Even though I'm completely terrified of airports I was able to make my way through four of them (SAT, DFW, MIA, and Quito) with little to no complications – airplanes I'm fine with, it's just the actual airports that make my palms sweat. I had the aisle to myself on the flight from San Antonio to Dallas. A lovely couple from Oklahoma heading to the Grand Canyon flew next to me from Dallas to Miami. From Miami to Quito, a very quiet man (who strongly resembled Phil Barker – a professor at AC, for those of you who don't know – only this guy was in his mid to late twenties…not that you're old, Phil) sat next to me. Once we landed in Quito, however, five minutes before getting off the plane, he started talking to me, at which point I thought, “really, dude, we've been sitting next to each other on plane for four hours and you're starting a conversation now?” It was a good chat nonetheless for I learned that little Phil was from England and, as such, had an adorable English accent. He attempted guessing my nationality, but was unable to do so correctly, so I told him that my parents are Mexican but that I was born in America, to which he responded: “brilliant.” I shared that I was in Ecuador for both study and work-purposes, which he also described as “brilliant.” He told me that this was his second visit to Ecuador and that it was a “brilliant” place. Currently, he's in Ecuador to commence a backpacking journey throughout South America, but I didn't quite catch where he was headed to next. We should have talked more during the flight, but, alas, shit happens.
Once off the flight I went through migration (stamp #4, yay!), got my luggage, went through customs, and then I stepped out of the double doors into the great unknown – which, by the way, “the unknown” is one of my greatest fears. THAT was a bit overwhelming, especially because there were thousands – or so it seemed – of people and because I was not exactly sure of who I was looking for. Luckily I spotted a little sign that read “Stephanie Almanza” not too far in the distance, so I walked towards it and was happily greeted by my host mother, Laura. Upon walking out of the airport, I was immediately flabbergasted. The weather here is unimaginable…mostly because I just came from a land where a 100-degree day was a decent one. We grabbed a taxi and drove to what is my home for the next five weeks. Everywhere I looked, I saw mountains and GREEN! So I thought to myself, “holy shit, this is brilliant!
My host family has been great so far. I went to mass on Sunday morning, which was a lot like mass at home because Catholicism is very set on traditions. Other than that it was a very a relaxed Sunday. One of Laura and Segundo's sons came over with his family, and everyone seems genuinely nice. It was great getting to meet one of their three sons; I'm sure that meeting the other two will be just as pleasant.
On another note, I have absolutely no sense of time here...shoulda brought a watch! But seriously, I have to ask my host mother what time it is all the time. I do, however, have a good concept of N-S-W-E, which is weird, because I've never really had a great inner compass…the mountains probably help. This will probably become very handy for navigating through the city!
There is a 3-story mall called El Jardín. On our way there we stopped at a phone booth – they called them locutorios in Argentina, but I'm not exactly sure if they have a special name here – and I got to talk to my daddy! My dad told me that Heights lost its first game by one point in triple overtime, at which point I felt my first surge of nostalgia; however, I'm convinced that this nostalgia stems from a longing to attend one of my brother's football games – which I know for a fact will not happen this season – rather than from outright homesickness. That happened on my first full day here, and I will not allow myself to be homesick this soon! Except my dad also told me that he was making fajitas and pico de gallo for dinner that night and that I was invited…
Anywho. The mall. Woah! I did not feel like I was in South America at all, what with stores/restaurants like Baskin Robins, Kenneth Cole, DKNY, McDonald’s, Sunglass Hut, and Cinnabon, surrounding me?! Also, they use the US Dollar here, which also throws me off a bit, but it also makes my life a lot easier. Bottom line, El Jardín was nice! It was nicer than a lot of malls I've seen in the US (ahem, Midway Mall). It probably even rivals North Star in San Antonio, which is, in my opinion, a very nice mall.
School has begun! For the week we're just working on our Spanish. There are two other girls in my class, both from the states – Michigan and Ohio. So far we have reviewed grammar (which is very much needed in my case) and read a short story. We have class from 8:30-12:30, and then after that we have orientation. Today is only the second day of classes, but everything has been awesome so far. I can already tell that I'm going to learn a lot while here in Ecuador. While I have no internet at my home stay, I'm going to try to keep you all updated by the means of this blog. I also plan on getting an Ecuadorian cell number and once I have that y'all can call me using Skype To Go!
¡Los quiero muchísimo a todos!
Stephanie
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