lørdag den 24. oktober 2015

Culture shock - A moment of frustration!

Before you read this post I just want to say that I still love Ecuador and I love being here! I would not change it for anything and if you are considering going you should definitely do it! Just look on the rest of my awesome experiences down here. I just want to explain one of the bad moments of being in Ecuador and volunteering in a foreign country. But please do not let that keep you from doing anything similar! Because this only describes 30 minutes of more than 2 months of awesome experiences.

I want to talk a bit about culture shock. To be honest I have not given much thought about "Culture Shock" until Monday this week.
What happened is that the bus did not stop at my bus stop in the morning when I had to go to work, and it made me so frustrated that it made me say the words "I hate Ecuador, I want to go home to Denmark". (To be fair, the hate part had already disappeared after having the first child through therapy in the morning),

Why it made me so frustrated might need a bit more explanation about culture shock and the bus system in Ecuador.

Normally your culture shock starts out in the "Honeymoon Phase" where you find everything interesting and fascinating.

The next stage is where you find everything frustrating and I think in the start I pretty much skipped this part because I have had a good preparation talking about culture shock in both Denmark and Ecuador. And VASE explained us everything during our orientation camp - including how to take the bus.

The third stage is where you start to adapt to the new culture and get more used to everything. And I think I have been in this stage most of the time and not noticed the small annoyances. But Monday I was definitely thrown straight back into stage 2!

The bus I take in the morning is usually so full that not one more person could fit in and you have to keep near the doors, if you want to be sure to make it out the bus at your stop. In the buses are 2 or 3 stop buttons in total - And they don't always work. And if they do not work, you have to yell "¡Gracias!" and they will let you out of the bus. In the bus you have the driver and a person who you have to pay, when you exit the bus. I have to pay 25 cents to take the bus to work.

When we reached my stop, where the bus usually always stops, I realized it was not starting to pull over (even though the button was actually working!), and therefore I started yelling "¡Gracias!", but nothing happened. And people in the front of the bus even started yelling it too. Then the bus stopped for a red light, and I asked them to open the doors, but once more, nothing happened. One person made me more frustrated by saying that it was not a stop, because the bus did not stop at my stop! At the next stop an annoyed bus driver finally let me out of the bus. And then I had to walk all the way back to my stop before walking the 25 minutes from there to my project.
Normally this experience would only have made me a slight bit annoyed, but because I have not thought about the difference in culture, it hit me hard. Because it was not only the thing about the bus that bothered me. It was all of Ecuador and it systems. And for a good half hour I hated all of Ecuador.

I hated the bus system.
I hated that I do not understand the language.
I hated that there are so many Germans down here and that they always speak German to each other, when we are here to learn Spanish!
I hated how they always use coriander in all of their food.
I hated the Ecuadorian way of never giving a straight answer.
I hated how you always have to watch your stuff closely if you do not want to be robbed.
And I could easily add to the list!

Even when I had my bag sliced open, I could think "Okay, it is my own fault for not watching mystuff closely enough and it is what could be expected". I was only slightly annoyed when that happened.

But it just took me the walk to the project and having the first child through therapy before I was alright again. And I know that I am here to make a difference. I am here to experience these cultural differences, both the good and the bad. I am here to gain a bigger understanding of the world. I am here for the good and the bad moments. I am here to learn. I am here to observe. I am here for so many reasons.
And I love Ecuador. I love my project. And I love being here! I have already almost forgotten this experience and everything is great again.

Ama La Vida! All you need is Ecuador!


Picture Credit:
http://cdn1.theodysseyonline.com/files/2015/08/23/635758951256652806-343703604_178956871-e1424039522241.imgopt1000x70.jpg


Før du læser dette indlæg vil jeg gerne pointere, at jeg stadigvæk elsker Ecuador og jeg elsker at være her. Jeg ville ikke bytte mine oplevelser her for noget som helst og hvis du overvejer at tage afsted synes jeg bare at du skal gøre det. Bare overvej hvor mange andre fantastiske oplevelser jeg har haft hernede. Jeg vil bare gerne forklare en af de lidt dårligere ting ved at være volontør i et fremmed land, men lad ikke dette stoppe dig! For det er stadigvæk en fantastisk oplevelse at være hernede og jeg ville ikke bytte det for noget.

Det jeg gerne vil snakke om er begrebet "kulturchok". Noget jeg ikke havde tænkt specielt meget på indtil i mandags.
Det der skete var, at min bus ikke stoppede ved mit busstoppested på vej til mit projekt i mandags. Og jeg blev så frustreret at jeg faktisk sagde "Jeg hader Ecuador, og jeg vil hjem til Danmark". (Denne følelse var dog forsvundet allerede efter vi havde haft det første barn igennem terapi).

Men hvorfor jeg blev så frustreret kræver måske at jeg forklarer lidt mere om kulturchok og bussystemet i Ecuador.

Kulturchok starter normalt med at du befinder dig i "eventyrfasen" hvor du finder alt fascinerende og interessant.

I den næste del begynder alt at blive frustrerende og for mit vedkommende har jeg indtil nu ikke rigtig befundet mig i denne fase, fordi jeg fra ICYEs og VASEs side har fået god forberedelse på hvordan livet er i Ecuador.

Det tredje stadie er der hvor du vænner dig til kulturen og alting virker mere "normalt". Og for mit vedkommende har jeg, formentligt grundet den grundige forberedelse, for det meste befundet mig i dette stadie, men mandag røg jeg i hvert fald for et kort øjeblik ud af dette stadie og fandt ALT ved Ecuador frustrerende.

Den bus jeg tager om morgenen er normalt proppet med mennesker, og du skal holde dig i nærheden af udgangen, hvis du gerne vil kunne komme ud ved dit stop. Busserne har stopknapper - men som regel kun 2 eller 3 i alt. Og det er ikke altid at de virker!
Hvis de ikke virker skal du råbe "¡Gracias!" for at få bussen til at stoppe. Personalet i en bus består af en. der tager imod penge, når du går ud af bussen og chaufføren. Jeg skal betale 25 cent for at komme fra min værtsfamilie til stoppestedet nærmest mit projekt.
Da vi nåede mit busstoppested, hvor bussen normalt altid stopper, lagde jeg mærke til at bussen ikke begyndte at trække ind for at stoppe (også selvom stopknappen rent faktisk virkede i denne bus", så derfor begyndte jeg at råbe "¡Gracias!", men intet skete. Folk foran i bussen begyndte også at sige det, men det havde ingen effekt.
Lidt senere stoppede bussen for et rødt lys, hvorefter jeg bad dem om at åbne dørene, så jeg kunne komme ud, men igen skete der intet og jeg blev endnu mere frustreret da en ecuadorianer fortalte mig "at dette jo ikke er et stop" - men bussen stoppede ikke ved mit stoppested. Og ved det næste stoppested blev jeg endelig lukket ud af bussen af en lettere irriteret buschauffør. Så jeg blev nødt til at gå hele vejen tilbage til mit busstoppested, før jeg kunne begynde den 25 minutter lange gåtur til mit projekt.
Og normalt ville sådan en simpel episode ikke have gjort mig specielt frustreret og jeg ville have kunnet lade det passere. Men fordi jeg ikke har tænkt specielt meget over det gik alt ved Ecuador mig pludselig på. Og i en god halv time hadede jeg Ecuador.

Jeg hadede bussystemet.
Jeg hadede at jeg ikke forstår sproget.
Jeg hadede hvor mange tyskere der er her, og at mine største sprogudfordringer er med folk der snakker tysk, og ikke spansk! I et spansktalende land.
Jeg hadede hvordan de altid bruger koriander i maden.
Jeg hadede hvordan man aldrig kan få et direkte svar af ecuadorianere.
Jeg hadede hvordan man virkelig skal passe på ens ting, hvis man ikke vil bestjæles.

Og jeg kan nemt føje flere ting til listen.

Jeg var mindre frustreret, da jeg fik skåret en taske op og stjålet penge, end jeg var over ikke at være blevet lukket ud af bussen.

Men efter at have gået turen til mit projekt og haft det første barn igennem terapi havde jeg det okay igen og den store frustration jeg oplevede har bare været som følge af en ophobning af irritationer. Men jeg ved at jeg er her for at gøre en forskel. Jeg er her for at opleve disse kulturelle forskelle, både de gode og de dårlige. Jeg er her for at få en større verdensforståelse. Jeg er her for de gode og de dårlige oplevelser. Jeg er her for at lære. Jeg er her for at observere. Der er så mange grunde til at jeg er her.
Og jeg elsker Ecuador. Jeg elsker mit projekt. Og jeg elsker at være her. Jeg har næsten allerede glemt oplevelsen og alt er godt igen.

Ama La Vida! All you need is Ecuador!

lørdag den 17. oktober 2015

Two months in Ecuador!

Today I have been in Ecuador for two months! It is crazy to think about how fast time goes by. I have had so many great experiences since I arrived here, I have managed to see some of the country, make friends, have learned enough Spanish to having had an hour long conversation, changed my project and my living situation and a lot more! But it also means that I have spent 1/6 of my time in Ecuador. I get to wake up every day in the lovely country of Ecuador. I get to practice Spanish every day with a lovely host family (who makes me a lunch pack every morning and even cleans my room and my clothes, even though I tell them, that I can do it) and I get to work at a project I love!
Life is great, because "All you need is Ecuador"!
I still have a hard time when people tells me that time has passed in Denmark and tell me about fall and today my parents even sent me a picture from a store selling Christmas decorations!
But then again - time passes down here as well. The rain time has started which means that we have had major showers almost every afternoon since Tuesday. And the fact that rain down here makes me really happy shows one way I have changed since arriving. Normally, I get really depressed from rain in Denmark. But it have been so dry and dusty since I arrived here, so rain is great news! 
And they are also selling Christmas decorations down here and have had for a while now. Time passes by down here as well, but I find it really weird that we are in the middle of October.

I dag markerer den dag, hvor jeg har været to måneder i Ecuador. Det er vildt at tænke på hvor hurtigt tiden går og hvor mange fantastiske oplevelser jeg har haft siden jeg ankom her. Jeg har oplevet noget af landet, jeg har fået nye venner, jeg har lært spansk nok til at jeg kunne have en time lang samtale med min værtsmor og jeg har skiftet både projekt og bosituation i løbet af den tid. Men det betyder også at 1/6 af min tid i Ecuador er gået.
Jeg får lov til hver dag at vågne op i det dejlige Ecuador. Jeg får lov til at øve spansk med min dejlige værtsfamilie hver dag (som laver madpakke til mig hver morgen og gør mit værelse rent og rengør mit tøj, selvom jeg insisterer på at jeg selv kan gøre det) og jeg får lov til hver dag at vågne op til et projekt jeg elsker at arbejde på.
Livet er godt, fordi alt du har brug for er Ecuador.
Jeg har det stadigvæk svært med at folk fortæller mig at tiden går i Danmark og fortæller mig omkring efteråret og i dag sendte mine forældre mig et billede fra en butik, der solgte juledekorationer.
Men: Tiden går jo også i Ecuador. Her er regntiden startet hvilket betyder at vi har haft enorme regnbyer hver eftermiddag siden tirsdag. Og det viser også en måde hvorpå Ecuador har ændret mig: Fordi jeg har været rigtig glad for regnen! Og normalt finder jeg regn deprimerende. Men det har været så tørt og støvet siden jeg ankom, så regnvejr er virkelig gode nyheder.

Yesterday I went with a group of volunteers (Anne, Brónagh, Johanna, Lena, Leonie, Nina, Sofie, Sophie - I hope I did not forget someone!) to an "All You Can Eat and Drink" event at Papa John's in Quito. People was walking around with pizzas and you could get one slice that you had to eat, before you could get the next - and you also had to eat the crust. You could eat for 3 hours, and we arrived at around 4 o'clock, so we ate our dinner there. It was not an Ecuadorian experience and I did not crave pizza as much as the rest of the guys, but it was really nice to meet up with the volunteers that I do not hang out with normally and have a relaxed Friday afternoon and still be home in time to get plenty of sleep.

I går var jeg sammen med en gruppe af de andre volontører (Anne, Brónagh, Johanna, Lena, Leonie, Nina, Sofie, Sophie - Jeg håber at jeg ikke har glemt nogen!) til et "Alt Du Kan Spise og Drikke" event hos Papa John's i Quito. Folk gik rundt med pizza og du kunne få et stykke af gangen, som du skulle spise, inden du kunne få det næste stykke - inklusiv skorpen. Du kunne spise i 3 timer, og vi ankom klokken 4, så vi spiste vores aftensmad der. Det var ikke en ecuadoriansk oplevelse og jeg havde egentligt ikke specielt meget lyst til pizza, men det var rart at mødes med de andre frivillige som jeg ikke ser så ofte, og en dejlig afslappet fredag, hvor man stadigvæk kunne nå hjem og få masser af mad.
Papa John's

Papa John's - All you can eat.
Papa John's - Alt hvad du kan spise
I also woke up this morning thinking "I must have slept in today, it must be 10 or 11 o'clock and I am going to be late." When I looked on the clock it turned out it was not even 7 o'clock! But I get up at 6 o'clock and go to bed quite early normally, so that might be the reason.

Jeg er også blevet vandt til at sove meget og stå op klokken 6. I morges vågnede jeg nemlig og tænkte "Jeg har sovet meget længe i dag. Klokken må være 10 eller 11 og jeg kommer for sent." Hvorefter jeg kiggede på uret og så at den ikke engang var 7!

Orchids and Chocolate
Orkideer og Chokolade

Orchids and Chocholate
Orkideer og Chokolade

Today I went with Brónagh, Rebecca and Stefanie to the Botanical Garden in Quito - "Jardín Botanico de Quito".
Turned out that they had a special exhibition from the 14th to the 18th of October so of course there was a lot of people. The theme was "Orchids and Chocolate" which meant that besides from the normal plants and orchids (there are two permanent houses with orchids in the botanical garden) from all over Ecuador there was a lot of tents with special and additional orchids and a lot of them had won awards. It was pretty cool and Ecuador is the country with the biggest diversity of orchids.

I dag har jeg været i Quitos botaniske have sammen med Brónagh, Rebecca og Stefanie.
Det vidste sig at de havde en speciel udstilling fra den 14. oktober til den 18. october, så selvfølgelig var der en hel masse andre besøgende. Udstillingen havde titlen "orkideer og chokolade", hvilket betød at der udover de normalle planter og orkideer (der er normalt to huse med orkideer fra Ecuador) var en hel masse telte med specielle og additionelle orkideer og mange af dem havde vundet forskellige priser. Det var rigtig flot og Ecuador har også den største biodiversitet af orkideer.

Orchids
Orkideer
Price
Præmie

Winning orchids
Vinder orkideer
Orchids
Orkideer
Orchids
Orkideer
Really small orchids as well! One dollar coin for comparison.
Virkelig små orkideer! En doller i baggrunden for sammenligning.
And what made the day even better? Chocolate!
Ecuador claims to have the best chocolate in the world, and taste pretty good. The chocolate part of the exhibition consisted of tents where you could taste chocolate from the different chocolate brands of Ecuador. And we had a really good brownie (with lots of chocolate) as well.

Og den ting der gjorde dagen endnu bedre? Chokolade!
Ecuador påstår at have verdens bedste chokolade og det er også ret godt. Chokolade-delen af udstillingen bestod af telte, hvor du kunne smage chokolade fra forskellige ecuadorianske mærker. Og vi fik også virkeligt gode brownies (med masser af chokolade).
One place for tasting chocolate.
Et af de steder hvor man kunne smage chokolade.
Me, Stefanie, Brónagh and Rebecca in one of the orchid tents.
Mig, Stefanie, Brónagh og Rebecca i et af orkide-teltene.
At some point we walked into a deserted part of the botanical garden. We were afraid we had ended up a place we were not allowed to be, but there was a playground and we reached the conclusion that it was an old part of the botanical garden.

As the responsible adult I am, who are going to stay ten more months in Ecuador far away from home I decided to try the playground together with Stefanie. And it was really fun.

På et tidspunkt gik vi ind i en del af den botaniske have. Vi var bange for, at vi var gået ind et forbudt sted, men der var en legeplads og vi nåede frem til, at det bare var en gammel del af den botaniske have.

Og som det meget ansvarlige menneske jeg er, der skal tilbringe 10 måneder mere i Ecuador langt hjemmefra, besluttede jeg mig for at afprøve legepladsen sammen med Stefanie. Og vi havde det sjovt!
Playground!
Legeplads!
In the end of the day we had crepes (sweet or salt) and tea at a cafe to relax a bit before heading home.

For at slutte dagen af spiste vi henholdsvis madpandekager og dessertpandekager og drak te for at slappe af, før vi tog hjem igen efter en dejlig dag.

onsdag den 14. oktober 2015

Vamos a la Playa - Atacames.

This Friday was free because it was the Independence Day of Guayaquil. As we had another day off I went with some of the other volunteers to Atacames, which is a beach.

When I told my host family where I was heading they told me that the beach was bad and very dangorous and even my Lonely Planet guidebook said that it was hard to see why people even bothered going to Atacames. However, as we had already booked the hostel we decided to go anyway.

We decided to go Thursday evening at 6 o'clock, as we knew the bus ride would be roughly 6.5 hours. Here we encountered the first challenge. When the persons living near the bus terminal tried buying the tickets a couple of days in advance they were sold out.
So instead, we had to leave at 23.30 and drive all night. So I met up with Brónagh, Constanza, Felix, Rebecca and Stefanie, we cooked together and went to the bus terminal together.
As I sleep very badly in buses I did not get a lot of sleep that night and I ended up observing the other persons in the bus. Since Quito is at an elevation of 2,850 meters and Atacames of course is at sea level, we had quite a steep climb down and one of the others actually got problems with her ear because of this. Lesson learned: Do not sleep on a bus going down almost 3 kilometers without releasing pressure a single time after living almost two months in an altitude of 2,850 meters!
Luckily, I did not have any problems, but maybe that is just because I could not sleep.

We arrived in Atacames at 5 o'clock in the morning, so the bus ride there was actually quick.
When we arrived in Atacames we went straight to the ticket office, that was actually open, to buy tickets for the return bus Sunday (you can only buy the tickets in the place you want to go from). New problem! They only had three tickets for the early bus, and the rest had take a bus 3 hours later.
If we had known the system, we might have been able to catch an earlier bus, because we found out Sunday that they ran extra buses the entire day. We know that for the next time. They probably ran extra buses because of the holiday where all Ecuadorians normally travels towards the beach.

Afterwards we went to our hostel and took a mototaxi that are commonly used there, more than normal taxis. They fit 3 persons normally, but if the police is not around they can fit 6!

Da vi ikke skulle arbejde i fredags på grund af en national helligdag, valgte jeg at tage til stranden i Atacames sammen med nogle af de andre volontører.

Da jeg fortalte min værtsfamilie hvor jeg ville rejse hen. fortalte de mig at det var en dårlig strand og et meget farligt sted. Selv min Lonely Planet guide fortalte, at de ikke forstår hvorfor de lokale altid tager dertil i weekenderne. Men da vi allerede havde booket vores hostel, valgte vi at tage afsted alligevel.

Vi besluttede os for at tage afsted torsdag aften klokken 6, da vi vidste at turen ville komme til at tage omkring 6,5 time. Men da vi forsøgte at købe billetter var bussen udsolgt og vi blev nødt til at tage bussen 23.30 i stedet. Jeg mødtes mod Brónagh, Constanza, Felix, Rebecca og Stefanie inden, vi lavede mad og tog sammen til busterminalen om aftenen.
Da jeg sover rigtig dårligt i busser fik jeg ikke meget søvn den nat. Siden Quito er i 2.850 meters højde og vi tog til havet, var der en stor ændring i højde. Hvilket også medførte at en af de andre fik øreproblemer, der også varede ved efter turen. Men det lærte os noget: Sov ikke på en hel bustur med en højdeændring på næsten 3 km efter at have boet næsten to måneder i 2.850 meters højde.
Jeg oplevede heldigvis ikke nogle problemer, hvilket formentligt skyldes, at jeg ikke kunne sove.

Vi ankom til Atacames klokken 5 om morgenen, og skyndte os hen til billetkontoret for at købe billetter til hjemturen (returbilletterne kan kun købes på destinationen). De havde kun tre billetter til den tidlige bus, så vi måtte dele os op og tre af os måtte tage en bus 3 timer senere. Men måske havde det været muligt for os at komme med en tidligere bus, for vi fandt senere ud af at de havde indsat ekstra busser, men det ved vi til næste gang. Der var formentligt ekstra busser fordi fredag var en helligdag.

Efterfølgende tog vi hen til vores hostel i en mototaxi. Normalt kan man være 3 personer i én, men hvis politiet ikke er i nærheden kan man nemt være 6 personer.

Mototaxi
We actually found out that we should have gotten of the bus a stop earlier, at the city of Tonsupa very near to Atacames, but then we would not have had the possibility to buy the return tickets that early and would probably have been stuck in Atacames until Monday. It was to our luck that no one read the hostel information carefully.
We slept two hours in the hostel before heading out to the beach.

Friday we spent at the beach in Atacames, some people in the water, but most of the day I spent at the beach talking and reading. I think we were lucky that it was a bit cloudy, because it is warm at the beach! It really makes you appreciate the warm, but not too warm climate of Quito and the cold mornings and nights. What also made it worse was the humidity!

Vi fandt faktisk ud af, at vi skulle være stået af bussen et stop tidligere i Tonsupa, der ligger lige ved siden af Atacames. Men hvis vi var stået af det, så havde vi ikke haft muligheden for at købe returbilletter og var formentligt strandet i Atacames til mandag. Vi var heldige at ingen læste informationen omkring hostellet.
Da vi ankom sov vi to timer, før vi var klar til strandtur.

Fredag tilbragte vi vil stranden i Atacames, og selvom mange af de andre var meget i vandet tilbragte jeg dagen med at snakke og læse. Vi var formentligt ret heldige at det var overskuet, fordi det var stadigvæk helt utroligt varmt. Og luftfugtigheden gjorde det endnu værre. Da det også var virkelig varmt om natten fik det en til at savne Quitos perfekte klima: Tilpas varmt om dagen og koldt om natten.

Atacames

Saturday morning I spent with Felix and Stefanie at the beach in Tonsupa and I spent most of the time playing around in the high waves. In the afternoon, the others joined us, and I again spend most of the time in the water. 1½ hour playing in the waves without a break and without getting cold. There was a lot of people, but I really enjoyed the beach, but maybe the other beaches are way nicer and that is why people say "Do not bother with going to Atacames".

Lørdag formiddag tilbragte jeg sammen med Felix og Stefanie i Tonsupa og denne dag tilbragte jeg størstedelen af tiden i vandet. Om eftermiddagen tog vi til stranden igen hele gruppen. Hele dagen var der store bølger og om eftermiddagen tilbragte jeg 1½ time i vandet i streg, hvor jeg legede rundt i bølgerne. Alt i alt en rigtig succesfuld dag og den dejlig strand med rigtig mange mennekser, men måske er det bare fordi vi ikke har oplevet de andre strande i Ecuador?

Atacames
Sunday we had to go home and I took the late bus with Brónagh and Rebecca. As we had to wait until 13.30 before the bus left, so we went to Atacames, enjoyed the last views of the beach and had an early lunch. When we headed back the bus ride ended up taking a long time! As everybody was heading back to Quito there was a lot of cars and buses on the road and we was back in Quito at 9 o'clock, and had to share a taxi back to where we live.

As I spent the weekend at the beach, I ate lots of fish and seafood that you do not normally eat in Quito, because it is expensive. I tasted had Ceviche, a dish where the seafood of your choice is cooked in the acid from limes and tomatoes. The taste is nice, but with all the acid you feel like you need to go to the dentist afterwards. Ceviche is normally served with popcorn and banana crisps on the side.

Søndag skulle vi hjem, og jeg tog den sene bus sammen med Brónagh og Rebecca. Fordi vi skulle vente indtil 13.30 før vi kunne komme med bussen tog vi til Atacames, nød stranden en smule og spiste tidlig frokost.
Busturen tilbage endte med at være noget længere end busturen dertil, fordi alle andre naturligvis også skulle tilbage til Quito. Derfor var vi først tilbage ved busstationen klokken 9 og blev nødt til at tage en taxi hjem.

Fordi vi var ved havet, bød vores måltider også på fisk og skaldyr, som du normalt ikke spiser i Quito, da det er meget dyrt. Jeg smagte blandt andet Ceviche, der er skalddyr eller fisk kogt i syren fra tomater og lime. Det smager meget godt, men i længden bliver det meget syre og du slutter måltidet af med tanken om, at du nok har fået syreskader på tænderne. Ceviche serveres normalt med bananchips og popcorn ved siden af.
Ceviche
Photo credit: http://ecuatorianoenvivo.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ceviche-de-camaron.jpg

I also tasted Encocado, which is seafood cooked in a coconut sauce, served with rice and cooked green bananas. It has a very rich taste and I would definitely recommend you to try that if you ever visit the coast of Ecuador.

Jeg smagte også Encocado, der er fisk eller rejer i kokonødssovs, serveret med ris og stegte grønne bananer. Det smagte virkelig godt og er helt klart en af de ecuadorianske retter jeg ville anbefale til andre.
Encocado
Photo credit: https://fromjuliewithlove.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/tsachila-the-leap-284.jpg

tirsdag den 6. oktober 2015

Fundación Amor y Energia and family life

I have been pretty busy and tired since my last post which is actually two weeks ago!

Since then I have moved to my host family who are really, really sweet! I must say that I enjoy it more than staying in the apartment and I learn a lot more Spanish, because my host family only speaks Spanish and always correct my grammar, when I make mistakes. And even practicing a little every day helps a lot!
This is also one of the reasons why I am so tired! Because even after 10 minutes of talking you need a short break. And luckily this also means that I will get to train my brain while here.

In my host family I live with my host mom and host dad, Emma and Hannibal, and the two kids, Omar who is 14 and Katty who is 10. I also live with another Danish volunteer, Sofie, and right now it is a bit unclear how long she will be staying in Ecuador.

I feel a bit awkward in the family sometimes because I feel like I am intruding their private life, but apparently they have been hosting volunteers for a lot of years and they are so nice to me! And it seems like they are enjoying having me here.


I also started working in Fundación Amor y Energia last Monday, and I really enjoy it! Usually we conduct horse therapy in the morning and have riding classes in the afternoon. Otherwise we just take care of the place and the horses.
At times I find the work heart breaking, when kids or adults who can barely walk on their own or with other disabilities come in for the therapy. But it also makes me really happy to know that we are helping them and just making them smile or laugh is satisfying.
The work is also physically hard and we walk a lot, so right now I go to bed at 9 every evening. I think one of the only downsides of my new work is that I have to walk half an hour after taking the bus to go there. But I do not care. I feel motivated to go to work in the morning and I love it.
Normally I work from 8-18 with a 2 hour lunch break, but if there is not much work to do I can be let off earlier, which is really nice sometimes.

Only downside since I moved? I have had a bag sliced open and some money stolen. Luckily I only had money stolen and nothing else, I just feel annoyed that it happened and that you have to watch you stuff all the time. I am pretty sure it happened at the bus stop or in the bus where there were lots of people. It is annoying but it could have been a lot worse.

As I since then have been a bit afraid of bringing my camera I have no proper pictures, but here is one from the blood moon, and as we are in Ecuador we did not have to get up in the middle of the night to see it.








Jeg har haft ret travlt og været virkelig træt siden mit sidste indlæg, hvilket forklarer hvorfor det tog så lang tid med et nyt.

Siden da er jeg flyttet til min værtsfamilie, og de er rigtig søde. Jeg nyder at bo her frem for i lejligheden og jeg lærer mere spansk, da de ikke snakker engelsk og altid retter min grammatik. Og selvom de kun får snakket en lille smule, så er det stadigvæk øvelse.
Det er en af grundene til hvorfor jeg har været så træt - selv 10 minutters samtale kan være trættende.

I min værtsfamilie er min værtsforældre, Emma og Hannibal, og deres to børn, Omar på 14 og Katty på 10. Jeg bor også sammen med en anden dansk volontør, Sofie, men lige nu er det lidt uklart hvor længe hun bliver.

Nogle gange er det lidt underligt, fordi jeg føler at jeg ødelægger deres privatliv, men de har haft volontører i mange år og nyder det.


Jeg er også begyndt at arbejde hos Fundación Amor y Energia og jeg er rigtig glad for det. Normalt har vi hesteterapi om morgenen og ridelektioner om eftermiddagen. Derudover går vi til hånde og sørger for hestene.
Nogle gange gør det ondt i hjertet at arbejde på projektet, når der kommer børn eller voksne med slemme psykiske sygdomme eller fysiske handicap. Men det er tilfredstillende at vi hjælper og bare det at se dem smile eller grine varmer ens hjerte.
Arbejdet er fysisk hårdt og vi går meget. Jeg arbejder normalt fra 8-18 med en 2 timers frokostpause. Det værste ved projektet er at jeg skal gå omkring en halv time fra bussen, men jeg er meget motiveret fordi jeg er rigtig glad for mit arbejde.
Og hvis der ikke er meget arbejde kan jeg få tidligere fri.

Det værste der er sket siden jeg flyttede? Jeg fik en taske skåret op og mine penge blev stjålet. Heldigvis var der ikke andet i tasken, men det er stadigvæk irriterende at det skete - og at man absolut skal være virkelig forsigtig med sine ting. Jeg er sikker på at det skete i bussen eller busstoppet, hvor der altid er mange mennesker. Men der kunne stadigvæk være sket værre ting, så jeg er glad for, at jeg kun fik stjålet penge.

Og siden da har jeg været lidt bange for at medbringe mit kamera og derfor får I et billede af blodmånen set herfra. Hvor vi ikke blev nødt til at stå op midt om natten for at se den.