Coffee & fireworks

This week included a couple of field trips and a total of two extremely close-up fireworks shows. Also multiple parades.
San Cristobal is celebrating its independence day as well as a few other things I'm not 100% sure about. There have been lots of parties these two weeks, and I went to a parade last week when the queen of San Cristobal was being crowned.

The contestant from my neighborhood.

After the parade, there was a concert and fireworks. There were dancers from town that performed, food, and lots of people. It was really cool.
Last week, we went on a field trip to El Cafetal, the farm that produces Galapagos Coffee, and another farm in the highlands. We saw coffee growing in the understory of the forest, a more environmentally-friendly way to grow coffee as it protects the species who live in the forest habitat and is not a monoculture. We took the coffee berries right off the bushes and sucked on them. They definitely did not taste like coffee. We also went to El Junco, a freshwater lake. We volunteered on the farm and helped the owner do a month of work in a few hours. I'm glad that this was part of our class because farming reminds me of home and it felt good to be among a forest of tomato plants for a little while to help a local farmer.

Working in the tomato forest.

We went to multiple parties in town this week. One night, I went down with my family to watch the second fireworks display. Both displays involved a massive tower lined with fireworks that simultaneously were lit up, followed by extremely close up-in-the-air type fireworks. It was super impressive and dangerous, and one of my friends was hit on the head with a firework rock! We definitely learned our lesson to stay farther away from these over-the-top shows.

My sisters Dayana and Analia in front of our house.

Last week, I finished up my open water diver's certification! We went on a total of 4 dives in the ocean and 1 in the pool. It was such a surreal experience to be able to breathe underwater, and I've already seen some awesome things on our dives, including a shipwreck! The Galapagos are one of the best places to dive in the world, so I decided that this certification would definitely be worth it. Soon, I'm going to plan a night dive and a trip to Kicker Rock, a place a boat ride away from the island where you can see hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, giant schools of fish, and lots of other amazing things. I feel so lucky that the first place I get to dive is the Galapagos. It's also a lot cheaper than a diver certification in the States, so I don't feel bad about spending all of the extra money. 

Next week marks the beginning of Carnaval. So the parties in San Cristobal will continue. I'll make sure I document that here.

I think I'm beginning to assimilate here. It's a lot different than Quito because Quito was fairly westernized and felt a little closer to the US. Here, there's more of a culture shock. It's a unique feeling to be on an island in the middle of the ocean with nowhere else to go but here. There is definitely that relaxed, easy-going islander attitude that is rubbing off on everyone. People who tended to be very organized and type-A at home have said that they are changing. I think my personality fits with this lifestyle; I've never been one to micromanage everything. However, it's still a big change to be restricted to one 558 square kilometer piece of land. I guess I've never before realized my continental privilege. 

Chao!