12 - Bit by a whistling parrot in a nail salon

Yesterday I went to lunch at my Guayaquileña amgia, Karina´s house. After lunch I went with her and her mom to their beautician/friend´s house/nail salon. Before Diana got started on Karina´s nails she brought out her pet parrot, and put him in the window. Apparently this parrot could talk and whistle and all sorts of things, but we couldn´t get anything out of him. I played with the parrot while Diana worked on Karina´s nails. I tried to get him to go onto my hand, but he kept biting me instead, so eventually I gave up on that. Stupid parrot didn´t do anything cool. Or so I thought...
At one point someone said something funny and we all started laughing. Out of nowhere the parrot started laughing too. It was CRAZY! He laughed just like us. We laughed harder, and the parrot laughed harder. Throughout the rest of the night the parrot kept saying Hola, and also kept doing a perfect whistling catcall, just like the whistle construction workers make when hot girls walk by. Diana put the parrot on my shoulder, which was cool cause I felt like a pirate. Later in the night the parrot fell asleep next to the sleeping cat. HAHA.
After Diana was done with Karina´s nails it was time for the encore. She went into the backroom and came back a few minutes later with a monkey. Only in Ecuador can you go to a house that´s also a nail salon, get bit by a parrot, and pet a monkey.

11 - Quito and Baños

This past weekend I flew up to Quito (where I studied abroad two years ago) to visit my host family, my professors, and just to do some reminiscing.


The flight there was incredible because we flew over the Andes, and there were a bunch of volcanoes sticking up through the clouds. This is the glacier covered picture-perfect Volcán Cotopaxi, the second highest peak in Ecuador (5897 m). I took this picture from the airplane.



Here I am with my host mom, Matele.


Don Jaime and Kelly Swing, my two favorite professors of all time.


I met up with a bunch of the kids doing the BU Ecuador study abroad program now. On Friday night we went to La Mariscal and I partied like a well-practiced Gringita. Saturday morning I woke up early and Matele drove Samantha (Matele’s current BU student) and me to a bus stop where we met up with a bunch of other study abroad kids. From there we took three buses to the bus terminal, and then spent 4 hours on a bus to get to Baños. Baños is an incredible little town, and I was lucky enough to make my third visit. Baños is surrounded by beautiful green hills, blue rivers, and huge waterfalls. When we arrived in Baños I led the group to my favorite little hostal where we found my favorite little hostal worker, Roberto.


I met Roberto when I stayed in the same hostal two years ago. Last time I was in Baños I went on an incredible day of biking with my closest friends, and it was awesome. At $5 for renting a bike for the day, why would I skip on doing it again? So again I led the group to a bike rental shop, we got some bikes, and off we went for a grand biking adventure.




Our bike ride took us past some amazing waterfalls.





Press play to watch a short video clip.


Here I am at the Pailon Del Diablo


Here I am getting soaked behind the Pailon Del Diablo. We had to crawl up through a narrow tunnel to get behind the waterfall. It was AWESOME!


We took a tarabito (kindof like an open-air gondola) across a river to get a better look at a waterfall.

10 - Just Smile and Nod

Little by little my Spanish is improving. I can usually figure out the main idea of what is said to me, and in one way or another I can usually explain what I need to say. However, there are times when I am so lost that GPS couldn’t save me. During these times I do one of two things:
1. Give the blank stare

2. Smile and nod

(I know what you´re thinking Mike and Dan... I´m a nerd)

I have pretty much perfected making people believe I know what they’re talking about. The old “smile and nod” works wonders…. Most of the time. But sometimes I get caught in my act; like when people finish what they’re saying with a question:
Them: Blah gato blah blah biblioteca blah blah
Me: (smile and nod)
Them: Blah blah blah pantelones blah blah Taco Bell blah. Sí o no?
Me: Uh… Sí…?

Wrong answer.

The other day I had to go to the cell phone store to add some information to my account. The man that worked there told me to text something to the number 4545. I thought he said to text, “Mi Status”. Which translates to “My Status”. As in single, married, in a relationship, it’s complicated etc… I thought it was a weird thing to have to text to a cell phone company, but I typed it into my phone anyway. Then I showed my screen to the guy to make sure that I wrote the correct thing. He looked at it, chuckled to himself, and then typed something else and handed my phone back to me. The screen now said “Mis Datos”, as in “My Information”. Yeah. I guess that makes more sense than My Status. I was kind of embarrassed, but at least I didn’t say, “Estoy embarasada” because that translates to, “I’m pregnant”.
Oh the joys of language barriers.

9 – Centro Civico

From my apartment I can see a big half-dome structure in the distance. I wasn’t sure what it was, so I decided to walk to it and figure it out. It took about twenty minutes to get there, but it was well worth it. Outside the dome was a beautiful park with trees, and a man-made lake. There were lots of birds around, so I was happy. The building seemed was closed, so I went around to the back. I talked to a security guard and he told me that it was a theater, and I could go inside to find out about shows. I went inside and spoke to a woman at the front desk. Shows were only at night, so there was nothing going on at the time. I asked if I could look around, and she said no, but another man that worked there said he could show me around. So I went with him on a private tour of the theater. I got to see the percussion room, and the accounting room, and a room with a woman playing the piano and a man playing a giant flute instrument. Last but not least, he brought me to the theater. He opened the doors and on stage was an entire orchestra of about 50 people practicing for their next show. My “tour guide” left me alone for a bit, and I got to sit in the theater and listen to my own private symphony. It was AWESOME!

8 – Las Peñas and Parque Bolivar

The Malecón 2000 ends at the foothills of a town called Las Peñas. Las Peñas is a beautiful town built on a hill and overlooks the city Guayaquil and the river Guayas. The hill is covered with small colorful houses, cobblestone streets, and steep narrow stairs.
One day I hiked up the 450 stairs to the top of Las Peñas. At the top there was a beautiful church and a small lighthouse. From the top of the lighthouse I saw a great 360 view of the city.
After Las Peñas I went back down into the center of town and walked all around the main part of the city (I walk a lot). I stopped at a bunch of churches, markets, and parks. My favorite part of the day was stopping at two parks that had HUGE iguanas walking all around. It was crazy, because the parks are in the middle of the most populated city in Ecuador, but there are giant reptiles meandering all over. People feed them, kids pull their tails, and pigeons stand on their heads! The park was also fun because I hand-fed a squirrel some peanuts. I would never do that with Boston Public Garden squirrels, but this squirrel was very nice.

7 - Amanda Explores the City

Greta’s apartment is about 30 blocks from the center of the city. I can get there either by walking or by taking La Metrovia. La Metrovia only costs 25 cents, but it gets so crowded that canned sardines would make fun of you. You’re packed so tight there’s no way a mouse could find a spot, yet somehow when you get to the next stop 20 more people squeeze their way in.
One day last week I decided to skip the claustrophobic nightmare, and make the walk to the center. I passed a lot of ferreterias (tool stores), panaderias (bread), and pet shops, and before I knew it I was smack in the middle of the hustle and bustle of a packed market. This market had everything from clothes, to shoes, to cell phones, to gold fish(?!?). I was happy to get out of the market because I felt like a sheep being herded in every direction.
Once out of the market I crossed the street to hit up the Malecón 2000. And no, that’s not the name of a vacuum cleaner. The Malecón 2000, built in the year 2000, is Guayaquil’s river promenade where people congregate to eat, shop, play, or just relax in one of the gardens. During my walk of Malecón 2000 I stopped to watch a couple shows. One of the shows consisted of men dancing on stilts, a drummer in a joker costume, woman in clown outfits, and lots of little kids shaking their booties in ways that no American mother would approve. Regardless of the R-rated movements, the way every one of those kids could swing and thrust their hips was amazing. One girl shook it so hard I swear I was watching J-Lo from behind.
The main reason I had decided to walk into the city was to find a good place to watch the Ecuador–Uruguay fútbol game (soccer). The game started at 5:00, so around 4:45 I left El Malecón and headed toward the center of town. The streets were crowded with excited Guayaquileños all sporting their yellow Ecuador jerseys, but as soon as 5:00 o’clock hit the streets were empty and all I could hear was the announcer’s voice and screams of excitement coming from apartment windows above me. I passed by several bars showing the game, but they were all dark and sketchy inside, so I continued searching. At last I stopped in front of Fundación Alberto Spencer and peaked in the window. Inside were about 20 people sitting in plastic chairs watching the game on a tiny TV screen nestled in the corner. The room was completely cement, and the walls were covered with paintings of soccer balls, trophies, and pictures of famous soccer players. I learned later that Fundación Alberto Spencer is a place for ex-soccer pro’s to hang out. One of the men inside noticed me and invited me in. He pulled up a plastic chair for me and encouraged me to sit. At first I said I was only going to stay for a couple minutes, but every time I made eye contact with someone in the room they gave me a friendly smile, so I decided to stay. I ordered a Pilsener grande (about twice the size of a normal bottle of a beer - $1.00), and gave a cheers to the man sitting next to me.
For most of the first half of the game I didn’t say much, and nobody said much to me, but once half time came around I was the center of attention. They wanted to know all about me: “Where are you from? Why are you in Guayaquil? How long will you be here? How old are you? Do you have a husband? Do you have a boyfriend? You’re so beautiful, why don’t you have a boyfriend?” Being in Ecuador is a boost to the ego because all the men tell you you´re beautiful within the first 15 minutes of meeting them. I mostly talked with a 36-year-old man named Washington, and two older women named Gloria and Carmen.
Throughout the second half of the game Gloria, Carmen, Washington and I continued talking and drinking our Pilseners. Gloria invited me to her birthday party, and Washington courted me with a romantic song. After the game the whole group was around me again asking more questions. They invited me to come back whenever I want, and I most definitely will. Two of the men helped me get a taxi, and I was on my way back to the apartment. It was a great day of exploration.

6 - Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

My head is foggy, my neck is stiff, my throat is sore, and my nose is leaky. Seems as if I’ve caught the common cold. Bummer. Luckily I have Dr. Greta to the rescue. While writing the above entries Dr. Greta brought me a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. Then she told me to either drink it really fast or drink it really slow. I’m not sure which she said, but I know it was something about the Vitamin C being oxidized and it’s better for your health if you drink it one way or the other. I guess I’ll just drink the first half really fast, and take my time with the second half. That should do the trick, right?

5 - Meeting the Vice President

October 9th was Guayaquil’s Independence Day. Everyone was off from work, and there were all sorts of festivities around the city. Greta took me to El Museo Municipal, a museum of Guayaquil history and culture. Just as we were about to leave the guard told us that the vice president, Lenin Moreno, was about to come in. We waited by the entrance and an entourage of vehicles pulled up. First a bunch of army guys with big guns got out, then a bunch of important looking men in suits, and finally the vice president was assisted out and helped into his wheelchair. When he came through the entrance Greta introduced herself and said she was a doctor and had an American student with her and asked if we could join him on his tour of the museum. He said yes, and he said hello to me as he was wheeled past. It was pretty awesome because we got a private tour of the museum with the vice president of Ecuador. It was just Greta, the VP, the VP’s wife, some photographers, about seven bodyguards, the guide, and me. I felt like a celebrity. Actually, the real president was out of the country, so at the time Moreno was the acting president. Sweet.

4 - Fishy lunch

A lunch Greta brought home for me one day. Nom.

3 – Food

True or false: Amanda is a vegetarian. False. I was a vegetarian. However, before leaving on this grand adventure I decided to forego my vegetable diet in order to take full advantage of all the meat meals this continent has to offer. Here’s a list of the three ecua-meals I’ve enjoyed thus far:
1. Potato cream soup and rice with chicken and plantains along with a fresh glass of orange juice. Total cost: $1.90 (US)
2. Shrimp soup and rice with shrimp and plantains along with a glass of quaker (don’t ask what it is cause I don’t know. I just drank it). The shrimp in the soup were so fresh I think they were probably just taken right out of the water and placed in my bowl. The fun part of eating the soup was fishing the shrimp out by their long antennas, ripping off their heads, and peeling off their skin and legs. I just love finger food. Total cost of this succulent feast: $1.70 (US)
3. Last, but certainly not least a meal consisting of all the best traditional foods Ecuador has to offer. I present to you LA BANDERA:
a. Cebiche de camaron – Kind of like a shrimp salsa
b. Seco de chivo – Goat
c. Guatita – Cow stomach. I did some research and found out that the honeycomb-like part of the stomach that I consumed is the second chamber of the stomach and is called the reticulum. I wonder how my stomach feels about having stomach inside it
d. Salchicha – Rice and cow blood cooked until they stick together and then put into a sausage type casing.


A picture of guatita

Now some people may be scared off by these carnivorous masterpieces, but not me. I was able to stomach it. Hahahaha.

2 – My first day in the hospital

Here are the highlights. Dr. Greta led a group of about seven doctors down a hall with six rooms, three on each side. Each room had a large window. The three rooms on the left each had six beds in them. The rooms on the right all had one bed in them because the children in these rooms were the most contagious. As we walked down the hall we stopped in front of each room, and the doctors told Dr. Greta about each patient. Dr. Greta told the doctors what to do for each patient. I probably understood less than 10% of what was said, so don’t ask me how to treat tuberculosis.
Later, Dr. Greta went on to do more doctor things, and I sat in an empty office and read about Kamikaze disease. I was so engrossed in the reading that I barely noticed when three young doctors walked in wheeling a cart filled with charts. They all sat around me and got to work. One of the young doctors, we’ll call him Nice Doctor, looked at me and asked me something in Spanish. He spoke so quickly that I had no idea what he said, so I just stared back at him blank-faced. He said it again just as quickly, and I still had no idea. Luckily, Nice Doctor started talking slower, and soon enough we were chatting about all sorts of things, for example my age. Nice Doctor decided I was ready to help him with an important task. I was to help him fill out his patient’s prescriptions. He wrote the medicine, and I wrote in the patient’s name and age, the date, and the department. Last, but not least I stamped the doctor’s seal and forged his signature. Who needs medical school?

1 – Arriving in Guayaquil

So how did I end up in Guayaquil, Ecuador? While visiting a friend of my mom’s (Hi Missy!) in Washington D.C. I met Dr. Greta Miño. Our visits to D.C. overlapped for one day, so I was lucky enough to get a chance to talk to her. Greta is one of the directors of a hospital in Guayaquil, and she invited me to come stay with her and volunteer in the hospital. I’m not one to pass up an opportunity, so here I am in the largest city of Ecuador just beginning my 8-month South American adventure.
My flight from LA to Miami was a piece of cake because I slept from takeoff to landing. My flight from Miami to Guayaquil… now that was exciting. The man next to me, who I soon learned to be of the name Sucre (Sugar for my gringo friends), was very nice and told me all about his beloved Guayaquil hometown. Sucre told me the best places to visit and the best foods to eat. We talked the entire flight all the while Sucre sat drinking his ginger ales and skyy vodkas. Three hours and six skyy vodkas after meeting Sucre his words were slurred and his body wavered, but his enthusiasm never waned. Regardless of his drinking habits Sucre gave me some very valuable advice: Take my time. Don’t rush from place to place. Relax. Enjoy it. Viva la vida. So here’s to Sucre, my first Guayaquileño amigo.

Introduction – Who Blogs?

Blogging isn’t for me. Blogging is for:
a)Smart people who know a lot about a particular issue and want to share their opinion
b)Funny people who tell stories that other people read when they should be working
c)Weird people that mistakenly think the world cares about what they have to say

Yet here I am with a blog. The twenty-first century wins again. E-books were fun and all, but blogs are a lot easier to use when on the go. Read what you want. Skip what you don’t. Just know that I’ll be quizzing you when I get home, and if I find out that you didn’t read my story about hanging out with the Vice President of Ecuador I will disown you.
P.S. Please leave lots of comments.