Sarita arrives

So I arrived in Ecuador last Wednesday, the 3rd. It was quite the trip, traveling for 24 hours straight with an 8 hour overnight layover in Miami in a very shady hotel where I don't think any of us slept more than an hour or so. When we finally got here, my suitcase didn't arrive with me (even though they said it would). My host dad picked me up from the airport, and took me to meet the rest of the family, and they were amazingly friendly and warm and welcoming, saying I was a part of the family and calling me Sarita (little Sara, kind of an affectionate term). But strangely, they were definitely not the family I was told I would have. So the first night there, with no sleep and no suitcase still, I got to have the incredibly awkward conversation with them explaining that I thought I was in the wrong house. But in the end, what happened was that my host family had cancelled on me at the last minute, and their exchange student had cancelled on them, so I was switched to live with them. And I got my suitcase the next day, so it was all ok.

Since then, its been a whirlwind of activity. My host family's great, with a mom, dad, and 10 year old boy and 12 year old girl. They're an incredibly active family, always doing a million things at once, and wanting me to be a part of everything. Its really nice to feel so included andto get such a great immersion experience, but it was slightly overwhelming for the first few days. Ecuador is absolutely beautiful - we were told it'd be cold and rain a lot, but its been bright, sunny, 70's during the day and 50's at night, and absolutely beautiful. The mountains are amazing. I can't wait to go hiking. I live in Cumbaya, a little mostly upper middle class town outside of Quito, thats much safer and much warmer (its in a valley) than Quito. So I feel pretty safe walking around here and exploreing by myself, though Quito still scares me. Its about 20 minute bus ride from Quito though, and the busses aren't reall ysafe at night, so its hard to meet up with my friends from the program, since they all live in Quito. I had a rough time navigating the busses here the first couple times (they don't really mark anything, and I don't really know when its safe to take them and when not, so its been a little confusing), but its getting easier every time.

Classes started today, and I just finished my first one. They speak a really clear dialect of Spanish here, so I could understand everything that was going on. The class was about half Americans and half Ecuadorians, so it should be a nice mix. I also now have free internet access at the school, so will be able to answer email regularly, so please write and keep me updated on everything in the states! Miss you all!