My first post...a little late, but my calendar is set to "Caribbean Time" :)

Hola todos! I have successfully made it to the Dominican Republic without losing my credit card and with hardly any plane issues (believe it or not, Grampa), other than a 2 hour delay in the Cincinnati airport. I arrived in Santiago last Sunday (yes...2 weeks ago now...sorry for the delay!), exhausted but so excited to be here.

Since then, the exhaustion has only seemed to continue. I feel like there is so much I want to write about, but it's so hard to not only find time to sit down here and do it but to find it when both the Internet is up and running AND the power is not out on campus... So unfortunately, a short but sweet rundown of the whirlwind that has been my past 2 weeks here in the DR will have to do.

We have been so many places and seen so many different things so far that it's hard to know where to start. Our schedule each day is always so different (not to mention constantly changing) but usually involves a few lectures and a few trips to different places in Santiago. Our lectures have been over tons of different topics...from Dominican History to Spanish language to the Education system to Caribbean Culture, Geology, Geography, Immigration, Sports, Agriculture, and so many more. Just about each one so far has been given by a different professor at the university here, either in English or with a translator to help. We have covered so many things so far that my brain is an absolute mess, but all of the lectures (for the most part) have been really interesting.

When we're not in lecture, we are usually boarding the bus to go off somewhere. We took a trip up into the mountains to learn about their reforsestation projects here, we toured around the campus (ah it is so beautiful!) to learn about their agricultural and animal production, we've been to the city newspaper, a pottery enterprise, a museum, a cigar factory, and so much more. My favorite trips so far have been to the schools we have visited. We've been learning and talking a lot about the education system here so it was so interesting to be able to see it first hand (not to mention a lot of fun playing with all of the kids).

We spent last weekend at a beach in Puerta Plata and it was so nice to be able to relax and finally let everything we had been doing sink in. We had just been so busy that it still wasn't feeling like all of this was real...but it's hard to deny that you're spending your Winter in the Caribbean when you're in a beach chair watching the sun set over the ocean... (Sorry, I couldn't resist bragging just a little).

Well, I hate to leave after only having time to ramble on about boring classes and field trips, but "class" calls. :) Hopefully I will be able to find time soon to fill you all in on the more exciting parts of the trip so far (there have definitely been plenty)! Until then, stay warm! I'll be thinking of you all from my beach chair this weekend... :)



[ ^^ Pictures from around campus...Plenty of more pictures coming, I promise! ^^ ]

Hi everyone! Once again, I haven't been the best at keeping up with this thing...but it's only because I've been too crazy busy trying to cram in all the fun I can in my little time I have left in this amazing place. I got back from the Galapagos Islands on Tuesday night and can't wait to fill everyone in on all of the incredible experiences I had while there, but unfortunately pictures will have to do for now... As much as I'd love to spend all night writing about everything, that wouldn't leave me too much time to celebrate my Birthday. And seeing as the opportunity to spend it in a place as amazing as Quito probably won't come around too often, I figure I should probably take advantage. :)

I kind of took a lot of pictures (actually over twice as many as I even posted), so if it's too annoying to sit through the Slideshow, you can follow the link and it will take you to the site where you can see them all at once. Enjoy them!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to put up a quick post to say everything is still going great. Life has been crazy-busy, between school, volunteering (which I’m just now realizing I have yet to even mention…I promise more on this soon), Lodge business (which officially kicked-off last week!!), and other responsibilities that have been piling up from back home. Luckily I have the laid-back atmosphere of Ecuador to keep me sane, but unfortunately I haven’t been as good as I should about filling you all in on what has been going on here.

I’m off to the Bellavista cloud forest today (actually in 5 minutes) and will be there through the weekend! But when I get back, I promise to get catch you all up on everything.

Loca en Baños y (Casi) Tranquila en la Playa

Sorry for the delay in the updates once again! I’ve been a little busy adventuring through the Rainforest :), which I just got back from today. More details on this absolutely incredible trip later…First I’ve got to catch you up on the past two amazing weekends.

After our tribal adventure in Otavalo, we spent a weekend at Baños, a city famous for its natural hot springs (with water directly from the volcano located in the city), extreme sports, and other tourist attractions. As you probably all know, I’m not exactly what you would call extreme…more just extremely wussy. But when in Rome……..



Yes, that is a picture of me bungee-jumping from a bridge. What was I thinking? I have absolutely no idea.

For those of you who don’t know, I am not the biggest fan of heights. But I also can never seem to resist putting myself in the most terrifying situations that I know I will hate every minute of. Not sure why I do it, but in this case, I couldn’t be happier that I did.

And yes, I did hate it. From the moment I was strapped into my harness my hands were shaking, my stomach was ready to explode, and my mind was racing a mile a minute as I pictured the rope snapping and my body crashing into the rocky creek below. Still, somehow with legs trembling I managed to climb onto the railing, take a deep breath, and throw myself off (of course screaming like a Kress the entire way down). All in all, it was such an incredible experience and something I never would have thought I would be able to do (but am glad I will never have to do again). :)

Beyond trying to terrify myself to death, I was actually able to enjoy myself as well. Cramming as much as we possibly could into the weekend, we spent an entire day mountain biking, hiked to an absolutely breathtaking waterfall, zip-lined across the river, rode horses through the mountains, and of course spent well-deserved time recovering in the amazing hot springs. Over all, it was a perfect mix of running ourselves ragged and kicking back and relaxing.



After surviving another 5 days of class, we were off again…this time to the playa! After a six hour bus ride, we arrived at the Coast in the beach town of Same. Expecting a beach pretty similar to those I had seen in the US (I mean, a beach is a beach, right?), with never-ending lines of chairs and crowds of people covering the shore as far as the eye can see, I was surprised to find that we had the entire beach practically to ourselves. It turns out that Same is a more secluded beach, set apart from the more touristy beaches of the coast. And as a result, even more breathtaking.



We stayed in little cottages located practically on top of the shoreline, with the most spectacular views of the ocean. Every time I walked out on the porch, I was totally blown away by how incredibly beautiful it was, as I’m sure you can imagine looking at the pictures. Not only that, but there’s just something incredible about falling asleep to the sound of the ocean’s crashing waves. Needless to say, I was in heaven and couldn't keep from smiling the entire weekend.

For the first time, we had no activities or side-trips scheduled. Our only plans were to enjoy ourselves, and we certainly did. We spent the entire weekend swimming, body-surfing, taking walks along the shore, and relaxing in the sun. It was an absolutely perfect weekend...

…That is, until the very end, which turned out to be a bit less “tranquilo” than the rest of the weekend had been.

It all started with our last lunch. We went to a restaurant located right on the beach that served amazing seafood. I had been told by almost everyone I had talked to before the trip to not miss out on the Ceviche, a supposedly delicious typical dish in many coastal areas of South America. I decided I should probably give it a try.

Bad call…Turns out my body hates Ceviche and decided to totally punish me for thinking it was okay to eat it. I was absolutely miserable within 20 minutes of eating, of course just in time to board the bus and start the long trek home. Luckily, I managed to only feel more and more awful as the trip went on.

To make things worse, about four hours into the ride the bus came to a sudden stop…and then proceeded to remain stopped for another three hours. The entire road, the only road between the coast and Quito might I add, had completely washed out and no one was able to pass in either direction. Still, all the while, I was feeling closer and closer to death by Ceviche… However, after a couple hours we began moving again very slowly. It wasn’t until after a bit of exciting off-roading that we were finally back on track.

Needless to say, by the time I finally made it back to my house after the miserable nine hour bus ride, I was a bit worse for wear. When my mom met me at the door, excited to hear about the weekend, I had no choice but to run past her, unable to get anything out other than a pathetic “Necesito vomitar…” (I’ll let you figure out the translation), and spent the rest of the night and next day doing just that (Sorry for the graphic details).

Luckily after a rough couple of days I was back to my normal Ceviche-free self…although I don’t think I’ll be giving it another try any time soon. Still, I would go through it ten times over for another amazing beach weekend.

"Siempre Recuerda."

AH, I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve last updated you all…or how much has happened since then! Between our adventures through Ecuador (I’ll get to this), being miserably ill (I was waiting to let this slip to my parents until I was better…and yes, mom and dad, I’m finally better), and trying to keep up with my classes (I have since completed Professor Tarea’s final and turned in the last of the tarea he will ever assign me and am already in my second week –halfway through- my new class with my new teacher…who by the way somehow manages to load on even more homework) I haven’t had much time to do anything else. Regardless of my list of excuses, an update is way overdue.

The weekend after we took on Cotapaxi, we had planned a trip to a city called Otavalo. Otavalo is an indigenous town about 3 hours away known for its unbelievable artesian market held every Saturday (actually the largest in all of South America). I was extremely excited about this trip as I had already fallen in love with all of the handicrafts, tapestries, artwork, and jewelry I had seen since I have been here. However I soon found out that the things I would buy at the Otavalo market would end up meaning absolutely nothing to me compared to everything else I was going to be able to experience.

I had assumed, as had everyone else in the group, that we were going to be staying in a hostel or hotel, just like we would be for most of the other trips. Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Instead, we were going to be breaking up into groups and staying in indigenous pueblos in the huts of native families. My mouth definitely hit the floor when I found out, and I knew it was going to be an experience unlike any I had ever imagined.



When we arrived in Otavalo, we all split up into our groups and headed to our pueblos. The pueblo I lived in was called Tunibamba and it was love at first sight. Rolling down the dirt roads (in the back of a pick-up truck might I add), we were all speechless as we took in the vivid green fields, beautiful flowers, countless trees, and fresh air, none of which are found in busy bustling Quito.

We were dropped off in groups of three at different huts in different corners of the pueblo where we met our families. However when Sarah, Jenni, and I arrived at our new home, our family was no where to be found. We threw our bags down on our beds and decided to do some exploring. After venturing past the chicken coup, the pen full of “cuy” (guinea pig) –turns out it’s quite the delicacy there–, the giant bird cage, and through the garden, we finally found our mom working away over dirty laundry.

Her name was Digna and she stole my heart right away with her huge smile and even bigger embrace. She was so unbelievably sweet and so welcoming to us. I will never forget the time we spent talking with her over dinner about everything from her favorite food (of course, guinea pig) to everyday life in Tunibamba. We even shared languages, we teaching her some English, her teaching us some Quichua, the native language of the indigenous people of Ecuador. As corny as it may sound, it really felt incredible to be able to come together in that way, both of different native tongues, united by our second language of Spanish. It was such a neat experience.

As if our time with Digna wasn’t amazing enough, the weekend was full of plenty of other fun activities as well. We of course spent some time at the market (fortunately not enough time to do too much damage to my wallet) and were able to visit local shops of artisans and watch as they crafted their beautiful tapestries and carved their intricate wood sculptures. We hiked to a nearby lake, took a boat out on a volcano-formed Laguna, even went to a festival of native music, dancing, and games, all of which they of course wanted the gringos to join in on. We were even lucky enough to attend the wedding reception of the newest Tunibamba Mr. and Mrs. (which, by the way, didn’t lose steam until 8 the next morning).



Out of all that I was able to experience, as always I have to say that the most amazing part was the people I met during my time there. Whether it was over dinner with Digna or while exploring Tunibamba, every single person we encountered had such a way about them, a beauty that was indescribable but that you absolutely could not ignore. I was so moved by the way the people in the village live their lives, and it really made me give the way I live mine some thought as well. Every single brick in each hut, every bite of food they ate, every piece of clothing they wore, was made and shared within Tunibamba. There was just something so incredibly beautiful to me in the community they shared with each other.

On our last morning as we were packing to leave, Digna came into our room to say goodbye. We all sat down to wait for the truck that was going to pick us up when she pulled three bracelets she had made from her pocket. She put one on each of our wrists, asking that we always wear them and always remember.



I will never forget Digna and my time in Tunibamba, and every time I look at my wrist I feel so lucky to have shared in their community, even if only for 3 incredible days.

En la Cumbre del Mundo

After going out with mi familia on Friday, I was so excited to write all about it…but then Saturday happened and with it even more I can't wait to share, so a few words and lots of pictures from the night will have to do.



After dinner, my family told me they were taking me to a part of Quito known as “Old Town,” or Centro Historico. I wasn’t exactly sure what we were going to be doing there, but I was pretty excited, and even more so when I realized how we were going to get there...

I followed everyone outside and waited for Regalo (NOT Rodrigo) to back the car (or what I expected would be a car) down the driveway…only to be awesomely surprised when he rolled out in a SCHOOL BUS!...a giant bright yellow real life school bus. Turns out my madre is a bus driver and is totally down with taking it out on the town. I thought it was awesome and couldn’t wait to take on Quito, school-bus style.

Once we got to Old Town (after Galo parallel-parked the bus of course), we headed to the main plaza where there was going to be live Ecuadorian music and indigenous dancing. The whole plaza was packed with people, but we somehow managed to find seats in the very front row! I had such a blast watching the musicians totally rock out and the dancers fly all around the dance floor.

After the show, I was so so happy and couldn’t stop smiling, but things only got better from there. After walking around for a bit, they took me on a carriage ride through the entire town! We got to see absolutely everythinggg and it was so much fun. The whole night was just amazing…

…But still, absolutely nothing compared to Saturday.

After waking up at 5 AM, I headed to my school, completely exhausted but too excited to care. I had been looking forward to the day since I had gotten here, as we had planned a trip to Cotapaxi, one of the tallest active volcanoes in the world.

After a 2 hour bus ride, we reached the bottom of the volcano. One hour later, the bus had taken us as far as it could go and we got off to hike the rest of the way. We finally reached the landing where there were bikes lined up and waiting for us. We were going to mountain-bike the entire way down!


The ride was hands-down the most difficult thing I have ever done and definitely something I never would have thought I would be able to accomplish, especially with my biking experience beginning and ending with Lodge Cruisers. The trail was like nothing I had ever seen before, let alone expected I would ever try to tackle on a bike. Between the insane incline (you definitely couldn’t let off the brake even for a second), the deep gullies running constantly throughout the rocky path, and the freezing cold rain pouring down all the while, the three-hour ride couldn’t have been a more exhausting (or exhilarating) experience.

I can’t even begin to explain the feeling I had when I finally reached the bottom and looked up to the very top, barely visible in the clouds, where I had first begun. But sweaty, exhausted, and feeling smaller than ever, all that I had put into conquering the volcano that now loomed so high above me rushed through me in a way I will certainly never forget.

¿Quién es Galo?

Before I write anything else, I have something to fess up to. I feel awful having to admit this, but I have recently realized that Rodrigo’s (my padre's) name might not really be Rodrigo? Not in a creepy Hollywood-thriller “dun, dun, dun” sort of way. But still a bit of a nightmare nonetheless. I’ll explain…

It started about a week ago when my madre kept talking to me about this man named “Galo” during dinner. I was a little confused as to why but thought he was just some friend of the family whose life story she thought I might want to know absolutely everything about. Plus, he seemed like a pretty interesting guy so I didn’t mind at all.

Then the other day she was telling me about how she was glad Galo was coming for dinner. I was so excited that I was actually going to get to meet this mysterious Galo guy after hearing so much about him.

That night, I headed downstairs around dinner-time to see if I could help out at all. Aware of my cooking skills (or lack of cooking skills), my madre and sisters just asked me to stay and chat as usual, which I was happy to do because Rodrigo had showed up and it was fun to catch up with him as he hadn’t been around all week. All the while, I was wondering when the guest of honor was going to arrive.

Dinner-time came, but “Galo” never did. Or at least I thought he hadn’t until my sister Sandi asked someone named ReGALO to pass the ensalada. I watched in horror, as confusion turned to shock, then to a lot of embarrassment, while “Rodrigo” passed the salad down the table. Moral of the story: I am a terrible hija.

Luckily, I don’t think I’ve actually ever called him by name (or by what I thought was his name) to his face, but who knows! Goodness gracious. I guess it just goes to show how confused I spend most of my days here immersed/lost in Spanish pretty much 24/7. Who knows what else I have misunderstood so far…

On a more exciting note, my family is taking me somewhere tonight. I’m not exactly sure where, and even if I thought I was sure I don’t think I would trust myself (or that you would believe me either). But I’ll be sure to let you know after the fact… :)