Hey friends,

I’ve had a great couple of days – and I have another great few to look forward to. Time is really passing fast (tomorrow I will have been here for 3 weeks already!) and I can see that the semester is going to fly by. It will be 22 Dec. before I know it!!

I haven’t been able to update y’all much since last Friday, so I’ll start back there. On Friday I only have that 6-credit, never-ending, 3-hour-and-15-minute class… and then at 12:15pm I’m free for the rest of the day. Last Friday I spent the afternoon with three of my friends, Laura, Katy, and Becca, and we went on a mini adventure around Quito. We were using the Lonely Planet book and looking for cool places to visit and see. We certainly found many places, but we did manage to get a bit lost. The Lonely Planet book is fantastic – it has everything in it… maps, places to stay, museums, awesome food places, transportation recommendations, climbing places!!!, outdoor adventure suggestions – everything. We just need a little more practice at reading/following a map, and then we’ll be set. Next time we’re going to try using it for starters.

Our adventure ended up taking up all of the afternoon (which was totally fine). We all went back home to change and get ready for a cocktail that PUCE was hosting for all the exchange students. There was A LOT of dancing at the cocktail – salsa mostly, which I’m still pathetic at, but learning slowly – and it was still a ton of fun. The cocktail ended around 11:00, at which point we decided that we hadn’t had enough dancing, so we continued on to La Mariscal. It was a great night with all of my new friends and I really had a lot of fun.

I slept and studied for most of the weekend. I was pretty tired and didn’t feel up to doing much so I spent most of the time getting ahead on class work. I definitely had my first real bout of homesickness/SBCsickness. I’m through it now, but it was kind of tough. I was actually doing okay until I read a really sweet e-mail from Helen and saw a picture of Laura Jahnke on Facebook… then I got pretty bummed out for a little while. I’ve decided that homesickness is a bittersweet thing. It totally sucks to feel it – it’s pretty awful – but at the same time it wouldn’t be there if you didn’t have something wonderful and worthwhile to miss. I’m not bummed anymore, I feel a lot better, but I do have to say that I’m a lucky kid to have so many great friends at SBC and in WI and VA to miss, and so many family members to look forward to seeing. I never imagined that I would miss home like I was a few days ago; it was something totally new to me that I’m hoping not to have too much more of… and yet I appreciated at the same time.

The other thing that I was thinking about with going home is how strange it is going to be to go from August to December without experiencing any change in the weather. When I left DC it was sooooo hot, even for me, and I’m always cold. When I go home in December it will be two days before Christmas and cold again. Quito is the same temperature and same weather every single day (with the exception of wet season and dry season cycles). In my mind it’s still summer time in DC and that’s how it’s going to stay… I’m not experiencing any change at all in seasons down here. It’s going to be a strange transition to go through.

I’ve been able to experience some more of the culture and daily life in Quito. It’s cool how diverse the culture is down here – there is everyone from Europeans to indigenous cultures, and everything in between. A lot of people follow their traditional customs and beliefs (whatever they may be) while others seem to more like what we’re used to seeing in the States.

How people dress is a whole new thing to me. A lot of indigenous people (women in particular) follow their native dressing traditions. It’s really neat – I’ve seen some beautiful scarves and ponchos that they make themselves. The thing about dressing down here that confuses me the most though is how people dress for work. I’ve noticed, more often than not, offices have “uniforms”. This is true at PUCE – all the office workers must wear light grey and light pink (the exact same shades) everyday. PUCE’s is rather simple from what I’ve seen… some of these offices get really elaborate with their dress codes. I saw some women earlier today and they were wearing black with the same striped pattern of different colors. I’m not sure why they dress like that for office work, but it’s more complex than I’ve ever seen at home. People who are vendors on the streets also have uniforms that they work in – but they’re more like jumpsuits. Generally big and blue and look super hot to work in.

Another thing that I’ve noticed (I think this is pretty specific to Ecuador) is how many diminutives are used while speaking. At first I didn’t think too much of it – or I just didn’t notice too much – but with more time here I have really started to pick up on how often words are used differently. ‘Momentito’ seems rather normal to me… but ‘enfermita’ and ‘mapita’ were starting to push it. And then, yesterday in my environmental class out came the word ‘animalitos’. Seriously? ‘Animalitos?’ Yeah, Ecuador likes the diminutives. I though this was all too much until earlier today when I was eating lunch with one of my friends and I used one myself. It’s contagious!!!

The vosotros form of verbs has vanished for the year. It’s not used, it’s not taught, and it’s not even really recognized as a verb form. (Sorry Spanish professors at SBC) …but I’m kind of glad to say my goodbyes. It’s funny, in class I keep waiting to go on to the vosotros form and they just skip right over it into uds. I’ve been studying it on my own, but it’s not used here, ever. P.S. – my best move in the world when I came to Ecuador – I brought my intermediate Spanish book from a few years ago. Brilliant move… it’s saving me just about every day and helping me review the basics.

My environmental professor came to class yesterday almost an hour late. When he finally arrived he told us why he was so late: his car was stolen over the weekend. He told us the whole story, but basically what it came down to was that the police won’t help him. He said that he and his son had spent two days looking for it, and thought they found it, but the people who stole it are looking over it with weapons. And when he called the police to ask for help they told him to handle the situation on his own and they didn’t care to help. How crazy is that!? Again, this is another thing that I read about and learned about back in VA, but it’s different to see it actually take place. My professor is essentially out of luck. Bad day.

Elections are also coming up in Ecuador. People are starting to get very active in trying to promote the candidates that they want to see take office. It has been interesting to watch. It’s also completely different from the U.S. I was talking to a political sociologist a few days ago about the election process in Ecuador and about politics in general. He was more interested in speaking English to me (for his practice), which I was completely fine with. My favorite thing he said (I had to write it down because it really made me realize what life is life down here, in a comical sense on his part)… he said to me; “…checks and balances in the U.S… the, umm, where you have to, how do you say in English… ah, ‘accountability’. We don’t have that word in Spanish; we don’t even know the concept actually.” I had to laugh, but it seems that what he was saying (this among other things) is true. It’s going to be interesting to watch what happens down here. Ecuador is very politically active right now and in the process of changing many things – it’s a good time to study and learn.

So with all that, things still going well in Ecuador. Classes are great (although I’ve never read so much Borges in my entire life!!) and I’m really starting to settle into Quito.

I had a great day today – Nancy, Caroline’s childhood nanny who I’ve gotten to know over the years at SBC – is originally from Quito. She’s in town right now and she called me earlier today. I love Nancy to death; she’s absolutely one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. Tomorrow I am going to meet her for lunch after my morning class and on Saturday she has invited me to a wedding with her entire family. I’m really, really excited – I’ve heard tons about her family from Caroline and I already know that they’re a great group of people. Plus I’ll get to meet more Ecuadorians and expand who I know down here. And a wedding!? Always fun…

When I got back to my host family tonight I told them all about Nancy and Saturday and the wedding. My host sister started pulling out dress after dress that I could borrow to wear. I got lucky with my host family – I have great parents and three siblings my age. ¡Qué suerte tengo!

I hope that everyone is doing well back in the States. I’ve had some really good (and long) Facebook conversations with some of you – and like I’ve already said, I miss you tons. Do your homework, study hard, play harder, and enjoy your year. I’ll see y’all in December or January and I expect good stories!!!! I already have some for you – ask Helen. :-)