Fun/Funny time at Jambeli

This was actually written Sunday night, but as blogger has not be letting me post, it´s a bit dated!

Well, I just got back from the beach at Jambeli, and it was a good weekend! We left Friday at 1¨:30 from school, and caught the 2 o´clock bus to Machala, the big city near the island. From there, we took a cab to Puerto Bolivar, which is the banana export capital of Ecuador (banana are commmonly known here as oro verde, green gold). From Puerto Bolivar, we took a dinky little boat out to Jambeli, which is a dinky little island. On on side its all mangrove trees and looks like the Everglades, and on the other side is the beach and some little restauarants.

So we get there Friday evening, and not havign a hotel booked, we set off down the street looking for one. Mind you, there are 2 street on the island (streets, but not cars). We found one hotel recommended b Lonely Planet and booked 4 rooms. They were crap. Haha. Really hot, one sheet on the beds, no toilet seat cover or toilet seat, no shower head, just a hose out of the wall, and definately no shower curtain. But hey, it was $5 a night, so I didnt expect much better.

After we dropped off our stuff, we went for dinner, where I ordered ceviche, a local specialty. Its kind of like a cold coup with conch meat or shrimp or fish in it. I had it in Guatemala and liked it....here it was disgusting. So I ended up eating someone else meal that she didnt like, and all was well. The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out, eating, laying in the sun, talking, playing volleyball, etc. It was fun.

The island had a very different feel than any beach I´ve ever been to, more liek Jamaica or something. But it definately had a personality all its own!The people in Machala and Jambeli are a lot more lecherous and crude than the Cuencanos. In Cuenca, I normally only get 6 or 7 rude whistles and noises in a 15 minute walk. On the island, I got about 15 crude whistles every 5 minutes. Yuck. Also, the water in the Pacific is a lot saltier than the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico! The Spanish on the island is harder to understand. It´s almost like what I imagine Spain spanish to be like, where they drop their ¨s¨ from their words and slur everything. Maybe its because everone on the island seemed drunk. Ha. Anyways, just a few differences I noticed.

I´m not as tan as I´d like, but oh well. It was still fun! I talked to my parents tonight when I got back, and I am looking forward to Friday, when I get home. I have 2 intense days of classes, followed by an exam, and one more random day of class, then a flight to Quito, a trip to the Ecuator, a trip to a big market, and then my trip home! Hooray!! I´d love to come back here when I don´t have the pressure of learning spanish for credit hanging over me, and when I have a friend too. I miss you guys :(

One week from tonight I´ll be back at Union! Cant wait to see everyone! Love to you all.