This past Sunday I went on my second mountain climbing excursion. Man, I´m loving these. It´s a lot of fun hanging out with friends, doing something a little crazy, and enjoying the crazy vistas.
We drove most of the way up the first mountain, and climbed the last 30 minutes to an hour to the peak. Then we went down and across to another mountain, and climbed that to the top. In between we lost an hour or so by taking the wrong path, and then Herb, Tom, and I spent some time dangling ourselves over ledges trying to find a way down from the cliff we had stumbled upon. No luck though. After spending enough time fearing for our lives, we decided to just back track. It was good fun though.
Can´t wait till the next mountain this coming Sunday! Woo hoo!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
The Mystery of the Disappearing Backpack
Ok. So I was standing on a corner chatting with a student of mine and I put my backpack down, just a few inches from my leg against the half wall we were leaning on. And when I went to leave it was just . . . gone. Vanished into thin air.
It was really an impressive trick. I didn´t have anything terribly valuable in there. Mostly my school supplies which is a pain, since I lost the book I use to teach my students and all of the tests that they had just taken.
But overall it was a pretty painless lesson. But never again will I be letting go of my belongings here.
It was really an impressive trick. I didn´t have anything terribly valuable in there. Mostly my school supplies which is a pain, since I lost the book I use to teach my students and all of the tests that they had just taken.
But overall it was a pretty painless lesson. But never again will I be letting go of my belongings here.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Music!
So here´s some irony for you. I come to Ecuador and discover the band My Chemical Romance.
Ok, so I knew about them before, and I really only discovered one CD entited The Black Parade. But I have decided to add it to my list of perfect albums. There are certain albums in which I love every song, or at least every song fits just right in the context of the album. So here is my list, in no particular order, and probably incomplete.
The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance
Llanto de un Heroe - Avalanch
The Wall - Pink Floyd
The Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden
...And Justice for All - Metallica
Rust in Peace - Megadeth
Scenes from a Memory - Dream Theater
American Idiot - Greenday
Revolutions Per Minute - Rise Against
Taking Over - Overkill
Ok, so I knew about them before, and I really only discovered one CD entited The Black Parade. But I have decided to add it to my list of perfect albums. There are certain albums in which I love every song, or at least every song fits just right in the context of the album. So here is my list, in no particular order, and probably incomplete.
The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance
Llanto de un Heroe - Avalanch
The Wall - Pink Floyd
The Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden
...And Justice for All - Metallica
Rust in Peace - Megadeth
Scenes from a Memory - Dream Theater
American Idiot - Greenday
Revolutions Per Minute - Rise Against
Taking Over - Overkill
El Corazón
So yesterday I hiked up El Corazón, a mountain in the area about 4800 meters high. It was about a four-and-a-half hour ascent, and the altitude at the end really kicked my ass. But it was great fun, and I´ll be doing another mountain next Sunday. Here are some beautiful pics that I took.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Observations 2
So it´s been a long time since I´ve posted anything here. This has been mostly because teaching has taken up much more of my life than I expected. And also because I was out for the count for a few weeks with a cold. But, here I am, and I´m doing really well. Enjoying myself and everything that I´m doing.
I think that I may have some new adventures and pictures to post soon, but for now, here are a few more observations about Quito.
There don´t seem to be any emissions laws, since the buses here spew large clouds of black fumes out behind them.
There is no such thing as a no-smoking establishment, and people smoke inside pretty much anywhere.
You can get any movie, TV show, or CD you want for incredibly cheap. And they are all bootleg. There is a store on every corner full of pirate booty, and you have to go out of your way to find and buy a legitimate copy of anything. I have, however, acumulated a significant movie library for next to nothing. (Two new favorites: The Watchmen, and Fanboys.)
There are (as one might expect) some real cultural differences here. For example, my students, when asked to write about their ideal teacher on a test, almost unanimously wanted a fun and friendly teacher. Almost no one mentioned knowledge of the subject matter as being important.
Also, whining is very common here. For children, for adults, men, and women. It´s considered normal, and somewhat polite. But it´s very disconcerting to have grown men and women whining and whimpering at you. This is something very strange for most of the teachers here and ironically, when our students whine at us, it has the opposite effect to what they intend.
Public urination is also common. And not just from drunks and homeless, but you will see men in business suits in broad daylight peeing on a wall. I don´t know, maybe bathrooms are hard to find around here.
It difficult to get rid of the pedestrian mentality of New York. Here drivers are not nearly so careful about pedestrians, and unlike in New York, those of us who walk aren´t really considered to have the right of way. Also, it can be difficult to judge the speed of cars at times. I´m not sure why.
Anyway, that´s all for now.
Chao chao a todos.
I think that I may have some new adventures and pictures to post soon, but for now, here are a few more observations about Quito.
There don´t seem to be any emissions laws, since the buses here spew large clouds of black fumes out behind them.
There is no such thing as a no-smoking establishment, and people smoke inside pretty much anywhere.
You can get any movie, TV show, or CD you want for incredibly cheap. And they are all bootleg. There is a store on every corner full of pirate booty, and you have to go out of your way to find and buy a legitimate copy of anything. I have, however, acumulated a significant movie library for next to nothing. (Two new favorites: The Watchmen, and Fanboys.)
There are (as one might expect) some real cultural differences here. For example, my students, when asked to write about their ideal teacher on a test, almost unanimously wanted a fun and friendly teacher. Almost no one mentioned knowledge of the subject matter as being important.
Also, whining is very common here. For children, for adults, men, and women. It´s considered normal, and somewhat polite. But it´s very disconcerting to have grown men and women whining and whimpering at you. This is something very strange for most of the teachers here and ironically, when our students whine at us, it has the opposite effect to what they intend.
Public urination is also common. And not just from drunks and homeless, but you will see men in business suits in broad daylight peeing on a wall. I don´t know, maybe bathrooms are hard to find around here.
It difficult to get rid of the pedestrian mentality of New York. Here drivers are not nearly so careful about pedestrians, and unlike in New York, those of us who walk aren´t really considered to have the right of way. Also, it can be difficult to judge the speed of cars at times. I´m not sure why.
Anyway, that´s all for now.
Chao chao a todos.
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