The weekend y un poco de diversion!

So the weekend rolled by, and although Friday was kind of slow Saturday picked up some speed. On Saturday we were taken on a tour by our mentors Dr. Lahurd and E.B. Smith. They took us walking around the downtown area showing us some of the buildings and the different styles of architecture they had. We started of with the Chicago Cultural Center which is an amazing building only about 3 stories tall and that survived the big fires that took place in the city. it has some incredible architecture inside and the dome has a Tiffany ceiling in it. Just a spectacular view that makes you just want to lay down on the floor and stare at the ceiling forever. But the other incredible thing is that a store like Macy's also has a Tiffany ceiling and it is the biggest one in the world, its a hidden little treasure and it is right above the cosmetics counter, so ladies go get your make up done and look up at the magical Tiffany ceiling. I also found out that the city of Chicago was named after a green onion. The reason being is that the green onion used to grow widely here and the name they used for it was Chicago and therefore the name of the city!!

After this tour we then took off, with some of my friends, to the middle eastern side of town and went to a little restaurant called the taste of Lebanon and got some chawarma ( also spelled shawarma in Ecuador) hummus and felafel's, really tasty stuff and very cheap. The hummus has a very different flavor from the store bought stuff. it is kind of vinegary/limey and is just a heavenly taste. After that we just crossed over to the middle eastern bakery and bought some spices, extra hummus and felafel's to take home. later we walked around and went and got some groceries and came back with a full backpack and some more bags in the hands. ( I have a picture of this and will post it with the subtitle "Urban Hiking.)"

Then Saturday night came by, and BAM, it was my first time to go out in the city!! My friend Edwin Loya who I served in the Marines with picked me up with his friend Jose and we went to town. We first went to an Ecuadorian bar where my distant cousin is a bartender and quenched my thirst with an incredibly tasty PILSENER!!! yum after such a long time not having one it just made it that much better. He also prepared a "canelazo" for me and my friends it is kind of a warm shot with cachaza and some type of Cinnamon, naranjilla and lime tea. also great.

After this adventure we left with Edwin and Jose to the downtown clubs and to be honest with you all I really felt kind of out of place. weird huhh. I was like " man the club scene again! This is going to be great and we are for sure going to have a good time." I don't know what it was but I felt like that small town boy coming out to the big city and just totally lost and not very confident...

Well actually until something happened later that night, we left the downtown area and went to another club that my friend Edwin, had some connections to let us in. So we get to this place and just were watching people dance and it is a wild environment. The really small skirts and the crazy bumping and grinding going on make for a definitely freaky environment. My friend kept on buying me drinks and well I got kind of drunk so after a while I needed some water and went to the bar and asked the bartender for a cup of water to what she replied " that will be 5 dollars" to what I said " I didn't ask for a bottle of water do you think I could just get some tap water??" and she said, " that will be five dollars!!!" and I replied, " Are you serious? I work for a non-profit and really don't make any money and all I am asking is for a glass of water. I am just working to make a change!" as soon as i finished saying this I see her grabbing a glass with ice and some lime and pouring some water in it for me. But the great part is that after that she also pulled out a napkin and a pen and gave me her phone number and told me to call her anytime I was coming back to the bar or if I wanted to go out. Freaking incredible I get my first phone number not because i am rich but because I have no money and am working in the non-profit world!! crazy stuff....

After this I went home and walked out of the club and it was daylight! I totally forgot about the 4 am closing time for the clubs here. I got on the train since my friends got into a little trouble with some other guys and I was trying to avoid it and got back home around 545 am.

I then woke up on Sunday and took a quick shower and was off to Little Saigon. It was fun I went to the place they foundation had recommended called "777" and well maybe the food is just more authentic but the peanut sauce was not as good as the one I have in Oregon ( I ordered the salad roles that have pork and shrimp in it wrapped in rice paper) I also ordered the Bun that I usually get back home and well the portion size was smaller, the egg roll was tasty but the pork that comes with it which was supposed to be lemongrass pork did not have much flavor to it and well the dish was not as successful as it could have of been. The reason I think is that the one back home at Kim Huong is better is because they have this kind of sweet and savory glaze that goes on the pork and just makes it so much tastier.

After the meal I went grocery shopping again and went out to look through the Asian stores and bought some noodles, curry pastes, etc. it was good but when I went to the cash register I was paying and said I did not need any plastic bags to what the cashier, this small Asian lady, looked at me and then back to the bagger and they started laughing at me. It was pretty funny and I guess no one around here just sticks their groceries in their backpack cause I don't have a car to put them in and drive home. It doesn't bother me that they were laughing it just made me realize how much I could possibly stand out with an action that for me would seem normal. Although I do have to remember that in Oregon things are kind of different:)

I came back cooked and we had a potluck with all the rest of the scholars and much fun and good food. We didn't have a theme so not everything went with the other, but it worked out. Mika even made fresh bread, very tasty and also the desserts were on spot! I made some black beans and by mistake added a little to much salt but it was very tasty At least I think so!

So this has been my weekend and although crazy and eventful I am looking forward to another week of work and finding out what crazy things will come up there....