Friday 3/20

Devotional and culture class in the morning. At night everyone went bowling, but I stayed home and studied.

Saturday 3/21

We had lunch in a nice restaurant with Dr. Moore, who’s visiting for the week. I bookwormed my way through the afternoon.

At night I had a nice walk with Papa Javier and Gabi. We discussed the economy, politics, and his work at a window factory. I think I’m a better small-talker in Spanish than in English.

Sunday 3/22

We headed up to the hot springs pools “El Baños” for the morning to soak in boiling water under the boiling sun. At least it felt good on my back, although, options for things to do in the pool were limited considering it wasn’t deeper than 5’. Despite my best efforts, I managed to get a wicked sunburn, but the best part was the the rest of my family was worse than I was. Sucka’s!

Monday 3/23

We started physiology in Spanish, and I am quite a fan. The class is from 7:00-9:00 am, (which is the pits), but it’s split in half. The first half is lecture and the second is group projects to explain the concepts. It’s soooo much fun. We were split up with the Ecuadorian kids to teach the concepts of the sodium-potassium pump. I understood everything, but my participation in the presentation was somewhat lacking. On the plus side, I contributed to a kickin’ playdough model.

In the afternoon we went to the hospital with Dr. Torral for rounds, but it was more of an introduction. He explained the dialysis apparatus.

Tuesday 3/24

In physiology we were told that we had to participate, and that he wanted the other students to practice English, so we were to present how a synapse functions. We were competing with the other groups for the most creative presentation, and we kicked boo-tay. Everyone else made cute drawings/models. We acted it out. It was incredible. The binding of AcH with its receptor was Darla hugging Leigh.

With Dr. Torral we observed patients suffering from kidney failure, which was less than scintillating.

I spent the night at Jenny’s with Sara for some much needed girl time.

Wednesday 3/25

In the Foundation we saw a prostate removal. I was a fan.

Thursday 3/36

In Physiology we did a presentation on muscle stimulation, excitation, and fatigue. The prof said I got to speak in English since I was the best Spanish speaker, but once I was up there and finished my part, he made me do it in Spanish on the spot!

In Spanish we learned some good slang—like how to say “gansta”.

Friday 3/13

I arrived half an hour late to culture class after spending an hour demolishing red tape to get a package from Dad out of customs. Oi vey. Since I was late, I missed the field trip to the market, which wasn’t the end of the world since I go with my mom to the market on Saturdays anyway. I spent that hour while everyone was gone talking to Alba, one of the Spanish teachers and a complete sweetheart. When they got back we made kickin’ fruit salad.

After getting in my internet time, I went home and studied for a few hours before my homies came over.

Julie, Sara, Darla, Leigh, and I made pizza and brownies and watched a Lindsay Lohan movie, Just My Luck, (ironically on Friday the thirteenth).

Saturday 3/14

Mummsie dearest awoke me at the buttcrack of dawn to go to the market. It ended up being a three hour excursion with Mom, My Aunt Suca, and both of my sisters, (each at a different market since we went to two). I think I’m spoiled. I just point at a fruit and say, “Que es?” and presto, Mamma Marcela buys it for my salivary pleasure. So far I’ve tried about 10 fruits that I can’t pronounce and probably will wreak havoc on my digestive system.

When we got back I helped make a cake for Marcela’s home baking business and did some more studying/sunning, (I’m quite the efficient multi-tasker). Then we ran some errands and I introduced them to No-Bakes, which were a bit dry but on the whole wildly successful.

Marcela still doesn’t believe me that kids in the U.S. wear pj’s to class and take off their shoes.

I spent the rest of the evening in lame studiousness.

Sunday 3/15

Super long run to kick off the Lord’s day. Oi vey. After that it was church and then lunch (fried rice with shrimp—heavenly). Let me tell you, I am a great lover of puns, but nothing gets my noodle going worse than a bad Spanish pun. First of all, everyone expects me to understand them. Secondly after 3 repeats it’s not funny. Thirdly, it’s a pun so it really wasn’t all that funny to begin with.

The afternoon consisted of alternately studying and napping followed by a brief walk before returning to church to work with the youngin’s. Freaking 4 year old has a fixation with clawing my throat. I suppose punting the charges across the nursery is discouraged, right . . . ?

Doing crosswords in Spanish makes me want to eat my own entrails. At least they fed me ice cream. What’s more, the ice cream lady taught me how to swear in Quichua. I talked with Isa and Marcella for a while and things got a little feisty when Isa referred to her mother as Chuckie’s mother.

Monday 3/16

Stupid Circaedian rhythm . . . I got up early to study and then went to church for our group devotional. Since it’s a major pain to go home before Spanish, I just stayed at church at ate lunch, studied, and explored.

In Spanish we watched Que Tan Lejos again, resulting in an impressive display of artistry on my left hand. The buceta failed us today, so I had to take the bus. It was freaking packed to the windows and I had to push my way out to get off and little children were yelling at me. It looked like the bus spat me out. It was seven before I finally got home (class having ended at 5:30).

A little hot chocolate and studying and chillaxin’ with Ma and Isa and I’m turning in at the hour of post menopausal retirees.

Tuesday 3/17

After demolishing the digestion/kidney quiz I had a ton of time to unwind back at the casa. In Spanish we played a game with descriptions and practiced our adjectives.

Prayer requesty: my mom broke down over lunch because she got a call from Gabbi’s teacher saying Gabbi has no friends and she’s always by herself. Apparently the kids at her school are total snobs, plus Gabbi’s going through a bit of a rebellious stage. The combo isn’t so good. Poor kid.

We went straight from Spanish to a Cuenca v. Venezuela soccer game. IN-CRE-IBLE! The game itself was kind of lame. Someone was always on the ground writhing in pain and the ball stopped a lot, so I got tired of paying attention to what was going on on the field. The real action was in the stands.

We were in the cheap seats, meaning with the rough hoods/rowdy drunks. They were a fun bunch, I have to say. Sebas, the son of Maria De Lourdes, (our director), was our guide, so we hung out with him and his friends. I have to say, after this experience I have gained a slightly sooty face, a cigarette burn on my foot, and an expansive list of vulgar terms.

We did the wave, yelled insults, and got invited to a discoteca. What a night. The stadium was packed out with pretty bold dudes who liked yelling stuff at us and making kissy faces. My fav was the drunk: “You (long pause) want- go –(pause) with- me?”

We got a ride home in our school van and shouted cheers from the windows. Go Cuenca.

Wednesday 3/18

Icky morning of watching a computer teach us about metabolic processes. On the plus side, we’re done with the info in this class.

No surgeries at the foundation, so I did some shopping with Leigh (to no avail) and went home.

The following words have me rolling on the floor when my family says them:

Nestle: “Nest-te-lay”

Maple: “Mop-lay”

(my personal fav) Pickles: “Peek-lays”

Spanish was two solid hours of grammar that had me wanting death swift and soon. Back at the ranch I went for a walk and hung out with the fam. We made bread pudding served with vanilla ice cream. Score again for the B.

I taught my lil’ sis to say “freakin’ awesome”.

Thursday 3/19

In the spirit of rest and relaxation for having no physiology, I went for an hour long run. The eventual goal is to be able to run a 10 k in May, which would be quite a feat at 8,400 feet. (hehe, feat/feet).

Instead of a devotional in the morning, they sprung culture class on us. It ended up being fairly interesting. We got an overview of the political situation and the process of dollarization.

Lunch consisted of strictly eating and finishing my Spanish homework. Spanish is kicking my butt. We’re doing weird stuff like Imperfect Subjunctive, Condicional Compuesto, and Pluscuamperfecto of Subjunctive. Oi.

I feel like I’m not really moving forward with Spanish. It’s like the more I “pick up” the more I have floating around in my head when I talk. That makes me speak slower because I’m thinking more and I’ve gotten less confident in my pronunciation and guessing cognates. Weird.

Prayer request: Yesterday a girl from our group, Katie, got an email saying that her grandfather committed suicide. I think I’ll leave it at that.

I was talking with Mama Marcela about dreams and found out that I have the honor of being the first gringa she’s dreamed about—twice in fact. Albeit, both were nightmares . . .

By the by, don't mail packages directly here. It took an hour of red tape to get mine out of customs and I was less than cordial by the end.

Friday 3/6

Since it was Julie’s birthday we went out to dinner at a ridiculously expensive Italian place. Afterwards we went to her house for cake, ice cream, and senseless rhythmic movement (“dancing”).

Saturday 3/7

We headed to El Cajas, a national park, bright and early. Our families told us to bring coats, gloves, scarves, etc, so naturally we went most of the day in t-shirts/sweatshirts. People here are such pansies . . . The park was BEAUTIFUL. It’s waaay up in the mountains and it looks like a cross between the sound of music and Lord of the Rings. It had every kind of terrain too—it was rocky, dusty, mushy, grassy, foresty, valley-y. It had incredible lakes, a forest of weird papery trees, and a tight waterfall. We roasted hot dogs and chicken for lunch, and finally returned to our beloved bus/van after 6 hours.

We all went back to Maria’s for dinner (Pizza Hut), hanging out, and a little bit of worship.

Sunday 3/8

I went to church in the morning by myself. After lunch I locked myself in my room to study for my physiology test.

I emerged at 5ish to take a walk before going to the evening church service where I worked with the tots. They’re adorable, but some are just plain evil, like this kid who has a fixation with making contact between every toy and another kid’s head.

After church I made a joke about needing ice cream. I’ve got to be less careful about how I joke, cause I ended up with a coconut popsicle in my hand.

Monday 3/9

After the physiology test the cd for our physiology program punked out so we left early. I went home and studied Spanish, layed out, walked, and ran. It was a gloriously sunny afternoon.

The pharmacy is a black abyss of boredom. After pseudo-checking expiration dates for 2 hours, I contented myself with expanding my vocab by reading labels.

The topic of conversation with my family that night was celebrities. I had to break it to my mom that Ricki Martin was gay and it was a rather low blow for her. Likewise when I claimed that the twins in the parent trap were one girl.

Tuesday 3/10

Who got a 10/10 on a physiology test?!?!?! I DID! I DID!

The farmacy was majorly boring again—so we left.

In Spanish we got back our competency exams. Not so hot . . .

Home church was a bit of a drag as well. We watched a movie and got distracted by watching people flirt. On the plus side, I got a lot of new music from Jenny’s bro, Mocho.

Wednesday 3/11

After physiology we had a TON of time, so I took the bus halfway to church and did some exploring.

First I returned to a beloved bakery but failed to find my long lost love—a sugary roll-thingy.

Being only mildly disheartened, I decided to walk the rest of the way to church, all 35 minutes of it. I lover walking. I love watching people and watching them watch me. It’s like the zoo- effect. There’s nothing better than duking out a staring contest with a strange equadorian man while jamming out to reggaeton.

Dance class was kickin’. Today was salsa, which was a bit more challenging than meringue, and by the end we were all dripping with sweat, (yummy, I know). We’re still learning to shake the tightness out of our gringa hips.

Last day in the pharmacy. Thank goodness. We did some inventory and left early. There was a rumor that there’s a leg amputation tomorrow, and I’m hoping beyond hope that I can get out of class to watch it. I would give my right leg to see it.

Thursday 3/12

Jenny and I cut class to see the amputation. A-MAZ-ING. It only took 2 hours. It was a guy who’d been in a car accident and already lost his other leg. It was basically dead. The burned through the flesh, sawed through the bone, and chucked it in a bag to cremate it. I was in heaven- like, practically almost peed my pants in excitement. Neither Jenny nor I slept very well the night before because we were so excited. It was better than Christmas, (for us at least). I doubt it was all kicks and giggles for the poor guy.

In Spanish class we watched a boring Ecuadorian movie and turned on subtitles when the teachers left.

Friday 2/27

In culture class we covered indigenous illnesses and medicinal treatments. Apparently if you get illegitimately pregnant it’s kosher to blame it on the mountain goblin. Another custom we should bring to the states . . .

In Spanish we’re becoming experts at distracting the prof. We got her going for an hour and a half about her past love life, random definitions, and bad words. Eventually we did have to return to imperfect subjunctive . . .

After class we went to a Chinese restaurant and then bought ice cream. After that we watched Slumdog Millionaire at Darla’s and ate cookies and popcorn. Four of us went home in the same taxi and I got to be last out because: it’s kind of logical geographically, I have the best Spanish, and I have a black belt. No worries though. I made it home safe and sound.

Saturday 2/28

Glorious sleeping in! Over lunch my sis was telling jokes and they asked me to tell one, so I did a loose translation of the muffin joke. I’m not going to say that it was a huge success, but there was more than polite laughter—I think.

In the afternoon I attempted to study for a while and got some sun. In the process I also wrestled my shoe from the grips of the dreadful Bruno—again.

We drove up to Guadelaceo to go shoe shopping for Gabby because she’s going to a fancy party. I love shoes, but I was seriously shopped out by the end. Upon return I was presented with the opportunity to try blood sausage, which I accepted and regretted. I kept tasting it all night.

Sunday 3/1

Nothing kicks off the day of the Lord better than a little salsa-aerobics in the park. My favorite park has random aerobics classes, so I joined one, in the back, and without much rhythm, but I shimmy for Jesus.

After church I did a little studying and made banana bread with Marcela before returning to church at night to work the nursery.

Monday 3/2

First test in physiology = U-G-LY, and it wasn’t even my fault. I studied my proverbial pants off for naught. It was 10 questions, the majority of which were nit-picky things not found in my notes. I ended up with a 6/10, second highest grade in the class.

Afterwards my bus home ignored my flagging, so in an act of spite, I walked home- all 45 min of it.

I really enjoyed the Foundation today. We were in general med again, so we had a constant stream of patients. There were a lot of folks with various parasites and bacterial infections as well as diabetes-related issues. The highlights were as follows:

Taking more blood pressures

Seeing a what the doc described as a “tumor of fat” the size of a ping pong ball in a lady’s shoulder.

Watching a kid get the stitches out of his large knife wound in the head. That’ll teach you, kids—don’t fight with the other kids if they whip out the hardware. The doc suspected he was missing a chunk of his skull in addition to a considerable measure of common sense.

On the way home we engaged in our favorite pastime—cracking up our driver, Wilson, by singing terribly at the top of our lungs.

At night my entire family challenged me to arm wrestling. I beat everyone—except papi.

Mama Marcela said that she was glad that I was finally getting fatter. She was concerned that I wasn’t eating enough at first. Swell.

Tuesday 3/3

Long day. First we kicked off the morning by getting yelled at by our physiology prof for doing so poorly on the test. That was pleasant.

The foundation was kind of slow. The most interesting thing we saw was a case of stomach bacteria.

On the way home Darla and I decided that we’d rather hang out than go home, so we went for ice cream with the driver. It was pretty sweet.

At night we went to our house churches for the first time. It’s an all-youth thing. We (the gringas and I) used it to plan how we’re going to set up our siblings. My sis, Isa, was less than enthused to be paired with Jenny’s bro, Mocho.

Wednesday 3/4

Physiology was cake-y today. A good review of the respiratory system.

I went out to lunch with Julie, and we were running short on time so we picked the closest restaurant on the way. They didn’t have menus. The lady just kept telling me that they served chicken, and beyond that she was waaaay too mumbly to make out. I just told her we’d take 2. We ended up with chicken, rice, fries, bean salad, and chicken something soup. It’s debatable if it was lung, liver, or heart, but it was something roughly triangular and purple with a fairly pleasant flavor.

The Foundation was slow again, so we asked the doctor to weigh us. After weighing himself as well, he proceeded to mock our fattiness.

Thursday 3/5

The highlight of my morning was buying a ginormous pastry for 12 cents.

In spanish we took an competence exam to see where we are.