So many bruises

So yeah, I have this wonderful massage therapist. He told me that I'm really internal and need to be more aware of my surroundings and where I'm at in them. I already agreed with him but I'm going to actively work on it even more.

As everyone knows, I feel down the stairs last week. I bruised the top part of my left forearm and scraped the lower. I discovered yesterday in the shower that I have a really red bruise on my left buttock. Wow. I do not think I have ever had a bruise there. In the jungle, I got more bruises. I played futbol with some people and I was the keeper. There was five people, so two people to a team and one keeper. My job was basically not to let either team score. This guy named Tobias had a open shot to the goal and took it. I guarded the goal with my right thigh. It hurt like a bitch and I got a wonderfully odd bruise in the shape of a circle. I'm okay with that bruise. I accepted the job of keeper and I could have blocked differently.

I do not like the other bruises I got. I was being a bit prideful and walking confidently. The first time I confidently walked into a hole in the pier. The boards gaped in that spot and my foot went in. It was dark but I should have been using my flashlight. Reto (Switerland dude I met the first week) grabbed ahold of my boot because my foot could come free but not with the boot. I got two bruises on each side of my left calf. Go Shilo. I think two nights later, I was walking behind this girl when she stopped and pointed at the fact that it suddenly went to one board. I confidently almost walked into the river. That would have sucked. I like to believe if the girl had kept on walking I could have stabilized myself but I must have been walking to close. She went to grab me but instead hit me under the chin. I went down on one knee but somehow bruised my right leg right around my knee on the left side. I got to be more careful and I will keep on working on the whole not hurting myself.

Okay! I got this whole uploading thing down. It is not that hard. It just was incredibly slow with the CD I had. I was having problems with loading the pictures and was not even getting to the important stage. I have loaded all the photos on the computer I'm using now. Upload speeds are incredibly slow and I'm going in order but here is the link. http://picasaweb.google.com/kimkipling It starts with Arizona so people might see some Ecuadorian photos in a week because I'm leaving this joint in a half hour.

I was going to start in detail about my journeys but I do not feel like it so later. Here are some things I have noticed and I might repeat myself.

Traffic here is pretty crazy. I'm pretty sure I have said this before but all road rules are only guidelines. Walkers do not have the right away. I do alright because I assume everything will be alright or I will die. I do not worry about it.

I am tall! I argued about this my teacher but realized that I was comparing myself mostly to men. I'm about the same height as most men and I'm taller than the woman. It is a pretty heady thing to be tall when you are use to be short all your life. I fit in more than most tourist but I'm still very different from the normal phenotype. It feels slightly weird to now that I stick out like at all times. I could have blonde hair, but reddish brown hair is not popular either. My skin is much lighter and no one has blue eyes that lives here.

This easily follows the last paragraph. I love the physical type of men here in Ecuador. There are short and so fit. Yes this is because most are really poor so walk alot, have physical jobs, and play sports but ye gods their bodies are nice. I think I will have a hard time when I go back to the States and I see so many men that are out of shape. I'm attracted to the indeginous men the most. They are short, fit, have white teeth, nice smiles, but they are also really hard working, nice, and respectful to women. Or at least tourist women. They are not pushy like the hispanic men. They also have a certain accent that I like. Maybe it is just because I have had met two really nice indigenous men.

I have touched my own urine more than I have ever expected or wanted to. All toliet paper is thrown into the trash because paper will clog the drains. I'm not use to this. I rarely forget now but when I do, I think "Dammit!", and fish it out. Sometimes, I just flush the toliet because it is not worth it.

I'm actually uploading pictures of Quito right at this moment. I realize now that I wish I had taken more photos. I wish I had taken more photos of the school, students, and hot salsa teacher. When I look back, it makes me realize what I think is important. I need to take more pictures of people.

Change is fucking annoying in Ecuador. I took about 100 dollars in ones and fives and it disappeared quick. Having a 20 to break is like impossible to do. Sometimes 5 are too high depending on the place. I once bought juice because the bakery could not give me change for my 30 cent purchase out of five dollars. It turns into a giant game to find out where you can get change and get change as often as possible. Money wise I love the Bank Pinchancha. I never have problems withdrawing money and never get charged a fee.

The women here really like their butts. I respect that. I love my butt but I do not wear the tighest pants I can find just to make my butt look as big as possible. The problem with doing that is then your belly falls over the edge of your pants. Also, why where white pants! I just do not like them that much. Also, the women wear heels a lot! Their feet have to hurt. I think I made some of these points as well.

Whenever you get a group of people together who are from the same place, they speak their mother tongue. Which is rather annoying when you are in the jungle with a group of 6 girls from Germany, 4 people from Switerland, and two people who are from Denmark and Sweden but like to talk to each other in their respective languages because the languages are close. I had one distant Canadian man to talk to and I was willing to talk Spanish the whole time!

I think there is more in my head but I have to go to Couchsurfing to find places to stay for free hopefully.
Ciao

Tech help

I need it. I was going to learn how to upload photos and all that jazz in the states but I did not. I'm having trouble and I will admit I'm getting frustrated. I need to get these photos off my camera so I can show you all and in case I break, lose, or the camera gets stolen.

I tried to load pictures from a CD but I think the CD is too scratched. CDs are expenisive here. I did figure out how to download Picasa2 and change the language to English, but have yet to have pictures to import.

Part of the problem is that I have like 600 phots on my camera. How to I load only part without the computer ditching the ones I loaded earlier? Which progams does everyone like? I need something free and will save my photos to a server since I do not have a computer.

I hate it but I am not completely stupid in the tech worlk but greatly behind. I know I could learn it but I never make time. Also, if everyone wants an index or map, again you will have to tell me how to do it. I only have so much time and I start getting angry when I'm in Ecuador in an internet cafe for hours. Heck, I get angry playing with it at home. It makes me feel stupid or slow so I walk away and get by. I'm getting upset just admitting that I do not have the skills I want to have. Part of me feels this will be an area I always lack.

Anyway, I have been gone for a while. I have already been in an hot internet cafe for an hour so this will be the short version and then I might provide details later.

Last Friday I went back to Quito. I bought supplies like a hat and sandals. Saturday, I meet this girl Nikki Flechter and I will be traveling the coast with her from Sept 30 to approximately October 9th. She is nice but I can see her driving me a bit crazy. Sunday, I hiked to the top of Pichinicha. I felt like a mountaineer. I did not start from the bottom but took the Teleférico up to 4,050 meters. It took seven hours and it was very tiring. That night I took a bus with my school at 8pm to Coca which arrived at like 10am. A crapy and tiring bus ride.

Monday, took a motor boat doen the Napo for about 45 minutes to the Yarina lodge and visited the jungle for 5 days. It was amazing and if it was not so expensive I would love to stay longer. In the future, I will travel down the Amazon and visit the jungle again. There is peace in the jungle.

Friday afternoon, arrived back in Coca. Was going to stay the night there but the buses leqaving from Coca to Tena only started to leave at 3pm. I tried to take the 3pm but two students in front of me took the last two spots. I took the 4:30 pm bus and arrived at 9:30pm. I dislike arriving places at night but it was fine. I'm actually getting scared because I feel myself getting complacent. I'm still paying attention but I'm starting to feel like nothing will happen to me. Got to fight that.

I'm staying at the Limoncocha and they are doing my laundry right now. It is a good price but when I get back to the States everything will seem so expensive. I miss games so much! I was looking at movies with Nikki and saw Playstation games. I actually hugged the row. I still read. I have read three books which is low for me but still higher than I expected. I miss playing my bass as well. And cooking for myself. I'm enjoying this traveling and plan on doing more in the future but I also enjoy my home. I do not think I was made to be a world traveler who has no home and roams for years. I'm not even sure I will do another really long trip. But I will definitely travel more in the future. I realized I have not had many vacations lately. I went camping in June(?) for a few days but before that I went to Las Vegas in January 07. Vacations are important and I got to be more aware of how to combat burn out at work.

Got to go eat and will try to upload photos again soon.

No! I do not have an abusive partner.

I just fell down the stairs officer. No seriously, I fell down the stairs, how lam is that. If you remember, I fell down at the animal market last Saturday. I got a nice yellow and purple bruise below my left knee. Below my right knee, is a smaller bruise that I have no clue where I got. Well... today I fell down some stairs. The first time in my life that I can remember. I'm staying at the Rubby Hostal which is made of all wood and the stairs are very steep. I have to take my shoes off at the bottom because this is a muddy community. I was coming down and then I went down. I had slipped once before and caught myself. Not this time. My left arm is scraped and so is my back. My left buttock aches quite a bit. I'm fine. I'm just glad that I'm young enough that I did not ruin my trip by falling down stairs.

Oh yeah, I'm pretty paranoid. This litte kid came up and tried to read my screen. I asked if he could read English in Spanish. He said no but asked where I lived. I told him America. He then went back to his back and pedaled off. I have no clue why but I did double check all my possesion since I awesome everyone and anyone can be a thief. Including Girl Scouts.

I will keep on telling everyone the names of people I met but I usually only met them for a day or so. Last I wrote, I dropped Clara and Andre off at the bus stop. Clara being the German girl I lived with a week and Andre, the Russian dude. I walked back to La Luna for an awesome dinner. When I went back into the dormitory area, there were four very fun people making dinner. I asked if I could eat with them and they said yes. I meant my dinner at the table but they also invited me to eat with me. Their names were Brax and Rachel, two English girls just out of college, Nick the Australian dude, and Joe the New York man. It was a blast but I went to bed early.

I got up and did some dishes as my payment of the dinner the night before. I then ate breakfast with the four and a Switerland couple Angleica and Stefan. I grabbed a cab with the four and dropped them off at the bus station like I had done with some friends the day before. I wandered the city and that is when I meant the couple who had lived in Ecuador for 36 years. I got my laundry and took a taxi back up to the dorm. There was no one there. Sadness. I got a bit lonely and went to the main lodge for dinner. I got soup and heard a TV. Around a corner that I never went was the fun corner. This local guy was watching a Mexican comedy. I watched it while petting this huge dog named Milky. I also looked through the book collection. I started chatting with the local dude whose name is Augstin. He was cute and very sweet but I believe he has a wife. We chatted for about an hour in Spanish. He mostly talked because I'm not the greatest at talking but can understand quite a bit if people do not talk to fast. The Switerland couple came in and we all ended up talking in Spanish for two hours.

I went back to the dorm and read this horibble teenager book called The Ashleys. I finished it at 12:30pm and crashed. I ate breakfast with the Switerland couple and caught a cab with them. I then rode this bus to Quito for 2 hours. I should have jumped off at the North Side of town but I was too stubborn to ask. Instead I got off at the Terminal Terreste bus station in the south side of town. When I asked how much to get to Ofelia Staion, the driver wanted 6 dollars. NO way! I then walked through the terminal which is suppose to be one of the more dangerous places and to the Grand Plaza. By that time I had remembered that taxi´s are suppose to have meters. I caught one and in the end it cost me 5.12 dollars. It drove me all the way north and I could have saved myself like 3 dollars just by asking for help on the Otavalo bus.

Anyway, I got to the bus heading for Mindo in plenty of time. The drive was beautiful! Seeing clouds in the rainforest is a magnificant sight. I got off at 6:30pm which is when night starts in Ecuador. I told myself never to arrive at night anywhere but this town is really safe. I walked through parts looking first for Rubby hostal and then Tranqulidad. A person did not know Rubby so I thought it had stopped existening. This guy asked if I had hostal when I got off. I lied and said yes. While I was walking and looking, this little girl asks if I had a hostal and directs me to Hostal Sandy. I say no. This little boy does something similiar and then this really short man walks with me. He points to a hostal and says this is Tranquilidad but nope it is Hostal Rubby! Woohoo. It is a nice little place.

I go out for dinner and run into a group of Americans, Nick, Brian, and Heide. This is the second Nick and Brian for those keeping track. I invite myself to their table where we play Rummy and 13.

The next morning I'm used to super nice people and staff so try practcing my spanish with the girl who is making breakfast. She obviously does not want to talk. She is acually kinda rude and if I was not meeting the American group, I would have found anoher hostal.

At this moment, the internet cafe had a problem. I actually wrote this blog yesterday but it did not post. I will update more later today.

Waiting for laundry... in another country?

Can you feel the excitement?

I have lots of ideas about titles but I remember I wrote one about waiting for laundry like last month and some things never change. I am in fact waiting for laundry but I'm not doing it! I'm paying like 3 or 4 dollars for someone else to do it. The guy weighed my clothes and they weighed 4.5kg or 2lbs. That is most of my clothes.

I'm in an internet cafe right now and it is the first one I have ever been in before. I'm in Otavalo right now and it is beautiful and fun. Otavalo is a big tourist town on the weekends. They are renown for their market. It was big and fun. I saw Barney which kinda freaked me out. Right now though is mostly locals. The internet cafe I'm at is right on the edge of the Plaza of Ponchos. People are working by mostly painting metal bits and music is being played loudly. I do not know what I will do when I get back and there is not music being constantly being played.

I'm going to back track a bit and tell the story of what I did last week. Monday and Tuesday were a bit hard because I was feeling lonely but it ot better on Tuesday. I went to the South American Explorer clubhouse and used the internet a bunch. I talked to this dude from Alaska about politics. Alaska is a pretty small community and he was harsh on Sarah Palin. I did some research and I do not like her policies. I will vote for Obama if I vote. I know! It is important but it is rather difficult to vote from overseas. I will try and print out an overseas ballot request and send it to Arizona in time.

Tuesday afernoon I went to Salsa class and had lots of fun. The instructor is muy guapo (very handsome). I do think more in Spanish. In one of my other post I realized I use mucho but I do not remember using Spanish on purpose. If I post a word in Spanish, just ask me and I will tell you what I meant. I ended up walking home in the dark. It is slighly unsafe but I lived in a good neighborhood and I got frustrated because no taxis would stop for me. I ate with everyone and told everyone I was going to see a movie in a local theater. I warned everyone that it would be in Spanish and I did not play on understanding anything. All of the students except for Brian came with me. We walked 5 minutes to the local theater to see "Pizza, Barra, and Faso". What I did not know was that the movie was set in Argentina and woah! what an accent. I understood what the movie was about but not the words. It was about a pack of young thieves and their lives. They try to do a big heist but end up dead, dying, or going to prison. Three of the students left in the middle of the movie. That left me and Sarah. We ended up walking home in the dark around 10:30pm. Perhaps not the safest but nothing happened.

The next day I walked around trying to find good equipment for the outdoors. I then went to the old city and climbed the Basicilia. It is a church that you can go very high up in. I climbed up to the belfry and went outside. It was high. I do not get scared of heights but this gave me a big adrenaline rush. I then went into shops trying to find a pretty shirt. I found this really shiny orange shirt for only 5 dollars. Later that night I hung out with girl Lily who I had met a school, she is a couch surfer. She wanted to go see a dance presentation so I said I would go with her. I did not realize that she had met her own Ecuadorian man on the street. His name was Jaime and he was much nicer than Damien. He is a guide and loves mountains. It was still a bit awkward. I saw a friend Tomas who is a Polish guy living in London. He invited us to go to a bar. I should of went but did not. The best part of the night was running into Damien and he handed me a flyer. That is his job. It was a flyer for a club that has strippers on Wednesday night. Too funny! I showed the flyer to Blanca and she looked shocked or askance but then stated she only wanted to see Carlos strip. This are the people running the family stay and are both in their 50's. Not the best mental image but funny.

The next day was Thursday and it was a busy day. I do not remeber too well what I did in the afternoon. I went home and chatted with Brian. I put on the pretty orange shirt and went to lunch. I then went to salsa dance class again. So much fun and I'm a horrible lead, but this Canadian girl and I finally got this spinning move down. I then did a night tour with the school. It was interesting to actually see the city at night. I tried an alcoholic drink that is a mixture of vodka? and cider. More alcohol than cider so I did not like it. I went out with Tomas, Brooke, and Danielle at a cafe for drinks. I had hot chocolate. I had an interesting time in the middle of the night with the toliet. This is the second time I have had diaherra. The first was for thirty mintues and this time was only 2 hours. It just happened to be at 2:30 in the morning. Sadly my friend Clara has had problems for four days. To sad, but she has seen a doctor. Apparently my eating habits of eating lots of free things and eating food that falls on the ground has toughen my stomach up.

Friday I went to the Chapel of Man with Brian. It displays the work of Guasaymin. We walked up there after taking the bus for part of the way. It was all uphill and it was hard. Of course, I did not mention this but every morning I attended Spanish lessons. I went out dancing but miscommunication happened and it was not as fun as last Friday.

I got up at 5:30 in the morning to pack my stuff. I made Clara late but we caught a bus going to Otaval at 6:30 in the morning. This guy started to annouce things. Clara and I thought he was a bus official at first telling people to take care when they eat the food that vendors sell on the bus. People jump on, sell some food, and jump off. Very interesting. He kept going on and on. In fact he was a traveling salesman of people to keep your stomach from getting upset. Talk about a trapped audience. I was worried about my big bag because I could not keep an eye on it. It all worked out though. Clara and I first visited the animal market. Pigs are so smart and I do not think I can eat them anymore. Some tried so hard not to get caught or go where people wanted them to. I'm a bit afraid of pigs because a pet pig of some people I knew followed me around and bit me like four times. I shyed from a pig and fell down. I have a magnificant bruise below my left knee.

Clara and I went to our hostal so we could drop our stuff off. It is La Luna and it is beautiful. Also tranquil. We made are way to the main market. Clara bought so much and I surprised myself by buying a few pieces. I bought blue elephant earnings, a grean weaved belt, and a colorful largish purse. I got the purse because I wanted something smaller than my normal size backpack so I could have one giant backpack and one purse, not two backpacks and a purse. We ran into Clara's friend Andre, a Russian. I got to say talking politics with a Russian has been one of the more interesting things to do. We all wandered about and enjoyed what we could understand of a spanish comedy act for a festival. Clara and I went back to the hostal.

The next morning Andre came to our hostal which is a 3 dollar taxi drive from Otvalo. We hiked for two hours around the area. Then we went to some local falls and ate lunch. Leisurely hiked up to the falls where I scared the Russian guy by getting close to the edge. It was fine, he was just a bit nervous. We rode to the local bus terminal and I said goodbye to them. I then wandered for an hour to an hour an half because I did not want to take a taxi. I found the right road and started walking more. Walked for about an half hour uphill until I asked and found out I was on the wrong road. Took a bus down and walked for an hour and half up the right road. I was exhausted. I ended up hiking for 6 or 7 hours. I treated myself to a nice dinner, spagetti and hot chocolate, and I told myself that in the future, 3 dollars is a good deal for a taxi. I met up with four travelers who were staying in the dorm area. I talked, ate, and drank wine with them for a few hours. God I hate wine but it is safe to drink.

I crashed and got up the next day. It has been a good day. I had lunch and the place was very busy. I told this white couple, Ralph and Janet, they could sit with me because there was no room. They have been in Ecuador for 36 years and had great stories. They pushed me to see a crater lake but I do not think I have time to get a group to see it.

I know this blog is really long. Sorry I think in the future they might all be long. I will go streches with no internet access and then I have to update you all on everything. Have fun!

What should I do?

Okay I have to make a decision tomorrow of what I should do with myself for a week. I want to study Spanish in the jungle and that is in two weeks. What should I do with myself nx week?

The original plan was go to the jungle next week and Galapagos Islands the week after. Now, I´m going to the jungle in two weeks (hopefully I have to go talk to people in a minute but I think I can get it). I do not want to go to Galapagos Islands next week. That will be later. Hmmm.... so what to do?

I need to study more Spanish bu I also kinda feel like a break. Keep on studying for a week in Quito or go travel around Ecuador? Just writing about staying kinda made me mad or anxious so I think I will be staying in Mindo and Banos next week. Or wherever I want.

But what does everyone think? If I take a break now, I would study Spanish in the jungle and again for anoher week. Then Galapagos Islands, fly to Guayquail and celebrate their Independence Day. Then study more Spanish in Cuenca. I really want to learn Spanish. Aye! So undecided.

I am off to Otavalo for the weekend. So that is decided.

This is a complete tangent to answer a question my mother asked. I have not gained any weight. I do eat good food but there is a lot of fruit and it is rather healthy. I´m craving fat and fried food. I actually weigh 125 pounds now because I walk a lot, at least an hour a day. Plus I end up dancing 2 to 3 times a week. I will come back all healthy.

Tiempo barra todos

I'm going to a dancing class in five minutes so this will be a very short post.

Time passes strangely when you are traveling. Everyone I talk to agrees that the first week feels like a month. Not in a bad way. I have had lots of fun, it just seems like I have not been in America for a long time.

Last Friday, I had drinks with Damien and went back to my school to blog. When I left, I ended up having drinks with Reto, the Swiss dude. It was odd. Drinks-30 minute break-drinks again. I felt popular. I also actually liked Reto. We talked only in Spanish for an hour. We will probably not see each other again but fun. I went to the family stay and then went out dancing. So much fun! Clara is so funny. She is only 19 and worries about so much.

Saturday was my relaxing wandering around the city. Saw a play for children and bought a phone. Wandered the city and took a picture of a state of Ghandi.

Sunday I biked down Cotopaxi. It was chilly but it got warmer. It was beautiful and the guide was cute. He joked about kidnapping us all which was only fun because he did not.

I have been struggling these past two days because I'm a bit lonely and the next 15 weeks seem really long. Not sure what I'm going to be doing this weekend. I'm thinking of visting Mindo which is a cloud forest. Then studying spanish the next weekend in the jungle.

Ciao

Random Encounter

Yesterday I asked so many people to eat lunch with me. Nope. Everyone was busy. Before lunch, I explored the town. I was trying to get to the Museum of Olga Fisch. Do I know who Olga Fisch is? I did not at that time and I still do not. I started to walk there and I saw a roundabout. I decided I had to get into the middle. It is slightly dangerous but I made it. Oddly, there was a statue of Abhraham Lincoln. I took a picture. I thought I was one place when I was in fact further north. I wandered about slightly lost but got to the museum. It is not a museum but a small shop. It had beautiful stuff but nothing I wanted. I think Olga Fisch is an artist.

I went further south and grabbed some information about plays. I plan on seeing a comedy tomorrow. There was a beautiful blue woman statue which was also a harp. I was close to my school and stopped by. No one wanted to eat with me. I went out to find a cheap almeurzo (set lunch). I saw a sign for lunch for 2.80. Alright. I went up and they did not offer set lunches. Liars. I ordered a vegetarian plate and some cold limonade. Oh my God. It was a beautiful lunch and delicious. There was hommels with onion, avocado with dip, carrots, and red things. Also sometype of potato patty or dumpling. My words are not doing justice to this meal. I forgave them for the no set lunch.

I wandered out and decided to see the sights. I wanted to go to the Church of Santa Therista and Museum Nacional del Banco Central. I start walking down the street when this random guy hails me. I stop and we start chatting. He seems nice enough but I´m not attracted. He says he needs to practice his English so we walk. His name is Damien and he wants to be a writer. Now, he teaches salsa dancing. I thought cool, he has a nice body and knows how to dance. I could change my mind. We went to the church and then to the teatre nacional. He walked with me to the museum but said he had already seen it. I believe he did not want to spend money. I was actually glad to get rid of him.

The Damien encounter - constant touching. I have had guys flirt with me in the past so I´m use to guys touching me. He explained that in South America everyone is very touchy. I said I knew this because I had been told. He said I need to experience to really get to know the culture. He asked if I had a boyfriend. I should have said yes but I said the truth. He asked if I had kids. I said no. He offered to help me with that. Oh it is a joke yes. Please, that was annoying. I would have rather he asked me to have sex. Pairing the idea of having sex and having kids is no fun. I know that is the reproductive purpose of sex but I try to have sex without the kids.
- constant correcting. He said he wanted to practice his English and I wanted to practice my spanish. He corrected me all the time. So frustrating. I´m new to the language and I make a lot of mistakes.

Anyway, Damien went away and I explored the museum. I liked the contemporary art the best. So disturbing but it evoked more emotion from me than anything else. The lights in a room do not go on until you enter the room. I went into a room and saw in the dark other room a guy. Not any guy, but a guy with his pants at his feet. I freeze. What the hell? He does not move. I stare. okay breathe, it is only a statue. I had to look at the front. Yep, there was a penis. Very fun and very scary.

I went home, eat, and slept. I attended class this morning and I like my professor Julio mucho. I went home and dropped stuff off. First I ate at a place called Claro de Luna. Only three dollars for juice, soup, cheese, an entree (pork, potatoes, and green beans) and a dessert bread. Delicious!

I went back to Gringo Landia! I set up biking down Cotopaxi, a local volcano or Sunday. I left the agency and who should hail me? That is right! Damien. Okay, I like talking Spanish with a local.

Ye gods. Constant compliments. I just do not enjoy it. I enjoy be called beautiful but too many compliments make them worth less. We talked and he became even more direct. I said I was not look for love and he asked about sex. No! It is a joke. No it was not a joke. I said not really looking for sex but friends is fine. He basically stopped talking to me. He did get me a good deal on a used travel book.

It made me think. I do not really plan on having sex on this trip but am I even open to the possibility. I realize that yes I am but not with Damien. Too pushy. Also, I did not find him cute. Anyways, got to run because the school is closing.

Wait! This city smells?

I was sick for the first 2 days and half I was in Quito. My nose was completely stuff. The first night I actually slept because I was exhausted but the second night I woke at 3am. I stayed up for like an hour and half blowing my nose. My handkerchief is rather gross at this moment.

I live with other students of Spanish in a home stay but none of us go to the same Spanish school. The two people who own the home are Carlos and Blanca. Blanca asked me to not tell the school about the other students. All right, a bit shady to me but no big deal. Just makes talking about what I did more interesting since I cannot talk about the students as students. I mention them but just call them friends. I live With Brian (Indiana), Sarah (Italian), and Clara (German). I was chatting with Sarah and she mentioned how terrible the air was here. I looked at her. I had been walking through the city for 2 and half days, and I had no problems. She looked at me. She could not believe me.

I woke up yesterday and I could comfortably breathe through my nose! Yay! Until I walked through the city. Que terrible! It is bad. You can see black smoke coming from the buses. My throat is all scrathy but I think I know why. I will admit it was a complete surprise.

On to new stories, I was a complete tourist yesterday. I went up to see the Panecillo y Monumneto a la Virgen de Quito. It is suppose to cost 5 dollars to get a taxi up to the hill and have the person wait and then have them take you back. I went with the Switerland dude Reto and I thought he knew what he was doing. Nope. I asked for the price of the cab when we got to the top. 15! I was like No. The taxi driver would not budge. Fine. We wandered about and paid the 15. Not horrible for two people but still I do not like over paying.

I want to tell more about my day but I stopped by the school to find people to eat lunch with. This means I have to actually go talk to people. My teacher was sick today so I ended up exploring the town by myself in the morning. I plan on exploring by myself in the afternoon but I would like to eat lunch with people. Sorry about spelling and grammar. I never reread these blogs.

Mistakes I have made

I have a few minor mistakes that have not caused me any long lasting mistakes but still I will post them here.

The very first mistake I made was not double checking my bag. My mother and stepfather are driving me to the airport. My mom asks "What shoes are you bringing?" I say "My flip flops and the shoes I'm wearing now". She states "You left one of your flip flops in the middle of the floor at home" I do not believe her yet I do. I get all annoyed and grab my pack from the pack. I dig around and find one flip flop that is right ONE. I was pissed. I flung it at the back of the suv and it hits with a thud. I ask her if there is anything else she wants to bring up since it is too late for me to do anything about it. I calm done in like 30 seconds and thank her because it will make my bag lighter.

Get to the airport. All safe and boring. Say goodbye to my mother and the security gate and we both tear up. Next mistake, realizing that you checked your bag and it had all of your pads. It worked out but seriously annoying.

The next mistake, not getting to know my luggage better. I secured part of my bag that had my clothes but there is a part to cinch as well. I grab my bag in Ecuador and clothes are starting to fall out. Shit! What did I lose. I push the clothes in and then remember how to secure it after my flight is done. I look and it does not appear that I lost anything. Sweet. A mistake but no consequences. Nope, I lost my favorite shirt.

Last mistake, a guy told me to not drink the water. Duh! I brushed my teeth with it instead. That was the first night but no ill effects yet.

Got to run. Off to play tourist with the Reto Dude.

Ecuador

Hola gente!
I safely arrived in Ecuador on Sunday. I was picked up at the airport by an employee of the school and driven to my homestay. I went to sleep and slept for three hours because I did not really sleep during my travels. I tried on my overnight international flight but I was put in the very back by the lavortory. Everyone and their dog brushed me or my pillow whenever they walked by. The food was interesting on the flight. I got bread thing with tomato sauce in the middle.

I like my home stay family but it is expensive. I might find an apartment becuase it is much cheaper but I'm also thinking of visiting the jungle program that Simon Bolivar provides.

I did not meet many people the second day (Monday) but I'm slightly sick and was still tired. I decided I need to meet people because I need a travel companion and also I do not want to be lonely. I ate lunch with a guy named Reto who is from Switerland and a couple who are from Portland. They sold their cars and rented their house so they could buy a boat. They then sailed down the west coast and plan on the trip taking two years. I may have a new goal.

Have to go because I have a salsa class.
Ciao
I miss and love you all.