Salido de Campo para Volcanologia

So this weekend I went on a field trip with my volcanology class.

Saturday

6:30 am - we met at the bus

We then drove for a while in the buses and got to watch a random assortment of movies throughout the day ranging from Transporter 3 to Harold and Kumar. The roads we were driving on were windy two lane roads that often had piles of dirt and large puddles to avoid which involved driving into incoming lanes of traffic. In addition to this they also were weaving around mountains without a guard rail in sight. The views, especially in the morning when it was clear, were spectacular.

Our first stop was a random outcropping of igneous (volcanic) rock. It was of course pouring. We got out of the buses and scrambled up this hill to look at the outcropping and surrounding rock debris. I had lots of fun because I got to climb on everything. We collected a couple rock samples, including natural asphalt which I found exciting, and moved on.

Our second stop was once again just pulling off to the side of the road and getting out. This time we were looking at clastic sedimentary rocks, in this case mud stone. This involved walking through lots of mud. At one point I apparently picked a not so great path and the mud stole my shoe. Luckily I was able to retrieve it although it was then twice as heavy with mud. once again we collected some rock samples and moved on.

Our third stop was the most exciting part of the day. Basically we hiked through the woods without a path, but more about that in a second. To get to the woods we hiked through we crossed this crazy rickety rope bridge. It moved when you walked on it and there were parts were there were holes in the boards and you cold see straight down to the river. Someone on the trip has a video of us all running across it. The best part was that there was a perfectly safe stable bridge directly next to the rope bridge, but obviously that one was less fun. So to the hike. There was absolutely no trail and we were climbing up and down these hills either dragging ourselves by roots and trees or half sliding down on your butt. I was having a great time as this is basically my idea of a good time. Some less outdoorsy people enjoyed it a little less however. This trek took quite a while as there were about 50 of us and we had to go single file. I did not take any pictures but other people did so I will put them up when ever they put them up on facebook. Once we got to our destination, a big sheer cliff, we talked for about 10 minutes and then went down this wide, although extremely muddy, path that led back to our bus. So basically we spent an hour and a half walking there and ten minutes walking back. This was the highlight of the weekend and I kind of want to go back and do it again with fewer people and less waiting. By the end of all this I was completely covered in mud.

Theo (our professor) kept asking me if I had done things like this in my other geology classes. I had to explain that in the US we have all these crazy liability laws that do not encourage trekking through jungle just for fun. Also New England has much less dramatic geology.

After the academic portion of our day, about half the group went to the hot springs at Papallacta. This felt awesome after a long day of treking through the mud. The best part was to go and sit in the cold river and then run back to the hot springs. Hopefully I will be able to include pictures soon.


Sunday

6:30 am - once again we met at the buses.

This day we concentrated more on faults and more specifically volcano related things.

The first stop we once again stopped at the side of the road and and climbed up a hill to look at huge cliff on the other side of the road. Here we learned about the basic faults. The outcropping had some nice clearly defined stratigraphic layers so we were able to look at and draw the faults that were there. They were all normal faults (which probably means nothing to most of the people reading this blog but oh well).

Our second stop was much like the first but this time the outcropping contained an example of each of the three different types of faults. This is really rare and kind of bizarre and my nerdy brain thought it was super cool.

Our next stop was the crater lake Cuicocha which the BU group also visited on the way to Otovalo. We did the same little boat tour, but this time it was not raining and Theo gave us a more technical explanation of things.
After that we drove some more and then came to these massive ash deposits. It was pretty sweet. And that was the end of our exciting weekend.

Mi Cumpleanos

So yesterday was my birthday and it was a great day. The celebration started some Friday night however. I went out with some of my friends and I started out at my friend/host cousin Melissa's house and we took a cab together from there. But before we left, my family surprised me with some gifts. My tia Chiri gave me a scented body spray and my abuela gave me this awesome scarf she had knitted. I was so happy and so suprised. I hadn't been expecting anything and it made me feel very happy and welcome.

So to my actual birthday. Yesterday the BU programs went to Cuicocha, Cotoacachi, and the Indian market in Otovalo. It was super cool. We took a boat ride in the crater lake of a volcano (Cuicocha), which was super cool, even though it was rainy and cold. We got to smell the sulfur and other lovely gases that were coming from the volcano. After that we went to Cotacachi which is a town that is known for its leather working. It was cool, and although it was somewhat touristy, there were lots of cool shops with very pretty things in them. I did not buy anything there though.

I also got another birthday suprise from my host family. My host mom Matele bought cakes and gave them to our program coordinator Maria Antonieta to bring on the trip. So everyone sang me happy birthday and we got to eat super awesome cake.

Next we went to Otovalo and the large market there. It was super cool and a little overwhelming. There were just so many beautiful things. I was afraid Imight go crazy and buy everything in sight, but I actually did pretty well. We are going back to Otavalo and the end of the semester so on this trip I just sort of bought the minumum and next time I will have any idea of how much money I have left. I did the bartering thing. I am not the best at it but I'd say I did all right for myself. I probably over paid for some things but not grossly. Hopefuly next time I will be even better. It did start raining and thundering, but by that time most people had finished their shopping and so a bunch of us just went and hung out at a resteraunt.

Pretty much my birthday was awesome. I do not have any of the pictures on my computer yet so I will add some later.

Hasta luego

Week 1 1/2 - Settling in

I do not have internet in my house so it is hard to keep up on my blogging but here is another entry.

First week of school

I really like all of my classes so far. I am taking US Latin American relations, Latin American Themes, Conflict and Resolution, Social Problems of Ecuador, and Volcanology. Unfortunately my photography class got canceled because there were not enough people in it and I had a schedule conflict with the other time for the class. But now I am taking Conflict and Resolution which seems like it will be really interesting.

All of my classes are in Spanish as well as most of my readings. This is going pretty well although my readings always take longer than I think they will. But it is good practice. There is at least one other person from BU in all of my classes which is nice. I have also made friends with other international students but it is hard to make friends with Ecuadorian students. I am trying though.

My volcaonlogy class seems like it is going to be amazing. We have 2 or 3 weekend long field trips to various parts of Ecuador, we make analogue volcanoes using dynamite and gun powder, and the teacher is hilarious and insane. Pretty much it is awesome.

Tour of Quito


On Saturday we had a tour of Quito with the coordinator of our program. We went up part of pichincha, the volcano next to Quito , we went to Panecillo a hill in the middle of Quito on top of which there is the statue of the Virgin of Quito (see above), we also visited various seriously cool churches and a museum.

Mi Casa

I am enjoying my home stay a lot. Tafi and I are now great friends and My host mom Matele is really nice and we get along well. We often watch TV together and sometimes play cards. She is quite the card shark. She and her friends get together every week to play and one of her friends is the host mom of someone else from BU.

There is definitely no risk of me going hungry. I think I was told for the first time in my life that I do not eat very much. I have enjoyed all the food and especially the fresh made fruit juices that I get almost every day. Also Matele and I share a love of cheese. It is lovely!

Hola desde Ecuador!

I got into Quito last night around 11. My host mom Matele met me at the airport and brought me home.

My house is beautiful. There is a huge palm tree in the front yard. There are only two of us living in the house but she has lots of family who lives close. Another exchange student named Melissa is living with Matele's sister so I have a host cousin. I am actually sitting in her room right now using her family's wireless. At my house we also have a dog named Tafi and Melissa's house has a cat.

Today we took the bus to the school. It is absolutely gorgeous. It looks like a spa. Pictures will follow.

I just finished almuerzo (lunch) with the whole family. Melissa and I sat there and tried to follow the conversations that were going on. It was fun and we ate great food. I will definitely not be going hungry.

Tomorrow I have orientation at the school which starts at 8am (blah).

So far I am absolutely loving it.

I will write more latter when more has happened.