Nice people in Ecuador

I cried today for the first time in Ecuador.
meccha sutekina hito tachini atten.
I stayed with an ecuadorian family for 3 days in Latacunga, and they were such nice people.
Even though I didn´t know them until I met them at the bus station in Latacunga, they were very nice from the moment I first met.
They showed me around the town, took me to a bus station, prepared breakfast, and always cared how I was doing.
They mother always said, ¨Tranquila, tranquila¨ (relax, easy) to me.
She held my arm when we were walking outside.
Since they said they liked wanton soup, yesterday I taught them how to make it, and we cooked wanton soup and fried rice together.
Although I felt like I was a representitive of China by doing it, they loved it.
This morning, the mother gave me some fruits to eat on the bus.
I didnt have anything to give; although I really wanted to give something back.
I could only give them cranes that I made with origami paper.
I could not thank enough to them with my poor Spanish.
They loved the cranes and thanked me.
They drove me to the bus statio to see me off.
I was moved to tears by those people and cried on the bus.
It was my first time to cry, folding this kind of feeling.
Some people are genuinely nice and spare no effort to think of others.
The world would be a much more loving place if filled with this kind of people.
I would love to be a one of those people but sometimes it is not easy to be nice with out thinking about SON/TOKU, what I would get or lose by taking the action.
I felt guilty that how egoistic I am, compared to these people.
iihito ni naritai to imamade nankai omotta yarou.
zinsei sontoku kangaezu kandaini ikirunoha muzukasii to omounoha, watashidake zya naiyona?
But, let´s be nice a person, everyone!!



Before I went to Latacunga.
I went to a jungle with this guy who I met in a hostel in Quito!!!!
Are you reading this, Andy?
It was really cool to see many weird looking bugs and cute butterflies.
We met 2 shamans from two different community and received cleaning and drank ayahuaska.
I was nervous, excited, and scared to go crazy after I drank it.
But I felt a bit sick didnt experience what I expected.
But we received cleaning twice, so I am very clean now.
Both shamans did it in pretty much the same way.
They first had us smoke tabacco, sang songs, whisled, cleaned with bamboo leaves, sprayed liquid with his mouth, and send air to my head.
It was hard not to laugh when he was cleaning my sprit.
muccha waraketa de. mazide.
warai koraehnno hissi yattawa.



I don´t know how I should react to this spiritual world thing.
I belive these people´s power, but it´s unbelieble.
Its hard to belive what I don´t see.
I think I didnt react to Ayaohuaska because I am too suspicioius.
so, now on, i am going to be honest and nice person.
yes!
ossha!

ossyaaaaaaa

Hola, chicos.
This one is going to be the last entry from Quito!!! wowwwww
I am moving on! yay! travel!
I cant even express how much I am excited about the next move.
toutou chigau machi ni ikimasu. wahho---
It has been 2 months since I came to Quito.
It is a looooong time.
My diary has been abandoned here.
Although I did something on weekends, those events didn't fascinate me enough to write a diary...
nikki itu kaita ka oboetehenwa.
I need a change!!!!!!! yana.

I have had a great time here though.
The experience of volunteering at school is unforgettable memory in Ecuador.
I have worked there from Mon to Fri for more than a month.
5 syukan mainichi ittetano ni, kodomora honmani mainichi arukarehen gurai dakituitekunnen. honmani kawaiinen.
The kids hugged me everyday -the real hard hug.
I loved their smile.
I loved the way they express their love.
I gave me so much love and had me be happy all the time.





On the last day, The kids in the 4th grade gave me letters with sweet words and cute pictures.
I was going to cry but then realized that every single kid wrote like
To (a kid's name)
From Megumi
Actually this was a mistake that an English teacher had made.
One kid wrote, ¨How are you?¨ after she wrote 20 sentences, including¨I love you, I will miss you. Have a good trip.¨
I am going to miss them.
Maybe I should live in Ecuador...

Pictures

hola, hola, hola, hola! people.
does anyone use the facebook?
I have made mine and and started putting pictures.
I think that I am going use this facebook in stead of flickrs.com
because its free and see my friends' pictures

to see my pictures, go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=30707&l=17f72&id=694525732

online album wo kaemashita.
flickrs ha mou tukawahen kotoni site, facebook ni syasin wo upload surukotoni sitanode, ueno site wo mitekudaseeee

you dont have to sign up to see the pictures!!
wow!
sign up sindemo mirerude-

I have learned present perfect tense! Yes!

Quito nanba-- 3

minasama ogenki desyouka?
tsukihi ga tatunoha hayaina---
kinou de choudo iikkagetu.

I have been here for a month now, which is hard to believe.
Now my life is a kind of settled.
I feel very much like home.
koko deno seikatu ga kanari ochituitenwa.
But I am sooo tentekomai ya. honmani.
I started volunteering at public school in a poor neighborhood.
The school is on top of a mountain, which also means far away from where I live.
I have to leave 6:40am everyday.
But look. The view from school is beeeeeeeeeeeeautiful.




But who can believe that I teach English and art IN SPANISH to all the kids in 2nd to 7th grade?
I said ¨IN SPANISH¨.
or I should say ¨Spaninglish¨.
A month ago, I didn´t know any sentence in Spanish but ¨¿Donde esta el baño?¨
Toire ha dokodesuka? sika yuwarehen katten de.
Although I know un poco spanish now, I am using ¨spanish-like language¨ in front of 30 to 40 kids.
It´s hard.
minna watashiga nani syabetteruka wakrannende.
watashi mo anokoraga nanishabetteruka wakaransi.
A girl was crying today since she peed in class, and of course kids are teasing her.
But all I could say to her and other kids were things in English, which nobody would understand.
It really is not easy.
But sometimes I feel like I have gotten an advantage of getting more attention since I don´t speak Spanish and I look different.
Its a great thing of being an Asian here.
Everyone is sooooo sweet and amazingly loving.
The kids in Ecuador are so tiny and so cute.
10 years old kids look like 7 years old kids and 7 years old kids look like 5 years old kids.
masete nakute, surete nakute kawaiinen.
There are several kids who are 15 years old in 6th and 7ht grade, and they act like kids!!
The kids who go to public schools seem very different from these kids though.
In the school, I am almost like a celebrity.
They scream my name whenever they see me, they hug me and hold my arms and don´t let me go, they fight over for holding my hands, and they walk me to the bus station and wave to me until they can´t see me.
Aren´t they sweet?
meccha kawaii nen.
They are too sweet and make me feel don´t want to leave here.
I like human beings.
They are awesome and I am awesome.




Oh, to people who like cooking, this is so delicious.



¨Tortilla de Platanos¨
Its Green plantain pancake, the food from the coast of Ecuador.

Ingredients:
Group 1
(1 or 1 1/2 green plantain, 1 Egg, 1/2 cups of Water, 1 TBS Salt, Black pepper)
Group 2
(Vegetables (such as tomato, zucchini, onions, eggplant, mushroom)
Cheese (mozzarella or cheddar or somethings))


1. Blend group 1 with a blender (preferably blend plantains and water first)
2. Cut the things of Group 2 into small sizes
3. Mix with the mixture with group 2 in a bowl
4. Cook it in a pan with olive oil just like when you cook pancakes

oisikute nakude.
You might cry since it tastes so good.
The plantains give Korean pancake like texture and wow so good.
If you are interested in only a bit or if you are not interested in at all, you should make it.


Oh, I started learning one more thing besides Spanish.
Its the Australian English.
¨I gotta go to a Danny.¨
I love it.

Adios

online picture album

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15448504@N07/

Shashin mitai hito nmitekudasai-
i made a online album.
sikasi,it´s not really organized.

sonoue kanari upload ni zikan kakarukara anma nokketehenkedo.

Quito life

I got used to Quito now.
I wake up 6:00am everyday. i often have to go pee 5 in the morning for some reason maybe because of high latitude??
But I fouhnd it´s really pretty in the morning here.
toriga na, meccha chi-chiku naitete honnori kurainen.
muchos birds ya. honmani.




I still like here although there are things that don´t make sense.
hen na toko ga ikkai annen.
For example, I went to Pichincha last Sunday with a friend. We were going to take a cable car to go up the mountain, but it was not working because of the bad weather on top of the mountain.
So we decided to hike. There was a security man in front of the entrance looking spot.
He says, ¨Its closed. You are not supposed to enter here, but if you going to pay to me, I will let you in.¨
It makes sense so much, doesn´t it?
mazushii kuni deha ironna houhou de okane wo moukena ikankedo, security ga security zyanakattara akan no chaun?
We gave him a doller each to get in. I experience and hear these kinds of story a lot.

I visited a women´s prison last weekend, which was very interesting experience.

Zyazya-----n



ichiban hazimeni, sintai kensa sarete, goukaku sitara, stamp osite moratte hairerunen.
I was really excited to go since I have just been studying Spanish and barely doing anything else.
saikin no diary ha ¨nothing really happened.¨ toka ¨futsu no hiyyatta¨ toka kaitetakarana-
It was my first time visiting prison.
I don´t really know the life in prison and its system much but could tell that this prison is different.
We got to talk to prisoners from English speaking countries.
I would like to write some facts because it was sooo interesting.
·They are open to public for 3 times a week, so family members or friends can visit there
· The prisoners are not provided any thing. ANY THING.
They have to buy or make bed, blanket, food, dishes, clothes, toilet paper etc. There is no washing machines as well.
· They can work in the prison. People were cooking food and selling food. They can even teach class (cooking, painting, or gym)
· They have to pay to be in the prison, the first move-in fee plus monthly utilities.
· If a mother is a prisoner, she can bring her kids in the prison, which is really sad. In the prison, currently 550 prisoners and 250 children live there.
· They do not have a duty! Only thing they have to do is to stay in their bedrooms from 9:00pm to 6:00am. So people can stay in bed all day if they want.
· If a prisoner escaped and was not caught for 2 weeks, she is free! That is considered its a human right.
· People are sent to a prison before receiving a sentence and often takes more than a year to receive a sentence

One thing that I heard and was really messed up is that the guards sold drugs to the prisoners.

hmm. today´s entry is almost like a sciology notebook.
sometimes, I can be serious.

eigo bakkari de kaiteru kara akanyona-
byoudou ni han-han de kaite ikou to omotteru noni.
sunmasen.

honna mata----
saina---ri

Quito

Here I am in Quito, the capital of Ecuador.



I had been in a really sad mood until yesterday.
It was unimaginable to leave NY until the last minute and was hard to accept that I don´t belong to there any more.
It was the exact same feeling that I had 5 years ago when I left Japan.
I was not excited even a bit for a couple days in Ecuador.
But now I am.
wooooooooooooooow!! yay!yay!

NY wo hanare, samisisa ni hitattemashita ga, okagesama genki ni narimashita.
Ecuador no syuto no Quito tte toko ni kitenkedo, kanari sukini narisou na kigasuru.
syuto yanoni kidottenai.

Quito is located high above the water level. approximately 10000feet high.
When I opened bottles such as shampoo, toner, and lotion, they exploded because of high atomospheric pressure.
i feel like i need more oxgen in air.
i feel like i am a granma when i run.
kou kiatsu no tameni pan-pan ni natteten.
warakende,
hyoukou 2800m ni annenkedo, Fuji san no 7 goume gurai?
ha-ha- suruwa.

Guayaquil kara Quito made bus de 9 hours mo kakkatten.
It was cool that the bus ran between an endless banana plantation.
I have never had bananas since I arrived here.



Yesterday, I realized that I am poor and should be poor.
I definitely had underestimated the price value in Ecuador.
When I went to a groccery store, I wanted to scream.
Things are not that cheap here.
A canned tomatoes costs the same in NY.
I was walking in the store for at least an hour and bought the chepest and most nutritious food.
Soy milk costs, $3.50!!!!!
i bought scallion, pumpkin, string beans, tomatoes, onions, beef, aloe, guava, and yogurt.
I can´t afford to flirt with cookies and juice so often.
This is going to be a survival game in South America.

Today, I found a spanish language school and registered for private lesson, which is going to start next Monday.
I am sooooooo ready to learn.
I think I have never been this excited to learn before.
I am going to be fluent in Spanish!!!!

I am going to post some pictures next time because I can´t upload them now.

Today is the Day

Today is the day I leave NY.
Today is the last day to be in NY of my 24th year of my life.
Today is the day I finally finished packing.
Today is the day to say bye to my friends and NY.
Today is the day of my new departure.
Today is the day I start not having my home.
Today is the last day of this 5 year of NY.
Today is my day.

Bye, friends,
Bye, my apartment,
Bye, Mr Defari.
Bye bye bye
I love you

Number Twooooooooooowt rebmuN!

Time passes super duper fast if you are not doing much.
That's me.
When I became a 50 year-old woman, I would definitely think, "Oh, I was just 24 years old. oh my goodness, time flies!"
That's me.
もう１０月やん。
前のBlogかいてから何したやろー。
部屋ちらかしてるだけや。

I am going to have to say good-bye to my messy room.
Evey day, I am surprised to see how messy my room is.
It is soooo scary.
Someone must have come to my room to throw things or play soccer or some armature thieves came to my room to steal something but going back without taking anything.
why, why, why, why my room is so messy.
It's a mystery.
今週末、部屋をでないかんのに部屋が片付かん。
私来週から一週間ちょいリビング住まい。
家のドア開けた瞬間私のベッドがおでむかい。パフ==
でも、１０月からは居候やからそんな、ずうずうしいことゆってられへん。
いびきかかへん練習しな。
How can I not snore?
Let me know if you know how.




I have a few little cute things in my room.
Aren't these so adorable?
I just wanted to show off my men.
Man, man, man, I only made men.
男の人しか作ってへんやん。
でも、かわいいやろー。めっちゃ気に入ってねんねん。
こんな部屋ともおさらばや。
Good bye to things on the wall.



I bought a super cool thing for my trip.
This little device is so amazing.



This is a water purifier that kills virus and germ, using ultraviolet, and converts undrinkable water to drinkable water!!!
You press the button, pi, pa, po, and in 90 seconds it's done!
すごいっしょ。
すごいねん！
紫外線で川の水でも飲料水にしてしまうという大発明。
浄水システムが悪い国の水もこれを使えばちょちょいのちょいや。
臭いはとれへんと思うけど、まぁお茶っ葉いれたら余裕でしょ。
Thank scientists!! I love you.

My first blog ever

Wow!!!!
Yay!!!!
おっしゃあああああ!!!
I have been dreaming of making a blog for 3 days,
and here it is!!!!!
めでたい。
初めてのブログや。

申し訳ないけれども、英語圏の人にも読めるように、日本語と英語まぜてかきます。
そこは、勘弁して。
But within a couple months, I might mix some espanol too.

On this memorable day, I am going to show my sweet ex-lover/ best friend after my laptop.
Here he is.

My beloved one.
He is not in my living room any more.
He is now with a new girl.
He had turned into 3 bills. 60 dollars, which I do not have in my hands any more.
Life has been going on without you.
I miss you.
私の愛する自転車はお金と変わり,去っていった。
そんなこんなで、着々と準備は進んでおります。

というのも、
For people who I haven't talked to about this... I am leaving!!!
I am saying bye to the United States of America.
なんやかんやあって、帰国することになりました。 理由を知ってる人、あえてここでは、ノーコメントでたのんます。
I made the worst mistake in my life.
そんなこんなで。
今月末から、南米に行きます。
I am going to visit Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chili, Argentina, and Brazil に行く予定です。
which is why I sold my bicycle.

Hmmmm... I start thinking that having a universal language would be great.
世界統一言語さえあれば、同じことかかんでいいし、世界中全員友達になれるやん。
Is there going to be one someday?
If yes, sadly it must be English.
I hope it would not be English.
Then people in Japan would freak out. not only Japan, India, South Korea, China etc...

英語でかいてるけど、お母さん眠たくなるかもしれんけど読んでやー

そうゆうわけで、もうすぐNYともお別れや。
さみしいわー
最近好きになったNY。
I think I fell in love with this place.
Isn't it pitiful that I started to feel attached to this city right before I leave.

今日、郵便局に２０ｋｇあるダンボールを持っていった。
持つとこないダンボールを抱えるのって、重いで。
いろんな人が運んだろかー？ってゆってくれた。
最近鍛えてるし、こんなとこでくたばられへんなんて思って、結構ですなんてゆってたけど、
やっぱり重くって、途中からおじさんに持ってもらった。
こんなこと日本ではあんまないよなぁーと思う。
人間が人間らしいと思うし。
わがままですぐ短気な人も多いと思うけど、裏の裏まで考えず、素直にやさしい人が多いと思う。
In short, I like NY.
I like people here and the life style here.
People are more like people, which is not always admirable. But I think its great.
There are two different type of comfortable qualities in Japan and NY
I can't explain it well, so I won't.

そんなこんなで、ここが好き。
でも、日本に帰ったら日本のよさを思い出すと思う。

anyways... since I do not duplicate what I wrote in one language at all.
Writing in Japanese and English seems completely pointless and confusing.
What should I dooooooooooooooooooooooooo?????????????

But,　これ読んだ人。
コメント書いてや。
頼むで。
あほかーーなんで頼まれないかんねんって思うやろうけど、
久しぶりの日記で（Mixiいれたら）初めてのBlogでコメントゼロやったら泣くやん？
ほな、sainara-----