I've started my Spanish classes and that's been interesting to say the least. I have private lessons so that helps, but I still have a long way to go. I remember more than I thought I would, but apparently 7 Spanish teachers in 4 years of high school wasnt the best for me. Queen Anne had a Spanish teacher curse lol.

Because it's private lessons, my professor is focusing on Spanish that will be most useful to me during my travels. This has already proven helpful so I guess that makes it worth it.

As for family life, I have all my meals with my family so that has been a great opportunity to listen/speak Spanish. I've learned a lot about Ecuadorian culture which has been one of the best parts. We've discussed the (corrupt) government, the (corrupt) school system, family life and even religion. The Pope is currently visiting Brazil and the whole continent is going crazy. The news showed a 2 second clip of the Royal Baby before segwaying into "THE POPE IS IN OUR CONTINENT". It is by far the most important news story here. While Ecuador is a Catholic country, it is clear they take pride in Darwin's work in the Galapagos. I thought that was pretty cool. Side note about religion: "Yes, my last name is Polish, no, I'm not Catholic". That was a fun one to try to explain in Spanish during class. "Unitarian Universalist" doesn't have a Spanish translation as far as I know.

I've been spending my mornings before class visiting the city. Yesterday morning I visited Centro Historico and this morning I visited the Basilica. If you haven't already, check out the pictures on my Facebook. Both were beautiful and I plan to take the TeleferiQo (aerial tram) tomorrow morning. My family is obsessed with those and when I saw Quito had one I didnt think twice before deciding to go, regardless of the increased "foreigner" price.

That's all for now, buenos noches!

So I've had a few requests for a blog while I'm in South America. I'm not much of a blogger but I figured this was the easiest way to keep everyone updated. I'll post when I can, seeing as everything I post is from my iPhone. My first post will be the email I sent my parents and a few close friends...

So I have a little down time and figured I'd let you know how my first few days have been. Wow has it been interesting and not even 48 hours!

So when I arrived it took me about an hour to reach my host family in Quito. The (very new and very nice) airport is an hour away from town. Although it was a pain to arrive late, there was no traffic so I got here in only an hour. 

The family I'm staying with is lovely and the Mother (Ana) is very nice and accommodating. Her 13 year old son (Martin) lives here too as well as another Dutch tourist studying Spanish. Before I went to bed on Friday night she offered me some water and asked if I brought a computer or telephone and would I like the wifi password. Yay, wifi! The next morning I saw a sign in her window stating that she hosts students and that she has wifi. Clearly, the wifi is a selling point to her rooms!

Ana only speaks Spanish, which she learned very quickly how low my level is. She can speak english but knows I'm here to learn so only speaks Spanish. However, she is excellent at speaking "beginner Spanish" to me. She often forms her sentences as questions so I only have to say "Si" or "No". I understand a lot more than I thought I would, but my confidence to speak is low. I'm hoping even just a week of classes changes that. Ana is very patient with me though and doesn't make me feel like an idiot and when introducing me to someone she politely tells them I don't speak much Spanish haha. Ana sent me to the market with her son yesterday morning so I could see the market with all the fresh fruits and flowers as well as get a feel for the supermarket. 

Yesterday afternoon my Dutch housemate (Demitri) asked if I wanted to join he and his Swiss friend (Phillip) since it was my first day. They said they were headed to see this snake exhibit at the central park. Now, you probably know me well enough to know that I couldn't think of anything I'd like to do less, but I figured this was a great opportunity to meet new people and they could show me around the city a little since they both have been here for a few weeks already. So I went and actually had a great time. As much as I dislike snakes, I have to admit, South American snakes are pretty cool looking and nothing I've ever seen in a North American zoo. 

They walked me through the bus system and some "dos and don'ts" of Quito safety. Nothing out of the ordinary but I have rethought how I'll carry around my bus change. Instead of pulling out my wallet for a quarter (the bus only costs a quarter for anywhere in town!), I keep all of my change in an outside zipper pocket of my backpack. That way I'm never fumbling with large bills at a bus station.

This morning, my program director (Patricia) came to the house to give me my orientation as well as walk me to my school so I know where I'm going tomorrow. She is also very nice and helpful and very fluent in English so I didn't miss anything important due to the language barrier.

I have Spanish classes every day from 2-4pm which is perfect because it gives me the mornings to sightsee Quito, which is the best time because there is little cloud cover. And on Saturday morning I'll head to the Galapagos!

After we walked down to my school, I went with Ana to pick up her son Martin and her little sister Danna (about 5 years old) from what I gather is Sunday school. We walked back through town by the mall and the park where they had this "Art in Quito" tent that had artwork turned into children's games. They had one painting that was a large wooden jigsaw puzzle. The painting was terrible (as far as good jigsaw puzzle artwork goes) so we probably agonized over it for 30 minutes before finally getting the pieces together. I have to admit, it was nice bonding with another family over a jigsaw puzzle. I didn't need to know Spanish to know what it is to be frustrated with a complicated puzzle. On our walk back Danna grabbed my hand as we walked and that sure felt good. I am so lost in her Spanish but she could tell I enjoyed playing with her.

Once we got back to the house Danna saw my phone and said "oooo telephono... Jugar?" Even a five year old Ecuadorian sees an iPhone and knows there are games on it! So I said yes, my phone has games and turned on a simple one and watched her play for a half an hour. That was pretty amusing. However, as I'm typing I can feel how sticky my screen is from a child's fingers haha. 

Quito is nothing how I imagined. It is actually a huge city with 3 million people. It has much to do and see on top of this mountain and it is beautiful. I am just getting over a bit of the altitude sickness (headache, loss of appetite and trouble sleeping) but I'm still enjoying myself. I cant wait to really explore this week! Quito isn't the place to wave your iPhone about so I want to keep my photos to a minimum on my phone and mostly take pictures on my camera and post when I get home. 

Although my low level of Spanish is difficult, I'm confident I'll improve. I feel like a child pushed into a pool and told to swim. But that's sometimes the best way to learn!

Excuse me while I now go wipe all the sticky marks off my phone.