In Quito

hello friends!

I made it to Ecuador all in one piece. In fact on my flight down I was bumped up to first class! I have no idea why or how but I must have had some good karma stored up. I have never been in first class before and do you know you get a tablecloth! A tablecloth and real glass and a cloth napkin. I felt a little embarressed about my windfall and did not take full advantage I think. Then I arrived in Ecuador. There was a little mix up trying to get to my host family (the director of the program took me instead) but I eventually made it. My host family is just one awesome lady and her dachsund, Bruno. I will post pictures very soon. I had orientation and got my schedule of intense spanish class and time in the hospital. Then I go for a weekend in Banos and on to Puyo. My very first week I stay overnight in an indigenous rainforest village. I am very excited. My spanish is a lot worse than I thought. So, I am in the very most basic level of class. My host mom, Gina, is very good about talking to me and trying to ask questions. Sometimes she launches into a long story that I cannot understand but I nod and smile and pet Bruno. I took some pictures of Quito from Gina´s daughter´s apartment roof. She also talked to me for a long time. Basically my family is amazingly accomodating of my poor Spanish.

All the students and teachers at the school so far have been really great. Today I braved my fear and went to a seafood resturaunt and tried Ceviche. Ecuador is famous for ceviche on the coast. It is basically seafood gently cooked with acid as I understand it. I tried shrimp and conch. I paid kind of a lot by Quito standards like $7 but I figured it was worth it to pay high dollar for barely cooked seafood in a very clean, nice place. I want to say I loved it but I didn´t it was a little weird because it is served cold. It was an intense flavor too. I liked the shrimp but not so much the conch because I kept biting into hard stuff (sand?). Anyway I hope to post pictures tonight. Yesterday was Sunday and everything was closed including the internet cafes so I couldn´t tell everyone I was alive. Luckily too the traffic was a little slower. But today it was a lot of scurrying.