Hot dog!

Halfway already?

Indeed I am over halfway through my Ecuadorian journey, and it’s pretty hard to believe. Time has absolutely flown by, and with spring break next week the second half of my stay is undoubtedly going to go even faster.

Last weekend I laid low in Quito after a busy few weekends. On Friday a few friends came over, and we attempted to make brownies. Sadly, however, we couldn’t really figure out how to work the oven. After 4 hours of semi-baking they emerged burnt on top and goopy/funky tasting in the middle. We even asked my host sister how to work it (my host mom was still at work) and she had no idea. She had no idea how to work her own oven. I think that speaks to the amount of work she does around the house (nada). Brownies aside, we had a nice night of chatting, watching a movie, and eating the best hot dogs on this side of the equator. Right by my house there is this tiny little hot dog place that is seriously famous throughout Quito. It is only open after 4 pm, but is open into the wee hours of the morning and is ALWAYS busy. The dogs themselves aren’t really that great, but they pile on so much crap that they end up being the perfect fix for a late-night craving. I don’t even know all that they put on them –some combination of tomatoes, onions, ketchup, mustard, a special sauce (my friend’s host mom told us it was pineapple apparently) and to top it all off, potato chips. It’s amazingly bad for you and amazingly delicious all at once. I’m not even a big hot dog fan, but these things are irresistible. And best of all, you literally just stand on the sidewalk eating them with all the other hot-dog lovers.

Saturday we checked out this cute little movie theater near my house called “Ocho y media”. It’s really small and has this bohemian-Madisonian feel to it, so of course, all of us Badgers absolutely loved it. It has a cute little café and two small movie theaters, and shows both mainstream and indie films. It’s probably the first place I’ve been to in Quito that really made me miss Madison and all of its cafes and college campus feel.

School is picking up a bit, as all of my professors are trying to squeeze in exams and papers before Semana Santa (Holy Week—spring break). I had two papers due last week, and I have a test and a presentation coming up on Tuesday. Classes aren’t as difficult as Madison, but they aren’t a walk in the park either. I still have a ton of reading for all of them as well as tests and papers on a regular basis. Considering I’m not working down here, however, I feel like I have a lot more free time than in Madison. Last week I decided to get my lazy butt in gear and went to volunteer at the church I have been going to. They offer English lessons for people in the community for 25 cents, so I volunteered as a teacher. It was actually a lot of fun, and I’m hoping to make it more of a regular thing while I’m here.

I leave on Thursday for Peru (yikes!), so lots of preparing will certainly be happening this weekend. I’m going to be hiking and camping for four days with four other girls that I met down here, visiting Machu Picchu, and exploring Cusco for a few days. It should be a blast, and totally different than any vacation I have ever taken. Definitely pray for safety and strength, I’m certainly going to need both next week. J