Feliz Navidad!

Christmas is one of the most confusing times as an exchange student. You are expected to miss home a little extra, but also to be excited, as you are going to experience new holiday traditions with new people. Overall, it was a bit of a weird feeling, although I missed the Christmas traditions from home, I also felt incredibly blessed and joyful to be here in Quito for Christmas. Now, to share a bit about how my Christmas went!

First of all, most families here celebrate on what we know as Christmas Eve, and my family is no different. So, on December 24th we headed to Tumbaco (a town near Quito) to spend Christmas with my host brother and his wife's family. We had Turkey, as is tradition in many parts of the world, but the big "turkey dinner" with green beans, sweet potatoes and rolls is a thing of the US. We arrived at about 1:30, and were there until 10:30, and what we did I can't really say. It was a relaxed day of eating, talking, and there was of course a trip to the grocery store. Overall, I enjoyed the food, but most of all the company.

My host parents enjoying their stockings

Most families also open presents on the 24th, but we didn't take them with us to Tumbaco, so we were able to wake up and see the decorative bags filled with candy scattered between the presents under the glowing lights of the Christmas tree. "Candy bags?" you might be thinking, but here they give bags filled with candy, cookies, chocolate, and just about any other kind of sweet you could imagine around Christmas time. I say around Christmas time because it isn't only your family that gives you these, but friends, relatives, and even the school. So, Christmas morning consisted of our normal breakfast, opening presents, going out for coffee (not a normal thing with my host family) and a leftover turkey lunch. It might not sound like much, but it was a good Christmas, and one I'll remember forever!


Even though I had gotten my host family presents, I was missing some of the traditions from the US, so I decided to share one with my host family... Stockings! I bought snacks and candies and a few little gifts to stuff inside, and found cute handmade stockings for cheap. So, I was able to be the parent stuffing the stocking for once, and my host family loved them! In fact, they want to do stockings every year from now on, and it makes me so happy that I was able to be the one to share the tradition with them.

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas, and enjoyed reading about mine! Until next time, where I will share about New years and my upcoming trip!

Day 100!!!

Over the last 100 days, so much has happened and time has passed a million times faster than I expected. The Christmas season started about a month ago here and my host family (and just about every other family) has their Christmas tree and lights up to begin the celebration! This post will be about 3 of the top things I found completely different or even strange at the beginning of exchange, and now have become completely normal to me.

This is my class at our Christmas dinner <3

1. Public transportation: I've never lived in a city anywhere near the size of Quito; 1.6 million people! That's 400 times the size of Coquille! Not only is this city huge, but there is always a cheap way to get around, so while the majority of people own a car, it's generally one car per household unless they are upper class, but many people choose to ride the bus to and from work, as it is cheaper than buying gas. When riding the bus at 3 in the afternoon, you can find a seat withing minutes of hopping on, but at 5 or 6 in the evening, you'd better be ready to be sandwiched! riding the bus in rush hour is one of my least favorite things, but it is also something that has become an every other day normality. A little tip, buses her cost a mere 25 cents, or 12 for students and seniors, so you see why they are tempting and fill up so quickly.

2. Speaking Spanish: When I first arrived, I thought there would be this huge learning curve and that I wouldn't understand anything for the first month or two... That is just about the opposite of what happened. The night I arrived, I had a bit of difficulty speaking and my brain was definitely still working in English. But, as soon as I started, I couldn't stop, and now I can speak at a normal speed. which here is pretty fast, and about almost any topic. Although my Spanish wasn't perfect when I arrived, it was much better than expected and has improved rapidly... I would say with all this practice and a bit of work, I will be fluent by the time I get back to the US!

I also had the chance to see the running of the bulls! 

3. The fact that everyone here says thank you, or gracias, but rarely receives you're welcome, or de nada, in return: This, once again is nothing rude or bad about the culture, it's just different than in the US. for example, when you ask someone to pass the potatoes at dinner, you would say thank you after, and they would say you're welcome. Here, you would still say thank you, for everything, but don't expect an answer. This got my for about the first month, I was always saying de nada, until I realized I was the only one. It's just a normal part of life now, and I will probably forget to say you're welcome when I return, but for now, I'm just fitting into the culture.

This was a bit different than a normal post, but I hope you enjoyed! I will keep the blog updated much more frequently through the Christmas season with updated, pictures and stories. Thank you for reading!