Letter to Past Self

Dear Marisa,

I know you're confused about what's going to happen. You've spent the last week recovering from a cold that you caught on the plane home from Ecuador and letting Mom cook for you, and not thinking about important things, like packing or learning more Indonesian words than susu and selamat datang. Well, Marisa, I have a few things to tell you.

Don't bring shampoo from home. The shampoo here is made for Asian hair and it will make you look really pretty even though you don't have a hair dryer. I' don't want to be vain, I'm just saying, it's nice shampoo.

While we're talking about packing, don't bring those linen pants. I know that you think you'll look like a cool hippie, but the girls here are really fashionable and you'll hate wearing them. Also, there's a reason that the 70-year old cashier at Kohl's complimented that weirdly patterned shirt when you bought it. Think carefully. You're going to be in a lot (like seriously, a lot) of photos.

I know you're nervous about keeping up with the other people in the program. What if you're not as smart as them?! They come from all over the country and they study stuff that sounds like it belongs in a TV drama like Bones or whatever. Don't be ridiculous. You know how to study a language, and it's your favorite thing to do. Why would the state department let you come if you couldn't do it? Also, the other students are really nice. You're going to be really good friends with some of them.

Learn your way home the first week. Don't be dumb. It's not that hard and if you don't, the meatball guy will make fun of you for getting lost every day for the next two months.

Why do you think you will actually use a gym membership? Hahahahahaha

The mogu mogu drinks and the magnum black bar are the best snacks at Indomaret. Phoebe might tell you that corn flavored cheetos are delicious, but you will believe otherwise. Also, tell your Ibu the first day that you hate papaya or else you'll eat it after dinner most days. You might even start to secretly like it.

Singing class will feel like public humiliation class the first day, but it will become one of the best parts of your week.

In an attempt to be frugal, you will buy a bus ticket to Bali during Idul Fitri, the busiest time for traveling of the year. You will also agree to be one of four girls sleeping in a hostel room meant for two. Now I have to endure a one million hour bus ride. Maybe just pay for a plane ticket instead, if you have a chance.

Indonesian people want to be your friend. Don't wait til the last week to let it happen.

You'll get over the jet lag, you'll be sad sometimes, school will be hard but worth it. You'll be really happy a lot of the time. You'll be able to speak Indonesian, I promise. I know you feel like a sickly alien, but you're not. You're just a college lady who got a cool scholarship and who really likes pandan cake.

Love and good luck,
Semangat,
Marisa

Confused

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Moments

More than ceremonious adventures and self-discoveries (although there have been just a few of those), small but significant moments have defined my experience in Indonesia. Not a day has passed here without at least a few minutes of side-splitting laughter and passing thoughts of total gratitude for all of the love and thoughtfulness that I have been shown. Below is a list of a few such moments that make my heart happy.

1) Karaoke with my class
Other classes may believe otherwise, but I would argue that Kelas Musi is the closest group of students and teachers. Toward the beginning of the program, we all went to karaoke, and I saw a new side of our gurus. I'll never forget watching Mbak Nissa execute the rap from Nicki Minaj's Superbass flawlessy, seeing sweet Mbak Ayu knowing every word to a Sum 41 song, dancing with the girls while Mbak Niken sang Clarity, and cheering on a beautiful duet between Mariam and Mas Nanang. It seemed surreal, 4 pm in a dark room with a disco ball, french fries, and a seemingly exhaustive song selection.



2) Riding the angkot to school
My friend Phoebe lives across the street from me. Our host families are related, and basically everyone who lives on our street is related to each other. I ride the angkot (think of the tiniest city bus you can imagine. A bus for leprechauns) with Phoebe everyday and I've been so appreciative our conversations and her company. I also appreciate that she is always as enthusiastic as I am to stop at Indomaret for snacks before class. One of my favorite moments while walking to school was when a massive iguana was perched on a low-hanging branch right in front of our faces and it terrified us.



3) Alone at music class
Each week, we attend elective cultural classes. A lot of people only attend one, but I attend two, singing class and gamelan class. Once, I was the only one who went to singing class. I sang the same three songs over and over again for about an hour. Mas Rizal, one of the communication and design students who takes lots photos of us to send to the state department, came to class to take photos of us (read: only me) and I got him to sing with me. I really enjoyed that moment because I know he didn't want to, but he did anyway. He also showed me cooler Indonesian music after that.

4) Lame high five
Mbak Mariam and I have created this really lame high five where your hand goes all floppy when it meets the other hand, and we've been teaching it to all of our Indonesian friends



5) Gossiping with my tutors
It's one of our favorite activities, after studying and eating, of course.
P.S. Mbak Tyas dan Mbak Ririn.. kalian tutor paling baik dan paling cantik di antara dunia!

A tutorial session at a cool museum :)

6) Breaking fast at Pak Gatut's house
This was a beautiful night, with all of the teachers and students eating together at Pak Gatut's, the resident director's,  home. I played with a cat, did trust falls with my fellow former RA  and dear friend Mariam, and taught the game Concentration to Indonesian friends. For a moment, I felt like I was hanging out with my friends in Columbus. Another special moment that night was when Pak Gatut gave me a Thai-Indonesian dictionary that he bought for me while he visited Bangkok the week before. It was one of the most thoughtful things someone has done for me.

The party!

7) Being Margarethe's roommate
We've been hotel roommates twice, and because we both grew up as only children, we understand each other that way. We always sleep soundly and joke about how selfish we are (we once were the only people sitting on a couch in a room of 30 people sitting on the floor). We also hear our wacky friends in the next room not sleeping soundly and yelling about bugs or free sarongs.

Margarethe and I!

8) Singing 
I've had to sing A LOT here, despite that fact that I really don't know how. The night before we climbed Mt. Bromo, some of the Indonesian guys were playing guitar and singing, and invited us to sing along. Because we were in a village, the stars were really clear, and for the first time, we were all bundled up in sweaters. We sang some Bob Marley songs, which made me miss my dad. "Is This Love" is one of my favorites and we sang it together that night.

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A Weekend in Yogyakarta

During our only free weekend here in Indonesia aside from our first weekend, which I chose to use for jetlag recovery, my friends and I booked a trip to the cultural center of Java, Yogyakarta. Although we enjoy life in the education city of Malang, we were certainly excited to see a new city. Little did I know (because I let my friends do all of the research and planning – thanks Mariam, I know you’re the only one who reads this), Yogyakarta is a super neat city with two of the most beautiful temples in the world, signs written in Javanese script that we can’t understand, and lots and lots of reasonably priced oleh-oleh (e.g. batik!)

After a very long car ride (10 hours) and a comfortable sleep in a hotel, my six friends and I (yes, I have six friends! Six!!) went to one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen with my eyes, Borobudor. Borobudor is the largest Buddhist temple in the world, and many of the Buddhists in Yogyakarta go to Borobudor for celebrations, such as “Buddha’s Birthday” in May.

From what I understand from Wikipedia, Borobudor is shaped as a mandala and is meant to be walked through in a certain manner because of the Buddhist tradition to meditate using a mandala and also because the carvings in the walls tell the story of the Buddha. There were Buddha statues seemingly everywhere, many of which no longer had heads, and every stone seemed to be so meticulously placed. My favorite photos I’ve taken during my time here come from Borobudor.

Two of many headless Buddhas

Cool Friends

Stone Carvings that tell a story

I had a conversation with my mom about the temple that night, and I mentioned to her how grand it was and how I thought that it was probably made by slaves. In May, I was at Incapirca, the beautiful Incan ruin in Ecuador, and I remembered that our tour guide Ami, a rare vegetarian naturalist Ecuadorian woman, spoke about how ironic is was that something so beautiful could be made on the backs of miserable slaves; as we all know, many or most of the world’s man-made wonders were made this way. However, my mom replied that Buddhist temples and other places of worship were always made by Buddhists who believed that building the structure would help them in their next life. It made the experience even more beautiful for me.

Incapirca

Borobudor

Later that day, we ate lunch on top of a large koi pond (Thanks for the lunch Matt and Mike!) and then we made an underwhelming stop at the sultan’s palace Kraton. The most delightful part of the day was when Mariam walked through two trees which she believed to be these two trees that make all your dreams come true if you can walk through them blindfolded. They were the wrong ones.

We ended the day at Jalan Malioboro, a street filled with shopping (e.g. batik) and becaks (a little too small for our Western hip widths). I got some gifts for my friends and family at Mirota, a beautiful three-story batik store. Jalan Malioboro was well lit and really lively at night, a sort of street that doesn’t really exist in Malang. It reminded me of an Indonesian version of Kao San Road in Thailand: lively, saturated with Australian tourists, but with more conservative clothing and without all of the alcohol. We stayed out until 8:30 p.m., planned on “going out” (read: going to a convenience store and buying juice), but we got too tired and immediately fell asleep. My friends make jokes about it, but it’s not too far off from my college life, and I’m enjoying it.

At the Kraton. I love this picture because we look diverse and Margarethe had a great face.

Koi Pond restaurant

Mariam walking with her eyes closed through the wrong trees

We ended our time in Yogyakarta the next day at Candi Prambanan, a beautiful Hindu temple complex. Although Borobudor was obviously my favorite, as it was one of my favorite places ever, Prambanan was also incredible. We also ran into a bunch of Thai tourists, one of which who spoke English to me in a thick Thai accent, and it made me miss my mom. While we were there, we were interviewed by some students for their English class, and they were really surprised that we spoke Bahasa Indonesia. I really enjoy being able to surprise people by speaking their language, even though I am certainly still getting the hang of it. It was a fun exchange, and we snapped a photo at the end.

Pretty ladies in Prambanan

Prambanan

This weekend was our first chance to explore more of this complex country, where even a city nearby on the same island is completely different.

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Bahasa Indonesia

Halo teman saya!

Terima kasih untuk membaca blog saya.

Although I've been able to see many beautiful sights in Malang, I spend most of my time (Monday-Friday, 8-1 and elective class or tutor session until 4) in class in order to learn Bahasa Indonesia. I'm going to share a homework assignment that I did recently to show how much improvement I've made (read: I knew nothing when I got here)!

Malang, 10 Juli 2014

Kepada Yth. 

Walikota Malang

Di tempat 

Salam hormat untuk bapak walikota 

Salam kenal sebelumnya, Pak. Saya Marisa Lally.

Dalam surat ini, saya menulis tentang masalah yang di kota Malang yaitu pengemis. Saya sering melihat pengemis dekat alun-alun dan lampu merah. Saya berpikir bawah pemerintah sebaiknya memberikan pelatihan kepada pengemis agar mereka bisa bekerja, daripada mengemis. Lebih baik kalau tidak ada banyak pengemis di tempat umum karena semua pengunjung menjadi terganggu.

Terima kasih karena sudah membaca surat ini. Semoga pengemis di kota Malang tidak semakin banyak.

Marisa

This assignment was to write a letter to the mayor of Malang about a problem Malang. I wrote about the beggar situation, in which many homeless people ask for money in public places, like at parks and stoplights My suggested solution was to create jobs for the pengemis in order to keep them from populating public spaces. Unfortunately, it's a much more complex issue than that, as it is in the U.S. For example, many beggars make a lot of money per day and would not be willing to take a government job, and many of them are children who are not attending school and are sent to beg by their parents. In any case, I am happy that I'm able to learn and discuss topics like these in Indonesian after only five weeks of study. Although there are always challenges, which are expected when learning a new language, discussions and assignments like these feel like accomplishments.

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My favorite weekend / Akhir Minggu Favorit Saya

When I reflect on this weekend, I realize (again) how fortunate I am to be in Indonesia. Although I've experienced my fair share of homesickness, a little physical sickness, and certainly a sickness of studying, the past few days will ensure that I look back on my time here positively.

On Friday, after a tenuous week of class, we celebrated one of my favorite holidays, America's Independence Day (a close third after Christmas and Thanksgiving, in that order)! While I have always enjoyed learning about American history and I am rather patriotic for a person with two nations, I enjoy the 4th because it brings back specific memories. I've spent most of my years on this date at the Marion county fair, watching fireworks and eating sno cones with my parents and fellow carnies (I miss and love you all!).

This year, however, was a little different. Instead of class, we enjoyed a series of relay races in the morning and a super fun performance in the evening.  Each class prepared something; my class performed a rap battle between the students, who complained that there is too much homework,  and the gurus,  who claim that we need to do homework to improve. It was a blast. One of my favorite moments of the evening, though, was when the CLS students sang the Indonesian national anthem and the tutors and teachers sang the U.S. national anthem. During our orientation, a professor explained to us that we are "citizen ambassadors," and that moment I felt especially so.

My teachers at our final rehearsal before our rap performance!

These are my awesome tutors! The sign says "Happy 238th birthday America's Independence!"

Saturday, all of the students went on an outing to Batu, a city near Malang. We spent the morning in a guava and orange orchard, where we enjoyed picking fruits and wearing large hats. We also encountered goats that looked like aliens. I loved every minute of it. Then, we went to the house of a successful Indonesian artist who lived on the property  of the orchard. His house was beautiful and open,  and he displayed his art on the brick walls. We had the opportunity to paint a small canvas and it was very relaxing. I painted a flowering tree. After lunch, we went to a gorgeous waterfall,  where we felt cold for the first time since we arrived. It was exhilarating.  There were also monkeys swinging from nearby trees. That night, I enjoyed some "American" food (e.g. pizza with ketchup for sauce) and good conversations as always with my friends from class Mariam and Margarethe. 

Alien goat!

 

Nongkrong at the Kabun Jeruk

A painting in the artist's house

Art!

My class at the waterfall!

Sunday, we had a free day (!!!). We went to our favourite coffee shop (My Kopi-O: Everything is favourite!) to study for our big midterm (e.g. enjoy wifi and skype family and friends). I also got a little adventurous and got a haircut! When she asked me what I wanted done to it (I think), I said "Terserah yang bagus" which I believe to means "whatever's good," but I'm still unsure if that's grammatically correct. I didn't speak for the rest if the process. At first I was worried because she was cutting A LOT of hair from the front, but it feels great and I am really happy with the result! When berbuka puasa, or breaking fast, rolled around,  I enjoyed a lovely meal at a restoran ayam goreng with my Ibu kos and her son's family.

It's been a great weekend and I am feeling really grateful.

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Unorganized thoughts and feelings

I lie on my twin sized bed (the only size of bed I’ve ever had in my life), in front of a fan on the highest setting, with a full tummy after a large dinner of rice, fried chicken and tempe with my Ibu kos. Since I am finally not going to sleep immediately at 7 p.m. every day (I’m pushing it to a daring 8 p.m.), I finally have some time to reflect on what I’ve been doing here and what has been meaningful to me.

Firstly, I don’t know what my initial expectations of Indonesia were. After a busy Spring semester, I moved out of my RA room and into a plane to Ecuador on the same day, and ten days after my return, I embarked on what felt like the longest journey ever to Indonesia with a bunch of ambitious and brilliant strangers who I had only seen in a strange Skype calls or in print on the list of participants that was sent to us a few days before we all met in Washington. I never found the time to research anything about Indonesia before I came, although I assumed I would have an easy time adjusting because I have a pretty good understanding of Thai culture, or as I’m starting to realize, Bangkok culture, and the proximity of the two nations were bound to overlap.

However, Indonesia is a mix of countless culture, and it is evident in the language.  Some of my favorite moments in language learning are when I learn a word that is similar to or the same as a word in the language that I love, Spanish. For example, Shoe in Spanish is zapato, and sepatu in Indonesian. The word for free, gratis, is the same in both languages. Also, a huge difference between Thailand and Indonesia that I’ve noticed is obviously the presence of Islam in Indonesia. In Thailand, religion shows itself through prayer houses with incense smoke swirling about on every corner, and people placing offerings for Buddhist monks on their doorsteps.

Here in East Java, and throughout much of Indonesia, almost the entire population is comprised of practicing Muslims. Driving down a windy Indonesian street, one will see many mosques with beautiful colorful domes, and many woman wearing the jilbab, or headscarf. My stay in Malang is particularly special because I am here during the month of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims, which ends with Idul Fitri, a special holiday with which Ramadan concludes. I am still learning about Ramadan, so I am not sure of all of the nuances behind the month: why it’s so important to Muslim people, what are the special traditions, etc. I’m looking forward to sharing this time with my new Indonesian friends.

Speaking of friends, I feel really fortunate about the relationships I’ve built here so far. I’ve really bonded with the other students in my class, which I believe is a result of spending five (!) hours a day in the same class with the same five students five days a week. Even spend though we spend every day together in class, I look forward to spending time with them on the weekends, too. The teachers are also very attentive to our needs and knowledgeable about the subject. I am so amazed at how much I’ve been able to learn in such a short time. I have a very long way to go, but I’ve come so far. I can easily order food at restaurants, ask and answer basic questions, ask for directions (which I have done many times due to my inability to find my own home), and give presentations and write paragraphs for class, after only three weeks. Last week, the teachers took us to karaoke, and it was a surreal experience. I got to watch my teacher successfully rap some of my favorite American pop songs while my friends and I practiced our favorite lagu dangdut, Terlena. My tutors, who are basically assigned to be my friends, are so fun, and I love spending time with them. They are patient with my Indonesian and take me to all of their favorite places in Malang (most of which include snacks). Also, my neighbor Phoebe, another student in the program, has helped me find my way home, listened to Beyonce with me many times, and laughed about nothing after stressful days at school. Human relationships are the reason I love traveling so much.

Although this post has little direction or organization, I think that it explains a lot about what I’m doing now. I’m still trying to figure out what my purpose is, and where Indonesia fits into my future, but I think I’ll know. Maybe I’ll know tomorrow, or on my plane ride back to the states, or in a year from now. Luckily, I’m not in a rush. 

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Kabun teh Wonosari

After finally adjusting to the time difference and (sort of) getting a hang of my walk home from school, I was ready to take a relaxing weekend with the rest of the members of the CLS Indonesia program at the beautiful Wonosari tea plantation. The plantation was only about 45 minutes by bus from our university.

Bus ride to Wonosari with Phoebe!

When we arrived, I could only notice how beautiful it was: endless fields of bright green tea plants surrounded by mountains and a clear sky. We spent our first few hours walking through the plantation, learning about the varieties of teas that are grown there (green, black, and white).

For class, we were assigned to interview the pemetik teh, or tea pickers, using the language that we've learned after two weeks in class. As usual, I was nervous to speak, but the women were very patient with us and we got to learn a lot about their job.

In the evening,  we enjoyed language games and free time, where I had the chance to nongkrong (hang out) with the friends I've made in class in a relaxing and picturesque setting. Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky to be able to spend my summer learning something I love, meeting interesting new people, and seeing incredible places I never would have seen otherwise.

I went to sleep at 8 pm, a late bedtime for me here in Indonesia (I've been waking up at 4!), and had a rather comfortable rest. Although it was certainly not without Indonesian language practice, the weekend at Wonosari was an enjoyable treat after a constantly stimulating and intense two weeks in language class.

My class!

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A Day in Malang

My journey to Malang seemed everlasting. In the past week, I've met the 26 other brilliant American students who are in Malang with me now, spent a day in Washington D.C., heard from people with careers that use the Indonesian language, explored the monuments of Washington (one of my very favorite U.S. cities) with new friends, then embarked on a strenous 30-something hour journey to Malang in which I watched 8 films. It's been quite the experience already, and I've only just gotten started!

For the CLS program, the other students and I study Indonesian language intensively. Although we have various cultural activities on the weekends, our Monday - Friday schedule stays the same.

Every morning, I jelan-jelan, or take the walk, to school. It's about a 20 mintue walk through the busy Malang streets, saturated with motor bikes and cars that seem to drive on any part of the road that is available at the time. The walk is quite scenic, as Indonesia has many varieties of beautiful plants, and one particular street is l just lined with colorful caged birds for sale as pets that chirp as I walk past.

Once I get to UM, or Universitas Negeri Malang, I head to D8, the building that houses the CLS program within UM's Faculty of Literature. It's a gorgeous large building that certainly welcomes learning. At 8 AM, class starts, so I take my seat in the Musi class. All the classrooms are named after Indonesian rivers.

There are several class levels in the program, including three beigginer classrooms, each consisting of five people or less. In my class, I study with Mbak Lourdes, Mbak Margarethe, Mbak Mariam, Mas Chase and Ibu Christine Su, the director of Southeast Asian Studies at Ohio University and the coordinator of the program, who is sitting in on our class for the first two weeks. (Mbak, Mas, and Ibu are polite ways to address people in Javanese culture, and it is rude to not use them.)

The class is from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. with short breaks , complete with snacks and tea or coffee, at every hour. We learn at a very accelerated rate compared to a typical university language class, which is a challenge,  but the gurus, or teachers,  are incredibly patient with us. There are four gurus in the class (for five students!). Needless to say,  individual attention isn't a problem in this classroom. Our main guru, Mbak Nissa, is both delightfully funny and very knowledgeable of the Indonesian and English languages. In our class, we've been learning a variety of topics,  from vocabulary to grammar to linguistic pronunciation.

After our fun yet intense classes, we have lunch, which is catered to D8 everyday and is always a treat. It's a good time to catch up with the students in the other classes and the D8 cat.

When lunch hour is over, we meet with our peer tutors to study and to practice speaking Indonesian. We go to anywhere I choose to go. So far, we've gone to the enormous mall across fron university called MATOS, and we've gone to the perpustakaan,  or campus library.

My peer tutors are the most helpful and friendly people, and I don't know what I would have done without them. They've helped with to communicate with my Ibu,  host mom, they've taught me the route to and from my house, and they've been really really helpful and patient with my beginning level of Indonesian. Their names are Mbak Ririn and Mbak Tyas, and I get to spend lots of time with them!

When peer tutor time is over, I walk home to meet Ibu Arif. Sometimes I practice what I've learned in class with her, other times I hang out with her niece who is often over to visit. She is about 10 years old (I don't know how to ask yet), and she reminds me so much of myself. Yesterday,  we sang Indonesian patriotic songs that she learned in school, and I helped her practice English.

At around 6:30 p.m.,  I eat dinner with Ibu Arif, then complete my homework and head to sleep. It's definitely an intense program, but I feel so happy,  comfortable, and fortunate to be here in Malang.

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I'm going to Indonesia!

After returning home about a week ago from Ecuador, I've been a busy lady. I've had to simultaneously beat a mild Ecuadorian sickness, visit with my friends from home, start some post-grad application items, nap a lot, and quickly (and somewhat haphazardly) prepare for my next endeavor: two months in Malang, Indonesia.

I have received a Critical Language Scholarship, a scholarship funded by the U.S. Department of State. I'm one of approximately 550 American university students studying languages deemed critical by the U.S. government in 13 different nations around the world. I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity, and I am so grateful to my parents who gave me a love for the world, my many different language professors over the years, the Fellowships Office at Ohio State who read a bunch of terrible drafts of my application essays, and my references who probably spent a lot of time writing nice things about me.

This would be a good time to let everyone know that my blog and posts are not official U.S. Department of State websites and the views and information presented are my own, not those of the CLS Program, the Department of State, Ohio University, or The Ohio State University.

We get to see this volcano!

The university where I'll be studying!

Now, I know it may seem somewhat random that I've chosen to go to Indonesia for two months for language study, as someone who has taken a lot of coursework in Spanish and who loves Latin American culture. However, my connection to Southeast Asia is clear, as a Thai-American; furthermore, I'm excited to be a public diplomat of sorts for the U.S., and to share my values and learn from those of the Indonesian people. Also, I apparently visited Indonesia as a toddler! Who knew.

To be honest, it feels a little random even to me, but I am interested and nervous to see how I'll navigate in a country and with a host family where I truly do not know the language. It was a quick turnaround from my last international travel, about ten days, and I don't yet feel fully prepared. Fortunately, I know that it will be a transformative experience, and I look forward to seeing what these next two months hold!

Anticipations: Meeting the other participants, meeting my host family, food, language class, going to see a volcano, the beach, warm weather, getting to know the city of Malang

Concerns: travel sickness, failing at learning the language, learning a lot of cultural differences

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Saying Goodbye

I'm a fairly nostalgic person, and I truly believe that each person that I've met in my life has affected who I am in some way, even if that effect is tiny. Sometimes, I even get sad at the idea that's I'll never see a waitress at a restaurant again if she was a particularly good waitress. Life is all about relationships.

The last day of school was really fun, but saying goodbye to the community of Cahuazhun Grande was a little hard for me. Because of the different perception of time and structure in the community, many children left at random times of the day, especially if they weren't participating in the soccer games that were planned for the last day. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to my four-year-old friend Mateo because he left right away while I was still in class with the older kids, and it was rather heartbreaking. Luckily, I got to spend time and take photos with the kids in my class and watch a few good games of fútbol. I even found out that the oldest kids really did like Sam, Deirdre and I, despite their adolescent attitudes throughout the two weeks. One girl, Mercy, even said she would miss us. I'll never forget how the students would excitedly wait for each day when we arrived. We were all showered with hugs and beckons to play games; the children will filled with so much love.

I appreciate my time at Cahuazhun Grande so much. I got to spend so much time with nature, learn about the Andean way of life, and share little pieces of home when my class asked me about myself. Not only did it teach me so many beautiful things about rural Ecuadorian culture, but it also made me realize that I enjoy spending time and working with children. Furthermore, I got to exercise my knowledge of the Spanish language, something that always makes me feel like I've grown academically and personally. My days in Cahuazhun Grande at El Centro Educativo Miguel Ignacio Cordero are an experience that I'll always carry with me.

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Con la naturaleza: El Cajas Parque Nacional

I'd like to think that I've had a lot of beautiful experiences in my life. Watching my favorite romance movie Before Sunrise, eating rice soup with my parents on Sunday morning, checking out the view of Columbus from the 11th floor of Thompson Library, or laughing with my friends late at night over a cup of coffee that is too sweet are all experiences that I consider to be incredibly beautiful.

Today, I visited El Cajas National Park, and it makes my list of beautiful life experiences. It was a four hour hike through the Andes mountains at about 13,000 feet; by the end, I was covered in mud, lightheaded, sore, and happy.

Our tour guide Moises was not only knowledgeable about the diverse plant life and many lagoons throughout the park, but he was also fantastic at telling us corny puns and jokes. For example, he told us a joke about a preacher who gave a service in Spanish, even though it was his second language. Instead of saying "Vamos a orar," (Let us pray) he said "Vamos a orinar" (Let us urinate). Thanks for the joke, Moises.

Speaking of lagoons, there are 235 lagoons in the park and 700 bodies of water! Moises challenged us to memorize the names of the five lagoons we saw.

My personal favorite part of the day was walking through the magic forest. We suddenly found ourselves in a thick set of trees unlike any I had seen before. The tree bark was thin and felt like paper, and the trunks were thin and curvy. It truly felt magical.

The other fantastic part of the hike was getting to know some of the  plants. A lot of them are used for medicinal purposes by indigenous groups. They were gorgeous and ubiquitous!

Throughout the day, I couldn't help but say aloud, "Wow, this is so beautiful." We even had a picnic on the top of the mountain.

After the exhausting and fulfilling hike, we went to a restaurant and got trout, the fish that live in the lagoons. It was a tasty end to a very special day.

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