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Published: August 6th 2007
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Old Town view from the Terrace
The church in the photo is the Basílica del Voto Nacional. Okay, new argument... lonely hotel room vs. a dorm room with three loud, snoring men (one of whom was sick and coughing) in a poorly ventilated room... I´m leaning toward the lonely hotel room.
With four hours of Spanish lessons and going out to Casa Gabriel every day (plus studying and socializing), I am opting for the private room (still at the Secret Garden... they have both types of rooms). It is about $18 (vs. $7) a night, but I think it will be worth it. Plus, last night in the dorm room, I ended up talking to a UK guy for two and a half hours... everything from Africa, to business, to capitalism (vs. socialism, feudalism, etc.), to traversing South America, and a host of other topics. Interesting as it is, he definitely loved to talk, and tonight and the rest of the week, I kind of need to be able to hit the sack early.
Well, switching topics, yesterday I was invited to and went to church with the Douces and the Casa Gabriel children. I also spent breakfast and lunch with them. In the afternoon, the Douces went home and I spent about four hours just
hanging out with the Casa Gabriel children and Michael (one of the interns).
Church was interesting... kind of evangelical... they had a full band (two regular guitarists, one bass guitarist, a drummer, two back-up singers, a keyboardist, and a lead-singer). Everyone but the lead-singer was maybe late teens to early twenties. Of course, the whole service was in Spanish... Phil helped translate the songs and the important parts of the sermon (which, I think, lasted over an hour). I think the whole service lasted around two hours, which is an hour too long for me. But the first half was pretty cool.
Later on, I went with the Douces to their house to pick up lunch for the Casa Gabriel children (Debbie was cooking the meal). I got to meet a their parrot (forgot her name) and Tammy (Danelle´s pet monkey). Tammy is pretty cool... she seems to think about things, including her surroundings, a lot more than, well, almost any other pet (and about any animal, for that matter). Tammy´s hands, I guess like most primates, are very similar to humans... kind of wild to look at and touch. One of the funny things to watch was
Tammy wrestling their boxer puppy (an older puppy, almost full grown).
After lunch, me and a few of the boys went to play soccer... Alexis and I kicked around the ball for awhile and ended up playing basketball (with a soccer ball) for before watching some people play soccer at a nearby field. I enjoy playing soccer, but the guys out at the field play too well and are too serious about it (like a lot of guys with basketball back in the States).
We then walked back to Casa Gabriel... we played a little video game soccer (FIFA ´07) and then I took a cab back to the hostal.
Back at the hostal, I ate dinner, drank a glass of red wine, and talked to an American from Minnesota for about an hour an a half. He competes in lumberjack contests back in the States (seriously, almost everyone I meet is atypically unique and interesting in some way) and took a few months off to backpack throughout South America. This guy is definitely an outdoor adventurer... biking a very dangerous road in, I think, Venezuela, playing with dynamite in Bolivia (apparently you can buy it at
Virgen de Quito
A 45-meter high monument on top of El Panecillo.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Panecillo the market), free-climbing mine shafts, etc. Great conversation.
At any rate, so... today I had my first Spanish lessons... and holy mother of Mary... that is the most mental work (over a four hour period) that I have done in awhile... especially since talking is not my strongest point. Santi is my instructor and he is very good, very patient, but also keeps the lessons moving forward. And I think I made significant progress for one day (certainly more than I had hoped for). Now, I just need to study tonight to reinforce it all.
Today's lessons consisted mostly of conversation while pulling in words that I'll need to get around (for instance, ordering food at a restaurant). Tomorrow, we will be diving into grammar and having lunch at a restaurant to practice in real world situations. It is very challenging... though he says it is fácil... I think mainly to keep me from feeling too overwhelmed.
On with the day... I headed out to Casa Gabriel... taking the Trolebús from Plaza San Blas. When I arrived Phil was at a meeting, so I worked on some things and also talked to a guy named Eric for
South Quito from the Terrace
Quito is in a valley, so the city is long and relatively narrow. Quito is in a valley, so the city is long and relatively narrow.
awhile... he is learning English and plans to study in England in the Fall.
Once Phil arrived back from his meeeting, we talked for a bit and then walked to YouthWorld to meet some of the staff and tour the main office. Afterwards we walked back to Casa Gabriel where Phil explained to me his vision for the future of the ministry. It sounds pretty good and I'm learning a lot.
Phil then headed home and I headed back to the hostal... where I just crashed on my bed and listened to music for about thirty minutes before dinner.
At dinner, once again, quite the experience. Met a guy from London that is a management IT consultant, a girl from London that works in advertising, and a German girl that lives in Switzerland (interestingly, she works very close to one of the hostels I stayed at while backpacking in Europe last year) and is a pediatric surgeon. Then me. We spent about an hour and a half talking about work, life, travel, etc. Apparently, England's standard workday is 7.5 hours and minimum vacation
Old Town view from the Terrace - 2
The lighting on this day was great and really brought out the beautiful colors in Quito. is 20 days/year (i.e. four weeks to *start*). Six weeks isn't out of the
The lighting on this day was great and really brought out the beautiful colors in Quito.
ordinary. Yeah.
So now I'm here typing this and about ready to crash and sleep ever so sweetly... then tomorrow, oh, tomorrow... I will leave any more thoughts of it for the morning.
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Augusta
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Quito
A pediatric surgeon? An adrenaline junkie jumberjack? Who ARE these people??? Very exciting!