Things are still great in Quito, but getting to be very busy. We start class on Monday. I know I'm a nerd, but I'm really excited.

Quito is such a cool city. We're all starting to get better adjusted to the altitude change. It took a lot more energy to get used to that I was expecting it would. We're still not allowed to exercise heavily for another week (until the hemoglobin in our blood is at a safe level) but now we're at least able to go on light hikes and climb stairs without getting winded. But the change in altitude is totally worth it -- the mountains are beautiful. The sun comes up and goes down at the same time everyday. It happens really fast - only taking about 20 minutes - but it's really pretty to watch. We're going into our first rainy season. Also cool. I like the rain.

We went to the hot springs today. Ironically, I don't think I've ever been so cold in my life. We were up with the clouds, way above the city. The water was hot... but I'm not a big fan of swimming, so I spent a lot of the time being pretty chilled. It was so pretty though, and totally worth the trip.

Tomorrow I'm going to go explore Quito with some of my friends. We have to practice the bus system some more because it is hard to use. We're going to go hiking and then meet up with more friends in colonial Quito for supper.

Anyway, mom, I'm fine, just busy. :) I'll write more later. Love to SBC (Alysha, I'll get you your own copy of the photo!!! :) ).

Today I went to "Dulce de Quito" (Sweets of Quito) in the colonial plaza. I went with my friend Laura and her family. Dulce de Quito is a festival that happens each year and lasts for about two weeks. Today was the last day for this year, but it didn't stop it from being busy and alive.

Laura's host mom was so excited to introduce us to all the different sweets that are native to Quito. I have never ever in my life been on such a sugar high like the one that I was on today (and am still recovering from this afternoon). Laura's mom had us try just about everything - ice creams, chocolates, sweet breads, coconuts, fruits, a juice made from maiz, dulce de leche (the real thing!), and much more that I can't remember. So, I don't think I'll need any sugar for the next month or five, but Dulce de Quito was really neat.

I'm getting better each day at speaking Spanish - yay! I got to know Laura's mom a bit, then we came back to my homestay after Dulce de Quito and we talked to my family. My mom is here, along with my sister and aunt. After all the sweets my mom made us carrot soup. It was really different -- you eat it with popcorn in it. And then, just when Laura and I thought we were about to fall over from so much food, my sister had made us something very similar to banana bread. People eat in Ecuador.

I went on my first solo adventure though Quito this morning to get to Laura's house. I took a taxi and was able to talk to the driver the whole time without being confused!! Laura lives near the airport in an area called El Inca. The coolest part about Laura's home --- she has a llama in her backyard! It was pretty sweet... I got to play with a llama this morning. He's soooo cute!

We start our orientation with IES tomorrow. Hopefully my academic schedule will be set up for good.

Miss you all!! Lovely message Meg, I loved it! Go swimming in the fountain for me, k? :)

Oh, photos too...

Overlooking part of Quito from La Virgen

At the equator... haha... I think my legs were in

the northern hemisphere and my arms in the southern...

At 'Dulce de Quito' with Laura and her cousin

La cuidad, la escuela y la comida

Hi friends,

All is still well in Quito. The group has finished the orientation with PUCE (Catolica) and will be going into our main orientation on Monday. I think I'm going to end up taking 18 credit hours this semester (15 at PUCE and 3 with the program that I came with). 18 is a lot for a normal semester at SBC -- doing all of this in Spanish is going to be interesting. But... I really am looking forward to at least getting started with all of it. Classes don't begin until the 3 of Sept. and I can't wait. Right now things kind of feel like they're in limbo. Plus, once classes start I'm really going to start improving my Spanish skills. That will be a good thing.

Lately we've been getting to know more of the culture. We learned some salsa and have been going around the city. Today we went to La Plaza Grande - aka La Plaza de la Independencia - in colonial Quito. The plaza has a lot of the presidential and government buildings for Quito and all of Ecuador. From there we went to the Church of Santo Domingo and La Compania de Jesus (another church). There was so much to see; the architecture alone was amazing, but then there were also paintings, statues and old church showpieces. All of this was around the Plaza in old town Quito. The area was very alive and full of people. There were many children who were poor and working - just trying to make some money to bring home to their families. I talked to two of the kids - they were brother and sister, the girl was 9 and the boy 5 (Clara and Oscar). They didn't seem to have a home that they go to on a regular basis, but they stick together. I knew when I came to Ecuador that this was a way of life and a reality. It's still sad to actually see it taking place.

From the Plaza Grande we went to the statue of La Virgen de Quito. The statue looks over the entire city of Quito and is really pretty to look at. It's even cooler when you go up to visit it. After the statue we went to La Mitad del Mundo (the equator!!), about 20 miles outside of Quito. That was another neat adventure. I have some photos that I'll try to post at some point if I can. The only not-so-great part of today was being on the bus on a twisty mountain road. It was raining and all I could think about was the movie "Dragonfly". If you've seen the movie I'm sure you know what I mean.

The last place we went today was to eat lunch. We went about 30 minutes outside of the city to a territory that is owned by PUCE. The home we went to for lunch was another amazing building.

Food in Ecuador rocks. If you know me well, you know that two of my favorite things are fruit and soup. My host mom has made soup twice since I've been here and both times it has been really good. The fruit is so different from the US. The fruit that we have in the US is much better down here... apples, oranges, bananas, kiwi, mangos. But, there are also many fruits that we don't have that are also really great. One is 'el tomate del arbol'. It is used mostly for making juice. Another (I don't remember the name) is really sweet and simple, and it looks kind of like fish eggs. Ecuadorians also make homemade juice on a regular basis. And! the avocados are sooooo good. I think I'm going to miss the food (especially fruit) when I go back home.

I hope all is well at home for everyone - especially all my SBC friends who have already started class. :) I'm thinking about you guys. Take care everyone and I miss you all!!!

I'm safe and in Quito. I arrived last night around midnight after a very long trip. The second flight (into Quito) was great though. I sat between one of the other new students and a woman from the coast of Ecuador. I made a new friend - she gave me her telephone number and made me promise that I would call her if I was ever near her town, or if I just decided I wanted to visit. The plane ride was good though mostly because I was able to speak Spanish for so long. It got me back into speaking patterns before arriving in Quito.

My host family is wonderful. My host mom and brother met me at the airport. They were waiting with a sign. My host mom was funny; she had a huge smile on her face the whole time but it wasn't until she realized who I was that she got really excited. She gave me a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek and then "oh, y aqui es Nicko, su hermano". She's great.

The home is right in the center of the city. It's loud - it puts Arlington to shame - but I really like it so far. I was exhausted when I got here. I unpacked quickly and then went to sleep. Unpacking wasn't so hard because the powerbar comment isn't a joke. Seriously - over 100 powerbars and like 4 pairs of underwear. Yeah...

It was hard waking up this morning though. I was having another one of my really weird and recent dreams (in English 100%) when my host mom woke me up and started talking to me. I was soooo confused and disoriented. I went to the university - Catolocia - and met up with all the other international studnets for the year. There are more programs than just mine. It was neat getting to know some of the other students, especially those who aren't from the US.

We had a tour of the campus and an introduction session. Then they gave us a Spanish language exam (booo) and picked at our already overwhelmed brains. You have to score really well to be able to take normal classes at this school. Most international students only take one class (intense Spanish language) with Catolica and then take the rest of their classes with the host program. I was expecting that this would be my case and I was planning on taking Spanish at the univeristy and other classes with IES. I was also hoping that I would score high enough during the spring semester to be able to enter the university as a normal Ecuadorian student would. I ended up scoring 1 point too low to take classes that the university. It really suprised me how well I did, especially considering that I haven't used my Spanish in months and I haven't slept more than 4 hours per night in the last 6 nights. So I was pretty happy. Apparently a bunch of students tested right on the border also. The school decided to do entrevistas (interviews) with each of us to see if they wanted to bump us up to the next level. I passed though and got permission to begin classes at the main university in Quito.

So, I can't decide if this is good news or bad news. I think good even though the nervous places in my heart are freaking out a little. I do still get to take a really intensive Spanish crash course (6 credits) and then 2 more classes at Catolica. I have to take at least one with my host program also. So I'm already at 15 credits that are all intense and only in Spanish. To top it off, I found this class that teaches rock climbing and the psychology of climbing here in the mountains. It's a good possiblity that I'll end up with 18 credit hours.

Quito is beautiful. When we were coming in on the plane I could see all the mountains and terrain of the city - it's really spectacular. They wern't kidding that the pilots take the planes down hard and fast. It was an intense landing. I was able to explore a little today with some of my new friends. The air is thin and tough to get used to. The pollution makes my environmentalist heart sad. I got a sunburn very quickly and easily despite sunscreen (don't worry Debbie, it's not too bad and the first thing my host mom did when she saw me this afternoon was put her hands on my face and lecture me about it). The driving is INSANE. I though being in a car/bus was bad, but then today I tried to cross the street and holy cow. D.C. should be embarassed and they have lost all bragging rights about their aggressive driving.

Overall things are going well. I'm having a little home and sweet briar sickness, but I'm okay. The hardest part right now is getting used to being dependent on only Spanish. It's not natural to me yet and it's tough to keep up confidence. But I just keep making myself think that I know more today than I knew yesterday, and tomorrow I'll be thinking the exact same thing about today. I'm sure it will all come with time.

I hope all is well for everyone in the states. Megan C - remember that discussion about how Mexican food is the best and I won't get "the best" food in Ecuador? My host dad went to school and lived in Mexico. So it's the best of both worlds. It made me smile and think of you and "Queso? Queso? Su familia es de otro pais". Anyways, I hope all is well for everyone and I'm missing all of you. Best wishes.

P.S. I'm too lazy to do spell check or read though what I wrote. Enjoy and embrace the typos.

adios a los ee.uu.

Going to SBC for a few days was wonderful and so much fun. It was great to see everyone before leaving for Quito (except that I'm sad I wasn't able to see Caroline and Mal). I didn't think I would have these kind of memories to bring with me from junior year. If you were at SBC last weekend you know what I'm talking about... Megan (Harlem J. Sac)... Alysha ("that's not a problem, that's what you normally do at a red light")... Laurel (InternationalQuiznosSub!!)... Laura (about the dancing)... to name a few. My poster and bear are treasures and I am going to keep them close every day for the next year. I love all of you tons and tons and I'll miss you very much. Laurel, the fountain it's running in January so when I come visit you're going to have to think of something really awesome to top Monday. :)



I leave for the airport in an hour. I need to go take a shower and get ready to go. I'll write again as soon as I get a chance.



Otra vez, mucho amor a mis amigas de la escula. Tengo mucho suerte para tener amigas como las de SBC. Y mi amiga Megan, necesitas hablar mucho mucho mucho para molestar al profe durante la clase porque no puedo ayudarte. Pero puedes ser buena sin yo. Abrazos y besos por todas.

Hey everyone,

I leave for Quito in a week. I’m really excited, but definitely nervous too. I’ll be using this blog site while I’m away. I’m trying to get into the habit of using it on a regular basis, but I think it might take me a little while. Pat (my younger bro, who frequently goes by ‘brother’) will be helping me keep everything up to date and everyone informed. That's him in the photo - he's a cool kid.

It’s going to be different being away from everyone at school. I didn't realize how hard separation is going to be. I was driving home a few nights ago when “How To Save A Life” by The Fray came on the radio. I immediately thought about Caroline and Becca – wondering how summer was going for them, how Caroline’s Semester At Sea experience was, how Becca is doing (since I haven’t talked to her in over two weeks!!). Then I realized that this is what it’s going to be like for the next year. There won’t be any singing to Becca in the middle of the night when I want her to wake up and talk to me, and no spending night after night after night on the balcony of the library with Caroline until 3 a.m... as she works really hard and I pass out and take a nap. So I’m a little sad right now because I am really, really going to miss all my friends at The Brair. But it’s only a year, and Quito is going to be a great experience.

I have the information about my host family and where I will be living. If you want my mailing address, send me an e-mail and I will send it to you. I’m also going to put it on Facebook when I get a chance. I am in the process of writing an e-mail to my host mom, but it’s really difficult - not the 100% Spanish part as much as the I don’t know her at all yet and this will be her first impression of the kid who’s coming to live with her for the next year.

For everyone at SBC, I’ll be coming down to visit with you guys before I go to Ecuador. I’m going to leave here on Sunday (19 Aug.) after church, so I should get to campus sometime around 2:30 or 3 in the afternoon. I don’t know where anyone lives this year (other than Megan and Laura live in that really funny-looking room of a “triple” in Randolph, and Becca and Kaelyn are upstairs from there), so I’ll try to find everyone in Prothro if I don’t see you before supper time. Otherwise, if you need help, I’ll help y’all move in. I’m excited to see all of you. :)