The first week

Well it certainly has been an interesting, overwhelming and exciting week. I had my first round of classes on Thursday, and I think they are actually going to be fairly challenging. Probably not as hard as Madison, but definitely not as easy as I have heard some other people say. I am taking two literature classes—el Cuento Hispanoamericano and el Quijote, an advanced conversation class and either an Andean anthropology class or an Amazonian societies class. The anthropology class has a TON of reading for it, and considering I already have a lot of reading for my two lit classes I think I’m going to opt for the Amazonian class. Plus we get to visit a tribe in the jungle for that class and one of my good friends is in it. Although I was a little bored this week since I don’t really have any homework and only had one day of class, I think things should pick up once classes really get going. It’s really strange not having something to do all the time like in Madison, but it is a nice change.

Yesterday I explored la Mariscal a little with a friend. La Mariscal is a little district in town that a lot of my host sister calls “gringo landia” because foreigners like to hang out there. It is a really cute area with a ton of restaurants, internet cafes, bars and shops. It’s easy to see why Americans like it. Apparently it can be pretty dangerous at night, however, so it was good to explore during the day with a friend. We ate at a little café that was actually kind of expensive by Ecuadorian standards, but had some really good milkshakes.

Last night I also experienced my first discoteca. When I say discoteca, I literally mean thumping techno music and a giant disco ball. My host sister had wanted me to go with her to one originally, but I felt a little weird going with her and her friends, especially since I’m not really into that kind of thing. One of my friends from Wisconsin has a host brother that likes to go out, and had been bugging her all week to go. She isn’t really into the party scene either, so I told her I would tag along for moral support. We ended up meeting up with a few kids from Virginia Tech, and actually had a pretty good time. I even learned a few valuable lessons for surviving in Ecuador: 1. No matter what, if an Ecuadorian asks you if you have a boyfriend the answer is always yes. 2. Always have a big American boy on standby in case creepy 31-year-old Ecuadorian can’t take a hint. and 3. The YMCA just isn’t the same remixed as a techno song. I had fun, but don’t really have a desire to go back--which could be difficult considering my host sister pretty much goes out every Friday and Saturday and most Thursdays. My friends and I decided traveling will be a nice excuse to avoid the craziness that is Ecuadorian nightlife.

I think one of the most frustrating/hardest things so far has been just getting used to living in a city. While Quito is not really any more dangerous than a big city in the states, it still has its problems. Walking around or taking the bus after dark is really dangerous, especially for women, and gringos. Taxis, therefore, become the main means of transportation at night. In order to get a safe taxi it is much better to call for one. Those taxis, however, usually don’t have meters and are more expensive. They really take advantage of gringos too, so haggling over a price (in another language) is hard and was kind of scary at first. I miss safe ride…haha. Pickpockets also abound, especially on the busy busses during the day. I haven’t had any problems so far, and I think it is just a matter of being aware of your surroundings and not wearing or carrying anything expensive. If you are smart, it isn’t hard to be safe.

It will be nice to settle into a routine finally next week with classes and getting accustomed to living with a host family. Some people talked about going to Otovalo next weekend as well, which should be fun. It’s only about two hours away and has one of South America’s largest markets on Saturdays.