So we went to two musems of work by a very famous Ecuadorian painter named Guayasamin. It was very moving, and he immediately became one of my favorite painters. The pictures below don´t do justice to the originals, but it´s the best I could do.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
El Centro
Hola a todos,
Yesterday I went to El Centro Historical and walked around a bit. I took some pictures of an old church that we visited and whose tower we climbed. Here are the pics:
Yesterday I went to El Centro Historical and walked around a bit. I took some pictures of an old church that we visited and whose tower we climbed. Here are the pics:
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Pictures!
Howdy!
Yesterday I went to El Parque Metropolitano. It´s a huge forest full of paths and random fields. Here are some photos.
Yesterday I went to El Parque Metropolitano. It´s a huge forest full of paths and random fields. Here are some photos.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Anoche fue una noche de musica
Hey everyone,
Last night was pretty busy for me, but very cool.
First I went with Lori to a dance studio where they teach bellydancing, and maybe other types of arabic dance. She was going to be playing a type of arabic drum with her former teacher and another friend. So I was able to watch them put on a show of complex and entertwined rythms for the small class that was going on. The two drummers were professional musicians and were quite impressive in their improv and soloing. Lori also impressed me not only with her ability, but with her understanding of what they were talking about. It was definitely entertaining.
Then we went to a restaurant to watch a live faminco performace, with dancers and all. The singer sang in a high-pitched, nasally whine, which I´m told is the standard for the style of music. The guitars used complicated, and oft-changing chords, and a very interesting style of right hand strumming/picking. The percussionist (a friend of Lori´s, which is why we were there) played a Peruvian instrument, I believe, which was basically a wooden box that he sat on and drummed with his hands and fingers, changing the pitch by where he hit it, or by shifting his body on the thing, moving his leg up and down, etc. The dancers wore long flowing skirts that swished and twirled, and thick heels that they stomped to the beat. One of the dancers was confident and forceful, and obviously put her entirety into the dance. The other was a little hesitant, and it seemed like it might have been her first public performance.
After this we met up with some other people and went to a discotequa. They played a mix of music, but primarily salsa and merengue. This is when I realized that, whereas in the States no one can dance, here everyone can dance. I learned quickly that dance lessons will be about as important as Spanish lessons. But apparently there is always some Ecuadorian willing to try to teach a gringo a few steps. As a student, I´m pretty sure I failed miserably, but I was a few drinks in, so it didn´t bother me too much. Plus, I met some cool people, so I enjoyed myself overall.
If I had known how the night would turn out, I would have brought my cammera. But I´m always hesitant to carry it around with me, as robberies seem to be the norm around here at night. But perhaps I´ll start taking it anyway because I don´t want to miss some of this stuff.
Alright, that´s all for now.
Hasta luego.
Last night was pretty busy for me, but very cool.
First I went with Lori to a dance studio where they teach bellydancing, and maybe other types of arabic dance. She was going to be playing a type of arabic drum with her former teacher and another friend. So I was able to watch them put on a show of complex and entertwined rythms for the small class that was going on. The two drummers were professional musicians and were quite impressive in their improv and soloing. Lori also impressed me not only with her ability, but with her understanding of what they were talking about. It was definitely entertaining.
Then we went to a restaurant to watch a live faminco performace, with dancers and all. The singer sang in a high-pitched, nasally whine, which I´m told is the standard for the style of music. The guitars used complicated, and oft-changing chords, and a very interesting style of right hand strumming/picking. The percussionist (a friend of Lori´s, which is why we were there) played a Peruvian instrument, I believe, which was basically a wooden box that he sat on and drummed with his hands and fingers, changing the pitch by where he hit it, or by shifting his body on the thing, moving his leg up and down, etc. The dancers wore long flowing skirts that swished and twirled, and thick heels that they stomped to the beat. One of the dancers was confident and forceful, and obviously put her entirety into the dance. The other was a little hesitant, and it seemed like it might have been her first public performance.
After this we met up with some other people and went to a discotequa. They played a mix of music, but primarily salsa and merengue. This is when I realized that, whereas in the States no one can dance, here everyone can dance. I learned quickly that dance lessons will be about as important as Spanish lessons. But apparently there is always some Ecuadorian willing to try to teach a gringo a few steps. As a student, I´m pretty sure I failed miserably, but I was a few drinks in, so it didn´t bother me too much. Plus, I met some cool people, so I enjoyed myself overall.
If I had known how the night would turn out, I would have brought my cammera. But I´m always hesitant to carry it around with me, as robberies seem to be the norm around here at night. But perhaps I´ll start taking it anyway because I don´t want to miss some of this stuff.
Alright, that´s all for now.
Hasta luego.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The Trip
Hola a todos,
The trip went quite smoothly. There were no hiccups, although it was a long and exhausting journey. I was impressed with Avianca airlines. I had never heard of them and for some reason expected the service to be subpar. They were, however, the nicest airplanes I´ve been on, and the service was much friendlier than US airlines I´ve flown with.
I´m staying in a hostel for a few weeks, until I can move into my apartment. Perhaps I´ll take some pictures, but it isn´t that exciting.
Fortunately, Lori and Laura are both here, and they have taken me under their wings. I already spent most of my first day walking around the city, being introduced to a lot of people, and eating new (and rather tasty: I´m looking at you tomate de arbol) foods. It was a little overwhelming and I must admit I had a breif moment of panic where I wondered what the hell I´d gotten myself into. Luckily that has passed. Everyone has been friendly and helpful, and I´m looking forward to the rest of my year here, although I have a feeling that it might be a hectic one.
But the time is ripe for it.
That´s all for now.
Chao.
The trip went quite smoothly. There were no hiccups, although it was a long and exhausting journey. I was impressed with Avianca airlines. I had never heard of them and for some reason expected the service to be subpar. They were, however, the nicest airplanes I´ve been on, and the service was much friendlier than US airlines I´ve flown with.
I´m staying in a hostel for a few weeks, until I can move into my apartment. Perhaps I´ll take some pictures, but it isn´t that exciting.
Fortunately, Lori and Laura are both here, and they have taken me under their wings. I already spent most of my first day walking around the city, being introduced to a lot of people, and eating new (and rather tasty: I´m looking at you tomate de arbol) foods. It was a little overwhelming and I must admit I had a breif moment of panic where I wondered what the hell I´d gotten myself into. Luckily that has passed. Everyone has been friendly and helpful, and I´m looking forward to the rest of my year here, although I have a feeling that it might be a hectic one.
But the time is ripe for it.
That´s all for now.
Chao.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
La Primera
Hello all,
I'm about to start getting ready to head to the airport to catch my flight to Quito, Ecuador. This will be my blog documenting my experience there. Hopefully my future posts will be more interesting than this one. You can keep in touch with me via email, facebook, or this blog.
Also, I will be "monetizing" this blog, which means there will be advertisements on it. If you are seeing ads right now, then please click on them. In fact click on them as many times as you can. You see, I get a little bit of money every time someone visits this blog or clicks on the ads. That means that you can help me finance this adventure of mine. And since I'm poor, I see no reason why I should be above begging, or using Google ads.
Feel free to contact me or to share my blog with others.
Cheers, everyone. Next time we speak, I'll be in Ecuador!
I'm about to start getting ready to head to the airport to catch my flight to Quito, Ecuador. This will be my blog documenting my experience there. Hopefully my future posts will be more interesting than this one. You can keep in touch with me via email, facebook, or this blog.
Also, I will be "monetizing" this blog, which means there will be advertisements on it. If you are seeing ads right now, then please click on them. In fact click on them as many times as you can. You see, I get a little bit of money every time someone visits this blog or clicks on the ads. That means that you can help me finance this adventure of mine. And since I'm poor, I see no reason why I should be above begging, or using Google ads.
Feel free to contact me or to share my blog with others.
Cheers, everyone. Next time we speak, I'll be in Ecuador!
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