October Highlights!

WOW! It is the end of October! I woke up this morning… and took my sweet time taking a shower and getting ready to leave for IES… and then I took even more time wandering around Quito during my “direct” walk to the center – which really turned out to be more of a “hey, what’s going on down that street… I think I need to walk that way today” type walk. The end of October and the beginning of November marks many religious celebrations down here and pretty much the beginning of the to-be Christmas season. I was a little confused while I was walking because there are a ton of food stands up with special breads and juices… then I realized that it is Colada Morada … oh, and p.s., the end of October! Tomorrow is November!! (and I'm still wearing shorts!! haha!)

So yeah, I’m not quite sure where the time is going because I really feel like just yesterday it was still September. As of this Saturday I will only have 7 weeks left down here – how sad! Quito has come to feel less like a foreign city that always surprises me and more like a home that I really enjoy. (That’s not to say that I don’t miss the woods … because I do! So, so, so much!) But what I have really realized and noticed is that life down here has become a very natural routine to me. I am less stunned by crazy bus drivers and kids who try to rob you – cautious still, but no longer surprised but such occurrences – and I think as a result the days are moving faster and life in general is just flying by in this city. Then to top it all off I have something planned almost every single day. “Resting” on weekends… haha, right. Last weekend I did "rest" – I spent Saturday in Mindo with my environmental class (AWESOME day and town, by the way) and Sunday at a 3-hour church service and then tracking down and catching up with some friends from PUCE who I hadn’t been able to see in weeks. Compared to other weekends, it was quite a restful one.

But things are good. This week has been a bit crazy because of our upcoming trip to the Amazon. I have a literature midterm on Thursday – yeah, I know that’s actually tomorrow, but saying Thursday makes me feel like I still have more time! – and then we leave for the Amazon on Friday morning. We are going to spend Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday in the Amazon (I am SO, SO excited!!) and then return to Quito on Monday night. Tuesday, the first day back, I have my religion midterm. And that is where the serious uh oh in my life is right now… my religion class is the one at PUCE with the professor who mumbles in indigenous dialect. The exam is on over 200 pages of textbook that he hasn’t taught in class. The literature exam I am ready for and I feel comfortable with. This religion exam though… oh my, oh my. I have spent all of this week getting ready for it and I am going to take all my notes and such with me to the Amazon. Hopefully I’ll do well. The good news is that I really feel that I have mastered all of the material in the textbook. If I don’t do well on the exam it will be because of language barriers – not because I haven’t managed to get the content down. In the meantime I am going to enjoy the Amazon and not worry too much.

Yesterday was a really great day. When I was leaving home in the morning I met up with my cousin who just happened to be leaving at the same time and walking in the same direction (he lives upstairs from my family). He walked with me all the way to the IES center and we chatted the entire way. He’s really nice… of all my extended family members down here, I have been able to get to know him better than anyone else. In the evening my host mom had a meeting at IES. My class let out at about the same time her meeting ended. My aunt came with her and as I was leaving class I met up with them. We went home together (along with my brother, who also showed up). I talked to my aunt for a little while on the way home. I really like her a lot. She is a professor at another university for North American exchange students. Spending time with here is like getting one-on-one Spanish help but without any added stress or class or grades or whatever. It’s totally informal and so helpful. Plus, she’s just really nice in general and fun to be around. I had supper with my mom and she and I talk for almost an hour. She brought up something from the meeting – about someone down here who tends to be a little harsh with people and not be too nice – and I ended up completely venting for her about it for almost a half hour. In the end I felt a ton better about the situation (this has been going on for about a month in between all the students, and although I haven’t been directly involved, I think it has still had an effect on me) and I realized that I have officially reached the point of being able to talk about just about anything in Spanish. Between my cousin and my aunt and my mom (oh, and class, that too) it was a really fantastic Spanish day.

Overall this month has been really good to me. I have seen some amazing places (Galápagos, Mindo, etc.) and learned so much. I like Ecuador a lot and I’m really glad that I came. Time is going to keep flying by so I’m trying my best to just enjoy it while I can. Anyway, what's not to love about stuff down here...? Today I have my environmental class - that translates into Hugo standing at the front of the room talking to us about the flora and fauna of the Amazon and how snakes "strip tease" (in his words) when they shed their skin. Quite an entertaining class. :-)

I hope everyone back at home has a great Halloween! Have fun (be safe) and tell me stories!