"Not getting out of class early during the first week is UN-American."

Hola amigas!

A lot has happened since I left you last week! If you remember, Friday was orientation day! Orientaton was fun and gave me the opportunity to meet the people I would be spending my next four months with! The majority of the day was spent talking about health and safety in Ecuador. I now feel confident that I can take the necessary precautions to avoid robbery, successfully find my own legal taxi, and where to go in case of a volcanic eruption. Not exactly something I would learn at Crossroads, but a learning experience nonetheless. We were also given a campus tour and a lovely lunch. Gina came to pick me up around 430 and we headed home.

Saturday was a lot more exciting! Trip to Teleferiqo! This is a cable car system that takes you up a fairly steep mountain and at the top you have the most wonderful view of the entire city! We had a great time sitting in the grass, as high up as the clouds, and enjoying the beauty of Quito and the surrounding Andes. Definitely helped me realize I was so glad to be spending my semester here. After we came back down, we decided to travel to "Centro Historico." We saw la basilica, la plaza grande, and many other churches and museums that I want to tour! We also stopped for lunch in one of the cafes in the area, I had pollo con arroz. After lunch we sat in la plaza de cultura and I just felt like I was finally being part of the city. It was a nice feeling.

I also did things on Sunday; I'm really moving up in the Quito world. Gina (mi madre) and I took the dogs for a walk in the morning and then headed over to the shopping center. Their version of Walmart/Target is called SuperMaxi. Pretty funny hahaha. We first stopped in the phone store, it's called Movistar and I am fairly certain that it is the only phone carrier in Ecuador. My family has a phone that they let all of their host students use and I only had to buy the new chip for that, $7.00 holla! After this we had lunch in the shopping center at KFC! Win. And then went to buy a suitcase for Santi (mi hermano). I found out that he is studying abroad for a year in Belgium and leaves Sept. 1. How exciting for him! When we were leaving the mall, Gina tipped the security guard in the parking garage. I thought this was strange, but I also understood it. He made sure that no one broke into our car, and deserved something for that! There are a lot of little things that are different here that really add to their culture. We then went to watch Santi play futbol! His team, I believe they are called the Orange Mechanics, won! 2-0.

Today was my first day of class! It went as well as I could have hoped. I left the house around 10 and made it to school by 10:30. I found all of my classes, after going up the same staircase four times, and felt confident in myself at my new school! The first class of the day was "Taller de Joyeria" aka Jewelry Making. Although I don't know a lot of the vocabulary, I think I'm going to love making my own rings, bracelets, and earrings out of silver! After this class I had lunch, Pizza Crepes, with one of the girls in my class and then we met up with a few other international students to chill during our break. Next was my international relations class. Although I don't care too much for the professor, I think the class will be relatively just the same as any other class in the states. My final class of the day was my Spanish class. There are only five students in this class! How perfect! I'm definitely going to be improving my skills!

I've got two classes tomorrow, Amer. Lit and Spanish. I need to start working on my homework now though, no fair! I'll hopefully post again on Thursday evening and let you know how the week went and what my plans are for the weekend!

love you all (:

-kelley