Pushing My Limits

If there is one common theme to these past 4 months, it is the fact that I am constantly pushing my limits, whether on purpose or not.  This is happening in all parts of my life, and even though it has been uncomfortable for me, I know these situations are exactly what I need.

Two weeks ago, I got 2 new classes at work.  The student in my morning class is very similar to my previous students.  However, my student in the night class has been a very big challenge for me.  As most of you know, patience is not one of my strongest traits, and that is wording it nicely.  Well, this student is beginner of the beginners.  The first week, we went over the very basic vocabulary of "My name is..." "I am from..." and other introductory phrases.  Since I just recently was in this guy's shoes, I understand the difficulties of learning a new language.  I hoped that being able to relate to him would give me more patience, but I'm not sure it works like that.  I have been trying to use every last ounce of patience during this class, since it isn't his fault that he doesn't know English yet.  And he is trying, so I have been trying to stay calm.  But sometimes, it's so tough when at the beginning of class I ask him "How are you?" and it take 2 minutes for him to understand what I said and come up with an answer.  This has been a huge challenge for me, but I know that patience is something that I really need to work on.  Hopefully, over time, I will be able to improve on this.

Now, for the more exciting way I am pushing my limits!  This past weekend, I went to Banos with some friends.  Banos is this tiny adventure town, located about 3 1/2 hours from Quito.  So, 4 of us took a bus there Friday night and then met some other friends who where there as well.  We woke up Saturday morning ready to start our day of accomplishing many outdoors activities.  Unfortunately, the weather thought differently.  It was pouring, so we decided to get some breakfast and then see if the rain would let up any.  Quickly, we realized that the rain was going to be off and on throughout the entire day, so we said "what the heck, let's just go for it."  One of the biggest attractions about this mountain town is the abundance of waterfalls, one in particular named "El Pailon del Diablo."  Being the active group that we are, we chose to rent bikes for the day, only $5, and bike to the see this spectacular waterfall.  This was perfect because we were able to exercise and sightsee at the same time! Along the road, there are places to stop to view the scenery or zip line if you want.  Some people in the group wanted to stop at one of the many zip lines that we passed.  A few people wanted to do it, and I won't turn down a zip lining opportunity, especially when its 1 km long, beautiful scenery, and only $10!  As you were flying, you couldn't even see where you were going to, which made it very exciting.

Once we finished zip lining, we continued on our bikes to the waterfall.  We got to the town, then had to hike about 30 minutes, but the view was well worth the hike.  You can walk through almost caves until you are right between the waterfall and the rocks.  Since it had been rainy all day, the water was extremely powerful and we got soaked- although we were already soaked from the rain so it wasn't a big problem.  

You can walk down those steps and look up to see the waterfall.  Its like the rides at Six Flags where you stand on the bridge and get splashed from the spray of the water.  It was a really cool experience to feel just how powerful the water really is.

This picture doesn't quite do it justice, but we were able to get this close to the waterfall.  You could reach out and actually touch the water.

After walking behind the waterfall, we walked across a very suspect bridge to get this view.  I was absolutely terrified of the bridge and wasn't sure it would hold the weight of everyone.  People were jumping on the bridge and I was not too happy about that- thought I was going to lose it.  But luckily, the bridge held up and we all survived.  However, we now had to hike 30 minutes up to the town where our bikes were.  All of us were incredibly tired and hungry because it was almost 3 and no one had lunch.  Let me tell you, I think every one of us became very "hangry" so it was crucial that we got food immediately.  I'm not sure if it was because we were so hungry or because the food was that good, but Betsy and I shared a banana and chocolate empanada that was one of the best things I have ever eaten.  I think I would literally kill for that empanada.  Once all of us had eaten and were calmer, we decided to take this army type truck back into town instead of biking uphill for over an hour.

Once we got back into town, we grabbed a cab and headed to the Casa del Arbol or treehouse, which is home to the "swing at the end of the world."  I know it is just a swing, but it was so fun.  There was this guy up there that was an unofficial "professional pusher" He would literally push the people that were on the swing and then twist them around while they were swinging.  We were all very impressed with his skills, clearly that wasn't his first time.  Unfortunately, his family wanted to go right before it was my turn so I wasn't able to experience his pushing first-hand.  However, my buddy Betsy stepped up and did a pretty good job!

Now, it was finally time to shower and relax before going to dinner and then onto the salsateca.  Needless to say, we all feel asleep immediately that night once we got back to the hostel.

Sunday, we woke up to a beautiful, sunny day.  After eating breakfast, Betsy decided that she wanted to do "puenting" which is almost the same as bungee jumping.  I had been debating on whether I wanted to do this or not, but I finally decided that I needed to face my fear of heights and prove to myself that I could do it.  We walked out to the bridge and I couldn't watch, I could only stand in the middle of the bridge staring at the road.  Betsy and I got our harnesses on and I was still okay.  Then, it was my turn to go!  As soon as the guy hooked the rope onto the harness, it all started to get real, like very real.  Next was one of the toughest parts, climbing over the railing.  My legs were starting to shake, and I could barely force myself to climb over.

I'm so glad you can't see my face in these pictures, because I'm sure I was as white as a ghost and had a facial expression of complete terror.  

Standing on this platform was one of the most terrifying moments of my life- and that is not an exaggeration at all.  I tried not to look down, but I just couldn't help it.  Here I was on this 1ft x 1ft platform looking down 100 meters to a river.  This one tiny piece of wood was supporting me.  I knew that I couldn't wait long, and I had already climbed over the railing, so I only had one option and that was to jump.  So the guy said " 3, 2, 1, JUMP!"

As soon as my feet left that platform, it was an amazing experience!  I absolutely loved it and wished it had been longer.  There was such a feeling of relief after doing this and conquering a big fear of mine.  I never thought I would jump off of a bridge, but I was able to not let the fear affect me.  Betsy and I were so proud and happy to be able to cross this off of our bucket lists- well it was on her bucket list, not mine but I'm glad I could help her anyways.  Since we were a little tired, we decided to walk to the thermal springs that are right outside of town.  There are 2 thermal springs, one is in town and the other is outside of town.  Most of the tourists go to the one in town so it is very "gringo."  When we showed up to the thermal springs that the "locals" use, everyone looked at us like we have 3 heads.  I think they were wondering why 4 gringas were there, since this was not a common occurrence.

Being in the water was exactly what we needed.  Our muscles were so sore and I was incredibly tense from the exhilarating experience of jumping off of a bridge.  There was a pool that was hot, 3 medium, and 1 cold.  So we alternated between all 3 of the different temperatures trying to get the full effect.  By the time we left the thermal springs, it was already 2 in the afternoon and us gringas were starting to get "hangry" again, so it was time to head back into town.  We had a great lunch then met the rest of the group to head back to Quito.

This was a great weekend full of tons of excitement and activity, but honestly, I was ready to get back to my calm life in Quito!

3 Months Down!

So I have now been here for over 3 months!  I can't believe that.  It seems like just yesterday I was packing for Ecuador and trying to figure out what in the world I was signing up for.  One of the most important things that has happened in the past 2 weeks, is that I finally got my student visa!  Thank goodness, since I received this the day that my tourist visa expired.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute.  I had to go to the immigration office and wait for 3 hours just to drop off my paperwork.  Then, I was supposed to receive an email within 5 days saying if my application was approved or if more documentation was needed.  Of course, I never received this email, so I had to go back to the immigration office and wait for another 2 hours.  Luckily, I was told that my application was approved, and I needed to pay $100.  Let me tell you, it is so much fun waiting in the immigration office where everyone that is over the age of 50, with kids, handicapped, or who knows what other reasons they used, gets to go before you, and then you get to pay these lovely people $100.   But of course, the process wasn't done yet.  I had to drop off my passport, and come back later that afternoon only between the hours of 3:30-4:30 to pick up my passport with the visa.  No idea why, but this office has very strict requirements about what time you must come- not very Ecuadorian.  So I left work early to pick up my visa, and now I am legal in Ecuador!

Last weekend was a holiday weekend, but I decided to stay in Quito.  One of my friends and I wanted to hike Pichincha, which is a volcano located about 3 km from where I live.  We have been told that the weather needs to be good, or it could be very dangerous.  Well on Friday, it was cloudy in the morning, so Betsy and I thought we would take a day trip to Papallacta, which has hiking and thermal springs about 2 hours from Quito.  So we took the Ecovia, tram, to the bus station, which is 1 hour away.  Once we got to the bus station, we realized that the next bus left at 1:30 and costed $8, and who knows when the last bus leaves Papallact to come back to Quito!  I know this sounds very cheap to everyone back home, but the general rate for buses in Ecuador is $1 per hour, so this bus trip should cost $2 not $8.  We were so shocked by this and based off of principle alone couldn't pay 4x what the price should be, so we got back on the Ecovia and took it an hour back to the city.  Sometimes when you make spontaneous decisions they work out, well this one was a fail.  Oh well you live and you learn!  However, while we were riding the bus for a total of 2 hours, we were standing, which gave us a good abs workout since you must balance as the bus is turning, slamming on the breaks, or accelerating.  Now we know that we can simply ride the Ecovia when we want a good abs workout!  Anyways, we decided to pick up Dakota and walk across town to Parque Metropolitano and do some hiking.  Dakota was LOVING this since there were tons of birds for her to chase.  When we got to the picnic area, there was a beautiful view overlooking part of the city.

Dakota loved the view as well!  At night, we decided to do a typical Latin American activity-salsa dancing!  A group of about 6 of us went to a salsateca, which is supposed to be THE place to go for salsa dancing.  As you all know, I am not much of a dancer at all, but there is something about salsa that I love.  I think its the spinning and the fact that the guy has to lead you so it's not that important to know the steps- if the guy is good, he will lead you in a way that forces you to make the correct steps.  So basically, if I am not dancing well, it's all the guy's fault- that is a dance that I can support!  After dancing the night away, we finally went home and everyone was exhausted.  Due to all of the walking and dancing on Friday, Betsy and I decided not to try to hike Pichincha on Saturday.  And of course, the weather was perfect on Saturday ha.

The weather ended up being good on Sunday, so Betsy and I headed to Pichincha!  You don't actually start the hike at the bottom of the volcano, you take the Teleferiqo (cable car) up to the lookout area, then start your hike.  Most people just take the Teleferiqo up to see the views since hiking to the top is "sooo challenging."  It's hiking and if it gets steep, then you walk slower right?  I mean how hard can it really be?  Oh those famous last words...Here is a picture from the Teleferiqo with magnificent views of the city.

Once we were up the Teleferiqo, it was time to start hiking.  It usually takes around 3 hours to get to the top, but we wanted to beat that time.  The first hour of hiking was great: the weather was perfect, we could breathe and talk easily, and it was only steep for a little bit.

Yes, you are correct, we were heading towards the point on the tip of the rock!  We were lucky that we met new friends along the way, and would stop to talk to them for a minute then continue.  After maybe 1 1/2 or 2 hours, we were walking along the path and the path seemed to stop.  I thought we missed a turn off somewhere, but nope.  A group of 2 dads and their 2 sons came walking around the corner and said "...you're correct.  You need to climb those rocks and then the path continues."  Excuse me what?  We have to do some rock climbing?  So with the help of the dads, Betsy and I climbed the rocks, maybe 6 feet total- no big deal.  And then we went on our way and found ourselves in a part of the "trail" that was all loose dirt.  At this point, the trail started to disappear and you just had to find the path that you wanted to take that looked the easiest.  Now, I was starting to see why this hike could be slightly dangerous.  After we got through that section, the real fun started.  Betsy and I decided to take a path that involved intense rock climbing.  We didn't have a harness or even a rope, just our hands and feet-FUN!  Around 10 minutes went by of this climbing and I was really starting to second guess this decision; I just didn't see how I was going to be able to climb this entire thing, maybe 15 meters total.  Luckily, God sent us help right then as another group of dads and sons came along and said that we should come down and go another way which was much easier.  We followed that group and 5 minutes later, we made it to the top... in only 2 hours and 40 minutes!  I'm not going to lie, I was cursing Betsy's name in my head leading up to the moment we made it to the top, but once we got up there it was worth it.

It was cold up there, so we didn't stay for long.  Also, it was cloudy, so we needed to be able to get past the rocks before the rain came.  We spent about 2 hours getting back to the Teleferiqo and as soon as we got inside the building, the rain came pounding- perfect timing to end an exhausting day.

This past week, I was able to finish up both of my classes, which meant that I was free at night.  So Tuesday night, we went to trivia at this Irish pub because they do trivia in English.  We ended up getting 3rd place!  Then, on Friday Betsy and her housemates hosted a cookout on their huge terrace. I don't grill so I don't exactly know what the problem was, but the grill wouldn't start.  We had lighter fluid and matches, but we couldn't get the grill going.  Apparently, this grill has to be lit with a candle? And even that wasn't doing the trick.  After around 45 minutes of trying to figure this out, someone had the genius idea of using a hair dryer!  So yes, we used the hair dryer to keep the grill going so that the burgers could get cooked.

I know this sounds ridiculous, but we were starving and it worked!  So now everyone knows to have a hair dryer close by when using a grill, just in case.  Because this was a cookout, I was able to bring Dakota and she was the life of the party.  Everyone loved having her around and people were offering to watch her for me, this is an offer I will definitely be using in the near future.  People kept asking if she spoke/understood English or Spanish haha,  Of course my answer was, Dakota understands English, but only responds when she wants to.

The rest of my weekend was spent relaxing, enjoying the sunshine, and getting things ready for the upcoming week.  Now that it is May, rainy season is over so there will be lot of sun for the next few months.!