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.