November

I have now completed the month of November in Loja, Ecuador. This last month I went fishing with my host parents. We drove out to a little man-made lake where you  fish your own fish to take home and eat. The fishing pole was a long wooden stick. It may not be super technology but I caught 10 fish within 20 minutes. This time spent with my host parents was a very good experience. I was able to connect with them super well.
>Later on in November I had my first marching band experience. After many Saturdays having to wake up early in the morning for band practice it was finally time for the parade. Although originally meant to play the Bombo I was changed because I had missed so many practices for rotary trips. Instead I played the Tenor drum. I was given my own marching band uniform; it was awesome. Walking through the parade playing the drum amongst the other ecuadorians made me feel as part of them. When they called my school's name on the microphone as we passed the authorities, I felt so proud. Never would I have thought to be marching in the small town of Loja amongst thousands of Ecuadorian people, as if I were one of them.
> In order to keep in shape my counselors offered me to swim in their pool and use their gym. I have been going after school several times a week. It's pretty cool because I am the only one, without distractions.
> This month I went on another rotary trip. This time we went to the Amazon rainforest. On this trip I saw hundreds of different types of plants and animals; it was amazing. We stayed in a lodge literally within the jungle. However, this time I was sad to leave my town, even for just a few days. I am really becoming accustomed to this place, as if it were my true home.
>Last weekend, I went with some friends to another concert. Spanish music is really growing on me. There is something about the language that gives it its own sort of strength in emotion.
>Xenia, the other exchange student in Loja, and I, were brought to a sort of peace conference at another high school last week. We were presented as special guests. When they called my name the entire audience cheered for me. I felt rather strange, because I felt like I had done nothing to deserve applause. After the conference many students from the high school asked me to take pictures with them. It was as if I were famous. It is so amazing to be accepted by the people here. I feel at peace with myself, knowing that I am wanted. It brings me true happiness.
>Last night, I had some friends over and together we made a Mexican dish, sopaipillas. They are a delicious a treat that I used to eat back home at a local Mexican restaurant. We spent the whole night laughing and enjoying our time together. That moment when I saw all of us together laughing and just being happy I knew that exchange was the best decision I've ever made. 
 Being able to see such a different world is something that most will never ever be able to experience. I am so thankful,  even though I did miss American Thanksgiving. Three months have been completed and I cannot wait to see what the future holds.

October

I have now completed over two months in the beautiful country of Ecuador. October was filled with many different activities. The first week of the month I went to a concert of the band El Tercer Mundo. It was so fun/ny being with all my friends even though I knew none of the words to the songs, I just hummed along. I am beginning to really enjoy Latino music.

 This month I ate a very typical Ecuadorian food known as Cuy. It translates in English to guinea pig. It honestly tasted just like chicken, basically the same, except for the fact that when you finish you can still see its face smiling up at you.

We celebrated the birthday of my host-grandfather this month. It was a very good time as I was able to see how close the family is here. Two exchange students visited my town, they are Matts from Germany and Johnny from Brazil. We spent the weekend hanging out, going to parties, and also visiting the small town of Vilcabamba. It felt good being amongst other exchange students. That weekend in the valley of the Vilcabamba we picked fruits off the trees from my farm. They were very delicious but I think they made me sick because the next morning I was not feeling too well. In fact, I received food poisoning most probably from these very fruits. That is okay though because the tastiness of the fruit was well worth it. Mid-October I went on another Rotary trip. This time we went to the beach, specifically in the province of Manabi. Although I was robbed of some money at the hotel, I had the time of my life marching in parades, sitting by the bonfire, and swimming in the waters of Crucita, Bahía, and Manta beaches. All this was done with 150 other exchange students. It is difficult to explain how amazing that experience was.

After arriving back in Loja I was informed by the parents of the girl(Dome) in my house in Texas that I could come to Quito to visit them for the week. Thus, after being home for three days, I packed my stuff back up, got on a plane, and headed to Quito. Here I spent a week viewing the city as a good 'ol tourist. I went to see many churches, visited the center of the earth, went to a traditional Ecuadorian market, and swam in a waterfall. Quito is a beautiful city in the mountains. A very large city, it stretches across the valleys, seemingly endless. It is very hard to describe how amazing this place is. Tomorrow I will go camping in the mountain of Cotopaxi. Never would I have imagined that I would be in the country of Ecuador camping on the edges of a towering snowcapped mountain.

 Having spent almost a third of my time here now in Ecuador, I'm truly becoming accustomed to my surroundings. More and more I realize how much I am maturing. I feel like I'm an adult now, it is hard to explain how much I am changing. This exchange has brought me so much happiness and understanding of who I am as a person. Viewing the spectacular images of nature and colonial structures in Quito, showed me what beauty the world has to offer. I am so fortunate to be in a place like this. I am truly blessed.
Long live Ecuador.

MY PICTURES

La galería de cpet32 en Flickr.

September

The first week in September, I went on my first rotary trip to Salinas. In Salinas, I met over 60 other exchange students. I was immediately able to develop strong relationships with them as if they were my family. We spent the week in Salinas at a resort. This place was so beautiful; it was right on the beach with pools, buffet all-you-can-eat, basically I was living the life. The purpose of this trip was actually to learn Spanish so during the day we spent our time taking Spanish classes. However, being at the beach, I was sometimes distracted. After five days and four nights I had to say goodbye to people from countries all over the world that I had become so close to. It was very hard knowing that I would not see them for a while. However I know that the point of exchange is to meet Ecuadorians and not to spend too much time with other exchange students. The next weekend after having returned from Salinas, Xenia, the other exchange student in my city from Germany, and I, took a small bus by ourselves to Cuenca which is 3 1/2 hours away. Here we spent the night with a Rotarian. We came to Cuenca in order to register our visas. In doing so all by ourselves I was able to realize how mature I have really become. I have to do these things by myself now, I have no mommy to help me. We also spent the weekend in Cuenca and went to a small village outside of the city. Here we ate a delicious fish called Trucha. It was very good, and I ate the whole fish including the spine which was rather odd. After returning home, it meant back to school. Now, school is becoming more and more fun every day. My Spanish is improving drastically. I'm able to communicate well and have made very good friends including one in specific named Santiago. He and I spend much time together, playing soccer, hanging out, and going to parties. It is very fun with him; he's very kind and always invites me to eat but sometimes I feel bad because I don't ever pay. Several times a week my friends and I go to synthetic soccer fields in the city and we play soccer, I really enjoy this. It is because I am at times bored and exercise helps me keep my mind off of the homesickness. Exercise is really one of the important things that keeps me going. In school, specifically literature, we have begun to read a book called Pedro Paramo. It is a very difficult book because it is filled with metaphors, and it is the first Spanish book that I have read. I am able to understand a little, but hopefully by the end of this year I will be able to understand the book fully. On September 19th, my host dad had his birthday. Camilo, my host brother, and I, printed out a poster with some words of thanks and congratulations. We also had some pictures of us with my host dad, printed onto the poster. It felt good to see the smile on his face that morning when we handed him the poster, as if he were true family. On September 26th (which is also the birthday of my mother back home), Ecuador celebrates the day of the flag (Día de la Bandera). In school, we celebrated by marching around the building. The top students of the school, those with the best grades, carried the national, Lojano, and school flag around the courtyard. This was an interesting experience in that I have never marched like this before, not to mention we were required to do so with white gloves. I have joined the school marching band, and am playing the bombo. I don't actually know what it's called in English, but it's the big drum. I am super excited in that I love percussion. On November 18, marking Lojano independence, we will march together through the city, playing several traditional songs. In reference to food, I am now basically accustomed. One of my favorite things that I've eaten is guata, which is the stomach part of a pig mixed with rice and potatoes, it is very delicious. My host brother and I have spent two Sundays cooking dinner together; we made strawberry pancakes with bacon, they were delicious. In doing so I have spent much time with him and I'm able to talk to him and bond with him very well. Camilo, my host brother, and I, are becoming very close. In two weeks I will be going on another trip with the exchange students. I'm very excited for I'm able to communicate with them what I cannot with the other Ecuadorians: the fact that they are experiencing the same thing as I, helps me to cope. Time has been flying here in Ecuador and I'm really enjoying it. As I am accustoming myself to the school, growing stronger in my relationships with my friends and my host family, I'm starting to separate myself from what I left at home. This is a good thing, and it is marking the true beginning of my exchange as I know I'm becoming a true Ecuadorian.

Hope everything is going well at home

August

I have now spent two weeks in Ecuador. It feels like I have been living here for all my life. Upon arrival, I was greeted by my host parents with hugs and kisses. From that moment on I have slowly accustomed to living the life of an Ecuadorian. My house is very large, it is in the mountains where there are many animals such as cows, chickens, sheep, and others I really don't know what to call. This is a complete change for me but I'm loving it. My host parents are wonderful, my host brother is my best friend; an 18-year-old by the name of Camilo. He has led me to know  many other people in this small town of Loja. There are only 200,000 inhabitants and for this everyone knows each other and are mostly all friends. The first week I went to a Quinciñera as a Caballero which is where you accompany a girl and perform a dance at the beginning of the party. Tt was something new for me but I truly enjoyed dancing to the Latin American music. It felt very strange walking through the streets early on. I was the only light skinned person that I saw. Not only this but looks came from every person as if I were different. But, slowly and surely I have accustomed to that for I know that I really am different and change for people is always difficult. Ecuadorian food is very very different, there's much pig that we eat and the texture of it is like the tire of the car. I'm not very picky but let me tell you it takes some adjusting to eat Ecuadorian food. However, there is some good in it, especially the ceviche that you get with popcorn;  it's delicious. I have five dogs and a very large garden where there are chickens who's eggs we eat almost every morning. I have gone out with Camilo and his friends almost every night so far, it is a completely different culture. At parties we dance instead of at many American get-togethers where you just sit around and have a good time talking; we actually get up and do something, which I like a lot. School has started for me; it began on September 2 . The first day was a little rough because the language barrier is a very large barrier let me tell you. However due to my several years of practicing Spanish and preparation I think I have a very large advantage.I am able to communicate with everyone that I have met. This is one piece of advice for futures, preparation in the language was key. Back to school, it is very different. I have 18 people in my class and 36 people total in my grade. Compare this to 700 people back home. It may be strange but honestly everyone is much closer and we always hang out after school. Every day so far we have gone somewhere to get together, singing songs to the sound of someone playing guitar. Last night we went to the Feria which is a small theme park in my town. You ride roller coaster rides and things like that, it was extremely fun but sometimes can get a little dangerous because the rides aren't too safe. I have a maid that does the cooking and cleaning; she's an 18-year-old lady with a  1 year old son. Her name is Bachita, and she has the kindest heart I know. That is one thing I've learned about Loja:  the Lojanos are very nice people, everyone has accepted me with open arms, from my family to my friends, counselor, and other people I've met on this journey. Last Sunday we went to another village called Vilcabamba. this is where my host grandparents have a Finka(also known as a farm). There we went to spend time together with the family, play basketball, soccer, swim, and just enjoy time together. That is  something else about the Lojanos, they like to be together and just love on each other. Sometimes I wonder if in America, the many people I know that tend to be solitary are missing out.  I'm not sure. Near our house is a mountain, we took a skateboard without wheels and wrote it down the mountain. It was insane. Weather around here is pretty cool, it's usually about 60 degrees, up to 70, 75 during the day. It's actually perfect for me I love it. Loja, in terms of the city, is very small and the buildings are at times rundown, but everyone works together and is happy and has their markets and the such. So in reality you don't really notice that there's not that much money because people are happy. In fact, that happiness is the wealth that the Lojanos are portraying. That is what I have learned about Loja, Ecuador so far, that happiness cannot only come from money, it comes from relationships,and pride in what you do,and how you're living life. So far so good,  and I'm gonna keep on chugging along in Ecuador.
Chris