Sorry that I haven't written in a while but nothing really has been going on here. Oh, expect for the lights are turned off everyday at random times. The eletricity here is generated through hydroelectricity. No rain = no power. It hasn't rained for a while so there is a power shortage. They cut the lights off in random parts of the city for about four hours at a time. It is kinda annoying when I am doing something on the internet and the electricity goes out. I'm making all A's in my classes except for one. I'm at the point [View Full Entry]

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So my friends Michelle, Josafine, Lauren and I went to Cuenca this weekend for the three day weekend. Michelle invited me. I knew Lauren before the trip cause we have a class together but I met Josafine on the bus ride. I missed class Thursday because we left Wednesday night. The trip takes 10 hours!! That was the most uncomfortable bus ride I has ever taken in my life. By the time we got to Cuenca it was around 9 and my back was killing me and all I wanted to do was sleep. I felt like I couldn’t get my [View Full Entry]

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I totally forgot to tell you guys that I have been teaching English for the past two weeks. I joined a program called Ingles Para Todos where university students teach English to the employees. I’m not going to lie; it is a lot of pressure. Teaching is not just talking. You actually have to make sure that the students understand. So give your teachers a break, okay? I got the worst shift ever - Saturday mornings at eight. I don’t know if I have already mentioned this in a previous entry, but I have to take two buses to the [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday my friends Michelle, Scarlett and went to this small market town called Otovalo. It is about an hour and a half bus ride from Quito. It always amazes me how cheap things are here (except when the taxi drivers try to overcharge). We get to the bus station and the fair is $2 and when we get on the bus we had the privilege of watching “Man on Fire” (in Spanish). The bus ride was gorgeous. Mountains everywhere. As long as I live I don’t think I will ever get used to seeing the beauties of nature. We get [View Full Entry]

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So I kinda feel like my mind is spinning with the newness of everything here...there is a huge diffrence between speaking Spanish in the United States and speaking Spanish here...I went to my history class on Tuesday and I kinda of felt like I was in a daze...the prof started speaking Spanish and it wasn't that I couldn't understand her, I just had to make the choice between listening and taking notes because I couldn't do both at the same time. I had the class again today and it was a lot better...everything is so different here...on campus all the profs [View Full Entry]

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So it has been a week since I've been here and so much has happened, so many emotions have been felt. The first couple of days were kind of surreal because I couldn't believe that I was actually here. I still have days where I wake up and I can't believe that I am actually in another country. I finally got to talk to my mom which was a huge relief and made me feel a hundred times more comfortable. Now I call her so much that she says it feels like I never left. We had orientation Monday and [View Full Entry]

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Everything is good here...everyone is so nice...I can´t use my computer yet because the plugs are different and we have to go buy a converter. I live literally right next to the airport so all day you here sounds of airplanes. When you go outside you can see the planes pass overhead. They fly so low that if I took a picture the only thing that would be seen is the bottom of the plane. I saw when I walked outside today and it scared me. Yesterday I had a really hard time sleeping and the matress was kind of [View Full Entry]

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This blog is dedicated to Ms. Tamara Taylor, a wonderful teacher, mentor, friend and person. She asked me if I could write this blog for her students as soon as I told her about the trip. She wanted you guys to know that there is a world outside of the United States. She wanted to open you guys' eyes to all the possiblities that college can offer. I know she would love nothing more than to be on this journey with me -- to see all the pictures, to hear all the stories -- and I firmly believe she still is, [View Full Entry]

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