GUAYAQUIL

So, I completely fell in love with Guayaquil. I was so nervous when I was leaving because it's said that it's really dangerous, but I didn't notice that at all. I think I might have witnessed someone robbing a pack of cigarettes from a street vendor, but that's about it. Everyone obeys the traffic signals and doesn't cross in the middle of the street because they'd get fined, and the police are everywhere. There is almost no trash in the streets because there are janitors of the streets and because, well, why would you litter? It reminded me of Florida, as it was so hot and humid, and there was a huge river going through it.
On the way up, we stopped in the tortilla capital of the world, which I thought was like a "Welcome to Ecuador" sign, but after the tortillas I felt so sick. I saw a cock fight, and that just broke my heart. I don't understand why most people here think that's okay, but I was so upset when I saw that. That is by far my least favorite part of here: the mistreatment of animals. Oh, and there are a lot of people that burn their trash here. It makes it smell completely horrible, and it's awful for the environment.
In Guayaquil... Saturday we went to Ecuadormoda, but that ended up being really small and it was more for fashion designers than for people who want to be in fashion. After, we went to another cousin's (or relative's, we didn't really know) house, and I loved it. One girl was fifteen, almost sixteen, and she was so nice and helpful. Another was seventeen, and she was really nice too. We went to McDonald's and I had a Tango ice cream (Tango: best cookie thing EVER) and a hamburger, and it actually tasted like a normal burger. We went to the mall later, saw Letters to Juliet (third time seeing that movie... I know, I'm such a girl) and then ate. We were going to go to a party, but it got canceled so we drove around and I started sleeping in the car.
Sunday we were supposed to go to the beach (!!!) but they said it was too far away for us to only go for an hour, which was a huge bummer. We ended up going to Malecon, this huge mall type thing that was kind of under the street and kind of outdoors. I bought, not a lot, but a few things, especially food. There were all these drinks that are "Oh, you just have to try this!" so I did, and Vivi (fifteen year old) was right, I did have to try them. Everyone is always outside there, and there are so many things to do and so many people. Another piece of evidence that I'm foreign... I walked past a policeman and he said "Hi" but I wasn't listening and then he said later that "Oh, that girl is very beautiful." Later, I had a lollipop and a different policeman said something about the lollipop and then something about me; policemen are silly. We ate more, and I'm now on the way home. I really kind of wish I had been given Guayaquil, even though I am happy with Ambato. I love the climate of Guayaquil and how close it is to the beach, and how much stuff there is to do. I do love my huge extended family in Ambato, but I think Guayaquil is just much cleaner, which is a huge deciding factor in how much I like the city. All in all, an amazing trip and a beautiful city. The family there said I can return whenever I want, and for the weekend we would go to the beach. Yes!

school is getting boring!

Well, that was a joke about me and Mateo getting along. I say hi to him Monday, in a thank-God-we're-now-friends sort of way, and he just looked at me and then turned away and he still ignores me. This is going to take a long time and a little bit of maturity on his part, and probably me not getting mad when he ignores me on my part. His behavior to me though is really making me miss my brother!
On Wednesday we randomly didn't have school, so I went over to Pepe and Carie's house. I love them both so much, but Carie cries quite a bit. Like I would tell the other cousins to not keep saying that because it wasn't true, but now that I know her it is. I adore Pepe, and I keep saying to him that he is going to be my brother later because he is going to marry my sister. It's a joke in the family, but really I would love if he was my brother so I'd be good if they married. Obviously a joke, they're ten, but still! Much later after I went to their house, we went to a Rumba (Zumba) class, which was fun but I only had flip flops with me so my feet were dying. It's a lot different in Ecuador, the room had strobe color lights dancing across it, and all the people in the class were really young, much unlike in the YMCA with all the really fit old ladies.
School has been even more boring, but today (Thursday) was very interesting. I still don't much like the Economy/Products and Services teacher, and that dislike amplified today. Someone asked how many stars are on the American flag, and I answered fifty. My teacher goes, "Oh, I thought there were fifty-two" in this of-course-I'm-right- because-I'm-the-teacher tone, and I just gave him in a but-I'm-from-the-United-States look. Then we watched this movie about money (in Spanish of course) and everyone had to write the moral, but not many people understood it in my class. Sol asked if I had to do it, and my teacher kind of freaked out, saying that I'm here to learn materials as well as the language. Well, the movie was in rapid Spanish, and almost no one in the class understood it. That just bothered me SO much!
Other than that, life has been good. Today I went to Xavier's (Belgium) house from right after school until almost 9, which was fun, we just chatted and ate (of course). Katie (USA) came over for a while too, and I really love them two. Saturday I'm headed to GUAYAQUIL! for Ecuador Moda, which is a fashion show. I'm so stoked, but it's going to be around a seven hour bus drive so that makes me a little nervous. It's going to be a nice change of scenery though, as it's really close to the beach and there's a river that runs through it.

more of my life!

Thursday night:
I was getting ready for bed (10:30) and I got a call from Gaby, who said she tried calling before but couldn't get through. She invited me to go out, and surprisingly, I was allowed out until 12:30am on a school night. It was for a birthday of a friend of her boyfriend's (Chino I think is the boyfriend's name) and so we went to this place where there were a bunch of around-22 year olds. I don't know if I would say that it was insanely fun, but I got to talk with Gaby and a little bit with some of her friends. The birthday guy had a kind-of odd chest, and so I told Gaby who told her boyfriend who told him. He grabbed my hand and told me to feel, and I started laughing but he did that because there's a hole there and that's why his chest stuck out. Interesting.
Friday school:
Pretty boring. Everyone loved my graphing calculator, which I thought was funny. Then it was not funny because I'm not allowed to use it, even though I have one and know how to do the problem without one and will use one the rest of my life.
Friday night:
Ah, I was quite mad on Friday night. I went to Xavier's with Cha Cha, and then we went to a party but I had to be home by 9. How fun! Then, later, I went to go with Chi Chi (yes, that's a different person that Cha Cha) to pick up Cristi and my parents got mad because I didn't ask for permission. I really felt like I couldn't do anything right that night! I came home on time, I can't say the same for my sister, and my parents still found a way to be mad.
Saturday:
I woke up really late, just about in time for lunch. A huge family lunch, of course, and then I went with a few of the girl relatives to buy stuff for the hair. Well, four (slightly boring) hours later, I showed up at the party with all the exchange students. Oh man, I love them all! We played cards, just kind of talked. Sounds super fun, right? Well, it really was and I hope we can all meet up every weekend or even more often. The two from Latacunga who came had to leave early for some weird reason, so after it was just the six from Ambato (Franzi was at the beach).
Sunday:
Hm. I got home, and we had a family lunch of crabs, which was super cool because I really hate all seafood. They look SO fun to eat, but I hate them and they kept telling me that I had to try it. They always say that, but I've already tried the food and that's how I know that I don't like it. I had the chicken, that I don't even really like, and rice. And dessert of course, but I think desserts are pretty much the same in every country, which I love. Later, Mayte, Carie, Pato, Mateo, and I went to this go carting and paintballing place. I've never been paintballing before, and I was on my own team against Pato and Mateo. Pato hits hard, he hit my head and OUCH! It hurt so bad! He came over to my team later, and then it was Mateo against me and I won which was awesome!
We got fries and then went into this place where there were four people singing karaoke, and I was just singing along in my chair. The four left, but one kind of stayed to talk to me. He spoke a little English, and he asked me all this information about me and greeted me (kissed my cheek and took my hand) twice. He asked my number (no idea), my home number (really no idea), where I live (they said somewhere in the center), and stuff like that. Weird. When he left he told me that I'm really gorgeous, and Mayte yelled after him "feo!" which I thought was funny.
Side note:
Mateo and I are getting along now! After the paintball game, I think he stopped being mad because now I can ask him a question and he'll answer me. I wonder if that will change by tomorrow, but I really hope not. An uncle or something of Xavier (exchange boy from Belgium) told me that he has a puppy he can give me, and Mateo and I both want it so I think that's also helping. Yes!

pantuflas :)

Gosh, I'm so bored. Today, I stayed home sick because my nose was runny and my throat hurt. Later, my stomach hurt, and I got a massive headache. What is going wrong with me? Today I researched universities, made braceletes, and watched TV. I'm starting to sense a pattern of my life here. I got a text from my friend from school asking where I was today and if I'm okay, which was really nice because I felt like I'm actually getting friends here, which is awesome!
Editors note: I missed the next day too. I was planning on going but I missed the bus, and my dad told me I didn't have to go because I still felt sick.
Oh! I found out that the package I sent to my family in the USA, my mom opened it and it was completely empty. That makes me so mad! My mom will be sending a few things soon, and I'm really nervous that when I receive it there will be nothing in it.
I forgot to put these few (slightly unimportant, but still notable) things in the last blog:
On the way to Banos, we stopped in Salasaca again to look at the market, and I bought a scarf and a pair of slippers. The scarf was only $2.50 (it was supposed to be $3.50! I'm getting better at bargaining...) and the slippers were only $4.00 and they make me look like a really cool clown.
My favorite words in Spanish: sonrisa (smile), aduana (customs), and pantuflas (slippers). I really love the Spanish language.
Written two days later:
These days have been much better because I leave my house to go to those of my extended family. There are more people who enjoy conversation, like Cristina, which is nice.
Today! We had a presentation on sex and the diseases that come with it. The person started out by saying that one in every whatever number of Ecuadorians has an STD, and then said that if you know two gringos, at least one will have a disease. Well, here I am sitting in class, the convenient gringa, so I'm at the front kind of but the about 20 people in front of me turned to me and just started laughing. Also, the whole class had to take an English test to see what level they were at, and I looked at it just for fun. The three words you had to use in a sentence were: ambitious, punctual, and keen. I literally have no idea what keen means, and almost no one uses the other two words. That just showed me that sometimes the stuff you learn in classes doesn't actually help you out in the real world. The last thing I remember from school is that Pepa (ten-year-old cousin, real name is Pepe but he calls me Dayana so I call him Pepa) saw me at lunch from his class balcony and called and waved to me. I really love being in a school with some relatives- well, two.
School I thought was fun today, and we got out 30min early (at the same time the sciences class does!) so that was nice. I really don't like the classes Productos & Servicios or Economia, and both are because of the teacher. He said that in the U.S., the company most robbed is the bank, and he said it like it was new information. I don't know, I just kind of thought that was obvious. He has that voice that's kind of like a know-it-all, and I think that's what most bothers me. But I think there will always be one teacher/administrator/coworker/whatever that you don't really like, so I'm just gonna deal with it!
So what has been going on other than school?
Well, yesterday it was an aunt's birthday, so we celebrated for lunch and then all hung out. Later, I went to the "almacen" (kind of like work place/store) with Chi Chi and Mayte, and I don't know that I would say it was interesting, but there was internet access. In about a month when it comes time to apply for universities, that's where I'll be spending my days. I talked to David (my host brother who I never met who is in Florida) on Facebook and he gave me advice about my life here and about getting along with Mateo, which was nice. Chi Chi, Mayte, and I got straciatella ice cream (that ice cream would literally be the reason I gained weight here) and then after the almacen we got chicken and curly fries. My dad was kind of mad because he said that I'm spending more time there than at my own house, but that was the first time I'd actually stayed up there for the day so it was kind of weird.
Today, school was fun. Then I went up to Chi Chi's house for lunch (maybe I'm going to start to spend a little more time there) and then we all talked for a while. Not much really happened other than chatting with family... Molde called Corentin again (it's becoming something daily) and again the message on the answering machine went something like "Corentin es feo... OW OW OW OW OWWW!" I still love that kid though, he's so interesting.

info info info!

Other days/ Weekend:
I need to keep this up a little bit better, because I don't really remember much of it. School was school, it's really boring here because most of the stuff I still can't do. I got a hair cut with bangs, and I actually really love it, which might just be the first time I've loved a hair cut. Friday night I went out with some friends (SUPER FUN!), and got back a few minutes after my curfew (8pm) and I wasn't allowed to go to Quito the following day. I was really upset about that actually, not so much about not being able to go to Quito but that neither of my siblings were home and when I got home we weren't doing anything. I swear I'm going crazy here, but since I wasn't allowed to go for a walk I walked/danced circles on the outside of the house for two hours; I'm pretty sure my family here is slowly figuring out I'm crazy.
The next day was my grandpa's birthday, so a lot of people (I feel like it was close to 40) were coming and going from the house. I got my nails and toes done with Franzi and Cecy, and then we came back to the house for the lunch. We all kind of chilled for a really long time, I went with Gaby, Caro, and Carie to this place and got Kahlua ice cream that was literally as big as Carie's head. I showed the song/dance for Waka Waka, we drank mohitos as a family (those are quite delicious) and then I went out with a few of the other exchange students. We met at Choko Banana and then went to the mall and stayed there way past the time everyone else left. I love them all, and honestly at first I was pretty upset I wasn't put into Quito, but I love everyone in my city.
That night I had a sleepover with Franzi, and the next day we went to Banos. We ate (pizza and batidos, of course!) and then had a few adventures. We got to go in these go cart type things around the city, which was so much fun, but ours was the slowest so we'd kind of chill just going up hills. After that we went to a zipline, where we took a TeraBita (sp?) across the canyon, and then came back like Superman on our stomachs. I didn't actually find it scary at all, but I never really find stuff like that scary, but the person who works there told me each person usually goes about 80km/ hour. Cool. We came back, and both Franzi and our family were locked out of our houses. When we got back, there were a lot of people that came over and we all hung out. I really adore my extended family, and I'm already dreading when I'll have to change families in January.
School today, I'm starting to not have much to say about school. I'm sick now, of course, and I slept during class today because I didn't have anything else to do when they took all of their tests. As of now, I kind of dread going to school. I love all the people, but I really have nothing to do. Oh, and math confuses me so much here!

first and second days of school!

First Day: Wow, was it different than the US! We took a bus (overly crowded, of course) to the colegio and from there Franzi and I were confused. We had to line up and then they told us where our classes were and everyone sprinted off. I was put in the Sciences class with the person that helped me during the orientation, so when they moved me into a different class I was pretty upset. I had to sit in that desk that everyone purposely doesn't sit in, you know, the one in the front that's kind of squeaky and all it's legs aren't the same length. That and the fact that the Tech class gets out thirty minutes later weren't really helping. I felt super weird, and when we had to introduce ourselves I said I was from the US and everyone laughed and clapped; they seem to do that a LOT when I talk. I also had to give a presentation, which was funny because I said it in English and they all just stared at me and laughed. They're all very friendly to me, but they know each other better than they know me, so that's hard. During the break a lot of people followed me, and I didn't really know what to say and they would look at me when there was any silence, so that was really pressuring. I left early the first day because my bus only takes me to my house if I'm on the science track, so that was nice getting out earlier. Yep, that sums up the first day. Second Day: Worse, then maybe better. I was so bored, and since we don't do anything AND I don't know anyone, I just kind of sit at my desk bored out of my mind while everyone else is talking. One teacher made this other student move her desk towards mine so I would have an understanding, which was really embarassing and I moved my desk back like five minutes later. I was invited to go out this Friday (YES!) for one girl's birthday, which was really nice of them and I'm excited that I actually have plans other than staying at home playing Wii Tennis against the friends the computer creates for me. I was supposed to go to Quito this weekend to see my two French friends, but now I don't know if that's possible, which kind of sucks. They said it's in the rules that I can't go with a friend (I was going to go with the boy from Belgium who lives in Ambato) but nope! So now I'm trying to find a family member who is planning on going to Quito this Saturday or next Saturday, since I can't go alone. That was a SERIOUS blow because I really, really, really wanted to go! P.S. My adorable French friend, Corentin, informed me that I left out some very important information from my blog. First was the joke that the only thing we learned in Spanish camp was "Por favor, puedes darme una hoja de papel" (Please, give me a piece of paper) because that's what we kept saying. Another is that him and I had a joke "Voy a pegarte!" which means "I'm going to hit you" and I would always say that to him. Well, in class, the teacher was being really mean to me, and I said under my breath "Voy a pegarse", like I was going to hit the teacher (as a joke, of course) and the teacher turned around and goes "what?" Well, I'm sitting there like "Uh, nada, que?! No, nada" and Corentin is completely doubled over in laughter. Yeah, he was moved a few minutes later to a different seat. Actually, he might have been moved before I don't really remember.

longest blog so far...

There is so much to say about Spanish camp it's crazy. I'm gonna try to keep it really short though, which I'm sure probably won't work. I can sum it up in: I miss everyone SO much and I really wish I could go back. So if you just looked at this blog and was like, hm, I'm not going to take the time to read this, then you've gathered most of what matters. First day: well the ride up was when the stomach problems first started, and I almost threw up. Ecuadorian roads+driving there+whatever I ate that was bad= not a pleasant way to start camp. Unfortunately, the stomach problems still haven't gone away, which really just sucks because I already don't feel good. I had Clara (Austria) and Caitlin (Missouri) in my room, and I love them so much. We had a really good room and just loved them and miss them so much. I took a test to see what class I'd be put in, and I was in Level Four out of five levels, and all the Level Five kids were fluent so I did really well. But honestly, Spanish camp wasn't about learning Spanish. I'll talk about the classes first... they were actually fun, most days. Our teacher would kind of change when he was cool and when he wasn't, but we learned body parts and present tense. I'm not trying to sound like "Oh I'm so perfect in Spanish," but honestly with present tense I basically am. I wish we had learned other tenses or done something else, but I'm glad I wasn't up a level. I sat in the middle kind of at the beginning, but then this girl decided to take my seat so I was at almost the end, which ended up being so much funner. This boy from France and I just kind of talked all the time, and he's really nice and I miss him so much. For the class we had to do a dramatization, so we did Idol Ecuatoriano or something like that. I was "Shakita" singing the World Cup song by Shakira in Spanish (waka waka eh eh! esto es africa) and I did the dance too, which was so fun. The talent show was super funny, and each class did a different skit, and of course ours was the best. We also had to do a skit for each country, so for the USA we did Soulja Boy which was a lot of fun because I know the dance now and we got to dress like a gangster. When that song comes on and I'm in my sweats with one pant leg pulled up my calf, I feel SO cool. Every country did something, and with all the extra countries that had like one person representing they did "We are the World" which was insane. I loved it, but my favorite was the French doing a song. The Germans and Americans both did a dance party after the song, which was fun; I LOVE DANCING. The last night was completely with my favorite, because right when dinner stopped a Spanish band came in and danced, so we danced for a while. After the talent night there was a huge long dance party, which was insanely fun. I didn't know a few of the other exchange students, but dancing to Papa Americano just bonds you. I would go outside after some of the songs to talk to those out there, and then try to get up to go back in the dance place because it was SO hot in there. After that a few people went into the pool, which was definitely my favorite part about the camp. Of course we had a try-to-dunk-the-opposite-sex type thing, and I was hard to dunk because, well I have loads of muscle (joke), but also I wouldn't make it easy like I would actually try. One of the guys, Miguel, from Belgium, was holding me in that baby way and would dunk me under, which was actually fun because I got to know him that night. Each night I would go into the pool, and the first night (and I think the third) there were a lot of people but the second night was cold so it was only me, Corentin (French kid), and Izzy (from Arizona). That was fun because Corentin would just chuck the soccer ball and we would have a race to go get it, and wrestle if we lost. Of course after the pool everyone would be in rooms and talking, which helped everyone get to know everyone, aka I miss them all so much more. One moment I remember so strongly it's weird is that Lauren, an insanely fashionable girl from France who is like fluent in Spanish and the CUTEST thing in the world, and I were talking. I had been talking about being a ginger and she was saying that to boys that's not really attractive in France, which made me laugh. I'm not even close to offended by that, it was just funny. Anyways then she was like, "But I'm sure if a French boy saw you he would think all gingers were attractive." That just made me love her so much. I think that pretty much sums it up, but really I just love everyone. I didn't really think it was that sad when I was leaving from the camp, like "Oh I'll see you in a month at the beach trip" kind of thing, but sitting at home is making me realize how much I'm going to miss them when I have to leave Ecuador. I know that's so far away, but it will come before I know it, which sucks. I have school tomorrow, but since it's only an assembly I think that I will be okay. I'm not enrolled in a math class yet, but hopefully I will be able to figure that out much sooner. Side note: I HATE FLIES AND MOSQUITOES. I got so bit in the Amazon, and again at the camp; it's terrible. I hate flies just because there's one in my room as I'm typing this, and it landed ON me and then on my stuffed animal. It's not one of those scared flies that buzzes around you but doesn't touch you, and as of now I wish it was. Okay I'm writing this about two hours after the first part: I feel SO much better. I went in to talk to my dad to ask what I should take for the pills and I just started crying because I hurt so bad. After that they got really nervous and asked me how many times I'd "been to the bathroom" today, and I said like nine or ten which made them really nervous. A cousin of my dad's who is married to a doctor (I think) came and checked me out and now I have five different medication/prescriptions. They said it's really common to have an infection like this here and I shouldn't worry. Hopefully in a week it will be gone but since it's almost been a week (five days) I'm hoping it will end sooner. Sorry to my faithful readers (or just one reader) that this is SO extremely long and pretty boring. Writing the next day: THANK GOSH my stomach feels much better I wish I'd had all this medication five days ago. I had school, which was so intimidating because it was outside. I found out that Franzi is not in my class, and that I'm on the sciences track (aka I have to take physics and chemistry). I'm definitely going to go in to talk with them because that just does not fly for me. Afterwards Franzi, Pepe, Carie, an aunt (I think), my mom and I went to the inauguration of Emi. That was super boring, but I absolutely adore them so we kind of just sat and then left during part of it to go buy food. After Franzi and I went with Emi and her friends to this place and I had one delicious chocolate banana and we just kind of talked about how all the people were looking at us like we were talking monkeys. Her friends all seemed nice, but Franzi and I joked that we're eachothers only friends. We waited in the hair cutting place because some friends were getting their hair cut, so we talked with the people sitting there also waiting. There were three of them, and all were super nice and one even gave us canas; I absolutely love how friendly everyone is here. We walked around more and now I'm at home and my stomach feels bad again. It's getting much better though, and I'm sure soon I will be good. I've been so hungry today, probably because I'm eating for last week too since I couldn't really have much. So pretty much: Spanish camp was awesome, my stomach is not awesome, and school is going to be interesting.