Final blog Entry

To anyone who reads this,

Well its has been an adventure to say the least! Been busy, been bored, been happy and sad. And now my journey is coming to an end. Half a year in Ecuador where has it gone.

Last time I wrote I believe it to have been end of April. Since then I have travelled to the famous Casa Blanca beach, graduated highschool again, revisited a few cities with family and toured Ecuador on the final trip for the year with the other exchangers.

Casa Blanca was beautiful, there we stayed in a one of the beautiful white houses in the casa blanca complex. We took some amazing photos at sunset. Went to a nearby tourist beach with crafts and other handmade items. It was a great trip. Went to cuenca with family soon after- I dont remember why.

The last trip was alot of fun. We stareted off in Guyaquil- in the south and ventured our way up to Ibarra- in the North almost near Colombia. We went to a banana Plantation in Machala, saw the historic buildings of Cuenca, ran around the Inga Pirca ruins, lead llamas up a hill, Toured Quito, shopped again in the Otavalo markets and planted trees for a school. Was very sad to say goodbye to everyone.

Now its goodbye time. doing alot of our lasts, taking some photos and exchanging presents. Insanely sad. But Alex, Hanna, Sabrina and I are all going to keep in touch. And I have made some good friends with the other city exchangers in the short trips and i will be sure to email them also. Im pretty proud of myself. Coming halfway through everyones year, changing families and schools and learning a bit more spanish. I saw and experienced an amazingly diverse country. Met some beautiful people and learnt more about myself and the world.

So that is pretty much it from me, until my next adventure to who knows where
ADIOS AMIGOS!!!!!! xxxxxx

Hey everyone! ah it´s been a busy past couple of weeks. after I wrote last, We had jsut returned from our coast trip to Guyaquil and surroundings. We returned home on the monday and recovered the tuesday. Tuesday night was a friends birthday party so we went out. Next day comennced the celebration of Santa sana- Our equivalent of Easter. People marched through the streets and there were heaps of balloons everywhere. The rest of the week we had off for holidays. My cousin from Cuenca came to visit for this time.

The next week was our trip to Cuenca with my sister and cousin. We stayed in my sisters appartment there and explored the city for the week. Cuenca is the most beautiful city in Ecudor, there are gardens, historical buildings and a running river throught the town.
We met up with some other exchange students and extended relatives on various occasions throught the week.

Back from Cuenca on the sunday and recovered monday. Hit up school until Friday when we jumped in the car at 4 am for GALAPOGOS!!!!! yaaayyyy. It was the longest most awful car ride there but eventually we got to the airport and met up with all the other exchangies we had been missing so bad. Onto the plane and 2 hours to Galapogos. Got to the airport and bypassed a bazillion security checks, wash your feet, was insane- managed to lose half our group! onto a bus that took us to the edge of the main island.

The first time i saw the water it was amazing like first time you heard the beetles. crystal clearwater the most amazing blue! I have been to the fiji Islands and not to be biased or anything but it was even more amazing, to be able to see the colours of the beautiful fish swimming under the surface. I could go on and on about the colours and the insanely beautiful animals and colours but it just wouldnt cut it.

So we were there for four days and I think they were the best days of my time here for far. swam with sea lions, fed them, iguanas, flamingos, penguins, reptiles, giant tourtises!!!!!! scuba diving in caves, starfish, octupi. underground tunnels, giant craters from volcanic explotions... and 4 days in the sun and no sunburn! yay go meeeeee. hahahah oh and the boat we were on- was the boat the toured Leanardo dicaprio the week before us!!!!!!!!!! super cool

It was hard to say goodbye, even to the sand in my bed. back on the plane and to riobamba, and took two days to recover- hahah only because my family told me to. the weekend just gone was the festivals of Riobamba and two days after we got back from the islands, we marched in the city parade representing our school and country holding our flag. to say the least we were a hit. people would whistle and clap and yell out ¨i love you¨the only english words they knew. we marched for like 3kms through the city- i hurt so bad carrying this big pole. It was an awesome experience,, i dont think i have ever experience so much attention in my life for doing so little!

Next day we celebrated Alexs, from america, birthday, she is the youngest turning just 16. I made pavlova for her cake and everyone loved it... i had to double the reciepe to feed so many people and still ran out so quick. Sabrina made tiwanese soup and alex made quesadillas as she was born and lived in mexico.

Tonight is the basically the end of the festivals with the rodeo. We are going to that and then out to dance for alexs birthday. feeling a bit guilty as with family trips and rotary excursons have only been to 3 days of school in 2 months :S my bad, but i go this tuesday and wednesday and then thursday to the famous CASA BLANCA!!!!!!! yaaaayyy very excited

sorry there wasnt as much detail in this one but i am finding it harder and harder to find time to write!
Until next time
Chao from Bindy xxxx

Hey everyone, aghh so much has happened, has been a very busy last couple of weeks! Tried to go to school as much as possible lately, missed last Friday however as Riobamba hosted its annual ¨Miss Colegio¨ Competition. Every year, the schools wishing to compete, choose a girl who fits the basic criteria of a miss world entrant. She has to be tall, as white as possible and most importantly, stunningly beautiful. I did not know the girl who represented our school but she was in fact the winner. The schools had to do a mini performance to showcase their artistic talents and then the representative would walk out mid way in a dress half covering her body. My cousin, who goes to another school, played in their band, he is only like 14 or something and was so awesome. The dances the schools made up were suggestive to say the least, I think if you danced like that in Australia you would get arrested or fined ha-ha. The morals of the whole competition weren´t exactly what I would promote to school children, but It was a good experience for me to watch.

That afternoon, after the competition, I quickly threw my clothes in a bag and jumped in the car with my Aunt, Uncle and Cousins- This family is the family of Sabrina, the girl from Taiwan. It was a 3 hour journey to Quito- Ecuador´s Capital. The road was such a mess, there were more roadworks on it than there is at the moment on the Ipswich road near Brisbane, and the whole time we were zooming around pot holes at like 110km an hour! The speed limit was about 80 most of the way, yet Ute’s driven by grandmas with heaps of people in the tray, passed us doing over 140. The kids could sleep the whole way, but not me; my eyes were set on the road cringing at every turn. So we arrived that evening at my other Aunts house, just outside of Quito. They have an amazing house, three stories and an awesome balcony. Sabrina and I had our own room and bathroom J I´m pretty certain that my Aunt and Uncle from Quito didn’t have kids, at least there weren’t any traces of them, and yet the fridge and pantry was completely full of chips, lollies, chocolate, juice and even Pizza! For you Australians this may not sound like such a big deal, but remember this is Ecuador and I am lucky to find Cereal in the morning at my house.

Next morning I was still oblivious to the reason behind our trip to Quito and why I was needed to tag along. In the car at 6am we ventured up another windy mountain road. On the way we stopped at this dainty little cottage breakfast place, with horses and gardens! A rare sight for Ecuador. 20 minutes more on the road and we got to our first destination, The scientific middle of the world! This is where, if you measure where the sun sets at a certain time and use longitude and latitude and climate and all that, that you get the exact centre point of the world. There were heaps and heaps of tourists there and it for me was weird to hear so many people speaking English and other dialects. We took lots of photos with one foot one side other foot other side type thing.

So, another hour in the car and we arrived at the final destination, Otavalo! I didn’t know beforehand, but this city holds Ecuador´s largest idegiones market and practically one of the biggest markets in the world. It wasn´t just like a market that sold knickknacks and souvenirs, but so so much more. Everything from shoes, food, tattoos, hammocks, you name it, it was there. Sabrina is to head home in June and it was therefore a great opportunity for her to buy the souvenirs for her family. Things were insanely cheap, the cheapest place in Ecuador, so when I say she bought a lot, I mean like $400 a lot. You had to barter though; I would find something I liked and ask how much, they would reply with some insane price that they thought I would pay because I am white. You would then proceed to say no I will give you half of that and you work from there. I was insanely proud of myself when I found this dust collector for my mum’s cabinet, and the lady said $6 and I ended up paying $2, My little cousin was standing next to me watching and when I finished, she ran to her mum and said look look BIndy just Bartered real good in Spanish! Ahah. 4 hours later in the market and we were in pain, you had to walk like a kilometer to another section of the market! Lunch time ended up being 5pm in the afternoon. Altogether there were 7 of us, and yes all 7 of us went to a restaurant and ordered enough to feed us all for the biggest meal of the day. We ordered huge platters of food, and jugs and jugs of juice- I felt so Greek ahah, but it all only came to about $25 J bet you wish you could feed Australian families for that much! On the way back to the house, we took a slight detour up a hill to what I was to discover as the most beautiful natural sight I have ever seen in my life. It was a fresh water lagoon stretching for what I would think to be about a kilometer. There were little Islands in the middle of the lake and boats sailing around them. It basically looked like a scene from national geographic, I was amazed. No photo will ever show the true beauty of this wonder, which is tragic because it really was something I cannot explain in words.

Back to my Aunts House in Quito and we were then told to eat more, I will never understand how they can eat so much and stay so skinny. Next day we head for Quito’s famous Telephonico. It is a little cart thing that goes up really high on wires so you can see the whole of the city. Super duper cool, took some awesome photos. When we go to the top, we were at 4000 meters above sea level. Until you climb up a mountain at 4000metres above sea level, in blizzarding cold, you will never understand how frightening it is not to be able to breathe. The view was ironically breathtaking but. Back down the mountain and into the car, we again went to eat. This time it was kid’s choice and of course we chose Maccas! I have found in my Ecuadorian experiences of MacDonald’s for it to be slightly disappointing, so Sabrina and I took the opportunity to eat Sushi! They don´t really like it here and it is expensive but was very good.

Back home to Riobamba, what an awesome weekend it had been, my Mum and Dad had passed us as they were on their way to Quito for Business, so it was just me and Iva in the house that night. Next day commenced the start of our school´s exam block, as here in Ecuador you have to pay to take the exams in the school, all the exchangers take the opportunity to holiday for a week and a half. The four Rotary exchange girls organized to visit the biggest city in Ecuador for a week- Guayaquil. It was a 5 hour trip there. Riobamba, as I have previously explained, lies in the Andes, Guayaquil lies on the coast and how different are those world. When we drove over the last mountain in the bus, it was like leaving Nepal and entering Jamaica! The road is flat and straight, I had to stop what I was doing to look out the bus window see if we what was going on. It felt like home, crops growing on the side of the road, banana plantations, running water, abundance of green and heat!!! Everyone simultaneously removed their jumpers and started to fan themselves. The humidity on the coast is like cairns or something- pretty gross, but nevertheless I enjoyed. I could wear shorts again!!!

Arriving there we soon found that Guayaquil was definitely the biggest city we had discovered in Ecuador. So big we had to pay $4 instead of $1 to take a taxi, which for us was like the biggest rip off since taxes. The family we stayed with was the family of another exchange student, Mathew from California, America. His family was very nice and blessed us with their aircon. That afternoon we went with Mathews, brothers, girlfriend to the Guayaquil markets and let’s just say it was nothing like Otavalo. Expensive, we didn’t spend much. Afterwards, Mathews host mum took us to the most beautiful part of the city- I can remember what it was called, but it was a tribute to the history of Guayaquil. It had scenes of the story that is ¨Pirate of Guayaquil¨. Since Guayaquil is the biggest and busiest part of Ecuador, it´s harbor was prime place for attack by pirates. The tribute was set upside; yes you guessed it, another mountain!! There are some famous 470 numbered steps that we climbed to reach the top. The top was the view of Guayaquil and a cool lighthouse for the harbor. We did this at night made it a lot more beautiful.
Next day we sacrificed a day of our holidays to travel 8 hours in a bus to Portoviejo and then onto Crucita. Crucita is a beautiful beautiful beach, with white dome topped houses and white sandy beaches- I liked very much. Here we climbed another small hill and went Hangliding!! All with the permissions of necessary parties of course. It was awesome, you were strapped against this guy who took you high high in the sky to see the whole of the beach and city. My friend filmed it so you can all watch if you want. So Hangliding was pretty awesome and then we went to a little eating place that overlooked the ocean. After lunch jumped back on the bus and met up with some other exchangers in Portoviejo. And then back to Guayaquil that night- very big day.

Slept in next morning and then jumped on another bus to Montanita!!! Montanita is basically the Australian equivalent of Byron Bay- supposedly dangerous, but only for the silly tourists who put themselves in those situations not knowing Spanish. There in Montanita we met up with about 20 other exchange students. A lot of Germans, some Swiss, Danish, Americans- and just one Australian and Taiwanese. Montanita is the total opposite of every other Ecuadorian city I have been to. 80% white people and fewer locals. The parties start at about 11pm in the night and go until about 6-8am in the morning. As soon as we got there we went to find some other exchangers, they were getting their shower fixed, and the guys who fixed it then proceeded to invite them to smoke a joint in the hammocks outside the room. They were probably the hottest workmen I have ever laid eyes on. Shirts are not mandatory in Montanita but tans and all over tonnedness seemed to be J so then you walk outside and find a mazillion miscellaneous markets and a whole street devoted to making cocktails and smoothies- around the $1.50 mark. We continuously had stoned men with dreadlocks approaching us asking us to buy their bracelets made from Marijuana. I was asked to buy space cake and we even witnessed a group bong on the street. We were in big groups the whole time and all of us knew Spanish and were prepared for anything- just for those who may be worried at this point of my blog. One night we made a fire on the beach- completely legal and about 20 people came to sit and drink. I am not entirely sure why we made a fire as it was incredibly hot even in the night with the wind from the ocean, but I think it was an opportunity not to miss.

We stayed in Montanita for 3 nights. By the end of the week our room was basically a sandpit, the floor and beds were covered in a 2cm thick layer of sand. We were all sunburn even despite our aggressive approach to lather our bodies in sunscreen every time we left the house. Sunday came and we all solemnly got back on the horrid bus. The bus rides would usually last for about 1-3 hours. It would be hot, smelly and just disgusting, At the very start we would have too many people on the bus, nevertheless, the bus driver would stop at ever stop to let more and more people on, you would occasionally get hit in the face with a baby or a bag or corn. We got back to Guayaquil late at night and were all tired, hungry and ready to crash. We wanted to just get home by that stage but our families would not permit us to travel late at night on the bus. Next morning it was back to Riobamba.

Exam block has now finished and I have to go school tomorrow. Right now my cousin from Cuenca is visiting; I think she has school holidays, when she goes back I think we go with her to see Aunts and Uncles. My mum is downstairs right now cooking a cake- I’m pretty sure this is the first time I have seen her cook and not the maid. My sister says we are having our mum’s friends over tomorrow- hopefully while I’m at school. When your Mum in Ecuador says she is going to chat with her friends for an hour, you times that by 4 and you have a better estimate. Our maid is pretty awesome; she is same age as me. I was then pretty taken back when my family then told me she had worked for them full time for the last 8 years. Yes if you are really good at math here like myself that means the average maid starts working at around 10-11 years old in Ecuador. Andrea, the maid- cooks cleans washes even sorts out my draws and puts away my stuff I leave out. Again I have the problem that my sister is around my age and we wear the same uniform so our clothes get mixed up all the time. Have to share a bathroom again with my sister- hoping next time I get a family of boys. Or little kids that eat a lot- My mum and dad are always busy working and my sister doesn’t eat that much so I am lucky If I find breakfast in the morning. Was stoked other day we had honey and bread!!

I´m really starting to resent school, I liked school In Australia and I enjoyed learning, here it is not possible to learn anything- one because the math they do is the equivalent to what we did in grade 8-9 and the other subjects like Economy and Philosophy are taught by the oldest grumpiest teachers you will ever meet and they talk faster than Jess Eastburn- for those of you who know her ha-ha. I feel so useless, sitting there all day looking out the window or drawing in a book. There is only so much Spanish study you can do a day and I´m not one for whiting down my feelings in a journal. They don’t do any sport either, you throw them a ball and they will all scream and run, don’t break my nails! School is a beauty pageant and everyone knows it. Our headmistress stood up on assembly the other day and said, we are the best school because we have the prettiest girls and the best look. If I could just be doing some volunteer work in an orphanage or teaching the underprivileged English it would be so much better. The only reason we are sent to do school on exchange is to make friends- but exchange students don’t make friends in Ecuador, you might come across the odd Ecuadorian who actually is interested in getting to know you but it is very unlikely. This is something that disappointed me a lot.
So the exciting part is, the Galapagos trip is in about 3 week and following that is the Festival of Riobamba. We miss the best part of the festivals but we get to go in the parade and hold our flag which should be cool. Anyhow I have a whole lot of nothing that has to be done. Emily, the girl that came with me here on the plane, asked me to go Quito for a bit, so maybe sometime soon will be another trip there. Who knows. Until then, you know how to contact me. Bindy

Hi all,
Had a busy week! Monday through to wednesday I was a good girl and went to school. Thursday all the exchangers (4 in total) slept over at my house. That night we baked a chocolate cake and had ice cream. later we tried to watch some scary movies but ecuadors unreliable power source kept failing and the lights went out several times. Ecuador relies on it´s rainfall for the harnesting of electricity, our region has not recieved much rain recently and hence the shortage of power. made it all the more scary but :) The next morning we had a bit of a sleep in and then headed off to the city of Ambato. Ambato is just a bit bigger than Riobamba- about the size of Toowoomba. It is just one hour away and holds a civilised mall and cinema. Our plan was to meet up with the other exchange students in that city but they were busy elsewhere. Once arrived we found a resturant that sold steak and lasangne and pizza!! It was expensive (for ecuador) but all of us wanted it so bad so we payed a bit more and had a big lunch. I had whole pizza to myself :) it cost $5 including tax. Afterwards we set out for the mall and did some window shopping. I recognised only one shop which was the americ chain of ¨Pay less shoes¨. In this case it was not pay less, it was pay alot more. Itwas super expensive for here let alone for us. shoes around $60! After our unsuccesful shopping, we got to the cinema were we had the choice of Alice in wonderland and something about men and dogs- not sure how it translates. the others had already seen alice in wonderland which was dissapointing so we watched the other. I understood parts :) back home that night it was straight to bed as the next morning was our trip to Quito. We woke up at 4.30am and got to the meeting point at 5am. The bus left at shortly after. I wanted to sleep so bad, I thought I was going to colapse with every step. Despite everyones lack of sleep, the girls in the grade below us (grade 11) decided to sing and dance and yell down the middle part of the bus for the entire trip. (5am-8am) I was not a happy camper to say the least. No matter when we arrived we walked from the bus to a busier part of Quito where the University of Medicine was. There we were preped and dressed in full uniform for medical surgery! We looked like had just stepped out of grey anatomy hahah. So we had a few days to mentally prepare, and the teacher talked to us a bit before hand, but it was still a huge shock. We walked into the stark, sterile, cold open room to see two completely naked decomposing dead bodies. You think seeing a dead body wouldnt be that much of a big deal but it was. It took me a good 10 minutes to realise it was a dead body laying before me. They smelt so bad. One was a young woman in her 20´s, she had been dead for over 6 weeks and you could even see the stab wound with worms in it on her neck. The other body, was so badly decomposed you would never have know it was once living. The skin like boot leather was all sliced off its body and its skull was cracked open for us to see what a one year dead mans brain looked like. It smelt disgusting, the way they were hacked at and left, with medical things still attached to them months/ years later was horrific. I needed air so I stepped just outside the room, only to see what the other girls in my class had discovered. The room where they kept all the medical practicing bodies. They had- and I give no exaggeration watsoever, at least 5 bodies dead and rotting pilled on top of each other with their rotted intestines spilling onto the other corpses and onto the floor. These were the bodies they couldnt fit in the fridge. Im pretty sure that this is illegal in most countries or at least should be! And this was the biggest and best university of medicine in the country!! But the worst wasnt over yet. The next room we were taken into we looked at parasites in jars- nothing amazing, just tape worms and stuff. But then we went into the younger dead body storage room. we approached the back wall to find about 20 or more glass jars filled with liquid and preserved dead babies, most about the size when born. This I could just handle. They were all babies that died at birth for some reason or another and the mothers had let them be taken for science. But. Under the long bench was the most horrific thing I have seen in my life to date. You know those plastic buckets you used to use in the sand pit, make sand castle with? We one about the size of a handbasin, was filled with dead, cracked skulled, opened up, hair still attached premature infantes. I felt so sick. It was inhumane it was vile, it was disrespectful of human life it was so unbelieveable that people had gotten their hands on what could have been a new human life and then left it to rot for years in a bucket under a bench. These were real babies! To say the least I was stunned. I spent the rest of the day surrounding myself with the living to stop thinking about the horrific I had just seen. I smelt death all day. After the trip to the University we still had daylight left and went to a reptile museum. I held a big snake :) It was pretty cool. After that we then went to a shopping mall. This I called Bindy sees civilisation for the first time in 2 months. It remined me of Australia, everything was clean and there were green trees and gardens! this may not sund like much but it was exciting for me to see after so long. 6pm we then set off home. It had been a big day. I was exhausted, me legs ached and I wanted to sleep so badly but yes you guessed it! the little terrors in the grade below decided that they would bascially have a party in the bus and make sure we didnt not catch a wink. How they still had energy was beyond me. So the weekend just gone, my Sister Erica, the one I dont see much of, came home for the weekend. I managed to catch Sabrina´s cold and was sick once again. We basically just had some family time and watched movies ect. Sunday we went out to our favourite eating spot and had fruits again. Sabrina and I are still a bit sick, she gets to stay home but I have to drink a litre of hot lemon juice everyday mmmmm and go to school! hahah lucky me. But not all is at a loss, we got a call froma friend who lives in Quito, comes from Florida and he has invited us to go to the city that has the famous waterfalls and rainforest :) im very excited hopefully some more time outta school. Next week is a no school week as the seniors here have exam block and the exchangers dont go :) yay who knows what will happen. Hope this entry hasnt been too emotionally scaring, It was all i believe a muchly needed lifetime experience. If you would like some photos of the trip to Quito just email me and Ill pass them on. Other than that I guess it is until next time! xx Bindy

Hey everyone, another week over, which brings it up to 6 weeks now in Ecuador. Has gone so fast!! Last week- Sunday I went with my cousins to the village of Alausi to get the other exchange girls off the train. The little village was full of tourists and small handicrafts. Very beautiful. The driving there however was no so great. I have never got car sickness before, but I think travelling a road equivalent to our Toowoomba range for 2 hours contantly could make anyone sick. Monday afterwards I still hadnt recovered so took a long weekend. Tuesday I went to school and then we left half way through the day to do some translating for mandarin/ english speakers trying to comunicate to the only Spanish speaking. The wednesday, My mum let me stay home from school as we were to visit a little school just behind my house. The school is run by a woman who comes from Adelaide Australia! She had the accent and it was just like finding your Bff in a group of strangers. She is lovely, wants to have me over for coffee and to help her teach english in the school to the little ones. very excited. Thursday I went to school only to find that we were going to the movies. Strangely enough we watched step up 2 which came out like 3 years ago but anyway at least I knew the storyline and could learn more spanish in a fun way. Afterwards all the Exchangers went to Verde y Limon which is translated to green and lemon. It is a cafe of just fruits where you can choose your own combinations with creams and all sorts of delicious other stuff. My new home :) haha and the best part was, for a big bowl- enough to fill me up for a while- only cost 1.80! Friday, Hannah and Sabrina the other exchangers came over and we watched movies. Then the weekend just gone was the trip to our Aunts house. She basically lives in the Jungle. She has a pig farm and makes cheese and butter. We all had a go and it fun but kinda disgusting. We also went down to the mother pigs who had just had babies and they were sooooo cute. I wanted to keep one. After we came back, we had lunch which was a baby pig split open and roasted with its little ears and nose still perfectly still. This was the day I decided I cant eat meat anymore. I used to think Vegetarians were weak, crazy, hippy people looking for attention. I know they are just pigs and watever but I couldnt do it. The weekend was still fun however. We visited a couple of waterfalls and went to the most amazing view of the streams flowing down to the village. This week is our postponed trip to Quito and who knows what else! Until then xx Bindy

Welcome to my Blog! I have decided that this method of updating everyone will be the most convenient, so no more unwanted emails J To have the blog in entirety I will start from day 1 which many of you may have already read so feel free to skim read to wherever pleases. I left Roma at 5pm Thursday the 21st of January and stayed in Brisbane that night, the next morning we woke early to go the airport. Checked in and said goodbye to family. Many tears and photos. The first flight was from Brisbane to Auckland- about 3 hours. When there we had a short break and then back on the plane for L.A. This was the longest flight of about 12 hours. Hopped off the plane at LAX and stayed the night at the Sheraton hotel. The airport was so huge you had to catch a bus to different terminals. Hotel was very nice, good to have a sleep and shower. Was extremely cold weather there but. Our group of 25 then split up, some went to Canada, some stayed in America, some to Mexico and 2 of us, me and Emily, onto Ecuador. The next flight was from lax to Bogotá. When we hoped on the plane we were basically the only white people and everyone stared at us the whole time- 8 hour flight. Very daunting. In Bogotá we recharged for 2 hours and then onto the plane again for the last leg. This was a 50 minute flight from Bogotá to Quito- the capital of Ecuador. At Quito we were greeted by my our host families. Mine was holding a balloon saying Bienvendia Bindy! Meaning welcome. I then discovered that only my host sister spoke English and my mum and dad did not understand much I said. They were tolerant regardless. That night we then proceeded to drive 3 hours onto Riobamba my home for the next 12 months. By the time we got home it was 4am and I was exhausted - straight to bed. The next day we woke around lunch time. In Ecuador their biggest meal is lunch. They eat so much, they kept on eating and eating and putting plates in front of me. First a plate full of many fruits, then a soup dish of I don’t know what then a meat and rice dish, then corn and other things. I felt rude not eating it the first time so I ate as much as I could without being sick. They do some really peculiar things with their food, like stew fruits to make juices and put mustard on meat. I tried their version of tortillas which are smaller than the fist and full of creamy corn- delicious. They then put a hot sauce called Hati onto which is also very good. My first family- The Vallejo´s (pronounced vayeho) were very religious. They say they have ¨trust in god¨. But they also say its okay what believe. Before every meal we hold hands and say the longest grace ever. I just want to eat already! The family has a maid who acts as basically a servant. If I was to cry about anything it would be how the poor people live here. She basically does everything in the house and eats out of a dog bowl. When I saw this for the first time I was so angry but now that I have seen all the poverty here I understand that she is in fact treated well serving here. I didn’t really have to do anything. Jessie, the maid, cleaned our rooms, did the laundry, cooked food, cleaned the table, everything. And I felt so bad that I just wanted to help her but they said no. My first host family were very wealthy for Ecuador, Papi Kleber, is an ear nose and throat specialist at the hospital and Mami Lorena is a physics teacher at a private school. They have 3 children. Jemi the oldest is the only one that can speak English, She did however go to uni during the day and then I was left with no one to speak English or translate things for me so it is was hard. Pablito was the youngest, hewent to the same school as me and played tennis very well. He is 14. The middle child Kleber, i have never met as he is in China travelling for a year. The family have had 3 exchange students so they were used to everything I did which is good. Allot of the time when I tried to speak Spanish they laugh at me though which is a bit hard. I think the hardest thing is the language, if I could communicate everything would be allot easier but I am learning slowly. The other hard thing is the poverty and to see beggars come up to the side of the car. I almost cried when I saw one that was physically and mentally retarded, shaking profusely and foaming at the mouth begging at every car that went past. I know this will sound bad but the poverty works for me well in some ways. A taxi to anywhere only costs one dollar and when we went to eat out at a nice restaurant, nothing was over 6 dollars. A bus cost 30 cents and a material bag backpack 4 dollars. Crime is also big here. You can’t wear anything that makes you look wealthy and you can’t leave your bag in the car. In my first house we have everything alarmed. I can’t go to the bathroom during the night because the sensor alarm will go off. The view from my window is of rubble. Nothing is well kept. When we pulled up outside the house for the first time I thought oh my, I am living in poverty for the next year. But then inside it is very nice. The natives- Indians are very small people walking around with capes and top hats which amuse me. They speak a different language so no one can understand them. They all live in little villages surrounding Riobamba. Riobamba means a flat land surrounded by mountains. Around us we have 3 different mountains and a volcano!! All breath taking! We went close to the volcano and you can see smoke billowing out and fire embers spitting out everywhere. It is not a concern though apparently. In the mountains surrounding Riobamba are little villages of the Indians. We went to visit one called Colta that also contains a lagoona - big lake. It was really beautiful, all the agriculture, pigs and donkeys on the side of the road, huts nestles on the side of the mountain. My host sister said they are very very poor, but they are happy with the way they live- Which looks true as they are all playing out in the fields. When we went to visit the village I noticed I felt better, I could breathe easier. Riobamba is about 2-3 thousand feet above sea level and I get short of breath and tired very quickly with headaches. The weather is okay, like a typical autumn day in Roma. They say it gets colder but the worst of winter is now over. It works out good for me I guess because now I get double summer yay!! The sun I have noticed is very hot, much hotter than ours, but the wind is cool and there is always cloud cover here. At this stage of my blog I am yet to start school. Until next time- Bindy xx
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Today is Tuesday the 9th of February. Since my last email many events have occurred. Not the weekend just gone but the one before was a good weekend. My family decided they wanted to see a movie and so we travelled to the small cities of Pelileo and Ambato. The movie The Tooth Fairy was in Spanish so I just watched the pictures. On Sundays my family exercised together so we drove to a big lake and walked around it a few times. Monday I started school, not many of my class mates could speak much English, and not even the English teacher could speak fluently. School starts in Ecuador at 7am and finishes at 1pm with two 15 minute breaks in between. Bit different to Australian schools yes. After school you then go home to have a big 3 course lunch with your family. On the First day of School I noticed how small the kids my age were, I am the tallest girl in the whole school. The first day I was asked to join the girl’s basketball team, the exercise felt really good. On the Tuesday I suffered from food poisoning which is not uncommon to get here in Ecuador, many of the other exchangers have suffered also. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. I then returned to school once recovered. San Felipe Nervi, is a Strict catholic selection school with less than 200 pupils. I was sent there because my family has much history in the school. The Teachers would sit me at the very front of the class with no one around me and I wasn’t allowed to turn around to ask a friend for help. The teachers would yell at me in Spanish and continuously point to the board and my book. They knew I didn’t understand but insisted that I studies and learnt so I could graduate in June. One day when I was practicing Spanish in my book, the teacher grabbed it from my hands flipped through it and slammed it down on my desk again yelling in Spanish. I confronted my family about this and they basically told me to toughen up. I started then enduring more problems with my family at home. I soon learnt that I was not to leave the house in the afternoon, I could not go anywhere with anyone, I was not allowed a key or the security password to the house. I understood that my safety was a concern but I started to feel Isolated and neglected. When I would talk of what I needed and my problems they would always shrug it off like oh that’s no big deal. The weekend just gone was good. It was Sabrina, a Taiwanese girls birthday and all the exchangers got together for lunch and cake. Saturday night we went out to a safe dancing spot to dance to typical Spanish regaton. It was great to get out of the house and mix with friends who actually enjoyed my company and cared what I had to say. On the Sunday I called my family to come get me as I am not allowed to take taxis. They never came. It started to show that I was a Hassel for my family and everything was asking allot from them. I didn’t feel welcome or loved anymore. Monday, yesterday there was an event with the house alarm and I became under threat and in a very awkward position. I called my club counselor and he came for me right away. His Family, the Donoso´s, have been looking out for me from the start, taking me to where I need to be, inviting me over to eat food and watch TV. The things I have missed the most and needed so badly. They felt like a real family to me. Yesterday being Monday was rotary meeting night. After the board had their weekly meeting, my counselor and I sat down with the president and chairman to discuss what had been going on. The board member who could speak the best English translated most of it for me. I didn’t know what they said in reply I just saw them shaking their heads for how things had been going for me. After a few hours of Spanish discussion they came to the conclusion that it would be the best idea for me to change host families and schools. I move into a very comfortable home with a loving family and I attend a school that is welcoming of foreign exchange students. At first I felt guilty that my family whom had allowed me stay in their home where being told of their bad parenting, but now I feel relief as I am no longer a problem for them. I have now heard from many Rotary parents that San Felipe is one of the strictest hardest schools and they don’t usually take exchange students. I am so very grateful for all my host club had done for me, everyone is so nice and they care of my wellbeing. They all went to the effort to solve my problems and I no longer have to suffer in silence. I have been taking 3 Spanish classes a week and I practice so much every day in conversation. I am making an effort to break the language barrier. This weekend is the South American festival Carnival where people throw water, flour eggs and other things at each other and there are many street parades and various exhibitions. Everyone has a four day holiday and after Carnival is my trip to the Amazon. All of the exchangers in my district and I are looking forward to it very much. It will be very good to get away for a while. Riobamba is still very cold even though it is summer in Ecuador. There is constant cloud cover and it rains every 2=3 days. Hopefully my new family will take me to buy more clothes. There are many trivial things I have not mentioned, like eating guinea pigs for lunch but I think I have currently lost sense of what is significant. When I have sorted all the little glitches out and am settled again in a new family and school I shall write again. Until then, you know how to contact meChao Bindy xx
Wow how time has flown! Since my last update I have celebrated Carnival, been to the Amazon and started my new school!!! Last update I had just moved in with my new family, The Donoso´s and they are great. My dad is my counselor, the secretary for Rotary, he is great. He works in the supreme court of justice as the minister for appeals or something of the sort. My mum is also in the field as a lawyer- I think that is how they met J I also have two sisters, one is a year older and one a year younger. Erika the oldest goes to Uni in Cuenca, a beautiful city 4 hours south of Riobamba. My younger sister Ivanna or Iva (pronounced Eva) speaks great English with me and is in my class at school. When I moved in there was a big welcome sign in my room and flowers, and I can see the volcano now from out my window! Very cool. The day that I moved in was a Wednesday; the next day we went to my new school got my new uniform and met my new class mates, they were all very happy to see me. The Thursday I started school, I soon learnt that at this school, the kids ran around the class room like wild animals and the teachers had little control. I was however a lot better to be apart of. The Friday started the South American festival of Carnival. My sister Ivanna went to the festivals of Ambato and I headed 6 hours west (towards the coast) to my friend Juan´s house. Many of you will know him as he was in St George in Australia last year on Exchange. He is now back, well and going to University in Quito in August. My weekend with his family was amazing. I live in the Andes- cold and mountains, Santo Domingo is in the Coast region, which to me, just all looks like jungle. It is hot and rains every day. Coming down through the mountains in the bus was breathtaking, the mountains, the waterfalls on the road side, all so so amazing. I have seen rainforest and mountains before but nothing compared to this. His dad is the president of the rotary club in Santo Domingo and they had therefore had exchangers in their home. One many of you many of is Meg, from my district in Australia. They knew exactly how I was feeling and what to expect which was great. I then met two other exchangers from Santo Domingo, Kelsey from Canada and Ronja from Germany, they had been there for 6 months and I was envious of their Spanish. We all went horse riding through the rainforest on Spanish horses previously used for street festivals- very hot headed and hard to control. Regardless it was amazing, I was riding through canapés and passed banana plantations and through fresh running water streams! That was just day one! The Saturday we went to the Beach, with Juan´s family, family friends and us 3 exchange girls. We played carnival on the beach with foam spray and I taught Juan’s little sister how to boggy board in a wave. We had traditional coast food for lunch and then checked out the street parade along what we would call the esplanade. The next day we went to visit a waterfall, The water was icy cold from coming down the mountains. We all went behind the waterfall and then dived under the falling water to come rushing out downstream- biggest adrenaline rush most amazing feeling! All safe I may add J we then ate KFC by the waterfall- This day I started fall in love with Ecuador. Afterwards we then went to a go karting track. The go karting in Ecuador is a little different I must add. Optional helmets, greater speed karts- wet conditions. Being the weekend of the festival we then of course played carnival whilst go karting! Afterwards with over 16 of us and only two cars we all spilled into the back of the Ute- like every other Ecuadorian family. This was of course then the perfect opportunity to play carnival. As you drive past innocent bystanders walking the road, you proceed to spray them with whatever you got. We were hit a few times also- people would wait in their two story houses and get us from above. Amazing fun. The city of Santo Domingo was just like Australia, perfect temperature and just relaxed- great people. Carnival weekend sadly finished and I then ventured home. The bus ride- 6 hours cost 5 US dollars. On the trip back I, myself Eye witnessed 2 car accidents from my window. Driving with seatbelts and at safe speeds is optional. After festival traffic and accidents I got home after 8 hours. My family were still In Cuenca as my parents had extended vacation time so I stayed next door with my cousins. The next morning I woke up to jump in a car at 6 am For Quito. At Quito I met all the other exchangers from my mini district and we jumped on the plane for the Amazon! First stop Coca- A little city on the Napa river. From the airport we caught a bus that looked like it was made in the jungle- no seat belts- barely seats! And all open, still pretty cool. The bus took us to the river where we then got on a canoe and travelled downstream for 2.5 hours. Very relaxing and serene. We eventually arrived at Yachanna lodge, It was beautiful. Straw huts, dinning overlooking the river with amazing sunsets, sounding wildlife, fruit you could pick off the trees from your balcony. The amazon trip was simply awesome. We visited a little school, handmade bracelets, walked through thick rainforest for hours and saw monkeys, toucans, fresh water crocodiles, ate bugs, slept with mosquitoes and jumped out of trees into fast current waters. It was the experience of a lifetime. I didn’t want to leave, I swear if there weren´t bugs in the rainforest, I would move there tomorrow! But the holidays had to end and we ventured back to cold still Riobamba. Taking a day off to recover of course I then went back to school. I continue to practice my Spanish profusely and involve myself in family and school life. The Friday just gone was the school ceremony were they promise to the flag- physically kiss it. The exchange students and I took a white rose for peace and said ¨no huero pero te repeto¨ which means no I don’t promise but I respect. The weekend just gone was quiet- I think just what I needed. Me, my sister and Johanna the exchange girl from Germany ate Oreos and watched Grays’ anatomy, which you can buy, all 7 seasons for 20 bux here in Ecuador I may add. One night we celebrated another exchange girl Levke- from Germany´s sporting accomplishments so we had cake. Apart from that I have been taking things kind of slow lately. This Friday our grade is going to Quito- not really sure why, but I´m excited already- day off school yaaaayyy. Just 1.5 months to the Galapogos trip also which I am already preparing for and 2 more weeks till exam block which means no school for me also! Haha but until then, when I have something to report, it is Adios from me. Feel free to browse pictures on facebook and email me if you have any specific questions. Much love Bindy xx