0˚-0’-0” Mitad del Mundo

Here I am, in the exact half of the world!! (p.s. also my first time crossing the equator line, lying in the southern hemisphere)

Chifa & Cerviche: ecuatoriano style

Resataurante Chifa is everywhere! Que es Chifa? It is actually a local specialty, mixing Ecuadorian/Peruvian cuisine with Chinese. Haven’t got a chance to try one but apparently they are good...

And there is the infamous ecuatoriano cerviche that mi nene has been bragging about forever. Que rico! It’s like a soup, made of special local sweet tomatos (tomate de árbol, specialty in the Andes). The most typical one is served with shrimps while the rest come with conchas, oysters, clams etc. For a seafood lover like me, I am in heaven!! What’s better than eating cheap fresh seafood everyday!

Wawa: Quichua vs. Chino

(Dated March 24, 2007)

40 hours, yup, that’s exactly how long it took me get to Quito, the 2800m above-the-sea-level capital of Ecuador. Alrighty fallen in love with the weather, dry (although it is now raining season) chilly yet pleasant. Perfect climate for me: day starts out 10 degree and reaches 22 degree in the middle of the day and then goes down to 10 degree in the evening. Was amazed when I learned from Ana that Wawa means baby in Quichua. Coincidentally, that is how baby is called is Mandarin as well. Who knows, maybe my theory has always been correct: “ Everything comes from China.” (“except for potato and maiz,” my nene would argue.)

La Tierra de Juan Valdez

(Dated March 23, 2007)

15 hours of flight, 33 hours later, I am still NOT in Quito. Have never spent so much time ever in transit. From BCN to CDG to BOG (Bogota) to CAL (Cali) and back to BOG: the plane had to turn around twice due to heavy rain and fog in Quito and we ended spending a night in Cali (well, more like a three-hour sleep at a local hotel). Tried to make the second attempt this morning from Cali to Quito and failed again. So here I am sitting in the airport at Bogota waiting for a larger flight. At least I learned and got to see a bit of Colombia, la tierra de Juan Valdez. Bogota, a city of 2 million people and hundreds of high-rises is surrounded by farms and cattle and Andes in afar...what a contrary! What truly amazed me is that how heavily guarded the airport is: behind the lush green landscape and great hospitality and smiley faces, the airport (or the city itself) probably has the highest number of armed police per capita, thanks to the Uribe's determination on cracking down crimes in Colombia by deploying 20,000 troops and police to secure the city.

Otro punto de Partida

Crees o no, es mi ultimo día en ESADE. Acabé el ultimo examen de español. Este es el lugar que llevé más tiempo los últimos dos años y me despediré pronto de él. Me siento extraña con una mezcla de sentimientos. Por un lado, lo echaré de menos (la gente, el lugar, las memorias, todos), por otro lado, estoy lista de seguir adelante. Aprendí muchísimo en el ultimo 18 meses, especialmente sobre a mi misma. Otra vez, yo estoy de pie en otro punto de partida. No segura adonde la vida me llevará pero siento bien y no tengo miedo.

Alegría! Me alegré!

(dated February 28, 2006)

Cirque du Soleil is in town! Couldn’t help being in awe of the visual effect, choreography, costume, and stage design of the show. Impresionante! The most amazing part was the live music band and vocal. I felt like a little kid again, craving for magic and the next trick from Mr. Clown. Holding my breath throughout the show for the acrobats though. Not to mention the two Chinese dolls were incredibly flexible in ‘molding’ their bodies in all kinds of shapes (I really thought they were dolls for a while, not human beings.) The darnest thing was that they were so strict about photos and cell phone (being a camwhore, i was not very happy about it) The staff immediately went over whenever they saw a glow in the dark. Had to pull my usual gig, i.e. pulling a chino by pretending ‘no hablo espanol’ to get them off my back ☺ lol…

p.s. Gracias mi nene por llevarme al gran espectáculo, me encanta!! Es el mejor regalo de valentín que he recibido! Me alegré!