Tuesday, 26 August 2014
Day 2
August 5 2014
I wake up in a hotel room in Ecuador with two other girls who I have just met yesterday. It is still early in the morning, they are both asleep. The room has concrete-like walls and is painted in a dusty red colour. The stained glass windows face the hallways outside which has a sunroof and that is the only light that is brightening the room with a blue-grey colour.
I lay in bed till Ivana gets up around 7:30 and then get ready for the day. The three of us then went on to discover the rest of the hotel. We climb about 7 flights of stairs and ended up on the roof which had a gorgeous view of Quito.
After taking some pictures we climbed down and get breakfast.
The breakfast tables and kitchen is in a cellar and there is wine in the corner stacked to the dome shaped roof. All the walls and the ceiling is brick and the ceiling is only a foot or two above my head.
After breakfast we all make a circle in the lobby and play a game called squirt. How you play the game is that some lucky soul gets the stand in the middle and point a make believe water gun at somebody and say "squirt" then that person has the kneel down really fast and the two people beside them have to also make water guns out of there hands point them at one another and yell the other's name. Whoever says the other's name last has to go into the circle and so on so forth.
Its at this game that we meet Rodrigo who is our guide for the trip.
At about 8:30 AM we head out to the streets of Quito to go on our walking tour.
Quito is cradled by 4 mountains. At the centre of the city the streets are fairly flat but once you start walking outwards the streets go upwards. All the buildings are 3 stories high. On the ground level there are stores that sell everything from vegetables to fabrics. But once you look up there lies the history of Quito. Because the next two stories are a tell tale of Spanish designs. From the white details around every window to the pastel colours every bit is breath taking every bit is exquisite.
But there is something about this city, something about cities that rest at the base of mountains that is humbling. You see no skyscrapers in Quito, no fancy cars, or glass buildings. The people actually look at one another. They talk to one another. Nobody is trying to be better than their neighbour. The city is humble but proud. It stands sturdy and grounded, like a mirror to the mountains. It isn't trying to impress anyone, it isn't trying to be something, it just is. It just sits there for you to absorb it, like the mountain before me. It is dazzling in its humble beauty.
We walk to a square where we meet up with our guide. At first I didn't know what was going on because she introduced herself as if we weren't waiting for her. Like we were just a group and she wanted to talk to us. But then there was this guy beside her translating everything she said and that was kind of weird. After a while I figured that she must be our guide because we started to follow her out of the square.
We then followed her to a museum where she showed us a fig tree that her grandmother planted for her. During the tour she told us about medicinal plants, and how important ancestry is to Ecuadorians.
One thing that she said really stuck to me. She said that in Ecuador they see the future as the past and the past as the future because there are always questions and things unknown about the past where as when we look to the future we can create scenarios and lives that we want to happen, and to say it simply we know what we want to see in the future, but there are questions about the past that only the future can answer.
We then went the the courtyard and tried a traditional treat made out of corn and sugar that they call
caca de perro, or in english dog poo. It doesn't look too much like the dog poo that I have seen, but in honesty I have never seen Ecuadorian dog poo so I'm not one to talk.
We then say our goodbyes to our guide and head off following Rodrigo to a church. Which is easier said then done. The walk to the church is all, 100% uphill, and as we walk the sidewalk is getting smaller and smaller and smaller and oh my word there is no sidewalk left! We are literally walking on the road and there are small cars that drive without fear of hitting people beside us. This is like those claustrophobic nightmares where the walls keep getting closer and closer until you are left on the road in Ecuador with drivers that I am almost certain don't believe in the "the driver is always at fault when a pedestrian is hit" rule.
After a 5-15 minute walk (it's all blurred together) we reach the church. By this point I am out of breath and feel very unfit because of the elevation. Then I take a second to look around and I am caught breathless again. The church is an old gothic church with gargoyles and elaborate detailing in stone and huge doors and two steeples and the whole dang thing. Except for this really cool twist. All the gargoyles are not the typical gargoyles that you see on classic gothic churches. Instead the gargoyles are native Ecuadorian animals which run the length of the church. So. Freaking. Cool.
After touring the outside of the church for about 10 minutes we cross the street and have lunch in the park. We eat sandwiches that the hotel made and packaged for us that morning. (side note: thank you to the kitchen staff for making the sandwiches even though you probably won't see this they were very good and I was absolutely starving)
After lunch we all got on the same coach bus that picked us up at the airport and headed to a second museum. The second museum was located on the equator and had some really cool experiments that you could try. One of them (one that my dad actually can not believe) has to do with water.
They set a tub of water with a drain on the equator and let it drain out which was fascinating because there was no tiny cyclone in the water when it drained. It just drained straight down, because the equator was pulling the centre of gravity straight down. Then the tub was placed to the right and the left and the cyclone would spin clockwise and counterclockwise on either side of the equator. Another thing we tried was balancing an egg on the head of a nail which was supposed to be easy but was actually really really hard but a few people were able to do it.
We then went back to the hotel, had about 20 minutes at the hotel. During which we had short interviews with our two facilitators about any health concerns or allergies and handed over our medications, and then we were off again for supper. We walked as a group to a restaurant that was by the square that we had been at earlier that day.
We then had supper that was accompanied by some very bright conversations including if we crumpled toilet paper or folded it and a lot of other this or that questions all of which I am going to save for the glorious day that I am interviewing someone and need to lighten up the conversation.
After supper we walked back to the hotel had showers got ready for bed, and then went to the lobby to join a small group who were talking about who actually won the war. Apparently Canada actually won the war. (don't ask me what war I have no sweet clue).
Around 9 or 10 Ivana, Kinsey and I went back to our rooms had a bright conversation and went to bed anticipating an early morning...
-Z
I wake up in a hotel room in Ecuador with two other girls who I have just met yesterday. It is still early in the morning, they are both asleep. The room has concrete-like walls and is painted in a dusty red colour. The stained glass windows face the hallways outside which has a sunroof and that is the only light that is brightening the room with a blue-grey colour.
I lay in bed till Ivana gets up around 7:30 and then get ready for the day. The three of us then went on to discover the rest of the hotel. We climb about 7 flights of stairs and ended up on the roof which had a gorgeous view of Quito.
After taking some pictures we climbed down and get breakfast.
The breakfast tables and kitchen is in a cellar and there is wine in the corner stacked to the dome shaped roof. All the walls and the ceiling is brick and the ceiling is only a foot or two above my head.
After breakfast we all make a circle in the lobby and play a game called squirt. How you play the game is that some lucky soul gets the stand in the middle and point a make believe water gun at somebody and say "squirt" then that person has the kneel down really fast and the two people beside them have to also make water guns out of there hands point them at one another and yell the other's name. Whoever says the other's name last has to go into the circle and so on so forth.
Its at this game that we meet Rodrigo who is our guide for the trip.
At about 8:30 AM we head out to the streets of Quito to go on our walking tour.
Quito is cradled by 4 mountains. At the centre of the city the streets are fairly flat but once you start walking outwards the streets go upwards. All the buildings are 3 stories high. On the ground level there are stores that sell everything from vegetables to fabrics. But once you look up there lies the history of Quito. Because the next two stories are a tell tale of Spanish designs. From the white details around every window to the pastel colours every bit is breath taking every bit is exquisite.
But there is something about this city, something about cities that rest at the base of mountains that is humbling. You see no skyscrapers in Quito, no fancy cars, or glass buildings. The people actually look at one another. They talk to one another. Nobody is trying to be better than their neighbour. The city is humble but proud. It stands sturdy and grounded, like a mirror to the mountains. It isn't trying to impress anyone, it isn't trying to be something, it just is. It just sits there for you to absorb it, like the mountain before me. It is dazzling in its humble beauty.
We walk to a square where we meet up with our guide. At first I didn't know what was going on because she introduced herself as if we weren't waiting for her. Like we were just a group and she wanted to talk to us. But then there was this guy beside her translating everything she said and that was kind of weird. After a while I figured that she must be our guide because we started to follow her out of the square.
We then followed her to a museum where she showed us a fig tree that her grandmother planted for her. During the tour she told us about medicinal plants, and how important ancestry is to Ecuadorians.
One thing that she said really stuck to me. She said that in Ecuador they see the future as the past and the past as the future because there are always questions and things unknown about the past where as when we look to the future we can create scenarios and lives that we want to happen, and to say it simply we know what we want to see in the future, but there are questions about the past that only the future can answer.
We then went the the courtyard and tried a traditional treat made out of corn and sugar that they call
caca de perro, or in english dog poo. It doesn't look too much like the dog poo that I have seen, but in honesty I have never seen Ecuadorian dog poo so I'm not one to talk.
We then say our goodbyes to our guide and head off following Rodrigo to a church. Which is easier said then done. The walk to the church is all, 100% uphill, and as we walk the sidewalk is getting smaller and smaller and smaller and oh my word there is no sidewalk left! We are literally walking on the road and there are small cars that drive without fear of hitting people beside us. This is like those claustrophobic nightmares where the walls keep getting closer and closer until you are left on the road in Ecuador with drivers that I am almost certain don't believe in the "the driver is always at fault when a pedestrian is hit" rule.
After a 5-15 minute walk (it's all blurred together) we reach the church. By this point I am out of breath and feel very unfit because of the elevation. Then I take a second to look around and I am caught breathless again. The church is an old gothic church with gargoyles and elaborate detailing in stone and huge doors and two steeples and the whole dang thing. Except for this really cool twist. All the gargoyles are not the typical gargoyles that you see on classic gothic churches. Instead the gargoyles are native Ecuadorian animals which run the length of the church. So. Freaking. Cool.
After touring the outside of the church for about 10 minutes we cross the street and have lunch in the park. We eat sandwiches that the hotel made and packaged for us that morning. (side note: thank you to the kitchen staff for making the sandwiches even though you probably won't see this they were very good and I was absolutely starving)
After lunch we all got on the same coach bus that picked us up at the airport and headed to a second museum. The second museum was located on the equator and had some really cool experiments that you could try. One of them (one that my dad actually can not believe) has to do with water.
They set a tub of water with a drain on the equator and let it drain out which was fascinating because there was no tiny cyclone in the water when it drained. It just drained straight down, because the equator was pulling the centre of gravity straight down. Then the tub was placed to the right and the left and the cyclone would spin clockwise and counterclockwise on either side of the equator. Another thing we tried was balancing an egg on the head of a nail which was supposed to be easy but was actually really really hard but a few people were able to do it.
We then went back to the hotel, had about 20 minutes at the hotel. During which we had short interviews with our two facilitators about any health concerns or allergies and handed over our medications, and then we were off again for supper. We walked as a group to a restaurant that was by the square that we had been at earlier that day.
We then had supper that was accompanied by some very bright conversations including if we crumpled toilet paper or folded it and a lot of other this or that questions all of which I am going to save for the glorious day that I am interviewing someone and need to lighten up the conversation.
After supper we walked back to the hotel had showers got ready for bed, and then went to the lobby to join a small group who were talking about who actually won the war. Apparently Canada actually won the war. (don't ask me what war I have no sweet clue).
Around 9 or 10 Ivana, Kinsey and I went back to our rooms had a bright conversation and went to bed anticipating an early morning...
-Z
Monday, 25 August 2014
Day 1
August, 4, 2014
I always think that future me is going to be able to handle so much more than I think I can handle now. That's why I always seem to set up future me with things that I assume she will be able to handle with grace and poise. This trip was no different. When I booked the trip back in February I had a vision of future me setting off for the amazon with an already full backpack of life skills that ensured my sanity and confidence.
Well last night I broke out in hives due to how much anxiety I was going through over this trip and to say the least I am the same girl who booked this trip back in February. I have the same skill set. I have the same thought process. I am no wiser, no more graceful, no more confident in my abilities. I am scared senseless over this trip and that's okay.
It's 5:30 am. My dad knocks on my door to wake me up. I wake up almost instantly. I don't think I was ever really sleeping. Just in a really relaxed part of my conscience. Because no matter how "asleep" I was last night I always had the fact that I was leaving for Ecuador the next day in the back of my mind.
I get dressed into the outfit that I have had layed out for the last week. I put the new pair of bobs on that I bought for this trip because I have absolutely destroyed every other pair of flat comfortable shoes that I own. I brush my teeth and run my fingers through my straightened hair. By tomorrow my hair will be a brown mess of curls, and for the next two weeks I will miss my straightener.
I bring my green hiking backpack and my blue day backpack to the truck. I go to my lemonade stand (long story) and get a cup of ice water because oh man do I love ice and oh man am I going to miss it.
Then I say goodbye to my dad and he gives me a stack of papers that's about five inches thick on my travel insurance, and the gps cordinants to the nearest hospital, and my flight itinerary, and a 20 step set of directions on how to check into your flight.
I then say goodbye to my room and head to the truck. I wait for my mom for a few minutes and then we are off to the airport.
Once we get there we check my hiking backpack in and get my boarding pass. I say a final goodbye to my mom and then go through security and go sit at my gate which is the only gate in the whole airport.
After about 5-10 minutes I check my boarding pass. for some reason it says that my plane leaves at 10:30 instead of 7:30 and that's around the time that I realize I am 4 hours early. I end up texting my mom to see if she is still at the airport. Which thankfully she is. And then I ask someone who looks like they work at the airport when the flight for Toronto leaves and they confirm 10:30 and then I go back through security and explain how I am 4 hours early and then I see my mom again and we go pick my dad up at the ford dealership where he is dropping his car off to get fixed and we all go for breakfast at Cora's.
After breakfast we drive to the airport for real this time and say our final goodbyes. For some reason I am more nervous now than I was the first time. I go through security again and sit at that gate again and everything feels real this time.
I board my first flight to Toronto which is about 2 hours long.
The plane lifts off the ground and I'm off on another insane adventure but something is wrong. It feels wrong sitting beside a stranger. I shouldn't feel this way. I'm off on another adventure I should feel over joyed, but instead I just feel lonely. I want someone to not make me so alone. I want someone to share this adventure with. But maybe all I am supposed to have for right now is my passport and my backpack. Maybe I have to learn how to be a little less lonely when I'm alone.
The plane lands in Toronto and I go to pick up my backpack. I go through hallways following the "departures" signs. I end up going up a flight of stairs and up another level in an elevator. When
the doors open to the elevator a wall of screens for aircanada await me. Now this is where things get interesting. Because I am looking for avianca, and on top of that I am looking for a large group of teenagers with backpacks who are also flying with avianca to Ecuador.
I am looking around when I make eye contact with another girl accompanied by a backpack and a similar lost expression. We ignore the obvious until I ask. "are you on a me to we trip?" Her face lights up as she responds "Yes, are you going to Ecuador?" Now I am laughing a little "yeah, do you think they are the group?" I am talking about a pile of backpacks and a few kids accompanied by three adults in me to we shirts. Before we could walk over to ask they ask us. They ask if we are going to Peru, and sadly we had to say no. However right about now Peru is sounding pretty good.
We walk around the check in desks looking for avianca. After a while we end up back where we started. We notice a girl in a me to we shirt now greeting people and directing them to sit in an area of chairs that has a lot of backpacks sprawled around it. We go up to her and ask if this group is going to Ecuador. And (thank heavens) it is. We go and add our backpacks to the pile and sit on the last two rows of chairs that face each other. For a while we both sit their awkwardly and then I introduce myself and we start a conversation.
Her name is Ivana. She is 17 and from Vancouver. This is her first me to we trip and she has been waiting in the airport for about 10 hours.
What I don't know about her yet is that her laugh is absolutely contagious and that her real smile is worth millions. That she isn't a hugger but she can still make you feel loved. That she can talk about any topic with ease and that no topic is really off limits to her. She will make this trip a memory I won't forget, and she will be the first friend I make in the group. But for now she is polite.
After a few minutes we are called into a circle by a guy named Esta. Esta is one of our two facilitators on the trip. He is hyper, has one of the best hair cuts I have ever seen, and knows literally every riddle and camp-like-game known to man. After introducing ourselves and going over the trip rules we all go and get our boarding passes and check our bags in.
We then go to our gates and a few girls from the group and I go to a pita place. But see this is no ordinary pita place, no no because that would be too simple. Instead this pita place has iPads for menus and when you order on the menu your order goes straight to the kitchen and then in like 5 minutes they are bringing your order out. It is absolutely ingenious and it actually made me appreciate the in-between laptop phone thing that and iPad is. (no offence to iPad lovers I just have always found their size a bit awkward).
After lunch we get snacks and board our first flight which is 5 hours. I sit next to Maddie for the flight. Maddie has got to be one of the most amazing people I have met. She is compassionate and empathetic. She is such a strong soul and has taught me so much. But for the first 5 hours that I knew Maddie I got to see the fun-loving hilarious side of her as we completely annoyed the lady sitting next to us.
After the first flight we had what seemed like 30 minutes in El Salvador and then we were off on our next flight. I pretty much slept this entire flight which was only about 2 hours but still that was a good two hours.
At 12:55 we landed in Quito, Ecuador. We met up with a few other people from our group who weren't traveling with us, and Katie our second group facilitator (yes another Katie, there were two other Katies on the trip so I became known at KZ in an attempt to make things a little less confusing). We then continued on to a coach bus and had a 1 hour drive to the airport. I sat next to Maddie again and slept for most of the drive. Except for the moments where I woke up for 30 seconds to wake Maddie up point at something interesting outside the window say "look" and then fall back asleep. I blame exhaustion.
When we got to the hotel we got assigned rooms, roommates, and were informed of the time to get up, where breakfast was, and when we have to be ready to leave tomorrow. Then we go to our rooms, I'm roomed with Ivana and a girl named Kinsey. And when we get to our room I pretty much fall straight into bed.
-Z
I always think that future me is going to be able to handle so much more than I think I can handle now. That's why I always seem to set up future me with things that I assume she will be able to handle with grace and poise. This trip was no different. When I booked the trip back in February I had a vision of future me setting off for the amazon with an already full backpack of life skills that ensured my sanity and confidence.
Well last night I broke out in hives due to how much anxiety I was going through over this trip and to say the least I am the same girl who booked this trip back in February. I have the same skill set. I have the same thought process. I am no wiser, no more graceful, no more confident in my abilities. I am scared senseless over this trip and that's okay.
It's 5:30 am. My dad knocks on my door to wake me up. I wake up almost instantly. I don't think I was ever really sleeping. Just in a really relaxed part of my conscience. Because no matter how "asleep" I was last night I always had the fact that I was leaving for Ecuador the next day in the back of my mind.
I get dressed into the outfit that I have had layed out for the last week. I put the new pair of bobs on that I bought for this trip because I have absolutely destroyed every other pair of flat comfortable shoes that I own. I brush my teeth and run my fingers through my straightened hair. By tomorrow my hair will be a brown mess of curls, and for the next two weeks I will miss my straightener.
I bring my green hiking backpack and my blue day backpack to the truck. I go to my lemonade stand (long story) and get a cup of ice water because oh man do I love ice and oh man am I going to miss it.
Then I say goodbye to my dad and he gives me a stack of papers that's about five inches thick on my travel insurance, and the gps cordinants to the nearest hospital, and my flight itinerary, and a 20 step set of directions on how to check into your flight.
I then say goodbye to my room and head to the truck. I wait for my mom for a few minutes and then we are off to the airport.
Once we get there we check my hiking backpack in and get my boarding pass. I say a final goodbye to my mom and then go through security and go sit at my gate which is the only gate in the whole airport.
After about 5-10 minutes I check my boarding pass. for some reason it says that my plane leaves at 10:30 instead of 7:30 and that's around the time that I realize I am 4 hours early. I end up texting my mom to see if she is still at the airport. Which thankfully she is. And then I ask someone who looks like they work at the airport when the flight for Toronto leaves and they confirm 10:30 and then I go back through security and explain how I am 4 hours early and then I see my mom again and we go pick my dad up at the ford dealership where he is dropping his car off to get fixed and we all go for breakfast at Cora's.
After breakfast we drive to the airport for real this time and say our final goodbyes. For some reason I am more nervous now than I was the first time. I go through security again and sit at that gate again and everything feels real this time.
I board my first flight to Toronto which is about 2 hours long.
The plane lifts off the ground and I'm off on another insane adventure but something is wrong. It feels wrong sitting beside a stranger. I shouldn't feel this way. I'm off on another adventure I should feel over joyed, but instead I just feel lonely. I want someone to not make me so alone. I want someone to share this adventure with. But maybe all I am supposed to have for right now is my passport and my backpack. Maybe I have to learn how to be a little less lonely when I'm alone.
The plane lands in Toronto and I go to pick up my backpack. I go through hallways following the "departures" signs. I end up going up a flight of stairs and up another level in an elevator. When
the doors open to the elevator a wall of screens for aircanada await me. Now this is where things get interesting. Because I am looking for avianca, and on top of that I am looking for a large group of teenagers with backpacks who are also flying with avianca to Ecuador.
I am looking around when I make eye contact with another girl accompanied by a backpack and a similar lost expression. We ignore the obvious until I ask. "are you on a me to we trip?" Her face lights up as she responds "Yes, are you going to Ecuador?" Now I am laughing a little "yeah, do you think they are the group?" I am talking about a pile of backpacks and a few kids accompanied by three adults in me to we shirts. Before we could walk over to ask they ask us. They ask if we are going to Peru, and sadly we had to say no. However right about now Peru is sounding pretty good.
We walk around the check in desks looking for avianca. After a while we end up back where we started. We notice a girl in a me to we shirt now greeting people and directing them to sit in an area of chairs that has a lot of backpacks sprawled around it. We go up to her and ask if this group is going to Ecuador. And (thank heavens) it is. We go and add our backpacks to the pile and sit on the last two rows of chairs that face each other. For a while we both sit their awkwardly and then I introduce myself and we start a conversation.
Her name is Ivana. She is 17 and from Vancouver. This is her first me to we trip and she has been waiting in the airport for about 10 hours.
What I don't know about her yet is that her laugh is absolutely contagious and that her real smile is worth millions. That she isn't a hugger but she can still make you feel loved. That she can talk about any topic with ease and that no topic is really off limits to her. She will make this trip a memory I won't forget, and she will be the first friend I make in the group. But for now she is polite.
After a few minutes we are called into a circle by a guy named Esta. Esta is one of our two facilitators on the trip. He is hyper, has one of the best hair cuts I have ever seen, and knows literally every riddle and camp-like-game known to man. After introducing ourselves and going over the trip rules we all go and get our boarding passes and check our bags in.
We then go to our gates and a few girls from the group and I go to a pita place. But see this is no ordinary pita place, no no because that would be too simple. Instead this pita place has iPads for menus and when you order on the menu your order goes straight to the kitchen and then in like 5 minutes they are bringing your order out. It is absolutely ingenious and it actually made me appreciate the in-between laptop phone thing that and iPad is. (no offence to iPad lovers I just have always found their size a bit awkward).
After lunch we get snacks and board our first flight which is 5 hours. I sit next to Maddie for the flight. Maddie has got to be one of the most amazing people I have met. She is compassionate and empathetic. She is such a strong soul and has taught me so much. But for the first 5 hours that I knew Maddie I got to see the fun-loving hilarious side of her as we completely annoyed the lady sitting next to us.
After the first flight we had what seemed like 30 minutes in El Salvador and then we were off on our next flight. I pretty much slept this entire flight which was only about 2 hours but still that was a good two hours.
At 12:55 we landed in Quito, Ecuador. We met up with a few other people from our group who weren't traveling with us, and Katie our second group facilitator (yes another Katie, there were two other Katies on the trip so I became known at KZ in an attempt to make things a little less confusing). We then continued on to a coach bus and had a 1 hour drive to the airport. I sat next to Maddie again and slept for most of the drive. Except for the moments where I woke up for 30 seconds to wake Maddie up point at something interesting outside the window say "look" and then fall back asleep. I blame exhaustion.
When we got to the hotel we got assigned rooms, roommates, and were informed of the time to get up, where breakfast was, and when we have to be ready to leave tomorrow. Then we go to our rooms, I'm roomed with Ivana and a girl named Kinsey. And when we get to our room I pretty much fall straight into bed.
-Z
Ecuador Introduction
Hello,
On August 4th I went to Ecuador and into the Amazon with MeToWe to work in a group of young activists on a community kitchen in the amazon. I have been back for about 8 days now and can only sum up this incredible experience as life changing.
While on the trip I had no access to internet or cellular so I was not able to post from the jungle. Instead I am going to be writing the trip from home going off of my notes and journal entrees from the trip.
Before I begin to try to put even the tiniest piece of the amazon into words (which is so much harder than it sounds) I need to apologize for how long it has taken me to even write the first day. In the end I have two excuses for you. The first is very generic. I have been working from 7 to 9 every day since I have gotten back and when I do sit down for a moment I just seem to fall asleep.
But if I was to be completely honest with you I could have found the time. But it's been hard recovering from the trip, like it is recovering from any trip. It honestly feels like withdrawal when you come home after traveling for so long. for this past week I have missed the amazon and the people so much that I have really been trying to ignore the fact that any of it really happened.
But I have now recovered from the "denial" phase of travel withdrawal and I am ready to remember it. To remember the humidity and the sounds of the jungle. I am ready to accept that I can only go back in my imagination for now.
So thank you for being so patient while I denied the fact that I am home now and have to adapt to life at home for another winter. And with that said here we go, off to the amazon and into the jungle.
The adventure awaits.
-Z
On August 4th I went to Ecuador and into the Amazon with MeToWe to work in a group of young activists on a community kitchen in the amazon. I have been back for about 8 days now and can only sum up this incredible experience as life changing.
While on the trip I had no access to internet or cellular so I was not able to post from the jungle. Instead I am going to be writing the trip from home going off of my notes and journal entrees from the trip.
Before I begin to try to put even the tiniest piece of the amazon into words (which is so much harder than it sounds) I need to apologize for how long it has taken me to even write the first day. In the end I have two excuses for you. The first is very generic. I have been working from 7 to 9 every day since I have gotten back and when I do sit down for a moment I just seem to fall asleep.
But if I was to be completely honest with you I could have found the time. But it's been hard recovering from the trip, like it is recovering from any trip. It honestly feels like withdrawal when you come home after traveling for so long. for this past week I have missed the amazon and the people so much that I have really been trying to ignore the fact that any of it really happened.
But I have now recovered from the "denial" phase of travel withdrawal and I am ready to remember it. To remember the humidity and the sounds of the jungle. I am ready to accept that I can only go back in my imagination for now.
So thank you for being so patient while I denied the fact that I am home now and have to adapt to life at home for another winter. And with that said here we go, off to the amazon and into the jungle.
The adventure awaits.
-Z
Tuesday, 15 April 2014
The China Man
Recently I got the assignment to write a short story. I chose to write about an adventure I had while on vacation a year ago.
I thought I would share it because still to this day I can't help laughing at it. Seriously. I couldn't keep a straight face while writing some of the parts. So I hope it makes you laugh a little!
Enjoy!
The China Man
Part 1 – The Climb Up
It is April. My
brother, mom, and I are on a vacation in
Canmore, Alberta visiting Carsen who is an old friend of ours and has
agreed to take us hiking.
To start us off Carsen chose a mountain called the China
Man. It is 7’896 feet high, and will take
us about 3 hours to climb. However Carsen got a call this morning to work as a
bagpiper at a wedding which is being hosted in the Canmore ski lodge. So we are
planning to climb the mountain early so that Carsen will have time to run back
down the mountain and go to work.
To get to the base of the mountain we have to drive through
a mountain road for about 15 minutes. But
before we even reach the mountain all our cell phones lose reception.
Soon we arrive at the mountain, and pull into a gravel
parking lot with about 20 cars parked in it.
We walk up a small incline and are soon we are at a dirt
path with spruce trees framing the sides that create an arch above it, almost
like natures doorway.
This isn’t so hard, I was picturing a hand over feet
experience but the trail is really gentle and easy. I keep talking with the boys ahead of me. Then the trail steepens and I am out of
breath. The trail continues to steepen and I start to fall out of step with the
boys.
While I am falling behind so is my mom, and soon enough I am
alone. This is bliss, just me and the wild, complete solitude.
While I climb, the
mountain moves from under my feet to being on both sides of me. On my left is the incline to the peak, on my
right is the decline to the base, and with every step these sides increase in
degree.
I am not afraid of heights.
So it is to my surprise that I am discovering a new fear: falling. So
now I am afraid of moving downward, fast, and without control.
Soon the terrain develops from soft dirt and a variety of
green plants and trees to evergreens and soggy mud. I begin to notice snow in the shade. Then snow everywhere until I am walking on
snow. Then the
trees begin to become
sparse and smaller, and then suddenly the ground changes into rock.
I am concentrating on my footing when I hear my name.
“Kates!” It is Carsen running back down,
to get to the wedding. “Late for the
wedding yet?” I ask “No I got an hour, Jordan’s at The Ridge. Keep it up! You
are almost there, about 30 more minutes” at this he runs passed me yelling back
a good bye.
I am close to the top when I see Jordan. He is walking back down. “Where’s mom?” he asks. My sentences are short
and breathless “I don’t know…**Breath**...On the mountain..**Breath**...Somewhere
behind me…**Breath**… I am going to go up to the ridge.” He just says “Okay
bye” then we pass, both going our separate ways, me to The Ridge, him to the
bottom. I will regret this moment in an
hour, but for now it doesn’t seem like a choice. It just is.
But it was a choice, a defining one.
Part 2 - The Ridge
I can see it now, the ridge and the peak. The top of the mountain isn’t how I had
expected it to be. The ridge resembles
and uneven roof: one side a steady slide down, the other an almost straight
drop. The ridge goes on for 4 meters where
it stops and from there a steep angled upside down v appears. It goes out into
the air at a steep degree, but not an un-climbable one. People are climbing it, going out to the edge
and sitting with their feet over the rock.
I start out onto the ridge.
It is steeper than it looked from the path. I remember the path; it was so nice, with the
mountain always to one side and the drop always to another. Now there is a fall
to both sides of me.
Now the path is gone. It appears that I have graduated from the
path. I walk on slanted rock. Pebbles
and small cracks keep me from falling down the long side; nothing keeps me from
falling down the steep side.
I start to climb the peak.
This is terrible. What a horrible,
horrible thing to do. Who does this?
Well, I am doing this. Who enjoys this?
I don’t want the answer to that.
The wind starts to pick up its intensity. This is getting scary. I am not even half way up. The fall to either side of me is terrifying. The fall behind me is bone breaking. I am not enjoying this. Forget being afraid of falling. I am afraid of heights, yes, officially
afraid of heights now.
The snow gets thicker.
I can’t see much now, but it doesn’t matter this is too much. I climbed to the top, so what if I didn’t
climb the peak? It’s not like I have a death wish. I start to back track now. Back to the ridge, and back to the trail.
I soon find myself in a group of about 5 people. Some people move ahead and some fall back until
I am left with a couple, a man and a woman.
They are in their late 30’s. She
has blonde hair and he has curly brown hair.
Their names are Megan and Steven.
We start to tell stories and ask questions; soon we are in a friendly
conversation.
I begin to realise that I can’t feel my legs. Yes they had hurt on the way up, sure that is
expected, but this...I have heard people talk about this. I thought they were kidding, but no…I can’t
feel my legs. They should be throbbing
right now; running down a mountain is so much worse than going up.
So my legs are numb now.
Great. It could be because we are
running down the mountain at a much quicker pace than I would have gone if I
had been alone.
Part 2: Scottish Melodies
Soon we are almost to the end of the trail. I actually can’t believe this. Over just like that. We are in the wooded area when Megan and Steven
stop at a river to wade in the water. It
sounds lovely but I really want a shower and new clothes. On second thought I want food, like a lot of
food. Climbing a mountain on a light
breakfast and granola bars wasn’t the smartest idea.
So we say our goodbyes and then I walk out of the
woods. I have accomplished an amazing
task of bravery and personal strength. I
am a mountain climber. I am…..where is
the car? My heart starts to beat faster.
The rental car, where is it? No, no, no, no. Okay don’t panic. I am sure they will be here in a second. My mom would never abandon me.
I sit down on a boulder by the parking lot, and make a list of my options.
1. Call them (No service)
2. Walk to where I have service (No cellphone power)
3. Walk to the main road (My legs are numb. It is a 30
minute walk to the highway, and that still leaves me in the middle of nowhere)
4. Wait for them to come back. (It is getting dark. And maybe mom broke her leg and Jordan drove
her to the hospital…even though he doesn’t have a license…oh God on the way to
the hospital maybe they crashed the car and died and no one is going to know
where to find me!)
This is taking too
long. I have been here for like 20
minutes. Something is up.
NO. You are not
going to let your imagination get the best of you. That is not going to help anything. You need to problem solve. Okay another option. You need another option. Just then I see
Megan and Steven walking to their car.
This is going to sound like I am going to rob them or like the start of
a horror movie but I have to try something.
I walk over to
them. They are looking at me weird. “Hey!” I start. I actually can’t believe I am doing
this. “Can I use your phone? Mine died
and my ride isn’t here.” A worried
expression grows on Megan’s face “I don’t have any reception, but I might have
some at the top of the hill. We can drive you”
The parking lot is in
a gully and there is a steep hill which is the only way into the gully. I agree and they drive me to the top of the
hill.
I actually can’t
believe I am getting in their car. This
is like the first rule you get as a kid.
Getting in a strangers car is the worst idea ever. Still I get in their car.
We drive to the top
of the hill but still no reception. We
drive a little further on and bam! Reception. I call my mom’s
phone…ring…ring…dead. I am starting to panic now. I call my brother’s phone…ring…ring…dead.
Okay plan B. I need a plan B. “I think their phones are dead…” I am
thinking…got it! It’s a bad idea but still I need to do something. “Do you know the ski lodge?” “Yep” Megan
answers. “Well I have a friend there
that is working at a wedding. If you
could take me there that’d be great.”
Carsen is going to be shocked.
“Yeah, definitely!” Steven starts to drive. “It’s the place with the big flags out front
right?” He asks. “Yep that’s the one.” I
give Steven the directions and soon we are at the lodge. He drives up to the curb in the parking lot
and I get out.
Megan is still really
worried “Here let me give you my number.
Tell me when you find your folks.” She scribbles her number on a napkin
and I take it. “Thank you so much!” I
say. I wish I knew if they helped, but
honestly I don’t know. I don’t know if
anything is better now. They pull off
and I am left alone again.
Solitude…not so blissful anymore.
I walk towards the lodge and there is the beat up Toyota that
Carsen drives. I couldn’t miss it
amongst the new black cars of the wedding guests. I walk into the lodge. The
wedding hasn’t gotten busy yet and no one sees me, which is good. But I don’t
see Carsen anywhere. A bridesmaid is
walking towards me from the main room, she hasn’t seen me yet. I quickly walk into the first door I see. Thankfully it is the women’s bathroom.
I look in the
mirror… and I laugh a little because there I am in the reflection and I can’t
believe that is me, and I can’t believe I am crashing a wedding and I can’t
believe what I have managed to get myself into. I am covered in mud. My hair is a mess and my cheeks are red. I look like a disaster and I just keep
laughing.
Then I stop because I
hear bagpipes. Carsen must be close
by. I follow the sound of the Scottish
melodies.
I open the lodge doors again and walk out and there he
is. People are walking in now while
doing their best to ignore the crazed-mud-splattered-girl staring at the
bagpiper. But really, could you blame
me? How do just appear at someone’s job and tell the story that I just went
through?
I approach the bagpiper slowly. I walk around and he sees me. I smile a really terrible smile because I
know I shouldn’t be here and I know how insane it is that I am here.
He keeps playing but his expression says it all “What on Earth
Kates?”
He stops
playing. Here we go. “What.” He takes a breath “what are you doing
here Kates?” And so I begin “The rental
car wasn’t in the parking lot and I just kind of got a ride here and I know
that sounds crazy but I don’t know what to do and I really need your phone.”
I wait for him to either laugh or freak out. He does neither instead a voice comes from
the trailer parked behind me. It’s the
bride. “Everything okay?” her head is
poking out of the trailer. “Yeah everything
is fine. My friend here is stranded and
she just walked here from the top of that mountain” And he points to a mountain pretty far away
and sure enough there is China Man in all its glory.
The bride mumbles an okay
and a goodbye than goes back into the trailer.
I feel really bad. I crashed her
wedding, not dressed appropriately, and made her bagpiper stop piping.
“Here.” He hands me
his phone. “Try to call them and go sit in my car. It’s unlocked, and there is no food in there.
I ate it all.” “That’s inconsiderate.” I say
“You should always leave spare food in case random hikers wonder off
mountains to use your phone.” I start
to walk off “Thanks!” And the bagpipes start again.
I sit in the car and call their phones again and again.
10 minutes: I look
for food. He was right there is just a
banana peel. I am so hungry.
30 minutes: I call my dad to tell him what happened, and to
ask him if they called.
40 minutes: I regret leaving the mountain.
The phone rings it’s my mom.
Oh. My…here we go. I pick the
phone up.
“Hey, is Katie with you?”
“Hi, this is Katie.
Where did you go!? I got a ride to the wedding because I thought you died in a
car accident on the way to the hospital because Jordan doesn’t have a
license!!”
“What? You are at the
wedding? Why was I in the hospital?”
“Never mind mom, just
pick me up please, I am really hungry”
“Okay see you in 5”
“Bye”
“Bye”
She is very mad. She
doesn’t show it, won’t, until she knows I am safe. Than once all needs and security issues are
taken care of she will lose her sanity.
The rental car pulls into the parking lot. I get out of the car and my mom does
too. I give her a hug and try to explain
the whole story but I stop when I see Jordan in the window, but he won’t look
at me. He is mad, really mad.
“What’s wrong with Jordan?”
“We thought you were still on the mountain. He ran up and down it in an hour and he dropped
his phone and it smashed. When he got
back I talked to a ranger, they are sending a search party out. I had to call them on the drive here to tell
them you hitchhiked to a wedding.”
“So where did you guys go?”
“We went to see a lake for 5 minutes at 2:00. When did you leave the parking lot?”
“Uhh like 2:08”
My brilliant plan
doesn’t sound so amazing now. This is embarrassing.
We head back to our hotel and everyone is asking what
happened to me. Turns out my dad spread
the news all over Canmore.
I finally eat in the
lobby while the people at the desk talk about how worried my dad was. My mom talks about calling the rangers while
Jordan is on the phone with Carsen joking about everything that happened that
day.
Later we compare everyone’s side of the story and it becomes
clear, clear where everything went wrong.
I didn’t climb the peak, which leaves time missing. I traveled down the mountain faster than I
would normally have, that also leaves time missing. So I must have walked out
of the woods the moment they drove off, and drove out of the parking lot the
moment they came back.
This is infuriating. The
entire day, my entire attempt at making the right decisions is, in the end, so
close to
not being a disaster, and so close to not being an adventure.
-Z
Tuesday, 4 March 2014
And So It Begins...Again
And so it begins...again! As of right now I am traveling to Ecuador on the 4th of August for two weeks with a group of teenage volunteers traveling with an organization called ME TO WE TRIPS to build a school!!!! I am soooo excited and nervous.
This will be my first ever trip out of the country without a family member, which is a HUGE leap. I am so much more nervous about Ecuador than I was about Africa. Actually I really wasn't nervous at all about Africa. But I guess once you take my mom out of the equation I become scared. But hey its South America and that is another first. I have never been to South America. Nor have I ever built a school or traveled with a volunteer group. So many firsts.
I will be posting the pictures and stories for Ecuador on The Green Backpack. However there is one little change...I will be posting after the trip. Since no computers are aloud on the trip and even if I smuggled one to South America (which I am not going to attempt) there is no internet so the stories would still be published when I get home.
I will be keeping a good old paper journal and taking thousands and thousands of extroirdanary photos. And when I return in two weeks I will be uploading them in an orderly fashion once a day (just to keep the suspense factor) I like to think of it as reading a book, but only being aloud to read the book a chapter at a time. Also I will be swamped with starting school in the fall plus closing down my Cafe/summer job and only having to write a story a day will keep me relatively sane while organizing two weeks of stories, pictures, and a kaleidoscope of feelings into orderly posts.
With that said don't go away for too long. At least come back for the end of August for some great stories!! And I am sure something will happen...It always does.
-Z
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Me and my mother have done around 5 presentations in the last 2 months and we have 2 more booked. My stage fright has surprisingly gotten much much better. I no longer shake, however when I start a speech I talk really fast but that wears off quickly. The best part for me is that I don't have a written speech. I have a slideshow which gives me a suggestion of what I should be talking about but I have mainly been winging it. Which is so much more comfortable than having a written speech.
When we did our first speech my mother talked the whole time, and not because she wanted to but because I made her. Now she is a part of the audience. Except for when I look at her with a look of panic when I have talked myself into a hole and need saving. Which happens quite a lot which is not surprising at all.
Another thing that has happened recently is that two lovely papers (The Guardian and The Buzz) published our trip to Africa! I am so thankful to both of them for taking interest in our trip and helping me pursue my dreams by showcasing my writing and our trip. I am so grateful for their support and interest. A lot of people have contacted my mother and I because they found out about our trip through either of the papers asking if we could do a presentation for them. Which is fantastic being able to talk to people and show pictures and laugh at the stories is so enjoyable and lovely.
There are a lot of important messages that the trip to Africa taught me and so much I want to tell people about. By doing presentations I get to tell the stories on a more personal level. I think telling the stories in person something that people can relate to and that they can absorb easier. I also enjoy the instant feed back. I find it so fascinating hearing people's reactions to the stories and hearing their opinions.
And I am so thankful to The Buzz and The Guardian for getting the word out that I am here and talking and have stories to tell. Everyone has something to tell the world and I am so so so so very thankful that I am supported by so many amazing people to tell my stories and crazy adventures and the messages they have taught me.
So thank you for supporting this crazy 15 year old who wants to share her stories.
-Z
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