4 Countries in 2 Weeks

So sorry for not updating in so long. I’ve barely had a free moment and any free time I’ve had was put to much better use - napping.  

It almost scares me to think back to the time of my last post. I’ve been to 3 different countries since then. Leaving Cuenca was such a bittersweet moment. The weekend after I got robbed, we went to Sol y Agua, a little resort. Meaning there was a pool and cabins with bugs in the beds (my bed was clean). But it was one of the best weekend I had in Cuenca. And if anyone is wondering, no I did not get tan. 

Also, during the week I skipped one of our "charlas" (lectures) and went with two friends to a lady's house. She came to do a charla for us the previous week and it was all about animals and the environment in Ecuador. The information was interesting, but I was really just  fascinated by the photos - they were incredible. And this lady lives on a farm-like area in Ecuador, about 40 minutes from Cuenca. She has 2 spectacle bears, some sort of mini tiger looking animal, 5 parrots, an adorable kitty, and 2 mean lemur-looking animals. My friends walked around the area to try to help fix it up - I walked around with my camera glued to my face. 

We also went to Ingapirca, which is like the Machu Picchu of Ecuador. Except not really, compared to Machu Picchu it looks like just a few rocks put together. The day was rainy and cold but we still managed to have fun together. 

beautiful dancing

colorful

The week after that was finals week so it was very hectic. Not a lot of sleep, just a lot of Spanish. On our last Tuesday in Cuenca, we had our goodbye dinner because our coordinator, Christian, was leaving. I can honestly say that to this day I don’t think I’ve met many other people as great as Christian. He is the kindest, funniest, and just most amazing person ever. For the dinner, my friend and I made a slideshow to remember our month in Ecuador. It was a 14 minute long slideshow that took us 3 days to make. People made fun of us and joked that they were going to fall asleep during it. We got a sincere apology after we played the slideshow, people were impressed. It encapsulated everything that our trip was - a trip that brought 23 strangers (24 if you include Christian, which you should) together in a foreign country and made us so close that I can’t imagine being without them anymore. 

We also had PPA’s. Paper Plate Awards. My friend and I made the categories and Christian chose the winners. Another girl and I were tied for best eyes and biggest flirt. In the end I ended up winning biggest flirt. Oops? It was partially because people were offending the other girl by calling her a big flirt, but I never thought I would be in second place. Oh well. 

Cuenca was quickly coming to an end and I was quickly getting more and more upset. Everyone was excited to begin the next and most important chapter of our trip, but all I could think about what how much I would miss my family. The last Friday and Saturday they took me to Lojas, a town 3 hours away. It was their friends quincienera, a girls 15th birthday celebration which is the equivalent of a Sweet Sixteen in America, or a Bat Mitzvah, whichever you prefer. We stayed at the party until 5 in the morning. Everyone was a bit “chuchaki” (hungover, if you couldn’t guess) the next morning. We spent Saturday at Ecuador’s version of Epcot. So now we have family photos in Russia, France, England, and many other countries. 

Familia Perfecta

arco iris - rainbow

But Sunday it was time to go to the airport. My family took pictures the entire time we were waiting to check in. Everyone in my group was jealous of how affectionate my family was. My mom was tearing up as we said goodbye and it took a lot of willpower for me not to cry too. We have been messaging back and forth ever since then and we just keep telling each other how much we miss one another. I can’t wait to go back and visit them, they really did impact my life so much in just one short month. 

We stayed in Quito for two days before going to Chile. We visited the center of the Planet where it is apparently difficult to walk in a straight line. Although that’s not something I’m good at no matter where I am in the World. 

Center of the World!

Clearly can't walk in a straight line..

Just a hummingbird flying around the center of the World, no big deal

After taking the red eye, we arrived bleary-eyed and utterly exhausted to the open and welcoming arms of the Santiago International Airport. (After having some difficulties leaving Quito because of the excessive amount of bags us gringas had). 

We arrived around 6 in the morning and thought we didn’t have anything to do until noon, meaning we would be sleeping. Except, those of us who planned ahead and got our student visas actually had to meet at 8 am to get our Chilean ID’s. So much for thinking I was making my life easier.

Our hotel in Santiago was great. It was called “Rent a Home” which meant we lived in little apartments for 2 or 3 people. That meant that both of the nights we were there we went like a little family to the supermarket and bought lots and food (and of course lots of cheap Chilean wine). It was an adventure cooking with so many people, but in the end it was all worth it. Even though the first night’s food was just a tad disgusting. The second night the boys cooked themselves steak which they loved. And another girl and I bought individual chicken burgers that came in a bag. Some of the best chicken I’ve ever had. We need to bring that invention back to the States.

First night's dinner..yum?

So after our cute time in Rent a Home, we were off to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Buenos Aires is one of the most amazing cities I have ever visited. It is so cosmopolitan and it felt so great to be in such a city again. Really relieved any homesickness I had. It was very European and modern and just wonderful to be a part of for the few days we were there.

in a famous cemetery in Buenos Aires

Also, the food was amazing. Back home, I eat steak maybe 3 times a year. I had steak I think 4 times in Buenos Aires. It was, for lack of a better or more appropriate word, orgasmic. “El gran chorizo” was a huge steak that came with fried red pepper, a huge chunk of some sort of amazing cheese, pumpkin sauce, onions, pico de gallo, rice, and some very very good house wine. How it all fit into my body is still a mystery to me. We went back to this restaurant a second time the next night just because it would have been a travesty not to eat that wonderful steak again.

I think my friend's face says it all..

But besides its amazing steak, Buenos Aires is also known for its leather. So of course we went shoe shopping. And of course I bought a beautiful pair of light grey leather boots. So happy about that.

So happy about the entire trip to Buenos Aires. However, we did see parts of the city that weren’t so perfect. We visited ESMA which is where thousands of people were tortured during the era of dictatorships. It was difficult to be in that building, learning about the acts of torture while standing exactly where they occurred. And also while being there with our coordinator/advisor/teacher. He was a political prisoner during Pinochet’s dictatorship in Chile. We have yet to hear from him the details of this, but we know he was tortured. It was difficult to watch him be in a place that most certainly reminded him of what I’m sure are his worst memories ever.

Sadly, we were only in Argentina for 5 days. Next we went to Montevideo, Uruguay. One of the first things that someone mentioned about this city was that it reminded him of a country in the Soviet Union. It was grey and cold and monotonous. No one was excited to be there after our stay in Buenos Aires. However, we did visit a mall. Cool, right. Except it actually was pretty cool because this mall wasn’t always a mall. It was a prison during the dictatorship. A prison where, again, people were tortured and killed. And now there it is filled with stores like Levi’s and Lacoste. Stores that most people in Montevideo don’t have the money to shop in.

We walked into this bookstore and I right away I loudly exclaimed "Mmm, it smells like books!" and everyone quickly turned to shush me. I didn't realize you had to be quiet in a bookstore..

we saw some cool ants in Montevideo..

Yes, this was interesting but at this point we were all ready to get back to Santiago and begin our lives there. Plus, I was entirely fed up with living out of a suitcase.

So we arrived back in Santiago. I had already met my host mom and had dinner with her the previous week. The yes, I meant just host mom because I don’t have a host family, just a mom. I don’t mean to complain, but a single mom is not what I asked for at all. It would be better if she had kids who were grown up, but no, she is entirely single. Don’t get me wrong, she is a very nice lady, but we just haven’t clicked yet. And I don’t know if we really ever will. We only talk during dinner because she is either not home, or when she is, she is just working in her study. I’m mostly upset about this because I don’t think my Spanish is going to improve if I only talk to her for about one hour a day at dinner. And she is not as great of a cook as my mom in Ecuador, nothing compares to that.

Also, it is absolutely freezing here. Its winter at the moment and these apartments were not meant to withstand the cold. I have tile floors and windows that let air through. The water in the shower is warm for 2 minutes, cold for 2 minutes, and the pattern continues. This does not make for a happy Masha. I sleepy with long pajama pants, 2 sweaters, and 4 blankets. And a space heater. So much for South America being warm everywhere.

I also don’t have internet. This was so crucial for me, and of course I’m the only one from the group without it. My mom has internet, but apparently it’s only for her computer. I had to buy my own internet. It was expensive and doesn’t even work well. But again, I need to stop complaining. I am in a beautiful city and these are just minor (but not really that minor) annoyances.

Classes start on August 1^st, which I am very excited for. Except that we were allowed to take classes in two different universities, but one is on strike so we can’t. The students here are very involved in their society, very unlike in the United States. They are on strike because they want their education to be free…if only they knew how much we paid for ours.

So far we have just been taking one class from our advisor, Mauricio. This class is a seminar about our travel to Argentina and Uruguay, and our stay in Chile. I’ve learned so much about Latin American history in the past 2 weeks and I’m very excited to keep learning about it. I cannot wait for Mauricio’s other class about Latin American dictatorships. I can’t imagine getting a better perspective on this issue.

It feels good to finally be settle in, even if the home isn’t exactly what I would have preferred. The city is beautiful – modern but not too much so. It feels good to be taking the subway to class everyday – it reminds me of being home in my beautiful New York City. And it feels good to be learning. I didn’t realize how much I crave knowing more and more about such interesting issues.

But of course, no trip of mine can be so peaceful. Obviously my bad luck followed to this country as well.

In Buenos Aires, one day I woke up and my knee hurt. By the middle of the day I was limping. By the next day I looked like I had just escaped from an insane asylum. My knee was in so much pain. This lasted about a week. (And I was only offered one piggy-back ride throughout this entire ordeal). It was terrible to be touring new cities when all I could think about was the stabbing pain in my left knee. Our other coordinator, a woman (who I am not on the best terms with), didn’t believe that my knee actually hurt and thought I was just making it up to get out of the tours. Why would I ever do that? So this weekend when we arrived in Chile I went to “Lider” which is actually Wal-Mart and bought a knee brace. The knee brace was in a box that was taped shut. When I got home and opened the box, I discovered that it still had a security alarm attached to it. One of those that only machines can take off. Great.

My mom took me back to Lider and then we went out for Chinese food. Very different than in the United States. Which is also different from China. Either way, it was very good. The rest of the day I sat with a warm compress on my knee that my mom claimed would help. I’m still not sure.

But thankfully, she emailed that lady coordinator of mine and told her that my knee pain wasn’t a joke. So the lady said she would take me to the university hospital. We went there this morning. The process was surprisingly very fast and simple. My international student insurance apparently doesn’t begin until next week when we start classes, but my coordinator pulled some strings. The doctor said I have “tendinitis pata de ganso.” Apparently this is really funny. It means something like “tendinitis of the goose leg.” Wonderful. So next Monday I have to go get an X-ray and go to physical therapy. All in my first week of being in Chile. I’m not surprised that this would happen to me. In fact, my real parents bought me extra study abroad insurance because we assumed something like this would happen to me. I just didn’t think it would happen so soon.

Thankfully the drugs kicked in pretty quickly and I am currently pain-free. Though I might be in a different kind of pain tomorrow considering I am writing this blog instead of studying for my test tomorrow. Oh well. I guess I’ll just wing it - I already apparently have the leg of a goose.

Another strange part about being here is that I’ve begun to think in Spanish. Which I guess is expected and not strange at all, but it still feels weird. Little sayings and phrases pop into my head in Spanish when I am talking to friends or family from home who have no knowledge of the Spanish language. I guess that’s a good thing. I’ve begun to mix up my three languages a little bit. Hopefully I don’t forget my Russian while I’m here.

I’ve also just been weird with the things I say here in general. People in my group have come up with something called “M Squared,” which means “Masha Moments.” Masha Moments are those frequent times during the day when I say something utterly ridiculous and dumb. Por ejemplo, when I was picking out my knee brace, I asked “what do S and M stand for?” Obviously they stand for Small and Medium.

I’ll stop now, and leave you with this great impression of my new found “knowledge.”

I promise to update weekly again, and to never again write another novella like this one.


(Originally posted on July 27, 2011)