Up…Up…Up…Up…and Away! 6/2/14

Hola Todos!

Today was my first official day in Ecuador and after an early morning breakfast at our hostel in Guayaquil we headed off to Cuenca. So far it has been difficult to turn away from the sights and sounds of this country. From the chirp of the birds outside my window this morning to the waterfalls along the scenic drive to Cuenca, everything is so new and enchanting. That scenic drive, by the way, took us up, and up, and up even farther into the Andes reaching some of the highest elevations I have ever experienced. My mind was constantly spinning (maybe partly due to the altitude…), thinking about the lives and stories of the people I passed. This country really is a sobering mix of beauty and poverty…

Just as a fun fact to all, Ecuador’s main agricultural exports are cacao, bananas, and sugar cane. If you know me, you know that chocolate, bananas, and sugar are all my favorites, so I am feeling especially content with my choice to come to this country specifically. Along our drive to Cuenca we got to see acres upon acres of each of these crops but, as an avid connoisseur of bananas, I was very intrigued by the banana trees.  Each bunch of bananas on the banana tree is covered in a bag to protect it from bugs… now I know that may not seem as incredible as expected, but if you could see the thousands and thousands of banana trees you would realize that to put a bag on each and every banana tree the amount of labor that the banana farmer has to do is… BANANAS! (haha tricked you when I told you my blog wouldn’t be funny)

After finally settling down (**sarcastic tone intended) at 8400 ft in Cuenca and indeed eating one of those very delicious bananas, I was introduced to my new family. For a little background information, we were each asked to take a Spanish test and fill out a questionnaire before we arrived so the organization could best match us with a family that could fit our likes and our language level. And that is how I got blessed with Filomena. My new Ecuadorian family consists of my host mother Filomena, her daughter Yamilt, her 5 year old son Emilio (who has become my new amigo mejor), and her baby grandson Nicholas. We (I have already included myself in this family after approximately 3 hours) all live in a 4 story row house on the southern edge of Cuenca approximately 5 blocks from the Spanish school where I will be taking classes for the next 2 weeks. The only difficult challenge so far is that no one in my home speaks any English… and while my years of Spanish at Clay-Platte and St. Pius both were beneficial…they also seem like ages ago. So I am doing my best and luckily Emilio is very patient with me as long as I let him play puzzle games on my computer.

I guess that is all for now…estoy muy cansada…

Lots of love from Ecuador,

Jen