What A Wonderful World

It’s been awhile since I’ve written. I started class last week, and so far they are going well. Most of it is reviewing stupid mistakes we make, so it keeps getting reinforced, which is good. I have a language class from 9-10:45, and then 11:15 to 12:15 and then I am done for the day.
On Friday, I went to a concert in Old Quito. The band that opened was a local band, followed by Las Tetillas, which are from Chile. It was enjoyable and fun, and alot of the songs were in English, which was fun.
On Saturday, my friends and I went to a nightclub for my sister’s 30th birthday. My sister knew the owner, so we were able to snag all you can drink for $12. It was easy to break even, because a rum and Coke cost $3, so after I had 4 througout the night. The party went all night, which is customary here for big celebrations. I had a great time.
On Sunday, I walked to the airport with my mom and watched the planes land. It was pretty incredible to see how close they get to the buildings, I will have to bring my camera and take a video and pictures.
It has also been raining here for about a week now. It kinda makes things miserable, especially since I really like to walk everywhere and as much as I can.
That’s all for now
¡Chao!
I have new pictures, so be sure to check them out!

I realized that I never actually talked much about my family here. My mother’s name is Becha and she is the sweetest woman ever. She definitely acts like a mother, even to me. My father’s name is Julio and he is a doctor specializing in kidneys (I don’t know what a kidney specialist is called, in Spanish or English). He is nice but I don’t talk to him as much as I talk to my mother. Many times I have to have him repeat himself so that I can understand him. They live with me in my house here. Our program requires us to have our own rooms, so I don’t have a roommate, nor do I have anyone else living with me. I have three sisters. My oldest sister, Maria, I haven’t met (and won’t) because she lives in N.C. She is 34, married, and has two children. She works in a furniture store, but recently opened a restaurant. I have a middle sister named Karla, who is 29 and a dental surgeon. She and her boyfriend live together here in Quito, and I see her all the time. My youngest sister (although she’s still older) Juliana, is 24 and married and lives in Quito. She is in advertising, and her husband, Mauricio, is a photographer and graphic designer. I am the closest with the both of them, as they take me various places in and around Quito. They often take me out to lunch or dinner, and I go clubbing with them a lot. I even stayed at their apartment one night when my parents were away. I absolutely love my family here; they are so nice to me and treat me like family.
Sunday afternoon Marie and I went running in a local park. I was out of shape and couldn’t run very far, so we walked a lot. We happened upon aerobics in the park, and decided to try it. It was fun but we quickly got hot so left to find water, and then continued to walk around the park. I think the US should have free aerobics in parks to help the obesity epidemic. Anyway, we decided to make this a weekly venture, so we are going this Sunday again.
We also tried to climb the Teleferico, the tram that takes you to the top of Mout Pinchincha, but it was closed. So we are going again tomorrow.
¡Chao!

We were supposed to go to the beach tomorrow morning at 7, but since it is flooded we aren´t going. So now my friends and I have a week of nothing planned. We were thinking of doing things in Quito that we haven´t yet done, or doing things again that we really liked. We plan on going to Mindo, which is two hours outside Quito. It is the tropics, so it´s very hot there. There are also waterfalls, like the ones you see on television that are in the jungle. We also plan on going to the top of Mount Pichincha, and going to this really cheap mall in the Centre of Quito. It is going to suck though because my family works during the week so if I don´t find something to do I am going to be bored!!!
In other news, I tested into level 4 Spanish, which is great. I really wish they had had a verbal test and not just a written cause I make stupid mistakes sometimes, but I speak better than I write. Anyway, the class goes from 9-12:15 everyday, which I like because I can sleep in!!
¡Chao!

Well, these past days have been busy. Saturday for the day I went into Old Quito (or as the locals call it, Quito Central) to look at the churches. The churches here are amazing, they are all made from pan de oro, which is a type of gold. They are pretty amazing, and the thing is, although there are several in one block, not one is the same. At night my friends and I went to this amazing bar called Dragonfly. I had the drink of the house, Dragonfly, and it was amazing. I´ll tell you, its nice to go out and not have to worry about whether or not I have ID on me, it is really going to suck when I come back to the US and realize they´re really anal about the drinking age.
Sunday I ate lunch at my brother in laws parents house. I had this amazing meat, I don´t know what it was but it was good. Afterward, I went to Panecillo with my sister and brother in law and two of his friends, which is a hill that harbors the statue of the Virgen of Quito. The view from the top of the statue was amazing. Since we were in the Old Quito, we wanted to check out this photograph display that was at the library. It was the best of the photographs taken over the year, including many disturbing pics of the Iraq war and Darfur. After that, I went back to their house, had some drinks and hung out with their friends. I stayed at their house because my parents were gone overnight and the doorman was out sick, and they didn´t want me in a house with no doorman and nobody else home.
Today I went to Puembo, a cute pueblo outside Quito. We went to a resort there for the day. My brother in law, sister, and their friends know the owner and so we got to use the pool, jacuzzi, steam room, and sauna for free, along with free drinks and food. It was pretty neat. The only bad thing is that the place closes the pool and everything else at dusk, which was at 6:30, so we had to come back to Quito. We were going to go to my sister and brother in laws house for some drinks, but his friends were being babies and went to bed early. Being hungry, we went looking for food, but since it is Carnaval, nothing is open. So we went to Burger King and drove around after looking for night clubs, but again they were all closed. So we stayed home, and here I am writing this.
And for those of you that don´t know, Carnaval is a three day celebration before Lent begins, in which they eat meat, party, and drink, because they can´t do that for the next 40 days. Or I should say they aren´t supposed to, because they still do that anyway. It´s like Mardi Gras in the US, except not as crazy. In fact, Quito is a ghost town because everyone goes to the beach.
Be sure to check out my pics of this weekend with the link in the corner!
¡Chao!

This week, I really didn´t do anything besides homework. Yesterday I went shopping in the Mariscal District and bought a poncho and a nice sweater, both made of alpaca wool. I am always cold here because they don´t have heat. Plus, I was able to bargain the poncho and sweater down to $10. On Tuesday the KSC kids and I went to Quicentro, which is a local mall. I don´t know how people can afford to dress as nice as they do here, a pair of jeans averaged $40 at this mall. But we had fun walking around and at least looking in the stores. After, we went to Megamaxi, which is just like a WalMart. Today, my two other classmates and I took a field trip with our profesora to a museum, which was filled with cultural artifacts of Ecuador, all of which were made by hand. It was really neat to see artifacts from all the different provinces and areas of Ecuador.
As for this weekend, I don´t entirely know what I am doing yet. I do know that I have Monday and Tuesday off for Carnaval. I know that on Sunday my sister Julia and her husband are taking me to Panecillo, which has the statue of the Virgen of Quito. We are going to go at night because according to my mother, that is the best time to go because you get to see all of Quito lit up. We are also going to look at the churches in Old Quito, because they are decked in gold, but they close at 6 so we need to go there first. I know they mentioned going to the beach on Monday, but I don´t know if we are actually doing that or not. ¡Chao for now!