One week down
Buenos Dias! (I can't figure out how to do the Spanish symbols yet, sorry!)
As of tomorrow I will have been in Ecuador for one full week! I don't know if it's supposed to be this way, but it feels like a lot longer. I imagine that time will fly once I've been here a while, but right now it's still extremely overwhelming trying to get used to everything. I love being here, don't get me wrong. It's just a whole different world, and I've almost completely lost my security net, except for keeping in touch with the outside world through the Internet (when it works). I've never experienced anything like this at all. I won't bore anyone with a bildungsroman or anything, but I can already tell that this will be one of the hardest and most rewarding things I've ever done.
I have so much to tell! Orientation has been pretty tedious, and there's another week of it after this. We've had lots of lectures and information sessions about health insurance and the like. But this coming week we get to make a few excursions: to the volcano Pichincha (not the one that's erupting), to the Papallacta hot springs, and to a city tour in Cashapamba. We registered for classes at PUCE (the Catholic University) this week, which was extremely stressful. Right now I'm tentatively signed up for Historical Literature of Ecuador, Teaching Spanish to Adults and Adolescents, Political and Social Change in Ecuador, and Latin American Sociology. I'll probably end up dropping a couple of them, but I wanted to see which I liked best. This coming week we're registering for classes at the other university we'll attend, the Salesiana, which has some alternatively-organized classes, like those that meet only once or twice a month and are conducted the rest of the time through field research and email contact. I'm not sure if I'll like that kind of set-up, but we'll see!
I'm still enjoying living with my host family. My host sister Paola is on the national fencing team (I can't remember if I've said that before), and she's pretty tough. She's very nice, though; yesterday she called me to make sure I made it to the Parque la Carolina to meet up with my friends. I think she's kind of rebellious, because Melida (host mami) told me that she sometimes comes home late & tipsy with friends she didn't ask to have over. They seem to have a pretty good relationship though. They both speak good English too because Melida's brothers and sisters live in the U.S., although they only speak to me in Spanish now. I've already noticed a slight improvement in my Spanish, or at least my listening skills. It's nothing very impressive (as I listened to Paola and 3 of her teenage friends talk over lunch yesterday and caught very little of it), but I can't wait until I'm comfortable with the language here.
The food here is great, and I feel a lot healthier than in the U.S. They eat a bigger lunch and a smaller dinner here, plus I walk almost everywhere I go, so I have lots of energy! I'm still getting used to the altitude; climbing up a flight of stairs or walking up a hill leaves me a bit short of breath. There are a lot of things to watch out for, though. We can't carry very much money on us, and we have to keep close tabs on backpacks or purses, because they get slashed open or snatched all the time. I've already been offered what I'm almost positive was a drug-laced pamphlet already, too. It's a good thing that the program directors warned us about them. Going out to clubs and bars can be really sketchy too. We usually go out as a whole group, so it's easy for creepy guys to pick out vulnerable looking "gringas" to approach. One girl in our group was already kind of assaulted at a dance club, but luckily we were all there with her and told the guy to scram, and she's fine. It's really hard to distinguish who is being nice and who is being TOO friendly. I feel bad because I don't want to judge people, but when it comes to my own safety, being careful is more important.
Well, my host mami is making lunch, and then I'm probably going to the Basilica or somewhere with friends, so I'll have to slap a "To Be Continued" on this novel and come back to it later.
I hope everyone is well! I miss you all terribly!
As of tomorrow I will have been in Ecuador for one full week! I don't know if it's supposed to be this way, but it feels like a lot longer. I imagine that time will fly once I've been here a while, but right now it's still extremely overwhelming trying to get used to everything. I love being here, don't get me wrong. It's just a whole different world, and I've almost completely lost my security net, except for keeping in touch with the outside world through the Internet (when it works). I've never experienced anything like this at all. I won't bore anyone with a bildungsroman or anything, but I can already tell that this will be one of the hardest and most rewarding things I've ever done.
I have so much to tell! Orientation has been pretty tedious, and there's another week of it after this. We've had lots of lectures and information sessions about health insurance and the like. But this coming week we get to make a few excursions: to the volcano Pichincha (not the one that's erupting), to the Papallacta hot springs, and to a city tour in Cashapamba. We registered for classes at PUCE (the Catholic University) this week, which was extremely stressful. Right now I'm tentatively signed up for Historical Literature of Ecuador, Teaching Spanish to Adults and Adolescents, Political and Social Change in Ecuador, and Latin American Sociology. I'll probably end up dropping a couple of them, but I wanted to see which I liked best. This coming week we're registering for classes at the other university we'll attend, the Salesiana, which has some alternatively-organized classes, like those that meet only once or twice a month and are conducted the rest of the time through field research and email contact. I'm not sure if I'll like that kind of set-up, but we'll see!
I'm still enjoying living with my host family. My host sister Paola is on the national fencing team (I can't remember if I've said that before), and she's pretty tough. She's very nice, though; yesterday she called me to make sure I made it to the Parque la Carolina to meet up with my friends. I think she's kind of rebellious, because Melida (host mami) told me that she sometimes comes home late & tipsy with friends she didn't ask to have over. They seem to have a pretty good relationship though. They both speak good English too because Melida's brothers and sisters live in the U.S., although they only speak to me in Spanish now. I've already noticed a slight improvement in my Spanish, or at least my listening skills. It's nothing very impressive (as I listened to Paola and 3 of her teenage friends talk over lunch yesterday and caught very little of it), but I can't wait until I'm comfortable with the language here.
The food here is great, and I feel a lot healthier than in the U.S. They eat a bigger lunch and a smaller dinner here, plus I walk almost everywhere I go, so I have lots of energy! I'm still getting used to the altitude; climbing up a flight of stairs or walking up a hill leaves me a bit short of breath. There are a lot of things to watch out for, though. We can't carry very much money on us, and we have to keep close tabs on backpacks or purses, because they get slashed open or snatched all the time. I've already been offered what I'm almost positive was a drug-laced pamphlet already, too. It's a good thing that the program directors warned us about them. Going out to clubs and bars can be really sketchy too. We usually go out as a whole group, so it's easy for creepy guys to pick out vulnerable looking "gringas" to approach. One girl in our group was already kind of assaulted at a dance club, but luckily we were all there with her and told the guy to scram, and she's fine. It's really hard to distinguish who is being nice and who is being TOO friendly. I feel bad because I don't want to judge people, but when it comes to my own safety, being careful is more important.
Well, my host mami is making lunch, and then I'm probably going to the Basilica or somewhere with friends, so I'll have to slap a "To Be Continued" on this novel and come back to it later.
I hope everyone is well! I miss you all terribly!