The latest from Hermana Black...

Lara has some instructions for family and friends wishing to correspond with her...

"First you all need to send me your physical addresses if I'm to ever write you. Second, there is a nifty email address that you can write to here in the mission. The office elders will print your emails and send them to me directly and bypass the long travel of letters through snail mail and dear elder. The address is urugoest@gmail.com. In the subject line put "Hermana Black". Anything sent to this address before like 5 pm on Mondays will get to me every Tuesday. This is specifically for friends, but it's a cool way to send stuff fast."

There you go! Now go write Lara this very minute!!

-K

Update from Hermana Black...

Hello family, friends and fans of Lara!

We just got an email from her last night reminding us that she now has 4 more days in the Argentina MTC. Here is an excerpt from her email:

"So I only have 5 more days in the ccm! Wonderful! The days still pass pretty fast, but they're getting longer. It's getting really hard to sit in class most of the day. On days that I don't get to go running on my 50m stretch of cement I get really cranky and have too much cooped up energy. Like today! Ugh! My Spanish is progressing well. Every once in a while I sound like a native. Sorta. It'll be good to be out using my Spanish with someone besides my comp and teaching people besides missionaries.

I love the sound of the "sh" in Argentine spanish. I don't use it though, cause my comp makes fun of me. I will later. The people from Paraguay are the hard ones to understand, they slur!

Be good everyone! And from now on all my letters should be sent to Uruguay."

Uruguay Montevideo West Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City UT 84130-0150
USA

Packages sent to mission office:

Uruguay Montevideo West Mission
Avenida Itialia 2364, Piso 4
11600 Montevideo
Uruguay

In case anyone doesn't know her email it is....

lara.black.umo@myldsmail.net

That's all for now!!

-Krystina (sister and designated blog-updater-person)

Hermana Black!

Ah, the time has come for me to depart! I'm leaving on Wednesday morning for Argentina where I will be in the MTC for a couple months before going to Uruguay. I will be in a plane or layover for over 20 hours, so I daresay it'll be a tiring and long trip! I can't wait to go though. I was set apart as a missionary yesterday, and any fears I had (mostly over the length of this adventure) are gone and I'm just stoked to get going! I've had an awesome month here in Chelan. I've had my share of swimming, riding horses, movie nights, and playing to last me a little while.

This past week everyone (siblings, nieces, nephews, etc) came up for a visit. We've been having a blast and we enjoyed a BBQ yesterday after my "farewell" and Sabra's (my newest niece) baby blessing.

So about 12 days ago I was out in the corral playing with the newest baby horse. She was being lovely and sweet, even laying her head in my lap (as seen below). Well in about a half second she spooked at a movement I made, got to her feet, and kicked me in the ribs with full force! I layed in the dirt unable to breath for seemingly forever, but I survived. My side is still very sore, especially when I do anything physical like swimming or volleyball. I must have a broken one in there, but it'll heal eventually.
On the 20th (Krystina's birthday) we decided to run a 5k to start the morning off. We were feeling a little old and out of shape, so we were shooting for about 27 minutes. Well to our surprise we made it in 23:42. Nothing fast, but not bad for a couple of old ladies! We were both 2nd in our age groups.

Last week we went to Wenatchee to see the Lipizzaner Stallions performance. They were absolutely gorgeous and fun to watch (at least for us girls!).
Tuesday we made a day-trip to Seattle to see a Mariners game. I love it! The Mariners lost by a little bit, but it was still way fun to enjoy our free nose bleed tickets.

My beautiful and smiley nephew Kole playing in a box.

Last Friday night my niece Jacquelyn forced me to go to a YSA dance with her on the big tour boat in Chelan. We ended up having fun, even if it was technically pretty lame. There were a few cute boys! Haha, one asked me to stay home from my mission. I told him to jump in the lake:) All in jest of course!

June at Home

Well I'm back at home here in Chelan. I'm only here for a month, so I have not bothered to get a job. It's wonderful! I ride horses almost every day, I go swimming, spend time with family, and I don't have to shower if I don't want to (but I do anyway!):) So it's great to be here.

Last week Jill, Naomi, Aaron, Krystina and I were all home for the first time in a while and for the last time in the 1.5 years. Jill, Naomi, and Krystina all had their babies here as well, so that was great.



Aside from a few rainy days, it's been lovely June weather

Aunt Lara with Sabra and Kole

Naomi, Sabra, and I
My lovely nephews Damon and Kole
On Friday we decided our family picture needed an update, so we had a little photo shoot...

All five of us again!

End of Ecuador

As mentioned, on Monday (over a week ago now) we began our task of being tourists. We started out being educational by meeting with reps from the Benson Institute. This organization (from what I gathered) teaches qualified families about how to effectively farm, raise animals, etc to support themselves on. They provide the initial equipment necessary and then help the people become self-sufficient. So we were able to go through several homes that have benefited from the Benson Institute. Almost all of the families had gardens, animals, and a source of income (such as a store, a homemade product, etc).

One animal common to all the families was cuy or guinea pig, which is a delicacy here in Ecuador. Some of the students ordered one for lunch later that day. Yummy (I guess?)!

The families were eager to tell us about their little farms and way of life. One woman was an 89 year old midwife. She had so many cool things to tell us about fertility and pregnancy. The women give birth on their knees and have their husbands hold them up. The position is supposedly the best for positioning the baby and pelvis for birth. All of us curious nursing students had to give it a try.

The culture of the people of Otavalo is very different from that of Guayaquil. It’s almost like two different countries. Many of the women wear traditional dress and many of the men have long braided hair, very Indian style. The air is cool in the north, so many people also wear the alpaca ponchos and knitted goods. The streets of the community are so much cleaner than in the south, even among the poorest people. It’s really a beautiful place.

Monday afternoon we went out to a lake (forgot the name already) in Cotacachi. We took a boat ride around it. The lake was formed by a volcano, so the walls are very steep and it doesn’t have any apparent connections with any other body of water. Since the volcano is still considered active, we could see gas emissions rising in the water. It was just bubbles every once in a while, but still cool. It was absolutely lovely! Unlike in the states, there were no homes lining the shores, so all the natural beauty is preserved.

Monday evening we made the trip back down to Quito for our last few days. Our hotel was again very nice (minus the poor supply of quality internet). Quito is a nice, clean city, and is considered to have fairly low crime.

Tuesday we really got into the tourist mode. We even drive around in a bus that says “tourismo” on the side. We might as well paint big L’s on our foreheads, I swear. Haha, we had an awesome day though!

We started out by visiting the Center of the World! First we were taken on a little tour of the museum. Our guide told us about some of the Amazonian tribes, cultural practices, and plants and animals of Ecuador. Several interesting facts: First, there are anacondas in the amazon and they can grow up to 20 meters! We saw a skin and it was enormous! Second, there is a tribe here who run around totally naked. There were life-sized pictures as evidence. Gross. Third, there used to be a practice by warriors of cutting skulls etc out of heads and then shrinking the remaining portion of the head and wearing it around their necks. They had an example and I’m pretty sure it will give me nightmares. Finally, the Amazon River has a fish that will swim into your bladder and stay there until removed surgically. Basically, don’t pee in the water and you should be fine.

So after our little tour we got to play on the equator. I never thought it would be so interesting! Along with our usual photo shoot we were shown some sweet tricks on the Middle of the Earth! Here are the facts:

1. On the equator you can balance an egg upright.
2. You weigh 1 kg less than usual
3. A sundial clock is used to indicate time. The little shadow will point to the time of day from 6am to 6pm (the 12 hour day that’s the same length all year)
4. For some reason that I haven’t figured out, you are weaker on the equator! We did a little experiment of strength by having another person push down on your outstretched hands away from the line and then again directly on the line. It was easy to resist the first time, but when on the line it was way hard to resist the pressure from the other person. It was really weird, but I tend to believe that one was the placebo effect.
5. When a drain is pulled from a basin of water on the equator the water will drain straight down (no funnel will form). Well I thought that was cool, but what’s even more interesting is that only 2 feet away from the equator to the south the water will always funnel clockwise and about 2 feet north the water will always funnel counterclockwise! They did a little demonstration. Perhaps I’ll post the videos. We were a little disappointed to be surrounded by nothing but nursing students when we really needed some sort of physicist or geologist to explain why this happens.
6. I can’t walk a straight line with my eyes closed. I’m pretty sure it had nothing to do with the equator.

After we visited the “Centro del Mundo” exhibit we went to the equator monument. It turns out that when they first calculated where the equator is they were off by 2.5 miles, so the big monument is not actually the middle of the earth. Rather anticlimactic to visit after seeing the real thing.

So if you’re ever in Ecuador I suggest visiting the line. It’s an awesome experience.

After the center of the earth, we visited the largest cathedral in South America. It was enormous! The inside had beautiful stained glass and vaulted ceilings. I felt like it was straight out of a movie. It had a very cold, dark feel though.

Our next stop on Tuesday was the President’s Palace. That’s right; we toured the home/office of the president of Ecuador! We saw inside the historical items room, banquet halls, and press conference room (where he was to hold a meeting that very night). A little different that the way the U.S runs things I’d say!

Our last tourism stop was the top of the city where a huge statue of Mary watches over the city. Quito is huge and a very lovely city. We had fun taking pictures overlooking the main part of it.

Tuesday night we went to a fancy shmancy dinner at Hotel Quito. It was probably the ritziest dinner I’ve ever had. The “salad” consisted of a single scrap of lettuce, a half cherry tomato, a dab of avocado, and a half of a shrimp. Yes, a half. The main course was a little more filling however, and quite delicious.

Wednesday was our last full day in Quito/Ecuador. It was pretty much the best! We headed out to the rain forest (Mindo?) to play on some zip lines! It was seriously the best thing ever! There were 13 lines across valleys, trees, rivers, etc. Between lines we hiked to get to the next one and let me just say that the high elevation doesn’t agree with us. We got so winded!

On some of the lines we got to do tricks. One was the “superman” where you wrap your legs around a guide (yeah, we got pretty close) and then go down the zip line face first. The other is the “butterfly” where you go upside down and have the guide ride behind you to hold your legs (again, we got a little close). It was awesome! It really wasn’t scary at all, but it was a rush for sure. We only had to pay $8 for over an hour of running zip lines. Way cheap! Anyone who goes to Ecuador really needs to try it.

After the zip lines we went across a HUGE valley in a rickety little mettle box connected to a big cable. It was a beautiful sight to overlook the rainforest valley from such a height. On the other side of the valley were hiking. We climbed to 4 or 5 of lovely waterfalls. During this hike I got more bug bites than I have in my entire life all together. I don’t think I’m joking. My legs itch SO bad! My friend has pretty bad swelling from the bites. Pretty much our entire legs are covered. Yeah, it sucks.

Wednesday night I went with a couple girls to visit people that one of them taught on her mission. They gave us the best hot chocolate ever and I got a headache from listening to too much Spanish. It was fun to see my friend and the family she taught. It makes me excited for my mission.

Thursday was our last bit in Ecuador. We rode gondolas up a big mountain above Quito to overlook the city. It was really pretty, but altogether not terribly exciting. In the afternoon we ate food and got ready to leave Ecuador forever.

While at the airport we were offered a Delta voucher for $400 to give up our flights and wait ‘til the next night. Some of our group decided to go that route, but I did not. Well it turns out that my flight has not yet been successful in returning me to Utah. We were first delayed for about an hour in Quito last night because of baggage mal-distribution. Then we had to make an emergency landing in Orlando which they called a medical emergency. We waited for over an 1 ½ hours and were all a little peeved because the woman was totally fine! She was just throwing up and had some sort of kidney infection (previously known about) and we were only 45 minutes from Atlanta (where our connecting flight was). Anyway, we missed said flight and are now waiting around in the airport for our flight to Salt Lake. None of us have slept more than 3 or so hours, so needless to say we’re exhausted. Night flights and delays are lame.

So I’m officially out of Ecuador. My plans are now to stay in Utah for a couple days, just enough to get my shopping done for the mission. I’ll be home all of June and then off to Uruguay! It’s going to be the best June ever because there’s not enough time to get a job. Lots of horseback riding, swimming, and having fun with the fam for me!

Chillin’ in the Andes

We have now left the glorious heat of Guayaquil for the cool air of the Andes. We spent most of Saturday traveling. We flew to Quito, and then drove to Otavalo, which is about 2 hours north.

It was a tiring day, party because we got up at 5:30 to catch our flight. When we were gathering on our bus in Quito a girl from our group had her backpack stolen. It contained everything valuable she had. It was a rough day for her.

The drive through the mountains up to Otavalo was beautiful. There is a lot of grass and lovely mountains. Guayaquil is more tropical and up here is more mountainous and cool. In fact, it’s a little cold here for my taste. I hardly packed for cool weather, but the elevation is about 9500 feet here, so it’s chilly. I also got a cold, so now I really wish it was warm. It’d better be nice when I get home!

When we got to Otavalo Saturday we were in a hurry to hit the markets. It was so cool! There were hundreds of vendors with all kinds of pretty things. It was stressful cause we only had 3 hours of shopping and I wanted to get the best bargains. I ended up buying a few cool things, and overall thought it was a great experience. I wish I had a whole suitcase to dedicate to bringing stuff home, but I do not. I’d also like more money:)

Bargaining was kinda fun, but also rather annoying. Everything you wanted to buy you had to argue for. Good thing that’s my specialty! Haha, not really, but I worked at it.

After dinner Saturday we came back to our new lodging. This place is adorable! There are little cabins with about 4 apartments in each. The whole place is overlooking a lake and mountains. The rooms are not heated (the water barely is), there are honey bees swarming by our window, there’s no internet (except in the main office/lounge), and we have to share beds, but it’s still really cute!

Yesterday we mostly just relaxed.

Today we were busy touring homes with the Benson institute, touring a volcanic lake, and traveling back to Quito. We have horrible internet, so I'm not going to write the details now. I'm ready for consistent/fast connection already! Seriously, there are currently about 15 nursing students crowding the lobby trying to connect to the internet. It's lame.

Have a wonderful week ya'll!

Getting Ready to Head North

So we’re down to our last day in the heat of Guayaquil. We’re a little sad to leave, but we have adventures ahead of us in Quito. Hopefully rain and altitude sickness are not involved.

This week has been another busy one. It’s our last one in Guayaquil (as mentioned), so we’ve had a lot of work to get done with the schools. I spent a couple days out in the community screening kids, and two days in the hospital. The schools were pretty much the usual. Roasting hot, packed with kids, and lots of fun! A few of the kids were terrified of lancets (as always), and I had one who bit me! Twice actually. Haha, he was pretty beside himself about getting poked and we rather merciless.

Me checking a kids teeth

My time in the hospital was mostly uneventful. I spent one day in “reanimacion”, which is basically where they send people who are about to die, so they can get life saving procedures when necessary. One woman came in after getting hit by a car. They suspected internal bleeding because her blood pressure was extremely low. She got hooked up to several pressurized IV bags to get fluids into her ASAP. Being hit by a car is not improbable here in Ecuador. When crossing the street it doesn’t matter if there is a “walk” sign, because no cars stop for pedestrians. It’s a little nerve racking.

My second day in the hospital I was in the burn unit. It was very interesting to watch in the procedure room. One patient was in for skin grafts, so the doctors harvest skin from the thigh and then use it on the burn. It’s way cool how the skin reattaches to the new place over the burn. Another patient just came in for burn cleaning. He had an electric burn that entered through his hand and exited through his foot. They had too cut off all the dead tissue. It was kinda gross, but cool.

There was a nurse in the burn unit that I and another student had a great time with. Her name was Beatrice and she was a former burn victim. When she saw us foreign students she got really excited. She insisted on taking pictures of us with other staff members, and then she practically forced us to serenade her (and her ever present video camera) with a rendition of “Everything I Do” by Bryan Adams. She was the sweetest and happiest person. We had a lot of fun with her.

On Tuesday night we had another health fair. I took blood pressures and blood glucoses.

Wednesday evening we went to the temple here for the last time.

Yesterday after clinical we were invited to the University of Guyaquil’s college of nursing. It was mostly rather boring, but the students were really nice and I got to practice my Spanish with them.

Last night we were invited to sing at a missionary/investigator fireside. Our group sang two songs. I was elected to sing the first verse of one song as a solo and I survived it. It was a good night.

This morning we met with Hogar de Cristo for the last time to wrap up and submit all our data from the schools. It was long and hot.

Afterwards, we met with the Junta for lunch. They took us to a nice restaurant where I had fabulous filet mignon. Don’t worry, it only cost $8 in Ecuador.

Now we’re debating what to do for our last night. We’re considering Fragola’s ice cream. I may miss that place.

Here's our finished house from last week

We always bring our books to keep us occupied while we wait... as we always do!
Their portion sizes here are a little big!