Today we had orientation at USFQ. It consisted of Diego (one of our professors) telling us a little about Ecuador's history, Kelly Swing talking about Tiputini and what we can expect out in the Amazon, Haruna giving us a walking tour around campus, and registering Visa's. I can't say the day was super exciting, but it was alright.
View from the bus on the way to USFQ - To the left is the road to Quito, to the right the road takes you down to Cumbaya Valley
USFQ's campus is located in Cumbaya Valley, just to the east of Quito. The drive there isn't long, but it is very windy with lots of switch backs and some great views. In all it takes about 30 minutes to travel between Hotel Walther and USFQ. The Campus itself used to be owned by one of the main Banks of Quito, and was an area used to hold luncheons, promenades, galas, and other flashy events. Now it is a very fancy college campus with a resort-like feel to it. Luckily, it's much smaller than Michigan State so even if you do get lost, it's pretty easy to find where you are by just turning another corner. Lunch is prepared daily by the Gastrology department and consists of a three course meal: soup, main dish, and desert. The food is ok, but not fabulous. I wish I had declared vegetarian because the meat is definitly not my favorite and they eat a lot of it down here. And they don't drink milk ever really - if they do it is whole milk and it is warm and probably teeming with bacteria. I am going to the Supermaxi soon to hopefully pick up some milk or even soymilk.
A typical lunch at USFQ - standards are quite different from Michigan State
Once we arrived back at Hotel Walther I went to check out phones at the Porta store. We didn't get any because they have to bring the phones to the store, so that was kinda weird... Then several of us went for a "brisk" walk in Parque La Carolina. It was definitly good that we walked instead of running because we are all still adjusting to the altitude a bit, and even I got a headache and I have been here the longest. Once we got back to the hotel, Lisa B and I did circuits and strength training - she rows for Notre Dame and knows Mallory Glass, so we have been bonding over rowing a lot. :) Forrest, Tom N, and Katie K have also been rowers in the past. There are a lot of weird coincidences among the group. It's good though, because now I have several people who want to stay physically fit, and Lisa B has to or Coach Stone will go bonkers on her when she returns. (Well she didn't say that, but that is my interpretation of him).
Then it was dinner, which was weird because we had soup that we sprinkled popcorn in...the food was kinda disappointing, but at least there was white rice. Some people decided to drink a bit and hang out on the roof of our hotel. A few others hung out in my room and watched the "Jungles" episode of Planet Earth, narrated by David Attenborough of course. Finally it was time for bed because we had an early breakfast the next day...
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Day 2 of Orientation, and luckily this one was more interesting. Diego came again and talked about the Galapagos and GAIAS this time, going over basic points and giving us another short history lesson. Then Tom came and gave our Health and Safety talk, which was quite amusing to be honest. He told us about all the stupid stuff he did as a young man, nearly getting into serious trouble with the law in countries you wouldn't want to be thrown in jail in. As he put it, the jails in Ecuador are worse than hell, so don't have anything to do with any drugs whatsoever because there is nothing the US Embassy can do to help you. Basically we learned what to eat and what not to eat, what water is safe to drink (none except bottled basically...), how to adjust to altitude, what kind of condoms to use if we want to have sex (clearly that applies to me), and how to get taxi's and how to not get drugged, etc. Finally, we got to ask questions and then it was time for lunch.
After lunch we went to get our laptops configured to use the internet, and guess what? Mine is not compatible with their system because I have Windows XP Media Center Edition, and you have to have Windows XP Professional or Home Edition. GREATTTTTTTTTT I was thrilled to hear that news because now my internet will probably not work at all on the island. Basically - no one else in the world has the Windows XP that I have...so it's not compatible anywhere. Thank god the hotel has internet...
Back at the hotel we went to the porta store again, and the person we needed to talk to wasn't there. I came back to the hotel and bummed out, registered myself on the US Embassy website letting them know I am in Ecuador until the end of December, and then went to the mall with Tom, Danielle, Katie, and Lisa. It only took an hour and a half to get notebooks, water, gatorade, and shampoo...finally we made it back to the hotel where we are all bumming around, waiting for dinner. Hopefully tonight will be an eventful one, whether it be La Mariscal or more Planet Earth!
No comments:
Post a Comment