The first post! A Smattering of Thoughts

Hola y bienvenido a mi blog! I have been in Ecuador now for 4 days, and it's been nothing short of amazing. This is my first post, and a lot has happened in the past 4 days, so, as the title implies, you are getting a smattering of thoughts. I'm going to try to separate topics in my posts, so people can jump around to the ones that interest you, and you can breeze over the ones that don't. Enjoy :)

Cuenca! To give you a visual of
 where I am. ~6-8 hrs South of
Quito by bus.

"So, what the hell are you doing in Ecuador??" 

Ecudaor, Ecuador, Ecuador.  I decided to move to this country because I heard from several different people that the Ecuadorians are some of the most friendly and welcoming people in South America and that the country itself is one of the most beautiful--with every type of landscape: coastlines, mountains, jungle, farmland, rivers, you name it.  I hardly considered moving to any other country in SA, and basically decided on a whim without doing really any further research that Ecuador was where I wanted to be.  So far, I haven't regretted my impulse decision one iota.

For those who I haven't already told, you may ask, why did you want to move to South America in the first place? You had a perfectly good life in Kennett Square. Well, for one, I love to travel and I am always itching to begin a new adventure. Secondly, I just graduated from college in May and I wanted to take time off from school to see the world and experience living in another country before I go back to school and "real" life gets in the way of spontaneity. Lastly, I wanted to learn Spanish.  I currently have less than 20 Spanish phrases in my back pocket, and I have never studied Spanish formally in high school or college (yes, I was one of those people who studied French).  So, learning the language here will no doubt be challenging, frustrating, and exhausting, but above all I believe it will be one of the most rewarding achievements I can imagine.  I have always wanted to become fluent in another language, and I hope this experience brings me that much closer to my goal.

Ecuador: The People and Their Culture

Now, away from me and back to Ecuador. The people here really ARE amazing, and the country really IS beautiful.  I have yet to meet a single person here who hasn't been overly friendly to me or who hasn't gone out of their way to help me. This afternoon, for example, I was in the center of town and needed to catch a bus back to the house I'm staying at (more on that below). I was waiting and waiting and waiting, but bus #3 never came.  There was a man at the stop too waiting for a different line, so I ask him in my terrible (but rapidly improving!) Spanish, "Does bus 3 come to this stop?" "Si, si" he says, and begins talking to me while we wait. 15 minutes pass and still no bus #3. He then walks me to another bus stop and waits with me again. 15 more minutes. Still no bus #3.  The whole time we're having a hilarious conversation together with me speaking in my limited Spanish and with lots of hand symbols and he being patient with me as I struggle to convey anything.  It's funny how much you can convey with such a limited vocabulary. Alas, bus #3 still didn't arrive, so he flagged down a taxi for me, told the driver where to go, paid for the ride, and then was on his way. I can't even imagine an American person going so utterly out of their way to help a complete stranger--especially one who can't even really speak the language.

The city too, is just beautiful. Firstly, it is shockingly clean. The people of Cuenca take a lot of pride in their city, and it is evident when you walk around. The architecture is beautiful. Lots of old, intricate buildings. There is also a great variety of food, and its all so cheap and fresh! I ate a delicious vegetarian lunch today for $1.50. What could be better?? I can't wait to really explore the museums and more of the city here... and actually learn my way around.  Although, if I become too good at directions, how will I make new friends at the bus stop? Being lost has its perks.

View of the city. 

Cuenca at night, from a lookout.

The Wonderful World of Social Media

So, my experience thus far has been better than I could have ever imagined, almost entirely due to social media. Namely, facebook and couchsurfing. On facebook, I joined an Ecuador Expats group, which is basically a group for Americans living in Ecuador.  Before I left, I posted in the group just explaining that I was an 22 year old American living in Ecuador for the first time. Any suggestions, packing or otherwise? About 20 people respond to my post, offering really helpful information. Multiple people gave me their emails and contact information, and one family even offered to come pick me up from the airport when I arrived! So, within a few hours, I had several contacts in the city and a welcome committee at the airport. The American family was wonderful. The picked me up, brought me to their apartment, took me to lunch in the city, showed me around a huge market here, and got my phone activated and working (not as easy as it seems...).  They even offered to let me live with them until I was able to get settled.

However, I never ended up staying a night with them, because that same day (day 1 in Cuenca) an Ecuadorian girl that I had connected with through couchsurfing.org* told me to come meet her at her university, about a 15 minute walk from the American family's apartment. I was able to leave my bags with the family, and I met the Ecuadorian girl at her university. We got coffee together, and.... drum roll please, enter stage left: Joy.

(*For those who don't know what couchsurfing is, you should. But actually, it's this amazing community of people who offer their homes and/or company to travelers. It's free and an absolutely amazing way to meet local people and have an experience unlike any other when you travel.  I not only met Joy, who offered to host me in her home, but have also met and connected with several other Ecuadorians here who met me for coffee or invited me to come out to the bars with them. Truly a community unlike any other).

Oh Joy, It's Joy!

Joy is one of the most friendly, welcoming, amazing people I have ever met. She has lived in Cuenca her whole life and hosts couchsurfers all the time. She is 23 and lives with her brother, Adrian (24), and father (really normal here... no one really moves out with their parents until they're married). We are chatting away and it was so great to meet such a friendly face on my first day here. As a bonus, she studies English at her university and speaks very well, so I am able to help her with her English and she helps me with my Spanish. About 5 minutes into our conversation, I mention that I'd love to live with an Ecuadorian family so I can really learn about Ecuadorian culture and learn Spanish. Without a seconds hesitation, she goes, "Oh, you can live with us." "Really? For a long time?" "Yes, yes I'll have to ask my dad, but I'm sure it's fine." Like that, I not only had a (second) place to sleep tonight, but potentially a family to live with in Ecuador.

Joy and I at a bar in Cuenca

She walks to the American family's apartment with me, helps me with my bags, and we take a taxi together back to her house. She lives in a really beautiful house that's just north of the city center. I meet her brother and father, both of whom are so nice and friendly. Her brother speaks English fairly well, but he father doesn't speak any, so it's been a really funny and beneficial experience speaking with her dad. In her house, there were already 3 other couchsurfers from France who were cooking away in the kitchen. The French couchsurfers, her family, and I have a delicious and really funny tri-lingual dinner together since the French couchsurfers speak French and Spanish, I speak English and French, and Joy and her brother speak Spanish and English.

Adrian, me, and Joy

For yet another example of how wonderful Joy and her family are, just consider the sleeping arrangements of all of us in their home. Adrian (the brother) gave his room to the French couchsurfers, and he slept with his father.  Joy carried all my bags into her room and said, "Now, my room is your room." I insisted that I am more than happy to sleep on the couch downstairs, and she said, "No, no of course not. My bed is plenty big. We will both sleep here." Alas, after having known Joy and her family for no more than a few hours, she and I are sharing a room and bed, and it couldn't have been more normal or delightful (...she has a really comfortable bed).

Since the first night, the family has shared absolutely everything with me: their time, their food, and their company. The father even invited me to join him, his brother, and his father (Joy and Adrian's uncle and grandfather) to a trip to their father's work this weekend, which is a school high in the mountains around Cuenca. It was undoubtedly the most rural school I have ever seen (even more rural than some of the remote towns in Montana from the bike trip), but the mountains were absolutely beautiful. Plus, I got to see how rural Ecuadorians live (...lots of crops, livestock, and hard work).

To Vegan or Not to Vegan?

Well, this should really say to vegetarian or not vegetarian, but it didn't sound quite a catchy. Upon arriving here, I already knew I would not even attempt to maintain a vegan diet, because there is too much culture that is learned and shared through food.  The food here is also fresh and livestock is not artificially raised like it is in the States, so I do not have the same ethical qualms about eating it. Meat, however, I decided I would only eat if it was given to me or if it would be rude of me not to eat, but I wouldn't seek out meat or cook it on my own accord. Well, the "staying mostly vegetarian" thing didn't last long.  The first evening in Cuenca, the French girls cooked us a really delicious quinoa (!) and salmon dish and a chicken, mushrooms, and rice dish. So, I ate meat for the first time in a year and a half.  Since then, we've had meat for dinner here each night. So far just chicken or fish, which I am happy about. No red meat yet, which as many of you know, has never been may favorite, although I am sure that I will be eating it quite a few times here.  Eating meat again hasn't been as weird as I thought it would be, and the food the cook here is really really delicious. Lots and lots of rice, of course, lots of vegetables, and almost every meal is served with fresh, homemade juice (soooo good). Can't wait to keep trying new foods :)

Dinner at Joy's house on the first night in Cuenca,
with her father and the 3 French couchsurfers

Dance: The Universal Language

Salsa here is HUGE. Basically everyone can salsa and seemingly everyone loves to dance. Good news: I love to dance. Bad news: I can't dance salsa. Great news: Everyone loves to try and teach a gringa ("white girl") to dance salsa. Plus, as long as you move your hips, try to mimic the other person, and don't care if you look like an idiot, you can sort of pass as a salsa-er.  The best part, though, is that you don't need to speak the same language to have an amazing time dancing together.


Joy and Adrian took me and the French couchsurfers out to a bar and then to a salsa club on Friday night.  It was SO fun. Sorry American guys, but most of you just can't dance like Latino guys. Adrian was dancing with me first, showing me the basic moves of salsa and being patient with me when I stepped all over his feet. You couldn't really help but laugh. He showed me several different steps and soon we were dancing away to the music--spinning and shaking our hips all over the dance floor. Next, I met another Ecuadorian guy who showed me how to dance Merengue. He and I had a great time dancing together, and when the DJ played Will Smith, I showed him how Americans get down ;)

The group at a bar before salsa-ing

Outside the salsa bar, about to head
home. Joy, Adrian, the 3 French
couchsurfers, and me