Monday, July 30, 2012

9 things I want to say about music (and corresponding YouTube videos)

1. I'm just going to get this one over with--I like pop music. I don't ironically like pop music. I genuinely like it. It makes me feel good. It makes me want to dance. Stop saying you hate pop music to sound cool. I know you like it. You do.


2. Vocal harmonies have intrinsic beauty that does not depend on how well the engineer tweaked them to perfection. Gimme some raw harmonies.


3. Everyone knows that the more instruments you play, the cooler you are. What I want to say is that the more instruments you play on one recording or live song, the cooler you are.


4. I'm not gonna be all crazy and say I'm suddenly into Taylor Swift, but I'm also not going to say that I haven't had "Our Song" stuck in my head for the past month. This video is beyond ridiculous.


5. I cant get down with relaxation music. Like I think it's cool that it works for some people, and I've definitely seen it work for a lot of clients that I've worked with, but it makes me anxious. Check this out and see how it makes you feel.


6. Once in a while something awesome comes out of American Idol. I think Damien Rice might be cool with this recording.


7. Okay so I'm not necessarily "into jazz," but as my jazz friends so lovingly put it, I'm "into being into jazz." Basically what that means is that I like hanging out with people who play jazz and going to see jazz shows and talking about how cool Kind of Blue by Miles Davis is. I accept my place in the jazz world.


8. I think some musicians have the whole package. They can sing like an angel and play a mean guitar and write beautiful lyrics and be all successful. But I also think that you only really need to be incredibly talented at one of those things to make it. This guy isn't the best singer I've ever heard but his writing is the most beautiful poetry I've ever known. 
 


9. I am constantly picking out wedding songs with no particular future husband in mind. If that's wrong, I don't want to be right.
 

Friday, July 13, 2012

Home sweet home.

The last day with the kids in Quito was a lot like I imagined it. They didn't understand that we were leaving. They ran out to their parents at the end of the day and didn't look back. It made things a lot easier on me. It reminded me how adaptable children are. They are resilient. They bounce back, and I'm almost certain that we're already a memory to them. I don't mean this in a sad way, because I truly believe in the difference we've made in the past two weeks. I believe that being loved and nurtured is the way children grow up to feel secure. I wish I could spend fifty two weeks per year giving children the love that they deserve, but I guess that job will fall into my hands soon enough. In a year I hope to be caring for kids through music, and in ten years I hope to be taking care of kids of my own.

It's nice to be home but I miss the people and weather and dogs and fresh juice of Quito! I miss our host family and dulce de leche and playing with little kids. Home has been relaxing compared to the action-packed, energy-draining days of running after kids, speaking Spanish, and touring Quito. It's comforting to be back in my own bed and with my family again.

I missed my guitar a lot so I spent some quality time with it today. I wrote some new lyrics that I really like, but I couldn't write much music. I only have another day before we're separated again! We're leaving for Puerto Plata on Sunday morning. I'm excited to spend a lot of time with my family and practice Spanish even more. I've decided to look into some kind of Spanish class, hopefully this fall, but definitely some time within the year. It's become increasingly important to me to master this language and with all the practice I've had in the last two weeks, I've realized that it's possible.

I have a beautiful picture of me and Courtney with our host family that I will be sure to post as soon as a I put it on my computer. I am so grateful that I was able to get to know them.

Thanks for reading and for all the support through this experience. If you keep reading, I'll keep writing! Paz a todos.


Monday, July 9, 2012

Music day.

Today was great because kids are great. Before I left for Quito, I bought a few instruments to bring for the kids. I wasn't sure whether or not to even bring them in when I met all thirty of los niños. I decided to bring them today and it ended up being a great idea. Music is so motivating! Of course, after completing 3/4 of a bachelor degree in music therapy, this is not the first time I've stumbled upon this phenomenon. It was just cool to experience it here because, as corny as it sounds, music really does have the power to transcend language barriers.

Music is motivating because it is inviting and rewarding. Today, a little boy who I haven't heard speak for the past week and a half, sang some of the words to "La Araña Pequenita" or "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." When I took out a tambourine, a group of kids sat around me and took turns hitting it while we sang a song about un barquito that my Grandma and cousin Olivia taught me. Now, this may not seem like a big deal, but it was the first time that the kids actually shared something without fighting since I've been here. (Of course, they required quite a few "Si quieres tocar, tienes que sentarse!") It was a big deal!!! Music is motivating. I rest my case.

Tomorrow is our last day of work. I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to the kids. They're so young that they will likely forget us soon, but we'll never forget them. I hope that some part of their lives have been affected by our presence here. I feel like we've been here forever, but what's two weeks in the life of a kid? It's so strange to just walk away. Today I was listening to music with a little boy named Lenny who (shhh don't tell) is easily my favorite. Him and I have had a lot of fun times the past two weeks. Anyway, we were playing some American pop music and the song "Gonna Get Over You" by Sara Bareilles came on. He was sitting on my lap and we were singing to each other, him pretending to know the words in a language he doesn't speak, while I was singing the line "Ohhhh how am I gonna get over you?" I don't know how I'll get over Lenny or Michael, Mateo, Cristofer, Janita, Daniella, Martin, Alejandro, or Taira, but maybe I don't have to. Maybe I can always keep them with me, wishing them well wherever they are, with whatever they do, and whoever they grow up to be.

 

 

Pictures and video that wouldn't post last night...day



 
 
 
 

 

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Mountain day.

I've loved mountains ever since I started watching the WB show, Everwood, when I was a kid. I remember wanting to live in Everwood, Colorado, a small town surrounded by mountains, where everyone knew each other. Well, Quito is kind of reminding me of Everwood. It doesn't matter where you are in the city, you're completely surrounded by beautiful, snow-capped mountains and volcanoes.

Today we went to El Panecillo, which is a mountain-top statue of Mama Mary with wings. It was breathtaking. I have never seen anything like the view from up there.

I took a video from up on the statue but for some reason I can't post it :( and I'm losing patience because I'm very tired so I'll try to update this post with the video tomorrow. It's awesome.

Last night we went to a karaoke bar! I sang "Let It Be" and "Someone Like You." It was a lot of fun. We drank beer from tiny glasses. Very classy. I'll add pictures tomorrow. My usually trusty app Blogsy is failing me!

Buenos noches a todos!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Quito day.

This will be a short one because we're leaving for la discoteca! Today we went downtown. We found a cool shop that sold local goods, a fair trade shop, and a delicious restaurant! We ate tamales, pollo, chocolate con queso (they're so smart), and helado. For two three course meals it cost us twenty seven dollars!

Today I got to video chat with so many people I love! They were all at my Uncle Eddie's annual July 4th BBQ. Thank God for technology or I would've missed it for the first time in my life.

Here are some pictures :)

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, July 6, 2012

Sick day.

Well, it's been a sneezy week and when we woke up this morning, we realized that we probably needed a sick day. Courtney caught a cold from the kids and my allergies have been driving me crazy from the first day we got here. The food has also been a little tough on my stomach. We've been sleeping all day, trying to rest so we can do some sightseeing this weekend. This week has felt very long, and it's finally caught up with us. Being in a foreign country is incredibly overwhelming and the thought of only being halfway done is a little bit scary, to be honest. We've enjoyed every day here, but things like our health, the language barrier, and the large amount of kids we've been taking care of seem to be a bit more than we can handle. We're trying to take it day by day.

Thanks again for reading. Here are some more pictures of the babies that we love so very much :)





Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Tired day.

Wow. Estoy cansada. I even took a nap when we got home and I'm still tired. It's a good tired. It's like the feeling you have when you have to wake up early for something awesome like a wedding or vacation. I've been waking up and pushing the tired out of my mind because I know I get to spend my day with the coolest kids.

I'm so glad Courtney and I came here together. I wouldn't want to be alone here, mostly because every day something unexpected happens. It's nice to lean on each other. Courtney is also one of the funniest people you'll ever meet so she has been the comic relief in my life for the last five days (but also for the last nine years!)

Short post because I'm tired but here are some pictures! Thanks to everyone who is reading. Happy 4th!

 

 

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Half day.

Today we had a half day because of the Superior General's visit to the convent. We got to meet her! She was so nice (she's the head of Mother Teresa's order sooo...) and I felt so lucky to have the opportunity to talk to her for a few minutes. Courtney pointed out that she's the first woman we've met here that is as tall as we are! She gave us little cards with a picture of Mother Teresa and a short prayer on the back. It was a great experience.

We spent most of the day just hanging out. We just finished having dinner con la familia. There was a lot of laughing, mostly at our expense because no hablamos español! Well, we do, but it's just funny to them when we say things because it's usually slow and with a confused look on our faces. One of my mom's coworkers and good friends asked her if they celebrate July 4th in Ecuador (jajaja) so at dinner I told the family and at first they laughed, but then Geovanna said she actually has off from her English class mañana for the 4th! So they do in fact celebrate July 4th here! (Happy 4th a todos en Los Estados Unidos!!!) Also, Geovanna got her first 100% on the English homework that we helped her with. Woohoo todos estan aprendiendo otras idiomas!

Here are some pictures!

A mariachi band for Sister Prema and the kids!
Las hermanitas y los niños
Herman Prema y Los niños
Walk down the driveway and make a right and this is the view!
Mis amores
 

 

First day.

I wrote this on Monday but I guess it never posted! Today was our first day of work at the Sisters of Calcutta convent. There are about thirty kids! It's loco. They are the cutest little babies. And they really are babies. Some of them are probably around one year old and the oldest is probably about five years old. We played all day long. They have toys, but most of them are broken or missing parts. We had to be creative but most of the kids seem to have great imaginations. The day flew by and we were working for eight hours!

THIS IS THE COOLEST PART OF THE BLOG POST SO PAY ATTENTION! The Mother Superior of the Sisters of Calcutta is visiting the convent this week!!! She's Mother Teresa's successor's successor! I'm really hoping we get to meet her tomorrow. I guess we picked the right time to be here! Is it weird to ask to take a picture with her? Give me your input...

If you haven't had cantaloupe juice, get on a plane to Quito right now and join us for breakfast tomorrow. It's so delicious. I'm going to miss fresh juice every day when we leave. Maybe I'll buy a juicer.

Here are some pictures!

 

 

 

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Family day.

Today we spent the whole day with our host family. We started the morning with breakfast made by Carita, the youngest sister. We had some fresh bread, queso fresco, hot dogs (might sound strange but was great with breakfast...spoken like a true ex-vegetarian!), hot chocolate, fresh juice, and fruit. After breakfast we all got ready and started the journey to have a family lunch at a cousin's house. On the way, a road was closed for a parade. We had to stop and there was no way of getting out so Luis, our host dad, told us to get out and we all hung out at the parade until we could get through. This part of the day helped me appreciate the culture here. I was thinking that if this happened in New York, people would be sitting in their cars, laying on their horns for that hour. Before we left, our mentor from UBELONG, Cedric, said that it's important to remember that the culture here isn't better or worse than American culture, it's just different. This seems simple but it has already helped me a few times. Here are some pictures from the parade!

 

We've been noticing that after listening to a lot of Spanish, we feel very drained. This happened during lunch today, but I felt better after talking to Courtney in English for a few minutes. It's a very interesting thing, but I guess it just takes a ton of energy to understand a language that you don't speak fluently. We're trying our best!

For lunch we had chicken, rice, potatoes (big surprise!), salad, and avocado. We were so full but then they made us eat two desserts (and by that I mean we gladly accepted every delicious thing they put on our plates). We watched fútbol and the Ecuadorian team beat Barcelona! Everyone was pretty excited about it. I'm going to skip over the part of this post where I pretend to know something about professional soccer :)

We went to mass at the church here in Tumbaco. The whole congregation says a rosary before mass which is pretty cool. And I know the Hail Mary in Spanish so I just played it cool and totally blended in, with my blonde hair, blue eyes, and all five-foot-nine of me.

After mass we walked home, had some tea and a snack, had our orientation, and helped Geovanna with her English homework! Geovanna gave us our orientation, which was mostly about the project we'll start working on tomorrow con los niños! She also told us not to flush toilet paper (too late) and that we are very welcome here. After that she took out her English books and we got cracking on writing topic sentences. English is stupid and inconsistent. Geovanna works for UBELONG and another job, takes English classes, and takes classes for her Masters degree. She's awesome. We had a good time helping her with her homework.

And now it's time for bed! Goodnight!