getting started

--finally after a week of orientation boredom, we started our real classes. im taking THREE art classes!! a spanish class, a volcanology class and an ethnography class. so far they all seem pretty good, my art classes are all with the same professor, so i hope i like his style :p he seems pretty cool, though he talks SOOO fast, had i not had the sylabus in front of me i probably woulda missed 70% of what he said.. im hoping that changes over the semester.. eek >_<

--as for the rest of the university, im going to go ahead and steal katie's words and call it a "country club" the campus seriously looks like there should be a 5 star hotel sitting in the middle of it. its a university for people who have a LOT of money in ecuador..who pride themselves on their appearance, their clothing, and the way they carry themselves. most everyone wears nice jeans, brand name clothing, jewerly, expensive stuff... and if you wear something else, you're strange.. wearing my cargo half pants the other day gave me a million looks, and i dont usually stick out as much as some others do from k

--i think id consider myself in the "luckier" part of the group, seeing as that many people cannot tell im from the US, until i open my mouth that is :D *sigh, i wish my spanish was better.. i find it generally easier to understand grown ups, my parents, professors, administration, etc.. mostly because they usually dont use much slang when speaking. UNLIKE the younger generation.. its really quite frustrating to not be able to make the jokes that i normally would or to not be able to converse easily with kids who go to school with me, not to mention the ecuadorians are super cliquish, much like the k group is except they're really hard to meet or get to know, since most of them are used to foreigners attending their school and leaving after a period of time ...augh.. anyway besides the language barrier though, many of us can easily pass as ecuadorians because we have darker hair and skin tone... iv been asked a few times for directions from the locals while waiting for the busses.. i guess its a nice thing to be able to fit in so easily, some of the girls with really blonde hair and lighter skin tones have been getting a lot of cat calls which has significantly bothered them and compromised their feelings of security. for me, its a strange feeling to be considered in the majority, since for most of my life i'v been considered in some sort of minority

--i didnt realize how much i would miss my guitar, even though i usually just mess around or learn specific songs, nothing great..especially since i cant even read music.. but on some of these nights, there's nothing id love to do more than sit out on my porch at night and strum my guitar

--after going to k for 2 years, i'v gotten used to a certain way of living..school pretty much takes over during the week, and during the weekends, (mostly friday and saturday nights) people hang out with friends, relax, party, etc.. but in ecuador, its completely different (or at least so far).. we have SO much free time, that after a while, going out to a bar gets old.. i have found myself wondering what else is there to do.. in fact, i actually want to have homework.. may sound crazy but at times, it can get pretty boring around here.. though for me homework is mostly painting so its not as crazy as it may sound ;]

--that being said, there IS always something to do in the weekends, and some of the weekdays too.. but being convinced to go out this past friday-cuase it was a "friday" when i didnt really feel like it.. i kinda had a shitty time. so the following day i trusted my instincts and just stayed in. roxanne and i ended up cooking my favorite banana and chocolate chip muffins and watching a movie, it was a great night, relaxing and just a good time. on saturday i was feeling more up for going out, so we went to a hookah bar, which i'v ALWAYS wanted to try :-] then we went for some dancing afterwards and i learned a few salsa moves from some people at the discotec.. just an observation- ecuadorian guys are super flirtatious.. which on the one hand can be annoying if someone is interested in them, you cant really tell their motives, single guys who go out to a discotec act the same as non-single guys who go out to a discotec by themsevles... on the other hand it can be really quite nice cause they're super friendly and open to teaching you dance moves or talking or whatever, anyway, that also turned out to be a good night.. AND THEN on sunday i went with some girls to juan's friends' fathers house in the south of quito.. Hay De Mi~!! it was by far the nicest house iv ever been to.. it had a pool, gacoozy (which i know i cant spell) a sauna, ping pong table, orange, grape and avocado trees, a bar..etc.. so we barb-q-ed some food, ate, and marinated in the gacoozy for a couple hours while drinking, then when we got cold, we went into the eucalyptus sauna and relished there, it smelled and felt sooo good ~.~ and they had aloe vera plants that we rubbed on our faces and hands.. and i rubbed a bit on ma' bella' so now my face, hands, and bella' are super~ smooth... .... ... ... ...

and so there i sat, in the middle of a gacoozy on a moonlit night, with friends, some old, some new, in the middle of ecuador.. and i thought to myself, if this isnt the most surreal thing ever... what did i do to deserve it all..