And yes, there's something you can send back to me: Spanish boots of Spanish leather.

Greetings Northern Hemisphere-ers,
I’m closing in on my first full week, so let me get you up to speed on all that has happened. Thursday afternoon I arrived in Miami. I stayed at the Embassy Suites hotel. There I had an orientation with other AFSers going to The Dominican Republic, Mexico, Honduras, or Ecuador. There were nine other United Statesians (we realized we are not the only Americans) going to Ecuador. Luckily, they were all cool. Right off the bat we were talking, joking, and laughing. After a full day of orientation hullabaloo, we headed off for Ecuador. We flew into Quito, Ecuador around 8:30 P.M. We then took a bus ride to another orientation at a camp called Nueva Vida Campamento. We drove up through the mountains and were able to see spectacular views of Quito below. Located right in the middle of the Andes mountains, it served as my home for the next two days. The first thing I did was go to the bathroom only to be surprised by two things. I was hoping to witness the Coriolis Effect (toilet water flushing opposite way), but was disappointed when the water rocketed straight down. Also, toilet paper cannot be flushed Ecuador; it’s thrown in the trash. Fortunately, my friend, Tyler, translated the sign to let me know before or else we would have had a pretty shitty night. < that’s ‘punny’. The next morning we met all of the other students going to Ecuador from all around the world. Not much happened the weekend. We all just interacted and breathed heavily at high altitudes. Monday morning all of the students going to Ambato, Guarana, Riobamba or Friobamba (that’s me) because of its chilly mountain air and Latacunga took a bus to their respective cities. It was boring and but the scenery was beautiful. When I go to Riobamba I met my the family I will be staying with for the first leg of my trip. They are really cool and my brother, Paco, speaks English. Clutch. We rode back to my new home in the back of a pickup truck. My journey had officially begun. The next two days we went to school to get registered and get my uniform. I will update you on what’s going on as soon as I figure it out myself. I don’t understand a word anyone says. I have, however, mastered three phrases “Hola” and “ No entiendo” and “Me Llamo Seth”meaning “hello”, “I don’t understand “ and “My name is Seth”. I’ve decided to not waste valuable opportunity for silence, so I usually just use those phrases consecutively without pause. Then, I proceed to laugh nervously and look away to act as if I am completely interested with my surroundings. Now that I have brought you so far up to speed that you are practically writing this with me, I’ll reveal some of the secrets of Ecuador.

Cultural info #1- Driving is crazy. Speed limits are rarely followed and there are no traffic laws. Cars drive in the left lane and honk at the person in front of them to let them know that they are going to pass and they must move over for them

Cultural info #2- On the top of many walls there are broken beer bottles glued to the top. It is cheaper than barbed wire and it looks kind of cool too.

Cultural info #3-There are dogs everywhere. They just wander the streets aimlessly.

Cultural info #4- almost every meal is rice, with beef, chicken, or fish, and a soup.

Cultural info #5-Sanitation is non-existent. So are $20 bills and above.

Cultural info #6- Most things are very inexpensive except for items such as shoes which are twice the price of shoes in the U.S.

Cultural realization #1- Even though Ecuador is poor and sub-par compared to most of the world’s standards, you don’t even realize it. The best they have is the most you are looking for. You eat food you don’t particularly like, you deal with the insanely cold showers, and you accept everything because, for me, it is my new home. I will be here for a year and what good would coming home be without things to miss.

Phone my family. Tell 'em I'm lost on the sidewalk.

Howdy ya'll,
As most of you know I leave tomorrow 8/20/09 for Ecuador. If you don't know I don't really know why you would be reading this blog, so leave. Just kidding. Anyway, I'm about to embark on the journey of a life time. I have been working my little hiney off for a year to be able to take part on this foreign exchange experience. I've doubled up on classes in school , taken summer classes, struggled through seemingly endless application processes, and worked a full-time job on top of that. But finally, my hard work is starting pay off. I'm excited to be immersed in a culture enitrely different from my own, meet people entirely different from myself and consistently fail at speaking Spanish. As much as I will miss my family, friends, and Panda Express, I know that my life will be changed for the better upon my return. I don't really know anything about my host family, where I'll be living or the school I'll be going, so I'll have to update everyone as that information becomes available. For now, I will will answer some common questions I've been asked:

Do they speak Ecuadorian in Ecuador? No, they speak Spanish

Ecuador is in Africa, right? No, South America. Get a map.

What's the weather like? Hot on the coast, mild in the mountains (center of the country)

Are you going to live in a hut? Possible, but not likely. It's not as poor as people think it is.

Well, talk to everyone as soon as possible. If you have a skype name, or e-mail address please send it to me, so I can keep in touch.