Donkey Drama

There I was nestled in the beautiful mountains of Vilcabamba. I would volunteer for a week at the local organic farm with no communication with the outside world!  My bus ride proved entertaining into Vilcabamba.  I met Alfredo, a local from Lojas whom I would have the pleasure of sharing cramped quarters for our 10 hour voyage to Vilcabamba.  It took us some time to start our ackward exchange of language.  Eventually we got into a flow and for some reason I was incredibly shy in our conversation and would go into fits of giggles when I couldn´t pronounce or figure out what he was trying to communicate with me.  I had an especially difficult task of trying to get him to understand that I wanted to know what the Spanish word for Easter.  Think about that for moment-- trying to convey Easter in another langauge-muy dificil!  All of the hand gestures that normally accompany me in these contexts would prove useless to me with Alfredo.  That coupled with the fact that I could not stop laughing hysterically really made our exchange interesting for me!  I did get out my notebook and tried to draw a picture of a church because I was committed to him understanding what I was tyring to convey.  My art work only confused him further!!  I did meet a local Vilcabamba hippie converted to an ex-pat from California on the bus earlier, and I pushed my way to the back of the bus to ask her what the translation is for Easter.  I repeated the words in my head till I got back to our seats and now we were finally on the same page!  Then I wound up introducing Alfredo to some of my favorite musicians via my i-pod.  It was truly challenging to choose which artists I would play for him
since I wanted this intercultural music exhcange to be good for him.  He requested Michael Jackson and I gladly obliged!  We were singing some old school Michael J into the night.  I can´t imagine what we sounded like together on the bus to the other passengers, but I imagine they were glad my battery was low and we weren´t able to sing for too long!  From Lojas I took another bus ride to Vilcabamba.  The scenery was some of the best I have seen in Ecuador thus far, but it is now a ex-pat, hippie town with mucho gringos.  There were gluten free cookies as far as the eye could see!  I was picked up by horse and donkey with Ive, the owner of the farm. If you want to meet a truly dedicated person then he is the person to meet.  He has been at Sacred Suenos for over 6 years creating a permaculture farm.  Not only did he want to create an agricultural system that creates sustainability by using the land and the natural resources for the farm he did so on bad soil!  He didn´t want to displace families from good land and he chose the arduous task of making his farm flourish from bad soil.  The farm is still not self sustaining even after all this time, but that hardly deters his passion or committment to this type of living. Fortunately though in the next few years he will have a self sustaining organic farm.  Having had the pleasure of working on the farm gave me a new perspective on many things.  Helping with planting vegtables to macheting the overgrown vegetation was truly inspiring.  I felt like a bad ass learning how to use a machete and make the trail more appeasing to the travelers that come up and down the trails.  Seeing how much time it takes from planting the food to harvesting really made me appreciate our meals each day.  Plants and animals were not in short supply at our location in the montañas.  Joe was another volunteer that I would spend a lot of time going on various treks and learn all about the farm from and he unfortunately has donkey drama.  Yes, donkey drama.  The first time Joe came to Sacred Suenos he had the bury a deceased donkey on his second day there! I can´t imagine arriving at these rustic chambers and enduring all of the elements on the farm and then on my second day helping bury a dead donkey.  He wouldn´t be able to walk down that specific trail because of the recent burrial!  Bonnie was the other donkey at the farm who was alive and well.  Bonnie is as challenging as you can a imagine a donkey to be for any person.  Ive is the only person that can get her to listen.  She has quite the trek with food and supplies up the narrow and often slippery trail to Sacred Suenos and is hesitant most of the time getting up the trail with her loads.  Joe of course, with his donkey drama, had issue with Bonnie listening to him.  There she would stand in stubborn and obstinate-will not moving.  Joe is a calm and tranquil hippie from England who didn´t deserve all this donkey drama!  Then to make donkey drama matters worse one evening Joe came up with Bonnie who had a tank of gas tied to her and down Bonnie goes!  She falls over and starts breathing heavy because apparently the rope was tied far too tight!  I am trying to hold up the tank of gas to relieve the pressure and Joe is instructing Fran to get a knife quickly. Fran goes into the kitchen to grab the knife and on her way out she picks up the puppy and starts petting it!  This really added to our donkey drama!  Joe is like what the f***!  Luckily, she snapped back into action and we got the gas tank off of Bonnie and all was well again. Phew!  Poor Joe is sweating and stressed out, but he stayed committed to making sure Bonnie is ok and tied her up in a nice spot for the rest of the evening.  Having the time to be in nature and cultivate the land with donkeys in tow is an experience I will not soon forget.  Sacred Suenos is a special place that gave me some time and space to connect to mother earth.  Next time I see a donkey it will remind me of my dear friend, Joe for whom my experience at Sacred Suenos would not have been the same without him.

Where to poop, where not to poop

Yes, I was recently privy to this topic at jardin.  Working with 4-5 year old children in another country has introduced me to a new level of energy and equally exhaustion!  Walking into the classroom yesterday I entered a manic scene with the children learning how to use scissors.  There were newspapers everywhere!!  Newspaper clippings up high, clippings down low, clippings in shapes and sights never seen before!  Some of the students took to the lesson quite well and cut all the paper they could, whereas other students struggled.  I was immediately thrown into the day´s lesson and trust me it took all of my internal resources to help teach them how to properly hold scissors in their pint size hands.  It dawned at me that there was a place and time when I did not know how to use scissors and how awkward it is to develop those important motor skills.  When I say awkward I mean awkward.  It is facinating how children can miscontort their hands in such a way that does not even remotely lead to the task at hand.  Let alone having them open and close the scissor enough to cut the newspaper straight is really unrealistic!  I was working with these twin girls and they had a difficult time with my instruction to them.  If they weren´t spacing out then their hands would go limp or fingers would slide out and I only had so many hands to hold the newspaper and show them how to cut.  This process repeated several times and I got interrupted because Diego, my little precious nino, decided he preferred to have his scissors in his mouth!  AY!  Once I safely removed his scissors I had to continue with my other duties in the classroom.  I am not sure if the teacher is really behind with her work, but she gave me a lot of assignments to help her with the childrens´activities.  She kept shoving mucho cuadernos at me and pointed to the task at hand.  With one of the tasks I had to draw an infinite amount of straight lines that the children would later cut.  I started spacing out on the task after my 20th cuaderno because I was tired from the multiple assignments.  She caught me when my lines were crooked!!  She corrected me right away and I was slightly embarrased that she caught me.  But that´s what makes her a good kindergarden teacher she catches people in the important moments and lets the rest go.  I asked her if my work was better and she said, ¨Muy bien!¨ I felt like one of the kids with her praise! Her next activity had the children walking on lines that she drew on the floor.  The lines were straight, curved, and jagged.  She had them walking on the lines together as a class which turned out to look like a mini wrestling session because pushing and shoving occurred once they started bottle necking!  Trying to herd these cattle is a talent that I am still in the process of developing.  During the morning though I heard some of the children mentioning the word caca.  I have gotten better with my comprehension of the Spanish language, however it is bits and pieces.  The word caca is something that I can readily understand.  I was curious as to the rest of the conversation, but didn´t have enough comprehension or vocabulary to inquire more.  Those moments are challenging for me with my gaps in language because I am inept at my job because I can´t speak and instruct to the level that I need.  I had to let it go because there was nothing else I could really do about it.  Later on in the day the teacher got in front of the children and starts speaking.  One of the first phrases that I caught was, ¨No caca afuera.¨  No pooping outside!  She continued on with her instruction on where to poop, and more importantly where NOT to poop.  As I have mentioned I don´t know a lot of Spanish but what I did catch were the words: caca, sanitary, bad, good, toilet, & NO!  Norma continued with the rest of the day´s instruction like it was nothing and the children hopefully absorb her words.  When I got on the cambio that day I was truly exhausted.  I wound up going to bed last night at 8:30pm because they wore me out.  Before I went to sleep I sent out prayers that the ninos that I love and adore have a much better understanding of where to caca, and where not to caca!

Volcan Misti

There are moments in our lives that truly define us.  Straight to our core inside.  Reaching the summit of Volcan Misti at 19,110 ft was one of them for me.  So often in my life and in the western culture I am forced to disconnect to that inner solace in order to survive.  Coming to South America all I can do is surrender to what is around me because I am a guest.  Along with that comes the realization of all the things that live inside me that keep me bound in my life.  Comfort, fear, resistence, and negative perceptions keep me in patterns that bear no fruit.  I was immediately confronted by my inner demons the first few weeks in Ecuador.  I had no where else to go but inward to address what was happening externally.  I decided to just honor myself and my path along with the mistakes that I was making too.  Most of the time my growth comes from mistakes and my ideal world would look like me learning from my  mistakes and not repeating them!  As the A.A. expression goes, "progress not perfection."  This is really good advice for this Virgo woman who often demands perfection from myself and is unruly when I do not meet my own expectations.  South America is teaching me how to be more tranquilo especially to myself.  Since most of the time I cannot change or control the external environment learning to be tranquil and just relax is the only thing you can do.  Being aggitated is just wasted energy and since my time is limited I value every second that I have in South America.  Now, let me describe my epic climb this past weekend!  The truth is I wasn´t even planning on doing a hike this weekend.  Let alone the one I would accomplish. Let me take you back....Thursday afternoon  I had gone to several tourist agencies to see if they offered a day hike.  None of them had any one day treks only a day touring on big ass double decker bus snapping pictures.  If anyone knows me remotely at all they would surely know that having me sit still on a tourist bus for an entire day would cause the earth to rotate slightly off of its axis!!  Sitting for me is like a death sentence, being on another corny tour is an even bigger death sentence, and I would prefer to watch paint dry rather than that.  The other tourist agency offered a downhill mountain biking trip.  Only they didn´t have any pictures of the area or written description.  When I asked for a pamplet he starting writing a description of the tour on a small piece of scratch paper.  The price included a bike, helmet, and a guide, but nothing else.  I gave the executive order for that one and vetoed it right away!  Then I had to abort that mission and try and set up my class to work with a silversmith.  I couldn´t find the shop and I did get aggitated because I knew I was in the general vicinity and could not find it.  Then I walked by the Andina agency and the sign for Volcan Misti caught my eye.  I went in to inquire more about the trek.  It was going to be a two day trek.  First day we backpack in with our gear for 4 hours and then set up at base camp for the night.  The second day we wake up at 1am and head for the summit.  The first day´s trek was particualary grueling for me because I had not backpacked with that much gear for such a steep and high altitude climb.  I was climbing with 5 other men and they had no problem schleping their gear up the mountain.  I had to prove that I was a tough chicka and could hold my own!  Eventually the weight got the better of me and I asked my guide to carry one of my 2.5 liter of water.  In total I had in my pack 5 liters of water, fleece, jacket, food, and supplies.  It weighed somewhere around 20 pounds and while I am tough I had to give up some weight to continue the trek.  After we landed at base camp we had dinner in the early afternoon and headed to bed shortly thereafter.  I was able to see one of the most beautiful sunsets since we were so high up and I snapped pictures like the tourista that I am!  We could visually see the peak from base camp and that was comforting because I thought if I can at least see the peak then it is more probable to summit. Often in Colorado you think you see the peak and then you come upon a ridge that is 6 weeks away from the actual peak itself.  It is mentally very defeating in difficult terrain and conditions.  None of us slept much that night and we got a brief nap before we rose for the morning.  Now, willingly getting up in the middle of the night to summit a 19,110 ft volcanoe takes a certain kind of well...crazy!  Just consider there were people around the globe comfortably sleeping in their warm beds and there I am the only female trekking in the middle of the night to this massive volcanoe.  Yep-loca.  That was my first early morning hike and it was challenging because your steps are loose and shaky with the limited vision and terrain.  We were all really deperate for the breaks that the guides controlled for us.  Luckily, one of them brought cocoa tea which helps with altitude sickness and energy and would divey out sips to us on our breaks.  It was like Thanksgiving dinner!  The weather got really cold towards the top and most of us could not feel our hands and feet and felt like we were starting the first stages of frost bite.  Wanting the sun in that moment was like a person who hasn´t had water in three days trapped on a deserted island with hot sun.  I had gotten so cold that I was shivering and then altitude sickness kicked in and the trek became especially challenging and thoughts of a warmer descent raced around in my brain.  After a couple of throw up sessions and one irritated guide I continued on. I continued on in that moment because I had to catch up with my guide and tell him I wanted to descend!  Once I reached him he pointed over to the cross which I could visually see and said, "Shannon, that´s the summit, vamos."  Then right there in that moment I am shivering, puking, my head is exploding I wanted that peak more than anything.  Now that I saw it I HAD to have it.  I warmed up and said let´s go.  Off we went and I was the third person to summit in the group.  I layed down in complete exhausion when I got to the top.  A few more throw up sessions and then I took pictures of some of the most spectacular terrain and headed down.  I spent all of ten minutes at the top because I was cold and sick and while many may not understand why I would willingly put myself through such challenging obstacles are not connected to their passions.  This is one of my passion pushing myself through all of the obstacles and being successful and reaching the top.  I am hooked, sprung, addicted, infatuated, and in love with pushing myself beyond any and all limitations that I have inside of my mind and body and climbing these brilliant peaks offers that outlet.  I realize that life is short and I had to go through so many obstacle to create my life here in South America and there are ALWAYS circumstances that keep up blocked from our goals and dreams.  I just have a manic perserverance that will not quit, and thus I have arrived to one of the best days and times of my life.  So I invite you to come and join me in all of the adventures.

Alimentacion

This week I started the alimentacion project.  I am the coordinator with this project for the children of San Isidro.  My project entails supplying nutritional foods to the children.  I have to plan food for the week, shop, organize, prepare, and deliver the food.  As I was walking up what felt like one of the biggest hills in the free world with all of the food yesterday; I had an overwhelming sense of gratitude.  I looked around this very poor and rural town with the sun beaming all around me and the peace and quiet of the morning and couldn´t help but be grateful that I was getting to be a part of this project.  I was also really grateful to get the experience of working a project like this since this is what I aim to do in my career.  Since these families and children have no other opportunities for success like we do in the states it humbles me to know that even though life is unfair for them in terms of opportunities at least I can do something in a day that helps them.  The sadness that comes with realizing that I have it really good in comparison to them is something I cannot dwell upon, rather I see them as these incredible people that still have happiness.  They are an example that happiness is not from possessions because they have none.  No televisions, Wii´s, bicycles, computers, games, running water, electricity.  Yet, they manage to make the best of what they have and live their lives in a good way.  I expect this community to have bitterness or anger kind of like the people I experience on the east coast. But no, they smile, love their children, and work hard each and every day.  I am blessed to have the time with these communities even though my time is short.  It will be hard challenging adjusting back to my Western life knowing what it is like for the people and children of San Isidro.  While I am powerless to change these circumstances on a macro scale all I can do is give my heart and service for every moment possible and hope they know on some level how amazing they truly are.

Jardin

I am comfortably settling into my new volunteer work in Arequipa.  I am working with a volunteer organization, Intiwawa, which does projects for children in rural communities.  This entails many ambitious projects to help these specific communities.  San Isidro is a brick mining community that we volunteer with the local kindergarden teacher.  I was able to work with these cute little tots this week.  I absolutely loved it and I can honestly report that children are globally and universally wild!  These ninos took their opportunity to get up on the chairs and crawl around on the desk as soon as the teacher left the room.  They have a keen understanding of how much they can get away with since our Spanish is limited.  I felt honored to be able to join in on their daily activities.  The teacher starts the class with the Lord´s prayer and hearing their tiny little voices since this ancient song was beautiful.  They followed that with other children´s songs where the kids got to tap the tables and clap their hands.  We spent part of the morning doing an arts and craft project about Red Riding Hood.  They had to first draw their interpretation of Red Riding Hood and I do not know what it is about giving a child a red crayon but they really let out all their emotions and feelings!  If I did some pschoanalysis on some of their drawings I might say that it is possible some of the children have some repressed anger!  Nevertheless, getting to see their interpretations via the drawings was spectacular.  From there they had to use red paper and make small red balls which they glued to a cape.  Now if anyone has witnessed, youtubed, or imagined what children are like with say glue or glitter you can then imagine the sudden rush of stress on my end!  Those are objects that somehow wind up everywhere and anywhere on a children.  In their hair, mouth, nose, shoes, and in the classroom for eternity!  I helped facilitate giving out small portions of glue and the children worked diligently to put their small red balls on their capes.  However, one of the girls didn´t make enough red balls for the project and she looked up at me with these sad eyes realizing her mistake.  I knew that there wasn´t any more red paper available so I took a quick scan of the classroom and saw one of the children had left their red balls unattended. I took my opportunity to take some of them and gave it to the girl to resolve the problem.  Unfortunately, the other child discovered the situation and I luckily had some leftover stolen red balls and all was well once again. Under normal circumstances I would never condone stealing, but in the case of children my philosphy to solve problems is BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!  It is a simple philosophy, yes, but  it has been quite effective!  After our art project the teacher hung the children´s work on the board and went through and asked the group if each picture was bonito or feo?  The children responded bonito and the teacher gave a happy praise and stamp for each one of the completed pictures.  The children loved the praises from the teacher and I really liked the positive reinforcement.  After art came snack time then outside play.  These children have very little toys and have painted cans that they stack together to make creations.  Of course having boys in the classroom this turned into throwing the cans, kicking the cans, and knocking over the cans.  Having the most experience with children I had to step up and correct their behavior, however my Spanish vocabulary came out in one simple syllable word.  Put.  Yes, put.  Try to control those monkeys with one syllable words and see if you don´t feel like a champ that day!  While I have worked with children for many years this was new ground for me on many levels.  My heart really goes out to these children knowing the poverty that they come from and lack of opportunities they will have because of their situations.  Their parents spend up to fifteen hours a day laying close to 500 bricks to support their families.  Not many options for these communities to go off to universities and make a better life.  These people really touch my heart because even with all of their adversity they are still happy.  The children smile and play and at the end of the day that is what is most important.

Lake Titicaca

This weekend´s adventure entailed two of the volunteers and I setting off for Lake Titicaca.  Lake Titicaca is 3200 square miles and 1000 feet in depth lake to give you an idea about the vastness of this special and unique place.  It is so large that it has small islands which indigenous families live on and where we got to spend the evening.  It took us three hours by boat to arrive on the main island and we got situated with our host families upon our arrival.  The families set the foundation for the islands and their homes with totora leaves and makes boats, houses, and beds from them too.  The leaves are needle-like and a deep olive and green color and on average 3-4 meters in height.  It looked like a really large green onion to me.  I was fascinated to watch and learn about the process from which these communities live and thrive.  From there we settled into our rooms for the evening and met up later for a late afternoon hike.  This was spectacluar getting to see the island from above and all the surroundings.  I had a hard time believing I was on a lake that contained islands.  It was massive!  However, one of the greatest aspects of this trip was getting to experience the local families.  We had dinner with them in their tiny cocina that had a wood burning stove which they cooked traditional foods for us.  I was able to play with the kids and show them some of my favorite games.  We also took the liberty to sing English songs to them and I was grateful that they couldn´t understand how off key I was in my own language!  I absolutely delighted in having this authetic experience with this family.  Later in the evening they dressed us in their traditional wardrobe and we set off for the discoteca.  We danced in the local Peruvian dance and I thoroughly enjoyed shaking my tail feather with this community.  The following day we had fresh trout from the lake and it was by far one of the best fish I have eaten in Peru thus far.  As we left the island headed back home I couldn´t help but be grateful for the whole experience.  It stays in my favorite top five experiences of my trip to date.

Huaraz

There are moments that make you realize your potential.  I am currently in the state of being re-defined.  Soy Americana? Si.  Soy Gringa.  Si, si.  Soy spiritual mujer.  Definitely.  Are there moments that I feel lonely on my journey.  Yes.  Not in the way that most people think porque there are so many individuals interacting with me that I rarely have the time to feel alone.  The thing that I miss the most is my spiritual connections.  I have a shortage of that in this far away land from mi casa.  However, I feel more in harmony with the values and qualities that exists south of the ecuador.  The local people are full of heart and energy.  Their voices and song reverberates inside my mind and heart as I drift off into sleep.  Community, oneness, connection is all here and even though I look like an outsider I am rarely treated that way.  I smile and they smile back at me.  I utter senseless Spanish and wave my hands and arms in gentle reflection of their language, and the local people try to comprehend my Spanglish.  While it has been a few weeks since I have last wrote the adventures continue hence forth--Let´s take a brief commercial break and review....

Huaraz-deep in heart of the Andes my adventures truly rests.  I arrived in Huaraz with eager anticipation of the sights I would behold. I was not disappointed in the least and the whole experience would surpass my expectations.  I was recommended a hostel to stay in Huaraz and I took a luxurious bus that served drinks and snacks.  Imagine a bus stewardess similar to an airline stewardess with lounge seats and blankets on a double decker bus.  Heaven.  Ecuador has the worst bus rides and no accomodations especially for gringas!  I arrived at Hostel Churup which had a bird´s eye view of the Andes mountains.  I was completely in love and infatuated.  I met up with a Canadian couple and we hiked some of the local lagunas which led me to meeting the English gents.  Peter and Neil were two active surfers who I would spend the next 3 days with and have epic times.  We hiked laguna 69 and decided that we were a good threesome to set off for Vallunaraju.  Vallunaraju is a 5,486 meter mountain that commands respect right away for those that venture on this specific peak.  The tour guides said it was an easy mountain.  They lied.  We hiked in the first day for acclimization purposes and then in the morning we set off for the summit.  The altitude worked its way through my body and I did my best to push through the pain.  Peter and Daniel set off in the morning together and Neil and I were strapped in together for our trek.  A trek is certainly was considering we had to rock climb and use ropes and a ice axe to make our way over the glacier and cravasses!  I felt like I was in a dream.  We missed the summit by 400 meters, but I was happy with my accomplishment that day.  Neil and I felt pretty nasty on the descent and we were both grateful to get down on dry..ish land and let the altitude sickness leave our bodies.  Currently, I am in Cusco a city that is filled with spiritual and cultural history and it pales in comparision to my journey in Hauraz.  I am off to my next destination tonight in hopes that I can experience something even vaguely exciting as Vallunaraju....

Tranquilo

The life of the gypsy woman entails a butt ton of movement.  While this quality serves me well in my every day living in the states because I get to have a daily planner that looks like someone barfed onto it there are moments that I realize that maybe slowing down isn´t so bad afterall.  Ordinarily I run around even here in South America, but today I wasn´t feeling well and I totally surrendered.  I took a nap.  This is nothing short of a miracle for me.  After my nap I lazily took a walk up to the Virgin statue which entailed like a cagillion stairs to walk up and I took the time to rest when I needed during my trek.  From there I went to one of my favorite hot springs and relaxed in the thermal baths.  One of the locals spotted the single gringa and started a conversation with me.  I did my due diligence to try and communicate with him in Spanish.  I have turned over a new leaf with attempting to speak as much Spanish as I can since I went into a temporary lapse of forgetting my purpose here. Trying to fumble your way into a new language is most humbling.  Often I am grasping for words the words I do know and they get mixed up with the new words I am currently learning and soon it becomes this Spanglish soupy mess!  I forget how to speak and just stare at my zapatos.  Tonight was progress because a) I couldn´t stare at my shoes and b) I attempted to try and understand then speak.  It was a short conversation!!  However, the evening was mucho tranquilo because there was light rain sprinkling down and only the local people speaking their native tongue.  I just observed and relaxed into the moment and this woman who was 90 years old comes by and starts singing to me.  I could get used to this kind of life.  I felt complete gratitude for the peace and tranquility this place offered me especially after the last few weeks which have been challenging.  It is not easy attempting a language and adopting to a new culture and more often than not have people look at you like you are bizerk.  Or get corrected when you really thought you nailed it.  Or even better, grasping and grasping for a simple word and you can´t communicate then you are forced to stare at your shoes....again.  I was at a birthday party recently and got pretty overwhelmed with not being fluent and went into my comfort zone and refused to speak anything but English. I wouldn´t even consider my Spanglish soupy words.  Finally, I realized that I should at least tell my host happy birthday.  I muster up the courage to approach him after an hour and walk directly up to him and look him into the eyes and say proudly, "Feliz Navidad!"  He buckles over with laughter as do I and realize that while I love a good Christmas cheer it wasn´t Christmas.  Otra vez!!!

Hookahs not Hookers

Listen, pronunciation is key to any language.  It is amazing how one vowel sound or consonant blend can completely change the context of a conversation.  Take last Friday last night for example, Karl and I were making our way to another bar for the evening.  The rest of the volunteers made their rounds to the local favorites so off Karl and I went.  This being an Ecuadorian shuffle we tried to visit a better establishment than the local bump and grind bar that the other volunteers fancied, but it was closed.  As we were making our way back Karl asks me if I wanted to share a "Hoookaah."  It took my brain a moment to register the words that I was hearing.  Did I want to share a hooker with the director of the children´s program?  It only took me a few polite seconds to say "No, I do not want to share a hooker with you."  Now, many people in this situation may have found it bizarre that someone asked you to share a hooker, but in my case it did not. I have been on the planet for many moons and I´ve been asked many preguntas that I would have prefered to have never been asked.  Take this case for example, yes, I would prefer not to share a prostitute.  I know it´s Friday night and maybe that´s scene but this Colorado girl does not roll like that.  I was a little surprised that the option was available since Banos is a small tourist town. I inquired with Karl and asked if there where many hookers in Banos.  As I was waiting for his response I see that we were approaching a Hookah bar.  Click, click, click...now it started adding up.  It´s a hookah not a hooker he wanted to share!!! Phew!  I did explain to him the miscommunication in dialect and we had a good chuckle over it and the volunteers enjoyed hearing the tales too.  Karl and I did wind up sharing a "hookaaah" together after all.  There are many moments that I realize I am far away from home because experiencing bizarre things like this is common particualary in Latin America.  On my way home I listen to the roosters crowing at 12:30 in the morning, or when I am at the local hot springs trying to change into my bathing suite the door gets jammed and I have to crawl up and out of the changing room.  My friends commented that luckily I am active and can just climb out of everything!  Or perhaps when I was trying to Skpe my dear friend and the headphones would fit the head of a small 7 year old child but not a grown person. Then I ask for another headphone and one side of the ear piece hung down around my knee cap and made it really difficult for my friend to hear my voice.  Finally, frustrated at the situation I am waving my broken headphones around trying to have a miracle happen and strangely enough it does!  He whips out a brand new pair of headphones and I am thinking why on earth were you storing them?  Was there a particular occasion that would have warranted the use of them?  HELLO!!!  Bienvenidos to Bizarreville.  I actually enjoy these types of experiences after the fact because it is making up my adventures here in Ecuador.  Looks like I will be pushing onto Peru to help volunteer with a nutrition program for children.  Hope I encounter many hookahs and not hookers there......

Snick, Snack, Snoock

There are periods in our lives when we realize that evolution has occured.  For example, normally when someone cuts you off in traffic you might reach down for your glock 9, however, with the evolution of Self you refrain.  Instead, you might reach for a small bat or shiv.  This IS a marked notice of evolution and the persona that cut you off may not express their appreciation for your evolution at the time, but I applaud your efforts.  Recently, I was hanging with my German friends and we were deliberating on continuing our hike or turning around because the weather started to look a bit manic.  Snick, snack, snoock shortly took place after our conversation.  Now this may not seem like this was an incident of evolution, but indeed it was--after I understood what the heck it meant!  I am often seen carrying around a dictionary pressed against my hip and I´m muy rapido with the whipping out words to try and comprehend the language. For the most part it works quite well, but unfortunately my new vocabulary often does not refer to the actual conversation at hand.  I leave people stumped and wondering.  I do this on purpose because then they won´t have high expectations for me to succeed in their language if they think I am stupid!! Once I do start to grasp the language I will start being sincere and replying in the right context.  I digress---back to evolution... After we completed a round of snick, snack, snoock I learned of all the new rules and versions for our American version of rock, paper, and scissors.  If this isn´t a fine example of evolution I don´t know what is and I was so happy to learn of the updated procedures for this ancient games that has globally settled many disagreements.  When our old staple childhood games shifts into a new evolution it truly is a mark of progress in humanity.  If you haven´t played snick, snack, snoock recently then make a concerted effort to incoporate it in your day.  Maybe after you finish chatting with your co-workers around the water cooler?  Maybe in the car when you are deciding who should get to merge into the lane?  Maybe after you and your spouse can´t decide on the dinner menu?  Snick, snack, snoock will solve all your problems and with the new versions of this game can only help lead to a stronger path of world peace.  For myself, I have a new goal of getting the glue off of my tongue and the removing the marshmallows from my brain in order for me to communicate coherently in the Spanish language.  Hearing the word "Como" is a common place for me in my daily interactions with the locals.  After I pick up my shattered ego off of the floor because I realized I only asked for "salsa de aji" for the love of Christ.  Could my communication be this poor as a Virgo woman?  Apparently this is true because I get consist "Como" throughout the dia.  After proper resuscitation of my fragile ego I muster up my courage and go ahead and ask for the "salsa de tomate."  At this point I´m thinking my eggs are pretty fricken dry and I´ll will settle for anything!!  If the waitstaff happens to get confrontational then you know exactly what I will do to resolve the issue immediately.  "Escupe, senor snick, snack, snook para mi y tu?"  Toda bien......

Swiper no Swiping

Have you ever felt like you were in a live version of Dora the Explorer?  If you haven´t I am disappointed and a bit sad for you because that´s exactly how I felt at yesterday´s excursion!  A few of the volunteers, one of my friend´s from Quito, and I went white water rafting.  There are times during my journey that makes life feel so surreal.  Take yesterday for example-there we were being instructed on how to properly paddle the boat, avoid potential dangers, and swim safely to the shore.  As I was looking around all I see are the characters from Dora the Explorer!!   There´s Diego guiding the raft, Swiper the fox is up on the hill top watching us go down stream marking his move, Boots is paddling his ass off, Backback is clutching onto Tico like there´s no tomorrow, and I on behalf of the U.S.A. represented a generic version of Dora.  Holy macerel!  I couldn´t believe the sights that my eyes beheld on our journey down the rio Verde!!  I am pleased to announce that the trip was spectacular.  Hoovering inside the rio with the mountains and beautiful country side to our right and left was well worth the price we paid for admission.  Now, this being a South American rafting trip we of course had a Ecuadorian shuffle.  Going directly from point A to point B just simply doesn´t exist in this region of the world.  However, having 3 breaks every ten minutes is a part of this shuffle.  My arms hardly had the chance to become tired with all of the breaks incorporated on this trip.  After the third break I just went with the flow and started floating down stream keeping a watchful eye out for Swiper.  After all he is always on the move!!!  While these last two weeks have been extremely challening in terms of adapting to a new culture, food, environment, and language I have ample opportunities to learn.  Today´s lesson is slowing down and surrendering into acceptance. In the mean time I will keep my ears open and my eyes peeled waiting to hear those three importante words, ¨"Swiper no Swiping!"  My love to all.....

The Ecuadorian shuffle

I awoke at the wee hours of the morning today.  I had my friends from Quito visiting for a few days and we decided to wake up super early and catch the sunrise at the local hot springs.  Now, getting to the actual hot springs is like anything you do in Ecuador an adventure of sorts.  We planned on getting a taxi and arriving there well in time for the sunrise.  What this transpired into is being told that you cannot actually call a cab until 7a.m.  Although a big ole` taxi van passed right on by us with heeps of people!  Then we walk around 2-3 miles to read the signs wrong and have to go back the other direction.  At this point we were hoping that the clouds would disappear so we could actually see the sunrise.  Then we had dogs barking and chasing after us for a spell.  Approximately and hour or so after we left the hostal we arrive at the beautiful hotsprings minus the sun!!  This is the Ecuadorian shuffle with many road blocks or detours in between your goal and what actually happens.  I am glad that we were rewarded with this particular journey and the hot springs were wonderful.  I am enjoying the company of my traveling friends from Quito.  We all gathered last night for movie night at the Bib.  I fell asleep and woke up to a room full of people that prior to 11 days ago I did not have the pleasure of meeting.  It was a strange reality to wake up to and moments like that make you realize the you are a long ways away from mi casa.  While living in a foreign country especially one like Ecuador comes with its daily challenges I do not miss home in the ways I would have anticipated.  However, the two things that I will revel in once I return are my perfectly made chai tea from Starbucks with steaming hot milk, and having a consistently hot shower that I wont have to rush through because at some point it will turn cold.  I have endured more freezing cold shower than you can possibly imagine.  I am getting to be a champ at washing and rinsing in a big way!!!  I start teaching my English classes today and look forward to the new challenges that will bring.  In the meantime back to my Ecuadorian shuffle...wish me luck!

Ejercicio

I got to teach my first group activity with kids yesterday.  Apparently everyone knew before I arrived that I fancy exercising quite a bit!  One of the students asked a local volunteer if they knew me (and they didn´t) she replied, "Shannon loves exercise!"  I was laughing because she didn´t know me, but alas my reputation preceded me here to South America.  Needless to say I have to keep up with mucho ejercicio classes otherwise I would not be living up to my reputation here.  Yesterday´s exericise class constisted of an obstacle course for the children and if one every wants to laugh incredibly hard then set up a similar situation and watch the children fumble around.  The first obstacle had jump ropes, second bouncy ball, third tunnel, and last running around an obstacle five times.  I designed this to be coordination central.  Watching the children whip themselves with the jump ropes or struggle to bounce the ball and jump over the tunnel in complete madness was definitely how I wanted to spend my Friday afternoon.  I had a volunteers watching 3 sections to ensure minimal cheating.  At first they all stumble then quickly resort to cheating.  Kal and I were in synce and made it more difficult if they cheated and they had to start the obstacle course all over again.  This proved noteworthy because after they did that one time we no longer had issues with cheating any more.  I was really impressed at how well behaved they were in this competition.  I followed that with some running obstacles and after it was all said and done they were worn out and happy.  I think everyone got something fun and engaging yesterday.  I am going to teach an exercise class for the volunteers at Arte del Mundo this upcoming Thursday evening.  I also start teaching beginners level English on Monday and that should be a great learning opportunity for both my students and myself.  I am slowly continuing to study my Spanish although right now I am a bit discouraged.  I am still pushing myself to study even though I am apprehensive about practicing it in public.  I am looking forward to this upcoming week because it will give me the opportunity to contribute more to the local community and staff.  We will hope that the staff won´t have too much difficulty walking on Friday after they take my class Thursday night.  If I do my job well then they´ll be gimping around in no time flat!!

Vida

Learning how to make the most out of life is something I am learning to become well versed at lately.  I am continually in state of amazement and fog about all the new and ever changing variables around me.  While I have only been for a week it feels like I have experienced many life times since my arrival.  Each day has a certain amount of unpredictability.  I am creating some routine with my Spanish classes and working with the children, however things are constanlty shifting in one direction or another.  I have recomitted myself to lean on my spiritual practice as most of the people around me do not know what  I am saying!  Recently I have been questioning the spiritual deity or deities that be.  Wondering why things turn out a certain way that leads to pain or loss?  I usually do not receive answers to these types of inquiry, and instead I am left to dig a little deeper and find within the message.  This entails many layers of barriers, but yesterday I sat on the mountain and prayed a deeper prayer than I have in a long time and pushed beyond my usual barriers.  I realized that life is sometimes cruel and painful and while it doesn´t make any sense in the end hopefully things fair better.  I really hope and pray that is true.  In the end I hope everyone that I love gets their fairytale and happy beginning, middle, and end.  

Clases

It´s official I have entered into unknown territory.  Language quickly becomes a matrix and you find yourself desperately looking for a road map.  No entiendo!!  Last night we had Intercambio night.  This entails having the community that wants to learn English intermingle with volunteers who wish to practice their Spanish. We had the opportunity through a fun activity to practice the  language opposite from our own.  We played many rounds of musical chairs and this entailed directing in Spanish to move if.... muevate si.... you like...te gusta. You had to quickly find a chair and move if the command applied to you.  I instructed to move if you like people from the United States.  I am trying to get as many positive plugs for the US-of-A!  The more individuals share their dislikefor Americans then the more proud I become of my own country. Although most of the time I agree with their sentiment and frustrations about Westerners it really doesn´t bode well with me when they share their thoughts because I´m American.  And proud.  Nevertheless, participating in this activity proved challenging because I had the least amount of Spanish on my belt compared with the other volunteers, and became confused most of the time.  I was dashing around for seats not really sure if I was in complete agreement with the instruction!  Then the thoughts of not being able to absorb the language and all of that ran through my mind.  I forced myself to participate the best I could even though I was lost.  I woke up with a sense of purpose. Moments like that can either defeat you, or recreate you.  I had to rely on my spiritual framework to help me focus and trust this process.  God is still with me even if I¨m buzzing around chairs trying to figure out the instruction for the musical chairs game.  However, the highlight of my day ayer was interacting with the children.  Even though I do not speak very much Spanish I did whoop them in a game of Sorry!  Children pull the same antics in the Southern Americas as they do in the Northern Americas!  I was certainly in familiar ground there and enjoyed getting to know them via hand gestures and signaling PARE!  After the Intercambio volunteers and people from the community went out to the local tavern to socialize and I enjoyed hearing stories and getting to know the staff at the fundacion better.  Participating in this community is going to be life altering.  I start teaching English next week and look forward to being able to contribute back.  Short term goal- learn verbs and start to construct sentences.  Long term goal- keeping moving forward even when it´s challenging.  Muevate si.........you want to inspire. 

Settling In

Good news I´ve moved into a state of settling down.  I arrived in Banos the town that I will be studying Spanish and teaching English.  For me settling down looks quite different than the average bloak.  Lately I have been around many English and Austranlian people and picking up their language very well!  Now Spanish on the other hand is proving to be challenging.  However, I start my Spanish school tomorrow and I am desperately hoping that in 3 weeks I can at least start communicating some better information to my waitstaff.  ¨"Senor, puede ketchup?" "Senor, puede salsa verdaaaay?" "Senor, cuanto cuesta el terminal de autobus?"  Shoot, I never realized how important it would be to convey simple messages such as the ketchup. I mean papas fritas are a bit bland without the salsa de tomate!!  In addition to my Spanish-language-waitstaff dreams I have also had some insight on my fears.  After embarking on my journey and being vulnerable to all the potential perils I recognize how my fears in the states are insignificant ahora.  If I can take a big leap of faith into the unknown and surrender to my dreams and wishes in spite of all my challenges then why the heck can´t I call the person back who I have a crush on!  Travel is about surrender and faith.  I was reading tonight about faith.  Faith entails knowing the direction that we are going.  I am glad that definition is cleared up because it´s been a bit fuzzy for me at times.  Even amidst the difference in continent and culture my goals have held steadfast.  Mi corazon esta contento.  If I was experiencing the looming self doubt that as a Virgo woman I often do then my trip would be misery.  Instead I am still strong in my conviction that this was and is the best path for me.  I started my first day at the volunteer organization Arte del Mundo.  I was impressed with their design and structure with literacy and art in the community.  I shadowed one of the English teachers and participated in helping with my poco knowledge.  I am super excited to teach my own class and get to know the local children better.  I am sure they will receive me the same fashion as do the children back home.  Pato, pato, GANSO!!  All of the volunteers have been warm and hospitable to the new gringa on the block.  I hope to contribute in a good and lasting way for this organization.  In the mean time the best thing I can do is practice my Spanish.  "Senor......"

Guagua Pinchincha

Lao Tzu was the founder of the Taoist philosopy.  He is quoted as saying that, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one single step."  While this sounds almost dreamy he did not summit a 15,695 volcanoe, but I did!  While I wished I could have brought the patience of Lao Tzu on the summit today, I instead sprung on it like the good mountain cat that I am.  I went with two German women and 1 Australian fellow.  I quickly realized that I was not in the company of in shape individuals and my impatience reared inside as I sat and waited, sat and waited, sat and waited for ALL 900 of their breaks!  Eventually the girls slowed down enough that I hopped along with this French couple who shared their delicious lunch with me.  I anticipated an easy turista climb, but instead encountered a relatively modest ascent and it proved challenging the last 1,000 meters.  Coming down was certainly tricky and I had to free climb sections that under any sort of watchful eye would scorn such endeavours. I admit that my impatience gets the best of me because I know all of the dangers that come with late descents.  There´s a lot of treachery with steep descents and I fancy getting the heck out of there and back onto the normal trail in like--- a jiffey.  I was super impressed with the French woman (Judy) who despite her looking like she´d keal over rocked it out and summited with me.  I was of course representing Colorado to the best of my ability and was the first to ascend.  My ego does back flips when I pull stuff like this off!!  I have been getting a fair bit of negative feelings about being an American and many travelers have a great disdain for Americans.  With that being said, you´ll have to excuse me as I pass you on the trail. It´s only fair, right?  While there may be anti-American sentiment by many that has certainly not impacted my adventures especially with a really, really friendly Australian in particular (eh hem!).  It struck me yesterday as I was on the rooftop terrace enjoying dinner with my new traveling companions how normal this life was for me.  Like being in a different continent completely removed from my life was as normal as could be.  Nevertheless, I love the quality of connection and oneness I experience as a traveler.  Hospitatlity, politeness, kindness, and generousity is a common place.  I get less alone time here compared to my own country.  Today´s goal of making the sumitt is accomplished.  Learning how to be more patient---well it´s like Lao Tzu said, a journey of a thousand miles begins with one single step.

New beginnings

Well today is the official day that I take off for South America.  It is wonderful to have the support of my close friends on my journey to see me through this new beginning in my life.  I know it may seem like I travel a lot and this is just another trip on my ever expanding itinerary, but this adventure will supersede all those trips I've taken to Tallahassee!  I hope I am able to reach all of my short and long term goals.  My short term goal for today is surviving the taxi cab ride, and my long term goals are acquiring the Spanish language and making a positive contribution to local communities.  Only time stands in between me and my goals so for now I must send my prayers off and practice like hell telling the taxi cab driver what's up!!  More news on the hour.....