Livin la Vida Loca...en la Casa Victoria

The Trip

2009-01-03T03:16:00.009+01:00

In order to properly communicate my feelings and reflections on my recent trip, I think it is necessary to divulge some of the more important prior expectations. The basic intent was to travel from Quito down the whole continent to Santiago, Chile...by bus. The plan was to make two stops only to stay with friends in Guayaquil, Ecuador and in Lima, Peru. The other benefits were to be a ground view of the landscape and to save a lot of money on travel costs. With that naive perspective we set out the night of December 2nd on an overnight bus to Guayaquil.

That first bus ride, although it lasted only a short 6.5 hours, was a true revelation. We were introduced to all of the perils and horrors of bus travel as we sped down a two lane highway which descends the Andes. Char and I were the only passengers who didnt sleep a minute of the ride and when arrived we laughed at how startling the trip was. We both thought it was something of an exceptional feat how the driver managed not to get us killed. Being that we made the trip so dangerously fast we arrived before sunrise and before we could think about calling our friend Diego in the city. About 7am Diego came by the station and took us to his home. Diego, Viviana, and their two kids welcomed us very graciously. After a modest nap and some food the family left us to lounge poolside and shoot hoops all day in the warm sun.

We spent the entire afternoon right around here

We felt far away from Quito that first day even though we were just a few hours donw the road. That day and the next we spent with the Matheus family in much needed relaxation, sharing meals and exploring the city of Guayaquil. It was hard to leave Guayaquil after such a wonderful couple of days.

Diego, Viviana, Charlie, and myself

The trip to Lima from there was 26 hours as advertised, which is surprising. We slept, had intriguing company, and even enjoyed the meals. I awoke in the morning to to find ourselves in the middle of the world's driest desert (who knew it was in Peru?). The bus arrived in Lima early in the afternoon, unfortunately too late to connect with our friend in the city. So we hopped a cab to a hostel near the city's waterfront. We spent less than 24 hours in Lima but found it to be a nice place (or maybe I am just thinking fondly about the Starbucks we found there).

We departed the next afternoon in a Business Class bus in hopes of arriving in Santiago 52 hours later. To clarify, a Business Class bus should never be ridden for more than 10 consecutive hours. There was no comfort and no service and certainly no one was conducting business in that thing so I would say the title was misleading. The only saving grace was that we had maintained a positive attitude, and I dont think we fully appreciated how important that was. From Lima to Tacna, Peru (a border city) was 20 hours and we got off the bus and were told we had one hour before departure to Santiago. We ate quickly and found an internet locale which we used to write a few quick emails and to forget about how hopelessly lost we were in a South American desert. This was the point on the trip when we learned how easily a one hour break can turn into a five hour wait. We agonized over how little information and communication was taking place between the driver and the office attendant. All we were told was that the bus had been taken to "maintenance" and would be back soon. Soon does not mean soon in the sense that we know. Soon means whenever they feel like bringing the bus back. I think this is when we realized how much frustration we were going to encounter in the course of all the bus travel. I am still pretty sure our driver was just over at his mom's house having some beers or eating a casual meal.

However it happened the result was absolutely awesome. We boarded that bus as the ONLY two passengers for the remaining 32 hours to Santiago. We laughed for a good ten straight minutes out of excitement and surprise. We enjoyed almost the entirety of that bus ride because we had freedom to roam, we controlled all the DVDs (and put them in English - which cannot be overlooked), and the Chilean landscape looked a lot like California for the last 8 hours. We got into Santiago shortly after 11pm and were met immediately by Kellie Hicks and her surrogate family, los Loyola.

I think the best way to show Santiago and what we did there is to put it in pictures so here they are:

Karim and Carmen Loyola

Out to dinner, enjoying import beers...cant have that in Ecuador

Sushi dinner with Char, Kellie, Leo, and Kay

We taught Chileans the tradition of making ginger-bread houses...mine took 2nd place because they all copied my palm tree idea

A send-off lunch for our new friends Nelson and Barbara

Char and I were given specially made Christmas CDs by Comunidad Vida church

We paid a visit to the port city of Valparaiso to see another part of Chile

A famous house in Valparaiso

One of the many elevators which transport you around the city

Valparaiso neighborhood

There is too much to describe in Santiago and so the photos will tell the story. We met a number of great new friends and got to be a part of a really special community for a week. The weather was beautiful and it was an unforgettable time. The only problem was we had another 4 days of bus travel ahead of us.

The trip back was significantly more difficult than the trip there. We didnt have any exotic destination and we knew how much desert we had to endure. To make matters more thrilling we experienced two bus breakdowns and much more traffic on the way home. Charlie and I were so beyond frustrated that we could not even communicate with one another. We simply endured the return trip and tried to remember how great Santiago was. By the time we got home to Quito (at 3am on the morning of December 23rd) we were so exhausted emotionally and physically that we are still recovering. The trip was well worth the entire array of experiences but it was not all fun by any means. When we continually are asked to describe our trip we have resorted to calling it an adventure, and I think that is what best captures the whole experience.

Happy New Year!

On the Road

2008-12-20T17:27:00.002+01:00

Charlie and I have been on the road for a few weeks and are winding down the last few days of this "vacation". I will be posting a Christmas edition blog summarizing the many crazy encounters that we have had on this journey.

Don Sixto

2008-11-15T14:41:00.005+01:00

This last week was perhaps less eventful than the prior two weeks, but life in Casa Victoria is never bland. On Friday night the 7th of November we had what was essentially a board meeting for Casa Victoria to usher in the new director and to appoint new honorary positions of leadership. We met at the home of former president of Ecuador - Sixto Duran Ballen. He is the father of the home's owner, mama Alicia. Sixto and his wife Fina were extremely hospitable and friendly, they are truly loved here in Ecuador because of their warmth. We were told that to get to his home you only need to find a older cab driver and just tell them "To Sixto's house". This didn't work and we spent the about 10 minutes trudging through the rain to actually find the house. It is in a very normal, non-pretentious part of town. While the meeting went well, it was mostly administrative and not too interesting. Afterward, however, Sixto and I hung out and conversed for a few minutes. He gave me one of his personal cigars which is labeled "Don Sixto". Here is a photo of the man and me:

Wednesday of this last week we then hosted a breakfast for the Ecumenical council of pastors that have gotten together to unite the church of Quito for over 11 years. It has long been a dream of the directors to share our ministry and home with this council in hopes that it can better connect us with the larger community. About 25 total attendees made it and we received numerous compliments about the home and the program. Here is what the dining room looked like:

The week then ended shockingly and the majority of the last two days have been spent glued to the internet and Skype trying to find out about the tragic fire in Santa Barbara. It has been difficult to try and make sense of this from so far away. It is just unthinkable that so many friends have lost their homes and my heart goes out to them. I wish there was something that I could do but from here I can just send sympathies and prayers. Being that the community is just waking up to these realities much more prayer will be needed. I am very thankful that my home was spared but many more friends were not so lucky. The Montecito community does not often need to reach out for help but this is one time where there is much vulnerability. Casa Victoria sends thoughts and prayers.

Long Overdue

2008-11-07T21:26:00.004+01:00

Seeing that it has been just about one month since my last post there is much to be covered. I can promise no coherent structure and I can't mention everything but here is what La Vida Loca has looked like over the last 4 weeks.

We invited a new member into the home about three weeks ago. His name is Ivan and he is by far our youngest member at 17. He is also the only guy in the house with a girlfriend so I guess the age thing doesn't matter much. He has been a great addition to the home and he is soaking in everything very well. He is somewhat the archetype candidate for the house because he comes in with great people skills and lots of maturity. He can potentially come out of this experience with great leadership abilities and we are all excited about his presence here. His arrival also spells the end of a short tenure for Ricardo who moved in the week after Char and I. Ricardo has some pressing financial needs that have required him to get a job and look for a place to live outside the house. His addition here was really valuable and he will be missed.

Just in the last week the house has acquired a new director named Carolina Bueno. It is a very exciting time of transition and it will bring about many good changes. Jose Luis and Carolina are excited and grateful as they are busy enough with their 2 year-old daughter Julia Isabel and work demands. They are largely responsible for the success of this house both structurally and idealistically and they will remain involved on a more casual level. The timing is great though for the new director. New vision and energy is always a good thing. Carolina will spend 40 hours a week in the house involving herself in all of the activities and implementing new strategies. This all begins this week.

Two weeks ago Char and I took a day trip to a friend's plantation in the rain forest zone to the west of Quito. The drive took about 2 hours and saw us descend from 10,000 feet to almost 2,000 feet. The landscape was rugged and awesome. The plantation itself was like nothing we had ever seen. He has more than 6,000 African Palms planted between wild jungle which produce the fruit responsible for conventional cooking oil. We got to relax in his pool, swim in the river, eat rotisserie chicken which probably was anything but safe, and fine dine at Arasha (a premier resort near his property). Being that it was the first trip we had taken, Char and I were especially appreciative to our friend Maurizio for generously sharing his home with us.

Just this past weekend we then made our way to Naranjito 235, home pueblo of former Casa V resident Lenin Pavon. We have been spending a good deal of time with Lenin of late and he was really eager to share his home and family with us. Char and I were very excited to get to know the place as it came very highly recommended. We left Saturday morning and arrived by 5pm. The hike into the village from the main road is about 15 minutes and we arrived to a driving rain and a mud covered path. No one fell but we got to Lenin's house thoroughly soaked and with mud-covered shoes. It was a humorous way to start the weekend. We spent the night playing guitar and drinking "el beso del diablo" (the most intense liquor that I have yet tried) with Lenin's extended family. In the morning we awoke to roosters and dogs going crazy, and it was only 430am. We got up later and ate a humble breakfast before gearing up and heading out to hike the mountain behind the village. We left by about 1030am and climbed all the way through the fresh mud to the peak. We were completely exhausted at the top and the three of us shared one beer to celebrate the achievement and the incredible view of the valley. The descent was much drier and faster but very difficult given the severity of the trail. We also got back to find that Lenin's brother had drank all the cold beer that morning with a friend so we were bummed. (The water is not good to drink in the village so beer is the new water when there). The weekend was phenomenal and it proved to be the polar opposite experience of the previous weekend. We ate the same soup for every meal (not breakfasts) and just spent time conversing. We played soccer, drank more "beso del diablo", shared about ourselves, and just generally enjoyed great fellowship with genuinely loving people. The generosity of these people who have next to nothing is an incredible thing.

Charlie and I have been cultivating a great new friendship with the neighborhood baker and his family over the last two weeks. Charlie spent nearly 10 hours with the family last friday helping make bread kids (GuaGuas in quichua) and all the guys in the house took turns lending a hand. the experience really endeared us to the family and we have since eaten with them twice and spent probably at least an hour a day hanging in the bakery getting to know them. We are planning a fishing trip with Edwin (the baker) and then a potential trip to Cecilia's (the wife) home town to meet her family and see another part of Ecuador. They have been exceedingly welcoming and generous to us as well and we are so excited to bring them into Casa V to know the whole house. On friday afternoon we made pizza in his bakery and had their family over to eat it with us and it was a phenomenal time. Just know that Edwin makes the best bread in Quito and if you come to visit you will have a friend in the barrio.

Yesterday, the gringos played in the Quito Turkey Bowl which is hosted by the Alliance Academy, a school in the north of town which has most of the missionary kids and American families living in Quito. Jon, Char, and I played for the Youth World team which comes highly respected due to years of success. We played four games of flag football over about 7 hours and eventually lost in the championship to the teahcers of the Academy. Lots of men went down due to injury but nothing too serious. As I am wiriting this you should know that all three of us are in a world of pain from sore muscles and aching joints. It was a gringo-filled day and it was a great networking opportunity for Casa Victoria among the giants of ministry here in Quito.

On the horizon we have several large plans. On Nov. 24th we have the arrival of Chris and Angela Bouma, a couple from Washington DC who are coming to serve for 1 year in the home. They are great friends with Los Eshleman and having another woman in the house will be a great blessing for Anita. On that same day we have Byron and Robyn Beck arriving for a short visit and we plan on showing them a great time. A few days after their arrival we are going to head out via bus to Chile for about 3 weeks. We are going to stop along the way in Lima and Guayaquil and on the way back we hope to climb Machu Pichu. More to come on that in the coming weeks as we still have no definite plans in place. Look for a new blog next week as well, but in the meantime watch Char's video blogs at his site www.charbeck.blogspot.com. Ciao from Quito.

Photos

2008-10-11T04:40:00.008+02:00

Char and I upon arrival to Mariscal Sucre Airport

Casa Victoria from the front entrance

This is Char doing what he does best...eat dessert

Dinner with Eshes, Char, and the Landreths

Me...thousands of feet above the world and inches from death

Char's head stitches were the focus of much attention...and laughter

But he still takes his photography this seriously

Of course the bowling had to be documented

Anna's birthday dinner...this chocolate dessert put the Eshes down for the count

As always please visit the blog links on the right for even more information about Casa V and what kinds of shenanigans we are getting involved in.

Reality Check

2008-10-01T05:42:00.003+02:00

Yesterday was an unusual day for us here at Casa Victoria. We were in the midst of our normal schedule of morning tasks when we were shocked by the sound of gunshots just outside of the house. Esteban got to the balcony first to find a man laying the street motionless. The man had been gunned down in broad daylight by another man to whom he was in debt. The scene was utterly surreal as almost fifty people stood around the man as he died. Children were among the first reactors the incident and there was no censorship at all. This man's death was a stark reminder or how vastly different this part of the world is to the one that we know at home. Below are a few photos of the shocking scene.

The Diarrhea Dialogues

2008-09-25T23:31:00.002+02:00

For those of you brave enough to read this it should be a pleasure. I guess I should mention that diarrhea is a really common conversation topic down here. While dissension is rampant right now in the midst of a heated debate over a new constitution, diarrhea is perhaps the greatest uniting principle in this city. I know of no other aspect of life, in this barrio at least, which is more commonly understood. Casa Victoria has met this phenomenon head on in the past two weeks. Anita came down with some very unfriendly amoebas and was bed-ridden for two days until she was able to go to the hospital and receive some heavy-duty medicines. Jon then came down with a cold and a subsequent diarrhea stint as Anita came back around to full health. Char is working on week two of a lingering sore throat and he has had a couple of diarrhea cameos in that time. I had one day of stomach awkwardness that included several ventures to the toilet as well. Meanwhile the Ecuadorian housemates are healthier and happier than ever. They must think we are a weak country with all the illnesses and ailments that we bring up each day. Suffice it to say we are taking on everything that this country has to to offer the digestive system and we are paying the price at times. But this is a very small part of what has been happening here, let me share the good stuff too...

Movie Night - Last Friday night we gave an open invitation to the neighbors to join us for a free presentation of Life is Beautiful. We cleared out the dining room and set up the projector screen and chairs for the film. The expectation was that between 5 and 20 people would show up. In a matter of ten minutes we had 30+ neighbors (mainly kids) packed into the room as we had to turn away all other comers. The movie was great and we had an intermission for free popcorn and soda for all the viewers. After the movie Javier (a housemate) gave a small address about the movie's theme and about our mission at Casa Victoria. The event was a huge success...and the floor was a huge mess afterward but we felt good about providing at the very least some shelter and safety for the kids who were certainly headed for no good otherwise.

The Mago - The following day we hosted a little magic show for all the willing children in the neighborhood. Due to some miscommunication not many kids were informed and the crowd was small. Once again food was provided and the show happened to coincide with the largest rainstorm that I have seen thus far in Quito. Everyone enjoyed the show and especially the fact that we stayed dry through the storm. El Mago has been invited back and assured of a larger audience for his next show here at the house.

Club de Ninos - Every Wednesday we have a "Club de Ninos¨ and a ¨Club de Madres¨ so that basically each of them can have a break from the other. It is supposed to be just an hour but it always runs a little long and usually for the kids it includes some drawing and a video. It always ends with Char and I chasing the kids around the hallway. It turns into absolute bedlam for about twenty minutes at the end of the club and we can hardly push the kids out of the door when it is time to go. It is a great release for the kids and it is a rare time for the madres to have with peers in order to share thoughts-complaints-celebrations-questions or to just talk about life. Wednesday afternoons the house is completely full and running at its best.

Clases de Ingles - Tuesday and Thursday afternoon Charlie and I become profesores for an hour as we teach English to the housemates and several faithful madres from the neighborhood. For many of them not even a word of English is familiar, or if one is they have no idea how to pronounce it correctly. We are starting from total scratch with the class and we are still reviewing the very basics now 5 classes into the ¨semester¨. Charlie and I have a hard time keeping it together when someone tries to pronounce ¨which¨ but it comes out bitch. The rest of the room doesn't get it but we have a pretty good laugh anyways.

Visita Vecinos - Tuesdays and Thursdays are the days when we are scheduled to go out a "meet the neighbors". Many of the neighbors are coldly uninterested about meeting the house and about us, but if for nothing else they at least get to learn why there are gringos walking around the neighborhood during the days. For a good lesser number of them they love meeting us a sharing every complaint they have about the neighborhood and its other residents. Because we are a foundation they feel it is our job to deal all the municipal problems like the trash piles, the urine "problem", and the noise polution. By urine "problem" of course I mean the entire city smells like urine. This is probably due to the fact that men will urinate anywhere and any time throughout the day without the slightest bit of shame. So naturally as a foundation we have to find the solutions to these things. Believe me, we would love to solve all of these problems. We do, at times, encounter a nice neighbor who supports the fact that we are trying to help the neigborhood. These are the neighbors that we can wave at as we leave the house and they will return a warm greeting. It is these people who make it feel like home here in Quito.

In between all of these activities we continue to explore Quito and to get to know the locals. We are teaching them how to throw a frisbee, how to be on time, how to mop a floor, and how to speak english. They are teaching us spanish, how to deal with the community, and how to undrestand their culture. We are not far from being here one month and we have so much more to see and experience. Plus we have some travels upcoming...

Chillando

2008-09-16T00:23:00.001+02:00

So I am not the most faithful blogger, that much we can all agree on. To my defense I have been busy. It feels like I have been here for a month already because every day is so full and we have had so many people come through the house. As I am writing this the guests have left the house and it is just seven of us here. The squad includes: Jon and Anna Eshleman (the house parents), Javier Cuchipe, Esteban Jaramillo, Ricardo Navaraez, Charlie Beck, and myself. During the day we have an accountant, librarian, handy-man, and contractor here to maintain and improve the house. Now that it is just us here, we have developed a consistent schedule which looks something like this.

Breakfast - 8am
Kitchen and house clean-up - 9am
Required reading time - 10am
Morning meeting - 1030am
Lunch - 130pm

Those are the established activities for the house and depending on the days we play sports together, walk the neighborhood, or do house chores. At some point each day we have free time and that usually falls in the afternoon and evening. Being that we are in Ecuador the schedule is questioned and manipulated almost daily. This is not a culture of planning and following through in the long term. The guys we have in the house are awesome guys, each one is at least 3 years my senior. They all have their own outside pursuits which requires their attention away from the house. For part of each day it is just gringos here and thus a lot of English is spoken. So much so that we have begun teaching English classes to all the willing members of the home and community.

I have been cooking, gardening, and painting around the house. I have also been commissioned to help in the library in preparation for the October 1st grand opening. In reality I have not pulled my weight with this assignment but I will be working more in there this week. I have taken a select few photos around the house and of the city (having a photographer in the house takes away all motivation). I will post photos in the coming days...Adios

La Primera Semana

2008-09-04T16:40:00.002+02:00

A few really noteworthy things have occurred already in the house even though we are just a week in. Charlie already got a lecture from both Ecuadorian house-mates about the bad language that he always uses. He didnt mind of course because as he said, "I just love using bad words in Spanish too much". More fireworks to come soon I am sure.

The house alarm went off twice last night which is pretty startling. We average a break-in every three weeks according to those in the know so there is cause for concern when it is triggered. In these cases there was no break-in but rather doors left unlocked and the alarm system decided not to respond to it until the wee hours of the night. Also, the alarm company called at 530am to ask if everything was OK, a mere two hours after the incidents. What a tremendous display of the punctual nature of this country.

Lastly, Charlie and I went mattress shopping yesterday and met an effervescent salesman named Xavier Guzman. Xavier was very helpful but took a massive fall. While trying to retrieve a mattress off a children's bunk-bed set Xavier fell, hit a coffee table and slammed onto the floor, hitting his back. He bounced right back up as if nothing happened but Charlie and I had to get out of there in order to laugh. We got his business card and I should call him today to make sure both ego and body are in full health. Xavier, thanks for the memories.

As far a the living situation goes, every day is very different. We always eat breakfast as a house at 8am. The day workers (accountant, librarian, handy-man) arrive about 9am. We have down time or reading time thereafter and we try to meet every day in order to learn each other's schedules. Mostly we try and leave the house for a little while before lunch (at about 1pm) but sometimes we just do cleaning and odd-jobs for the few hours in between. Afternoons often include tourist activity or trips to the market. We have not yet seen much of tourist Quito but we have ventured the city on buses and we are quickly acclimating to the altitude and the layout of the place. The house is good health but changes are taking place daily. We have a guest bedroom which would love to welcome any visitor at all. Go to the house website at www.casavictoria.blogspot.com to check the newly renovated guest space! For pictures see www.charbeck.net.

Labor Day

2008-09-01T20:22:00.003+02:00

Now that I have spent a couple of days here I can report just a couple of things.
-The home is very large and really an oasis in what is a pretty rough neighborhood.
-The people we live with are great (although three of them got out of dodge right when we arrived). The home is cared for by all of us who live here but is mainly directed by the Patrones Jon and Anna Eshleman who are here for about a year.
-The weather has been un poco frio and looks to only be getting more cold (we're talking mid-50s right now so not freezing or anything)
I still will be adjusting to daily routines and my role here at the house but every day will include at least some home maintenance, some reading, and some adventure. This is the real third world and we gringos really don't blend in too well. It will take time for the neighborhood to adjust to another gringo and prove to them our intentions are to help. With time it will happen...more to come soon.

I'm Back

2008-08-29T21:14:00.002+02:00

I have relocated to a new spanish speaking country and I will be sharing some details of this trip in the coming days.....until then: Vayan con Dios!

Dia 3: Road Trip

2006-12-24T17:59:00.000+01:00

Tuesday morning we checked out and hit a breakfast of cafe con leche and toast at a place in a shopping center. The rest of the team was surprised to see breakfast be so casual (aka unfilling) so they grabbed some pastries and more coffees as we went back to the car. En route to Granada, we were set on stopping in Ronda and Antequera. Both places are out of the way, but came highly recommended by friends and people in the know.

The drive to Ronda was spectacular. We passed through endless plains, rolling hills, and beautiful mountains. The Alfa Romeo was eating up the terrain and we discovered (to our delight) that kilometers pass much more quickly than miles, and that 150kph seems to be the common highway speed. The 160 kilometers to Ronda were a pleasure to behold, and April even stayed awake the whole time!

So we got to Ronda and were immediately enchanted. We saw its small-town charm and the excellent Christmas decorations which lined their streets as we drove in. We parked the car and went exploring. We encountered the Bullring, which stands as the center of the city. Ronda is the official home of the modern bullfight, and its Plaza de Toros sits magnificently at the edge of a large cliff.

The whole town sits hundreds of feet above a valley

Apes and I in front of the Plaza de Toros

Ronda did not take very long to become one of my favorite spots in the whole country. I have been around to nearly every part and its charm is altogether unique. It boasts of an incredible bridge uniting the towns two sides, which lie on opposite sides of a vast ravine. Take a look at this thing...

Despite its many charms and its friendly people, Ronda could not hold us back. Further adventure called. Off we were to Antequera, and equally isolated pueblo, which we were told was a tremendous example of authentic Spanish life. The road to Antequera was equally beautiful but infinitely more curvy. Dad really let loose and let the Alfa Romeo prove its valor. Mom and I enjoyed the ride, but April got sick and willed herself back to sleep to avoid the agony.

Our Antequera arrival came just minutes after sundown, but we had enough time to drive to the top of town and survey its beauty. It was very impressive and very authentic (something which is increasingly difficult to find here). We really only had time for a quick walking tour and then one last drive the town to see the Christmas lights. Here are some photos.

Now, ideally I would write that we left and Antequera and simply cruised into Granada for the night. Ideally. What really happened was that we found the general area of our hotel, but then spent two hours trying to get the car there (with no success). As fate would have it our hotel was located in the Albaicin, a district of town designed to not allow cars on its streets. Its a fun idea, I admit, but when you are trying to unload luggage and find parking this is a nightmare. Much like our Rastro experience in Madrid, we gave up and found a different place. After all that frustration and anxiety it was hard to remember the fun that the day provided. But life went on, and so did the trip.........

Dia 2: Sevilla

2006-12-22T12:26:00.000+01:00

In the words of April Ludwick:

We woke up in the beautiful city of Sevilla on the second day and headed downstairs to catch a light breakfast before we would head out for a filled day. Seth had made plans for us to go to the La Giralda Cathedral (which is the largest in the entire world). I didn't know what to think of this day, as Seth was explaining it, because I knew that if we were going to any place of great historical value I would either be lectured about it or quizzed on it by Dad. So we ventured out into the freezing and hectic city to walk through the shops and head toward the general area of the Cathedral.

Is this car for real? They are everywhere here!

This morning stroll included many sketchy looking men staring at us, cigarette smoke everywhere, and many road crossings. (Just as a side note, many of you know that I am driving now and have 2 months of experience under my belt, meaning that I am more aware of other drivers when I am on the streets). Spanish drivers have little common sense when driving, which is apparent when they break every rule that is laid out (including street signs, speed limits, lights, people walking across the street, etc.). They enjoy using their horns as often as possible, even if there is nothing going on around them. Anyways, we ended up getting to the Cathedral in one piece, luckily dodging the cars as they ran through the crosswalks when we were walking, and then honked at us like we were in their way. The trip moto, that Seth recites daily, is "Be Bold" and stare the drivers in the eye as you walk in front of them to let them know who is master.

On the way my mom and I would stop in almost every store and peak around at the Spanish styles, try a few things on, and then move on. Meanwhile I don't know what Seth and dad were doing but when we walked out of the stores they would be sitting on a bench with cigars in their mouths and one leg crossed over the other, and trying to look "authentic."

We reached the Cathedral and were completely taken aback. It was gigantic and very different from any ancient historical building I had ever seen.

La Giralda tower, attached to the Cathedral

To enter it we had to walk through these stone tunnels and rooms that were dated back to the year 500. I was a little uneasy with the fact that we were walking through a room that was built 1500 years ago, but soon forgot my fear when we entered the Cathedral. It was hard to take in; the ceiling stretched up 200 feet and had carved detail that looked like lace. It was all held up by ten enormous pillars that had designs that looked like professional doodling. There were little room cut outs with historical facts about what the rooms were used for and who was buried in them. We got to see the place where Christopher Columbus was buried in the church as well as many other people and popes. As we were taking hundreds of pictures we noticed that there was a large group of people sitting in the back of the church in pews. We looked and saw that there was a wall of gold deigns and statues and crosses. Seth told us that it was the largest altar in the world. We walked over to sit and look but couldn't move. We sat and took pictures, just trying to take it all in, for probably 15 minutes. Then Seth told us that they had the King's and Queen's crown in a near room so my mom and I made a b-line for the room that he pointed to. The King's crown consisted of 10,000 diamonds, and probably thousands of rubies and emeralds. This experience was truly amazing and something we will never forget.

Dia 1: Ludwicks in Spain

2006-12-18T16:29:00.000+01:00

Sunday Dec. 17th

Welcome to day one of the Ludwick Family (minus half our members) Christmas in Spain vacation. We will be trying to blog the experience for our (many) reader's pleasure.

I arrived at the airport at 8:40am, to find that the trip's first curveball had been thrown; the crew (Dad, Mom, April) would be arriving 45 minutes later than scheduled, at 9:45. This was not be a big ordeal, but rather the first of many malfunctions which would keep us on our toes while touring this country. Part of my waiting process was spent listening to chanting and protests from people whose flights were canceled by AirMadrid. This airline crisis also resulted in hundreds of people sleeping strewn across the floor. But I digress...

By 9 o'clock I was already suffering from boredom and impatience, so I came up with an idea: to predict the appearances of Dad/Mom/April upon arrival. Here is what I wrote

*April's is very predictable, she will be wearing a minimum of three new items (exclusively purchased for Spain). Maybe more. One of these items will be her new boots, I would bet my life on it.

*Dad's is a bit more complex. I would normally go with the standard Hawaiian shirt tucked into blue jeans with cowboy boots. However, having given him significant warning of cold and cultural differences, I feel like he may be equipped accordingly. To be safe I am going with blue jeans, dress shirt, and sport coat (but I'm not throwing the cowboy boots out).

*Mom will also certainly be sporting her new gear, but not to April's extent. A couple new items (her new boots for sure), and her contact lenses! She will be looking beautiful any way she goes about it, so no further comment is needed.

They arrived at 9:45, but emerged from the baggage claim around 10:15 looking awake, excited, and ready to adventure.

I snapped this candid of Dad as he was exiting. Notice the excitement...and the inaccuracy of my prediction!

We went and got the rental car keys, and sat down for a quick coffee and breakfast (despite it being Saturday night according to their bodies). I should mention that my predictions were very mediocre, but I will chalk that up to not having seen them in four months.

The Alfa Romeo meets its match

Our next stop was the Rastro (flea market) in Madrid, before hitting the highway to Sevilla. I could spend numerous paragraphs describing the extent of to which the attempted Rastro visit failed, but I will leave you with a few details.

1.) We began our search for a parking spot at about 11:25am...by 1:15pm, after finding nothing (and I mean nothing), we ditched Madrid and the Rastro altogether.

2.) Dad was pulled over (just one hour into the visit!) for talking to me on the cell phone while driving. Fortunately for him the officer spoke no English, but he did understand "One hour off the plane from California". He was let go without any punishment.

3.) Let us just say the whole experience was entirely a nightmare, and it was 100 percent my fault. Having not driven in the city at all I was unaware of the scarcity of parking and the general confusion of the streets.

Finally out of town, and underway on our vacation, we were able to relax. April and Mom went to sleep quickly while Dad and I plugged away on the "Autovia del Sur" which was to take us directly to Sevilla. We stopped for lunch in Manzanares, where we found the only place open to eat on a Sunday afternoon.

Our first taste of Spain was here

After the meal we switched positions and I took the wheel. I felt great about driving once again, although I am unlicensed and doing so against the law. I powered us through the drive while Dad and April slept this time. April was awake for about twenty minutes of the six hour drive, a real road-tripper.

April...really soaking it all in

After a minor detour in Sevilla we arrived to our hotel just before 8pm. We were all quite tired and ready to settle in for the night. We ate dinner at the hotel, most of the time as the only guests in the restaurant. By 11pm we were all asleep and dreaming of the coming day's adventure.

Navacerrada

2006-12-15T18:39:00.000+01:00

Today I went hiking. It was the first form of legitimate exercise I have done since the last post, almost one month ago! Being that my semester ended on Wednesday, and that I am waiting (eagerly) for my parents and sister to arrive in Madrid on Monday, I had a few days to kill. My friend Matt and I had decided weeks ago on this hike, and so we spread the word. Turns out we recruited four of the world's finest people to join us. Audrey, Joel, and Allie (all students at Middlebury) and Alejandro (authentic Spaniard + our guide). We had a phenomenal time. Here are some of the highlights:

-Being truly fatigued after ten minutes. I am in the worst shape of my life and this hike wasn't necessarily the easiest. I was, however, able to make the whole venture without issue...but with lots of sweat.

From left to right: Joel, Allie, Audrey, Matt, Alejandro

Alejandro posing, Matt and Joel walking

I was there too!

-Taking our shirts off and getting wild in the snow. It wasn't extraordinarily cold, and having the shirt off was actually very refreshing. We also took a fun group photo on the stationary chair-lift as well.I wasn't lying, no shirts (Joel, Alejandro, Matt, Me)

For being in such bad shape it sure looks like I can still jump!

Hard to see, but its a sweet shot

-Eating Spanish tortilla and sharing a bottle of wine while overlooking Madrid and La Mancha. Alejandro's mom made tortilla for us and it was phenomenal. Throw in a bottle of authentic Spanish wine and it was extra special. Great food and great people is an unbeatable mix.

Little hazy, but you get the idea

So we all survived the hike (a few with minor injuries) without any bad incidents. We didn't run into any of the wild mountain goats, which I guess would be my only disappointment, but I cant complain. It will certainly be one of the most memorable days of my time here in Spain. Thank you Navacerrada.

End Note - This blog will be turned into a daily journal of our family trip through Spain during this Christmas time. Stay tuned and enjoy all of our fun(ny) moments. Feliz Navidad.

Davis Cup

2006-11-19T13:20:00.000+01:00

Last Thursday it was raining all day which was pretty disappointing. It was disappointing because Charbeck and I were planning on playing tennis on Friday. Friday morning, however, the sun was out and so tennis was in the forecast. About 130pm I tried calling the public sports facility near my house to reserve a court, but I got no answer like 5 times. I was frustrated but I told Char to come up my way regardless because we could just walk over there if they didn't pick up. Finally at 2pm (and on my sixth attempt) a guy picks up and I ask for a court reservation. Here is our conversation:

Me: "Hi, um, I would like to reserve a court for this afternoon please"
Other guy: "Nope, we don't have any today"
Me: "Really? No courts today?"
Other guy: "Nope, not until 2pm"
Me (confused): "Um, well its 2:05 right now?"
Other guy: "Ok, then just come over and you can get a court"

For me that was heartbreak and euphoria in 30 seconds, but for Spain that was just a normal conversation. Just a guy doing his job, and hating it the whole time.

So when Char shows up at about 2:20 we jog over to the facility to warm up, excited that we have a reservation. Or do we? I never left a name or anything so this should be fun. I go up to the window and begin telling the guy (who presumably I had talked to on the phone) that I was the one who called. He interrupts me to tell us that since we were delayed in getting there he gave the court to two other people. Heartbreak. So he lets the tragedy sink in and then says but you can go over to them and ask to play doubles, and I wont charge you. Euphoria. This must be the guy with whom I spoke on the phone, because he has mastered the art of playing with people's emotions.

So we find the court which he told us to go to (court 6) and find two Spanish kids our age playing. We also find out that the court is astroturf, but the kids are into playing doubles with us.

the court was not quite this bad, but pretty similar

We warm up, and make yet another discovery (besides the astroturf court being the worst surface ever): that the tennis balls are solid rubber, no air in the middle. So, we are not exactly playing tennis, but whatever it is it will be fun.

After the warm ups we get going, and I courteously tell them that they can serve first being that its their home court. By the way Charlie and I had them repeat their names twice and neither one of us had the slightest clue what their names are. So just for fun we will call them Juan-Manzi and Ecildo. That's actually the closest I can come to getting their names.

In any event, Juan-Manzi serves (saque en espanol) first and turns out to be a pretty wicked server. Add the fact that the ball bounces in any direction it wants, and returning becomes tough. I don't think we got a ball back that game. Then Char serves and we lose that game quickly. During the end of that game I came to the realization that this was more than just a casual tennis match. This was USA vs. Spain, this was a poor-man's Davis Cup. I even said it out loud to our opponents. It was then that we kicked in gear.

Down 2-0, Ecildo was serving and it turned out that he sucked, so we just began hitting it to him all the time. We win that game, we win my saque (pronounced saw-kay), and then we win Juan-Manzi's saque too! Things were looking really good for team America, up 3-2 with all the momentum in the world. I think I made some off the cuff remark to Char about not losing another point or something, but I was brimming with confidence. Then we lose Char's serve and we allow Ecildo to win his too! Darn! Were down 4-3 all of a sudden and were letting our country down.

I win my serve in a marathon game in which they had probably 10 break points, but Ecildo could not get my serve over the net. I almost was feeling badly, but I was not going to have mercy in such a big match. Then we win a big game on Juan-Manzi's serve and it looks like we have taken command again. So Char is serving for the match. We lose the first point and then on the second point Char hits me in the head with his first serve and proceeds to double-fault while giggling like crazy. We lose his service game badly, and then Ecildo holds serve again! I don't know how we are letting him win, he is really bad.

So the situation is 6-5 them, my serve. The clouds are rolling in and the match is reaching its climax. I can see the tiebreaker awaiting us. So I hit a couple of good serves, play a couple of bad points and so were now sitting at 30 all, pressure time. I step up to the line, bounce the ball a couple of times, wipe the sweat off my brow, and ready myself. Just then, two ladies walk on to our court and tell us that they have it reserved. Juan-Manzi says ok, walks to the bench and gets his stuff. I was stunned for like ten seconds, then I was pissed. We had two points to win to level the match and Juan-Manzi did not even protest. He just obediently walked off. The ladies were going to stretch and chat for 15 minutes anyways! So we literally got kicked off and Juan-Manzi graciously called it a "tie". Spaniards would settle for that crap. Char and I were in it to win it. It had to be one of the stranger Davis Cup matches of all time.

Granada

2006-11-13T12:31:00.000+01:00

So on Wednesday night I boarded a bus to Granada at about 8pm with four amigos (In picture from bottom: Dan Couch, Maggie Higgins, Tyler Karlen, Matt Hennessy). The bus ride had two highlights. The first was the movie we watched. The Edge with Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin. We spent the entire movie trying to predict every next move, and for the most part we were always wrong. Mix that movie with a group of fun-loving Spanish girls who decided it was an awesome idea to get silly drunk on a bus with no bathroom. For the last hour we heard a lot of the word "mear" (which to you unilingual crowd means "pee" in English). They also provided us with the pure entertainment of reading the English subtitles out loud. Good times.

So we get to the hostel after some taxi shenanigans and check in with Kevin, the French guy behind the desk. I am wondering whether Kevin's real name was not Kevin, kind of like when telemarketers from Bangalore call and say their names are Charles and Michael. Just wondering. So Kevin shows four of us to one room and then takes Matt to the room where he will be staying. Matt comes back and tells us that Kevin took him through some hall-way and to the "special-room". First of all I died laughing that Matt was taken to a "special-room" by a Frenchmen. (Not too worried about lots of French people reading this and getting mad). Then he tells me that upon entering there was a couple taking the liberty of getting relatively intimate on the adjacent bed. Who does that in a hostel? Anyways, I forgot to mention that the hostel is called the "Funky Backpacker". There is just not enough time to explain how fitting this name is so I will leave that to the imagination for now.

Thursday was Alhambra day. The whole day we went to the Alhambra and toured the Moorish quarter of town. Before our visit in the morning I stumbled upon a local newspaper which informed that the Alhambra is currently up for election as one of "The new 7 wonders of the world". It is one of only 21 world-wide sites, and the only one in Spain. That bit of news got me excited, but as I ran through the current 7 wonders that I knew of for sure I determined that the Alhambra would probably have to change my life to earn my vote. (Yes, voting is happening online for the new 7 wonders at the clever URL of www.news7wonders.com and it is a really fun site). I feel like the internet itself should be a wonder.

Sadly the Alhambra did not earn my vote. It was amazing and probably Spain's coolest site, but it isn't "wonder" worthy. Had they been giving out refreshments or t-shirts to promote the campaign I may have changed my mind.

So at night we meet up with Guillermo, a friend of Matt's, who is going to take us around Granada for the night. We go to a small alimentacion where the group is buying a couple of bottles of wine for an adventure on which we are about to embark. While in there I spotted something that I couldn't pass up. It was a bottle with a bandana tied around the neck. The only bandana colors to choose from where purple and orange...I got orange. It was three euros and I was gloating over my purchase. It turned out that the wine in the bottle was not wine at all. Whatever liquid was inside that bottle was not something that could sell itself (hence the bandana), but that was a lesson I learned after sip #1. I wore the bandana all night to justify the impulse decision that I had made in buying it.

About 230am Guillermo takes us to a club which is supposed to be tucked into a cave up in the mountains. I was not overly excited but I figured the spectacle was going to be worth it. We found the place and sure enough it was a cave, an empty cave. Upstairs there was a normal looking club/bar where the employees outnumbered the clubbers. Beginning to fall asleep, at 330am I went home to enjoy the comforts of the funky backpacker. Turns out that hostel is an acoustic masterpiece, and at all hours of the day too. It also turns out that good acoustics are just about the last thing you can appreciate while trying to sleep. But that is just one of the charming aspects of the "Funky Backpacker".

Sevilla

2006-11-13T11:09:00.000+01:00

We arrived Friday night at 7pm to Sevilla and had the same taxi driver issue. We get in the cab, tell him the street and the hostel name and he shakes his head, says I don't know that street. He then gets out, opens the door and orders us out. I was really pissed because these taxi drivers don't even know their own cities. So I call the hostel and tell ask them for something that the taxi can drop us by close to the hostel. So as the cab guy is taking our bags out of the trunk I tell him where to drop us and he says he knows where that is and lets us back in. Then he lectures me for five minutes on how I (along with every other American) closed my door too hard. All European cars are small and weak, and I guess I wasn't gentle enough. Other than the first 5 minutes of the cab ride he was really nice and I enjoyed what he had to say.

After we checked in and ate a 2 hour meal, we walked around the enormous cathedral and headed down to the river. Sevilla is the Spanish version of Paris.

The next morning we got up pretty early and began exploring the city. We walked through the Cathedral, the Royal Palace, and the Plaza de Espana. It was the nicest weather that I have yet encountered in Spain and one of the most fun days. We booked a flamenco show for the night time at a place called Los Gallos. All Spaniards complain that these places aren't "authentic" enough, and that it is watered down for dumb tourists. I couldn't tell the difference, I just loved the experience. The crowd was definitely pretty stiff and touristy, but Matt and I spiced things way up by initiating the loud Ole chants after impressive sections. You could tell the performers loved us for that. By the end of the show we had most of the place getting rowdy and shouting ole ole.

After the show we wandered aimlessly for 90 minutes before finding a dinner place that looked good and cheap. As it were, the table next to us was the Belgian Olympic team for 2008. They were celebrating having just qualified for the team that day, and drinks were in no shortage. The waitress for our table was waiting on them as well, and she was hating life. Europeans are just such boisterous people, even before drinking. At one point two Spanish girls came out of their apartment to simply take out the trash, and the next thing they know their getting cheered and jeered by a bunch of sleazy foreigners. I felt bad for Spain in general at that point because that is much of what Spain has become.

Dinner was over and half of our group went off to explore Sevillian nightlife and hit the town. We did not get far, and we certainly did not explore any nightlife. After about an hour we were nodding off so we went back to the hostel to get our beauty sleep.

The next day we cruised the city for a few more hours before catching a bus home. It was altogether one of the most fun weekends yet. The weather was perfect, my companeros were awesome, and the cities were very memorable. I will be very ready to go back down to Andalucia in December.

Real Madrid

2006-11-05T22:04:00.000+01:00

It had all the makings of being one of the most memorable nights of my stay here in Spain: my first Real Madrid game. Barcelona had just tied the night before and with a win Real would be tied for first place in La Liga (albeit very early in the year). Seven o'clock start time for the game so I met Jacobo Silva (my ticket connection) at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu at 6:45, enough time to find our seats and talk about the game before. When i got there i found Jaco right away and we got to our seats really quickly. Excellent seats, thirteen rows up, just about on mid-field. The stadium is awesome, overwhelming even. It holds 80,000 and it was fully sold out last week even though the Madrilistas were playing lowly Celta Vigo. The pregame chatter had been interesting because the media was reporting that Ronaldo and David Beckham were tired of not playing enough minutes and they thought the coach didnt like them. Ronaldo got to start the game which got everyone pumped, even though he is still obviously fat and lazy. Real gets some early chances and is playing a little impatiently through the first 25 minutes. There is a sense in the crowd though that Real will turn it on when it counts and get at least one goal before half-time. Then tragedy strikes, when midfielder Emerson tries a fancy move on the defensive end and gets striped of the ball and the sequence leads to a goal. The place was dead. Shocked, but not depressed. This team had won in the Bernabeu last year and it wasnt going to happen again was the attitude. So Emerson is getting horrendously booed every time he looks at the ball (which i thought was fine because the goal was all his fault) and Real is still playing impatient and not getting anything going. Then they lock in right before half and after a sequence of attacks and corner kicks, what do you know but Emerson heads one home and the place goes wild. Next time he touches the ball he practically gets a standing ovation (which i thought was ridiculous because he did nothing to set the play up, only got his head on it in a wide open lane). Halftime 1-1, no sweat, second half will be all Madrid. Wrong, Real comes out and the game flows much like the first half, attacks from both sides. Ronaldo goes out, Van Nistelrooy, Beckham and Reyes come in. This is our star lineup (but not the coaches favorite). We get some nice build-ups then nothing comes of it. Its getting late in the game and literally the exact instant when Reyes steals the ball from a Vigo player and decides to make a decisive counter attack he gets picked and the guy sets up a perfect ball to his teammate in the box who buries it for the game winner. 81st minute 2-1 Celta Vigo, the people are so pissed. Not even shocked, just pissed. Everytime a Real Madrid player touches the ball they are booing and hissing. It was super disappointing. Even more disappointing is that i probably wont get invited back for a game after being a bad luck charm tonight. It was an unbelievable experience but Real made two big mistakes and got burned. The last thing i want is to get caught up being a fan of another heartbreaking team, but i think i am already hooked.

My New Blog

2006-11-05T13:55:00.000+01:00

The opening of this blog comes at the request of many to document some of the stuff that happens here in Spain every week. No promises with anything, except I do promise that this wont be a daily thing. Every once in a while I will describe an event that happened that day, or maybe even recall an experience from earlier in the trip. Im sure next to no one will read this anyways. However I will be blogging my experience at the Real Madrid game (which I am going to tonight) when I return home. If Real does not win it wont be pretty. Ciao.