9-6

It is really interesting, before I left I was told that we would all go through stages of culture shock and all of that, but I guess it didn’t really hit me until now that that was completely true.

The first stage was the honeymoon period, this was when we were all super excited to be in Ecuador and couldn’t wait to explore and learn more about the culture. Everything was an adventure, taking the bus, walking down the street.

Now for sure I am in the next stage, I don’t remember what it is called, but in this stage everything is difficult, and its not that I don’t want to be in Ecuador because I really do, it’s just that everything seems much more difficult and frustrating than it needs to be. For me at least, it is frustrating and takes forever to take the bus, I hate the guys on the street who yell at me when I walk by. It is just really interesting. We for sure have settled into life.

It is really cute because my host family is starting to act like my family; my mom still won’t let me out of the house without a jacket even though it is usually around 70 degrees all day. My family has also started trying to convince me to go out more at night and party because I am young and that is what I am supposed to be doing I guess? I am not really sure, what I am sure of though is that I do not really like the party scene too much. Everyone smokes here especially in the bars so all the bars are filled with smoke, and if we try to go dance the guys are all over us and won’t leave us alone, it just really is not my idea of a good time and my family does not necessarily get that.

My semester now is going to be fairly easy which is nice; I only have three classes, Spanish conversation, yoga and Jewelry making. I was going to take a psych class too but I went the first day and could tell that I was going to be really stressed out the whole time so I am just going to have an easy semester and work really hard when I get back.

Basilica

So today decided that we needed to go out and do something, we ended up at the Basilica which is in the old part of Quito, it was really cool because we were able to climb up all these different really sketchy ladders to get into the towers of the church. In one part we had to walk over a really rickety bridge then climb three different ladders to get into one tower. The view from the tower was incredible. We also climbed into another tower where we could go out on one part of the tower. The part of the tower that we could go out onto was about 2 feet by 2 feet and there was no railing. Of course we all had to go out there and get our pictures taken because it was just crazy and there was no way that would have been allowed in the States. The ledge was easily ten stories off the ground which was kinda scary, but really cool.

Ok so obviously i have not been very good about writing posts as of yet, but hopefully i will get it together.

Tomorrow I start classes at the University. Right now i have three classes, spanish conversation, jewely making, and a psych class called sexuality and attraction. All of these classes are in spanish so it will be interesting to see how that goes.

I have been really impressed with my spanish, it has gotten so much better, i can have real conversations with most Ecuadorians, and understand for the most part what is going on.

So far we have been to the Galapagos which were really cool, i might need a whole post sometime to write about that, and also a small town called Otavalo. Otavalo has the largest indigenous market in Ecuador, i spent way to muc money, but i got alot of really cool stuff, not to mention i finished my christmas shopping!!!

7-19

So far I have been in Ecuador for three days and from what I can tell I am going to have a great time. Before I arrived I was really worried about my host family and whether or not I was going to be able to communicate with them, when I arrived at the airport in Quito, I was quickly handed over to my family and we proceeded to my new house. I was quite relieved to realize that my family was really understanding and that they were really patient with my Spanish. My family consists of a mother and father, and two daughters. Both the daughters are in their early twenties and are really nice. Also both girls speak English so when I am looking really confused they help me out which will be great for the beginning, I just hope I do not become to dependant on their translating skills because I really do want to learn Spanish.

Things I have realized so far:

1. My Spanish is not as bad as I thought.
2. My Spanish is better in the morning than at night. (I think it has something to do with being tired, but I am not sure)
3. Quito is a really modern city, I was expecting something similar to when I visited Nicaragua but I was in one of the malls today and there was a Victoria’s Secret which really surprised me.
4. I thought Quito was really conservative, but I have realized that is not the case, sure it might be more conservative than the US, but it is not nearly as conservative as I thought it would be. One of my host sisters Andrea actually has her nose pierced, and my other host sister is planning on moving in with her American boyfriend in a year or so which blew me away, I thought that was a really big no no in Latin American countries, but it seems to be more or less fine.
5. And the last thing that I have realized is not to wear new shoes when you go out and don’t know exactly what is going on because it might involve a lot of walking and then you might end up with massive blisters but you live and learn I guess.

The Beginning

Hello everybody, if you are here to stalk Kyla Barr on her trip to Ecuador then you are in the right place :) So as of now this is just a test to make sure this blog is actually working so we will see. The countdown is on until I leave, I have approximately two days and one very short night until I embark on this next adventure.