The Colorful Adventures of a Blue-Eyed Girl: Off to a GREAT Start!

After a somewhat decent night of sleeping I woke up excited to start my new adventure. The kids were already at school so I went with Karen to their office. Rolando and Karen own their own business. They sell security systems. After going to the office we came up and the kids were already home from school. They were so excited to see me. Apparently before I got here, Samuel and Sarah were fighting over who was going to play with me more. Samuel was very proud and was bragging to Sarah that he already knew me since he came with his mom to Utah (he was 2 years old and the only thing he remembers was playing in the snow with my dad.) So, when I walked into the house Samuel was really excited at first but then just stared at me... definitely didn't remember me at all... Haha! Sarah was in the shower and ran out before she was done because she wanted to see what I looked like. SO funny.

After a little while of awkwardly walking around staring at me they started asking their mom all kinds of questions about me (while I sat there.) They thought it was so odd that I didn't really know Spanish. They are constantly asking Rolando why Karen always starts speaking English when she is talking to me.

**I actually do know Spanish. I understand almost everything (when they talk slowly) but I have a harder time actually speaking it. Slowly I am getting better...well at least I think I am, maybe they thing I still sound the same... who knows??

The kids are the fastest Spanish speaking people I've ever met in my whole life! No joke!! I seriously couldn't hardly understand a word they said! Now it has gotten a lot easier because I have gotten used to the way they talk but sometimes when they get talking, I have to stop them and tell them to speak slowly. Plus, Sarah cannot say her "R's" so when she says words that have R's in them she says them like an "L" - Example the word "otro" (another or other) she says "otlo". So sometimes I have to sit and think about what word she is trying to say. It's insane how fast they can talk! In the states (or at least Orem) people think that teenagers talk fast... yeah, no, come to Ecuador...Welcome to the land of people who don't even know how to speak slowly! Just kidding, but not really.

So one of the first things Sarah asked me was "Are you a princes??" Here, everyone has brown eyes. To me, everyone looks very similar. So (like the guy that I met in Florida told me) I stand out. She thought that I was a princess because I have big blue eyes like princesses do! How cute, Right?? Oh it made my day. Later she told me I was very tall. Everyone here is quite short. There haven't been very many people at all who have been taller than me. So I was in the bedroom with Sarah and she asked me "Have you seen that movie that has the giants in it? Yeah you're like one of them!" I started laughing so hard... Oh, the innocent thoughts of a child. But it's true, I feel somewhat like a giant here.

Riding in a car is a completely different experience! There are basically no rules of the road here. There are lines on the streets, but no one uses them. Everyone weaves in and out of tiny little spaces that I swear are barely big enough for their cars to fit into. Cars stop in the middle of the road to let people out or pick people up. There are people running/walking through traffic. I always feel like we're going to hit someone. Karen and Rolando are actually pretty good drivers. So far, I haven't had to clenched the seat with my fingernails and my life hasn't flashed before my eyes, but with that said... I have only been here 1 week. I still have 2 months and about 3 weeks ahead of me. To go along with everyone driving like lunatics is that fact that you constantly hear people honking. At first I thought that it was because people were angry or whatever because in the states, when someone honks, that is usually the reason why. I soon found out that was not the case. I guess there might be a few reasons, but these are the ones I have figured out so far. 1) They honk to let people know they are coming. For example, if there is an intersection coming up where once side has a stop sign and the other doesn't, the driver that doesn't have a stop sign honks to let the drivers at the sign know they are coming down the road so they don't pull out in front of them. 2) They are super impatient! No joke, AS SOON as the light turns green drivers start honking their horns to make the cars in front of them go. For example, there are 10 cars at a light. The light turns green and the 3rd person in line immediately honks, then the 6th person honks right after, then the 2nd, etc. Yeah, no patience whatsoever. I may be wrong, but that is what I have observed so far. They definitely still honk out of anger but most of it is just random honking...

All the houses here look like little boxes. They are all connected and are square. There aren't many houses that have 2 stories. At least not where I am at. They are all colored as well. There are orange houses, yellow ones, blue ones, red ones, etc. And the colors are very bright. They are also quite small. But it's kind of nice. There isn't all this extra space. There is enough space to have the basic necessities and feel comfortable. It is very different. Also, there are tall gates with sharp points on the top surrounding every house. To get in and out you have to have a key. There are no doorknobs - just keyholes. Once the gate or door is unlocked you just push on it and it opens. Same thing with the doors to get into the houses, there are handles on the inside of the door so you can pull it open. But there is no getting in if you don't have a key. There are also bars over every single window. If there was a fire and I couldn't get out of the door, everything I learned as a child about opening or shattering the window and climbing out would "go out the window" and I'd die. Lets hope for no fires! ;) Haha

The second night of being here I went with Karen to the gym. I was excited because we planned on going almost every night. Holy Cow!! I just about died! I was working out a bit before I left, so it wasn't that I was in bad shape or anything but at home when I went to the gym, it was inside, there was AC and fans, and there was a drinking fountain to fill up my water bottle. Here... yeah, it's still inside, BUT there are no fans and no AC, then add the immense heat, then add humidity. Also, once you're out of water, you can't go fill it back up anywhere, if you want more then you gotta go buy a bottle. It is very different! So we started doing a circuit training program and it really wasn't that hard at all. But after the second time around I had to stop! I was over-heating so bad! It was only my second day in Ecuador and I wasn't even remotely used to the heat and humidity. I had to sit there the rest of the time to try to cool down. After the circuits we went to the dancing class.

**I ~~don't~~ can't dance! I feel really awkward and out of place when I dance. It usually takes me a long time to loosen up and start having a good time.

I was completely lost! Everyone already knew the dance steps and they were dancing to all the songs and and having a great time and there I was, standing out like crazy because when everyone spun I stood straight forward, when everyone dropped to the ground I stood standing. Awkward right??? So I didn't know if I was going to go back or not. I didn't want to get sick and pass out or something from the heat. But then I decided that I just needed to get used to the heat and humidity more before I went again. Last night we went again. It was SOO much easier! We did another circuit training and it was great. I didn't have to sit out at all and it was a great work out. But, I swear that have never sweat so much in my entire life! I was literally dripping. My skin was shinning as if I had put oil on it - you know, like they do to the people on those muscle building commercials. That's what I looked like (minus all the muscle.) Then we lifted a few weights and headed to the dancing room. I danced for about 2 songs then decided that I would get a better work out if I did the bike or the elliptical. So I went and did those instead of dancing. It was a lot of fun and I didn't die again from the heat! Now I'm hoping to keep going and get in great shape!

Anyway, I've got a lot more adventures to write about and a lot more adventures ahead of me so watch for more posts!

Chau!

-McKaye