I know what you're thinking...Jacob had lunch with Justin Bieber in Ecuador?! No, but my host family keeps the radio playing nearly all day and yesterday during dinner I watched my host dad, Guillermo, bob his head to none other than Justin and Katy Perry. Classic moment. I can't believe it's been nearly two weeks since I last updated and almost three since I arrived! Things here are picking up quickly and I am becoming an Ecuadorian more and more each day.
As far as school goes, I love my classes and have no complaints! My schedule has changed since the last time I wrote and I'm now enrolled in only four classes: intro to international relations, volcanology, lengua y literatura, and advanced conversation. My international relations class is awesome because the professor is a younger guy who relates everything he teaches to star wars and relationships and he also teaches in english. I usually feel very intelligent when speaking in this class because it's mostly Ecuadorian students who speak good english but stumble through their thoughts occasionally. My volcanology class is an adventure each day because the professor Theo is basically a kid in an older man's body. For example, we were instructed to bring rock samples to class today to identify some different types and he proceeded to lob his own of rocks collection into the crowd of students without hesitation...dangerous, yes, but funny nonetheless. A cuban named Enrique Wong (great name) teaches my lengua y literatura class and he speaks soooo fast but it's a great class because he doesn't get upset if you don't know the answer to a question, he just keeps asking it over and over. Finally, my conversation class is awesome because it's very small and we learn ridiculous new words and phrases each day from our professor Claudia who LOVES to use the words "chevere" which means cool and sexy which of course means...sexy. In two weeks we are having a class dedicated to discovering all the Ecuadorian slang and "palabrotas" (swear words) we can think of...should be interesting.
As I think I've mentioned before, I only have classes on tues/thurs so my week is virtually loaded with free time. I kick myself constantly for ditching my guitar last minute at the airport, I could be learning so much while sitting around the house! Hopefully I can convince the fam to ship it if it isn't too expensive. Within the past two weeks a lot has happened! My friends from North Carolina, Hannah and Ashley, all met up with our new Ecuadorian chaperone/great friend Camilo who I was connected to through Kristy and Caroline (thanks girls!). We went to Quicentro to meet a Chilean couple who recently moved to Quito and are starting a church this month! We are going to get involved when things start rolling with that, and I'm very excited to see what the beginning stages of a church looks like! My first trip to Mariscal (gringolandia) was an interesting one. I met up with Hannah, Ashley, and my other two friends Colleen and Mark at a bar that will remain anonymous for our purposes. We were put in a room in the back of this bar that may or may not have been someone's living quarters. In this room we were asked to remove our shoes and there was a small table, pillows, a tv, and the ceiling must have been no more than three or four feet high. We'll be sure to visit there again before we leave.
This past week Camilo and his friends David and Carlos took Hannah, Ashley, Collen, and I to Centro Historico (old town Quito) to see the nightlife there. It was very beautiful with music playing all around and restaurants lining both sides of the streets filled with people. This past weekend USFQ (my school) hosted a fiesta for all of the international students at a hacienda in a small town called Nono about an hour away from Quito. It was probably one of the most ridiculous days of my life. It turned out to be a day primarily intended to give the gringos as much alcohol as possible in the form of games like sack races, wheelbarrow races, etc. Not to mention when they ran out of game ideas they resorted to a college favorite, flip cup...obviously. I chose to spend most of the day watching all of this absurdity go on rather than participate and get drunk, but it's certainly something I'll never forget. If I could go back, I might rethink my decision to pay $25 for that trip though.
I just took a break from writing to go help my host mama, Germania, with problems on the computer, which I'm frequently asked to do. There's something wrong with their computer and none of the internet browsers will work so I spent half an hour on the phone speaking spanish with some guy from the internet company...never have I ever. After this process, Germania asked me if I knew anything about stem cell transplants and showed me a card she had gotten about an anti-aging procedure. I told her that it is very controversial in the states and that I personally think it is not a great concept because it is a science that removes God from the equation of life. Essentially, I was able to share my beliefs and a little bit of the gospel with both my Ecuadorian parents who are Catholics over a simple conversation and I'm glad I had the opportunity do so.
After finally picking up my "censo" (Ecuadorian I.D.) tomorrow morning, this weekend we are going to Otavalo for two days, a smaller town north of Quito around two hours away. There is a famous artisan's market there with many indigenous vendors selling their hand-crafted products. I think we might also venture to a nearby waterfall called Peguche. This is my first real trip away from the city thus far so I'm excited to see how it goes!
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