Back to Quito

This image is of Cotopaxi volcano. It's my friend Peter's photo, taken when he went there on a climbing excursion. They climbed that day to about 15,000 feet. The volcano is about 18,000 feet high. Cotopaxi Volcano National Park is only two hours from Quito. So you get a sense of the amazing diversity of this small country. And of how much I DIDN'T get to do during my trip. That's where I was Sunday night on my return -- knowing that I had just one scant week remaining.

We were late in our return Sunday, but I was able to ride back on the women's group bus, instead of on the public bus. I was supposed to meet my friend Juan Carlos for dinner that night to compare notes from our respective trips (he'd been at the men's workshop in Sucua) and because it was his birthday. But he needed to write (he's finishing his master's thesis) and I was really tired and in need of quiet alone time. So we rescheduled for Monday night, and opted to try a Japanese place. It was good.

I didn't have the cultural program this week, instead using my afternoons to spend time with friends, visit places I still wanted to see, and finish errands and shopping. It was a good plan, but the curse of my life in Washington followed me here -- namely, too many things and not enough time. It's a blessing that I have so many interests and so many things make me happy, and it's a curse that I'm always "behind," always feeling that I have to trade-off.

My big challenge for this week had to do with something rather mundane, actually, but the stress it caused..... My first full week in Ecuador, my museum sent me a box of materials for the foundation and the organization. Here it was now, my last week, and I still didn't have the box. It was finally in Quito, but they wanted me to pay all kinds of import duties on it. So the drama began....

Juan Carlos let me know about the hold on delivery, and tried to call them. Tried all afternoon Monday, in fact. Nothing. My professor Olga tried on Tuesday during our class break. She got through, but they wouldn't tell us anything because I wasn't the shipper! So I got ahold of my staff who did send the package, and asked him to try to straighten it out from the States. He thought he had success. So on Wednesday after class, I figured I'd go to FedEx and get it directly, because I really couldn't afford to wait any longer. Juan Carlos decided to go with me, and good thing he did. I'm convinced that I wouldn't have that package otherwise.

But even that was a challenge! He'd found the address on the internet, and we taxied over. Not FedEx. But apparently they've had this problem before, because the lady gave us another address, no need to look anything up. Two buses, several wrong turns, and probably about 40 minutes later, we found the office. And they wouldn't help me because I didn't have a tracking number. Really?! So he finally said he'd help me look it up, but had no luck. Juan Carlos managed to track someone down at his office and they DID have the tracking number. (Now, how they got it, but FedEx wouldn't talk to me the day before since I wasn't the shipper....)

Sure enough, no problem, they had the package. But they wouldn't release it until I paid the duties. That started round two. The museum sent me confirmation that morning that the duties were billed to the museum. Needless to say, I had been doing pretty well on my own to that part, but now it was an argument and I couldn't even keep up with the listening and understanding. Long story short, and finally without filing a formal complaint, I had my package and all the museum goodies, understood that the original delay in shipping was because the museum didn't fill out the customs paperwork correctly, but still didn't comprehend the whole duties issue because everything had been clearly marked for billing sender, etc. UGH! Sincere thanks to my friends!!

Other wonderful little things about the week: Olga made me a whole set of little notecards about the subjunctive tense -- so sweet! I went shopping with Peter one afternoon at another indigenous market and finished off my list. Oh, the amazing crafts! The hostel did all my rainforest laundry, so I had clean jeans for the soccer game. Things were really starting to make sense and I wasn't intimated to speak anymore. Everyone was impressed by my skills. No one could believe it had been a month already. I had numerous offers to call my director and "fix it" so that I could stay another month, or into December.... So wished I could have done that.

But, still a week of excitement, including the Copa Sudamerica and the Presidential Palace.