My Ecua Olympics

In addition to my normal running around Ecuador, this past week provided some extra calorie burning for me (which is always welcome with this super-carb Ecua diet). On Friday morning ,my student Jazmin's mother, along with her 5-year-old grandson, took me to the Ambato markets. The family was horrified that I had lived in Ambato for 9 months and had not eaten the traditional food found at the permanent markets downtown. To be honest, I didn't realized they even existed because the markets are hidden in large buildings that are decorated with little stores and restaurants all around them- almost too obvious to be obvious. So we ventured inside and I was ready for anything. The bottom floors contained an abundance of fruits and vegetables, more than you can possibly imagine. There were also vendors with rice and grains, and of course the most entertaining were the meat vendors with their pig heads and hanging dead chickens on display. Then upstairs was a food court of sorts, but instead of McDonald's and Subway, they had stands with every possible Ecuadorian food imaginable. So they treated me to an avocado batido (milkshake of sorts), hornado (a portion of a pig roasted in its entirety), llapingachos (the potato pancakes Ambato is famous for) and empanadas de morocho (a cousin of corn). Then we went a few blocks away to an even bigger market, which in addition to all the aforementioned things, also provided clothing and shoes. Needless to say, even after speeding along through the markets, it didn't do me much good after such a big lunch!

Then on Saturday, I played basketball with my host dad and his students, but this week we had the pleasure of playing with my fellow Ambato volunteer Kat as well. Kat is very tall and basically towers over all the Ecuadorians. She also played basketball in high school and continued in her spare time in college, so for lack of better words, she is a real beast on the courts. While playing is usually fun for me, this past weekend was even better! Kat and I played on the same team and I must say we dominated the courts. I don’t think I have ever played with such determination in my life! So after losing the first game, we blew the other team out of the water in the second- unfortunately after having broken my host dad’s glasses and having given Kat’s host brother a bloody nose (wasn’t me I promise)! It was all in good fun though, and my host dad keeps talking about the next opportunity we can all play together again.

After basketball, I met my students downtown to make up one of the classes I missed when I flew home. Because I hated to take away from their Saturday, I really wanted to do a productive activity that would be worth their efforts, and that they would really enjoy. So after grabbing some breakfast, we went to a store that has a bunch of phone booths (they are basically on every street corner in Ecuador), and each student had to call one of my fellow WT volunteers to practice conversation. Now if you think speaking in another language is difficult, try being a beginner and speaking over the phone, without being able to see the other person’s facial expressions or lips moving. I remember how scared I was making phone calls in Spanish when I first arrived, so I totally empathized with my students. They all seemed to really enjoy talking with my friends and asking them questions, though, and of course I was so appreciative of the help my friends gave me. My students were shaking and they told me their hearts were beating very quickly, but I think they walked away with a new confidence in speaking, which definitely brought a smile to my face.

Then when we were finished, I hopped on a bus to Quito, ready for a relaxing night before my big race the following day. I couldn’t stop laughing because my host family had dressed me in a full-out tracksuit as a belated birthday present, which they told me would make me look more like a professional. So looking as athletic as possible, I arrived in Quito at my Assistant Field Director Katie’s apartment and met up with Ava and Ashley as well. Ava had prepared an incredible dinner of pasta with vegetables, fruit salad, and a garden salad. I hadn’t tasted something so light, fresh, and delicious in a really long time. Then we all chit-chatted and relaxed as we tried to mentally prepare ourselves for our race that next morning.

So, every spring Quito hosts the Últimas Notícias 15K (9.3 miles) for the public. Ava had invited me to participate a few months back, and besides a great excuse to train everyday, I also thought it would be a great way to see the city. I was really nervous about the race, though, thinking that I would be miserable the entire time or that I wouldn’t be able to finish, but it turned out to be such a fabulous experience! We all got jerseys, numbers, and chips to put on our shoes to keep our times- I felt like such a pro. The four of us ladies took a taxi to the South of the city in the morning and waited with the other 9,232 participants in the cold for the race to begin at 8:30am. Then we were off! My director Katie and I became running buddies and we stuck with each other the entire time. Besides a momentary break to relieve ourselves (sorry to be crude), we didn’t stop or walk the entire time. It was such a beautiful experience overall- from running through the historic downtown, looking out at the volcanoes in the distance, listening to the cheers of the hundreds of people on the sidewalks along the way, seeing people in wheelchairs and with braces or prosthetic legs chugging along, running beside people in costumes who were inciting laughter from the crowd, and just finding strength within myself to keep on going. We ran all throughout Quito, past many places I recognized and many new places as well, only to end up running into Quito’s huge soccer stadium as we sprinted across the finish line. And though I certainly didn’t try to rush myself too much, I was happy with my time of 1:48:43…at least for my first try. And at the end, we all got goodie bags filled with water, an apple, a recipe book, a bottle of ketchup (it’s Ecuador, what can I say?), and best of all, a gold medallion! You better believe I will have that hanging proudly in my room when I return home.

After we all showered and grabbed lunch, I spent the rest of the day relaxing at Liz and Joel’s apartment in Quito watching movies. And while I hadn’t really been out of breath or experienced any pain during the race, my legs were basically petrified by late that afternoon! It really took until about Wednesday for me to feel normal again and not feel like a grandma every time I stood up or tried walking down stairs.

In classes this week, we just started reviewing for the final exam and finished learning about phrasal verbs and the differences between “do” and “make.” On Monday we played Jeopardy…which my students loved! They had never heard of it before, so while it took some time to explain, by the end of the game they were as fierce and competitive as veterans of the game. They also competed for some gum I had imported from the States, and I loved to see their enthusiasm fighting for something that was for me so commonplace.

Tuesday morning I took my likely second-to-last trip out to Pillaro with Marco. I attended another meeting with all the English teachers and helped them to lesson plan with specific grammar points for every week. I also sat in on a dance class of the 7th grade as they were learning a traditional indigenous dance. The movement was so beautiful and the children were so patient…even the boys were really into perfecting their moves! I tried picturing kids from the US in a similar class and figured that most would have either been disinterested or embarrassed. I really enjoyed seeing these children so proud of their heritage and so willing to devote time and effort to learning the dance.

Lastly, my week of sporting events was topped off with the Liga-America soccer game Thursday night. Talk about the icing on the cake! So Ecuador is currently competing in the Copa de Libertadores championship among all of Latin America. Ecuador’s best team at the moment, Liga from Quito, made it to the semifinals. They flew to Mexico City to play Mexico’s team, America, and then played the second game in Quito on Thursday night. Kat, Aubrey, and I went to a bar downtown to watch the game, and it turned out to be one of my favorite evenings in Ambato. We were crammed in a back room with the game projected on the wall, along with probably 75 other screaming fans. We even learned the team cheer! I must admit that I have never watched a soccer game with so much dedication in my life, being more of a baseball, football, and basketball fan myself. The teams ended up tying, but because they had scored a point on Mexico’s turf the previous week, Liga advanced to the finals! Now Liga will be playing Brazil’s team for the championship- a game in Quito in late June and the final game in Brazil in early July. Of course all of us our now trying to get tickets to the game in Quito…so we shall see. And after Liga won, all of the room went crazy singing and cheering, and the streets were just full of people honking their cars and waving Liga jerseys outside of their windows. What a sight to see…Viva la Liga!

So now after that whirlwind week of sports, it’s time to get gamed (pun intended) for our End of Service Conference this coming weekend. I will be leaving Thursday morning for our conference in Quito, which will go until Saturday afternoon. As always, I am looking forward to seeing my fellow volunteers, but I’m also anxious to say goodbye to them as well. They have contributed so much to my experience here and are really wrapped up in so many of my favorite memories.  It will certainly be a weekend of many mixed emotions. And then I will come back only to have 5 days of classes left with my students…and then I’m off to the Galapagos! So many new and exciting things to come, along with probably some tears as well. Seems like this might be the trend for these last 4 weeks that face me in Ecuador, but how lucky I am that I have those tears to shed- just the mark of an incredible experience. Have a great weekend and happy June!