The week in Cuenca was pretty relaxing, and we spent a good amount of time studying and capitolizing on our last week of classes. Here are some of the highs and lows.
Highlights:
In deciding to go on this trip, I was forced to shoulder quite a few risks - homesickness, financial strain, yellow fever etc. . . But no risk was more stressful and serious than the knowledge that I would probably not be adequately prepared come time for my fantasy football draft. The preaseason is crucial for scouting, and I knew that I would miss out on that opportunity to assemble my monster fantasy squad. None the less, on Tuesday Andy and I buckled down in our favorite internet cafe, did a few hours of cramming and participated in our respective fantasy football drafts (I had 2 in the same night). I think one of my teams turned out okay but the other looks like a rag tag football version of the bad news bears.
On Wednesday Andy and I visited Cuenca's best hat factory, a product for which the city is famous. Cuenca has a long history of making extremely fine straw hats and the quality and styles are very impressive. They are all made by hand and the cheapest ones take a person
2 full days to make (the more expensive ones take up to 6 months!). The museum was actually pretty interesting, but the most fun was picking out hats to buy and trying everything on in the store. Elena had mentioned that she loved the hats but that they were too expensive for her, and the best part for us was the look on her face when we came home and brought her a brand new classy white hat. She was so touched and it made Andy and my week, especially because she'd been working so hard for us.
On Thursday, we trekked over to Cajas National Park which was so far the most beautiful place we've visited so far in Ecu
ador (and that is saying quite a lot!). It's in a mountain range with over 500 hundred lakes and countless exotic bird, animal and plant species. Our fantastic guide was Elena's neighbor, Diego, who gave Andy and I a private and personal tour. Diego's dedication to guiding really shined, however, after our hike ended as he lead us on a wild goose chase through Cuenca to find any bar, restaurant, hut, cave, house, or underground lair that might be showing the Giants football season opener. After a truly exhausting search we couldn't find even one and at each place we went to we were looked at with a progressively more hurtful amount disdain. I was pretty devestated, though was cheered slightly to find out later that they won.
Highlights:
In deciding to go on this trip, I was forced to shoulder quite a few risks - homesickness, financial strain, yellow fever etc. . . But no risk was more stressful and serious than the knowledge that I would probably not be adequately prepared come time for my fantasy football draft. The preaseason is crucial for scouting, and I knew that I would miss out on that opportunity to assemble my monster fantasy squad. None the less, on Tuesday Andy and I buckled down in our favorite internet cafe, did a few hours of cramming and participated in our respective fantasy football drafts (I had 2 in the same night). I think one of my teams turned out okay but the other looks like a rag tag football version of the bad news bears.
On Wednesday Andy and I visited Cuenca's best hat factory, a product for which the city is famous. Cuenca has a long history of making extremely fine straw hats and the quality and styles are very impressive. They are all made by hand and the cheapest ones take a person
2 full days to make (the more expensive ones take up to 6 months!). The museum was actually pretty interesting, but the most fun was picking out hats to buy and trying everything on in the store. Elena had mentioned that she loved the hats but that they were too expensive for her, and the best part for us was the look on her face when we came home and brought her a brand new classy white hat. She was so touched and it made Andy and my week, especially because she'd been working so hard for us.On Thursday, we trekked over to Cajas National Park which was so far the most beautiful place we've visited so far in Ecu
ador (and that is saying quite a lot!). It's in a mountain range with over 500 hundred lakes and countless exotic bird, animal and plant species. Our fantastic guide was Elena's neighbor, Diego, who gave Andy and I a private and personal tour. Diego's dedication to guiding really shined, however, after our hike ended as he lead us on a wild goose chase through Cuenca to find any bar, restaurant, hut, cave, house, or underground lair that might be showing the Giants football season opener. After a truly exhausting search we couldn't find even one and at each place we went to we were looked at with a progressively more hurtful amount disdain. I was pretty devestated, though was cheered slightly to find out later that they won.Later that night we went to Cuenca's only Casino, which was a pretty bootleg operation consisting mainly slot machines and a few scattered tables. The place was pretty dingy and smelled strangely like sadness. I thought it odd that at the door I was asked to take my hat off, probably 
lest I detract from the classiness of such a sophisticated establishment. The place was perfect for me though because the minimum blackjack bet was a dollar (as opposed to 5 in Atlantic City) and I only lost $20 by the time I was reminded why I don't belong in casinos. We also entered into a Texas Hold 'em tournament where we again were taken for a minor amount of money.
The main highlight of the week was Andy growing a badass fu man chu mustache. He's a real man's man.
Low Lights:
The main lowlight was the weather. It was pretty cold and rainy most of the week, although the best weather we had was at the national park which was a plus. My teacher at the school was also a bit of a downer especially after 3 weeks of a fantastic one. I didn't realize how luck I was
to have Edith (my Quito and coast teacher), but she really made my first 3 weeks of learning Spanish amazing. We clicked really well and our senses of humor meshed flawlessly. She also provided a great balance of learning and just plain talking which to me is essential when learning a new language. My new teacher was actually fine, but she made it relatively clear through her actions that she would rather be eating woodchips than teaching me Spanish. She was constantly struggling to feign interest, and using an excessive amount of her energy hiding her yawns. The real icing on the cake though, was that every time she would give me an excercise to do on my own, she would read the classified section of the newspaper and highlight new jobs that sounded interesting, and presumably more intersting than me (I am being 100% serious).
Despite this teacher, at the end of 4 weeks I feel pretty proud of my progress. I feel as though I can talk about mostly any topic as long as the person with whom I am talking is aware of my level and uses easier words. I still can't really understand things like TV shows and when people talk extremely fast, but it is totally adequate for communicating and getting around the country. I would love to chose a different country at some point and try to kick up my fluency to another level, but that, my friends is for another time and another blog (Naked in Buenos Aires?).
The only other low light occured as we tried to plan our trip back to Quito. We were getting slightly tired of taking buses (especially overnight buses) so we decided to take the quick and easy 40 minute flight. Apperently the god's of transport had other plans though, and decided to shut down the Cuenca airport the entire week that were there. So after saying goodbye to Elena and Co., it would be another 10 hour bus ride for us with nothing but Clint Eastwood´s raspy Spanish dubbed voice to keep us from going crazy. We arrived in Quito thoroughly exhausted, slightly cranky and in desperate need of a shower.
lest I detract from the classiness of such a sophisticated establishment. The place was perfect for me though because the minimum blackjack bet was a dollar (as opposed to 5 in Atlantic City) and I only lost $20 by the time I was reminded why I don't belong in casinos. We also entered into a Texas Hold 'em tournament where we again were taken for a minor amount of money.The main highlight of the week was Andy growing a badass fu man chu mustache. He's a real man's man.
Low Lights:
The main lowlight was the weather. It was pretty cold and rainy most of the week, although the best weather we had was at the national park which was a plus. My teacher at the school was also a bit of a downer especially after 3 weeks of a fantastic one. I didn't realize how luck I was
to have Edith (my Quito and coast teacher), but she really made my first 3 weeks of learning Spanish amazing. We clicked really well and our senses of humor meshed flawlessly. She also provided a great balance of learning and just plain talking which to me is essential when learning a new language. My new teacher was actually fine, but she made it relatively clear through her actions that she would rather be eating woodchips than teaching me Spanish. She was constantly struggling to feign interest, and using an excessive amount of her energy hiding her yawns. The real icing on the cake though, was that every time she would give me an excercise to do on my own, she would read the classified section of the newspaper and highlight new jobs that sounded interesting, and presumably more intersting than me (I am being 100% serious).
Despite this teacher, at the end of 4 weeks I feel pretty proud of my progress. I feel as though I can talk about mostly any topic as long as the person with whom I am talking is aware of my level and uses easier words. I still can't really understand things like TV shows and when people talk extremely fast, but it is totally adequate for communicating and getting around the country. I would love to chose a different country at some point and try to kick up my fluency to another level, but that, my friends is for another time and another blog (Naked in Buenos Aires?).
The only other low light occured as we tried to plan our trip back to Quito. We were getting slightly tired of taking buses (especially overnight buses) so we decided to take the quick and easy 40 minute flight. Apperently the god's of transport had other plans though, and decided to shut down the Cuenca airport the entire week that were there. So after saying goodbye to Elena and Co., it would be another 10 hour bus ride for us with nothing but Clint Eastwood´s raspy Spanish dubbed voice to keep us from going crazy. We arrived in Quito thoroughly exhausted, slightly cranky and in desperate need of a shower.
1 comment:
buenos aires here we come!!!
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