On January 15th, at 5:00 pm, i was sitting in the Xplorer office making Bienvenida posters for the new girls coming in. Gabi and I were sitting there talking when all the lights shut off. The power going out in Ecuador really isn´t uncommon, so we just figured it would come back on. Well after it didn´t flicker right back on we thought something might be up. A quick phone call informed us that the power was out in all of Ecuador. Now having no power also means that there aren´t any street lights, or traffic lights, or building lights…just the lights from the cars. Traffic moved at a dangerously slow snails pace, and because of the lack of traffic lights huge intersections just turned into free for all four way stops. People just started walking home from work because getting stuck in traffic was a nightmare. Well as you know our three new girls were scheduled to land at 7:30 Thursday night. We set off from the office to go pick them up. About that time the power came back on and traffic started to move a little more smoothly. Well the second time the power went off, it was like someone had just flipped the big Quito light switch. All at once looking out over the city it was black. We arrived at the airport which luckily was powered by its own power plant. But due to the awful traffic two families couldn´t make it, to pick up Maggie and Maria.
It was awesome to welcome in three new shell shocked students. But I felt horrible that their first night in Ecuador the lights were off, and the city was insane. My brother Heis called me a billion times to make sure I was safe and ok, along with Kim, and my mom. I got home about 9:30 where our house was lit up by candles. By about 10:30-10:45, power started flickering on through out the city, and you could look out and see sections go on and off. But it took clear until Friday afternoon for the entire city to be back on. Rumor has it that the first time the power was cut it was a boycott against the government, but the second time a lightening bolt struck the main electrical source causing all of the country to be out of power. Only Cuenca had power. And so that is the story of how there wasn´t any light Quito.
The new girls are so sweet. Maggie is from Philly, Sylvia is from Wynonna Minnesota, and Maria is from Florida. Of course like with the other students I took on the roll of Mom. It´s fun to be there for them, to kinda be the person that I didn´t have. The old Xplorer kids are taking the new Xplorer kids out on Sunday to show them around. And Sylvie and Maria both live very close to me, so I am excited.
Now you´re probably wondering why I didn´t have any awesome new pictures…I got robbed…again. My fifth time in five months! You see I went to the parque Carolina (big park in the center of the city like Central park in NYC) I went with my systems class. There is like seven or eight of us girls in our class and we all had our cameras out taking pictures of trees for a class project. Well I took about five steps out of the center of the group, and I saw a man coming towards us. Just to be safe I quickly put my camera in my shirt pocket. Well he immediately of course targeted me, with my blonde hair and green eyes. He pinned me up against the tree and started fishing around for my camera. In the mean time Rosita tried to help me, but the rest of the class ran away. Well he got my camera, and then ran off but not before he dumped beer all over me.
For a girl who has been robbed five times I am a little shook up. Not to mention my camera is like my life. I am going to go get some low lights or something…to take away the glow of my blonde hair.
Exams are coming up, starting next Thursday, I am dreading them….but it also offers kindof a fun challenge. My math teacher wrote up my test in English! How sweet is that….anyway I better go study but I just wanted to fill everyone in on my insane crazy life…cuidate mucho!
Chau chau
emily
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2 comments:
Emily I can't believe you got robbed again! And when you were with other people!! Have you ever filed police reports of your robberies?? So scary, I don't ever want to go to that park again!!
Thanks for explaining why the lights were out. I had no idea it was the old city, nonetheless the whole country. When I looked out my window it looked like my whole block was out, but across the street lights were still on the whole evening, whole buildings too. Maybe they had generators or something. I didn't think to go look at the city from the roof of our building, mostly because I was alone with Owen. Mostly I was bummed because I was all set to watch The Office, but the lights went out the second time right before it started! Hopefully that won't ever happen again!
I can't believe it Em! That is so scary! I love you!
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