Primera Semana=Sobrevivida!

Ecuador is crazy! I absolutely love it so far, though it's hard to note and describe what life is like down here. I've been mentally comparing everything to Spain more than to the U.S. because it's the only other foreign culture I know. Some things are similar, considering those darn Spanish conquistadors dominated for a few centuries but Ecuador has its own culture, flavor and style. People are very friendly here and easy to understand- no crazy accents for once.

I live with a family in a very nice house in the northern end of Quito. Right now it's Ibis, her 18 year old daughter Maria Elena and I. Ibis's husband, a lawyer, is working in the U.S. right now and her two adult sons live there with their American wives. Her brothers and a few other relatives live there too. Ibis speaks a little English from visiting the states and taking classes - sometimes she'll drop a random English word into conversation and I assume it's Spanish because of her accent, then have no idea what she's saying. I have a big bedroom to myself and for the first time ever my own bathroom! I could get used to this life.

Quito is a big city, set in the Andes at about 10,000 ft elevation. It's 70 and sunny every day, then chilly at night once the sun goes down but not too bad. I can walk a lot of places and there's an extensive bus system (25 cents a ride) or taxis for 2-3$. The buses are absolute chaos, you have to flag them down and yell when you want them to stop, all while being crammed in with a bunch of Ecuadorians, watching out for pickpockets and trying not to get thrown when the crazy drivers slam on their brakes (at random, because red lights are more or less "suggestions" here).

The past week I've been doing lots of rather boring orientation things within my IES group and taking a Spanish class, boring review for me right now. I'm excited to take classes at the Universidad here with Ecuatorianos, no more grammar or literature for this girl! Sadly there's only a men's rugby team, I definitely plan to befriend some guys on the team but I'll have to get my tackles in elsewhere.

Saturday we went on a group trip to Otavalo, a town about 2 hours north of Quito known for its huge indigenous market. The people sell everything from food to textiles and alpaca wool to souvenirs and live chickens. I haggled my way around and bought some awesome stuff for good prices. It's touristy but the people are friendly and genuine. I was in heaven with all the brilliant colors, jewelry and cool artwork, definitely going to return there before I go stateside.

On Sunday, Ibis and I went out to see the Bicentenario sights. There was a parade that lasted about 5 hours, including floats for each provence of Ecuador, president Rafael Correa, and other leaders from Latin America. Sometimes within Quito I'll suddenly remember that I'm in a third-world Latin American country - like seeing rows of security personnel with crowd shields and tear gas around the parade.

The Centro Historico was packed with people. We went to 3 or 4 museums, and I have to admit I was bored out of my mind. It was basically a series of portraits and statues of the saints, Mary, etc. which I definitely saw MORE than enough of in Europe (yes, I'm spoiled, but I think I've filled my life quota of Jesus paintings). People watching was fun though, and there's something really cool about witnessing patriotism as a foreigner.

After several hours of museums we went to my neighbor/relative's house to relax and eat. Everyone was really friendly and funny. I hung out with my "cousin" Jose who's 22. He works for American Airlines in between school so he's traveled to more cities in the U.S. than I have.

Today I went with Ibis, Maria Elena and some relatives to a town about half an hour away to eat and walk around. The restaurant we went to was basically a pig roast (I'll post pictures) with delicious Ecuadorian food. We got ice cream at this big mall then returned to Quito. Jose and I walked around the center for a while then saw G.I. Joe at the huge movie theater - $4.25 a ticket.

I'm absolute exhausted from two full days with no english. It's definitely easier than when I was first in Spain but it requires a lot of brain power. I've been kind of lame this first week, only out to the discoteca once so far! However I already feel more comfortable in the city, starting to figure this place out!