Thanksgiving Weekend

While family and friends enjoyed their chilly Thanksgiving complete with turkey and other important fixings, I was in Banos with my roommate, Lauren, and our friend Tracy. We had a great time, and here are just some of the highlights.

Tracy and I enjoying our Moka Menta at Cafe en el Cielo (Coffee in the Sky or Heavens).

We visited this fun tree house. It had fun swings, and amazing view, and a small zip line.

The swing was really fun once you got over the height issue!

Betsy- our friend the cow

Amazing view 1

Amazing view 2

Outside view of the restaurant, Cafe en el Cielo

The day was beautiful, and for a few minutes we could actually see the tip of the Volcano Tungurahua 

View over the bridge in Banos

The wind was blowing so hard.

Lauren and I went on a Chiva tour. The bus with flashing lights and very loud music takes passengers up to a lookout over Banos. The view was beautiful.

Here is a picture when the bus was full and headed up the side of the mountain.

The view from the lookout over Banos

Lauren and I in front of the tree in Banos

Cuy- a delicacy here in Ecuador.  (Guinea Pig)

If you can't tell, that is the claw of the guinea pig.

This is how they roast the guinea pig.

Tourist Activities in Quito

When Lauren (my roommate) and I arrived back in Ecuador, we decided to act like tourists for a day. We went to Mitad del Mundo (Center of the World), Museo del Sol (Sun Museum), and to an inactive volcano crater.

My roommate and I

View of Mitad del Mundo from the top of the tower

Standing at the center of the world!

At the Museum of the Sun, their are guides to teach you more about the Ecuadorian culture. The tour is even in English!

These are gifts from other Latin American countries to Ecuador. The round ball structure on the left is from Costa Rica.

An example of a burial sight. Many times if the chief died, his wife or wives were buried with him (alive but drugged)

Apparently it is easier to balance an egg on a nail at the center of the world; however,  I wasn't able to do it.

Lauren, on the other hand, got it right away :)

At the inactive volcano crater

Manuel Antonio

Thank you for all of the prayers, calls and emails these last two weeks. God has been so good. My back is doing much better, and I have learned anew how to trust God in spite of the situation. I feel like I am back to normal (as normal as I get get). I am working hard at school and I feel like I am learning a ton.

1. Ordering fast food in a different language

2. Manuel Antonio

1. So as many of you know, ordering at a fast food restaurant in that States can be an ordeal if it's busy. Now picture doing all of that in a different language. I have to say that it is always fun to see what I get because it's usually not what I attempted to order. 

I ended up with 3 slices of pizza.

Pizza Hut-

I attempted to order 1 slice of ham pizza and a drink, but I ended up with 3 slices.

McDonald's-

I was trying to order a chicken sandwich. However, I ended up with a fried chicken breast and wing. (Like at KFC)

Italian Sit Down Restaurant-

A sit down restaurant is always much easier. Not only do you have a menu that you can point at, but the waitress is more focused on what you are saying and you have more time to practice what you are going to say, and time to listen to their questions clarifying what you ordered.  I ordered a Penne Cheese Pasta that was absolutely delicious. 

2. Manuel Antonio

This weekend I went to Manuel Antonio with the other two students in my class. We stayed at a hostel that caters to English speaking people. (meaning the people at the front desk speak English). We had to take a $8 bus from San Jose that left at 6pm and we arrived in Manuel Antonio around 10:00pm. Saturday, we went to the National Rainforest and went hiking for most of the day. For dinner we rode a bus into the closest town and ate Italian. The views were incredible and we saw many cool animals up close and personal. (see pictures below)  We made it back Sunday afternoon with no problems! It was a fun weekend and I can not wait to visit again.

View from my room at the hostel

We hiked up hill to this overlook

Then we hiked back down to the beach. What a beautiful view!

 

Animal Life:

Monkey- we saw a lot of monkeys but it was difficult to
take their pictures because they moved so fast

Monkey swinging from tree to tree!

This monkey came running across the path right in front of us.
I just missed taking a picture of a mother monkey with its
child on its back.

Monkey eating

This raccoon is not scared of people at all. They actually
will take food out of  your bag if you leave it unattended.

Lizard on the path

After a long day hiking for about 4 hours, a nap in the hammock was
definitely in order.

Day 1 of Vision Trip

Day 1 (October 15, 2010)

I made it to Quito, Ecuador last night around 6:15pm. I had no trouble with my flights. The only problem happened when I couldn't find my luggage. But that was becuase someone had taken my baggage of the turning wheel. I eventually found it and was able to get through customs.

I am staying in a wonderful place called "The Guest House". I have my own room and bathroom. They serve a family style breakfast.

I toured the HCJB Global Headquarters. Its amazing the history to this place. I was able to see the radio broadcasting room where they produce radio programs that go out all over the world.

I also toured the hospital. The hospital is staffed by both Ecuadorian resident doctors  and nurses and missionary doctors and nurses with HCJB Global.

The school, Alliance Academy, was very impressive. They have over 500 students there. You almost foreget that you are in a foreign country when you are in that school. The building is wonderful and the students are not lacking in their education. They have home ec classes as well as art and music and sports.

Animals and things in Colorado Springs!

Colorado Springs is just gorgeous. If I did not plan to move to Ecuador, I would definitely consider moving here! We are staying at a wonderful place called the Glen Eyrie. I love it here. The sites are just wonderful. We also see lots of animals. We saw wild turkeys and big horn sheep yesterday.                                                

Today, we had a free afternoon here in beautiful Colorado Springs! We went to the Focus on the Family building. We took a tour and also went throught the Adventures in Odyssey. It was lots of fun and a lot of good pictures!