el extranjero

okay.

Learning a foreign language from the beginning seems impossible! I feel like I will still know nada at the end of my two months here. My teacher is patient with me though, even when I keep getting the same stuff wrong.... plural/singular/masculano/femenino byahhh!

I feel like I stand out a lot. While I hate standing out in Seattle I dislike it here twice as much. Besides being white I think it´s mostly cause I am always wearing my sunglasses when I´m walking outside, it is so bright! but most Quitoians don´t wear them. Oh and they dress in long shirts and coats and it´s HOT! Before coming here I checked the weather forecast almost every single day, and every single day without fail it would report raining and 67 degrees. Well, it was wrong. It has been beautiful and sunny and caliente. And walking around, of course, I am even warmer. Quito is nestled up in the beautiful green hills though, so it would make sense for it to be cold, but even at night it has seemed very mild and pleasant.

Quito seems like a sups fun place to grow up. When I am walking home from school around 2 after lunch there are always tons of groups of school age children hanging out and walking around. I assume they get out of school at a similar time to me. The groups are always co-ed and girls and boys will always be hanging off eachother, it looks like pretty young ones too. I bet they all get into a lot of fun trouble after school.

Eating here has been da bomb. Lunch seems to be the biggest meal here. Comida es muy barato! Complete almuerza menus for as little as $1.50 or a really bueno four course vegetariana meal for $4. (The currency used in Ecuador is the U.S. dollar since 2000.) I read that eating out in restaurants is less expensive than buying food at grocery stores and cooking your own food at home. It makes sense, walking around the city there are tons of little restaurants everywhere, from little taquerias, to sit down restaurants with grande menus, and TONS of hotdogs. Hot dog stands everywhere. Man. I like hot dogs. Yo quiero un hot dog. Though I am trying my best to be a vegetarian/vegan/flexitarian, trying key word, (yet so far, no "mistakes". pat on back.) this daily struggle looks like it will be even more challenging here. I can smell delicious roasting meat on every corner. A little place right by my house has the grill right in the entry and I can see the smoke and smell the aroma of the skewers of carne every time I pass coming home and I wonder how long I will hold out.

The teachers and organizers of the school, the guide book, and especially my sisters that I live with all have warned gravely of the danger of Quito. The theft, how it´s not safe to walk at night, marscal square... but so far, seems aight to me. Just feels just like a big urban city. Last night, Johna, the other girl who lives in my homestay in the next room, and I wanted to go across the street and get some dulces, so we said we were gonna take a walk, tome una caminata and the sisters were like no no!! peligroso! dangerous. Funny and strange, but they had let us go down to marscal square the night before, which is like the big central bar scene in Quito. They were just looking out for our figures really.

okay gotta go study and then get ready for the night. es el viernes!
bloggggggging is strange.
love to everyone!