The last week of September already!?!

Hola! As crazy as it is, I've already been here for over 3 weeks, and September is almost over! (sorry to burst your bubble) I guess I've done quite a bit this past week, but it's been good. This post will be a day by day run through of life here so far.

THURSDAY: Jordan (The other exchange student from the US) and I went to do some visa things with our local coordinator, only to find you we couldn't. Because we are both under 18 years old, we need even more documents with permission from our parents... Fun! (not) But, we didn't have to go to school and we had fun wandering and speaking Spanish.

FRIDAY: Friday, we had school as usual, which was good, but of course it gets a bit boring since everything is in Spanish. Afterwords, I came home and decided to watch an American movie in Spanish... That was a bit interesting, but I'm happy to say I understood most of it!

The amazing feeling when I understand Spanish

SATURDAY: Saturday was a bit of a roller coaster. At the beginning of the day, I was worried to the point of crying because I had been sick for almost a week, and couldn't help but remember the Philippines. Too make a long story short, my host mom and I prayed, and then we all went to a park that is HUGE and oh so beautiful. After that, we ate at a traditional Ecuadorian restaurant, and then headed home. I'm happy to say that my sickness has continued to improve since my last post, and even though I'm still not at 100%, I'm headed in that direction.

The park we went to seems more like a forest when you're wandering through it.

SUNDAY: So, since me and Jordan hadn't been able to see much of the city yet, we decided to get some advice about buses and head into the touristy parts for ourselves! We made it there safe and sound, and started walking... boy did we walk. we walked up a countless amount of stairs headed up the side of a mountain to take pictures, then walked back to eat, then to the president's house, a cathedral, a park, and then the bus stop. That may not sounds like much, but it took about 5 and a half hours, and it was one of the best things I've done here.

Jordan and I touring the city on Sunday

The prom poster process!

MONDAY: Well, Mondays have never been my favorite, and here, I like them even less, because I have all of the classes that are most difficult; history, Emp. y Gestion (I've been in school for 3 weeks and still don't even know what this class is), Physics, and math. But yesterday we did something fun! Even though prom here is in July, we've already started making posters, and we painted out hands and the whole class put their hand prints on it. We spent like an hour doing it and missed  bit of physics, so I was happy!

TUESDAY: Today! Today was national flag day, and here they have a big ceremony with marching for the students and the senior class doesn't have to go to classes after the ceremony, that means I didn't have classes today! But we were marching and standing in the sun for over an hour in sweaters, tights and gloves. I think if it had taken place in a gym like graduation, it would have smelled like something died. But, all in all, it was a good day, and everything is going as it should be!

Thanks for reading. As usual, don't forget to click the button in the top right corner to follow my adventures!

The First Day of the Rest of the Year

The "bus stop"

Now that I have been here over two weeks, I've got some tall tales to tell. First off, this past weekend was one of fun and a bit of normality. That might sound strange, but once things begin to feel normal, and not unbelievable or exciting, that's when your exchange is beginning to become your life, and not just a trip. But of course, there are always some new and exciting things, like learning to take public transportation all alone in a foreign country... That's right, I have gone out and taken the bus multiple times in the past week. (Even though the first time I had a hard time finding the bus stop.)

Us girls out on Friday afternoon

Anyways, this past weekend began with my first outing with friends from school! On Friday, We went to the mall and took pictures and ate lunch. On Saturday, I finally got a cell phone that works here, and am now able to keep in contact with my host family when I go out. I also had a sleepover with the other exchange student from the U.S. that goes to my school, and we made cookies! On Sunday, we all went to church together, and ate lunch at the church, then me and some friends from church all went to the mall and just killed time all afternoon, which was surprisingly fun. Like I said, nothing spectacular, but the beginning of a normal life here. 

Jordan and I baking cookies!

Let me just start this paragraph saying that I have not drank any water that hasn't been boiled or bottled, and have only eaten clean food. So, even though everything has been going pretty great, I also got sick over the course of the past few days. It was just a cold and sore throat with a bit of a fever.. I know, it's always a little scary to be sick in a foreign country, especially with my history. But don't worry too much, because I am feeling much better now and will most likely go back to school in the morning. 

Surprisingly, the first bit of palm trees I've seen here were at the mall!

Well, I think that's all for now. Thank you for reading, and don't forget to follow (top right corner) if you want to get notifications when I post!

1 WEEK: The milestone... Or inchstone

Well, I've officially been in Quito, Ecuador for over a week... And I realize that as much as I want to,  I won't be able to share every detail of all my stories with you, so I will pick my favorites and give you the full scoop. My mind has already begun working in Spanish on a daily basis, so bear with me folks.

My Schedule... Yes, it's all in Spanish, just like the classes

In this post, I have to tell you about my interesting time at school on Monday. So, there are two exchange students at our school, me and another girl from the United States. When I got registered for school last week (the other girl had not yet arrived), I was put in the equivalent of Junior year in the US, even though this is my senior year. I just assumed it was because I was an exchange student.

On Monday, my bus was late to school, so as I frantically scurried to my class, the school director asked me to go to her office with her. Being a new student and late to class, PLUS being called to the principle's office, naturally I was a bit nervous. But when she began asking me about my age and grade level, I became less and less nervous, and as I peaked the top of the stairs and saw another gringa with blue eyes and blond hair, I realized us exchange students had been mixed up. We ended up sitting there for an hour, speaking a mix of English, Spanish, and, "Como sé dice ___ en espaṅol?"


Once everything was figured out, I ended up being thrown into a new class, with new people and new subjects. Of course this in itself was overwhelming, but what was hardest for me was the fact that I had made friends in my other class, and worked pretty hard to do so. But as soon as we had our first recces, I realized that I hadn't lot my friends at all by moving classes, I had just made new friends in addition to my friends in the other class. Today I had my second day in my new class, and I continue to thrive and make new friends in school.

My friends, even though I had to change classes 

Sooo, That's my story of the day! I've had a bit of homesickness, but only because I haven't done much yet, but that will change soon, and I love it here! Thanks and follow for updates! (Top right corner)

Estoy en Ecuador!

After all that's been happening in the last year, I've made it to Quito, Ecuador! My first flight was cancelled, so I arrived at about midnight Saturday night to be greeted by one of the the sweetest host families ever. I don't have much to say considering I've only been here for what, two days? I am no expert on Ecuadorian culture (yet) and I am definitely still in the honeymoon phase. Having stated the obvious, I can talk about what has happened already!

After my flight on Friday was cancelled, I had an extra day to get excited (and nervous) about my exchange!

First of all, my Spanish isn't nearly as bad as I thought. My host family tries to speak slow and they are very helpful. I have to think quite a bit, but I have enjoyed speaking in Spanish and my host family is impressed. (which makes me feel pretty good) Looks like if you pay attention in Mr. Donato's class, it can pay off!

The beautiful view from my bedroom... It's way better in real life 

Now, about school! I start on Wednesday because I still need to buy all the materials and my uniform. I am full of emotions about beginning school, mostly excited... and nervous. I am in the science track which means I have Chemistry, Physics, Biology, math, languages, (Spanish and French I think) P.E., and history. I know, I know, that's a pretty crazy schedule, but I think I can do it, because I wont have all of those classes every day and I generally enjoy science. And... I'm on exchange, I can do anything!

My bedroom here!

My host family... I could write an entire blog post about them already, and maybe I will some day. They are wonderful in many ways. I live with my host mom, dad, and brother. I talk more with my host mom and brother, but my host dad is just as nice. I know this was a bit of a vague post, but I will have a million details later.

Hope you enjoy hearing about my crazy, scary, exciting, unexpected, amazing adventures here in Ecuador! Follow my blog for more updates!