This time for [South] Africa

There has been talk about how there may be a tendency to assume that the World Cup of South Africa is the realistic picture of the continent of Africa. Maybe the Shakira's lyrics should be changed to "this time for [South] Africa". Africa is a continent with several different countries with their own culture and traditions. One day I will make my way to that continent...*squeezes eyes shut and clicks heels*...one day.

For those who more of an indepth picture of South Africa check out The Bicycle Portraits.

"The Bicycle Portraits project was initiated by Stan Engelbrecht (Cape Town, South Africa) and Nic Grobler (Johannesburg, South Africa) early in 2010. Whenever they can, together or separately, they’re on the lookout for fellow commuters, and people who use bicycles as part of their everyday work, to meet and photograph. They’re finding out who rides bicycles, why they ride bicycles, if and why they love their bicycles, and of course why so few South Africans choose bicycles as a transport option. There is no specific range of questions asked, they'd rather just establish a conversation around the rider’s life and where his or her bicycle fits into it." ~Quote & picture taken from The Bicycle Portraits website

"Why we are doing this...

As you'll see we are not photographing people who ride purely for exercise or recreation, but instead we are focussing on those who use bicycles as an integral tool in their day-to-day existence. We've noticed that in South Africa, especially in the major centers, very few people use bicycles as mode of transport. This is very strange since we have no proper public transport infrastructure, and that which does exist is expensive and unsafe. Given all the benefits of cycling - independence, fitness, cost-effectiveness, environmentally friendly - we would love to encourage the use of bicycles in South Africa amongst all social classes.

We've noticed that as our major centers develop there still seems to be a trend to make cities more friendly for cars, not people. While this might be happening in many places around the world the effect on individuals seems to be very dramatic in a country like South Africa, where there is a growing divide between those who can afford motorised transport and those who struggle to. Owning a bicycle in this social climate can be very empowering, if the correct infrastructure exists.

As you might know, South Africa is a world within one country, home to various cultures, with a tragic history of segregation and racism. Through this project we hope to give people a glimpse into each other lives through a well known object of movement, practicality and joy - the bicycle. Looking at individuals through their, sometimes unconscious, involvement in bicycle culture, we will inadvertently touch on many charged issues like the implementation of public space, lack of infrastructure development and also social problems like class division and unequal wealth distribution, but also perhaps bring those unfamiliar to each other together in their love for a simple thing...

Our long term goal...

Through publishing this book, we want to be able to assist the underprivileged cycling community through our project - be it teaching bicycle maintenance skills, providing necessities like helmets, tires, tubes, locks… It would be great to create a support structure for the people who appear in the book - this could be a trust funded by a percentage from sales of the cover price, or a charity set up in the name of the people who appear in the book etc. Ultimately we want to promote cycling as a means of independent transport to empower the underprivileged, and in fact, to encourage everyone capable to ride a bike as an alternative to driving a car, or even using public transport. We hope that this will lead to the kind of infrastructure development that is designed with all people in mind, not just cars." ~ Picture taken from The Bicycle Portraits website; Quote taken from The Bicycle Portraits Kickstarter page

If you pledge to help fund this project, you are essentially pre-ordering a book. To pledge or to get more information check out their Kickstarter page.

Maybe I Should Get Papa Lima on Twitter

It's crazy how different it feels to actually have leisure time in the evenings. It feels amazing that I can flip through a magazine while rocking out on my ipod without the pressure of homework waiting for me. Wow...is this how it feels to actually have a life outside papers, thesis and group projects. Shoooooot, I should do this more often. Ah, the bliss of flipping through a magazine, listening to Pitbull and let my barefeet be exposed to the world.







The World Cup is in 2 days and I'm getting pumped. I'm currently leg kicking and fist pumping in the air...that's how excited I am. I would have to give credit to the World Cup for the quality time I spend with my dad, Aka: Papa Lima. I can remember when Papa Lima first introduced me to the awesomeness of the World Cup.

Boom. My life was never the same.

I would run around the house singing "ole, ole, ole" and "gooooooooooooooooooaaaaalllll" at the top of my lungs. My mom, aka: Mama Lima, was always puzzled that I would prefer to watch men running around after a ball rather than play house with my Barbies. Papa Lima loved it. I also started a dislike for the Brazilian team at a young age. (Don't worry, I don't hate them anymore. I'm still deciding who I'm actually cheering for. Of course, I'll cheer for USA but let's be honest...I need a backup team. I can be like the Ecuadorian's here and go for Argentina....or not. I can't go for Italy because everyone and their mom is going for them now. Lame. Well, let's see how it goes...I'll keep y'all posted...as if you cared). Since I'm here in Ecuador for the first few weeks of the World Cup, Papa Lima and I will have to rely on Skype and emails to discuss/argue about who fouled who and why. Maybe I should get Papa Lima on Twitter...hmmmm. I'm beyond excited to get to Houston to sit by Papa Lima, eatting Mama Lima's burritos and yelling Spanglish at the tv.

Thank you World Cup, for being one of our common interests and creating a father-daughter bond that I cherished so deeply now.

I think it's time to sing "WAKA, WAKA...this time for Africa..." (Please note the beautiful picture of diversity at the end of the video. Awesome.)



Go Shakira...by the way, you are on my list of people I want to be when I grow up....because you can move those hips like ya...

Try Climbing Those Suckers

Well, friends and family, the moment has come for the proof of Lima eatting cuy. Yes, that's right. I finally have the pictures and internet to post these lovely documentations of me eatting guinea pig. Boom.

You remember the before shot of a furry little cute looking thing?...

...afterwards, there he is and there I am...freaking out. Apparently in my head, I thought that at any moment, he would have come back to life.

Then I took the plunge and took a bite of the cuy. Yes, I ate it. It was chewy and salty. I did not like it at all. It was probably the most terrifiying food experience I have ever had. I was shaking...that's how much I was freaking out. My students got a kick out of watching me freaking out touching the cuy. For the rest of the night I filled myself with potatoes and mote (a corn type food).

Well, now I can check that off the bucket list...check.
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Saturday morning my host family and I took an adventure to Paute. My family is buying property to continue to build their business. This has been our lives for the past week of business talks and meetings at the banks. Finally, I was able to see the land that the family has been buzzing about. The property is huge. The scenery is breathtaking. The house is beautiful with all of these hidden antique features. I will retell my lovely Saturday through picture form...(These pictures don’t do justice of providing a glimpse of the place but it will have to do).

The property is located on a mountain, so numerous set of stairs were found all over the place. Here’s one set that I thought looked pretty cool. Try climbing those suckers…thank you, altitude....I can never breath again.

Mama-Cuenca, Abuelita-Cuenca, Megan (one of my students and my "second cousin") and I took a mini hike through the property.

We stopped to take in the scenery for a bit. Abuelita-Cuenca was in her element at this point. She grew up in the country.

We found berries on our mini hike.

I was skeptic of trying the berry even after mama-Cuenca reassured me a billion times that it was ok.

I ate the berry. Then I made the executive decision that it was probably one of the best berries I have ever eaten.

During our mini hike, we had a mama-Cuenca moment. We lurve each other.

Then abuelita-Cuenca decided to continue on her exploration. I followed. I thought Surely if she can do it, then I can too. Little did I know...

By the time I caught up to abuelita-Cuenca, I was huffing and puffing. Again, thank you altitude. Abuelita-Cuenca then decided to go back the stairs and I just stared after her.

Lesson of the day: Don't mess with abuelita-Cuenca.

Even primito-Cuenca was so happy because of the awesomeness surrounding him.

This was one of my favorite moments of the day: abuelitos-Cuenca sharing a moment by the poolside and I was able to capture it.

While exploring the property and the sweet house, I kept finding hidden antique treasures. They made me drool with delight.

Of course, I have to give out a shout out to the flowers. They made up about 50% of the awesomeness of the place…and pretty much all of Ecuador.

As you can see, it was a pretty awesome day. It was much needed. At one point, I just sat on the steps and gazed at the scenery before me. All I could do was to sit still. I needed to stop and recollect myself. That place made me be still and soak in what the Lord had created. I prayed some prayers of worship. I could not help but praise the Lord for how mighty and powerful He is.

When was the last time you sat still?....that you stopped and sat?...with no ipods or cell phones?...where it was you, beauty and Jesus?

Are we too afraid to stop and face what’s actually there? Or are we too consumed in our constant go of our lives that we don’t have time to stop? Why can’t we stop? What will it take for us to stop? What will happen when we don’t stop?

...what are we going to lose?

I came back from that mini adventure and took a nap. Boom. That’s how much it relaxed me.
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Sunday I was reunited with my students at church and spent the whole day with them. Monday we went to the Banco Central of Cuenca and was immersed in Ecuador’s history. We saw different exhibits of Ecuador’s tribes and some old school ruins, which we became a little creative to interact with. I just would like to give a little shout out to my students. There’s never a dull moment with them. Somehow they can make the boring museum’s fun. There’s always a story to tell or a joke to laugh about. From double espresso’s and ice cream at the Fruitilado or random dance moves in Spanish class, my students make the trip worth it. Funny thing is that I’m probably learning just as much from them. They keep me on my toes. They find the most random questions to ask about Ecuadorian culture that most of the time I say “I don’t know”. My favorite part about my students is the ability for them to laugh at different situations. They laugh at themselves when thinking gringo meant handsome in Spanish to throwing away half of their breakfast when their host mom is not looking because they are too full too eat. They never stop to amaze me to find creative ways to make culture learning fun…even it meant laughing at silly things like butts.

So...What Will You Do Today, Lima?

So...what did you do yesterday, Lima?

You know, enjoyed Ecuador.

Well, I also met my students down town at the Fruitilado to get some coffee and ice cream. I was judged by Taylor (aka: Bestie), one of my students, because I put a teaspoon of sugar in my double espresso.

She even sneered at my coffee.

But then we decided that we will still be Besties and not let the teaspoon of sugar separate us and our love for coffee. (I’m expecting Mary Poppins to jump out of a random fireplace singing a song about how a teaspoon of sugar helps the medicine goes down)

Then we decided to take a stroll around downtown. I sat with Laura, another one of my students, on a cool bench we found. While people watching and soaking in the scenery, we talked about mama boys, El Salvador, and our humble beginnings as wanna-be photographers.

This is the awesome scenery we were enjoying while sitting on the cool bench.

I wanted to take a cool picture of us on the cool bench but my first attempt was off, as you can see. Then my battery died. Sad day.

And then we tried cuy….cooked guinea pig.

Are you serious, Lima?

Heck yes, I am! Buuuuuut, since my camera battery died, I couldn’t document my experience. Bummer. Luckliy, Laura came to the rescue and brought her fancy camera. Yay. Here's the catch, I’m holding off on telling yall the memorable experience of the genuine pig until I receive those lovely pictures. You just have to see it to semi-experience it.

Here's a before shot. Aww, so cute :P

So...what will you do today, Lima? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe get some ice cream, coffee, eat some guinea pig…

....you know, enjoy Ecuador.

Skype gets a two thumbs up

Yesterday was a day spent of classes for mis chicos. Their day started out with four hours of Spanish class and then the afternoon with another 3 hours of culture class. Woof. On the flipside, culture class is only a couple days of the week. During the mornings, when the students have Spanish class, I have the joy of “working” on my thesis. Don’t ask me how much I have done, the question is “have I started?”. The word “thesis” turns my off motivation to do any work. Honestly, I spend most of my morning catching up on emails from my job back at Taylor and other miscellaneous productive tasks that take up a good chunk of my morning. I do get to interact with the students during their culture class, and get to take a couple notes on my own. It’s like a win-win situation. I help students understand the Ecuadorian culture in their own context, and I get some culture immersion of my own. I’m a fan of win-win situations.

This late morning I got to Skype with my lovely Boricuan best friend, Annette. I miss my bff. We are like two peas in a pod. It’s friendships like hers that make me miss Texas. At least we have Skype to bring us together and laugh at our cheesy jokes and weird hand gestures. Skype is awesome. I love talking to people and I love free stuff. Therefore, I love Skype. It’s amazing how I can have a conversation thousands of miles away and get to see people’s faces too. I’m all about faces. Skype gets a two thumbs up for free communication, especially for those who have international friends or are located far away from your loved ones.

Tonight we are going on an adventure to try Cuy. What is cuy? Cooked guinea pig. Yes, the cute little furry things that gringos have as pets. According to Wikipedia, cuy is “a traditional food of Peruvian, Colombian, and Ecuadorian Andean people”. We are and we would. My students are ecstatic. I’m freaking out. Talk about culture immersion and trying new things. I’m slowly breathing in and out as I think about what I’m about to endure tonight.
Pray for me.

A Cup of Coffee Has Magical Powers

Heard about my family in Guatemala yesterday, they are all ok. The rest of the country is picking up the pieces.


Let me just inform the world that I love to dance. I like to pride myself of knowing how to dance, fairly well, in merengue and salsa. So when the dance instructor was trying to re-teach me the dance steps yesterday in front of all my students, you can imagine the horror I felt. Let’s just say by the end of the class, I redeemed myself and moved my hips like ya.

The students loved the class. They learned the basic steps of merengue and all the twists and turns. The dance instructor provided a little cultural context explaining how the dance floor is more like a "war zone" with “Latin Lovers” competing for the space and the girl. As soon as he said that, my students looked at me and I responded with an affirming nod. The dance floor is where the magic happens. If you can get down tonight, then it’s all over. The instructor claimed that most Latino couple meets on the dance floor. I wouldn’t doubt it.

I’m pretty sure most of the students blushed a little when he explained the concept of “Latin Lover”. Then he busted some smooth moves that left some of the students with their eyes wide opened. I just smiled.


After that eventful afternoon, I calmed down with cafecito. Ah, yes...pure bliss. One of the main reasons why I love being in Latin America is cafecito. Believe it or not, I think we have the same concept in the states in an American context. Instead of meeting in a house, we would go to Starbucks or a local coffee shop. Of course, it’s not the same experience but there are very similar concepts.


Number one, coffee is involved. Hands down, boom.


Number two, loud noises are involved. In a coffee shop/Starbucks settings, it’s the noise of the espresso maker and/or coffee orders being shouted. In the Latin American setting, it’s the chattering of 3 or 4 people speaking over each other and/or children running around playing.


Number three, discussion. In both contexts, talking has to happen. It depends on the people you are meeting with. From business to love to relationships to the exchange of recipes or the latest weight loss tip, people are talking.


Number four, with people you love. In both contexts, you are spending time with people you care about. You are making an effort to continue to develop the relationship with that person. You are spending it with your family, neighbor or a close family friend. It’s like a cup of coffee has magical powers of bonding the two or more people together. Weird.


You can see why I enjoy cafecito time. It’s not only to feed my caffeine addiction, but also to take the time to stop and enjoy life.


Stop, drink some coffee, talk and listen.

With Her Skinny Jeans

Just a little worship: God is so good. One of Ecuador’s volcano erupted the day after we arrived in Cuenca. If it erupted while we were in Quito or on our 10 hour bus ride to Cuenca, we would have been in a pickle. All the time, God is good. God is good, all the time.

Some random thoughts I had yesterday and into the morning:

On our ride from Spanish classes, I noticed how Cuenca is surrounded with mountains. This is something that I took for granted when I first got here. Indiana is flat. Texas is flat. Since my family moved from New England to Texas, I have longed to be surrounded by the mountains. Here in Ecuador they are everywhere. I love it. It’s crazy how much nature has an effect on us humans. Whenever we are faced with different scenery, we are amazed of how beautiful it is. I think it’s great that we are always reminded of God’s beauty and His masterwork. A problem that I have every day is that I do not recognize it. Every day should be a day of His creation. We should be marveled of God’s handiwork in the mountains, trees, sunsets, starts, flowers and so on. (Sure, you can make the snide remark of calling me a “tree hugger”) My point is that I am guilty of not recognizing God’s beauty every day. I complain too much of how the cornfields of Indiana are boring. Yet, I forgot of how resourceful they are. I complain of how hot Texas can get, yet I forget how beautiful Texas’ sunsets are. I complained of how cold it got in New England, yet I forgot how beautiful the leaves turned colors in autumn. I have no reason to complain, I actually have no right to complain. Every place God sends me has a beautiful aspect to it. The problem is that I become so blinded by the negative parts of the place that I do not see the beauty. Beauty is everywhere. We just have to humble ourselves to see the true and raw beauty. That’s where God shines the most in His creation…in the hidden beauty.

I have a list of people that I would like to be when I grow up. I have never kept track of this list but I’m pretty sure that it’s about 20 people on it. I’ll admit that as I go on in my “adventures”, as some like to say it, that I will come in contact with more people that I would love to be when I grow up. Right now I would like to write about one person that I recently added to list. (Don’t worry I will go back to the list and elaborate more)

When I grow up, I would like to be my Ecuadorian host mom, Janet Abad. I have only lived with her and her family for 4 days, and I already have such a respect for her. She is probably in her young 40’s and skinny. She is a mother of two lovely daughters and a wife of a crazy husband. She also is a working woman. Right now, as I type this, she is on a business call and making lasagna. She has her cell phone on one hand and the mozzarella cheese on the other. I would like to add that she is also a cute sense of style. With her skinny jeans and cute tops, my host mom can out dress me any day. She has a soft voice, yet can be stern when she knows when to be heard. I found myself talking to her into the late night about all different aspects of life. From marriage to family, she always know the right things to say. She listens with true honestly.

Yesterday I had a hard conversation with one of the staff members from the program. We talked about how in America there is more of an opportunity for a successful future. Higher education in the states is more valuable and respectable. She struggles with the fact that her son may not come back to Ecuador to live. Why? Because in America is where her son can be more successful. It’s crazy how now in the 21st century; America is still seen as the land of dreams. My parents believed in the American dream in the 70’s when they immigrated in the states and there is still that influence here. Life is hard, especially when resources are thousands of miles away.
As I talked with her, she began to tear up of how hard it was to have her son graduate without her being there. I could just feel the mother’s love pour from her heart into my soul. For a moment, I could feel how much a mother loves her child. I was beginning to understand how hard it is to let go of your children, especially to go to another country. She loves her son and wants the best for him. Yet she misses him and I saw that. What was I to say when she asked me for my advice about higher education in the states?

How could I reassure her that God will provide to pay off school loans, when I myself struggle with that promise?

How could I encourage her that her son will always be true to his roots here in Ecuador while embracing life in America?

She told me that once I will have children of my own, I will understand...I can’t wait for that revelation to happen.

As I listened to her, I thought of my mom. I was given a glimpse of how much my mom misses me while I’m in Indiana or on one of my crazy travels. Now I’m beginning to understand why my mom would randomly call me just to say Hi. I was also reminded of how much my mom worked so hard to stay in the states to provide a better life for me. I easily forget that even with culture shock and being separate from family, my mom's love for me was greater. She wanted me to have what she didn’t have…an education, a career, a respected job, a healthy family...a successful American life.

Yesterday afternoon/evening we had a mini tour of down town Cuenca. Since the church and our host families lived in the “new” part of Cuenca, we made the trip to down town “old” Cuenca to gain a deeper understanding of the city we are staying in. We were able to see the colonial house they are lined alongside the river (the river is significant because it separates the “old” Cuenca from the “new” Cuenca). That was pretty cool. We then visited the main cathedral downtown. The cathedral is not as “golden” as the one in Quito, but it’s still pretty awesome. My favorite part is seeing the Santa Rosa de Lima. Yes, that is right…Santa Rosa de Lima. It’s a saint of roses that originated from the city of Lima in Peru. (From what I know, It’s placed here because there must be some faithful followers) Not only does it have the name Lima in it, which is an automatically 100 million cool points, but it’s the Saint of roses. My mom’s name is Rosa and my favorite flower is the rose…for that reason. I was pretty excited about that saint. Plus, I think it was the prettiest one in the cathedral.

I have a confession to make. When I was a little girl, I was deathly afraid of cathedrals and catholic churches. The statues and images of the gothic looking Jesus’ and saints scared me. When we would visit Guatemala, my family will make a road trip to the biggest cathedral in Guatemala. I dreaded that trip. My mom and I would have to wait outside while my family would do their thing inside. As I got older, I gained enough courage to enter them. My mom would always whisper to me that to see it all as art work. Now I still have to brace myself before I enter a cathedral. I am always amazed of the beautiful painting and statues that are made out of devotion for a belief. Everytime I watch the locals kneel and with their eyes closed whispering prayers, I can never fight the urge to pray to my Savior above.

Now I'm hearing news about the deadly storm that is hitting Guatemala and other Central American countries. I haven't heard anything about my family yet, if they are ok or not. It's in times like these that I continue to hold on to the promise that God knows what He is doing, despite how painful the situation is.