My first few days

Hi everyone, I thought this would be a good way to let you all now how Im doing in the good 'ol Ecuador and what Ive been up too.

Anyways the trip down wasnt too bad although the flight from Atlanta to Ecuador was 5 hours and seemed extremely long. On the flight though while we were flying over the ocean there was a thunder and lightning storm next to us and is was really cool to see the lightning. When we finally landed in Quito thats when the chaos began! :-) We got off then had to get in this long line then got to get out luggage but the luggage was everywhere in a very small area with alot of people! It took a while to find but all my luggage arrived, one bag was on the conveyor and the other was in some random coner! then after we went through customs we walked in to the room that was EXTREMELY filled with people yelling and holding up signs that had names on them. I saw my name right away but kind of hesitated to go.

My padre and my sister picked me up and drove me to my new house (pictures on facebook if you want to see) where I met the rest of the family. My madre and padre have four kids but one lives in Spain and the other 3 live here. so i live with one sister and two brothers they are all 22+. My family is extremely nice and i like them very much. My madre actually kind of reminds me of my Grandma Rich. We have an empleada (simial to maid) that lives in a small house in our yard but she only works during the day and during the week. Then on the floor above us lives my madres mom and her empleada that has a 1 year old son (He is soo cute)...

I would say my spanish is gettign alot better, and my family is always eager to help me learn which is good.

We started our spanish class this week and have had various orientations at the school. So i have learned how to use the bus system quite well. The busses are extremely crowded so I have to be very cautious of my stuff but the bus station is right outside of the gate to my street (yes my street is gated... i have to have a guard let me in and out everytime i leave or come back). I was really nervous but i have three guys from my school that live near by so we all take the same bus which is about a 45 minute trip.

So far the food is pretty good. We eat alot of cheese (especially mozzerella for some reason) and fruit. For breakfast I have fruit, fresh juice, bread, and cheese, and then lunch which is the biggest meal of the day we have some soup, meat, rice, and a vegetable salad. Then dinner is really late (usually 9pm) and well have something simple! Yesterday we had pizza for dinner which was good but different then pizza im used too. They eat vegetables really diffent then we do, its always cut up pretty small and then mixed with other veggies and other stuff into a salad, and its always cold (but they are cooked) which caught me off guard the first time. And yesterday my madre cut up asparagus to put on my lettuce salad. it was good though.

The people here are all really nice and WAY more polite than people from the US. When someone comes into a room they say hi and kiss on the cheek with everyone. They dont just say one Hi they go around to everyone, and this is everyone not just adults. I really like it and i think its way more personal.

Well I will up date you later!!! Hope the US is treating you good!!