1/7/09 and 1/8/09

1-7-09
Today was the first day of real class. I have science, either conservation biology or terrestrial ecology, these are taught in English by Catherine, who my mom played hockey with back in the day, and Joe. Catherine lectured today, and so far I really like her teaching methods, it was very simple concepts that I have learned probably 3 times in various science classes in Milwaukee, but Cath was able to make them interesting again. That lecture is from 9:30am to 12:30pm then I have Spanish from 2:30pm to 5:30pm. So, that is 6 hours of class Monday through Friday and I have to stay near campus from for the whole time (9:30 to 5:30) and then you add travel time and I am basically at school from 8:30am to 6:30pm. After 6:30 it is dark and walking is not recommended after dark. This makes exploring on foot restricted to weekends. David and I were really looking forward to wondering around the city and seeing if we could find some hidden treasures (something my step-dad Tim is very good at doing when we visit Mexico.) I think we will still be able to fit it in somewhere, but we definitely have to plan out a time. Also, I think we have most of this weekend off, which will be a perfect time to explore. One cool thing David and I have started is in the mornings going for a run in la Parque de la Carolina. This is the large park we live by. During the day there are not very many people, but in the morning there are a ton of people running and walking their dogs. Also there is some pick up soccer in the numerous fields. The soccer fields are kind of interesting; they are smaller than regulation and are dirt instead of the typically grass. This does not make sense to me since the rest of the park is covered in grass and is mowed regularly, it seems like they would be able to also make the courts in grass. Also the field that David’s host father said was used for large/important matches looks like a tennis court surface. Other that the random observations about the soccer field it was a very nice run and will be very helpful in acclimating us to the elevation before we go to hiking in the mountains. We plan to go running 2 to 3 times a week.
David and I have gotten pretty good at catching the bus and knowing which one to take, but today I decided inertia is no longer my favorite force. Since I took physics in high school I have always thought inertia was the coolest and most interesting force (thanks Mr. Zabell.) However, whoever is the last to get on the bus suffers greatly from it. Now, not to pull the gimp card… but having a broken arm makes holding on to even a stationary railing for support very difficult and painful much less that of a moving bus, hence why inertia and I are in a fight. Case and point: today I was the last from my stop to get on and as soon as driver sees that those waiting are on the bus he starts going, and not a nice easy start, he pretty much floors it. So, the bus started and all I could do was hold on to anything with any limb possible or I was going to fall out of the bus before traveling 3 feet. I do not think my orthopedic surgeon would be very happy with the Ecuadorian bus drivers.

1-8-09
We had the morning off from class today to get started on getting our CENSO, which is our ID card while we are in Ecuador. This trip has made me hate certain things more and appreciate others. One thing that I now completely loath and understand why others also loath is bureaucracy. Applying for a non-UWM program, applying to get a student visa, trying to get my credits from USFQ to transfer to my major at UWM, all loaded with more steps than I can understand, and many of those steps end up being steps backwards so movement is near impossible. Once we found the “dirreccion de estrajeras” it was fairly easy compared to getting my visa, but still not a pleasant experience, and the language barrier definitely adds new obstacles.
Today was our second day of Spanish class and we were informed that they are out of our books. These Spanish classes are special for Ceiba students and USFQ knew how many of us there were, yet for some reason the university bought 5 too few books and they have none in the bookstore. After running around campus for a good half hour the 5 of us without books gave up and decided we would try again tomorrow. To add to this frustration by the time David and I got to our second bus stop the sun was setting and we needed to get home for dinner, so we hailed a cab. I don’t know what is was but it seemed like the pollution was extra bad today, it was overcast all day so maybe that trapped all the car exhaust, or maybe it was just because I was already in a bad mood because I didn’t get my Spanish book and wasted time going on a wild goose hunt for it. But, whatever the reason the air really got to me today. By the time I got home I was in a pretty horrible mood and all I wanted was to breathe Wisconsin air with my friends and family. I sat down to dinner with my family which always puts me in a better mood and we talked about different foods and parts of the country and I started to feel better. After dinner I went to the internet café so I could call people on Skype to alleviate some of my home sickness. Well, the computers at the café had other plans. After calling multiple people and not getting a connection where we could both hear each other, I finally got a hold of Josie who was conveniently with Corinne and Rob. Although they could not hear a lot of what I was saying it was just good to have the feeling of talking to them and laughing with them, although I think a lot of times we were laughing at different things. Supposedly I sounded like a robot at the end of the phone call and they would not stop laughing at everything I said… but the illusion of conversation was even enough for me to be reassured that, well I don’t know exactly what but it made me feel a lot better.