Orientation Week

For the first week I was here I wasn't actually in my city (Guayaquil) but in the capital city of Quito and the surrounding area. I already talked about a couple of the places we went in my first post and that was just the first DAY. Week 1 was packed with amazing places. We went to Mitad del Mundo which is where the "equator" is. It's an interesting story though because long after a group of scientists claimed this place as the equator, and they built a monument, and created a big tourist attraction, they realized that in fact the line they drew on the land is NOT where the real equator is. So if you want all of the cool "experiences" like flushing a toilet with no swirl or balancing an egg on a nail you have to go about 100 meters away...just more proof that humans are not perfect. So don't oooh or aaah at the pictures of me standing with one foot in each hemisphere. It's a lie. I'm still kind of bitter about it. :) 

Our next stop was Otavalo which is where the biggest crafts market in Ecuador is...and where I got most of my souvenirs. :) Otavalans are definitely a distinct group of Ecuadorians. They carry on the traditions of their indigenous ancestors and still speak their native language and have a very unique culture. It was fun to barter in the market, it reminded me a lot of being in Zambia. We also watched a demonstration of typical Ecuadorian music and the making of a set of handpipes which was amazing...I got a video of it which I hope to post at some point, but the most interesting thing that happened in Otavalo was during our visit to a local shaman. She is a holy woman who will "cleanse" you for a small fee. One of the guys from our group volunteered to have the process done to him. He stood  there as she chanted prayers, and blew fire at him....yes, I said blew fire at him...and rubbed whole eggs against him, and hit him with leaves. It took about 20ish minutes for the whole process and afterwards she told him that he had some very bad energy and that it almost made her sick to cleanse him because he was so "dirty". I felt ill during the ceremony too, actually I don't know if I would say ill, but it was definitely a weird, weird feeling. The experience was a little bit overwhelming...and all I can really say is that I am so glad that I don't have to have fire blown at me to know that I am "clean". How great is the love and mercy of Jesus Christ. The gospel is such amazing news and I was reminded of this as I sat and watched this woman work. I praise God for my salvation and pray that I would have the boldness to share my good news with those I come into contact with here. 

The last thing I will write about from orientation week is hiking on Mount Chimborazo. This is the tallest mountain in Ecuador. It's beautiful and awful at the same time. We hiked from one refuge to the second reaching an altitude of 5000 m (its around 6300 at the top) It only took about 45 mins but the lack of oxygen in the air is unlike anything I have ever experienced. It literally hurt to breathe. It was horrible and exhilarating at the same time. During our whole first week we were pretty high up (Quito is in the mountains and so walking up a flight of stairs would leave me breathless) but this hike was another beast altogether. It was a weird feeling, taking a breath and feeling like nothing was coming in even though you KNEW you were breathing. Making it to the second refuge was a pretty cool feeling. As I caught my breath (which took about 15 minutes to do) I couldn't help but notice this Ecuadorian woman sitting on a rock off a little ways. I started to wonder what she was thinking. Some of the girls in my group decided to get a "skins" picture (no shirts on) and she just sat there watching....I couldn't help but feel like the bad reputation Americans have here is probably well deserved in some ways. I wanted to go up to her and apologize.

I don't want to end this post on a bad note though because over all the week was AMAZING. It was really good to get to know the other people in the group. There are about 40 students in my program and we during our first week I feel like we created a really good group dynamic that makes me excited for the rest of the semester with them.