Mi Casa Nueva

Well, living in Ecuador is a new experience, even more so than the first time I visited here a year ago. The main reason is that this time I’m living with my friend Eduardo (and his dog, Rocco). Last year before I left Quito, Eduardo and his roommate Cesar, invited me to come and stay with them next time around. I decided to take them up on the offer and it turned out that Cesar took a job in Spain a few months ago so there’s an extra room for me to stay in.

Staying here instead of with a host family in the area (like I did last summer) gives me a greater sense of independence and really makes it feel like I’m living here in Quito instead of just visiting on a vacation. I mean, when I come home I gotta walk Rocco or the poor guy craps all over the floor.

I’m already going to school here (4 hours of Spanish class each morning) and I just got a job today (well, it’s volunteer work for this foundation called Remar). I’m doing a lot of work here, so this definitely isn’t a party trip like Jamaica or Veracruz (ok, Veracruz was school too, but college is just a time to party anyway). However, during this trip I’m really just having a good time taking it day by day.

This second time around here in Quito is certainly a different type of trip than Veracruz was before this.  I'm reaching a new level of comfortability here in South America. I mean, I hardly even think about having to drink purified bottled water all the time, living without a refrigerator in the apartment, or having to take cold showers. Well, there are two wires that go into the shower head to heat up the water right before it comes out, but the higher you have the pressure for the water to come out, the less heated the water is (cause the water is passing through the shower head faster and the wires don’t have time to heat it up). I opt to go for less pressured showers with more heat, which leaves me a bit cold anyway cause not much water comes out. The shower head is also a bit low and I have to hunch a bit so my head doesn’t hit it. At first I was a bit fearful that if I touched the electrified shower head or got too close to the wires I would get the shock of my life (being so wet and all), but I’ve gotten over this and figure it’s gotta be safe enough.

I'm not complaining though, really I’m just listing some things that make it a little bit different living here in Quito.  My dad seems to think I’m living in a shack taking “monkey baths” or something, but really, for all the differences between here and the states, life is pretty much the same. It does depend on your usual standard of living of course, but this standard is pretty high comparatively speaking to some other I've had.

So basically, we live in a bachelor pad in the nicer part of town, so still lock it down like we were storing gold in here. I know there’s crime, I mean I’ve heard about the crime and maybe have seen some, but I think the security we have is real good. Definitely not worried about violent crime like in the states though. I’ve been told if you get robbed the muggers will leave you a quarter to get home on the bus. Yeah, the busses are only a quarter (but not painted as nicely as in Panamá).

Some people have asked me where the party at, but really this trip isn’t even about all that for me. It’s been more about doing the same things I’ve done before in the same place I’ve done them before. I’m spending time with old friends, though I’m making new ones too. However, my main goal is to hopefully get better at Spanish. Even though my progress is slow, as Granny would tell me: “You’re getting there.” Yeah, I am getting there and during this trip I don’t really need to see any more “great” sites for that. School, working with kids, playing ball, and spending time with friends is the basic equation. Same old thing.

...well, I'm still seeing a fair amount of great sites. I mean, how many people can walk out their front door, turn the corner, and see the Andes Mountains in the clouds (I’ll get some pics posted of this when it’s sunny, cause these first ones were on a cloudy day).