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