleeping! :)

I need to sleep now so I can be prepared for classes tomorrow! But..I'll finish filling you all in tomorrow....and hopefully I'll finish getting you all caught up with my life here!

<3

cafe con leche

One of my new favorite things here...cafe con leche. They make very strong coffee and balance it out with hot milk. So delicious! And...my host mom said that she milks the cow herself to get their milk! I expressed interest in going with her the next time she does...usually Saturday's. I've always wanted to milk a cow! Today we're going to walk around the city and later go to their church a little outside of Cuenca. At breakfast today, they said that they hope I feel comfortable and that they would love it if I came to visit after the two months is up! Their daughter lives in New Haven, CT and Carmen's sister lives in Bristol. Que chevare! (How cool!) 

We're leaving soon, but I'll write more later! 

Besos! :)

another home :)

Quick little update before I go to sleep! And I promise I'll fill you in on the previous few days when I have more time...but I'm currently in Cuenca in my host family's house :) they are so wonderful! My host dad's name is Angel, but my host mom (Carmen) calls him "Gordo" which as far as I know means fat..they laugh and make jokes a lot. Might take a little while for me to understand them completely in Spanish, but I laugh anyway :p We had a delicious dinner of pollo con carne and ensalada! The food here is absolutely incredible! Lots of soups, rice, meat and salads! Haha, I love it! We went to a mass service after that and there was a wedding! They were talking about Jonah's story and later about how we can believe in God, but because of that our actions of love flow out of us. It's so powerful hearing sermons in another language! Especially when I can get the just of what's going on....haha. A work in progress, for sure. But, I'm doing well -- very happy! (Don't worry, Mom :) )

Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement for me on this trip! I'll keep ya posted about what else goes on :)

los dias primeros

Hello!

Oh my word, in the past week we have already done so much in Ecuador! I'll most likely not be able to write about everything tonight..but I'll try to keep up with it throughout my two months here. 

We started out in Quito and at first, only Ryan and I were there with our professor, her husband and their friends. The director of CEDEI (the organization that we are involved in down here) was also there and explained a few basic things on our bus ride to Hotel Quito. Later that night, Ryan and I went to get coffee at the restaurant on the top floor and although it was very foggy, we could still see a bit of the city...and what a view! Goodness, it's beautiful here!! :) We could see the volcano on the side where we were sitting and lights from the houses at the base of it. I've never seen such incredibly big mountains...haha and a volcano I guess. We were at 8,000 ft in Quito, which was a bit higher than we're used to...so it took a bit to get over the initial headache. After a few hours of sleep before another full day, we woke up and got ready for breakfast and for our trip to Otavalo. 

Once we got to Otavalo, we checked into this beautiful hotel and then went out to eat at "Mi Otavalito". Then we went to get coffee and/or ice cream. Everything is quite inexpensive here and all the food that we bought was soo delicious! After that, we went to "Nanda Manachi" where we listened to the music of the Andeans. So amazing..a few of us bought "antaras" which are like little flutes. Next door to this place was another demonstration of music and weaving. It's still been tricky understanding everything that people are saying here but I think I've improved a bit since the beginning of this week with understanding and answering well haha. Everyone has improved already! It's been tricky but a lot of fun talking with each other in Spanish....usually messing up and laughing anyway, which is the best way to do it! 

We went back to the hotel after visiting those places and went out to dinner at this little cafe. I had a tortilla espanola (Amy and Carlos would be so proud!) and it was so delicious! Later that night, we played Phase 10 with everyone, including Provost Jones and his wife, Evette from North Park. They came down before we did to check out the school and exactly what we'll be doing. They loved it and were so excited for us! 

Again, this has been such a busy week, and I don't have a lot of time to finish writing about it...seeing as that was only a little over a day! But, I'll post more when I can -- probably next week. We're heading out tomorrow morning for Cuenca -- meeting our host families tomorrow night! Prayers are definitely appreciated. 

-Becky