Ecuador: Day 5 and 6

Day 5:
It was cold again on Tuesday, the clouds filed the sky and overall it was very gloomy weather. I didn’t have the greatest morning. Firstly because the contest I was planning on entering, ended the night before and I hadn’t entered yet. That put a bit of a damper on my whole day. I started a drawing which didn’t work out and listened to my book on tape. At 2:30 we met Ivan, one of Eduardo’s friends who drove us to the college. We got a short tour around the college and then went to the classroom where Greg was going to teach. We ate lunch at this yummy restaurant across the street, mom and I split a taco salad which was very good.
Mom and I sat in the back of the classroom while Greg got his equipment set up. I decided to start a series of drawings of the characters in the Pendragon series. Because the last book came out recently, I’ve been trying to read or listen to the whole series again so that I have a clear memory of everything. Thus I have been really inspired to draw the characters. I drew throughout Greg’s class and almost finished two drawings which I quite like.
Greg had all of his students show their portfolios and it was interesting to see all the different styles and types of art. There were some I liked and some I didn’t, as I suppose it is with all art. The portfolio showing went longer than expected, maybe because there are 40 people in the class and thus Greg’s talk started late. He talked to the students about finding their personally vision (another way of saying heart virtue) so that their art will be truly theirs. I think its a good thing for the students to learn because I feel some of them are trying to do what others have already done, or fit into a mold.
It was a long night but I had fun drawing. We got home round 10:50 and after eating an apple I crashed. I was exhausted.

Day 6:
Mom woke me up early this morning so that I could go eat breakfast with her and Greg (lately I’ve been asleep when they went to the restaurant and they would bring me back something). I felt rather like I was back at school because the curtains made the room seem dark and I walked half asleep to the bathroom. Eduardo showed up unexpectedly and joined us for breakfast. Greg had a really awful head ache and waited back in our room for someone to come help him open the safe, which was stuck. I had some fruit, black tea (my favorite) and a little pastry. It was quite good. Since Greg still hadn’t shown up after about half an hour I decided to go up to the room and see if he was going to join us. He was waiting for someone who had gone to fetch a new battery for the safe. I decided to wait in his place while he went to eat. In the end we needed to get an entirely new safe installed in the room. Greg was feeling really bad so mom, Eduardo and I went out while he stayed behind to rest. Mom needed a little bag to put her things in so we headed over to a little market. It was really neat because it made me think of Morocco this all the rows and all the hanging hats and scarves and handmade things. There were so many things I liked and they were all extremely inexpensive. For example there was this awesome hand-woven backpack in yellows oranges and greens for only fifteen dollars! I probably would have bought a ton of thing but Eduardo said that next week we’ll be visiting a village where all these things are made and mom and I figured it would be better to wait until then. Unfortunately mom couldn’t find a bad that was in the right colors or right size. While we were there I got a scoop of Guarabana ice cream which was delicious. I wonder if I can find Guarabana back home...
Next we visited the National Cultural Museum of Quito to see some artifacts from the Quitu (the original people of Ecuador) and Inca’s. They were really neat and I enjoyed seeing all of the pottery and sculpture. We also saw some painting and sculptures from the colonial period (when the Europeans began to come over) which were also nice, but not as interesting as the ancient pieces. We took a cab back to the hotel checked in on Greg, who was doing better and went up to have lunch at the restaurant. Mom and I split an asparagus soup, which was really yummy, and a turkey and Dijon mustard sandwich, which I also enjoyed. After we drove to the university and met with a biologist. Mom had been interested in talking to him about the native plants of Ecuador and where the good distilling places were. He was a neat fellow and I enjoyed listening to him talk.
We went over to the classroom I began typing this post while Greg set up. Throughout the talk I drew and listened to my book on tape. In all it was a really fun day.

Ecuador: Day 3 and 4

Day 3:
Unlike the first day in Ecuador, when I awoke it was cold and cloudy. It looked as though it might rain and in fact it did drizzle a bit. For the first portion of the day we stayed at home in the hotel. I drew and listened to my book on tape while Greg worked on his presentation. At around 3:00 we met Eduardo and his wife, Maria. We drove across the city to eat lunch at this nice restaurant. The restaurant was on top of a hill with a nice view of the city. I quite enjoyed looking out the windows while we were eating, seeing the building and the tree covered hills. The clouds here are quite amazing. I think I’ve seen all three types of clouds in the same day, which is very very rare in California. For lunch I got the “Ensalada Camilla” which was a salad of tomato, cheese and pesto and the Locro Soup, which is a traditional potato soup from Ecuador severed with avocado and cheese. They were both very good but I especially enjoyed the soup. We also got a juice called Guanabana with blackberry. Guanabana is a fruit from Ecuador which I haven’t found the translation for yet. Its quite good; sweet and white. After lunch we decided to go see the statue of the Virgin of Quito which is on the top of one of the big hills. Maria and Eduardo didn’t know how to get there so we drove threw many winding cobblestone streets asking people for diresctions. Even though it was really bumpy, I actually found it quite fun!
We reached the top after maybe half an hour of looking for the right way. The statue is really big and made of metal, though it looks rather like concrete. It’s is like the statue of liberty in the way that you can climb a staircase inside her. It was odd because the outside was quite grand yet the inside was painted a pale blue with painted flowers and odd almost cheesy little dioramas. It was rather incongruent. The furthest up you could go was a balcony by her feet. It was very very cold and rather windy as well. One of the most interesting things there were a bunch of old pictures showing when it was being built. They were in black and white and were really quite nice. The statue was built by a priest who had dreamed of building it for many years. The sad thing is, it was build over an ancient ruin.
We drove home and it was nice to be in the warmth of the hotel since it was so cold outside. I wrote some poetry and went to sleep.


Day 4:
Today was sunny in the early part of the morning. As the day progressed the wind grew and the clouds began to cover the sky once more, The weather here is odd because one moment it is sunny the next it is cold and cloudy. Greg needed to work on his presentation so we stayed home in the morning. I didn’t do much, just relaxed and worked on my computer. I finished up my poem from the night before, which I actually quite like, and tried to pick a picture I’m submitting to a contest. We ate lunch at the hotel restaurant, I had a penne pasta, which was supposed to have garden vegetables with it but it didn’t, and this mix of tropical fruit juices which I love and have every-time we go there. We had to hurry to pack everything before we met Sebastian, Eduardo’s friend from the collage who was to drive us. The drive was really nice. It was much more jungly and the had some interesting buildings. It also had my favorite, cobblestones which meant it was really bumpy. We arrived the collage, met Eduardo headed over to the presentation room. The collage has a nice campus. I especially liked the inner courtyard. There was this building across the way that was covered in ivy and I really liked. The presentation room is rather odd but also sort of cool. Its painted red and blue with golden Fleur de Lis print all over. Eduardo said it makes him think of Disneyland but it makes me think of like a magician’s room or something. Greg set up for a couple hours while I worked on my computer.
Greg’s talk went really well, except sometimes the translation broke his flow. There were some funny people at the talk as well. It was fun observing them and seeing their odd mannerisms. We got back to the hotel at around 9:30 and went up to the restaurant to eat (I wasn’t very hungry). We returned to our rooms to finish up some things before going to sleep. I am very tired myself and my whole body feels like its craving sleep.

Ecuador: Day 1 and 2

Day 1:
At 5am yesterday we packed our suitcases into the car and headed off for the airport. It was foggy and a gray blue color hung over everything, save little pinpoints of lights here and there. We arrived at the airport and began the ordeal that LAX requires. Go here, go there, show passport, take your jacket off, go here, wait here. Only two of our seats on the plane were together, so me and mom sat next to each other while Greg sat further back. I had forgotten how much I dislike taking off in a plane. But once we were in the air I felt much better. We soared above the clouds; a fluffy blanket of under us. It was quite lovely. I slept a bit, listened to music, drew and listened to a book on tape. The flight felt rather long, five hours to be exact. We arrived in Miami at around 3:50 Miami time, but unfortunately we had to wait on the runway in the plane for about 30 minutes. It was really nice being able to see the lovely green-blue water as we were flying in. We ate at the airport, walked around a bit and then bored our next flight. This time we were all together, which was nice. I enjoyed this flight much more than the first one. Maybe it was because it was getting dark and I didn't feel like I was missing out on the sunlight. I fell asleep several times but I would always get woken up, either from someone bumping into me or a tap from mom or Greg. The food was, well, just as you'd expect airplane food to be. Not great, not awful. After about four or five hours we arrived in Quito, which is the capital of Ecuador. All we could see were flickering lights. We got our luggage and went through customs. The lady who was helping us said to her friend in Spanish "I thought this man was a girl" (about Greg) and mom replied to her in Spanish asking why that was so. I guess she didn't expect that we understood her.
We met Eduardo, who is our host (the Dean of Illustration at the school Greg will be teaching at) and his wife and they took us back our hotel. The room we were staying in was rather small and had a strong perfume smell. After not to long I fell asleep exhausted.

Day 2:
I awoke today at around 8:13 (6:13 LA time). The view outside my window was quite nice. Jungle covered hills, mountains, a far off volcano and some buildings. I realized that even though it doesn't seem like it, we have become very spoiled. Things that we take for granted we don't have here. Our hotel in Canada seems like a palace compared with ours here. Greg desided he really didn't like our room so him and mom went to find a new one. I wasn't feeling very well, so I lie around while they explored different rooms. When they got back we all went upstairs for breakfast. The room had a gorgeous view of the other side of the city. It looks rather like Moraco or other dessert city but with jungle covered hills. The city is large and sort of climbs up the hills. Mom said it looks like a weaving and I think that is a very good description. We moved into a new room which I like a lot better. It has a much better feel to it and it doesn't smell like perfume. Its very nice! We lounged about in the new room for a while, I read and drew while Greg was on the computer and mom ironed a dress. When we received the ironing bored mom saw stains that looked like burn marks so she ignored them and began ironing her skirt. She realized, a little late, that it was chocolate and thus had ironed chocolate into her nice skirt.
We ate a small lunch at the restaurant, I had pumpkin ravioli and an amazing smoothie thing, and then at 2:00 we met Eduardo to go out and about. He wanted to show us Down Town Quito so we loaded into a cab and drove off. Being in down town made it very apparent that it is a third world country. It was very crowded with people, cars honking and speeding by and children begging for money. It makes one realize how well we have it back home.
Some of the building are really great. They're old and some are painted in this fantastic ocher color. We went into several churches which were filled with stunning carvings covered in gold leaf. There were also lots of really lovely paintings. Unfortunately I couldn't bring my camera inside so I don't have any pictures from them.
Next we went to a museum that was all about everyday life in Quito through the ages. They had lots of exhibits and copies of housing and everyday things as well as real old pots and clothes. It had some really nice courtyards as well, with great little fountains and trees. We walked around some more and went to a little restaurant where we got La Empanadas Verdes, plantain filled empanadas, which were really yummy and Humita which is like a corn tamale like pastry that was delicious as well. After we took a cab back to the hotel and even though it was only 7:15 (5:15 LA time) mom and Greg were both exhausted and went to sleep soon after. So far, it has been a good trip. It's very different from back home and I couldn't imagine living here, but its been really nice to see a new place and experience something fresh.

Summer Break Has Arrived

School is out as of last Friday (June 12th). I must say that even though I didn't want it to be over, I'm rather happy I have so much time to do as I please and relax. I'm feeling so much calmer and stress free.
The last week of school was really good. We a bunch of tests but overall it felt relaxed as though everyone was in summer break mode already. We had an Eurhythmy performance on Thursday which was, well, alright. See we weren't really prepared and overall I suppose its not one of our classes strongest subjects. We had a test on the Great Gatsby which was on our reading list. I didn't quite know what to expect from the book, but I found myself really enjoying it. I loved the wording the author used to make a situation come to life. He has a real gift with words.
To be honest, I already miss school a bit. Mostly I miss all my friends, eating lunch in the garden and my watercolor class. I think some of my paintings from that class turned out really well. This is my favorite one:
Looking back on this year I think that even though it was much harder than last year I had a ton of great times. I grew closer to lots of people and made a wonderful new friend as well. This year I was much more confident and less self conscious. I had fun on the Native American Trip and I'm so excited for nest years trip. I am amazed that we actually completed Pippin and it turned out as well as it did. And even though we lost Spirit Week I still had some great times. I think Teacher Impersonations was one of the most fun things this year. It was hard not to laugh during it because everyone was so good at their impersonation. I'll have to come up with a teacher to impersonate next year because I can't imagine not being a part of that group. I'm going to miss being "golf buddies" with Yoni. We were both in golf and both at about the same level of playing. We had tons of fun trying to be in a golf group that we liked and trying to escape Ms. Vrudney. Its sad knowing we wont have another Frankenstein class again. I had such a blast in that class; reading, discussing out there theories and fringe sciences. I loved sitting next to Joey W and Liz, they made the class all the more enjoyable. It was really great to have Ventana back in the class. She fits right in and I almost can't believe she wasn't there last year. Her, My and I have had some very good times this year.
I feel that the thing that I would have changed about this year was not an event, but rather an overall way I looked at things. I found that I was in a bad most for a good three quarters of the year. I think if I had taken the time to look around and not mope about how things could be I would have seen how great things really were. Next year I'd like to begin the year with a clean slate and be more open to things.
In all it was a really good year and I still can't believe its over. I'll miss the seniors, the campus won't be as colorful or musical without them, that's for sure. But you never know what the new freshmen will have to offer. Even though I'll really miss all my friends I hope to see them during the summer. Thank you all for making this year all it was.

Prom

A couple weeks ago we had our Prom. I wasn't looking forward to it very much because I remembered last years as not being super fun. I woke up on Saturday ready to experiment with my hair and find a really nice wayof putting it up. After many odd attempts I finally managed, by accident, to do something I quite liked. I was planning on going with My and Ventana, so I showed up at My's house at around 4:40 so that we'd have time to get ready together. Ventana showed up an hour or two later and soon after that we set out to North Hollywood.The prom was held at a club called the CIA (California Institute of Abnormalities), which had a strange circus theme to it. There were stripes and clowns painted everywhere and lots of odd manikins. I actually thought it was sort of an interesting place but it was way to small for my liking. It had an outside area which was nice, but there weren't enough places for everyone to sit down or even stand without it being really cramped. The dance floor was also to small. I found myself being jostled by people and was either on the edges of the crowd or squeezed in the middle of everyone. There were also very intense lights that flashed which made it rather hard to see sometimes. I danced around a bit with my friends which, in spite of the fact that I am very awkward trying to dance, was fun. I also talked to lots of people. It was nice because I have some friends who aren't really "dancers" either. After prom, Ventana, Claudia, My and I went back to My's house. We talked about what everyone was wearing, the event and just had a good time even though we were all very tired. Last year after prom when I spent the night at My's house we ate watermelon, pickles and drank chai tea so we decided to carry on the tradition this year. It may seem like an odd mix, but it is quite nice actually! In all I had a really good time.

Contact

On Saturday night my mom and I decided to watch the film Contact. The film was very interesting and I quite enjoyed it. At first I was rather sceptical, but as it progressed I found it tied in with my interests of Quantum Physics and wormholes. I also found it interesting that it is much like one of my favorite television shows, Strange Days at Blake Holsey High. I makes me believe the writers of the show must have been influenced by the film. The film started Jodie Foster and Mathew McConaughey, it had many supporting actors who I thought did quite a good job like Jena Malone and John Hurt. Not only was the acting well done, but the look of the film was great as well. There were some shots that I loved and were stunning. Especially the ones of outer space. Contact tells the story of Elle who through out her life has had the dream of finding other life in outside our planet. When her satellite dishes pick up a mysterious noise Elle finds that her dreams are no longer in the realm of science fiction. The story deals with the frame of reality and deals with the ideas of spiritual beliefs rather than scientific ones. I would recommend the film because it leaves you thinking and wondering about this place we are in; the world, the universe. It made me look at how small we really are, at the size of the enormous galaxy and beyond.

Spirit Week 09

Well Spirit Week has come and gone. I must say it was rather stressful and I would much rather go without it. May I just think it is so much work and energy for something that really isn't all that fun.

Monday was the first day and the events were, obstacle course and tug-o-war. Obstacle course can be fun to watch but it can also be rather tedious. I thought we did pretty well, especially Alison who flew threw the course. Unfortunately, we came in forth place. Since we had more people then were needed to participate in tug-o-war I got to watch from the sidelines, which suited me better. It wasn't much of a fight. Basically they shouted pull and our class was pulled forward by the twelfth grade into a big heap. I must admit although it was sad, I laughed very heartily. We also lost to the ninth grade putting us in, you guessed it, forth place.

Tuesday was the day I was most looking forward to. Teacher Impersonations. This is one of the events I actually look forward to in Spirit Week. I love participating in it and I also love watching the skits of the other classes. This year I decided to impersonate the physics/math teacher Dr. Craddock. He is quite a character. He looks as a goat would look as a person with a wonderful British accent and does many strange gesture when he talks. Wyatt impersonated Quatro, our history teacher, and was amazing! I had to keep myself from laughing while doing the skit. Phillip impersonated my favorite teacher, Dana, who is the art/eurhythmy teacher. He did a pretty good job and I think he captured some of the odd faces Dana makes while drawing. Alison impersonated our English teacher Ms. Meyer. She was really good because she did her swaying movements really well. She also captured some of her bubbly personality. The last person in our skit was Joey W who impersonated our biology /geology /physiology /anatomy /botany teacher Mrs. Lovell. He didn't really want to do the skit at first but in the end he did a great job imitating her tone of voice. In the skit he had Mrs. Lovell fall asleep and after we were done Mrs. Lovell came up to him and said "you know, I actually do fall asleep in class sometimes." It was really funny. We got second place in teacher impersonations, but we were very close to getting first.

Wednesday was javelin toss, football toss, balloon launch and costumes. We came in forth on javelin toss and tied for third in football and balloon toss. For costumes our class was a game of war, the card game. We made giant card costumes out of cardboard and played an actual game of war with each other. The ninth grade class was "Famous pairs" the eleventh grade was a circus and the twelfth grade was movie posters. I personally thought the twelfth grade was the best, they pulled off the posters quite well. In the end eleventh grade got first place, twelfth second, ninth third and we got forth place.

Thursday was jump rope and Quiz Bowl. We could have gone rather well in jump rope, but some of the guys in our class are well, lets just say not gifted at jumping rope. Thus we got forth place. In quiz bowl we did very well and were actually in the lead for a while. The ninth grade did extremely well and came in second to the twelfth. We were set in third place but we pretty much cheated out of it by an unfair distribution of points to the eleventh grade.

On Friday was the biggest event of all. Lip Sync. I was rather nervous for this event because not only did we fail miserably last year, but I had to do a dance that I was less then confident about. Our theme was "Nursery Rhymes" and once I watched one of the run-throws of it, I started to feel that we might not do that badly. I played Hansel along side Brenan who played Gretel. We actually did very well. We tied for third with the ninth grade who did "High school stereo-types."The eleventh grade, who got second place, had the theme "the Six Types of Love" which had its moments but overall was just okay. The twelfth did amazing. They were "the Process of Making a Smoothie" from growing the plants all the way to it being drunk by a giant mouth. It was so good and they deserved first place.

In all Spirit Week had some fun moments but was overall very stressful and overly competitive. I'm glad I have a whole year before I have to do it again.