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!