Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Friday, September 14, 2012

Basketball and The Male Reproductive Organ


Here you go! The new installment in the chronicle of my adventure here in Ecuador. 

I forgot to talk about a few things:
1. A little note about how I get to and from school. My bus is a 12 passenger but we end up cramming around 25 kids in there. Then we crank up the reggaton remixes of various songs and make our way around town to drop kids off. It's quite different from the quiet, philosophical, conversations I would share with my man Chris Hager on the way home in Northfield. Just...different. 

2. As you can see, I got a few hairs cut. Someone tell my hairdresser, Karla, I'm sorry. My school made me shave my mustache and goatee so I look like I'm 12 again. I decided to embrace this with a little push from Andrew and Magnus. We were in the barbershop and, on a whim, I decided to get an Ecuadorian cut. sooo...there it is I guess. When in Rome!

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Dos Semanas

Enjoy

If you're more a "pics or it didn't happen" kinda person, 
look on my fb for some Mompiche photos!

Friday, August 31, 2012

Suerte O Muerte


Since the quality of this video is quite poor, you can look at the pictures and listen to my golden "Whitney Houston" voice!

The apartment in Quito where I spent my first two days

Left to right: Abuelo Pato, Abuela (I might have forgot her name...),
Mama Monina, Tio Adreas, Maria Antonia,  Tia (name also forgotten),  Hermano Fransisco 

This is the view of Ambato from on top of my house

This is a volcano about 45 mins from Ambato called Cotopaxi.
Its the second largest volcano in Ecuador and still totes active. 

This is Ambato at night from my bedroom window!


Tuesday, August 28, 2012

First Day and Other Notes

Here watch this!
This is up a little late due to technical difficulties with the interwebs here. But being a compy genius, I have figured out how to bypass my problems. Pictures will be next!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Here We Go...

So. Here's my new idea. I don't like writing a blog so I'm gonna try to record myself. It's like my own little fireside chats series, but not as novel. I hope you all enjoy this and can entertain yourselves by counting the number of times I say "ummm..." or "ahhhh...." jajaja!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

You're going to... Nicaragua...right?

 The answer is no. No, I am not going to Nicaragua, Guatemala, Venezuela, or Colombia. I am going to Ecuador. It is a small country, with a population of roughly 15,007,343. It is bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean on the west. It was third on my list of countries, but that would be because I put mine down in a random order. I just wanted to go to South America. Ecuador has the eighth largest economy in Latin America and is on the U.S. dollar. I like that part especially because I don't have any money to exchange. The country is split into 3 different regions: the coast, mountains, and Amazon jungle. I will be living in the mountains.
Ambato is in the middle of the country. It is Ecuador's 10 largest city by population. 

As you can see, the capital of Ecuador is Quito. The largest city is Guayaquil in the south. I'll be in between those two. I will be living in the center of the country in Ambato. It is located in the Andes Mountains about and hour or so south of Quito. Ambato is a city of about 300,000 and somewhat of and industrial hub in Ecuador. Despite this, Ambato is regarded as one of the more beautiful cities in Ecuador. Here are some pictures of the city. 
                                     

While I am there, I will be living in a house with my host mother, father and younger brother. I think he is 15 or 16. I have been in contact with him the most and I am hella excited to meet he and his family. He loves soccer, so I think we will get along well. I also have a host sister but she will be in Germany for the year I'm there. As for school, I will be attending a private Catholic boys part military school. It's called San Pio X. I think it will blend quite well with the  liberal, atheist, heterosexual, pacifist that I have grown up to be. Anyway, I'm willing to give it a go. Open mindedness is the name of the game when abroad and I intend to keep that mindset. With that I finish this post and realize that I only have 10 more days left in this great country of 'MURICA. 

Friday, August 10, 2012

Who's this kid? And why does he think he's important enough to have a blog?

My name is Theo Hofrenning. I am 18 years of age and I'm taking a gap year between high school and college to travel to Ambato Ecuador with the Rotary International Exchange program. I hail from a small hipster town in southern Minnesota called Northfield (you probs havent heard of it). I live with my mother, father and younger brother. My father teaches at St.Olaf College in Northfield, and my mother is a pastor at Christiania Lutheran Church in Lakeville. Gabe is 15 still goes to high school. That's a bit about who I am and where I come from. Soon a new chapter will start. This blog will chronicle my thoughts and experiences!