Visalia Breakfast Rotary - Areas of Service

Has it really been that long? It feels like I just got here last week, how is the time passing by so fast. I guess the saying is right, Time flies when you're having fun.

It's been so crazy here! Everything is so different but yet it feels so normal now. I often find myself feeling like the United States don't exist, like, "Did I ever live there?" "I have always lived here in Ecuador right?" But then I realize that of course they exist I have family over there. I have a life, friends, school, everything is there.

I also keep coming to this realization that I AM in Ecuador. Even bigger than that I am in SOUTH AMERICA! It may not seem different, but saying "I am in Ecuador" has such a different meaning than "I am in South America." Before it felt almost like a moved states, but no, I am on a different continent. We aren't in Kansas anymore, haha.

This past month, November and the end of October, has been one of the most challenging. I missed Halloween, my brother's 18th birthday, Thanksgiving, and my mom's birthday. Missing Halloween was very weird, but I got over it very fast because that is not a very big holiday for me, but missing my brother's birthday was big for me. I am always with my brother for his birthday, there has never been a year that we have been apart. He is the most constant thing in my life and I love him to death for that. On his birthday, aka 12:00 midnight in Ecuador, my best friend here I called him to wish him the best. It was very odd because I didn't feel bad I was missing it, all day I just felt happy. I felt like "YEAH! It's Alaric's birthday I hope he has fun! He is finally 18" and I just couldn't stop smiling for him. Then came Thanksgiving, that was a very weird day for me. They do not have Thanksgiving here so it was almost like it was another day. I felt like I was in an alternate universe that day. I have never imagined a place without Thanksgiving, without a day of pure family and food. I ended up spending my Thanksgiving with a German girl, who is the sweetest girl in the world who I love, and a Canadian, who is my best friend here. We ate hamburgers, French fries, and drank milkshakes, so November 25th was a little mixed culture wise. Then the next day, November 26th, was my mother's birthday. That was a crazy day! That is the only way I can describe it. I called and talked to her for a few minutes and that brought on a little bit of family drama. Later that night there was a family reunion in the host house, which I had no idea about. So there were a ton of people here, and I didn't feel very good and definitely didn't feel social in the least. My host family didn't end up leaving the house until 12 or later also, but I couldn't last that long, I had to go to sleep. The next day I was well rested and felt a lot better, and luckily my mom had a great birthday.

Yesterday, the day of the Ecuadorian census, was an interesting day. Everyone in Ecuador had to stay in there house all day without leaving. A man went from house to house, asking questions, filling out a survey, and talking to every family. That was my designated Skype day since there was literally nothing we could do. All I did was listen to some Spanish music, watch some Spanish TV (which I am understanding more and more each day=) ), and Skype some of my family and friends. After 5 it was okay to leave the house, but I didn't go out or anything. My family went out and brought home hamburgers for dinner, which was quite nice if I do say so myself!

So I think that is everything about the past month. I will have to let you go now so I can get back to Ecuador :)

HOLA! Sorry I am late!

So now I have officially been here for four months and time is just flying by. I can´t begin to explain how weird it feels thinking about ¨home¨ in the US. Every day I wake up and feel as if I have lived here my entire life and everyday just feeñls like one more day with the family. It is hard to think about leaving all the friends and family I had acquired here. It´s hard to remember a time where I didn´t speak Spanish and didn´t go to school at 6:30 on a crowded bus. All these things have become so normal for me that I can´t remember when I was without them.

So Christmas has pssed. I feel lucky that I did nt have a bad Christmas and that I didn´t become overwhelmed on such a fa ily oriented day. Christmas here is just so different from back home that it didn´t even feel like Christmas. They celebrate on Christmas Eve, my uncle says that it is because on Christmas everyone just sleeps becasue they are hungover and drunk....Although I didn´t feel very apart of Christmas I still enjoyed watching people open gifts and opening my occasional git myself! My host parents got really beautiful earrings, that are gold, my grandparents got me a tank top, and my host uncle Paul got me a scarf, mascara, and earrings.I actually got sick on Christmas, so that was a bit of a bummer but that didn´t bring me down, I ejoyed it all the same. We spent Christmas in Zaruma, where I am now, writing this in a cyber while my little sister is getting antsy to leave.

A few days after Christmas I go to go to my very first Spanish concert!!! I went to go see a group called Chino y Nacho! The concert was great, there wasn´t a lot of people but the crowd was screaming (me included.) When we got there right as they began to sing it began to rain, and I love the rain so I didn´t mind! The concert was very short but in comparison to the concerts I have been to in the US this concert was a little more along the adult side. There was a lot of hip thrusting and dancing along those sorts. I am almost positive that after that concert, every single girl fell in love with Chino, I know I did. That man can dance and sing so heavenly!!!! As soon as the concert ended we just got out of there, we didn´t want to be run over by the crazy fans in Ecuador. We all went home and relaxed.

New Year is coming up....tonight actually. We are spending it in Zaruma also, with the family. Already I have seen some of the New Year trditions, such as the men dressing up as girls to get money dfor alcohol and the numerous drunk people lying iand walking in the streets. So far it has been an interesting, entertaining, and fun New Year, and I hope it gets even better.

I change families in eight days, and my sister and I are really starting to bond. I am really going to miss her and she says she is really going to miss me. I know I will miss them but at the same time, I cannot wait to change families to get the Rotary experience and have another new family to visit in Ecuador in the years to come.

Chao for now!
If you don´t hear from me soon, you´ll hear from me in a month!!!
With love,
Stephanie

Hey all,
I still can barely believe that its been over six months. I can't believe I only have four more months here. I feel like the friends I've made here are a part of my family and I can't believe I'll be leaving them behind. I've begun to come up the a strategy to my time here and my life. Its simple, cheesy, and you've probably heard it a lot, but now I'm starting to truly use it. Here is my thinking: I have a limited time here in Argentina, and on a bigger scale a limited time to live, so why go through days worrying about silly things like if someone likes me or not, if I made a stupid mistake, if its rainy, it its cold, if my family is on a different continent, just enjoy the day in whatever form it comes. I'm not saying to never cry, never be sad, just to be conscience of your day, your feelings, and your actions and you might find yourself noticing the nice things that come hidden in the day.

So, last month I went on a trip with rotary to explore the north of Argentina. It was absolutely incredibly amazing. I could have never imagined it could go so well. I saw sights that were literally breathtaking, I met people that taught my new ways to think, people that I love, and people that I truly believe will be my friends forever. It was a trip of 17 days, but a trip that may have very well changed the path of my life.
(For a day to day description and photos: http://boluda2010.wordpress.com/)

After returning from the north trip, it was time to change families. I was pretty excited to change families because I had elected my next family. And can I tell you, I couldn't be happier. I feel so much more incorporated and loved in the family I'm with. The mom, Silvia, is wonderful and always trying to do little things to make me happy and is always asking about me and my day. My sister, Agostina, is one of my best friends (we are in the same class) and I love spending time with her. Its amazing how well our living habits coincide. I was warned by a lot of people that living with a friend is a bad idea and you'll end up getting in a fight, but with Agostina we get along perfect. We like to go to sleep at the same time, we like the same food, we are both not the neatest people. All in all, I'm pretty content that I get to spend the next 4 months in this home.

On top of changing families, school has started up again. Its amazing how different it feels from when I started in September. The biggest difference is the fact that I can actually understand what the teachers are telling me and I can express my thoughts without too much of a struggle. On my test in literature i got a 9! (highest score is a 10).

Thank you all for helping me get to this country I now call my own,
until next month,
Carli
Argentina

hola yankees! (the nickname for americans here, and its not just people who like the team)
        This second month has been a stabilizer. There was not many interesting things that happened, but it has helped me settle in a little more. I've really started to fit in here. Estoy acostumbrado (I am accostumed/adjusted). One thing I've really learned about myself is how I connect with people; humor. Its my way to feel comfortable with someone, to feel close. I've definitely got it with all my friends; everyone has a great sense of humor especially when it comes to making fun of me (thank god I grew up with 3 brothers to teach my how to laugh at myself). And my family, could use some lessons, but my "mom" and I are finally started to tease each other a little more and when my "dad" is here (which isn't very often) we get along too. My little brother Gonzalo, was gone for about a week in Bariloche (the south of Argentina) and it was kind of a nice break. I was getting pretty agitated but now that he has returned things are going smoother. And with my older sister, Mica, we get along well, just not very often. However, we did have a nice chat/ping pong game the other night.
            My parents have asked me a lot during my stay, do you think you're improving on the language? I always respond I don't know its hard to tell. But now, I definitely think I'm a lot better. Even when I speak English to family/friends from the U.S. I find myself wanting to use words in Castallano (the type of Spanish here) more than English. Even when I'm typing this update right now, there are things that I thought about first in Castallano, and then tried to find the English equal. Another thing I've started to notice is that in the beginning when I learned a word, I would define it in my mind in English. But now, there are some words that I just know and define in Castallano. Even though one of my best friends, Lucia, still constantly teases me about my accent and how I speak, I've had many people tell me how much I've improved and how well I speak for such little time. (I even got Lucia to admit it once) When I first came, if I wanted to understand I couldn't be doing anything else at all. But now, well actually today, I realized that I was understanding what the teacher was telling me even though I was doodling and not paying full attention (okay I realized that makes me sound really bad).
            Friends. Ever since an incident with someone in 7th grade, I've had a big insecurity with friends. I'm constantly questioning if someone actually likes me, or if they are just bored and think I'm annoying. But, I think, SLOWLY, I'm starting to overcome that here. I felt the first change after this past weekend. I was at my "grandparents' house" which is without internet all weekend (I usually use internet to communicate with my friends here and to see what they are up to). And, that weekend I wasn't invited to go anywhere or do anything, I was actually ditched one of the nights (but not so meanly, its more of a culture thing). And at first I was frustrated and sad, but then I woke up Monday and I just didn't care about it. I went to school, and they still liked me, I still had the same friends, nothing had changed. I finally just let go, stopped over-analyzing conversations and actions. I think this argentine vibe is taking over me: and i like it! I have to say, I really like my friends here and feel rooted now. In the sense that I have made my friends, made a stable base.
            I've gotten a little less intimidated by my Rotary counselor here. I spent a lot of time this weekend with him and with rotary. Don't know if I've mentioned this, but I am part of a group that in July will go to a town called Boqueron to volunteer. It is dirt poor, the homes don't even have bathrooms there. But during the time before, we get together every friday to talk and plan fundraising events. It is apart from Rotary, but Marengo (my counselor), leads it. So friday, we had that meeting. Saturday, we had the Gran Cena de Tradición. Which was a dinner in celebration of a day called "the day of tradition". So we ate a traditional meal and then we watched some people do traditional dancing (this ended at about 1:30am). Then sunday, we went to a town called Maradriaga for a rotary meeting of our zone. There were some other exchange students and a lot of adult rotarians. We had asado, which is the meat argentina is known for. It was DELICIOUS!
            I talked with Marengo and we decided that the next family I go to, I'll get to choose. Long story short, the house I was supposed to go to has a lot of cats (I'm allergic) and I would have been alone.

CULTURE! CULTURE! CULTURE!:
1. it seems that the people here are extremely welcoming. There aren't so much of cliques here and everyone is just so nice, but then again nice here is a little different. people call each other fat to their face, bring up the ugly parts of people, and more which seems rude and mean, but it is not. It doesn't have the same significance. People don't care, it is in good-spirit, and it really seems that people are a lot more confident and secure with their appearance.
2. people seem to be more generous
3. it is normal to just show up at someone's house announced
4. the time that is considered "late" here, is much later than in the U.S. Dinner isn't served until 9 or later. And it is early to return home at 3 in the morning.
5. It is okay to invite yourself to plans
6. people are extremely honest. They really aren't afraid to bring anything up in conversation. no-one really tells white lies to lighten the ugly truth and people definitely don't beat around the bush.
7. foul language is used by everyone all the time
8. plans, if someone actually ever makes them, rarely end up happening as "planned"
9. people are pretty easy-going, well most of the time
10. oh and the most important, LICE IS REALLY COMMON. which i found out the hard way

ciao,
besos!

Carli