Baños

This past weekend our group planned our own mini-field trip to the tiny town of Baños, about four hours outside of Quito. Baños is known (within Ecuador, at least) for its beautiful mountains, waterfalls, and hot springs. It’s a fairly touristy city (we saw lots of other ‘gringos’ while we were there) but also has a very authentic and quirky feel. The whole town is maybe only 10 blocks in diameter, and is absolutely crammed with hostels, a million little hole-in-the-wall restaurants (mostly Italian places, ironically), little shops and stores, and a few clubs/bars.

In the interest of saving time, here are just a few bulleted highlights from our 3 days there:

• The delicious, CHEAP food! We discovered an amazing breakfast place on the rooftop of one of the hostels where we could get a huge omelette, fresh-baked bread, yogurt & granola, fresh-squeezed juice, and coffee all for about $4. Amazing.

• While the hot springs were...well, a bit grimy, to say the least (I have no idea why I subconsciously expected it to be like Steamboat Springs, my mistake!), once I got past the questionable color of the water I must say I really enjoyed relaxing in the different "baños" (hence the name of the town) – one was ice-cold, one hot-tub temperature, and one SUPER hot (118°!).

• Phoebe and I went on a lovely hike which felt refreshingly reminiscent of one of my favorite activities from home :) Once we got to the other side of the mountain, it was just green-covered hills for as far as you could see, and hardly any civilization in sight. And because we are at such high elevation, we were literally IN the clouds! It was beauuutiful.

• We ate lots of yummy pizza at various Italian restaurants and also tried some authentic Ecuadorian food – including a dish called “Churrasco” which includes meat, fried eggs, avocado, and rice. Potentially a strange combination, but all foods I love! On an unrelated note, I kept mixing up the word for milkshake ("batido") with the word for baptism ("bautizo"), which resulted in numerous embarrassing exchanges at multiple restaurants.

• We went dancing one night which was a blast and you don’t have to pay to get in anywhere! Score. It was also fun getting to meet some of the locals who were from the area.

• On our last morning, we went to a massive waterfall surrounded by a ravine, and we zip-lined across the canyon and over the waterfall in an open basket-type thing! Epic and terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time.

Overall, it was a great weekend. Good food, outdoorsy adventures, and plenty of time to rest and relax. Now I'm back in the big city, settling back into my class/gym/dinner/homework routine. Wonder where we'll end up next!

Challenges and Changes

Yesterday I had a tough day. It wasn’t any one big event in particular – more just a string of things that put me on edge and made me even more acutely aware of the fact that this foreign country I’m living in continues to feel, well, foreign. After waiting approximately 30 minutes for the bus that’s supposed to run about every two, I arrived to class 15 minutes late and extremely irritated, because while everyone else seems to accept the fact that “punctuality” as a concept doesn’t really exist here, I’m still struggling to let go of my anal need to always be on time. I then found myself completely lost and consequently frustrated by the rapid Spanish being spoken during my 2-hour intercultural communication class (ironic that for a class on communication I find it so very difficult to actually communicate intelligently), wanting so badly to understand what the professor and my classmates were talking about but eventually just giving up altogether. Trying to salvage my quickly dissipating mood, I went to the gym for an endorphin-boost, but then proceeded to take the wrong bus home, which WOULD have been fine and I could have easily just hopped on another bus, except that I had only brought with me the exact change needed to take the ONE bus home, not two. Anyways, after about an hour of trying to make change at various places and getting semi-lost, I finally made it home, worn out and feeling a bit defeated.

I know, I know, I really shouldn’t be so hard on myself. Nothing went/is going catastrophically wrong, and most days I actually feel very proud of myself and the effort I’m putting forth towards speaking Spanish, being social with people despite the language barrier, and enjoying Quito and life here for what it is, foreign and unfamiliar and new. I guess I just feel like everything at this point should be getting so much easier…and it isn’t really. I know that my Spanish is definitely improving, and that I know my way around the city 10X better than I did when I first arrived, and that I am discovering new things each day that make this place feel a little bit more like home. But then there are days like yesterday where everything still feels annoyingly difficult and stressful and just plain exhausting, and I convince myself that maybe I can’t handle so many challenging changes and unknowns.

(On a side note, I find it all too ironic that I always joke that the C1s (Duke’s bus system) stress me out more than anything else at Duke…and wouldn’t you know, the buses here also seem to be my main cause of stress. Clearly God thinks I still have a ways to go with my patience with buses. Probably true.)

When I first arrived in Kenya back in June, it felt strangely like I had been there before, like it was a place I’d known my whole life. The transition was oddly smooth, surprisingly easy, with little-to-no culture shock, and I fell instantly in love with anything and everything Kenya-related – the country, the people, my team. I felt a natural and genuine joy there like none I had experienced before. And while part of me wishes that every life adventure and risk ends up being that effortless, of course I’m not so naïve to think that that’s reality. In fact, for most people and most of the time, a huge life-shift (like moving countries, for example..) feels overwhelming and downright terrifying. It’s normal to feel that way. And as cliché as it sounds, it IS all part of the experience. I can handle it, it doesn't have to feel effortlessly easy, and God will walk through it all with me, every step of the way.

I told my parents the other day over Skype that I don’t think I would be able to handle everything that’s different about this semester abroad had I not learned what I did this summer in Kenya. And as I keep thinking about that statement, I've realized just how true it is. In Kenya I became much more rooted both in my identity – who God says I am and who I KNOW I am – and my faith. And I have absolutely relied on those things to keep me grounded and confident that God is not only taking care of me but that I also have permission to take care of myself – to treat myself with kindness and not have to worry about gaining other peoples’ approval or being instantly good at everything I do or try. It’s been challenging, yes, but challenges yield rewards – mainly, in my case, growth and faith – which I realized is what I’ve been praying for all along.

Quito que Bonito

Whew – it’s been a FULL and exciting week of traveling, starting our Duke program classes, choosing and registering for our other classes, and exploring more of the BEAUTIFUL city of Quito! I'm just now taking today to catch up on life a bit, so I’ll do my best to fill you in on everything that’s happened since I haven’t had the chance to blog in a little while.

Last weekend our group took a field trip to the small towns of Mindo and Nanegalito, about 2 ½ hours outside of Quito. The nature and diversity that we saw was stunning. The first thing we did when we arrived in Mindo was visit a Butterfly Garden – the guide told us that if we put a special type of food on our fingers the butterflies would come land on our hands and arms. After we had taken about a million pictures and dodged thousands of dive-bombing butterflies (okay, sort of an exaggeration..) we walked down a little path and learned that we were going tubing down a river! I was super excited because I love exhilarating things of that sort, and even though it wasn’t class 5 rapids or anything like that, it was still pretty awesome. After tubing and then relaxing in the river for a while, we proceeded on to Nanegalito, and after a slight detour (a.k.a, getting lost for about an hour), we finally made it to the beautiful hotel (or more correctly, in my eyes, resort) that we were staying at for the night. We were fed 3-course meals every time we ate, and of course the food was fabulous – fresh juices, delicious soups, and every type of rice/potato/vegetable/meat combination you can imagine, plus dessert at the end of everything! I definitely felt very spoiled by how nice our accommodations were. The second day we went on a “nature hike” of sorts through a river! I somehow managed to not fall in (I was being very careful because I had my camera in my hand), and when we reached a little waterfall some of our group slid down it – overall an exciting trek. The only downside of the weekend was getting eaten alive by mosquitos, but the whole experience (and amazing food!) was definitely worth it.

Yesterday we didn’t have classes or orientation-related events, so Phoebe and I decided to venture to one of the more touristy areas of Quito in search of some of the famous historic churches we had heard about. After asking about a hundred different people which bus/trolley to take to get to El Centro, we managed to end up where we wanted to go! El Centro is busy and bustling, and we walked up and down the steep streets taking everything in and walking into different stores and buildings. We finally made it to La Basílica del Voto Nacional, which is apparently the largest neo-gothic basilica in the New World, and to us looked like an epically huge and more elaborate Duke Chapel! We walked up to the top floor of the Basílica where you can look more closely at the beautifully intricate stained-glass windows, and also see a panoramic view of the city on Panecillo hill and the famous Virgen de Quito statue. After that, Phoebe and I headed back to El Centro to get some lunch (and for dessert, some torta de chocolate and café) at a cute little restaurant. Later that night when we came back to our side (el Norte) of Quito we went to the movie theater and saw Loco, Estupido, Amor (Crazy, Stupid, Love). It was all-in-all a perfect day filled with good food, beautiful sight-seeing, and great conversation – couldn’t ask for anything more!

I’m so excited by all Quito has to offer. There is so much to do and so much to see – I guess I’m actually a little surprised by it all (in a good way!) I’m glad that I have plenty of time here not only to explore, but also to integrate and immerse myself in the culture, learn about and meet the people, and figure out how I fit into the rhythms of this big Latin American city. 

Constancy in the Chaos

I expected and knew that living in Ecuador was going to be completely different than my experience this past summer in Kenya, but I still went into this semester with many of the same goals and hopes and desires that I had for my Kenya trip. Specifically, I knew that I wanted to experience more deep personal growth. I hoped to discover more about my identity in the Lord and become more rooted in who I am and who I want to be. I want for God to continue opening my eyes to things I have never seen before and reveal more about Himself as I see more of the world and more of His creation.

And the beautiful thing is, I can experience growth and transformation whether on a mission trip in Africa or studying abroad in South America or living my “normal” life back in Boulder or at Duke. Why? Because God is at work EVERYWHERE. Yesterday I spent some time reflecting on and thinking about the fact that God never changes – He is constant, with us and in us all the time, wherever we go, always good and loving. And as simple as that statement may sound, it has profound effects for my life. I need never be afraid or consumed by anxiety, because whatever or wherever God calls me to, I can rest assured and trust that He is constantly by my side. I can go anywhere in the world, and God is there too. I can be alone, surrounded by people, in a place that is totally foreign with people I don’t know or can barely communicate with, and yet God remains the same in each of those places.

This truth has been especially comforting for me recently. As many of you probably already know about me, transitions and change can really freak me out. It’s not that I don’t LOVE new adventures or new places – I do – but whenever I get into a comfortable rhythm of life and then all of sudden have to change patterns and figure out a completely new rhythm, it’s often difficult for me to adjust quickly. Because I love traveling and will probably continue moving around for a good portion of my life, it’s of course not something I let hinder me from going to new places and experiencing new things. But I realized that the reason I am able to make it through and also learn from these times of transition is because I do have God as a constant in my life.

These past two weeks have felt chaotic – there’s been absolutely no definitive schedule or daily routine – we’ve been doing something different or visiting somewhere new each day. And naturally, I’ve been craving some normalcy – the ability to plan ahead and organize my own schedule and independently figure out what my itinerary is for each day. But as I so aptly learned this summer in Africa, often times you just have to go with the flow and be flexible and trust that it’s all going to be okay. God’s got things taken care of. And when life feels unstable or unfamiliar, as it often does, I can and I do turn to Jesus – He is and will always be there, constantly and continually waiting for us with open arms.

constancy / con·stan·cy / noun. the quality of being faithful and dependable, enduring and unchanging

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. – Hebrews 13:8

Mi Vida Ecuatoriana

Hola de Quito, ECUADOR!

I can’t believe I’m actually here and slowly starting to settle into "normal daily life" – it all still feels rather surreal! The last few days have been a complete whirlwind of orientation, meeting my host family, figuring out how to get around Quito, and frantically trying to adjust to speaking Spanish all the time. It’s been overwhelming, and at times frustrating (mainly with the language…really wish now that I’d actually practiced more during Spanish 105!), but I also feel such an excitement and giddy-ness about this whole semester. There are so many things about Quito and life here that I simply LOVE – the kindness of my host mother Mechita and sister Josefa (14 yrs old), the beautiful huge park (10K parameter) right across from our building, the gorgeous mountains surrounding the city, the cute little cafetería directly underneath our apartment (buenísimo café!), the friendliness and hospitality of the people here, and just the exhilaration of being in a new city and learning to live independently in a totally different culture.

We’ve now had five full days of orientation with the Duke in the Andes staff, and we’ve covered everything from safety and security to gender and intercultural relations to Ecuadorian government systems to registration for classes to our community service assignments/projects. Being that everything is in Spanish, obviously, I’m mentally exhausted! It’s a completely new experience for me to be thrown into a place where you are forced to speak a different language if you want to communicate or be at all understood, and it’s definitely been the most challenging part thus far. BUT it’s been less than a week, and I am already shocked at how much easier it’s gotten for me to understand what’s going on and have full conversations with my host family. And I know that it’ll only continue to get easier, so I have hope!

It’s been indescribably wonderful having Phoebe (mi mejor amiga de Duke!) here with me – it’s a huge transition for all of us, so it’s been helpful and encouraging to have someone I’m already such good friends with who is doing it all with me and supporting me in everything (and vice versa, claro). Yesterday Phoebe and I went and got sushi for lunch and coffee afterwards and caught up on everything – our summers, our feelings about Ecuador so far, and just our lives in general…and it was such a comfort in the midst of such a chaotic week. My host mom is also so wonderful and supportive – always checking in on me and how I’m doing and asking me if there’s anything I need. She is already becoming like a second mother to me, and she got so excited when I told her I wanted to go to church with her on Sundays! My host sister Josefa is adorable and sweet – AND her favorite TV show is Friends, so I know it must be fate that now we’re family :)

Two days ago our whole group went to go see the volcano Pululahua and visit “La Mitad del Mundo” (“the center of the earth”) which is basically a monument/tourist attraction built around the equator line. Seeing some of the countryside outside the city was awesome and the volcano and surrounding mountains were stunning, not to mention it was also pretty neat getting to stand in both hemispheres at the same time! And it was fun to hang out altogether as a group and take a break from orientation craziness. Tomorrow and Saturday we’re actually going on a short field trip (una “viajita”) to Nanegalito, which I believe is a small town surrounded by ecological parks, rivers, and jungle areas. I’m excited to see some of the natural diversity and beautiful scenery that Ecuador is so famous for! Next week we start our Duke program classes and the following week we start classes at la Universidad Salesiana. It all still feels a little unreal, like I said, but I’m gradually becoming more comfortable here and falling more in love each day with this vibrant city.

¡Muchos besos y hasta la prómixa vez!

Betania (my new name!...because they can’t pronounce “Bethany”)

Kwaheri Kenya, Goodbye USA, Hola Ecuador!

Hello again friends -

As many of you probably already know, this semester I am studying abroad in Ecuador! I am leaving TOMORROW (eek!) and will be living for four months with a host family in the capital city of Quito, taking classes (all in Spanish) at the Ecuadorian Universidad Salesiana. I am going with a study abroad program called Duke in the Andes comprised of 10 Duke students and 10 students from other universities across the U.S. Throughout our time there we will not only be studying for our classes and volunteering in the community through service-learning internships, but we will also have the opportunity to go with our group on program excursions – we will travel to indigenous communities near Otavalo, visit areas of the Amazon region, head to Esmeraldas and the coast, and of course, what would a trip to Ecuador be without a visit to the stunning Galapagos Islands! It is sure to be an incredible experience and I can’t wait to see what life living in Ecuador is going to be like.

The past 3 weeks at home have been both wonderful and also challenging. Times and periods of transition are hard for me, and this has been a big one – not only have I been processing and trying to hold on in many ways to such an amazing 8 weeks in Kenya, but I have also had to mentally and emotionally be preparing myself for leaving AGAIN for a new continent, new experience, and new place that I will call home. I have loved having this time at home to rest, reflect, see friends and spend time with family, but I have also at times felt extremely antsy and idle just sitting around, after every day in Kenya felt so filled with unforgettable moments and packed with activity. I also went from being surrounded 24/7 by 14 incredible, supportive, amazing teammates to being at home most times very much alone (unless you count my sweet dog :)). I’m not at all opposed to having space and alone time, but the contrast between living in such a strong, tight-knit community for 2 months and then coming home to a usually empty house made lonliness a struggle, and isolation a little bit of a fear. I have attempted to keep myself fairly busy and active, but overall I have to admit it’s been so good for me to have to recognize and believe that God has something for us to learn even in these times of “doing nothing” – even if it’s just for Him to remind us that whether we feel unproductive or alone, He is our only purpose and He will be our constant friend.

I’m excited and nervous for this next life adventure! I hope you enjoy getting to read snippets and anecdotes from my time in Ecuador as often as I get a chance to write them down, and I look forward to continue sharing this exciting season of my life with you all.

Much love,

Bethany

(If you’d like to read more about the program I am with, check out http://studyabroad.duke.edu/home/Programs/Semester/Duke_in_the_Andes)

Change

I went to Kenya with the desire to be challenged, impassioned, and most of all, changed. I’ve come to a point in my life where I simply refuse to be satisfied with just letting life happen to me or just going through the motions of school, work, relationships, whatever it is. As much as I often fear change and the unexpected, the last thing I want is for my life to become routine or easy or static. And as I watched the majority of my friends and classmates around me secure jobs or internships for their summers, I found myself realizing that I didn’t want to let yet another summer go by focused on making money or building my resume or even “gaining an experience.” I needed my summer to be focused on God – and HIS purposes, not my own – in order for me to root myself back in Him and allow room for growth and change. I’ve spent two years of college searching for identity and meaning and what my future is going to look like in many of the wrong places. There have been times when I've made decisions or acted out of selfish interest, choosing to do different things and activities because I felt entitled to my own desires and it was what I wanted to do, not because I knew it was the Lord’s desire for me. Before God called me to Kenya on this trip I was searching for prestigious summer internships and jobs because let’s be honest, come time to find a real job all that looks darn good on a resume. And while none of those things are at all inherently bad or wrong, and I have absolutely loved so many of my experiences in college thus far, I knew that there was still something more out there that I wanted to be doing, something that the Lord was offering and extending to me that held greater fulfillment and possibility for my life.

But because I was often content living life with iffy intentions and mixed motives – maybe “half for me, half for God,” or something like that – I wasn’t really growing or changing into the person I felt God calling me to be. I was putting up all sorts of walls and barriers in God’s way, saying, “Just give me a little more time to do what I want to do, God, and then I’ll start being that person I hear you calling me to be, start living the life I know you have planned for me.” I wasn’t putting myself in, or letting God put me in, places and situations that would make me confront the true soundness of my faith and make me question whether I am actually willing to “lose my life for Christ’s sake in order to find it.” I was, in many ways, afraid to be the person that I’ve known all along God is calling me to be. Why? Because a life following the Lord is marked with risk, challenge, and sacrifice. That’s not even speculation or possibility; it’s fact – Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:12 that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Jesus said that “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.” (John 15:18-19). And while I knew in my heart of hearts that God was calling me out of this world – out of its expectations, and approval, and agenda – and telling me that it was time to go deeper and give up my own plans, I was afraid of what that might mean for my life.

And then God called me to Kenya, and I knew it was the perfect opportunity to let Him change me – radically change me – and this time I wasn’t going to say no. So I signed up to go for 8 weeks with a team of 15 people I didn’t know, to serve and to live life with people who I thought I would have little in common with. And I prayed (all the while somewhat fearing the implications of this prayer) to be molded and transformed and changed. And now this is the part where you’re probably expecting me to explain just exactly how I’ve changed and what I’ve learned…and I wish I could, but I don’t think I can. Some of the things God taught me and grew in me were revealed or realized in a moment, and other things I’m still processing and reflecting on, and I may be for years to come. Africa is absolutely beautiful – indescribably evocative – and through the things we saw and the people we encountered I absorbed and discovered more than I ever have before about joy, faith, poverty, conviction, and God's heart for the hurting. If you’ve followed my blog you’ve gotten glimpses into a few of the things I experienced and learned, and I so wish I could explain it all perfectly, but sometimes words just aren’t enough, and this is one of those times when you’re just going to have to believe me that God has moved – in Kenya, in the people there, in my teammates, and in me.

I LOVE this quote from Shauna Niequist’s introduction to her book Bittersweet (I know, I know, I’m obsessed with her writing!) that I feel perfectly explains and captures my changed attitude towards change :) She writes: “This is what I've come to believe about change: it's good, in the way that childbirth is good, and heartbreak is good, and failure is good. By that I mean that it's incredibly painful, exponentially more so if you fight it, and also that it has the potential to open you up, to open life up, to deliver you right into the palm of God's hand, which is where you wanted to be all long, except that you were too busy pushing and pulling your life into exactly what you thought it should be.” The complete shock and tidal wave of emotions I felt when I returned home made me realize that I have changed even more than I know at this point, and that I may have unintentionally but understandably left a sizable piece of my heart back in Kenya (but that just means I will go back someday to find it again!) Carl, who works on AIM staff, says that he would tell his ‘college self’: “Be the person you are afraid to be.” I love that. It’s now something I take as a challenge. And even though I’m still in college, I would add to that, Live the life you’re afraid to live. Give up the things you’re afraid to give up. Open yourself up to God’s way when you’d rather do it your own way. And watch as your life is beautifully and radically changed.