Cumbaya, my Lord

On Saturday, my flatmates (Sarah and Karen) and I went to a going away party in Cumbaya (barrio in the north part of Quito) for our neighbor downstairs and his friend. They are both going to Canada for a few months for a Masters program.

There was tons of delicious grilled carne (meat) and cebollas (onions). I tried a new alcoholic beverage (Switch). How different it is to drink at a higher altitude - you feel the effects of the alcohol much faster! Don´t worry, I felt fine by the end of the evening (we were there from 4:30 pm - 12:30 am).

Later in the evening one of my students appeared. Turns out that his girlfriend is friends with one of the guys leaving. I think he enjoyed speaking to me in Spanish for a chance (students are NOT allowed to speak Spanish at all in class).

I really enjoy spending time with the Ecuadorians because they are really friendly and are helpful with my Spanish although I did a lot of listening without much comprehension. The truth: the first half of the evening, we all spoke in Spanish but at some point we reverted to English. Then I had an interesting experience. For any of you familiar with SARBOX (my work for the last year at Hewitt), I talked to a Ecuadorian who is a consultant with PriceWaterhouse who knows all about it! He just loves it (note the sarcasm).

(Later to blog - my first exams on Friday and adventure to Cotopaxi Volcano on Sunday!)