The Rollercoaster Ride of a Lifetime

Over the last month, I have begun to learn some important lessons through some of the hardest experiences I have had yet on this trip. Trips like this, a dear friend said to me, are like a rollercoaster ride. You ride up with your new experiences, hit a peak and then fall very far down into culture shock. I reached this point around the Thanksgiving weekend and for a few hours, I even considered going home to Canada. I thankfully, managed to talk me out of these thoughts, and have been gradually making it back up to a level where I am comfortable with my surroundings and experiences, but not without a few more low points on the way.

When I was on the dip in the rollercoaster, I disliked all food put in front of me (which I even found strange because I love new food), hated all smells (Quito still does smell), and most of all, felt completely excluded from the group of people I was stuck with in this program. Feeling lonely was the most devastating thing for me because I am incredibly social and love connecting with people. When I felt this was not happening, I was devastated. It took a few stern talks from some friends and especially my mom for me to realize that I was not alone and that the group is all in this together. We may be diverse in our personalities, but we are all going through the same things together. Even though we disagree on oh so many things, we all need each other for support. We are a team and a family.

Source: http://thingstimesthree.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/cultureshock.jpg?w=640&h=484

Here is a quick synopsis of what I have been up to for the month of October:

• Spending the weekend in Papallacta. It is a thermal spa town about 2 hours east of Quito on the edge of the Amazon. We rented a cabin with private thermal baths and spent most of the weekend submerged in water, or getting massages. It was a nice change to finally relax after the excessively stressful month of September.
• Experienced my first bout of food-poisoning from Papallacta, which would reoccur for the next 2 weeks.
• Dealing with challenges in school, including trying to learn from a academic advisor/professor who really does not understand the purpose of International Development Studies and adjust to a new grading schematic that I am not used to (I am used to Social Sciences, not Anthropology)
• Handed in my first major essay on the usual few hours of sleep but after a really great group brainstorming and writing session 
• Had my first Thanksgiving away from my family in a place that does not celebrate it, or even knows that Canadian Thanksgiving exists
• Spent 2 weeks in Quito without leaving (2 weeks too long), before leaving to go to the province of Carchi and Imbabura provinces for the weekend to learn about sustainable agricultural practices in the Andes. It was the closest I have been to the Columbian border (an hour away and in the red “danger” zone) but the countryside was absolutely beautiful and the people extremely warm, despite their hardships 
• Spent another exhausting 2 weeks stuck in this dirty and polluted city with an ton of homework, but found a few good places to study (one of the things I miss the most about Canada... study space)
• Tested my internal resilience and strength by having to deal with emotional hardships at home, compiled with the hardships here 
• AND... Went to the Amazon for 4 days!! (see next blog post)

One of the most important things I have learned over the last month is that having a strong support network is a necessity. It doesn’t matter if it is at home, or there with you, but if you don’t have it, at least for me, you will never make it.

Volcan Antisana (Volcano), view from Papallacta

Tamara and I at Termas Papallacta

The view from the village of Chitacaspi in the Carchi province

Chopping up ingredients with a machete for organic fertilizer in Chitacaspi

Our makeshift Thanksgiving Dinner at a restaurant in Quito