Canoa and the TSUNAMI (warning)!

Beach sunsets. I'm a fan.

Tree house hostel.

Cliffs.

Friends

Wow! It’s already March! It’s going to be time to fly home before I know it. I’ve already been here almost two months. I hope everyone back home has had an excellent two months, as well!

This past weekend Marcela went to a wedding. I was really hoping I was invited, but alas, I wasn’t. It would have been super cool to see an Ecuadorian wedding though. I did, however, get to help Marcela and her friends make THOUSANDS of tiny candies for the reception. My hands were red from rolling so much dough.

So instead of the wedding, I went to a beach called Canoa for a few days. We left late Thursday night and spent the night on the bus. Friday morning we took a boat across the river and then another thirty minute bus ride to get to Canoa. Our hostel was really cute. It looked like a tree house. Friday went really well. I got a little sun-burnt but nothing too painful. I did lots of wave crashing, my favorite beach activity. I tried surfing but soon realized it isn’t the sort of activity you can pick up without instruction and I wasn’t too interested in paying for lessons. We had pancakes and spaghetti again and watched the sunset over the Pacific.

Saturday, however, I awoke up to a 6:30am text message from the Embassy’s Alert Service saying, “A massive (8.2 to 8.8) earthquake in Chile has caused a Tsunami warning for Ecuador’s Coast from 1200 to 1330. If you know anyone there you should warn them.” Why, yes, I do know someone on Ecuador’s coast. ME! Like 300 yards away from it! Our group was assessing the risk when we got text messages from Gladys, our program advisor, saying “The students at the beach should return to Quito immediately.” Definitely didn’t freak us out. I called Gladys to see what was up and told her our tickets out weren’t until the following morning. She said that we should be fine and to go ahead and stay put but be sure to keep our phones on us. Four of the fourteen decided that they would rather be safe than sorry and left for Quito anyway. I decided to stay because, after doing some research and talking to locals, we determined that there wasn’t any real risk along our stretch of beach. Staying was definitely the right decision. The waves were stronger than the day before but they were nothing dangerous. I’m still going to say that I survived a Tsunami (warning), though.

That night, after another sunset on the beach, we went out for dinner at a little seafood place and one of the guys made a really good homemade torte for dessert. Later a few of us went on a midnight walk along the beach down to the cliffs and came across a little fresh water lagoon that feeds into the ocean. Really neat. Plus we found the oar that one of the guys lost earlier in the day kayaking which was good since it would have cost $100 to replace. All in all, a very successful walk on the beach.

The next morning we woke early to catch the bus and boat back to the bus station and we were back to Quito by 4pm.

Exciting news from the USA: I got a slot to Air Assault School! Looks like I’ll be at Ft. Knox for the first two weeks of August. I have to say, joining the Army seems to have been a pretty good move. So many of the experiences I most value were provided to me by the Fire BN. Ecuador. Airborne. Bataan. Norwegian. Not to mention all the people I’ve met and paying for my crazy expensive tuition. And now Air Assault. Thank you, Uncle Sam. It’ll be useful to remember how much I am enjoying all of the perks of being in the Army, especially this trip, because the next foreign country the Army sends me to will likely be Afghanistan.

It’s crazy how varied a single life can be. I feel like profoundly lucky to be living the life I am. Why do I get to vacation through Ecuador only visiting extreme poverty instead of growing up with it? My life and accomplishments can’t be explained by my hard work or anything I’ve done on my own. There is something bigger than myself at work here and I feel luckier each day. And I am definitely feeling some pressure to make something of myself and do some good in the world with all these opportunities I’ve been given.

Okay, now for a bit of a jump. From a sort of serious moment to….

FACTOIDS!

• While running in Parque Carolina, I saw a fleet of men in wheel-chairs, all wearing orange jumpsuits. There were about ten of them and each one had an identical sign attached to his wheel-chair like a billboard, sticking up about eight feet in the air, promoting a special offer from a cell phone provider. They just rolled around the park in a line to show off the signs. Seriously one of the more bizarre things I’ve seen. Still not quite sure what to think about it.
• Walking home from my night class at PUCE, I saw a guy about my age strapped to a stop sign being thrashed by three of his buddies. The scene was accompanied by both screams and laughter from the victim. And confusion from me.
• On the Ecovia, two guys my age were passing boxed wine back and forth and drinking it out of Dixie cups. Classy wine tasting on Monday night public transportation. I’m kind of concerned as to why no one was concerned.
• Today, I found out that babaco, a delicious fruit that we really don’t have in the US, is illegal to import. Something about fruit flies. I’ve pretty much decided that I have to spread the babaco love and am plotting ways to smuggle one into the country. Marcela is providing me with tips, garnered from first hand smuggling experience. They are pretty giant fruits but there will be a babaco in my suitcase, I guarantee it. USA, prepare yourself for dulce de babaco! (Update: After reading about invasive species in my Biodiversidad class, I have aborted the Babaco mission).

So I’m getting ready for another weekend outside of the city. I’ve come to the realization that Quito is one of the lamest parts of Ecuador. If you live in one of the most beautiful and bio-diverse countries on the planet, why would you want to live in the city? But I have to balance my desire to get to know the country with the treacherous bus rides that accompany weekend traveling. You can’t travel anywhere without hours of winding mountain roads. I never got carsick in the states, but then again, most highways in the states are straight and flat. This weekend I’m headed to Papallacta for a night. It’s not too far away and it promises to be super relaxing.

Con amor, chao! (Not to be confused with the Italian “ciao.”) ¡Hasta luego!