Greg's Ecuadorian Adventure

Telling people back home about Quito was like explaining Milwaukee to people who have either never heard of or been to. Quito is the second highest national capital in the world, after La Paz, Bolivia ( one place I really want to visit!) . The city sits at over 9,000 feet above sea level ( 2,800  meters), and is nestled in a valley between mountain peaks and volcano summits in the Andes Mountain Range. This makes for a very loooong and narrow city, extremely spread out and diverse as you transition from one area to the next. This makes it feel somewhat like MKE, as you find certain types of people in each of these areas. Overall, the people of Quito are quite helpful and patient, especially with us Grino/as. The exception to this is the company TV/Cable . Although their internet is (supposed to be) really good, their customer service sucks. David and I have experienced this a lot in the last almost two weeks. They kept scheduling appointments and then not show up. One night,...

I moved to Quito on August 17 th and wasn’t originally planning on making the trip back home until the Summer of 2015. However, on September 10, 2014, my Nana passed away, and joined my Bumpa in Heaven. I was so fortunate that I was able to find a flight at last minute and make it home in time to be at the visitation and service. My Nana was such a positive role model and influence, and her love will always stay within my heart. ( there aren´t any pictures in this one… just a fair warning ) My last memory of her was at the Ter Maat gathering in Cedar Grove, and I somehow snapped a picture where she was both smiling and had her eyes open! That rarely happened. But my fondest memory is actually recorded on a cassette tape. I grew up away from her, so to still be there for me when she couldn’t, she recorded herself while reading and singing to me. I am going to have that tape converted into a CD so I can store her voice and preserve that memory forever. A few positives came out ...

So far, I have had two really distinctly unique experiences, and I am positive there is no USA equivalent. Last week Saturday (30 Sept), there was this sort of birthday party/last hurrah before the official start with students for the school year. A combination between new and returning staff rode a Chiva around Quito for about one or two hours before stopping at our final destination. What is a Chiva , you might ask? Imagine you’re watching one of those reality TV shows where the “stars” are riding in a luxury bus to Las Vegas: stripper pole, drinks, music, and all. Now, imagine a flatbed truck that was converted into a bus: stripper pole, drinks, music, and all. When we boarded the bus, we were presented with whistles (yellow and blue for Ecuador) and cups on a string. Basically, it was a necklace to keep track of our cups as we traversed the bumpy and speed bump-loaded streets of Quito. Our cups, though small, were constantly filled with this common drink here called, I think,...