Aqui estoy!

WOWOWOWOWOWOW.

So, I'm sure you've aready come to the conclusion that I'm in Ecuador. And I am! Finally! Of course it's not much like I expected, but in many ways it's so much better. The food thrils me to no end. The family is so dear and the view out my window... I can see this hill in the distance with all these houses on it, it looks identical to a picture I found of Guayaquil when this was all just beginning.

I'm so physically exhausted, and time passes so strangely. I woke up this morning and checked my clock on my iPod, which I think is the cause of the confusion. The clock said it was around noon. I was embarassed about sleeping the whole morning, but when I got downstairs, I checked the TV and the clock and it wasn't even 9:00 yet. I changed the time zone on the iPod, trying to synchronize it with the actual time, but when i took a nap later, it said 3:00, I think, and it was only 1. Or something like that. Either way, I'm entirely discombobulated!

I can't believe how lax the laws are here. Leaving the airport, a group of no less than 10 or 12 people squeezed in the back of a pickup truck next to Nia's car. I told her that that's illegal in America, and she said it's legal to ride around like that as long as it's short trips within a city. There aren't any apparent speed limits and customs didn't even check my bag, which was a relief, seeing as how I "snuck" Swedsh Fish over the border. :)

I'm concurrently keeping two journals-one in english and one in spanish. I'm hoping to utilize the two to practice my spanish, but still be able to hash complicated things out if my vocabulary is too limited. The family is so patient with me, and they use what they know of English, short phrases or words, to fill in any blanks. I nod a lot, and say "Que?" ("What?") all the time. I know the language barrier is temporary, but it's intimidating nonetheless.

Last night we ate Shawarma, which is a lot like most of the tex-mex I've had over the years. Still delicious though. They have a big chicken rotisserie, from which they scrape pieces of meat and wrap it in a tortilla with fresh onion and tomatoes. Breakfast was a hard-boiled egg and instant coffee, and lunch was soup, fish filet, fried banana with cheese, and vegetables. We have a housekeeper who cooked for us and did the dishes, aside from her other duties, and she doesn't sit with us at the table. Instead, she sits at the counter, and when Diego runs out of cheese for his banana, she gets up from her lunch to bring it to him. My guilty conscience at this is what the Exchange Student Survival Guide calls a red flag-it stimulates a response in me, of alarm or disapproval, but it's a clear indicator of a cultural dfference. In america, first of all, I doubt there are many like Marilu, but I'm sure I would invite her to eat with us. It's hard to remember that that doesn't mean the Leivas are wrong. It just means that we have different values. I can learn from it.


That's all for now. Ciao!