Overdue

It's been a while since I've updated you all. Again. But I've finally been shamed into writing an update, in part by seeing how frequently other people studying abroad have been blogging, and in part because I just discovered that I can see how many people check my blog any given day/week/ or month, so I know some of you have been waiting for an update for a while.

The past several weeks have largely been about settling into a routine. I've stopped expecting life here to be new and exotic, which was a harder thing to accept than I expected. For a while, I was frustrated with myself, assuming I wasn't being observant enough to notice the idiosyncrasies of Quito. More recently, however I've come to the conclusion that culture and character doesn't have to shout or make my life difficult to count. The rhythm of live here isn't drastically different than other places I've spent time (Ancramdale and Mumbai being clear exceptions), but I'm starting to notice it's specific paces and rules, like just how long the bus will wait for you to get on before accelerating again, or how much a simple "buenas tardes" is appreciated before giving a taxista directions.

On the other hand, I get frustrated at times that I'm stuck in a limbo between all-out adventure, and truly fitting in. Although I'm frequently told that my Spanish is very good, I still can't understand my family at lunch, unless they slow down to include me. And while I'm often the one giving friends directions from University to point X, I still don't know anything about most of the city. My goal for the next month is to make peace with my status as a temporary resident, try to cover as much ground as I can, and not over-think everything so much.

As for adventures, I've had two major outings in the past few weeks. First, the week after Canoa we went to Mindo, a small outdoor activity village in the cloud forest. In 30 hours and $45, I went whitewater rafting (class 2), zip lining, and repeled down a waterfall. We went zip lining on an especially cloudy day, so you often couldn't see the end of the cable, making flying above the forest especially empowering. I definitely liked the waterfall repelling best, though, because I was entirely responsible for my decent (it was just a rope from the top to the bottom which I fed through my harness at my own pace) and it required some effort and concentration. The freezing water crashing down on top of me was pretty cool too.

My other recent excursion was taking the cable car up Pinchincha, the volcano that boarders Quito on the west. At 4,100 meters, it was a little difficult to breathe at first, and I was surprised to discover they sell cigarettes up there, for anyone who wants to challenge their lungs. The landscape up there was spectacular, with deep ravines, rollings hills, and an impressive view of the city below, when the clouds parted for a bit. We walked around a bit, and discovered that there are horseback riding trails and horses for rent. So, humming the Rohan theme the entire time, I took a half-hour journey on horseback around the mountain.

Classes go on, as they always do. One professor repeats everything he says, then writes it on the whiteboard, then draws corresponding emoticons, then underlines the key words, then says it all out load again. Not my favorite class. My "Crash-Course-in-Every-Social-Issue-in-Ecuador" class is almost over, since it is only meant to be a corollary to my internship, but I've enjoyed the twice weekly discussions about topics such as alternatives to petrol in Ecuador, reducing the stigma of being indigenous, or promoting gender equality. My linguistics class continues to be my favorite, both content wise and socially. Our current unit is essentially about the subtle differences in prononciation for various letters (for instance, the /b/ sound in "bagel" and "label" are different, in English), which is extremely difficult for someone who isn't a native speaker. But it's hard for everyone, and a fun challenge. The other students in the class are very fun and friendly. Today, they invited me to go out with them after class to celebrate Diego's birthday, which was a lot of fun, and a great chance to hang out with Ecuadorians my age for a few hours.

I'll do my best to write again soon. I have a lot of good adventures in the next few weeks (Baños, the Amazon, then Cartagena, Colombia with Kristen!), so I should be motivated to write.

P.S. if you're interested in a reflection on being Jewish here, check out the post I wrote for Hillel's Study Abroad Blog: http://travelingtuftshillel.blogspot.com/