WEEK 4 IN REVIEW

Tuesday 10/15

Tomorrow I'm going with my neighbor Adriana to Quito, and Thursday she has an interview in Esmeraldas--by the beach!  I think it's like 6 hours away or something... but I'm excited to see more of Ecuador!

Today Miguel came by at 9:00am--he took the day off work to hang out with me--surprise!  We went to the market, to a museum of ancient artifacts, and to some impressive cathedrals.


Thursday 10/16

Yesterday we left Ibarra around noon and arrived at Adriana's parents' house in Quito about 3 hours later.  We took the buses around town to go buy out 6-hour bus ticket to Esmeraldas, where Adriana has a job interview.  We left Quito at 11:50pm and got to Esmeraldas at 5:30am.  I slept off and on for 5 hours... and woke up with the sound of gurgling water in my left ear! It's still plugged... I can't hear a thing.

We left the Esmeraldas terminal at 6:00am (sooo out of it, at this point) to get on a type of bus with no doors or windows... the outsides are exposed to the air, but there's a roof.  Very rickety.  Called ''chivas'' or, during festivals, ''rancheras''.  We rode that for an hour or so to Rioverde, where Adriana's at her interview.  I slept from about 8:00am-12:00pm :) in a hotel that cost us $15 and has mosquito nets above the beds.   It's hot and humid here!!!  And I didn't take a shower because the only option is cold water, and those types of showers are so stressful.

The children here in Rioverde are GORGEOUS!  What am I saying, the men and women are gorgeous too!!!  The majority of the people are afro-ecuatorian.  Everyone is SO attractive...

I haven't eaten yet today because I couldn't find any vegetarian options.

-10:00PM-
Adriana and I are sitting in a bus station in Esmeraldas... she forgot to leave her keys at work in Ibarra, so we had to cut our trip short. Sooo much traveling!

After my nap today, I walked over to the beach about 5 minutes away from our hotel.  I saw a guy working out (the only person I saw!) so I went over to talk to him--Denis, 25 years old.  We ended up hanging out the rest of the day, from like 1:30-8:30pm.  We played soccer on the beach  (and you can imagine how much he kicked my trash, haha) and then we found Adriana at the hotel an hour later.  We walked around, met his family-friends (Cynthia and her family) and went back to the beach with Fernando and Denis to take pictures.  It was so much fun!  I told them, ''This is a perfect example of what I like to do on my trip... meet people, hang out all day, and have a blast!''  It seriously was so much fun.  And let me mention one more time how attractive everyone is here.  Wowzers.


Saturday 10/19

Today I walked 30 minutes to the church to speak English with a lady who teaches English, and then I went grocery shopping--SO much better than last time!!!  Now I understand the food better, and I know what I like, and I can find my way around.  And I spent less money this time.  It was good all around.


Sunday 10/20

THIS WEEK I noticed that I've been dreaming in Spanish, and that I can now think in Spanish without any English mixing in.  I have made the transition!  It was a difficult process getting to this point.  It's only difficult when I'm tired.