Deportivo Quito contra Barcelona

So it's been way too long since I've blogged. I'm sorry about that, especially for those of you who read this blog in hopes to procrastinate working for a little while longer. Anyway, maybe today this will knock off three more minutes of your workday. Also, if you want to knock off more time, I've added more photos. Look at the links to the right and click on the one for my photos.

So the latest updates are that I took my first test in Spanish yesterday. I have to make an eighty percent on the test to be certified to volunteer with the Red Cross. I won't find out if I passed until Tuesday. I also started working with a pediatrician in the mornings here, and apparently I'm supposed to teach an anatomy and physiology class for an hour and half on Monday afternoons for the next eight weeks. Thankfully the class is in English. Needless to say, Life in Ecuador is random.

So I went to a soccer match the other day. TOTAL MAYHEM!!! First, it was Deportive Quito versus Barcelona. Against what you might think, it was between two of the biggest teams in Ecuador (not from Spain). Anyway, there's this kid that lives with our family who bleeds Deportivo Quito, so of course I bought a $5 jersey and went to the game with a few friends. Let me tell you a few things that went down at the match.
1. When we entered it was so crowded that we couldn't see the game. Then we see these folks scaling what turns out to be a wall to watch the game from a ledge. We decide it's a good idea and do it. Turns out we had to enter the girls bathroom climb a ledge there then crawl through a broken "window" (metal bars) to get on the ledge for the game. Could you imagine that happening in Jordan-Hare? Anyway, we had a great view up there.
2. I also saw about four fist fights in the crowd during the game.
3. They sell many more tickets than people can actually watch the game, so at one point during the game we hear this huge BOOM below us, then saw a flood of people enter and push and shove until I thought someone was going to die in the mob. Turns out the people BROKE DOWN A METAL DOOR in order to enter the stadium! Total madness. Thankfully no one got hurt.
4. Finally, towards the end of the game it was pretty cold. I could tell others were cold, but there was really nothing to do about it I thought. Then I looked to my left and saw a big ass fire!!! Turns out the team that was losing was burning all the flags of the winning team. I mean it was in the stands, and it was BIG. I mean probably ten feet by ten feet and five feet high. Which in the middle of the crowded stadium is pretty substantial. I waited for the police or whoever to come put it out, but they didn't. Apparently, it's totally normal to have bonfires out of opponents garments during a game.
Anyway, though the fans are MUCH crazier than at an SEC football game, the game is not nearly as exciting, but it just isn't loud at all. I mean there are fanatics that do some crazy stuff like that guy from South Korea that lit himself on fire, but the atmosphere is not near as loud as Jordan-Hare.

Anyhow, I promise the car ride story from Venezuela soon. I've just been real busy. I've enjoyed yall's comments! Thanks!

Blog Points:
1. Hearing the Talking Heads blasting Psychokiller out of a car was pretty fabulous.
2. My red cross volunteering class ordered lunch to go the other day. So with the lunch came a drink, pineapple juice. Besides being delicious, it was served in a plastic bag.
3. There is a moderately sized store at the corner of my street. It sells bananas. It doesn't sell anything else.
4. My family made burritos the other day. I was pretty amazed, this being the first time I had anything resembling Mexican food since I arrived in South America. So when we sat down, no one knew how to eat them except for Isabela who made them, and even she wasn't too sure. I had to teach a South American family how to eat a burrito. So weird.

Yall check out the pics!

Quito...making Denver feel ashamed

So I’m long overdue for a blog. Especially considering how much has changed in my life. So last I spoke to yall I was getting frisked by the FARC. In reality it wasn’t the FARC, it was really just the Bogota airport security. Nonetheless, they were armed with serious looking automatic rifles, so the rush was still there. Thankfully they didn’t find my box of Cuban cigars. Just kidding. It’s great because you can fly around here having no problems with Cuban cigars. Now returning to America with them should be different.

Anyway, so here are my plans in case you are interested. I have been working at a hostel for room and board this past week. It’s been great because I haven’t had to pay anything, and I have gotten to know the city. I found an excellent apartment that I should be moving into on Sunday. It’s right in the area of town I want to live, next to the Red Cross (which I’ll explain later), cheap, real nice, and the family that runs it is Ecuadorian, so I’ll be spending a lot of time with them. So now, if you want to come to Ecuador, I’ve got a place for you to stay! Anyway, my cousin Merrill is moving down here in a couple of weeks, so we are going to share the apartment. It’s for two.

As far as volunteering my plans have changed. I am going to volunteer with the Red Cross of Ecuador. I think I have learned sufficient Spanish to work with them. I had a 30-minute interview with them, and passed, so I guess I know enough Spanish. I have to go to training this Saturday and Sunday and next Saturday and Sunday. After that, I should be riding in ambulances all over Ecuador. Needless to say, I’m incredibly excited. I’ve been reading this medical book they gave me for the training. It’s like 200 pages. I know all the medicine in the book, but the problem is the Spanish. Trying to read a 200 page technical book in Spanish in less than a week in a half is difficult. But it’s perfect because it is teaching me medical Spanish and that is a major reason I came here. So with that said, Jeff I would be careful. I imagine the points are about to start raining when I’m riding ambulances all across Quito.

That’s enough for now. I don’t want to bore yall, so here are the blog points. By the responses and emails I’ve received, it seems these are everyone’s favorite part of the blog. Oh and next week I’m going to blog about my taxi ride in Venezuela. One of the greatest things that has ever happened to me, so be ready…

Blog Points:
1. I needed to buy a flash drive, so I went to a place in an affluent part of town called the “Center of Commerce”. All these stores were like six feet by six feet. My favorite store was displaying nothing random, only a brand new PlayStation 3, jewelry, cameras, and blenders.
2. I found another store, not in the Center of Commerce, which was real nice and real big. What did it sell? Nothing out of the ordinary either…only refrigerators, washing machines, and sweet ass motorcycles. I think I saw a coupon for a free oil change with the purchase of a Maytag dryer.
3. This guy Christian, who I’ve become friends with, works on the corner selling kabobs cooked on a grill. And believe me they are delicious and only 60 cents. So the other day a lot of people came at once, so he needed to speed up the cooking process to ensure their business. So what did he do? Only pulled out a Vidal-Sassoon hair dryer and started blow-drying them. They were delicious.
4. Lastly, I heard a great song on the radio the other day. I’m curious to know when was the last time you heard this band? Or better yet, when was the last time you thought of them? What band and song? Nothing but the classic Two Princes by The Electric Spin Doctors.

Bogota

Okay, this is just too good a blog to pass up. I cannot type much becuase I do not have much time.

True or False: I am currently blogging in Bogota, Columbia after getting frisked by someone who is probably in the FARC.

Answer: True

The past four hours of my life have been pretty damn hectic. When I arrived in Caracas from Maracaibo, I literally ran from the domestic gate to the international gate. When I got there he told me my flight was closed. The reason I was late was because of the friggin Venezuelan Airline that does not take e-tickets, but somehow sells them. Anyway, I had to plead with the man and tell him that I was a volunteer doctor and that they were waiting on me in Ecuador. (half-true) Anyway, they guy said, well do you have fifty bucks, then I said, that the reason I was late was because your airline took forever getting here, yada yada yada. It was the first time I had to speak heated in Spanish. Anyway, it was awesome. He eventually let me in without having to pay the extra fifty bucks. Then I ran all through the airport and made it to my flight. Anyway, I gotta go now because I think my flight to Quito is about to leave.

BLOG POINT: I just got frisked by the FARC!!!

P.S. The blog is dedicated to my dad. It turns out that we are our parents after all. I know my dad taught me sweet talking and hard talking, and that is the reason I made my connection. I am one hundred percent sure he would have made that connection as well.

¿Ecuador?

So, I have some news. It turns out the man I was working with and I did not get along. It is kind of difficult for me to comprehend, seeing how if you know me, you probably don´t know a single person that I don´t get along with. In fact, even I can´t think of a person until now. And even now, I´m not entirely sure why we cannot work together. Anyway, for his sake I´m not going to go into any details. What I do know is that I got evicted the other day. Which is pretty lame, but it´s also strangly cool to say that I got evicted in Venezuela. I have a friend who was deported from Ireland once. I must say, being deported is way better than being evicted.

Anyway, that aside, I think this is all for the better. I have prayed about it for days, and I have a great peace as to what happened. I am now headed to Quito, Ecuador. I am going to work with the program CENIT. Check out www.cenitecuador.org. I´m really excited about it, and heck, I get to live in Quito! (which I´ve heard is amazing) Also, since Quito is more pricy than rural Venezuela, I´m coming home for Thanksgiving and am planning on working in America until the week after Christmas. I gotta make some grub, then back to Quito for five more months. So, if anyone want to travel and visit me in Quito, yall bring it!

Excited,
Stewart

More Pictures!

So, I just finished watching the Auburn game. Literally, like 5 minutes ago. I was planning on blogging, but I think I will wait until tomorrow now. Anyhow, I have some new pictures, so check out the picassa webpage. http://picasaweb.google.com/stewhill I have attached a link to it from this website now. Plus Cooper put up new pics, so check out his blog and picassa page.

BLOG POINTS:
1. Apparently there is this brand name Tío Rico. We aren´t sure what it exactly a brand name for, but it translates to Uncle Rico. Lord knows, I hope it it for Tupperware. If not, then camcorders and footballs.

2. Cooper ordered a hamburger the other day. The guy then looked him in the eye and said with chicken or beef. It was awesome. So was the hamburger.

3. So the internet is real slow obviously, so I have become good at minesweeper and hearts (buscaminas and corazones). I play them while the pages are loading. Anyway, the default player names in hearts are like Maria, Jose, and Jesús. I´m not sure about you, but I feel weird beating Jesus at hearts.

4. Every kid in town now knows Cooper´s nickname and continues to holler out ¨Take it do da hoooooooop Cooooooop!!!¨ It never gets old.

5. Apparently Body Glove T-shirts are ¨in¨ this year down here.

On farming and other things

So, I haven’t updated our status on San Pedro in a while. We have needed to talk with the community council, and the leader of the community council has been very sick lately. Thankfully she should back in good health next week. We are planning on meeting with her next week, so I should have an update next week. I know I have said that I will have an update about San Pedro a couple of times, but things just take forever here. I thought I was patient when I came here, but that proved to be wrong. This country is teaching me patience to a whole new level.

Anyway, with it being slow I have been able to farm several days. This town produces acres and acres of crops all farmed by hand. Lettuce, cabbage, zucchini, potatoes, cilantro, corn, and tons of other crops are farmed here and I think they only use three tools. At least, I’ve done some farming and only seen three tools. Literally, ONLY THREE TOOLS. The first is a fumigator, basically like a backpack that you wear as you walk through the fields spraying pesticides. The second is an esgardilla. What is an esgardilla you might ask? Is it a tractor? Is it some machine that tills the soil? Or plants the seeds? No. It is just Spanish for a hoe. To get a good image of the third tool you need to go to my mom’s house where she still keeps the Encyclopedia Britannica on the shelf. Grab the “XYZ” volume and look up the word Yolk. Odds are you will see a picture of two oxen strapped together by a yolk. I mean really, that’s all they use to produce acres of some of the most beautiful crops I’ve ever seen. It’s amazing. Anyway, after farming several days, I do have to say one thing. Farming is probably the hardest job on the planet.

Blog Points:
1. Cooper and I went to La Puerta to see if we could get mail delivered to the post office because we don’t have a mailbox. Turns out the lady in charge of that is out of town for a month. So I don’t mean to read into things, but does that mean no one can get mail for a month?
2. If anyone ever offers you a Malta in South America, Just Say No!
3. I met this girl last night who is 21 years old. My friend who is friends with her told me she used to be skinny and now she is fat. True enough she was the fattest one of her friends. Well her nickname down here is gorda. What does gorda mean in English? Fat. So they kept calling her Fat last night, and there seemed to be nothing wrong with that. Could you imagine that in the US?