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Hey
everyone. This is my first report since I’ve been here. There is no
internet at my house so you will just have to wait a few weeks for me to
send you reports.
Okay let’s see. I arrived last Friday (20th of August). The
airport was soooooooo crowded with people that I forgot to take pictures.
About 15 of us (exchange students) arrived in
Guayaquil
and all the host
families were at the airport to greet us. I saw my host father Oswaldo
first and he was soooooo nice… gave me a hug and kiss. Then I met my
host mother, Nimia, and my sister; Johana, and my brother, Moshe, and the
chauffeur, James. They are so wonderful. We drove to
Portoviejo
after we greeted the
Rotarians. The trip to
Portoviejo
was 3 hours. By the
way….it´s three hours going like 80mph...lol. By the time we got home
it was about
1am
. Johanna introduced me
to my neighbours but it was late and I was tired so we went straight to
bed.
On Saturday, I got to talk to some of the neighbours and the
family….then we went to the high school which isn’t that far away from
where I live. The school was having a fair that day, we stayed a few hours
then left to eat. The food here es muuuuuuuuyyyyyyy bueno. They eat A LOT
of rice…it bugged me at first but gradually I´m getting use to it.
Saturday
night, we had a huge party. It was a welcome party for me and a goodbye
party for Johanna. Get this…the party STARTED at
10pm
. It was crazy…we
danced…my little brother´s band played…we took lots of pictures…it
was alotta fun. At about
3am
I was like okay I´m
ready to go to bed but everyone was all like…mmmm no not until the sun
rise. I stayed another hour and a half and I was like nope cant make it. I
went to bed while they were still partying.
Sunday was a calm day….Johanna did her packing the whole day and last
minute shopping for her trip. At around 5 we started on the 3 hour
trip…going 80mph…to
Guayaquil
. When we got there we
stayed with Mamá’s brother and his family until Monday when we took
Johanna to the airport.
Johanna
is an exchange student going to
Germany
. She was soooo excited
about going. At the airport I got to meet the other exchange students
going to
Germany
…and rebounders and
of course the head Rotarians. It was kool except the batteries in my
camera died so I couldn’t take pictures. After we all said our goodbyes
we did that 3 hour trip back to
Portoviejo
but this time we ran
into a taxicab ride and so there was a delay on the roads. It was
crazy...buses…taxis were parked in the middle of the road and they
weren’t letting anyone through. We were stuck in the middle of mountains
for hours!!!! It was hot and humid. We had left
Guayaquil
at about
12pm
and didn’t reach
Portoviejo
until
9pm
. But there was a
silver lining to all of that…I got to practise my Spanish with Moshe and
my Mamá.
Monday I couldn’t go to school because I didn’t have my uniform so my
Mamá and I spent the day shopping for school stuff. It was kool because I
got to see downtown
Portoviejo
called the Centro.
Traffic here is like WHOA. But at least its not as bad as Roei described
the driving in Brasil. Ok what we would called the main road is for cars
right? And then you have the sidewalk for pedestrians… and the
pedestrian crossing? You would think that goes for everywhere you go
right? Uhhh no. The roads are for
cars…bicycles…scooters…carts…pedestrians. I’m in the car looking
out the window and I’m saying to myself…oh these people are gonna get
knocked down over and over and over. But it’s the norm here. People
actually drive patiently behind bicycles and carts and people. Oh and you
know how you can parallel park on the side of the road once the sign says
you can…well Ecuador (at least in Portoviejo) takes parallel parking to
another level. They make 2 rows of parking. It doesn’t matter if
you’re in the middle of the road as long as other cars can pass. And
another thing I noticed…in the really old parts of the Centro…there
aren’t any markings on the road. I’m like how do you know if this is a
2way or 1 way and how do you know if there is suppose to be 2 lanes or 1
or 3?????? It’s crazy but I’m loving every minute of it.
I started school on Wednesday, well not classes…classes start on the 1st.
This whole week was Open house. Like the kids at school displayed there
projects in each subject and everyone in the city was able to come and
walk around. I got to watch the biology students dissect a rat. De Lei!!!
(COOL in Spanish) (don’t want to go in details for the squirmish). The
kids at school are really nice and friendly. Some of the girls are a
little…well let’s just say some of them aren’t use to new faces. The
guys….caliente!! lol. I met Karen first and when she introduced me to
some other kids…everyone started talking to me helping me with my
Spanish. They teach English at school so they would try to talk to me in
English and I was respond in Spanish. I think it’s a good way for all of
us to learn another language. They only know a few words in English cuz
even the English teacher barely knows English…so the deal is that
she’ll teach me Spanish and I’ll help her with English classes.
Yesterday the
RYE
committee of Rotary
here came to see me. I spoke in Spanish to them and sometimes in English
but they were like ok this is the first and last time we will talk in
English. But I guess it’s the best way for me to learn Spanish
faster…and I will have to because no one in my family speaks a word of
English or in my 5th level class (5th level classes
here is like our grade 11). I go in the 6th level next April.
I
have a Rotary meeting this afternoon. I don’t know where or what time
but when my Papá comes home I guess he’ll tell me. My Mamá is in
Quito
for two days on
business. Both her and my Papá are politicians. They both have like a
million jobs. I don’t know how they do it. I know that they own and
manage the school that I go to…they both teach at the local university
and are currently dealing with the elections that are coming up soon. The
election is for the position of Mayor in the
province
of
Manabi
(and for those of you
who don’t know
Portoviejo
is the capital of
Manabi).
Anyway I think that’s about it for now…oh my school is having a dance
tomorrow afternoon…it’s formal. It’s gonna be bueno so they say.
Anywho I’m outtie…I need to get ready for the Rotary meeting. Chau!!!
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