updates and basics

 

To-the-point updates and basics that I’ve yet to mention.

 

Host Family:

• Dad: Marcelo, was an engineer until he lost his job 2 years ago.
• Mom: hairstylist, works at the salon located on the street below our house.
• Oldest brother: Diego, 26, studies international tourism at a university in Loja via distance learning to save money, has a girlfriend named Veronica.
• Younger brother: David, 21, studies some kind of commerce at UTE in Quito, works at a cell phone kiosk in Cumbaya.
• Younger Sister: Daniela, 14, studies at a private high school in Quito, extremely intelligent and helps me translate when I don’t understand…which is 90% of the time.
• Cousins: Andres, 21, & Esteban, 11.

Host sibling pictures that I’ve stolen from their Facebook pages.

Host sister Dani's on the right.

 

David.

Andres & Me at Mansion, a discoteca in Quito.

 

 

Weekend in short:

• Friday-
  • 5pm: finished PCT (peace corps training)
  • 6pm: went to El Charro, a pizza/pub with fellow PCTs (peace corps trainees)
  • 8pm: navigated the streets of Tumbaco with David and his friends
  • 10pm: bonfire at David’s friend, Ricardo’s house
  • 1am: picked up dad to join in on the festivities
  • 3am: sleep
• Saturday-
  • learned to use “la piedra,” a rock surface used to wash clothes
  • went to Supermaxi (Ecuador’s Wal-Mart equivalent) & the Ventura mall
  • 7:30pm: Andres picked me up and we ventured to Quito
  • 9pm: witnessed a guy back his car into the gate outside the discoteca
  • 2am: the dancing ends
• Sunday-
  • 9:30am: wake up to the blazing sun that penetrates my almost sheer curtains
  • 10am: breakfast of champions, aka: multigrain crackers and tea
  • 11am: arrive in Quito for my sister’s sports inauguration in Quito
  • 1pm: at my dad’s mom’s house for the weekly family reunion of talking for hours, eating lunch and midday coffee/tea
  • 7pm: back at home in Tumbaco

 

More Observations:

• Ecuadorians love talking on the phone
• popular music you can’t escape: Adele, LMFAO, Rihanna, Pitbull, Daddy Yankee, David Guetta, Chris Brown and that Saxobeat song
• everyone here loves Aeropostale, Abercrombie & Hollister
• leggings. all girls wear them and not with long shirts either. cameltoe.
• every word ends with -ito or -ita (ex: chiquito, pobresita, hermanita)
• no one goes out on weekdays
• there’s no diet soda
• potatoes, bananas, rice, potatoes, bananas, rice, potatoes, bananas, rice
• salsa here is referred to as ahí, made fresh daily and much better
• maybelline mascara is $17
• payless shoes average $50