Fin de semana

My weekend can only be described as action packed. Friday night I attended the birthday party of a relative of Karla’s (I have recently decided that Karla is related to one out of every thirteen people in Quito as I run into them all the time!). The fiesta was at a family owned restaurant, also attending was Oswaldo, the man who kindly assisted me in finding the wonderful family I currently reside with. We chatted much of the night and our conversations provided the highlight of my night. The party had scheduled a man to sing, which would have been fine, except the volume on the speakers was such that it was literally impossible to hear someone screaming in your ear; yes that loud. I thought I was going to come away from the event with permanent hearing damage but I think I’m OK☺

Saturday morning early Dimas and I went mountain biking in el Parque Metropolitano; our second time there. Things went well until Dimas’ front brake failed. As you may or may not know the front brake delivers 70% of one’s stopping power and losing it on the trails is never good. We cobbled together enough of a fix to limp back to the car.



(Me hitting a drop in the park)



(View of Cumbaya, a nearby town, from the biking park on high)


In the afternoon Dimas, Julian, and I went to Parque Carolina (smack dab in the middle of the city) mostly for Julian to ride his bike but also to toss the Frisbee a bit. I brought along the camera to give a better idea of Quito’s largest park.



(View of the BMX/Skate freestyle section of the park, fun to ride in!)



(A view from the park; the cross commerates the visit of the pope in 1985. Around 95% of Ecuadorians claim to be Catholic, although my experience has shown this is changing among the younger wealthier generation)



(People playing soccer in the park, THE sport here as in most Latin American countries)


There were little children playing everywhere in the park, happy and laughing. A young boy approached me, not much older than Julian, and asked if I wanted my shoes shined. I tried to tell him my crocs wouldn’t benefit and he asked me for some money for food. It breaks my heart to see the multitudes of children for whom a real childhood will never be more than a dream. I gave the original boy and a companion fifty cents each to take their picture and wished them luck. I know there is suffering and poverty in the US but it is much more hidden; here in Ecuador it comes out and slaps me in the face every day. When will the majority of our world start caring more about their fellow human beings than about money? Is it possible? As before, I must continue to believe that it is.



(Shoe-shiner boys)


Saturday night was spent in the company of a number of my fellow Fulbrighters. Those that could make it met for dinner at the house Vikki is staying at. Topics ranged from Juliet’s latest scare (being on a bus that was assaulted by a gunman) - the poor girl, she is the one that got mugged her first day here! – to why and when we all took up the study of Spanish. I really like the group and can’t wait to meet the final member, Greg, arriving late September.




(L-R: Lisa, Vikki, Juliet, Me, Martin, Sarah - missing Emma, Jessica, and Greg)


I didn’t stay too late as this morning Dimas and I headed to the north of Quito for a softball game. We picked up a few people along the way and by the end had 6 people in car that is tight with 5! Most of the other players were Cuban and being around them made me wonder if they were really speaking Spanish; I almost couldn’t understand a word! They spoke incredibly fast and slurred; luckily sports is a medium that can transcend language. I was called the “Gringo” the entire time but I’d like to think it was with more affection than hostility☺ “Hey, Gringo, su turno para batear!” – “Hey, Gringo, your turn to bat!” My team had a come from behind victory, 23-17, a high scoring game to say the least! I started off a little rusty on the hitting but warmed up by the end and managed to get two homeruns to help us seal the win. Several of the older men got into heated arguments that later on Dimas told me were all in good fun; I thought they were really pissed at each other.



(Beisbol!)


Later in the day I made some banana bread with my friend Laura but we ran into a few difficulties. First we didn’t have all the right ingredients and when the batter was finally ready the oven wouldn’t heat up, doh! After an embarrassing length of time it was determined that the oven had simply run out of gas and needed a new canister. The oven then went super hot and burned a bit of the top of our batches. In the end it all worked out OK. The finished product wasn’t quite like my mom’s (which is obviously the best in the world☺) but was still good and worth all the effort.

So there you go, my weekend in brief. Now I’m getting ready for another big week at the lab; tomorrow Tatiana has promised to let me help her with a PCR prep and I can’t wait! Hope you’re all well. -Michael