Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Classes

So it is day 11 here in Ecuador and I am feeling like I am starting to get into a routine. On the weekdays I wake up pretty early. I get ready and have breakfast that my caring host mom makes for me. Then I head down the street to a small trolley station. I pay 25 cents and take that trolley to the first bus station. Then I get on another bus at the station and head to the next bus station. At the last bus station I take my final bus, for another 25 cents, that takes me right across the street from the campus. I live pretty far from the campus but it is really easy to take the buses to get me there. When there is not a lot of traffic it takes about 30 minutes (with all the bus changes), but when there is a lot of traffic it takes about 45 minutes.


The first few days of school my host mom went with me to teach me how to use the buses and what buses to take. Those first days were very scary. I was still new in the country and had never ridden buses in a huge city like here. Most of the buses are soo crowded that you have to stand. I leave for class around the same time that most of the city is leaving for work and lots of people use the buses because they are cheap and get you to places quickly.

The first day that I rode the buses myself everything went fine. I made sure that I listened to my host mom and got to classes with no problems. I also noted what kinds of buildings and shops we were passing so I knew that if something did not look right I was on the wrong bus. Also the people in the station are usually friendly and will help you figure out which bus goes where. I felt very accomplished to have navigated through all the bus stations by myself in such a huge city.


I am taking two classes here. One is a literature class and the other is a culture class. My literature class is made up of mostly native students and a few American ones and my culture class is all Americans. The university has a really relaxed environment. It is university policy that teachers are addressed by their first name not professor or Mr./Mrs. Both of my teachers and the international programs staff have been really friendly and helpful. The campus is really different from CMU. The whole campus in gated off and is a lot different from the city. It is not a public campus so only people from the university or people who have business there can enter it.



The campus is amazing. The buildings are half indoors and half outdoors and there are lots of place to sit outside and relax or study with friends. Most days I get to class a little early and meet with friends and then after classes I get lunch with friends at surrounding restaurants. The food around campus is soo delicious and really cheap. Also there is a mall across from campus you can go to with a nice food court that has food that is the most similar to food in America, if you are missing that food.


 So far I am really enjoying my classes and my time here in Ecuador. I am looking forward to the trips that I will take with friends and with the university in the upcoming weekends. But for now I am super happy in Quito and enjoying all the new sites and experiences that I am having.

                                   

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Mi familia

It is day 5 of my stay in Quito and I am learning a lot about families in South America. There are a lot of things that are similar to my family but there are also things that are different. My host family consists of my mom, Annabelle, my father, Guillermo, my host brother, Carlos, and our dog, Cody. I also have some more host siblings that live on their own. Also everyday after school Annabelle's granddaughter stays with us until her mom gets done with work. My family is actually from the coast of Ecuador so they do things a little differently than families in Quito.

A normal day for the family would be like this. Everyone wakes up at the time that they need to get to what they need to do. My host mom makes breakfast for each person, after which we wash our own plates. Mostly so far for breakfast I eat some fruit and juice (I am not much of a breakfast person). Then we all do what we need to do. I take the buses to campus and eat lunch there. Then we all come back when we are done and have dinner at 7. We all eat dinner together and talk for awhile. My host mom also sometimes makes different food for each member of the family (she is a great cook).

My host family is really close to each other. They use a lot of words and nicknames to show affection. Something that is different from my family back home, is when you come home you try and make sure that you greet everyone that is home. Also when you leave you have to say goodbye to each member of the family. We greet each other with a beso (kiss) on the cheek. Also before dinner each member usually stays in their own room. There is no television in the living room (which is different from my family). The main television is in my host parents room and that is where we will all watch a movie or a soccer game together.

Also children in Ecuador usually live with their parents until they are married. They will live at home through their schooling and also once the graduate and have a job. Families are really close here which is like my family but some families in the United States are not as close as families here. I am really glad that I got put with the host family that I have. They are really caring and make sure that I am comfortable. They also have been very helpful in getting me around the town and helping me learn important things about the city.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

The Arrival

I was really nervous to be flying to Quito alone. I have only flown one other time so I was unfamiliar with all the processes of flying. I made it through and the people that worked in both the Detroit airport and the one in Miami were very helpful. I had a long layover in Miami where I met other students not only from CMU but also from other states like Colorado and North Carolina that are in the same program as us. We also met a local man from Quito that told us a lot about the city.  After the layover it was time to fly to Quito!

After talking to all of the other students I was really excited to get to Quito. This flight I wanted to try and stay awake so I could see all of the things that we were going to be flying over. First we flew over Miami which was really cool to see all of the tall building look like tiny sticks. As we kept flying we flew over Cuba and then over the ocean to Colombia. The ocean from so far in the sky looked like an old oil painting, cracked and wrinkly. After that it all become clouds.


When the flight attendance announced that we would be descending soon everyone on the plane instantly looked towards the windows. All you could see where large cotton candy looking clouds. There was no land  or city in sight. The plane started to dive into the clouds and you could see nothing out of the windows then all of a sudden there was the land. It was green with small lights everywhere. Then off in the distance there was a snow covered mountain and you could see the hills with houses starting to appear. It was one of the most amazing views of my life and my fear of flying left me because that view was breathe taking and worth all the stress of flying.

After costumes at the airport my host family was waiting for me. They were so excited to see me. We had an hour long bus ride into the city since this was the new airport that was built just outside the city. My host family got me home and showed me around and all of the things that were normal in there house. They feed me dinner which consisted of rice, chicken, yucca and a sauce and some juice that was better than any juice I have ever tasted. I think I am going to be eating really well here. Well more on my host family later.