And So It Begins

In all honesty, this blog post should have been written almost 3 years ago to the day. This crazy new educational experience I decided to jump into (with both feet and blindfolded) literally took a week to get started. Applied, registered, enrolled, 1 week behind  - all took a week. I ended up having to withdraw from that term (I actually can tell when it's too much too soon) and then registered for my first doctoral program courses that began in May of 2009. Had I taken time to write anything about the coursework and experiences I have had in my program over the past 3 years this message would have quite a different tone.

For most of my program I have been frustrated, annoyed, angry, and disillusioned. That being said, I have loved the mostly online learning experience up until the brief week of stress I had trying to figure out how I would be able to find professors to serve on my dissertation committee. Without being able to take my courses online I know there is no way that pursuing my doctorate at this time would have even been conceivable. Lucky for many of my online classmates too that we didn't have fact-to-face classes as I don't do well masking my facial expressions. The lack of graduate-level writing abilities in my peers has both astounded and thoroughly confused me. The inability to follow a rubric or assignment directions has at times been comical. The number of professors who were lacking in what I consider to be basic teacher skills such as timely feedback, responding to emails, pushing learners to improve themselves, and understanding what it is they are teaching were too much for me.

Thank you to those who listened to my complaints, frustrations, and rants and were there to remind me that I had put in way to much time, effort, and money to stop the wheels from turning. In February I successfully completed my coursework (3.89 GPA) and in March I successfully passed my Comprehensive Exams (exact grade still to be determined). This milestone has earned me the title of "All But Dissertation" or A.B.D. - I am Miss Rachael Tarshes, A.B.D.

This last Saturday I officially started my dissertation blocks. There are 4 blocks to be completed, each one made of 2 Units of work, and lasting about 15 weeks long. I was initially hesitant as the last professor I worked with was lacking in her response time, feedback, and general ability to make sense. I was however able to draft the first parts of what my eventual dissertation will be - at this point it is called a Prospectus. I was feeling okay with what I had but not great and struggling to figure out how I was going to pick a dissertation committee (although this a fore mentioned professor seemed to think it should be her). Luckily, the College of Education Program Chair took over and after grading my COMP exam, made my dissertation committee for me. I met my Dissertation Chair just this last Saturday and I was surely relieved.

Wednesday we have a meeting scheduled to look over my Prospectus together and plan out what my next year of work and research should look like. She provided us the following picture to help explain the journey. I am the only student she's working with who is just starting the process but she has a few about halfway done so I do have the opportunity for some effective support. And so, my journey through the Swamp begins.

40 days until Athens!!

Day 1, Lesson 1: History of the Marathon

Among all the Olympic sport events, the Marathon Race stands out as it was born by a true historic and heroic event.

It was a true triumph accomplished by a news-bearing foot soldier from ancient Athens, who announced - with his last words - the victory of the Greeks against the Persians during the Marathon Battle in 490 BC.

The 42,195m Marathon Race became one of the most competitive events during the revival of the Olympic Games in 1896. A Greek athlete named Spyros Louis, running what has ever since been referred to as the Original Marathon Course from the ancient city of Marathon to the Panathinaikon Stadium in Athens, won the gold medal of the first modern Olympic Games and became a legend of Greek and International Athletics. The Marathon Race has always had a prominent place in the hearts and minds of sports enthusiasts, as it represents the highest effort where the human body, soul and mind are tested to their limits as the runner presses himself/herself to reach the finish line.

SEGAS, the Hellenic Athletics Federation, has the honour and the historic responsibility to organize annually the Athens Classic Marathon on the Original Marathon Course. Since 1982, the Athens Classic Marathon has been dedicated to Gregoris Lambrakis, the athlete, scientist and Member of Parliament, who was murdered in the 60s and, by his death, became a symbol of Human Rights.

Thousands of runners from all over the world are expected to participate in this year's race. Apart from the sporting experience, they will have the chance to enjoy the traditional Greek hospitality, discover the fascinating landscape of our country and explore a city which is constantly improving its standards.

2500th anniversary of the Legend of Marathon

Every time someone runs a marathon, they metaphorically retrace steps taken during one of the most momentous events in world history, the Battle of Marathon in 490BCE. A few thousand Athenian and Plataean soldiers, led by the warrior Miltiades destroyed a huge force of invading Persians on the plain of Marathon, a victory widely acknowledged to have ensured the democratic legacy of Western culture.

The significance of the Hellenic victory has not gone underestimated, either then or now. The poet and dramatist Aeschylus fought at Marathon (his brother was one of the 192 dead, compared to thousands of Persians). But when Aeschylus died, not one word of his literary achievements made it onto his tombstone, only the fact that he had fought at Marathon.

Similarly, though every schoolchild in the UK knows how the Battle of Hastings in 1066 altered the course of British history and culture, the celebrated 18th century philosopher and political theorist John Stuart Mill maintained that, in the grand scheme of things, ‘Marathon’ was a far more important event to Britons than ‘Hastings’.

However, the tale that most people know about events in 490BCE is that a messenger named Phillipides or Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory, then collapsed and died. Out of that legend, the marathon race was born.

But the original legend, whose first report was 600 years after the battle (thus highly questionable) was that the messenger first went to Sparta to ask for help, was rebuffed, and ran back to Marathon, before going to Athens to announce victory. Dying after a trek like that made far more sense, since the round trip, across impossibly rough, hilly terrain (and no tarmac roads 2500 years ago) is around 500 kilometres, and he did it allegedly in two or three days.

Which is why every long distance runner in the world should want to run from Marathon to Athens at least once.

And if you haven’t done it yet, or even if you have, then next year is the year. For 2010 is the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon. And the organisers of the Athens Classic Marathon, on October 31, 2010 are preparing for another invasion, but a friendly one this time.

The race has had a chequered history since effectively being launched with, not the inaugural modern Olympic race, but with a trial race on the same course a few weeks before, in spring of 1896. But while the Boston AA launched their own race the following year, and have staged it in one form or another (a relay during wartime) for a century and a dozen years since then, Athens has had a history of hiccups, ie on and off, and on again. At one time, there were two a year, one in Spring, the other in Autumn. But in its latest incarnation, next year will be the 28th edition of the Athens Classic Marathon.

The elite race has been relatively low-key until recent years, getting a pre-Olympic boost in 2000 by sponsorship from Alpha Bank, who still remain principal sponsor nine years later. But overall marathon numbers have stayed relatively small, due partly to restricted space at the start area in Marathon, and for reasons of safety at the marble Panathinaiko stadium, built for 1896, in Athens.

There were around 3,600 finishers in 2009. But a provisional limit of 10,000 (roughly the same as the Hellenic army in 490BCE) has been mooted for 2010 with a possibility of up to 13,500.

If you’ve not run the course, be warned, it’s one of the most difficult of the modern popular marathons. After a relatively flat first 10k, which takes runners on a detour around the tumulus (burial ground) of the Athenian dead - the Parthians have their own burial ground - the course rises until around 32k.

So half the race is uphill. But then the last part is downhill all the way.

Bit like life, really.

This and more info is available on the race website.

Gran Fondo

Gran Fondo. Translation: Big Folly? Perhaps. Big Ride? More accurately.

My friend Renea has reccently gotten me into road biking, and as I have to take everything up a notch, I decided that we should do something spectacular with it. Now, she rides in foreign countries and does 100 mile weekend rides, and plans on riding the Continental Divide this summer, so I knew I would have to find something amazing to impress her. My solution was the 2nd annual Gran Fondo here in San Diego.  Gran Fondos are long distance, mass-participation cycling events – not races – that have become immensely popular in Italy. There were 3 events to participate in...32, 53, and 100 miles and I of course suggest 100 miles. Renea, slightly more practical than I, suggests 53 miles as we've only done one ride together  (an my only ride on a non-beach cruiser or foldable bike in the last 6 years) and it was only for 36 miles. (Only.)

How was I to know we here in SD would have the wettest winter in years and that the day of the race, it would pour? As I left my house at 5:30 (on a Sunday no less) and headed to Renea's I tried to tell myself that the deluge of rain (that we've had for the past 2 days) would soon in. Instead in continued. Thankfully, Renea had brought rain pants (MC Hammer style on me) and an extra jacket. As we parked and rode the mile to the start line, we started to second guess ourselves. Then it started raining harder and we decided we were possibly totally insane. While we waited for the start, and joined other riders hiding in the awnings that lined the streets our helmets dripped with water we stared at each other definitley thinking the same thing, "What the HELL are we doing here?"

It took about 30 minutes for our wave of riders to start - there were some thousand or so idiots/zealots with us, and then we were off for our 53 miles of fun and adventure. It poured, with intermittent misting for the next 5 hours. We managed to go unscathed for about 49 miles around the San Diego county area ...that was until my tire tweaked in a train track and I got thrown off my bike. Again I had to thank Renea for the pants and jacket as I think that is what helped me keep most of my skin as I bounced then slid across the pavement. Undaunted (or slightly daunted perhaps) I got some help back onto my bike and we finished the last 4 miles of the race, crossing the finish line together and smiliing despite the pain, wetness, cold, and hunger and proudly held our metals up for a photo.

Now that I am again dry, warm, and not on my butt, I can say that I feel quite accomplished. Despite the banged up right side of my body and sore booty I just want to say, "How did you spend your Sunday?" :)

Ecuador: Parting Thoughts and Parting Comments

The good news is that the maracas stopped around 1am. The not so great news is that karaoke has begun and we added speakers to the setup - for reference, its almost 3am. Heaven help me. Ecuadorians know how to have a good time. There is really no reason to go to bed if this is what is going on downstairs so I have decided to try to wrap things up a bit - for you and for me.

My last email left off with me complainging about Ambato. Too bad I didn't wait until we got to Riobamba and save it for a needier cause. There not only did we not have a schedule but no one really had any clue what we were doing or the foresight to call people to let them know when plans changed. But, I am getting ahead of myself. We took a trip to the lovely tourist town of Banos our first day in Ambato which was cool. Heather, Maddy, and I crawled our way up behind a waterfall just to hear its thunderous applause. I then got abandoned by my first set of "parents" for 2 hours while they decided to go to bed as there was no electricity and they somehow assumed my plans had changed. We were torn between what I can only assume a divorced and unhappy set of parents is like with the 2 clubs in Ambato. It didn't help that they had blatant disregard for the other club's schedule but decided to have split days with us. We were mobbed by a crazy school full of dirty kids for stickers. I know they are super poor but it is hard to stay compassionate when the first thing they do it turn to lying, cheating, stealing, and violence when they are given a gift. And it was only a damn sticker. Ambato also included so many means of "typical food" that Sherrilynn was physically ill for a couple days and the rest of us stopped eating. We were made to switch to a second host family after only 2 nights which was annoying and unreasonable. My second "mom" locked me in the house with no way to escape - forget Panic Room, I had Panic House. My last ditch effort was to go onto the rooftop and at the last moment of contemplating repelling down, I saw her and decided yelling was a better solution.

Riobamba was also fraught with annoyances. The one thing I wanted to do was ride the Riobamba Express train and because of ill planning, their strong desire to have us do Rotary events instead, and a lack of communication, we did not get to go. As with other cities, we went on ridiculous visits to schools who 1) weren't expecting us and 2) didn't know what to do with us. I was abondoned by my "mom" who went to get her nails done and then kidnapped Martha and took her to see a Rotary project. Her apology came in the form of 2 hand-made rosaries: one pearl and the other about 2 feet long and super stinky. I was unable to shower, change my clothes, eat dinner, or finish my homework for that night but she didn't understand why I was so upset. So what she told me she'd be back in an hour?

We spent our last Ecuadorian weekend in the country home of the district governor and his overbearing wife. They think if they want you to do something you just do it and shut the heck up. She also feeds him on occasion which is insane looking for a man who is easily about 6' 5" and well over 200 pounds. I am sure he knows how. Our time there was supposed to be relaxing but they had no internet so I had not 1 but 2 assignments I could not turn in, Sherry had a leaky ceiling that dripped water on her face as she slept, Maddy was attacked by bed bugs, and my mattress sagged almost to the floor when I laid on it. Ahhhh...so relaxing.

I was more than happy to be back in Quayaquil and staying at the same house for our last 5 days. Our parents are the coolest (minus the fact it is now almost 4 and they are singing "Don't go breaking my heart" knowing full well we have to leave for the airport at 7). We visited some cool school sites and some typical sites as well. By typical I mean schools that aren't expecting us and don't know what to do with us. We went on a terrible tour of colonial style buildings, ate incredibly good sushi, visited a strange park full of iguanas, pigged out on artisan style ice cream, watched New Moon in English, and slept in (at least Heather and I did because our parents rule).

Please do NOT get me wrong: Rotary does amazing work. Part of what has been hard is 1) trying to see all of that work, 2) not understanding the background and motivation of that work, 3) not having any real say on what we do or where we go and 4) basically being at the longest business meeting ever. Sherrilynn counted, we have spent 16 of our 20 weekdays at "vocational events". We were only supposed to go to 7. I think I need a vacation. At least back stateside I get the comfort of giving my presentation in English. (And the comfort of living without biting flies.) Now to just go through the almost 6,000 photos that everyone has taken and make our next PowerPoint presentation...

GENERAL INFORMATION
Things that Surprised Me:
1. Ecuador is a lot like China (see below)
2. Ecuadorian food is rather bland and very greasy
3. Traveling on someone else's schedule is lame to the max
4. Security can be taken too far
5. Some Rotarians do good and others do better if there is a camera there to capture it

China in Ecuador:
1. You can drive however you want - lines, signals, lanes, rules, etc do NOT matter
2. It makes good sense to put at least 3 people on a motorcycle
3. Why finish building something when you can not finish building something just as easy?
4. The liquor they make is gross but you have to drink it to be polite
5. People show disregard for playing cards (albeit not as blatant)

Security:
1. In a country with rolling blackouts, people have electric gates that cannot be opened with a key
2. Most houses have deadbolts that people lock from the inside with a key and then you can't get out
3. Very intelligent security guards can't remember 2 white girls from the am to the pm
4. Rich people are kidnapped in broad daylight
5. You can't but things at stores if you are a foreigner and don't have your passport with you

Note: Its 4:25 and we have moved on to"Killing me Softly" in Spanish

ADDED: Here is the official blog that we kept for our Rotary GSE group: http://ecuadorgse09.blogspot.com/

20 Days In Ecuador (with 10 more to go)

Our story last left off with our protagonist in the lovely southern city of Loja the night before she is to depart for the capital city: Quito. We rejoin our story there...

The day is November 15th and the time is early. Too early in fact. As foolish as I have been before, nothing could prepare me for the harsh reality that being told we were actually leaving for the airport at 6am did not mean that it would be ideal for me to be outside of my warm bed and locked house and standing on the curb with all of my bags. We flew from Loja to Quito but only after convincing the powers that be that it would be a waste of a day to make a 13 hour drive when we could make an hour flight. (I know for most of us that math doesn't make sense but just try to imagine how windy and dangerous the road must be for that to be the reality.) Not that my family in Loja was terrible, but I was ready to leave. Having nothing to do all weekend was nice, but again I was ready to leave. Apparently however I was too ready as I snuck downstairs to carry my bags to the door I set off the alarm and woke up all of my family. I then carry my bags outside and lock myself out of the house. The time is 5:45 and I assure myself that since they said we were leaving at 6 I shouldn't have to wait that long. Then comes 6:20 and my family finally realizes that I am outside and they bring me in for breakfast. Breakfast done I go back to wait outside. Finally at 6:45 the taxis arrive to take us to the airport (which is an hour away) so that we can make our flight on time (boarding ends at 7:20). At least I felt like slightly less of an ass when I found out Maddy had also been waiting outside since 6.

We get held up at check in as we have too many bags for our tiny plane and they tell us they will just take them all - to which everyone else starts adding all of their carry-ons -- and then they stick us with the baggage bill. We try to give Marta cash to pay for it but she insists that she doesnt' want us to worry about it so she will just use her credit card. She is of course ignoring the fact that it took forever to check in because the airport was lacking electricity. The rest of us go ahead and go through security as it is now 7:40 and our flight is scheduled to leave at 7:50. Sherrilynn (who is a mix between an overprotective mother and Dwight) insists on going to help Marta. I am trying to tell the others to just get on the damn plane as all of the plane crew is yelling at us to get on the damn plane but it takes a good 10 minutes of convincing to finally get Heather and Maddy on the tar mack. As we are taking a tiny plane we have to walk out to it and make it all the way to the door before Marta and Sherrilynn come out of the terminal door. Apparently Marta insisted on using her card despite the lack of electricity so the poor worker had to go digging around to find a manual credit card thing. Way to make sure you are living the Rotarian values and not being a pain in the ass to other people.

We arrive in Quito nice and early and all a little tired. My host family however has other plans for me. For once I totally luck out and get parents that speak fluent English. (Adam, you will be happy to know they are also 1 of only about 100 Jewish families in the city of 2 million people.) My "dad" and "mom" want to take me to the historical city center to see the sights and Maddy decides to join us. In retrospect, it was a great decision as we are given no other time to see anything in the city and I totally would have missed out on the experience. We check out a cool old church that is COVERED inside with gold leaf and see some of the old traditional buildings, grand plazas, and the virgin on the hill. They gave us Monday "off" to adjust to the altitude and then they have us hit the ground running.

In 4 days we spend time with 4 different clubs and attend/present at 4 different club meetings. Yes, it was exactly as fun as it sounds. A lot of us got frustrated as we were really starting to see that there is so much of an agenda behind the things that we do and we don't know about them so we are just stuck following along despite being sick, tired, or both. We only visited 2 schools and 1 preschool all week and neither were very enriching. We also visited a medical center, a revived pueblo (with a cheese factory) and some school buildings without children. The best program related thing we did was visit a boy's home where we got to talk with 6 of the 8 boys that live there about how they ended up with out a home or family in Quito and what they were doing to keep themselves off the streets. They all had a very special bond with the woman who runs the place (7 days a week and 16 hours a day as a volunteer) so it was cool that I had my printer as I took photos of each of the boys with her and gave one to each of them. They all put them in their wallets right away and showed them off to anyone who would look.

Friday was our free day and other than my Monday visit downtown and a short trip to The Middle of the World (to "see" the equator) we didn't get to do much touristy stuff. Heather, Marta and I headed out early(ish) to Otavolo which is a tiny town about 2 hours from Quito that is knows for its amazing market. Unfortunately the market is Saturday but the Quito clubs changed our schedule so we had to go on Friday. It was still pretty cool and not having to battle a million other tourists was worth it. The best part of this free day was trying to go home and having all of the roads back into the city blocked due to a religious procession wherein pilgrims walk about 30km to a church to pay homage to the Virgin de Cesine (Virgin of the Swan). The closed the roads without notifying anyone and wouldn't open them back up to anything other than foot traffic until 4am. It was at this time 730 so we pull into the closest hotel which doesn't have lights to find a room for the evening. Heather and I room together in a room that has no key (they can't find it) and no lights (power went out right when we pulled in). We bought and drank a bottle of wine, washed our faces with wet wipes, and chewed some gum to brush our teeth before setting the alarm for 4am and turning in for the night.

Saturday we did stuff with our 4th Quito Rotary Club which included but was not limited to visiting a butcher to meet the cows that were going to be slaughtered, standing outside a cheese factory for about an hour waiting for a tour/presentation, planting a ceremonial tree in a monochromatic town square, getting sunburned, and drinking wine out of plastic cups. You can guess what the highlight was.

Sunday we headed to where we are now, the lovely city of Ambato. You would have no reason to come here unless you are headed somewhere else (which we are tomorrow). While we have been here, we have been mobbed by children wanting stickers, eaten local foods, visited a school that wasn't expecting us and wasted over an hour wandering around its campus, eaten local foods, eaten hamburgers with local flavor, eaten local foods, visited an electric generator, eaten local food, tried local sweets and eaten local food. The group, sans Sherrilynn (the 3rd to get sick) visited the nearby town of Banos (which is the only reason you would know Ambato) and rode an aerocar to a waterfall, hiked through the jungle, crawled our way to the very edge of another waterfall, and tried local foods.

We are not really liking this town as 1) they are totally unorganized and have had to set schedule for us, 2) we are splitting our time between 2 clubs and no one ever knows what is going on 3) we had to switch host parents after 2 days (although my first family did leave me waiting for them for 2 hours and my new family has WiFi so I am not complaining) 4) we just spent almost 4 hours at their ridiculous joint club meeting and 5) they waste a lot of our time. Tomorrow is our first travel day where we are expected to do vocational work as well. We are also not happy about that - and neither is our next town's club. However the drive is only an hour and it is our last day here so we are hoping for a smooth ending and transition onto the next.

As of today our adventure is 2/3 over and talk is increasing about being reintroduced into our lives in the States. Listening to the others talk though, I can't be happier that I only really have myself to worry about. I actually missed my students yesterday (for like a second) and panicked that I won't remember their names but mostly my thoughts of returning focus on only having school for 10 days and then having 2 weeks off for winter break and what I will do with my free time. Right now I am contemplating recovering from this trip well into the new year.

I still don't have a working camera so I have been using Heathers. Most of my pictures are under her folder on our site. Check out all of the photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/Ecuadorgse09

Re: 8 days and 7 cities later

Sorry my dears, here is the correct link for the photos

http://picasaweb.google.com/EcuadorGSE09

buena suerte!

8 days and 7 cities later

Okay, so perhaps my last email was a bit dramatic, but it was still the feeling at the time. The whole first week here in Ecuador was go, go, go until about Friday night when we arrived in Loja. Granted it has not slowed down too much but even a little is good.

We left for Cuenca on the 10th and stayed until the 13th. In those 3 days some awesome things happened - and some not-so-awesome things too. First, the awesome things.

AWESOME THINGS
1. We visited 2 schools outside of Cuenca proper in the more rural countryside populated by the indigenous peoples of the area. The first school was kind of blah but the second school was amazing. There were 2 teachers and 2 classrooms and about 30 students in grades 1 through 7. The 2 teachers teach all of the subjects on a rotating schedule of direct instruction and independent work. They really did not have much for the students but they give them everything they have. Just like in the US, they have a big problem with the students not doing their homework because they go home and watch TV. Apparently a lot of the parents are uneducated so they cannot help their kids practice their reading or do their math. Some of the better students the teacher pointed out told us that they make sure they always do their homework because they want the kind of opportunities that the city children have. However, the school director told us not many children will grow up and leave this area,. The kids were pretty precious and some of the older ones put on a dance performance for us. It was a story about a fox (a little boy in the 3rd year) and a hunter (a boy in the 7th year) and the incredible hunt between them. The little one had been practicing quite a bit and died with quite the dramatic flair.

2. At the same school I had finally managed to make Heather^s camera work with my portable printer. (Thanks to one of my co-workers who suggested I invest in a portable printer and to Polaroid for making a printer about the size of a digital camera for $50.) Many of the students were dressed up for the dance performance and their parents were there to watch so I grouped some families together and took pictures of them. They thought seeing the pictures on my camera screen was cool until I actually printed out a little 2 x 3 for them to have. They were totally amazed. Some said it was the first picture they had of their family and others were excited to send the small photos to their parents so they could see their grandchildren for the first time.

3. The Canadians were again following us and were preparing in Cuenca to distribute about 200 wheelchairs. I am not sure if it was planned or by accident, but our group was waiting for our silly city tour/shopping day at the same time the Canadian group was preparing to distribute wheelchairs so we jumped in and helped. I am pretty sure none of the Canadians spoke any Spanish so even my clumsy sentences were enough to ask people what size chair they needed and to make sure they felt comfortable. The Rotary Club of Tomebaba has been working with this Canadian group for about 2 years to organize this mass wheelchair distribution across the country. The Ecuadorian club members have been carefully screening applicants to make sure they have a true need for the wheelchairs. At the club the people received certificates and their new chairs then posed for a quick photo. Some came in carried by family members and some where on homemade wheelchairs. Helping with the wheelchair distribution was probably one of the coolest things I have ever done. I might even have to stop speaking ill of Canadians.

NOT-SO-AWESOME THINGS
(This section needs to be kept short so as to not take away from the awesome things.)
1. While out for a run, I was attacked by a vicious monster (or perhaps some stupid dog bit my leg) and then he gathered like 20 (or maybe 3) of his friends to chase me down the street. Thanks to my awesome marksmanship (or sheer luck) I was able to ward them off with giant boulders (or maybe some fist-sized stones) and escape with my life.

OTHER THINGS
Of course other things happened in this last week too! We went on a shopping day around Cuenca where we got to eat a local delicacy (faint of heart, look away now) - guinea pig! Sorry, but it was actually pretty good. We also got to eat at some pretty fancy restaurants - although I am still trying to figure out how a super classy/expensive restaurant can say they serve local indigenous food when it costs so much and no indigenous people have probably ever been there. We went to another Rotary dinner (but the food was lacking and our presentation still did not work right). We also stopped in a couple little towns and looked around a bit at local life and culture. Our families here in Loja are great as they all live on the same block so we are not isolated. That was a hard part for me at the other homes. Well...that and the fact that I was the only one taking time to do all the pictures and update our group blog. Our first night here was kinda harsh as we first went to a presentation by a local group trying to get funding and then went to dinner. Dinner at 7 would not have been so bad but most of us did not eat on the bus ride here and we were starving. We went to some fancy hotel with a restaurant who apparently did not understand the idea of bringing us some bread. It was about 8:30 before we were finally served our dinner. We had left Heather behind when we went to the meeting and then left my host family behind for dinner. Then ended up showing up to dinner around 9:30 so the night continued to drag on despite everyone desperately wanting to go home. Yesterday we went to a small town outside of Loja to visit the countryside which included eating at some fancy spa hotel and then spending some time at the club president's village estate. It was a pretty relaxing day despite the biting flies and Maddy having an allergic reaction to something she ate. She is fine though as we had 2 doctors with us and enough epi pens for everyone. Last night Heather and Sherrilynn got roped into going out for a dinner with the cowboys who are in town and stayed up dancing until 2am. I actually liked getting my paper done and being in bed by midnight (although I kind-of got left behind).

Today we are going to see the cowboys then who knows what. Tomorrow morning we fly to Quito for the next 5 days and we will actually have some free time. We had to talk them into letting us fly instead of making the 13 hour drive. Our only concern is that they will not let us take all of our bags on the plane. Only time will tell.

My pictures are only at the group site for now and since my camera is not working most of my photos are under Heather's photo album. The link is picasa.google.com/ECUADORGSE09. Enjoy!

Ecuador (Behind the Scenes)

What? I have already read your blog! No, no you haven't really. Yes, I have been asked by my Rotarian leader to write a blog for our group (with the help of my co-GSE members) but that doesn't mean that I can say whatever I want - like I usually do. So, just because I can, I am taking you behind the scenes.

Anyone who has spoken to me, or at least tried to, in the last 2 weeks knows that I was a mental and physical wreck. It has been weeks since I had time to exercise and I think I left work maybe 1 time before 7pm in those 2 weeks. In addition to trying to plan for missing 3 weeks of school, I am trying to fight a totally illegitimate grade a nincompoop of a teacher is trying to give me, start my next grad school class, prepare for my trip to Ecuador, collect school supplies for my trip, create a blog for my trip and design an awe-inspiring PPT presentation to represent our team while we are traveling for the next month. Oh, and practice my Spanish, do my regular teaching work, and attempt to not die.

Note: Bad things happen in threes.

Background: The night before we leave, I am trying to run some last minute errands and instead run my car, at a decent and unstopping speed right into the wee little butt of a fully rebuilt totally stock '73 VW Karmen Gia. My car is a Huyandi, it isn't big, but it is half again as big as this particular car. Being that much bigger and driving without hesitation means that I possibly demolished this guys car. His little rear VW engine had parts of his trunk and rear fenders in it, the left fender was cracked all the way up to the driver's side door, and pieces of his rear turn signal were literally embedded in my front bumper. Yes, I know you are going to say the good thing is that no one is hurt. And while I do agree with you, that isn't my point. It sucked. Like those stupid vacuums that the bald dude is sticking onto bowling balls. You should have seen the look on the guys face when I said "This totally sucks as I am leaving the country first thing in the morning".

The second bad thing I am hoping was this next event but I might be mistaking the 3rd bad thing for the 2nd.

We are told that we have to be at the airport at 5. For this reason I don't get to see Chris one last time before I go but apparently that doesn't matter as long as I don't die. I also get to be the only person at the airport until 5:45. Joke is on me I guess. I end up having WAY TOO much stuff and have to scramble and throw my stuff into Heather's bag so that I can make weight and not pay for it. (Did I mention I didn't go to sleep at all Friday night? Well, I didn't go to sleep at all Friday night.) Then Marta shows up with what she insists are the last pieces of my Rotary uniform to which I insist are not. My cries fall on deaf ears and I am to believe that the sweatshirt I needed in XS will fit just the same in a M. Maybe if I was intentionally wearing my BF's sweatshirt.

We wait an hour, take an hour flight to LA, wait an hour, take a 4 hour flight to Miami, wait an hour, and then take our final 3 hour flight to Guayaquil. In that last precious hour before landing I am desperately trying to get some sleep when I get a rude awakening: my pants are cold and soaked through with some sort of liquid! What?! "Did she pee herself?" you ask. You wish! (hater) The guy next to me who has now polished off 6 bourbons since dinner has "accidentally" spilled his ENTIRE drink on my lap and I am sitting in its amazingness. He says he's super sorry but his words fall on deaf ears (probably like my same sentiments to the VW owner the night before). This is Bad Thing #2 in part because it was cold, wet, and uncomfortable, in part because there was still an hour left on the plane, and in part because I smelled like alcohol and was sticky from the soda. Oh yeah, and also it was terrible in part because we were set to be greeted by the President of the Rotary Club at the airport. Cool. Wet (check), smells like hard A (check), looks like she hasn't slept (check). What a great first impression. To make this experience even better, our team leader INSISTS I put on my Rotary sweatshirt at the airport. 1) it is humid in Ecuador and a sweatshirt is not needed, especially in the airport and 2) my sweatshirt is soaking wet. I try to explain this to her, as I also try to explain the wet pants but she'd too caught up on her feelings of goose bumps from meeting other Rotarians on the plane. (They were from Canada, who cares?) I put it on but attempt to take it off 3 more times without being detected to no avail. She says it is VITAL I wear it as these people are going to want to take my picture as soon as we get off the plane. They obviously don't have much experience with Americans and international travel.

Upon arriving in Guayaquil we are greeted by a bunch of important people but namely our host families. We are taken home where immediately it becomes clear to me that I don't speak a lick of Spanish, my thighs are sticking to my pants, and I have an assignment due for grad school. It was amazing to finally sleep however. Our first day here they decide it would be awesome to go for a sailing trip. Why does everyone who has a boat think that every other person in the entire world loves boats? Maybe if I loved boats so much I would buy one. Heather and I ended up with the same host family and while she and our host, Rafael, chatted away in their fluent Spanish, I decided to sleep for most of the 2 hour drive to Salinas on the coast. As soon as I step on the boat I feel nauseous. I take a "less drowsy" (BS) Dramamine and then proceed to sleep in awkward places and positions for the duration of the boat trip. I then slept the entire trip home, but so did Heather. A girl gets tired after partying on a boat all day.

Today was our first "vocational day". We also had to wear full uniforms. I think Marta, our leader, looks at us like dressed up purse dogs when we are in uniform. Thank goodness she takes a million pictures so that no one misses a moment of our shared clothing experience. We spent most of the morning and afternoon at a school where the 6th graders intimidated me with their Spanish and I digressed from speaking somewhat broken Spanish to mumbling and asking someone else to translate for me. It was also around this time that I discovered I forgot my camera battery charger at home (great move) and that it will most likely not be able to be replaced or delivered while I am here. Note 2: I would like to lump this event with Bad Thing #2 as the following just tops the cake and HAS TO have the final spot. We then spent the evening in even fancier Rotary uniforms and the situation digressed to everyone saying (in Spanish) that I don't speak Spanish at all and then proceeding to talk about how sad that is (or at least that is what I am going to say they were saying). Too bad I understand you buttfaces.

BAD EVENT #3: Yes, it is so bad I need to yell it. We get back from our formal gathering of shaking hands, kissing babies, too many photos, a 7 foot Canadian woman, a dirty old man hitting on Heather, and an open buffet/bar to an email from the man who was supposed to be my substitute for the next 3 weeks telling me something drastic came up and he has to cancel. It is likened to picking the perfect surrogate parent and then having them tell you that starting immediately you'll have to find someone, or perhaps a group of random someones to take over their position as the person giving your seed life immediately. I have no idea what to do. My kids could end up with a different person every day. They could learn absolutely nothing in the next 3 weeks. All of my VERY hard work in carefully planning my time away from my class could quickly be made a waste of time. I also still haven't done my grad school work. I didn't pack my Nike + IPOD running thing and I gave myself a goal of running everyday (not that the 2 are mutually exclusive but they make for good companions). I forgot to print out all the requested pictures of my friends, family, and life. I have turned into the tech go-to person which means I am in charge of making sure everything goes good with pictures, PPTs, blogs, emails, etc.

Tomorrow we leave for our 2nd city, Cuenca. I hope that things start turning around.

Finally updated pictures

Apparently I started this email back on August 6th and never sent it. Oops. Since I went to all the trouble of putting the pics up, I thought I would share now. Hope you all had a great holiday.

Rachael

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Original Message:

Since I have way too much free time now and nothing really constructive to spend it on, I decided to update my pictures. They are a bit old as all the pics from May and June never made it online okay. Browse at your discression... they will stay online for at least 6 months. Enjoy!

Japan Pics

July - week spent in Tokyo, Kyoto, and surrounding area

http://picasaweb.google.com/tarshor/JapanJuly08

China Pics

June - last days in Pingxiang, Yangtze cruise, and travels with Heather

http://picasaweb.google.com/tarshor/ChinaJune#

May - trip to Beijing for the marathon on the Great Wall (they are all up there finally)

http://picasaweb.google.com/tarshor/ChinaBeijing#

Holidays and Such

Two weeks off school finally gives me the opportunity to sit and catch up with life and what has happened in the last 4 and a half months since I last posted.

It has been just over 4 months since I have moved down to San Diego and things are slowly but surely coming together. I ended up moving in with someone I barely knew but she and I had more than the love of the same man in common. The good thing is that man is my best friend and not a romantic love interest. I only met Tricia once, the last time I was in SD in 2006 but she was kind enough to offer me her spare room and her friendship despite all the situations that would have made it awkward. We ended up living together for almost 2 months and having possibly too much fun while we were at it.

At end of August things were still suffering from still not having a job so I took a job at a little grocery store, working as much as I could. Most of the rest of my time was spent at the beach as its free and of course because its fun.

The last week in September I was finally hired at a middle school here in San Diego. I am now one of two 8th grade Physical Science teachers and I am starting to enjoy the position and my students. Within a week of getting a job, I was able to find a cute 1 bedroom apartment with the biggest bedroom closest I have ever seen - a match made in heaven.

Adam came home on leave and it worked out perfectly with my week-long Thanksgiving holiday so that was AWESOME. We spent our time doing a whole lot of nothing but did take time to watch a lot of movies, visit the wild animal park, and jump out of a plane at 13,000 feet. Nothing says fun like 120 mph free fall!

Three days after Adam left, my friend Eoin came from Ireland on the initial leg of his around-the-world trip for the next year. He spent most of the week on the couch as he had to have some dental work done but was up and running by the weekend. We took a road trip to Las Vegas for the weekend as I was set to participate in the LV Marathon. It was fun to see the City of Sin through fresh eyes and we had a blast enjoying all of the American debauchery...and I am pretty sure we covered every aspect of debauchery in our less-than-24-hour visit. As I was still working two jobs and being slightly lazy, I definitely wasn't ready to do the whole marathon so I just did the half. I hope to get my stuff together and really train for a full marathon and rock it next summer. Because the world is so amazingly small, I was fortunate enough to run into a friend from high school while going into the MGM. Meagan came to run the marathon too and in another act of fate, we ran into each other again before the race. Guess that obnoxious song is correct...after all.

December has gone by super fast. I finally quit the grocery store. I am starting to feel more comfortable with my teaching role. I am starting to make more friends than just Tricia in SD. I have rekindled my love for men in uniforms - cops in particular. I am looking forward to not being so stressed with the two jobs thing so I can spend more time coaching Girls on the Run this next season, feel like a better teacher, and have more of a life in general.

As it wasn't feasible for me to head to the beautiful village of Medford this year, I took the short drive over to Phoenix to spend Christmas with Craig. Apparently I have brought some rain from San Diego with me but I would like to blame Eoin for bringing it down from Seattle first. Now I just have to figure out what to do with myself for the week and will be entertained to see how much of my "list" actually gets done.

I have a job, an apartment, some friends, and a California license. Let's see if I can manage to stay here for more than a year. To anyone who might be feeling the travel bug, I have a comfy futon and the door is always open.

Exodus

"All roads lead to home."

 

Despite varying ideas of what home really is, this quote is easy to get for a girl who has rarely lived far from the I-5 corridor. I came back to my previous home of Seattle upon my return from China. Granted, I haven't lived there in over 2 years so it is more like home-once-removed. I did claim it as home for the past 2 years as it was for 9 years of my adult life. However, upon my most recent visit I realized it really isn't my home any more. People and places were foreign in general and I felt out of place.

 

I wasn't able to go home (place where I was born) before my grandfather passed away, but I was able to make it home (the USA) in time to call Mom to let him know I was safely back on US soil and he could stop worrying about me. Due to my lack of employment, I was able to spend a week with my grandmother keeping her company and running errands. I think that act in itself means more to my grandpa than any teary goodbye.

The Gods smiled on me in that at the last minute, my friend Brian was able to help me make my big move to California. All of my belongings were in storage in Seattle so I had to load up a 16 foot trailer and then hitch my car onto a tow trolley on the back. I had convinced myself I could do it solo, and I am sure I could have, but driving it the 1300 miles with Brian there made it a lot easier. We left Seattle right at rush hour on a Tuesday (bad idea) and headed south on I-5 for what would be the next 1,347 miles and almost exactly 48 hours. We drove through my old homes of Vancouver and Medford then past my old homes of Santa Cruz and Watsonville and into my new home of San Diego. We stopped 2 times to sleep, 7 times for gas and 1 time for an over heated engine.

 

That long in a car gives you lots of time to think. I thought a lot about this new life that I am starting here in San Diego and what I want for it. I thought about how stupid it really is to ask people where they are from. If you want to get to know someone new, why not ask them where they've been, what they've learned, and where they are going next. Yea, I am from (born in) Medford, but what does that tell you about me? I thought about why people would tailgate someone driving a 16 foot trailer and towing a car. I thought about delicious Chinese food.

 

I wish I could tell you that things here in SD are wonderful, but I can't. At least not yet. I feel pretty miserable here so far and I really have no one to blame but myself. I have put myself in situations where I knew my heart would be hurt and it has. I made my expectations of people and life too high and I have been disappointed. I keep telling myself that things will get better "if" and "when"...now I guess I just have to wait. I feel like I don't belong here but I'm not sure where I belong. I feel like all the things I had hoped for in my new life in sunny southern California don't exist. I thought I had everything figured out but I don't. I feel alone in crowds and like an outsider among friends. This new home isn't home yet.

 

Despite how totally wretched this update is, I know some of you usually really like my blogs so this is for you: I am no longer going to be mass emailing my life stories. If you are on MySpace you already know you can get them there. The other option is to get the blogs from my blog site. That is http://rachaeltarshes.blogspot.com/  You don't have to be a member to read my blogs on Blogspot and you can have them sent directly to your email if you don't want the hassle of coming to the site to check to see if I have anything amazing to say. (Usually not.) As I am still without my own computer, I can't update pictures and might send out one more mass email once that is done for those of you who want to see my last trips in Asia.

Re-re-reculturalization

Spending a week in Japan before coming back to the States was definitely a way of easing myself back into American culture. Granted Japan is quite different from China, but not as shockingly different from the US.

The first thing I noticed about Japan is how quiet it is. I heard literally one car horn the entire week I was there, people's cell phones don't ring in public, you can't hear anyone else's music, and when people are speaking to each other you have to strain to hear what they're saying. Almost 12.6 million people live in Tokyo but you'd never guess it - it's clean, quiet, and often not crowded. The Tokyo metropolitan area is composed of 23 wards and the outlying areas consist of 27 separate cities, 4 island districts, and 1 county.  Heather and I spent our first 2 nights in Japan in the Asakusa area of Tokyo which lies just northeast of the main Tokyo subway station. The main points of interest in those few day were the Imperial Palace East Gardens which contain the ancient remains of Edo Castle, Meiji Shrine (the first of many Shinto shrines), the famous Harajuku area, and the Sapporro Beer Museum. The shrine was probably the most interesting as I don't know much about Shinto religion...if it can be called that. Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan that is a collection of folk rituals and practices that have been mixed with ancient myths associated with the forerunners of Japan's imperial family. One of the biggest differences is that in Shinto, there are heaps of gods who are believed to live in the natural world.This "heap" includes local spirits and global gods/goddesses.These gods are often enshrined in...you guessed it, shrines. They can be formal buildings for gods/esses or rocks/trees/etc that are believed to contain spirits. Every day people can also be believed to be/contain gods if they do great deeds during their lifetimes. Shinto didn't actually have its' name until it was needed to distinguish it from the imported Japanese religion of Buddhism (around the 6th century).

The third day we took a bullet train to Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital and home to over 17 UNESCO sites and 1.5 million people. Kyoto didn't give me quite the impression I was expecting after reading about it in the LP. They claim it to be a culturally rich city that ranks with the likes of Paris, London, and Rome. Maybe we didn't go to the right spots. What we did see was Nishi Hongan Temple (home of the Jodo Shin-shu school of Buddhism), the Fushini-Inari Shrine (dedicated to the gods of rice and sake),  and the Yasaka Shrine (Gion neighborhood guardian is enshrined here). The Inari shrine was the most interesting as it had huge red-orange archways called torii lining a 4km pathway up the surrounding mountain. In general I felt that Buddhist temples in Japan were quite boring, painted in bland tones of white and brown and without much decoration. This is in stark contrast to the bold red and yellow temples of China. Inside the temples there was often some decorations but still sparse. Before we left Kyoto we also saw the Kiyomizudera Temple (silver roofed but a let down), the Ginkakyju Temple (where we walked through the dark and touched a Buddha belly to simulate our rebirth into a world free of our previous sins), the Kinkakuju Temple (covered in actual gold). We diligently stalked all the areas where geisha's were supposed to be easily spotted but alas saw none.

For Heather's last night in Tokyo we hit up the supposedly hot social scene of Roppongi, took a gander at the Tokyo Tower (modeled after the Eiffel Tower), and checked out the bird's eye view of the city from Tokyo City View. The City View was quite disappointing because the ticket included other attractions withing the tower that we couldn't do and 1/4 of the 360 degree walk around view was closed for a private party. The next morning we went to Senso-Ji Temple near our hostel and checked out the surrounding bazaar. The temple got its fame for housing the golden image of Kannon, the Buddhist God of Mercy (which has never been verified) and was supposedly fished out of a river by two fisherman.

After Heather left that afternoon I headed to the crazy shopping area of Ameyoko Arcade (the city's famous post-WWII black market area) and wandered through the Ueno Park (Tokyo's first public park). I then took a train west of Tokyo to Kawaguchi-ko  city on on of the 5 lakes that surrounds Mt. Fuji. While Fuji isn't still covered in snow, the weather at the top is still below freezing so I didn't climb it. The next morning I took a cable car up to a vantage point and saw what could be seen. It's infamous for being covered in clouds so I made it just in time. On the way back down from the cable car, the clouds moved over the peak and down the mountain and it stormed.

While heading back to Tokyo, I stopped in Yokohama, Japan's 2nd largest city with almost 3.6 million residents. It had a population of about 600 when it was made an international port in the late 1800's. I went mainly just to check it out and visit its Chinatown but also got to ride on its Ferris wheel  - one of the largest in the world. The Chinatown was lame and the Chinese food I bought was terrible. Yes, I already missed Chinese food.

The next day I was scheduled to leave Japan in the late afternoon so I hopped on the train one last time and headed south again to the tiny city of Kamakura (another ancient capital city) and saw its Giant Buddha or Daibutsu, which is 11.8 meters tall and made totally of bronze. Its original temple was washed away by a tsunami but the Buddha remains just sitting on a platform in the middle of a park.

My departure from Japan was terrible as I caught the wrong train to the airport and it took me almost 3 hours to get there. I arrived less than an hour before my flight and had to rush to the gate. I didn't sleep the whole ride and there were only 2 movies to watch - one of which I had already seen. My flight was delayed and the food was also quite terrible. However I did arrive safely back on American soil so I should be happy about that.

I am now spending my time doing much of nothing while I should be preparing for my exam next week. Hopefully San Diego will provide me with a job, a place to live, and a passing score. What more could a girl ask for.

At this time, I am sorry to report that I have no current pictures as I am without my own computer so you will just have to wait with baited breath.

CD313: Leaving China

My final goodbye to the Motherland was unceremonial to say the least and rushed for sure. The cruise on the Yangtze was amazingly beautiful at times while being incredibly disturbing in general. Almost everything we did or saw was presented by a local guide as being provided by the Yangtze 3 Gorges Dam Project.

"There was an ancient minority village here but now it is underwater. Thanks to the dam the villagers now live in nice new houses much higher up on the hill."

"This use to be a fishing village but now thanks to the dam, there are no fish left in the water so the fishermen/women now work in constructing new villages."

The dam itself is immense. Words can't really express its physical size. It is set to be finished next year and fully operational by 2011. In the end, it will produce 22,500 megawatts of energy. It was initially predicted to supply energy to 10% of China's people, but now with the growing population, it will provide only 5%. It will reduce the coal consumption by 31 million tons per year which in turn reduces 100 million tons of greenhouse gases, millions of tons of dust, 1 million tons of sulfur dioxide, 370 thousand tons of nitric oxide, 10 thousand tons of carbon dioxide, and a significant amount of mercury from being released into the atmosphere. It also will also require the relocation of over 2.3 million people. in October of last year, the government said that they are suggesting another 4 million people who live near the dam should also be moved. Over 1,300 archaeological sites have been flooded, 80% of the land in the area is experiencing erosion which is causing 40 million tons of sediment to slide into the river every year, 172 species have become endangered and at least 3 are believed to be extinct.

At the end of the tour we stopped in a city called Yichang which lies 40km south of the dam. We went to the city museum, which was made possible by the dam water's flooding of a small island which was an ancestral burial ground for the Ba people - who lived some 3000 years ago and have no written history so very little is known about them. The most troubling thing was that the tour of the museum ended in a room filled with treasures...ancient, priceless, burial relic treasures which the government is willing to sell because they need money for the development of relocation cities.

After the cruise I meant Heather back in Shanghai. We spent 3 nights there and the weather was miserable most of the time. Torrential rain and crazy humidity don't make for good times. I did get to see some new sites, namely the Jade Buddha Temple and  YuYuan Bazaar which I didn't have time to see before. After Shanghai we headed south to Hangzhou. Sadly, the weather there wasn't much better. After 2 nights we came back to Shanghai for one last night in China before heading East. Our time wasn't really spent doing much of interest...we did put together a 3-D wooden carp puzzle which amused us for a while.

Early this morning we headed to the airport not realizing we'd be stuck in the middle of rush hour. It took over an hour and a half to travel the 50km to the airport and Heather almost missed her check-in time. While waiting on the tarmac for air traffic to clear i realized i was leaving China, perhaps for good. While it seems like i have been waiting for this day it some how managed to sneak up on me and i realized it didn't seem to matter as much as I expected as my excitement for Japan and then the US over shadowed any feelings of sadness.

We are now in Tokyo and my initial impressions of Japan are limited: clean, quiet, orderly.  I of course will have more to say once I see more and I am sure that will happen in the week that I am here. No pictures will be updated until I return the the US however so these lowly words will have to do for now.