Scorpion in the Kitchen

The title of the post explains it all. This evening, as Carlos and I were fixing some tea, I walked towards the kitchen table and saw a scorpion. It's black. I always thought they were red, so I asked Carlos if this was a joke. His mom has some plastic rats and snakes that have terrified the grandchildren, so I thought that this could just be a joke...

It wasn't. Yes, his family had other plastic creatures, but not scorpions. I was terrified. I felt trapped and didn't know what to do. So I sat on the kitchen counter while Carlos looked for the broom to sweep it outside. He didn't want to kill it, even though before he thought of the broom he grabbed a small chair, presumably to smash it with. He couldn't find the broom, so I suggested he asked his dad, who was upstairs, for some help...and just to confirm that it wasn't a joke of his...

It wasn't. Dad came downstairs and helped Carlos sweep it out the house. It did move a little while being nudged with the broom. I was still sitting on the counter, terrified. I'm still terrified. Carlos assured me that that was the first scorpion that he's seen in the house. That didn't make me feel much better. I would have preferred to hear that he has never seen a scorpion in Cuenca. I'm still afraid to go into the kitchen, even though I know the scorpion isn't there. Maybe I'll be over it tomorrow, but for now no more slippers to breakfast.

Lazy

Well, I think maybe just fatigued from lack of oxygen at this altitude. Though I have lots of stories and photos, they won't be posted now. Or for at least a week or two. Tomorrow Carlitos and I head to DC for my cousin's wedding.

I should be packing now.

We will be stateside for about a month so I will find time to post then. I hope.

Notes on Ecuador

I'm getting used to this country. I still miss heated buildings, but I'm getting used to it. Cuenca and the surrounding areas are beautiful. Carlitos and I have spent the past few weeks hanging out with his family and friends and doing a bit of hiking among various local Incan/Cañari ruins. I know that everyone wants to see photos. They're coming. Just not today.

In a few hours we are going to Quito for a few days. Then a week or so at the beach. Maybe I'll find a faster modem somewhere there and post some photos, but it's unlikely that any will be posted before heading home in September. Sorry.

Bureaucracy

I'm getting a bit more comfortable here, though my Spanish still sucks. The thing that has surprised me the most so far is how bureaucracy functions here. For example, last week Carlitos needed to get a new driver's license (his was misplaced). In Chicago, if you loose your license you get a duplicate and pay $5 and have to wait in line for maybe an hour or two (though there are some offices that only print and reprint licenses, like when you change your address, that take 5 minutes). That's not the case in Cuenca.

So we went to one police station for some document, they said no, you need to go to another place for a different document. We went to the second place, no they said, you need a notarized statement saying that you lost your license. We go to the notary, get the statement, go back to the second place. The statement is not valid. We go to a different police station, and find out he needs more documents. So we call it quits for the day.

The next day we go back to the first place from the day before (by the way, we need to drive to all the places, since they are scattered all over the city, not the most legal thing when one is trying to get a new license). We get a document that the day before they said he didn't need (proving he has not criminal record). We go to another place and get another document, some sort of judgment statement that needs to stamped at a different place. Finally we return to the second police station, I read my book while Carlitos needs to take an eye test and a written driving test that was a joke. And finally after two days and about $80 he got his license.

I think I'm going to get my international license when I am back in Chicago rather than attempting to get one here.

Cuenca

I finally made it to Ecuador. Actually, I arrived last week, but it has taken a while to acclimate. I'm a flatlander. Chicago is about 200m above sea level (I didn't know that but I just googled it) and Delft is below sea level. Cuenca is about 2500m above sea level. I flew into Guayaquil, on the coast, where Carlitos met me at the airport. We spent the night there and the next morning walked around the city a bit. That's where my ailments began; I got sunburned.

That afternoon we went by road to Cuenca, only three hours away and through Cajas, the national park where Carlitos used to work. I didn't see the park. I was asleep, or maybe had just passed out due to the lack of oxygen, since the park is at about 4000m. When we arrived at his house in Cuenca I felt alright, which was fortunate, since about half his family was there to meet me (his family, i.e., parents, siblings, in-laws, nieces and nephews, are about 26 in number). I met the rest of the family a few days later.

However, that night was terrible. I was up sick half the night and spent the next day in bed just resting. I was trying to convince myself that I didn't drink the water in Guayaquil (I should know better, since I now have a masters degree in "don't drink the water"), but then remembered that my juice had had some ice in it. After a day in bed, I was ready to emerge and meet the rest of the family. Carlitos' parents have a summer home (not really a summer home since here by the equator it's almost seasonless, but what is referred to as a summer home in the US) a bit outside of town where on weekends the whole family goes to BBQ, garden, gossip, drink, play, etc. While I had a very nice time there, the affliction of the day was shortness of breath.

On Monday morning Carlitos had an interview in a city about an hour away. We drove there with his father and while Carlitos was in the interview, I talked with papi in my best Spanish (now at about a first grade level, but improving). After the interview, we drove a bit further down the road for some sugarcane juice. In the afternoon, I finally made it into the central part of Cuenca. We saw few churches, wandered through the market, and dodged traffic. I was really surprised by how many cars there were. The historic center is beautiful, but unlike Delft, there are cars everywhere (and the sidewalks are quite narrow). Maybe that's why I started sneezing.

Or maybe the cold that I woke up with on Tuesday was due to the climate. The temperature here is relatively consistent, between 10-20C (50-70F) year round. Therefore, they don't have indoor heating. And I am one of those people who is always cold. I have layers, but I just don't like wearing a jacket indoors. Also, the air here is dry. Therefore, we spent the afternoon in neighboring town of Baños, at a Turkish bath (a steam room with a cold shower). It was very very nice.

OK, this had gotten a bit long so far. Up next, how to get a drivers license in Ecuador and why I can drink the tap water in Cuenca. And photos too. I'm having a bit of an uploading issue right now. Sorry.

Where am I?

I'm currently in Chicago, on Connie and Greg's couch petting their dog. My adventures are in a holding pattern until next week. I know there is some adventure in Chicago, I sensed it as I stepped of the plane to the distinct aroma of O'Hare (that looks so wrong with the apostrophe, but wikipedia assured me it is correct, maybe I'm just not used to it anymore). The airport smells like cinnamon and disinfectant.

Anyway, whatever adventure there may be in town, I am not having it right now. I am spending my three days here unpacking and repacking. And hanging out with the family a bit. The day after tomorrow I move to Cuenca, Ecuador, to be with my boyfriend Carlos. I am very excited, but a bit nervous, since I haven't practiced my Spanish in weeks, almost months. Though he speaks English, most of his family does not. When I met his parents a few months ago the conversation started simply and during the first few days my head was aching from language immersion, though after a few weeks my Spanish conversation skills had improved. However, as soon as they left I promptly forgot everything I had learned to make room in my skull for my thesis. Even though I graduated a months ago, those thoughts are still lingering since my engineering skills are a bit stronger than my language skills (which is why I'm an engineer, duh).

So, more adventure and more photos will be posted soon. I am sure that Ecuador will be an adventure like The Netherlands was. Probably even more so.

Itinerary

Today Delft. Tomorrow Dublin. Thursday NYC. Sunday Chicago. Thursday Ecuador.

More stories on the blog? I'll get back to you.

Back in Delft

The last six weeks were a bit busy. A month of my life was sucked away by my thesis, though with good results. Then, two weeks of port hopping, now I'm finally back in Delft. I will more entries after, packing, shipping, cleaning, editing...I hope.

Graduation (April 24, 2008)

First, to be clear, I did not graduate, though most of my classmates did. I will graduate at the end of June (my project has two months extra) in a small ceremony with about half a dozen of my classmates. Since the majority of students graduate in April (about 150 of 180) there is a nice ceremony and party. Carlitos' parents arrived a few days prior, as well as friends and family of other classmates. It was great to finally meet the husbands, wives, parents, and children of my friends.

The institute requests that students graduate in their "traditional dress". About half the class actually does, and it looks amazing. I love the traditional Ugandan dresses, which have enormous puffy shoulders and lovely sashes that I never expected. The Nepali men wear colorful hats with white tops and pants and then add a navy blazer on top. The Ethiopians are also in white, but usually with a scarf that is patterned like the flag.

The rest wear suits and cocktail dresses. I didn't. I wore my sari instead. I figured that that would probably be the only chance to wear it for a while. And fortunately two of my Nepalese classmates saw me attempting to wrap 15 feet of fabric around me and helped me dress. I had googled it beforehand and figured that it can't be that difficult to wrap. But I was wrong. I wouldn't have made it without their help.

The ceremony itself was a typical graduation, followed by drinks at the auditorium, then a typical IHE party, plus an after party that is rumored to have finished in a fight. There's not much to say about the graduation, except that it was very sad having to say goodbye to my classmates...some left for home the very next morning, though most went a day or two later.

It's a bit lonely now. But I have a thesis to keep me company :)

Month Off

It's been ages since I've written, but truly there has not been time, and not much will. Graduation (for most) was April 24, so the last two weeks of April were filled with parties and saying goodbye. Also, Carlitos' parents are visiting, so I have been exhausted after practicing my improving Spanish all day. And then there were the holidays to consider, for it would have been wrong to not go out on Queen's Day.

The lab takes time too, I've been spending eight hour days there, when the lab is open and my chemicals are there. Writing my thesis too, since I am supposed to submit it in three weeks! Finally the sun, it's been showing itself for the last week. So I've been everywhere instead of in front of this computer.

Hmmm, sun. Today looks nice. I'll write more later.