Hey!
Ok, well I'm going to update you all with what's been happening since we arrived in Cuenca, and later I'll finish talking about the jungle :)
On Saturday, we traveled for the entire day and even had a flat tire! But, no worries, before anything happened, our bus driver, Junior, discovered it and had it fixed. Phew! Once we got to Cuenca, we went into CEDEI (our school) and sat in this room in rows of chairs. Our families were in a room across from us and the way we met them was kind of like a game show, haha. The coordinator would say who was there in the family and then everyone would drumroll...and then she would say our names! It was soo nerve racking! After we were connected with our families, we went and sat down in the room where they started out in. My host-mom, Carmita, and my host-niece were there. We had a chance to eat some "esnacks" and talk for a little while and then we left for our house! On the way home, we dropped off my niece at her house and I met my brother, Diego, through the window of their car. Here in Ecuador, it's important to greet people with a "beso" on the cheek. We then got to my new home and I met my host-dad, Angel. I already wrote about what we all did that night..but to refresh..we went to a church service and then later walked around the center of town. After that, I organized my room a bit and then slept!
On Sunday, we left around 8 to pick up my host-sister and two of her daughters to drive out to Santa Isabel. On the way, we stopped at this place on the side of the road to eat some more...I got to try the skin of pig? I can't remember the name of it..but, it was so good! We also stopped at this farm store to pick up some yogur de mora because my family knows I love it! They're so sweet :) We got to the little town, and my dad got out to take care of some business and my mom, sister and her two kids got out and walked around a little bit and got some "helado" (ice cream!!) I love it! When my dad came back to get us, he said it was very easy to find us because I was so tall and blonde! haha. After this, we stopped again for lunch. The servings here are so huge...and it's so hard to eat everything! But, my family is real relaxed about it and say it's ok to not eat everything..although I try! After that..we stopped at another place to try this drink called "mapanagua". It's only found in Cuenca they said and it's made from this tree root called "caña". My mom brought me up to this little cabin thing where they make it to show me! It tastes like honey...with alcohol....haha. We then stopped again so my sister could buy some vegetables at a stand on the side of the road. She said it was very cheap here and really good quality. My parents then told me that we were going to go to this little kid's birthday party! There were two clowns there who were making jokes in spanish..I wasn't able to understand them all, but laughed anyway...haha the kids loved them! There was this little boy who was about two years old and he kept slipping and falling on the floor because it started to rain! So cute! And when they sang "happy birthday" it was on a recording in English with a funny accent. Later, we returned home and my mom and I went for a walk so she could show me where my school was. It's about a 20 minute walk. Then, we talked for a little bit and then I went to sleep!
Monday...first day of school! I woke up
around 6:45 and got ready...had breakfast around 7 and left the house around
7:30 to meet up with Oscar I was soo nervous for my classes, so I prayed a lot
about it and my first class was AMAZING! Talk about God-sightings :) Then we
had a meeting with our group about the week and then we had our second
class...from 10:30-12:30. This was a bit of a discouragement because I didn't
understand a lot of what my professor was talking about...or where he was going
with the material. It's a literature class of the Andean people...but...after
that, we got our cell phones and went back to our houses for lunch. At lunch, I
met another brother named Gustavo. He's 24 and lives close to where we live. He
comes to lunch throughout the week and it's been great getting to know him! He
knows a little bit of English, so we kinda help each other out with our
languages, haha. This Friday, we're going dancing with my sister, other brother
and my friends! I'm so excited! After lunch, we went on a tour of Cuenca and
did a scavenger hunt. Found this AMAZING ice cream place...tutti freddo....soo
good! They even have nutella flavored ice cream..hah. I love it! Later, I came
home and did homework and ate dinner with my mom. Then slept!
On Tuesday, we had both classes again in
the morning. The first class was still great and I was able to understand my
professor very well! The second class was much better too. I understood my
professor a lot more than the previous day...and we did this Andean ritual
thing? Very hard to explain, but it was kinda neat. Then we went back to our
houses for lunch and again...I ate a whole lot of food! I spoke with my brother
for over an hour..so again, no time for a nap! But, it's ok :) After, we went
back to CEDEI to meet with the group to then go to a school to plant flowers
and meet some of the kids. When we were done, we went to the center of the city
and got ice cream :) and coffee and then returned to our houses to do
homework..and eat some more...haha. I also went with my mom to pick up some
more bread! Then slept! It's so comfortable to sleep here! I love it!
On Wednesday....today....I woke up and had
another delicious, but huge breakfast. Then I met up with Sarah and Oscar to
walk to school. Classes were good..in my second class with my professor,
Francisco, we listened to music of the Andean people and guessed the names of
the songs....hahah. It was great! Then...for one of the songs, he had us stand
up and dance? But..it was kind of awkward because we didn't really know how to
dance to the song that he chose...but we made it fun :) Then we went home for
lunch after class and I ate fast so I'd have time for a nap! Then our group
went back to the school where we planted flowers yesterday and started planting
more in another spot. So great! But...then it started to rain just as we were
finishing one part. We'll finish next week, I think. After, Oscar, Abby, Marta
and I went to this restaurant called "CoffeeTree" and got some
food/coffee. Then I came home and had dinner with my mom and later skyped with
Amy and Carlos! <3 Now...I need to do some more homework....but I hope you
all are doing so well!
Besos!
Becky
No comments:
Post a Comment