Saludos de Ecuador!

Yes, I'm alive. My host family does not have internet in the house, so I am actually sitting in my University's computer lab. This post will be rather long, so get ready.

I'll start off by saying this: all at once, I feel like I've been in this country for both months and just a few days. Actually, no, I feel like I've been here for months even though it's only been four days. My University is a little paradise. Check out their website: usfq.edu.ec, and follow the virtual tour to see what I mean. Beautiful buildings, palms trees, a lake--and everything surrounded by mountains. Everyone here is really posh, and even though I brought my favorite clothes, I still feel like a peasant. I take the bus, well, two buses actually, to school everyday. The weather is gorgeous. I just had my first class today, and it was terrifying (in the best way).

Everyone on the program is really nice. We went out Monday and last night for some bonding. I had a blast; the only problem I had was getting home because, I'll be real, it's a little sketch. Taking a (real) taxi is very safe, especially at night, but getting into my house is the hard part. My host family lives right in the center of the New Town. So, when I get home, first I have to kneel and pick at a lock that opens up a latch that in turn opens the gate. So, here I am standing in the middle of a street at one in the morning all alone, struggling with this lock. Then, there's the key to the front door, then the gate on my floor to the apartment, and then the actual apartment lock.

My family is gorgeous. I've already started to become close to them, and speaking Spanish helps because only my oldest brother speaks English. I really hope that I haven't offended them too much in the past couple of days by not eating everything they give me. Altitude sickness took away my appetite, my energy and my breath.

Oh right, I forgot. LAN, the airline that I flew to Ecuador, was one of the best plane experiences I've had in a while. The only pitfall was that the pilot decided to not take my second piece of luggage on my plane because the plane was getting too heavy. You can imagine, if you know me well enough, the stress I felt when one of my bags didn't arrive. But, I went on Sunday and the bag had arrived on the flight from Miami to Ecuador that night. Speaking of planes, I live right near the airport, which is part of the city. So the planes fly about as close to the houses as they can without hitting them. The first night I woke up at five in the AM thinking the end of the world was coming. No, it was an airplane landing. When I look out my window, I can see the plane pulling out the wheels for the landing.

That's actually all for now, as I have to head back home in a bit. I'll be back soon with more updates. Chao!