Solo Journey

This past weekend, I traveled solo to a little town called Salinas. They have tons of factories in this little place - cheese, chocolate, wool, ceramics, etc. I enjoyed the little adventure alone. I do enjoy traveling with groups though. I met some interesting people along the way (practicing my Spanish) and ate like a champ for super duper cheap. That´s Ecuador for ya!

Classes end tomorrow and then I think I am off to the beach for a few days. Then, I have to get all my stuff packed up because I am switching houses in January to live with an Ecuadorian family. On Tuesday, I am heading back for a 3 1/2 week visit to the States. Plans include my cousin´s wedding in California, the birth of my nephew (or I hope so), spend time with my family, and RELAX!

Brands, Stores, and Other Fun Names

Being in another country, you find many funny and unusual names for products and stores. Here are a few of my favorites:

SUPERMAXI - I do all my grocery shopping at this place. The one near my house is in the mall and it´s really nice. They have a larger version similar to Walmart or Target called MEGAMAXI.

HORNIMANS - tea, anyone? This is one of the brands for black tea. We have a big bag of it at home because my English roommates like to drink it.

SNOB - This is the brand name of products in cans and jars such as corn, olives, etc. Ironically, we buy it cause it´s probably the CHEAPEST stuff on the shelves.

Riding on Chivas, Drinking Canelazo, and More!

The past few weeks has been the celebrations of Quito´s foundation day (Dec 6th). The major part of the parties is riding on a chiva (party) bus which includes a band and canelazo (a warm cinnamon-flavored alcoholic drink). You can either ride on top of the bus with the band, behind it, or inside (boring!!). The chiva takes people around town including the beautiful Old Town. The best views of the city are on top and in the back. I had the opportunity to ride on a chiva twice.

Thursday night, my student Liz and I were waiting for a bus to go to the park for a concert and a chiva came by and offered us a ride. So we jumped on back. Little did we know that we wouldn´t arrive at the park until 2 1/2 hours later! The best part of it was dancing on the back of the chiva and in Plaza Grande (in the Old Town). Friday night, CEC organized a chiva for the teachers. Again another fabulous ride around town including dancing next to the Basilica.

Luckily, we had Monday and Tuesday off so it was a nice and relaxing long weekend. This is a short week of classes. Actually this week is 3 days of classes and then next week is 4 days and then we are finished. I am back to the states in just 2 weeks for a 3 1/2 week visit! Holy smokes!

Thanksgiving Ecuador Style

I forgot to mention that I celebrated Turkey Day here in Quito with a group of teachers on the Sunday after the day. We ate turkey, mashed poptatoes, green beans, pumpkin bread (courtesy of my mom when she came to visit in October), pies, and màs! It was a great day with a Euchre tournament included. It was my first Thanksgiving away from home so it was nice to be together.