Pululahua: Reserving my Excitement

It has been a month since I returned to Ecuador from my summer adventures. Seeing as I neglected to update my blog since Bolivia, I am going to do a little back tracking before I delve into some of my most recent adventures.

When I got back from Bolivia, I had a week to relax, regroup, and unpack my belongings into my new apartment. The dry season is real. Dry air, crazy amounts of dust and dirt particles being swept up in the air... and all of this created the perfect storm for an allergy cold. I have had strong allergic reactions to dust in the past... leading to extreme drainage of mucus into my throat and stomach. What this basically does is give me flu symptoms and a lost voice. I was intending on going to Otavalo at the end of this week but I was projectile vomiting from my allergies for a good two days, and was confined to my bed to rest and recover my health. I resorted to purchasing as many gifts as I could stuff into a suitcase at the mercado artisanal at Jorge Washington near Plaza Foch, rather than venturing further north in Ecuador than I have been.

MILWAUKEE

Being back "home" was bittersweet. On the one hand, I enjoyed spending time with some of my closest friends and family from the states, and visiting sites that still have my heart. The two best parts of my visit by far were:

1. Living / staying with my best friend Bonnie and Dave, and getting to spend a lot of time with my nephew Lucas. He has grown so incredibly much, and even went through some incredible developmental changes during my three weeks in the U.S. I am indebted to their friendship, hospitality, and support.
2. Michelle and Viktor's wedding. I had the honor of standing up in one of my other best friend's wedding. From Thursday morning to Sunday afternoon, I got to spend some really great quality time with Michelle. She was my biggest inspiration and motivation to teach abroad. Not only that, she has been a part of my support system over the last five years since I moved back to Milwaukee post-college. I was partnered with Hollie in the wedding party, which could not have been better! Congratulations, again, Michelle and Viktor. I am so happy that you found love in each other.

On the other hand, being in Wisconsin was kind of torturous. An old friend used to say to me all the time, "People here are so fake and boring." This was the first time I realized what she meant by it, as I could clearly see it. Part of my personality is that I don't really talk for talking-sake, and I feel more comfortable in genuine conversation rather than small talk. One question I was asked by nearly everyone when I returned was, "How do you like it?" To which I replied each time, "I love it, I couldn't be more happy." In, let's say 7 out of 10 times, this is where the dialogue halted. I could easily talk about Ecuador for hours, but I am not going to just break into an impromptu-monologue... and I didn't. 

On top of this, nothing has changed in Milwaukee or Wisconsin, really, since I first left last year August. I, contrastingly, have changed and grown so much that I didn't feel like I fit in anymore. Additionally, I was constantly reminded how miserably unhappy I was before Ecuador. I mean, I knew I was unhappy before I moved, but I didn't know deeply and strongly the feelings went. When I was living in Milwaukee, I kept myself so busy with work and going out to distract myself from feeling true emotions. Who knows, maybe that's a major contributor to my failed relationships, too.

Anyway, it was nice to be back in Milwaukee but I am so much happier being back home-home, in Quito.

QUITO

School has been back in session for three weeks, already. Long story short, I am so happy with my classes. I have a lot more responsibility this year than I did last, but I feel much more relaxed and less stressed than last year.

One of my goals, and I need to pressure myself to stick with it, is to get out more and do more things. Last year, despite how it appeared because of my photos and blogs, I stayed home a lot and did a lot of working. I missed out of some experiences and opportunities, which was the right decision for the ultimate reason why I am here-- to work. So far, I have done an alright job with this but I need to become more fearless. Some of the things I have done include:

• attending a party at someone's house (which is a huge deal considering I don't party anymore);
• support Deportivo Quito at two futból matches... one against Liga and the other against Cuenca;
• repeat the insanity known as Fiestas de Guapulo. I don't have pictures this year because I was smart about leaving anything of value at home... I am not going to get mugged!;
• ride a chiva through Quito for a joint birthday party.

Nothing new or different from last year but I am getting out of the house, which is all that matters. This past weekend was another camping trip to Pululahua, the volcanic-crater-now-community-and-geobotanical-reserve. While I was back in MKE, I went to REI and stocked up on supplies for an occasion such as this. New headlamp, stanley thermos. I purchased a GoPro for easy travel photo opportunities (and my impending trip to possibly El Salvador and Honduras during Christmas break). I still had my sleeping bag, but I inherited a foam mat/mattress from the frock swap at the end of last school year. I was READY.

This was the perfect overnight camping trip. We piled into Chris and Marina's car around 9:30, stopped at Supermaxi for supplies (and I found actual brats! Cheddar-Jalapeño brats!), and off we were. When we got there, we set up camp and relaxed momentarily. Each time I have been there, someone walks up to us, asks us if we have any "alcohol, smokes, or drugs" and then searches our stuff. This time, it was someone from the Ministerio de Ambiente and she was constantly approaching us and making sure we were abiding by the rules. In the past, we were able to purchase Pilsner from the hostal next to the camp site but she squashed those hopes. Her reasoning was that people have died camping in the past because they drink too much... and people come to the reserve to enjoy nature. Okay, lady.

The only ministerio person I have ever seen work.

We went off for a hike to find the "aguas termales." Our directions were that this would be a four hour hike but we would only turn right and then left. Two directions. Needless to say, we missed the one necessary turn... but the aguas termales weren't even hot, just bubbling from gas trapped underground. It would have been nice to find them, though... after all, this was my first time really leaving the camp ground for anything other than the hostal and the mirador. Most of the way we went was downhill which meant the return was going to be uphill. I sit (painfully) here writing this 24 hours later with soreness in parts of my body that have never experienced any kind of pain. It was really cool to walk around, however, because I never realized how incredibly large the area was or how far it went.

All in all, it was a well-needed escape from the city to recharge before a full week at work.