I'm Going To Miss These People

I board my plane in about 11 hours, and while I'm very anxious to return to the States, I am having a tough time leaving these people behind.

Me and Sofia, my host sister

Me and Wilma, our Assistant Director

Me and Rocío, my Literature professor

And everyone else. You have all (compañeros en el programa, familia anfitriona, profesores, y todos) changed my life in so many ways I cannot express. Thank you.

As for me, this is my last blog post from Ecuador, but if you're lucky and if my life stays interesting, the blog may continue in the future. Keep your eyes open.

See you soon, America!

It's Not A Vacation Anymore...

Up until this point, my stay in Ecuador has felt like an extended summer vacation. Yes, I've been going to classes and I've been learning a lot, I just haven't had much school work to do. Until this week. Yesterday we started our classes in FLACSO, or Facultad Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales. It's a grad school and we have two classes a week from 5-8 at night. The work load is going to be much more like the typical Colby workload, and to be honest, I'm not really looking forward to it. But hopefully it will vale la pena (be worth it).

One of the two FLACSO towers. 

This is the café in one of the FLACSO building. I will be spending a lot of time here.

What IS the Difference Between an Alpaca and a Llama?

Yes, I've been wondering this for quite some time. And in San Clemente, I got my answer- you use alpacas for their fur, and llamas for carrying things. Duh! But how do you tell them apart? To me they were just some goofy 4-legged creatures that looked like small, hairy giraffes. But then, I stumbled upon this:

"The llama is roughly twice the size of the alpaca and the llama has a very coarse outer coat over a softer inner coat- as opposed to the alpaca, which has a very fine, single coat. In addition, the llama produces far less fiber per animal than the alpaca, despite its much larger size. This is because the alpaca was domesticated and carefully bred for over 5000 years as a luxury fiber-producing animal. The llama has been bred for the same amount of time as a pack-carrying animal."

Alpacas. I don't have a picture of a llama because I haven't seen any of them yet!

Have a good weekend!

The Pharmacy Delivers?!

Yep. You guessed it. I've gotten pretty sick these last few days. It might have been something I ate in San Clemente or it might have been a long time coming. But, long story short, I've been holed up in my bed for the last few days, and yesterday's ambitious trip to class only left me weak and exhausted.

But, in spite of my weakened condition, I learned one thing today: the pharmacy delivers! It's a grand total of 7 blocks from my house to the pharmacy, and as I am in no condition to walk that distance nor did I want to spend the money on a taxi, my host mom informed me that they deliver! That was the greatest news I've had all week. So now I'm just sitting in bed with my gatorade watching The Little Mermaid hoping to get healthier by Friday, if not tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Finally, one of my favorite bloggers does this thing called the Happy List, where whenever she feels down, she publishes a list of 10 things that make her really happy in the moment. So, here's my first...

10 Things That Make Me Happy

1. Thunderstorms

2. The Little Mermaid

3. Hot Chocolate

4. Having my Psych prof look at me when asking about an English term for Broca's Area

5. Saltine Crackers

6.  Making new friends who don't speak English

7. My host sister Sophia sharing birthday cake with me, even when I can't eat much

8. My host brother Fabricio (he's 1) blowing kisses at me. Que coqueto!

9. Country music

10. Not using an English-Spanish dictionary every 5 minutes.

Was that weird? Oh well. It made me feel better!

Mi Casa and the Government?

So, my house is located across the street from the main political/governmental buildings. The financial building, Congress, and other main branches of the Ecuadorian government are all situated next to the Casa de la Cultura, so it seems like there is always something going on on the other side of the street.

Every weekend in the park that is right here there is an artisanal fair where people from all over the country come to sell their paintings and other works of art.

Almost every weekend there has been some sort of big concert in the Casa de la Cultura, and we can hear it from our front terrace, so sometimes we sit outside and listen as a family. It's cute.

But on days like today, there are HUGE protests that clog the street in front of my house as literally thousands of people march from who knows where in order to change something about society. According to my mamí, I'm not allowed to go near the other side of the street on those days because if something were to happen and I were to end up in jail for being a protestor, I would be in a world of trouble. So I don't go near it, although I do want to get a picture one of these days. Some pretty huge governmental actions are supposed to happen in the next month, so I'm sure I can sneak a picture sometime soon.

Just a Regular Day

So classes officially started yesterday and I've managed to fall into a schedule of sorts. This means that my days aren't as interesting as those during orientation week, but they're still pretty fun.

This is the back entrance of the main University where I will be taking my classes. I will be taking my fourth class at the grad school that is 20 minutes away. That class doesn't start until October, though. It's a 10 minute walk to the University from my house, so that's really convenient. I don't have to take a bus or taxi, unless it's dark outside and unsafe to walk home.

This is one of the main hallways at the University. It's an open hallway and the windows overlook the quad where kids are always playing soccer and practicing cheerleading or something.

One more thing I've noticed about my stay in the city thus far is the pollution. The air is so contaminated that some days (like today), my eyes are burning by the end of the day because the pollution is so bad. It can't be good. With all the exhaust fumes from the cars and the seemingly never-ending cigarette smoke that lingers over the entire city, it's no wonder that my eyes are always red and itchy. I need to get eye drops...

The Andes, food, and traffic.

This is the view from my front door. The Andes are the mountains in the background, and the building front and center with all the mirrors on it is the "Casa Cultural" or the Cultural Center. There are things like a theater, a movie theater, restaurants, art exhibits, etc. in it.

I guess the thing that has made the most impact on me these first few days is the poverty. There are children (yes, like 6 years old) who are selling things in the street so they can have something to eat that night. It breaks my heart, but I've been told numerous times to not buy anything from them because it is unsafe and maybe even unhealthy. But it's fine because all we do is eat. I eat breakfast at home (some sort of egg or potato called "yuca"), then we have snacks in the office, I return home for a lunch (a soup and some sort of meat or vegetable sauté) and a siesta, then we go back to the school office and have more snacks, where upon return home we eat a brief snack consisting of bread and cheese around 6 o'clock, and finally a pretty big dinner around 9 or 9:30. So. Much. Food.

Also, the buses that I have to take to school don't have bus stops. You literally jump on and then jump off whenever you can. It's crazy! I'm terrified that I will get hit by a car, but hopefully that won't happen. And the cars are equally as crazy. No one stops for pedestrians, there are no designated lanes on the streets so it's a free-for-all, and everyone is very aggressive. It's really scary.

I'm Off!

I have two suitcases that are barely full (shouldn't I have more stuff?) and am leaving SUPER early tomorrow morning. Hopefully the hurricane won't interfere with my travels, so keep your fingers crossed.

But here's the craziest thing: the only way you will be able to contact me until DECEMBER 18th is by the Internet. Email, Facebook, Skype, whatever.  Don't try to text or call me, because I won't respond.

See you soon!


PS. The two biggest pieces of advice that I got from people were these: 1. take a stuffed animal, and 2. keep a journal. So, of course I'm taking Dog the Golden Retriever with me, and a journal too.