Due a church-political element, I am now living with Eduardo Granja (the dean of my school and the Episcopal cathedral of Ecuador), his wife (mi madre) Margory, and my brother (hermano) Rafael. It is a good situation; they are a lovely family, and it is convenient to live with my boss. I have already become the keyboardist for Rafael´s rock band. We play "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath and I even have a solo...yes...a keyboard has a solo in a Sabbath song.
It has been both fun and frustrating as I´ve struggled with the language. On Friday morning, Eduardo, Marjory, and I set out on a vacation to the northern part of Ecuador, visiting places such as Cotacachi, Ibarra, and catching many mountain and lake views on the way. We also met many family members of Eduardo and Margory. View my picasa photo stream here for more photos and details on this trip. A permanent link is in the upper left-hand corner.The Three Things you need...
One: SunscreenSure the temperature in Quito is between 45 and 70 degrees all year, but at 9400 ft, you´ll burn before you get to your car (if you have skin like me), so apply liberally.
Two: A Spanish-English dictionary
If the only Spanish you´ve taken is two years in high school, and the only thing you can remember is that "papas fritas" are french fries, you´ll need this. I have found it very useful as I try to tell Eduardo and Margory about myself...especially when Rafael isn´t around because he speaks descent English. When he is present, he becomes a translator. Eduardo says that I am to speak to Rafael in English so he can perfect his skills, but to everyone else, I need to speak Spanish.
My "cousin" Pablo (pictured) and I had long conversations about culture around this tool. Soon, I won´t need it; tomorrow my Spanish tutor is coming for my first four-hour class.The Third thing you need: An extra pair of shorts
I´ll be honest, my first reaction to the way people drive in Quito was not bueno. At first glance, everyone seems to be overly agressive and careless.
a typical situation: you´re doing 100km/hour on a city street; pedestrians run across at opportune moments. Cars weave in and out of their lanes, running red lights and honking to warn "I´m coming through...watch out!" People honk and get angry if you stop at a light, and sometimes they will pull on the sidewalk to pass you. Forget stopping distance and every other precaution you learned in Driver´s Ed. Needless to say, I was thrown off.
Then I was in the car with Eduardo: a gentle priest-man who doesn´t have an agressive bone in his body. He drove the same way--another cog in the machine. It really isn´t about being agressive; the priority on the road is about making good time, which they do. And everyone has amazing, cat-like reflexes. I shouldn´t generalize because the driving seems more hectic in Quito than it was in the countryside (just like driving in New York City is absurd compared to Battle Ground, Washington.
Part of this year for me is to further understand that differences don´t always come from the same line of thought. If their driving seems crazy to me, it isn´t because they didn´t learn safe habits, they just arrived at their conclusion via a different path. I bet this would "preach."
Coming Soon to Picasa...
Pictures of my apartment, Rafael, his girlfriend Adriana, my older sister Emily, her husband Pablo, and her daughters Camilla and Amilia.
Also, I posted many of our countryside visit as well as of the festivities in Quito (Ecuador is celebrating its Bicentenario--200 years of independence).