So, I'm probably going to fail my oral exam today.  

Quito in Motion

Driving in Quito…frightening.  I mean, I’m not the one driving, but still, riding in Quito is an experience.  I went with my host mom, her kids and her sister to go pick up their mom from their aunt’s house.  First of all, I really had no idea where we were going and why, possibly because my Spanish is that bad, but I just think they didn’t mention it.  All I know is that my madre’s sister said, “Vamos a la casa de mi tia en diez minutos,” (We leave to my aunt’s house in 10 minutes).  Okay then.  There was a bunch of running around and excitement, then we took off for the house.  I had no idea what was going on and why we were going there.  So, basically I just stared out the window the whole time and watched the traffic. 

 

Watching the traffic sounds boring, and I guess that it is—if you don’t think your life depends on it.  It was absolutely insane!  Cars flying everywhere.  They DO NOT stop for pedestrians.  Motorcycles just weave in and out between the cars.  People go about 45 mph in places that would surely be 25 mph zones in the United States.  Also, some of the roads are really steep here, like nothing I’ve ever seen before. We drove up this really steep street today, and I wondered how endangered my life was at the moment.  Plus, I kept worrying that we would hit someone.  Besides all the swerving, not stopping at red lights or stop signs and the pedestrians coming from all directions, the kids in the back seat were totally unrestrained.  No carseats, no seatbelts, nothing!  The little boy, Gabriel, is four years old, he was sleeping in the car, laying down across the seat, and Melisa, the 2 year old, was standing up or laying on the lap of her aunt.  I kept thinking about how that would go over in America. 

 

I would never want to drive in a place like this…SCARY!

Wrote This a While Ago, Clearly

Quito is beautiful.  Ecuador is a great country. The people here are very friendly and willing to help.  My family is great.  I have a mom, a dad and two kids.  The kids are named Gabriel (age 4) and Melissa (age 2).  They are so cute and curious about the new person in their home.  “Quieres jugar?” (Do you want to play?) they have asked me about 20 times in the last two days.

 

Speaking of kids, one weird thing I noticed is that people give their children a lot more freedom.  For instance, in the super market, Gabriel saw a playground set and wanted to play on it.  Ingrid (my host mom) allowed him to stay there by himself while we looked at fruit on the other side of the store.  I cannot imagine anyone in the states to leave a child to his own devices like that, especially in a store the size of Walmart.  It was strange to me, but there were many other children just roaming around the store and at the Centro Historico.

 

Many things are different here, but much of it is also the same.  It is very interesting.  In the store, there were so many American brands.  Almost all the toys were American.  I saw brands like Duncan Hines, Bisquick,, Fruit Loops.  This morning I had a breakfast of pancakes with Aunt Jemima syrup.  I’m glad there are familiar things around me.  It is comforting. 

 

Tomorrow is my first day of school, so I am very nervous about it.  I guess it is just another hurdle to get over…

 

Leaving Tomorrow

Welllll, this is my last night in Ohio, then I'm shipping out to Quito, Ecuador for the next 2.5 months. I'll be living with complete strangers in a land where I barely know the language. You could say I'm a little more than nervous. EEK! Luckily, I'm also going with my friend/roommate Kelsey. Thank goodness, because I would be reeeeeally freaking out if I were not traveling with her.

In between Spanish classes, we'll be traveling to various locations in Ecuador (our excursions). Here is my itinerary:
January 10--Arrive in Quito
January 24--Visit Cotopaxi (the world's highest active volcano)
February 7-8--Banos (a tourist town known for its hot springs)
February 14-15--Esmeraldas (beaches and rainforests)
February 21-25--Rainforest and Papallacta
March 12-17--The Galapagos Islands
March 25--Back to Ohio!

I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. Hopefully, it will be a great experience though...

On another related note, saying goodbye is not fun at all. It's actually horrible, and I hate it. This is just such a long time to be away from everyone. Thankfully, the only few goodbyes I have left are to my parents tomorrow morning.

Ohhhh, tomorrow morning...waking up at 4am (note that it is currently past 12am). So, I guess the next time I post to this I'll be in Ecuador!