Monday, May 2: Botany Lab Final. Easier than the midterm, but still hard. Tons of homework.
Tuesday, May 3: Prep for finals in my classes. Had another late night soccer game. Except this time it wasn't as late. We played at 9:00 in Tumbaco. Us volunteers/friends of Insport were playing the older Insport kids, the one's I don't volunteer with. The game was commemorating Insport becoming a legal soccer club. This was their first "official" game. Against us. Galo had shirts made in honor of the event for our team to wear as a jersey. We ended up winning 4-3, and it was a good game. Got home. Tons of homework.
Wednesday, May 4: Found out that my plant collecting botany project was due today at 6 instead of Thursday like I thought it was. Our professor is such a great communicator. So I spent from noon until 6 finishing that up. We were supposed to have 20 plants each, but I only had 12. Oh well. Botany can go jump off a bridge. Tons of homework.
Thursday, May 5: Advanced Spanish Final. Intermediate Spanish Final. Then we had our BCA final dinner at Papallacta, which is about an hour south of Cumbaya (where the universidad is located) up in the Andes mountains. I had a dinner of veggies, chicken, mora juice, bread, locro (potato soup with avacado), and cake. Delicious. Then we all changed into our bathing suits and hung out in the natural hot baths. It felt soooo good, but sometimes it got kind of hot, so we would take a dip in the polar bear bath and then jump back in the hot baths. It was a really nice, relaxing last activity for BCA. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I didn't have any homework!
Joi, Rachele (creeping), Lily, Wesley, Me:
Friday, May 6: Final improv presentation. I won't explain a lot except for that it was a ton of fun, there were a lot of BCA people who came to watch which was really cool, and I'm going to miss my improv classmates a lot. One thing we did for this presentation was prepare a rant. A little informal speech about something we're passionate about. We all had to perform in class, but we could decide if we wanted to perform at this final presentation or not. I originally said no, but when I got such positive feedback from the class, I had to do it. My topic was the death penalty. I think I'm so passionate about this topic because I can't see the other side. I'm pretty good at seeing the pros and cons or the arguments for either side for most topics, but with the death penalty I just can't fathom why anyone would be for it. So here's what I wrote. It won't be the same because you can't hear the inflection in my voice and whatnot, but without a doubt I had the most emotion and passion than anyone else in my class. Oh, and it's in English because I don’t feel like I get my point across in Spanish. I’ve been thinking and arguing and formulating my thoughts in English my whole life. It’s just not possible to express myself in Spanish the same way I can in English. The ebb and flow of the words, the way I make my points; it all means more to me in English. It feels more natural, it gets me worked up. And that's what the rant is all about.
So here it is:
"Picture this. You’re a parent. You love your child. You would do anything to protect your child. But unbelievable tragedy strikes and your child is murdered. What comes next is only normal for a person in your situation. Grief, rage, confusion, emptiness, denial. The pain envelopes you in the same way fog envelopes a city. It reaches into every corner and crevice of your being. It bores straight through your heart, leaving a void that nothing can possibly fill. The only thing that might mend that hole even in the slightest is justice. Watching the murderer meet the same end to which he or she sentenced your child. The death penalty. There’s some comfort in knowing that the murderer will never again be able to take away the precious gift of life.
Let’s reflect. You’re upset. That’s understandable, but does killing the killer solve anything? You may expect to feel closure with the death of the killer, but nothing is going to bring back your child and nothing is going to answer the questions why me? Why my child? And think about it, how hypocritical is the death penalty? Why do we kill people for killing people to show that killing people is wrong? You wouldn’t hit your child to show them that hitting people is wrong. Let’s also take into account that with the death penalty, it’s not just one person deciding to kill another human being. It’s several people coming to a conclusion that someone else deserves to die. How freaking messed up does that sound? THAT right there is the most premeditated of murders. Is that even justice or is that abuse of power? No human being should have to power to decide who DESERVES to live and who DESERVES to die. That’s the right of God. And it’s when we start playing God that we get into trouble.
Every human has the right to life. You have the right to life, you have the right to life, as do you, and you, and you, and ME, and WE, as fellow humans don’t have the right to take THAT right away. The death penalty is hypocritical, barbaric, and unjust. Open your eyes! It’s not a solution, it’s a problem."
Bought bus tickets to go to Cuenca with Ashley. Made another stop by the DVD store (it's an addiction). Watched a movie. Went to bed.
Saturday, May 7: Wesley, Ashley, and I met at the North Station at 8:45 to head to the south terminal to go to Cotopaxi, a large snow-capped volcano visible from the valleys near Quito. We get on the trolley and by the time we get to the south terminal we are squished closer than sardines. Seriously. We're standing there and we're not even swaying as the bus moves. That's how packed we are. We get into the terminal and we see that the second story where you buy bus tickets is packed and we're like "What is everyone doing?" Then a kind gentleman explains to us that because it's a voting day (a 10 question consulta popular) everyone is going home to vote. In Ecuador, voting is mandatory at the age of 18. Now, in the states, if we knew we had to vote on a SATURDAY, we would all be going home on FRIDAY. Not here. So we ditch the Cotopaxi idea, head back to Quito, and eat lunch at Quicentro (the mall). Later that night we went to a Mexican restaurant in La Mariscal to celebrate the birthdays that aren't during this semester. Fun times.
Sunday, May 8: Mother's day. Went to Liga game with Ashley and Joi at noon. Last Liga game! : ( We won 2-1 and both goals were scored on the side we were on.
Monday, May 9: Botany final. It was hard. I struggled. And it's hard to BS in Spanish, but I saw a lot of other people were struggling as well so that made me feel better. Finished some improv homework and then ran errands with Ashley and Wesley. Then I did my BCA presentation where we come up with some creative project to reflect on our time here. Yep. Call me a follower, but I made a CD like Greg did. After presenting, though, Daniel (our program director) said that only two of our songs were the same. (Dare you to guess, Greg. Haha) Yep. It was a fun presentation. Lots of laughing and dancing on my part. Haha. Entertaining. For me at least.
Cuenca on Tuesday night. Home by next Monday. Doesn't feel real!
Lizzie
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