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Published: December 4th 2007
So it really does get hard to remember what I have done after not writing for a while... I do know that it was the last week of school which is always great. Just knowing that some great trips are coming up makes it so hard to sit in class but of course, we all survived. I went to the mall to buy baby clothes for my host brother´s soon-to-be second baby. While we were there we looked into the bull fight tickets but they are a lot more than we thought they would be so we probably aren´t going. Now I am just justifying not going because it is cruel... but we all now that I am such a cheapskate that I don´t want to pay more than $10 to see the bulls. Hahaha. Oh well! Sarah and Nicole came over on Thursday and we watched The Science of Sleep, it is such a great movie.
Friday night was really the adventure. My host mom, Gladys, and Nicole´s host mom, Elba, decided that they wanted to take us to the old town to see some event at night because this past week has been the Fiestas of Quito. We thought it would be a great idea. It was supposed to happen on Wednesday but they couldn´t figure out when or where the event was, so we didn´t go. Then, on Thursday it seemed like it was going to happen and after Nicole and her family walked all over the place to find the event near their house, they called us and said it wasn´t there. So, my host mom said it was down in old town, like they had originally thought, and that we would wait for them at one of the trolly stops near our house. At about 7, we walked down there and I saw two guys puking on the street. Gross! Nicole later told me that someone puked in the trolly and it got on her feet... yuck!!! But that´s how it is, drinking, more drinking, and then the puke comes out. Sick. Anyway, we waited for Nicole and her family at the stop, they didn´t come for a while so we just got on a trolly bus, smushed ourselves in, and sat there like sheep in a herd. It was so uncomfortable to the point where you are just getting squished from every angle and there are drunk people falling over. I am just too short to reach the bar to hold on so I was standing on tipy-toe for about 15 minutes. Oh the adventures just keep getting better don´t they?! We finally get off at a stop and walk up towards San Francisco where there is a musical concert going on with dancing. I was so happy there was actually something there but it was just finishing, we saw two songs... Then there were some scary fireworks that they shoot off right in front of you and it really didn´t seem like a safe distance away. But we left within about 15 minutes of even getting there. We got herded back on the trolly, and started walking home. One guy walked by us and told us not to walk on a nearby corner because there were people robbing others. I was so scared! I really need to learn some karate or something. Luckily we made it home just fine but this whole situation really reflects how things go here with my family. They always talk about doing something but no one seems to know what is going on our when or where. I wish we could have known for sure what was happening so we could have gone earlier and seen more of the show. Nicole and her family didn´t even make it for the show, they got there later and of course, we never met up. It´s ok, it´s all about the experience.
On Saturday the three of us went to Nicole´s host Grandma´s house to play Bingo for a charity organization that is raising money for orphans. It was so much fun! Nicole´s host mom made empanadas that were delicious and the whole group of people there were having a great time. Nicole won a glass jar in the raffle and I almost won in one round of Bingo. We are going to go play Bingo at the mall sometime this week because we liked it so much. I bought a yummy iced mochacchino so that made me even happier.
On Sunday my plan was to go to the market with Nicole, make some phone calls, and go study for our final on Monday. Well, you can only guess that that didn´t happen. My host mom said that her sons invited us to go out to eat lunch around 11 for her grandson´s birthday. She told me that morning so I obviously didn´t have anything to give him which I felt bad about. I told her about the stuff I needed to do and she said no problem, we would be back around 2. They picked us up at 12:30, we drove near Mitad del Mundo, ate a huge lunch, and then got in the car. We then drove to her son´s house and by this time it was already 3. We went inside, played 40 and had cake for his birthday. Then we sat around for another 5 hours while the parents all talked and I sat there awkardly with Vanessa and another girl, Carolina, while they gossiped (I don´t even know if that´s a word...?). Gladys one time said, Oh yeah Andrea needs to go back to call her mom in New York. Mom in New York? She thinks that´s where I live for some reason... But every student from this program is from Washington State Schools as they have been for the past 15 years. I don´t get it. Maybe my spanish is worse than I think. I really felt uncomfortable asking if we could go soon so I didn´t say anything. We finally left but it was way to late to make phone calls in the Mariscal, the market was closed, and I hadn´t even started studying. All of my friends and I here have been talking about how it is just so hard being dependent on your host family and having no control or say in what will happen. I went in my room and studied for a while that night and just kept telling myself, one more week!
The test went OK on Monday, I know I passed but Spanish tests have never been my greatest success. After the test they had a little goodbye speech and gave us diplomas and CIMAS shirts which was really nice. Sarah, Nicole and I went down the Mariscal to pay off in full our Galapagos trip and I signed the contract, so it is really happening! I am so excited to be in the Galapagos!!! We ate a really good sandwich for lunch, shopped a little bit and then I made my phone calls. Now it is Tuesday, I am very actively counting down the days till Evan gets here, and it will just be a few more until I come home! Today we are going down to old town because all the museums are free this week. I had one crazy time trying to take a shower today, as usual, and almost had to go to Sarah´s house because there was no water. This happens a lot. And I feel so guilty every time I take a shower when I really shouldn´t. Just last week my host mom told me not to take a shower at night because then they couldn´t watch TV... It´s ok, I only have to try one more time this week to take a shower and then I am off to the hostels and travelling.
How is everyone enjoying the little bit of snow in Washington? And the crazy rain!! Happy December everyone! Enjoy!
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Sylvi
non-member comment
Hola Andrea!!
Yo tambien recuerdo cuando teniamos que banarnos con una cubetasos pero fue divertido parte de la experiencia, ahora aqui en el trabajo me dicen que soy la policia del reciclaje y de la conservacion del agua!!! Sera cierto????? YESSSS Que te diviertas en los galapagos mucho, y espero ver muchas fotos. Gracias por todos tus comentarios son muy divertidos. Saludos Sylvia