In The Jungle

This past weekend we had Spring Break #2 for this semester! We went to the Amazon jungle in the eastern part of Ecuador. We left at 3am on Thursday morning and had about a 7-hour bus ride to get there. The first day we went to a monkey rescue, where they take monkeys that used to be pets or were found in the city and take care of them. Several of the monkeys that were pets run around freely, so they were walking and jumping on us while we were there. Afterwards we hiked to a waterfall in the jungle. It was fairly small so we could swim under it. It was so beautiful and we had fun swimming even though the water was freezing cold. The next day we went a town nearby and rode along the river in motorized "canoes". We stopped at a Quichua village, which is the tribe that lives in that area. They showed us a few of their dances and we tried a couple different drinks that they make, which were pretty good. We also got to see several wild monkeys near the river. They liked to steal food and drinks from the people on the beach, which was pretty funny to watch. We also went through some caves later that day. There was a river running through them, so we got to swim inside the caves as we were climbing through. It was really fun! Our last day started off with white-water rafting, which I had never done before. I loved it! I even got to be one of the captains of my boat. :) After rafting we went to another waterfall that was really big, so there's no way we could swim near it. We just hiked up next to it and were able to go through tunnels that had been built so we could walk behind it and touch the water. We also went on a cable car ride over a river. It was kind of like zip-lining but you were in a cable car with several other people. The views were gorgeous! On Easter Sunday we spent the whole day driving back from the jungle. It was really strange to not go to church, but we didn't need a church service to remember the importance of that day. This Easter was especially hard for the Taylor University community; Wednesday night we learned that Josh Larkin, a student at Taylor, had died in his room. I didn't know Josh, but I had seen him leading worship at school and knew that he had tons of friends on campus. Only a few people on the trip with us knew him, but all of us have friends who knew him well. We were all able to watch his memorial service on campus last Tuesday night, and we were all glad that we could see it. I'm so thankful for the group that's down here with me. This semester has been amazing, but I know it wouldn't have been as awesome without all of them. I knew a few of them really well and there were others that I didn't know at all when we got here, but now we're all really good friends. We have so much fun together and get along really well- I'll definitely miss them this summer!

Pictures! (finally)

I decided to post a few pictures on here since I haven't been able to do that yet! My original goal was to post pictures often, but when my computer broke down that kind of went out the window. But anyway, here they are now!

This is the view from my bedroom window

Our Taylor group (we're missing one person); they're seriously the best!

One of the beautiful beaches we visited in the Galápagos Islands

My visitors from the USA! It was so great to have them here with me!

Visitors from Home!

The past week has been one of my very favorites in Ecuador so far because my Mom, Dad, and Aunt Karen came to visit me! They were supposed to get here on Thursday afternoon, but they couldn't land in Quito on Wednesday night because of a huge storm. They ended up landing in Guayaquil and spending the night there, so they missed their connecting flight to Cuenca on Thursday. There are not flights from Guayaquil to Cuenca, and they couldn't take a car because their luggage was still on the plane. They ended up being flown back to Quito Thursday afternoon, and had to spend the night there. They got to go visit the Equator on Friday morning, which they loved, and then went to the airport for the 12pm Cuenca flight. However, American Airlines "forgot" to book them on that flight, so they had to sit around the airport until they could take the 6pm flight. My host mom and I went to pick them up, and I was so excited to see them! They stayed in a great hotel near my house so I was able to be there with them a lot. On Saturday we went zip-lining in the mountains, which was a big adventure but they loved it. On Sunday we went to church, ate lunch with my host family, and visited a beautiful viewpoint of the city. They were able to go to a great spa in the Baños (hot springs), visit the Centro, spend time with my host family, and hang out with the Taylor group throughout the week. It was so awesome to have them here with me and show them around. I'm so glad that they'll understand what I'm talking about when I get home, too. They left the following Wednesday, and made it home safely. American Airlines lost their luggage in Miami, but they were able to get it back the next day (needless to say, American Airlines is our least favorite airline in the universe at this point). I was so sad to see them go, but I only have 6 weeks left here in Ecuador. It's going to be an extremely bittersweet moment when I leave this place- I'll be so happy to see my family and friends again, but I've had the time of my life this semester. I really love Ecuador, especially Cuenca, and it feels like home. I've never lived away from Indiana and I never thought I could call another place home, but Ecuador is a very very close second for my favorite place in the world. I'm so blessed to be here, and I'm still amazed at the way God has provided for me and worked everything out for me to be here. Our group is leaving for the jungle on Thursday morning, so I'm sure I'll have more adventures to write about next week! :)

Lost in Translation

As all of you already know (or should know), Spanish is the language of Ecuador. While using Spanish is challenging and I'm definitely not fluent yet, there are some really cool differences between English and Spanish. One of them is that Spanish has two forms of the word "you". One word is "usted", which is formal and is used for elders, strangers, and showing respect. The other word is "tú", which is familiar and informal; it is used for children, family, and close friends. The cool thing about these words is how they're used in reference to God. Before I came to Ecuador, I thought that we would always use "usted" when praying, worshipping, or talking about God (considering that He's the Creator of the universe and all), but we don't. We always use "tú" in reference to God- the same word used for children, family, and friends. This is such a great reminder for me that God doesn't keep us at a distance- He's involved in every aspect of our lives. He's my Father and listens to my thoughts about anything that's going on in my life, from homesickness to understanding a language to getting my computer fixed. He doesn't call us servants or acquaintances- He calls us friends. I get to call God "tú", just like I do with my best friends and my little sister. ¡Qué chévere! (How cool!) Spanish also has two ways of saying "to know". The first word is "saber", which means to know information or to know about something. The other is "conocer", which means to know a person or a place personally. In my Spanish class this week, we talked about people who "saber" God but don't "conocer" Him- they know all about His characteristics, what He tells us to do, and what He's done, but they don't actually know Him on a personal level. There are so many people in the United States and in Ecuador who live without really knowing God- they just go through the motions and don't have a relationship with Him. It's so easy to sing the songs, listen to the sermons, and follow the rules without actually living life with God. This trip has been so challenging, but I know that God brought me here for a reason. I've been able to see another part of the world through His eyes- He loves the people of Ecuador and wants all of them to conocer Him, not just saber. Sometimes Spanish explains things more easily than English- they just get lost in translation. :)

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." -John 15:15

Computer-less Adventures

Well, it's been a long time since I've written anything, but that's mostly because I haven't had a computer for the past month. As soon as we arrived in Ecuador, my laptop stopped working. After being in the shop for a couple weeks, it worked for about a week and then stopped again. This time they said that the hard-drive is damaged and they have to replace it- hopefully I'll have it back in less than two weeks! I'm absolutely loving Ecuador and my classes are going really well. I'm learning a ton in my Spanish class and I'm able to use everything I learn outside of class. I'm getting a lot better at speaking and listening to Spanish, but I still have a long way to go. Latin Dance is a blast, but it's definitely a workout. I'm still trying to figure out how to move like I'm supposed to since I'm not the most coordinated person in the world. I got to celebrate Carnaval at the end of February, which is a big holiday here right before Lent. Everyone sprays each other with water and foam, even when you're walking around in the streets. My family went on vacation to a town nearby where my host grandma has a vacation house. There was a pool and an amazing view of the mountains. We had a great time eating delicious food and playing Carnaval together (I got thrown in the pool with my clothes on every day). After we got back from Carnaval, the Taylor group took our "spring break" trip to the Galapagos Islands. It was AMAZING! We snorkeled with sea lions, sting rays, sea turtles, and a small reef shark and got to enjoy the sun. Everyone in the group got lots of sunburn, but it was totally worth it! I managed to get lost again, but God sent help in the form of two small country children. It's a long story but a good one! Two weeks from today my mom, dad, and Aunt Karen will be arriving in Cuenca to spend a week with me. I can't wait! I've done well with homesickness so far but I miss my family a ton. I'm so excited that they're coming. :)

Getting Lost and Starting Classes

This was the first week of Spanish and Medical Physiology classes, and both are going really well so far! We have Spanish from 8am-11am Monday-Thursday and Physiology from 2pm-4pm Monday/Wednesday/Friday. It's so great to have Spanish class while I'm learning Spanish in my house and everywhere I go throughout the day. I'm learning tons of vocab and phrases, and reviewing all of the grammar I've learned in the past. I think my listening skills are getting a little better, but I guess I'll find out for sure at the next family get-together. Medical Physiology has been a review over basic biology this week, and we'll start new material next week. It's so interesting and I'm really excited to get into the new stuff. We'll be starting our Latin Dancing class soon too, which is every Friday morning from 8-10. Everyone is excited for that class to start. I've also started using the public buses more this week, and I only got lost once. I have to walk for about 10 minutes to our house after I get off the bus, but I couldn't remember which road to walk on. After calling my host mom about 3 times, I finally found the road. There's also an intersection where I have to turn right to get to the house, but instead of turning right, I ended up going straight because I wasn't sure which road to turn on. It took me about 20 minutes to get home rather than 10 minutes, and I think my host mom said that I walked about 2 miles out of my way. Needless to say, I remember where to go now! :)

Mi Familia y Mucho Espanol (My Family and Lots of Spanish)

My first weekend in Cuenca has been great! On Saturday I learned how to use the buses, which will be the main way that I travel this semester. After figuring out which buses to take with Maria, we all went to my host grandma's house, where I met Maria's family. They were very nice and I had a great time with them. I realized that I have a long way to go with my Spanish after trying to listen to their conversations. I could pick up on some words and the topic of the conversation, but comprehending everything that was being said was really tough. We had a small supper with Morris' family later, which was fun too. They were all very welcoming and super nice. I still had trouble with listening and understanding what they were saying. It was kind of frustrating because I want to understand and be able to talk with everyone, but I know it will get better with time. Like my Dad says, I have to be patient and remember that I've only been here for 6 days. On Sunday, we went to a school program for Carolina and then to church at Verbo. I LOVED the church service. The worship was awesome, and we even sang "Revelation Song" and "Heart of Worship" in Spanish, which we sing at home too. It was really cool to sing in Spanish, and I was actually able to understand! The sermon was harder to understand, but I did get the main points. After church we came home and spent the afternoon watching a movie and relaxing. My family is so patient with me and they answer all my questions about how to say things. I'm so excited to start my Spanish class and work on listening and speaking more. My Spanish and Physiology classes start tomorrow, so hopefully they both go really well! :)