A Week in San Juan

I’m back in Quito, all moved in and cozy with my host family and (YAY) with internet. HECUA starts this afternoon because the students who arrived last night got in really late, since most flights from the US to Quito arrive and leave in the middle of the night.

The past week in Pillaro was a bit of a whirlwind, with momma and I trying to see as many friends as possible while we were there. I got in a whole lot of Spanish practice beefing up on my sierra region lingo. People add diminutives to everything, like making luego, meaning later, into luegito. I also learned a bit of Quechua. My favorite word is gua gua (pronounced wa wa), which means baby or child. My second favorite, and the most used, is achachay (try saying it – it’s fun), meaning BRRRRRR or “good god it’s really, really cold”. I must have said it a million times a day – San Juan was frigid. So cold that you crawl into bed right after dinner, around 7pm, under at least 6 heavy blankets and preferably with someone else and then try to stay warm. Apparently August is the coldest month of the year. I’ll be glad to be back in January when it’s warmer.

As usual, I loved seeing our compadres and I’ll definitely be going back to visit when I get the chance this semester. Growing up in farmland, it’ll be nice to escape the city to the fresh air, cows and friends.

On a side note, unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, I did not manage to escape unaffected by Montezuma's Revenge (or more appropriately here, Rumiñahui's Revenge). Sadly, no amount of water boiling, vegetable peeling and avoiding street food is foil-proof. Oh well. 

On our way up to the Paramo, where everyone keeps their cows. About 7km up the mountain. Before everyone used to walk it, twice a day, carrying the milk down on their backs. Now, with roads and camionetas (trucks) people can catch rides. No wonder so much of the news in El Comercio is about carreteras (roads) because they make a huge difference in efficiency and quality of life. 

“YUM look what’s for dinner!” Just kidding, I’m vegetarian. But really, guinea pigs, called cuy, are a REALLY special dish here.

Me and Mr. Llamingo.

Here people use their walls and their houses to write messages. The most common I’ve seen? “For sale, call…”, political messages about Correa and voting campaigns.

Me and my comadrita, resting after going over a very scary waterfall in Baños.