Back from Abroad... I mean the States

After a week long stint in the United States, I am finally back in Ecuador. The journey from my home in Staten Island to my home in Ambato lasted 19 hours, but I easily slept for 10 of those hours so it wasn't really that bad in retrospect.

Could you do me a favor?

Before I left for the United States, I made the big mistake of telling everyone where I was going. It didn't take long before friends and students began asking me to bring things back to Ecuador for them. A doctor friend of my dad's asked me to bring back a lab coat and a laptop, and a student asked me for an electronic Spanish/English dictionary. The most ridiculous request came from one of the students in my Intermediate II class.

This student lived in the U.S. for a number of years and during that time he became addicted to Orbit gum. I say he is addicted because he wanted me to buy him $100 worth of gum and bring it back. I had no idea what $100 dollars worth of gum looked like at the time, so I expressed my concerns about how much space that would take up in my suitcase and whether or not customs would give me a hard time about it (they might think I was trying to sell it in Ecuador for profit, which seems like it would be pretty illegal). The next day in class he gave me $60 anyway. He is a good student and he gives me a ride home from class every night, so I submitted to the pressure and agreed to get him some gum.

As I was going through customs the x-ray guy actually pulled me aside and asked me what was in all the boxes in my suitcase. I told him it was gum, to which he incredulously replied "all of it?" I said yes, and that was apparently all the convincing he needed because he didn't even check my bag afterward.

In case you were wondering how much gum $60 buys you, it's 72 packs.

Tour of the East Coast

My first stop in the States was Atlanta. As I said in earlier posts, I was very lucky that one of my good friends from Notre Dame, Michael T., goes to med school at Emory. I was excited to get to see him again, but I had no idea what surprises awaited me in A-town. Another good friend of mine from Notre Dame named Andy, who graduated two years before me, apparently lives in Atlanta now too. I had lost track of him after he graduated because he went to Africa to do some service work and I hadn't kept in touch with him.

Michael T. picked me up from the airport and I was shocked when he told me that we were going to Andy's house. The night got even better when we met up with two of my other friends from Notre Dame, Aaron and Shelley, and we all hung out for a bit. It was a great way to relax before my interview and I am so glad I got to see a bunch of my friends unexpectedly.

Speaking of my interviews, they were all pretty standard, but there was one incident at Emory that stood out. At Emory, they have a one-on-one interview and a three-on-three interview. In the three-on-three, three prospective med students sit down at a table with two faculty members and one third year med student. The questions are asked by one interviewer to one interviewee in sequence, so it works like a one-on-one-on-one more than an open forum type of thing. The reaction to the style of interview was very divisive for the group interviewing that day. Some people were completely apathetic to the idea and treated it like a regular interview with no one else in the room while others found it frustrating and distracting.

After a series of standard med school interview questions, the last question in my group interview came from the third year med student. She asked us "If you could be any kind of Krispy Kreme doughnut, which would it be and why?" Everyone in my group seemed to come to the same conclusion independently that it was a silly question to lighten the mood that deserved a silly answer, and we all responded accordingly. The first guy said "Plain doughnut, because it is generally appealing like me" or some similar bullshit. The second girl responded "Cruller, because they are delicious" (said nothing about how it reflected her personality). I said "Plain doughnut with chocolate on top, because it's what the first guy said, just a little bit better." The interviewers laughed at my answer so I figured I did good work considering the nature of the question.

After the interview, on the tour of the school, a prospective student from another group started talking to me about the group interview.

- Hey Krishna, what did you think about the group interview?
- I thought is was strange they had us all in the same room considering it was essentially a one-on-one-on-one, but it didn't really faze me.
- Really? I hated it. I bombed on one of the questions.
- They asked you hard questions? My interviewers were really laid back. What question did you have trouble with?
- I blew the doughnut question.

I laughed out loud because it was so funny seeing someone visibly upset at the thought that he had incorrectly answered a question dealing with what kind of doughnut he would be if the opportunity to be a doughnut ever arose. The only way I can imagine that one could incorrectly answer the question is to say something that is not a doughnut.

- So Mr. Surasi, if you were a Krispy Kreme doughnut, what kind would you be?
- An everything bagel.
- I think you should leave.

He went on to explain that the other people in his group said doughnuts that somehow tied into the rest of their life story and that he said something silly. I'm not really sure what the admissions committee was trying to learn from us by asking the doughnut question, but I sure as hell hope they weren't looking for a serious answer, otherwise I probably won't be invited back to Emory this cycle.

Re-adjustment

When I was planning to return to the United States for my interviews, I was nervous that I would get homesick and not want to come back to Ecuador. Surprisingly, I did not really get homesick at all. All the while I was back at home I felt like I was on a trip and that my permanent residence was in Ecuador.

I think this reaction is mostly due to the fact that I have a very involved job here in Ambato. Being a teacher requires a lot of creative thinking and planning. It is not like I have a regular 9-5 job where I work by myself at a desk and forget about work as soon as I leave the building. I have almost fifty students I see everyday who depend on me coming to class prepared and excited to teach English. My students jokingly asked me if there was a chance that I wouldn't come back to Ambato if I went to the States, but I seriously couldn't even think about abandoning them mid-semester.

The last day before I left my students were definitely sucking up to me trying to make me feel sentimental about the class, and I think it is because in the back of their heads they thought there was a possibility that I would not return. One of my students even bought me an Amboto themed Monopoly game called "Ambatolio." All the properties are well-known areas of Ambato and the pieces are famous people from Ambato's history. I hate Monopoly, but I have a feeling I'll be playing Ambatolio with some of the other volunteers very soon.

So really, what I thought would turn out to be a re-adjustment to life in Ecuador has been more of a relief to be back "home" in Ambato. My trip to the U.S. was tiring and I did more work than relaxing, but now I can get back into my routine and catch up with my friends in the southern hemisphere.

Updates

Considering I devoted a substantial amount of energy to bashing my miserable Ecuadorian phone, I thought it was worth mentioning that I ditched it and bought a new one. I got a Nokia that has great reception, tells me who is texting me without having to jump through ridiculous hoops, and best of all it has Snake. The first cell phone I ever had in high school had Snake, and now I can say without nostalgia that it is the finest cell phone game for broke-ass cell phones ever crafted.

Also, I picked up a small point and shoot camera when I was back in the States. I have a sweet SLR (read: big-dawg) camera with me in Ecuador, but it is scary bringing it most places because there is no way to walk around with it without announcing that I am carrying an expensive camera around. Now that I have a cheap, small one I will try to bring it around with me more places and take a lot of pictures to upload to my photos page.

Tomorrow I am having a Halloween/Día de los Difuntos celebration with my classes, so I'm sure I will walk away with at least a handful of absurd pictures. This weekend I am also headed to the colonial gem of Ecuador, Cuenca, to partake in their famous Dia de los Difuntos celebrations.

Things Ecuadorians Like: Change

Living in Ecuador is nice because everything is so cheap here. The bus costs 20 cents, a cab ride to anywhere in Ambato is never more than $1.50, and you can easily eat lunch with $2 in your pocket. Today I was looking for shoes to wear with my interview suit and there was a pair for $11. I came to the conclusion that nothing good could possibly come from an $11 pair of shoes, so I bought an expensive pair for $22—but that doesn't take away from my point that living in this country is cheap.

One of the disadvantages of such a low cost of living is that you can't use big bills (read: any bill bigger than $5) anywhere without a fight. Of course, ATMs only spit out $20's and the occasional $10, so people aggressively guard their change. One time I seriously decided to not leave my house for a week because I only had a $10 and I didn't feel like looking for a taxi who had enough change. When I finally decided it was time to sack-up and leave the house, the first taxi I waved down said he had change for a ten. Sure enough he was lying, and we had to drive around town while he asked people selling random stuff on the street for change until he had enough.

Just today I was involved in a situation that was made more difficult by this country's seemingly endangered supply of small bills and change. I picked up my suit this morning and remembered that I needed a pair of dress socks to bring with me as well. They cost $2.90, and all I had was a ten dollar bill and less than a dollar in change. This is how the conversation went:

- I'd like this pair of socks please.
- That'll be $2.90
- Here you go. (*hand saleswoman a ten dollar bill*)
- Do you have any change?
- No, sorry. All I've got are ten dollar bills.
- Are you sure you don't have anything smaller? I don't have any change.
- Uh, hold on. (*move hands in pockets acting like I am looking for change*) Nope, definitely don't have any change.
- Well I don't have any change either.

What followed was an incredibly awkward staring match— a match in which the winner would rifle the defeated opponent's stash of change and leave them with the heavy burden of a ten dollar bill. Fifteen seconds later, negotiations resumed.

- OK, if I can't pay with cash then can I pay with a credit card?
- Yeah... (*brain starts clicking and she realizes what a pain in the ass it is to use a credit card in this country*) just give me the ten dollar bill.

I paid with my ten and she gave me my change in nickles. I will leave you with that imagery because I think it accurately captures what my experiences with change in Ecuador have been like: I never win.

Homebound

After lots of planning I have finalized my trip back to the United States for medical school interviews. One week from today I will be flying to Georgia for an interview where I will stay the night with a friend of mine (shout out to Michael T.) who goes to Emory. The next day I will be flying out to stay with my cousin (shout out to Rosie) who conveniently attends Wake Forest while I interview there. On the third day I will be flying back to New York for an interview and I will stay at home (shout out to Swamy and Marianne Surasi) for the remainder of the week. I have already started putting together a list of things I miss living in Ecuador that I will do when I am back in the States. The list includes, but is not limited to:

• Eating cereal and bagels
• Drinking apple juice (clear, clarified apple juice— not the opaque, syrupy garbage they drink here) 
• Watching late night American television
• Droid
• Driving a car
• Using a dryer
• Having solid bowel movements

Reflections on Ambato

The first month when we lived in Quito I was concerned about leaving to go live in Ambato. Quito is a huge city and they have pretty much anything you could want to buy or do if you are willing to search around for a bit. After living in Ambato for a month now, I have decided that I like living here.

One of the big differences living in Ambato is that it is not a tourist attraction. There is not really anything special to see or do here, so almost everyone in the city lives here. It is nice to not encounter any gringos around and it is fun when all the Ecuadorians are not jaded about meeting foreigners. That's not to say that there are never foreigners in Ambato, but there are few enough that it is still a treat to some Ecuadorians to be meeting an American.

For example, yesterday I went to the centro in Ambato to buy a suit for my interviews (yup, definitely forgot to pack that). Before I went I looked up all the relevant Spanish phrases I would need to know for buying a suit ("Nothing touches this body but pure silk.") so the conversation with the saleswoman started off pretty well. As we went on she threw me a couple of wild card questions like asking me about how I want the pants hemmed and I stumbled.

In Quito, a salesperson would at that point immediately begin speaking in English (if they hadn't already assumed you spoke English from the start) and not think twice that you are not Ecuadorian, but this woman didn't make the connection right away. After all, why would an American be buying a suit in the centro of Ambato, let alone be in Ambato in the first place? She asked me confoundedly, "You're not from here?" and I made her guess where I was from. She guessed Australia. I'm not sure why she guessed that, but I'll take it as a compliment since I've never met an Australian person I didn't want to be best friends with.

And I know what you are all wondering so I'll just put your mind to rest now. Yes, I look awesome in a suit.

Quito Revisited

On Saturday night I took a bus to Quito to meet up with some of the other volunteers and hang out together like we did the first month when we were all there. The bus ride is about two and a half hours long, so we spent the night in a hostel so we could stay out late and hang out the next morning as well.

I joined some of my friends since they already had a hostel room and paid for my bed. Sure enough, in typical Ecuador fashion, someone wasn't paying attention and put me in a room that was already full. Late that night, after waking up the strangers sleeping in our room and discussing the situation with them, two of my friends decided they would share a bed and the situation turned out fine. The next morning when they checked out they just explained to the guy that they were only paying for one person since they shared a bed and he didn't contest. I was pretty upset about it the night before when we realized we didn't have enough beds and we all paid for one, but in retrospect I guess that's what I should have expected from a hostel called The Magic Bean that charges ten dollars a night.

I have already talked about how crazy the regular public transportation buses are, but the buses that go long distances from city to city are also absurd in their own respect. When the buses make stops in small towns along the way to pick up passengers, food vendors usually jump on the bus and try to sell stuff. Today on the bus back from Quito, it started off pretty reasonably.

Some guy came on the bus and was trying to sell bottles of water to people. Next a girl came on and was selling fruits. That would be unusual in America, but it was not surprising for me in Ecuador. Next a woman came on and was selling hot tortillas of something in small plastic containers. That was the first thing that kind of impressed me because hot food is a step up from what I would normally expect to see hawked on a bus. Still, the food was well contained and easily carried by the seller.

The next person that came on the bus really got my attention. He was holding a big aluminum tin filled with fried chicken and french fries. He walked up and down the aisles and people were actually buying meals from him. I thought it was done after this, but the last guy that came on the bus had a hand full of chicken kebabs. On paper, he wasn't really that much more ridiculous than the fried chicken guy, but the image of the kebab vendor holding chicken on sticks at the front of the bus made my day. Keep in mind that all these people walked on and off the bus at the same stop. I would have killed to have had a video camera to record the parade of people selling food at that stop.

Back to the Grind

It was a fun weekend, but now I've got some quizzes to grade and some lessons to plan for this coming week. At least I have the motivation that after the next four days I will be back in the States for a mini-vacation in the Land of the Free. I won't be in Georgia or North Carolina for very long, but if you are in NYC any time from Oct. 20th to Oct. 23th let me know, otherwise you probably won't see me for another ten months.

Surasi for President!

Yesterday morning I was in my house, figuring out a new lesson plan because classes were canceled the day before due to a bus strike, when I got a call from my WorldTeach supervisor.  She informed me that there were some disturbances in Ecuador and that all of the volunteers were advised to remain in their houses until further notice.  That message seemed strange to me because where I am living it was very quiet, and although I hadn't left the house yet that day, everything seemed normal.  When I asked my host mother about it she filled me in that the police force had went on strike due to a supposed government plan to alter their benefits.

I called the other volunteers in my city to relay the message and one of them who had already went to school and returned home reported that the bus he was on had to take an alternate route because the police were causing a disturbance and blocking the streets.  A couple of hours later I passed by my host father who was watching the news and he told me that the president had been kidnapped by the police.  What made everything even more bizarre was how nonchalantly everyone in my house was taking the news.  I walked into the kitchen and told my host mother that the president was kidnapped.  She let out a concerned gasp, but then continued washing the dishes.  I would later find out that "kidnapped" is a strong word to describe what happened to the president (he was in a building and unable to leave because it was surrounded by protesters) but still, if that happened in the U.S. I feel like everyone would be glued to their T.V. until the situation was resolved.

From what I understand the following is what happened yesterday.  Early in the day the police force went on strike because they were under the impression that their benefits would be reduced (the government claims that this is not true and that the police had misinterpreted the legislation).  In Ecuador's major cities, the police were causing all kinds of drama like burning tires and trees in the streets and blocking off major roadways.  They even took control of the airports and flights were not coming into or leaving from Ecuador for a while. 

The president, Rafael Correa, went to the police station to talk the protesters down and he was assaulted and tear-gassed.  He had to be taken to a hospital for treatment, and it was in that building where he would be held unwillingly for most of the day.  At one point he got hold of a microphone, leaned out a window, and gave a speech in which he challenged the police protesters to stop hiding like cowards and come out and kill him if they wanted to.  If there is one thing I learned from this ordeal it is that Rafael Correa is a G, because that speech was awesome.

Later that night the military removed Correa from the hospital and brought him back to the (disconcertingly under-protected) Presidential Palace, where he gave a speech to a plaza full of his supporters. 

In the end, there has only been one confirmed death and the country is starting to stabilize again.  The military has re-taken control of the airports and they are in charge of enforcing the law until the police situation is sorted out.  I have been given the green-light to leave my house again, but I don't think I'll be visiting Quito this weekend like I had planned.  I'm curious to see what happens to the police force now and what this will mean for the rest of my time here in Ecuador.

For a while there, when the president was being held in the hospital, it occurred to me (and everyone from home I talked to that day) that there could very well be a job opening in the Presidential Palace in the near future.  I'm not saying that I'm running for president of Ecuador, but it would look killer on a med school application...

Vota por Surasi para Presidente de la República del Ecuador!