Besides the traveling around Ecuador and preparing to serve with Inca Link in Peru, a large part of my mental space is currently occupied with the question of admission to graduate schools. This fall, I applied to seven (7) master's programs in speech-language pathology. The application process was stressful, as the steps to achieve the goal of admission are somewhat unclear. What are grad schools looking for, exactly? What's important to include in a personal statement? How do I balance professionalism with unique personal qualities? Submitting the applications was nearly nerve-wracking enough to produce a panic attack. There is no going back now... Waiting for results is an entirely different kind of stress; there is nothing to do but wait and wonder.
Fortunately for me, I've been a world away from my potential life as a graduate student, so usually the thoughts keep quiet deep in the recesses of my subconscious mind. At least, they did until recently, when the estimated time of result arrival drew near. Because the applications are now online, the results are also available online. I've been checking periodically only to find the same status: submitted, under review.
Until yesterday.
I received an email notifying me that my admission status to the University of Minnesota was available. Oh god, I thought, simultaneously filled with excitement and dread in anticipation of what that admittance letter would read. The U is one of my preferred programs and admits only 25 students each year. I expected to be either thrilled by "yes" or devastated by "no."
I was neither thrilled nor devastated. I was wait-listed. Neither yes nor no, middle of the road, not offered admission but there is still the chance that I could be offered admission if someone else denies the offer. I'm a viable candidate but just not quite impressive enough to make the first string.
While my initial response was disappointment, I mostly feel confused about how to feel. I wasn't accepted, but neither have I been definitively rejected. Ok, so I still might not get in, or I might get in after all. More waiting. The other confusing part is that I can't gauge my chances with other programs based on these results. Is it a good sign or a bad sign? I wouldn't really be able to know about other programs based on this one anyway, but it's just confusing.
All I know is that if I don't hear from the other schools soon, I may very well develop a compulsive checking disorder in the meantime.
February 24, 2012
February 21, 2012
El Carnaval
Many parts of Latin America celebrate a festival called "carnaval" every year leading up to the season of lent. In Ecuador, el carnaval is essentially a water fight over a four-day weekend. At least, it only officially lasts for four days. Most people leave Quito for the holiday weekend, so things here aren't too wild, but in other towns, you can't walk down the street without getting water dumped on you from rooftops, water balloons thrown at you, or sprayed with carioca (a sort of colored foam comparable to our silly-string). To experience the yearly celebration, Mandy, Valerie, and I went to Carapungo, a suburb of Quito, to "play carnaval" with Mandy's former host family.
We started as observers, watching Mandy's host parents scheme to get the employees of their furniture store wet before closing up for the night. Soon enough we were the victims, covered in carioca. We slipped out to get our own foamy artillery. The game was on. Val, Mandy, and I made a pact to work together, and as our adversaries did not understand English, and we did understand their Spanish, we had the upper-hand in planning tactics. They, however, had access to buckets and water spouts. We were soaked in no time. The fight quickly moved to the back alley, where we fought over buckets, defended the water spouts, chased each other like children, and all ended up completely soaked. Lucky for us, we escaped the flour that was dumped from the rooftop and nobody brought out the most lethal weapon -- raw eggs.
I'm not sure how the tradition began or what its significance is, but playing with friends, family, neighbors, and strangers of all ages is a celebration indeed (when you're prepared for it, at least). As much fun as we had last night, we stayed inside today, avoiding another soaking.
We started as observers, watching Mandy's host parents scheme to get the employees of their furniture store wet before closing up for the night. Soon enough we were the victims, covered in carioca. We slipped out to get our own foamy artillery. The game was on. Val, Mandy, and I made a pact to work together, and as our adversaries did not understand English, and we did understand their Spanish, we had the upper-hand in planning tactics. They, however, had access to buckets and water spouts. We were soaked in no time. The fight quickly moved to the back alley, where we fought over buckets, defended the water spouts, chased each other like children, and all ended up completely soaked. Lucky for us, we escaped the flour that was dumped from the rooftop and nobody brought out the most lethal weapon -- raw eggs.
I'm not sure how the tradition began or what its significance is, but playing with friends, family, neighbors, and strangers of all ages is a celebration indeed (when you're prepared for it, at least). As much fun as we had last night, we stayed inside today, avoiding another soaking.
February 19, 2012
Surprise!
Since Mandy moved to Ecuador a year ago, some of our former housemates and I have been dreaming and scheming about meeting up in Ecuador. Although we had our doubts about timing it right, we did it! My friends Valerie and Colleen both came in to Quito last weekend -- the trick was that not everyone knew the dream was about to come true.
Colleen, Valerie, and I had been planning to make Colleen's visit a surprise for Mandy. At one point, we really thought Colleen wouldn't be able to come, so we went with it. Colleen told Mandy she couldn't get vacation time to come (she has a big-girl job with Apple Computers). Val and I created a cover story, saying that Val was coming in Saturday night, when really Colleen was coming in Saturday night.
Then the plot twisted. Valerie wasn't sure she'd be able to come the week Colleen could. She made it work, but the potential missed timing inspired us to make it a double surprise. We told Colleen that Valerie couldn't come until the following week, that they would just miss each other.
The surprises went perfectly. Colleen came in Saturday night, when Mandy was expecting Valerie. I had just enough time between seeing Colleen and greeting her to tell Mandy that Val would get in the next night. We created a fictitious friend of a friend named "Mike Peterson" to give a reason for going to the airport again.
After we were reunited, we had a full week of sight-seeing and enjoying being together. We climbed up the Basilica in Historic Quito, visited the equator, rode the Teleférico cable car to view the city from above, soaked in the Papallactas hot springs, and ziplined over the jungle canopy. Best of all, we shared adventures.
Colleen left yesterday. Valerie and I will be here with Mandy for a week and half more until we travel together to Peru. Time here has gone by quickly. I've seen many parts of Ecuador -- coast, jungle, mountains, city -- and have had good-quality time with my friends. So far, so good!
Colleen, Valerie, and I had been planning to make Colleen's visit a surprise for Mandy. At one point, we really thought Colleen wouldn't be able to come, so we went with it. Colleen told Mandy she couldn't get vacation time to come (she has a big-girl job with Apple Computers). Val and I created a cover story, saying that Val was coming in Saturday night, when really Colleen was coming in Saturday night.
Then the plot twisted. Valerie wasn't sure she'd be able to come the week Colleen could. She made it work, but the potential missed timing inspired us to make it a double surprise. We told Colleen that Valerie couldn't come until the following week, that they would just miss each other.
The surprises went perfectly. Colleen came in Saturday night, when Mandy was expecting Valerie. I had just enough time between seeing Colleen and greeting her to tell Mandy that Val would get in the next night. We created a fictitious friend of a friend named "Mike Peterson" to give a reason for going to the airport again.
After we were reunited, we had a full week of sight-seeing and enjoying being together. We climbed up the Basilica in Historic Quito, visited the equator, rode the Teleférico cable car to view the city from above, soaked in the Papallactas hot springs, and ziplined over the jungle canopy. Best of all, we shared adventures.
Colleen left yesterday. Valerie and I will be here with Mandy for a week and half more until we travel together to Peru. Time here has gone by quickly. I've seen many parts of Ecuador -- coast, jungle, mountains, city -- and have had good-quality time with my friends. So far, so good!
February 4, 2012
The Road to Sumaco
After a week in Quito, I ventured out to Sumaco with a group of Covenanters from across Canada. Sumaco is a small, peaceful village in the "oriente," the western part of Ecuador, which is mostly jungle. Although the pueblo is small, it has a massive history. The settlement was started in the late 1980's by a group of refugees who lost their homes to an earthquake and the proceeding landslide. Immediately following the disaster, hundreds of displaced families were housed and supported by the Iglesia del Pacto, the Covenant Church of Ecuador. After awhile, the people needed a place of their own and found Sumaco, often referred to as "Pacto Sumaco" after the church. They chose the area because it was similar to the land they had lost. For the past 25 years, the people of Sumaco have been fighting to obtain titles to their land. There was a complicated back and forth between the republic and international agencies trying to protect the land as environmental reserve. From my (limited) understanding it went like this:
Republic of Ecuador, "Yes, you can live there."
International Environment Agency (or something), "Ecuador has to reserve that land to get funding."
Republic of Ecuador, "Then again, you can't live there."
Sumaco, "But, you already told us we could live here. We have nowhere else to go."
Republic of Ecuador, "Ok, well, you can stay; we'll just ignore you."
International Environment Agency (or something), "Ecuador has to reserve that land to get funding."
Republic of Ecuador, "Yeah, actually, you can't live there."
But Sumaco kept on trying. As of January 2012, the people finally have the papers to file for land titles, making them legal owners and permanent residents of the place they've called home for the past two decades.
The village is remote and rustic. Until a few years ago, there was no road at all to get to Sumaco; now there is a narrow dirt road through the lush, green mountain. A bus leaves daily at 5am to go to a bigger town and returns nightly at 7pm. Wooden houses are built on stilts to keep from flooding in the daily deluge. When the sky isn't cloudy, you can see the Sumaco Volcano from "main street." Many people are undereducated and underfed. In order to bring more prosperity to the village, a new agricultural project is underway. Funded by a grant from Covenant World Relief, the town is beginning to cultivate mushrooms to sell for profit. Although the growing is still in the experimental phase, there is great hope in the potential earnings from the Sumaco hongos. The mushrooms are delicious, and coming from someone who doesn't really like mushrooms, that means they must be really amazing.
While in Sumaco, we worked on multiple projects. At the local public school, we helped fix up the bathrooms and drainage system, began the foundation for a new classroom, and gave health and English classes to the students. Others worked on a project for the Covenant Church of Ecuador's social outreach program, FACE ("FAH-say"), which included installing window panes to the FACE agricultural house, where the process of growing mushrooms begins. Every afternoon, we held a VBS type program for the local kids. We played games, sang songs, did crafts, and told and acted out Bible stories.
Although poverty is rampant and resources are limited, the beauty, tranquility, and simplicity of Sumaco are enviable. Up in the cloud forest, the people survive on the little they have and thrive on the community and support for each other. As I have observed elsewhere, the people with the least amount of material possessions have the greatest amount of faith in God; they depend on God in a way that is almost impossible for those of us who depend so much on our own wealth.
Pray for Sumaco. Pray for united leadership for the Covenant Church, Mount Sinai, of Sumaco, as they are currently without a pastor. Pray for wisdom as the community gains titles to their land, and with those titles the ability to sell their land. Pray for physical and spiritual nourishment. Pray for prosperity through the mushroom project. Pray that the Christians of Sumaco will never lose their hope and trust in God.
Republic of Ecuador, "Yes, you can live there."
International Environment Agency (or something), "Ecuador has to reserve that land to get funding."
Republic of Ecuador, "Then again, you can't live there."
Sumaco, "But, you already told us we could live here. We have nowhere else to go."
Republic of Ecuador, "Ok, well, you can stay; we'll just ignore you."
International Environment Agency (or something), "Ecuador has to reserve that land to get funding."
Republic of Ecuador, "Yeah, actually, you can't live there."
But Sumaco kept on trying. As of January 2012, the people finally have the papers to file for land titles, making them legal owners and permanent residents of the place they've called home for the past two decades.
The village is remote and rustic. Until a few years ago, there was no road at all to get to Sumaco; now there is a narrow dirt road through the lush, green mountain. A bus leaves daily at 5am to go to a bigger town and returns nightly at 7pm. Wooden houses are built on stilts to keep from flooding in the daily deluge. When the sky isn't cloudy, you can see the Sumaco Volcano from "main street." Many people are undereducated and underfed. In order to bring more prosperity to the village, a new agricultural project is underway. Funded by a grant from Covenant World Relief, the town is beginning to cultivate mushrooms to sell for profit. Although the growing is still in the experimental phase, there is great hope in the potential earnings from the Sumaco hongos. The mushrooms are delicious, and coming from someone who doesn't really like mushrooms, that means they must be really amazing.
While in Sumaco, we worked on multiple projects. At the local public school, we helped fix up the bathrooms and drainage system, began the foundation for a new classroom, and gave health and English classes to the students. Others worked on a project for the Covenant Church of Ecuador's social outreach program, FACE ("FAH-say"), which included installing window panes to the FACE agricultural house, where the process of growing mushrooms begins. Every afternoon, we held a VBS type program for the local kids. We played games, sang songs, did crafts, and told and acted out Bible stories.
Although poverty is rampant and resources are limited, the beauty, tranquility, and simplicity of Sumaco are enviable. Up in the cloud forest, the people survive on the little they have and thrive on the community and support for each other. As I have observed elsewhere, the people with the least amount of material possessions have the greatest amount of faith in God; they depend on God in a way that is almost impossible for those of us who depend so much on our own wealth.
Pray for Sumaco. Pray for united leadership for the Covenant Church, Mount Sinai, of Sumaco, as they are currently without a pastor. Pray for wisdom as the community gains titles to their land, and with those titles the ability to sell their land. Pray for physical and spiritual nourishment. Pray for prosperity through the mushroom project. Pray that the Christians of Sumaco will never lose their hope and trust in God.
January 19, 2012
Final Destination: Quito
After my night in Chicago, I successfully arrived in Quito! I was a little worried about my bags arriving with me because my flight to Miami was on American Airlines and my flight to Quito was on LAN, but no había problema, there were no problems. The one other annoyance was that I had to walk all the way from Terminal D to Terminal J in the Miami Airport. I seriously think I walked a mile. Plus, I had to leave the terminal and go through security again. Luckily, I had a two-hour layover and the lines for LAN were way shorter than for American.
Shorter lines was just the first of many reasons to fly LAN. For one thing, they board by rows starting in the back. Doesn't that just makes sense? No waiting for the front row people to get their junk in the overhead compartment and just sit down already. Secondly, the aircraft was huge but not full, so I got a window seat without anyone in the aisle seat to climb over when I had to use the lavatory, plus I had more elbow room and space to spread my stuff out. Then, they offered free wine with dinner! Now that is classy. Most importantly, the flight staff was both exceptionally friendly and exceptionally good-looking. Nothing makes a flight more enjoyable than a young, handsome, smiley male flight attendant.
After arriving in Quito and being reunited with my BFF Mandy, we dropped my stuff off at her apartment, I called home and cleaned up, and we met the North Park students studying in Ecuador this semester and the other short-term missionaries for dinner. Since then, Mandy and I have mostly been running errands to prepare for the team coming with Covenant Merge Ministries and meeting people Mandy works with.
Yesterday, we went to the zoo with a couple of former missionaries who were visiting and some of their Ecuadorian friends with little kids. The relaxed excursion changed quickly for me as I watched a stranger pass out in her boyfriend's arms. Thanks to my training as a "professional rescuer," I felt the responsibility to stick around, assess what happened, and wait for her to regain consciousness. I probably didn't actually help at all except to ease the look of helplessness and fear on her boyfriend's face. She came to pretty quickly, was aware of her surroundings, and said she thought she was dehydrated. Lucky for her, I had a full water bottle.
Today, we went just outside of Quito to Carapungo, where Mandy first lived and worked. We met her former host family, who she lived with for about six months. Her host father took us out for ice cream. Then, we went to the church she worked in and visited the Compassion project, which gives sponsored kids a meal, homework help, and Bible lessons a few days a week.
On Saturday, a team comes from Canada work with Covenant Merge Ministries. I'm still not exactly sure what my role with them will be... translating mostly, I think. We'll be going to Sumaco, which is a few hours from Quito. I won't have internet access, so I'll be incomunicada for about a week starting Sunday. So, until next time, I will be doing my best to remember not to flush the toilet paper, to diligently apply sunscreen, to drink lots of water, and to ignore the many hisses, whistles, and "mi amor" calls on the streets.
Shorter lines was just the first of many reasons to fly LAN. For one thing, they board by rows starting in the back. Doesn't that just makes sense? No waiting for the front row people to get their junk in the overhead compartment and just sit down already. Secondly, the aircraft was huge but not full, so I got a window seat without anyone in the aisle seat to climb over when I had to use the lavatory, plus I had more elbow room and space to spread my stuff out. Then, they offered free wine with dinner! Now that is classy. Most importantly, the flight staff was both exceptionally friendly and exceptionally good-looking. Nothing makes a flight more enjoyable than a young, handsome, smiley male flight attendant.
After arriving in Quito and being reunited with my BFF Mandy, we dropped my stuff off at her apartment, I called home and cleaned up, and we met the North Park students studying in Ecuador this semester and the other short-term missionaries for dinner. Since then, Mandy and I have mostly been running errands to prepare for the team coming with Covenant Merge Ministries and meeting people Mandy works with.
Yesterday, we went to the zoo with a couple of former missionaries who were visiting and some of their Ecuadorian friends with little kids. The relaxed excursion changed quickly for me as I watched a stranger pass out in her boyfriend's arms. Thanks to my training as a "professional rescuer," I felt the responsibility to stick around, assess what happened, and wait for her to regain consciousness. I probably didn't actually help at all except to ease the look of helplessness and fear on her boyfriend's face. She came to pretty quickly, was aware of her surroundings, and said she thought she was dehydrated. Lucky for her, I had a full water bottle.
Today, we went just outside of Quito to Carapungo, where Mandy first lived and worked. We met her former host family, who she lived with for about six months. Her host father took us out for ice cream. Then, we went to the church she worked in and visited the Compassion project, which gives sponsored kids a meal, homework help, and Bible lessons a few days a week.
On Saturday, a team comes from Canada work with Covenant Merge Ministries. I'm still not exactly sure what my role with them will be... translating mostly, I think. We'll be going to Sumaco, which is a few hours from Quito. I won't have internet access, so I'll be incomunicada for about a week starting Sunday. So, until next time, I will be doing my best to remember not to flush the toilet paper, to diligently apply sunscreen, to drink lots of water, and to ignore the many hisses, whistles, and "mi amor" calls on the streets.
January 15, 2012
Detour
It seems there is some force that always tries to keep me out of Ecuador. In 2007, the program I wanted to do in Ecuador shut down, so I couldn't go. In 2010, a volcano erupted the night I was to fly to Quito, so I got stuck in Miami for a day. Now, in 2012, my first flight had a two-hour delay due to "unexpected maintenance issues," so I couldn't make my second flight in Chicago, so I couldn't make my final connection to Quito. There were no more flights today, so I'm flying out of Miami tomorrow afternoon. I decided to stay in Chicago with my former roommate Colleen instead of spending the night alone in Miami. An unexpected visit makes the detour much more enjoyable. Tomorrow, I will get there. Tonight, I will enjoy a few hours with a good friend.
And as Miley Cyrus sings:
"There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waitin' on the other side
It's the climb"
You better believe I'm singing along ;)
And as Miley Cyrus sings:
"There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waitin' on the other side
It's the climb"
You better believe I'm singing along ;)
January 7, 2012
New year... new location!
Well, a week from tomorrow, I'm leaving for South America, and I'm not coming back to the US until August.
Yep.
This plan has been brewing for a long time. Basically, I've wanted to go back to Peru since I left in August 2010. Plus, my best friend moved to Ecuador last January, and I definitely can't last more than a year without seeing her, so I HAVE to go to Ecuador, too. Really, I am doing exactly what I planned to do after graduation:
1. live at home -- did it
2. make some money -- okay, that part hasn't really worked out as well as I planned... I made more money working at Bible camp for two months than I made in four months as a substitute teacher, but I still made some money.
3. apply to grad school -- done
4. Spend January through July in Ecuador and Peru -- doing it!
I'm living the dream, baby!
However, a week before departure, the dream is proving to be slightly scarier than I expected. Although I've been scheming things for a long time, I made the decision to go rather quickly. After Mandy searched for jobs in Quito for me all fall and suggested other opportunities for me (that I loosely agreed to and usually backed out of), she told me, "Abby, I talked with Merge Ministries and they say you can help me lead the team and be a translator in January. Do you still want to do that?"
To which I replied, "Yeah! I do really want to do it. Just let me talk it over with my parents."
"Okay, well just tell me as soon as you can because I need to tell Merge whether they need to find someone else or not."
"Well... I want to do it. Tell them I'll do it. I'm doing it!"
The day after that I talked to my friend Lisa Merritt (director of Inca Link), and the dates of every thing I wanted to do all lined up, which I took as a sign of God's approval. So, five weeks ago, I decided to do it all. I talked to the mission committee at my home church for support, I bought my ticket, I set the plan in motion.
I am very excited to see my BFF Mandy, visit Machu Picchu with my old roomie Valerie, spend time with my friends in Peru, and work with Inca Link again, but six months is a long time! Moreover, I am leaving with no idea what I'll return to. Hopefully grad school, but where??? I applied to seven schools in six states. I could end up at any one of them, or none of them.
Being at home would not erase the question mark looming ahead, so onward I go, having faith that God will guide me, work through me, and clear a path before me.
Yep.
This plan has been brewing for a long time. Basically, I've wanted to go back to Peru since I left in August 2010. Plus, my best friend moved to Ecuador last January, and I definitely can't last more than a year without seeing her, so I HAVE to go to Ecuador, too. Really, I am doing exactly what I planned to do after graduation:
1. live at home -- did it
2. make some money -- okay, that part hasn't really worked out as well as I planned... I made more money working at Bible camp for two months than I made in four months as a substitute teacher, but I still made some money.
3. apply to grad school -- done
4. Spend January through July in Ecuador and Peru -- doing it!
I'm living the dream, baby!
However, a week before departure, the dream is proving to be slightly scarier than I expected. Although I've been scheming things for a long time, I made the decision to go rather quickly. After Mandy searched for jobs in Quito for me all fall and suggested other opportunities for me (that I loosely agreed to and usually backed out of), she told me, "Abby, I talked with Merge Ministries and they say you can help me lead the team and be a translator in January. Do you still want to do that?"
To which I replied, "Yeah! I do really want to do it. Just let me talk it over with my parents."
"Okay, well just tell me as soon as you can because I need to tell Merge whether they need to find someone else or not."
"Well... I want to do it. Tell them I'll do it. I'm doing it!"
The day after that I talked to my friend Lisa Merritt (director of Inca Link), and the dates of every thing I wanted to do all lined up, which I took as a sign of God's approval. So, five weeks ago, I decided to do it all. I talked to the mission committee at my home church for support, I bought my ticket, I set the plan in motion.
I am very excited to see my BFF Mandy, visit Machu Picchu with my old roomie Valerie, spend time with my friends in Peru, and work with Inca Link again, but six months is a long time! Moreover, I am leaving with no idea what I'll return to. Hopefully grad school, but where??? I applied to seven schools in six states. I could end up at any one of them, or none of them.
Being at home would not erase the question mark looming ahead, so onward I go, having faith that God will guide me, work through me, and clear a path before me.
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