El Bus y Cumbayá/USFQ

To get to school every morning, I have to ride 3 buses…kind of a pain in the sense that it takes two hours out of your day. It’s especially annoying when I have to wake up even earlier because the first bus that goes by my house is always packed and will not stop to pick me up if it’s full, therefore making me wait around till the next one. Yesterday, I was forced to go on the third bus because the first two were packed. I jumped on after two women, and I thought for sure that I was the last person, but then a rather larger man pushed me from behind and broke my sunglasses that were in my backpack…not the best morning.

But at the same time, I’ve been discussing with Emily, the bus ride offers a time for personal reflection, which I tend to enjoy.

La Universidad de San Francisco de Quito is located just outside Quito, in the valley of Cumbayá, like the song, which I think is kinda funny. It’s a really pretty campus about the size of Oxy but all bunched in together so that all of the buildings are touching each other, so really it’s a lot smaller than Oxy. Most of the architecture is Spanish looking with fountains and tile all over the place (bad idea since it rains a lot here and it gets super slippery). There’s also a small pond with a waterfall that randomly turns on and off. I’m not quite sure why the on/off situation, but it tends to be distracting when I sit in the grass near by to do homework (which I have a lot of btw, didn’t think this would be the case, Kristen).

I’m taking 4 classes at USFQ and the Pitzer Seminar

1. Marketing: Principios y Fundamentos – It’s a very interesting class that I am enjoying a lot. The professor has a lot of experience and we look at all kinds Ecuadorian media and advertising, such as http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_BQk_2Zd04 What do you think about that? Interesting no?

2. Moneda y Banca – My hardest class because I’m having a hard time with the terminology and Ecuadorian bank/financial system examples, but I’m working on it. Also, super fascinating to learn about Ecuador’s economy, or lack of?

3. Antropologia Cultural – which I was hesitant to take, but because of time conflicts had to take anyways. A classic Oxy “think critically” class.

4. Sexualidad y Atraccion – The professor is Cuban and has very distinct views on sexuality than the “typical” Ecuadorian, more liberal you might say. My favorite class so far. (I have also made two good Ecuadorian friends in this class -- Monica, who has some interesting views on homosexuality, and Santiago, who happens to be Alex’s host brother – both are super chévere!)

5. Ecuador: A Country in Development – or the Pitzer Seminar. It has a community service aspect (I’ll be working with children that have disabilities) and a huge research project, possibly on race or gender (thanks Oxy)

SuperMaxi y la Comida

Most of the food we get at SuperMaxi. Although it may sound like a rather large feminine product, it’s actually the largest supermarket chain in Ecuador. They sell pretty much everything and have a rather inefficient way of checking out. When you get in line with your shopping cart, you have to put all the food in the checkout counter and leave the cart there. You pay, and they put the food in another cart. This creates the biggest mess of carts ever and people are always pushing them around to try to get through. I’m not quite sure why they don’t just make enough room between the lines to allow the one cart that people can keep just the ONE shopping cart.

The food is pretty good. I’m especially enjoying the large selection of fruit that I’ve never tasted before. We have 3 meals a day…

- El desayuno – I have a glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice, some fruit and bread with cheese or jelly. Mi mama gives me the same thing everyday, with varying fruits, but I like it.
- El almuerzo – Usually consists of soup, rice and bread with some kind of chicken.
- La merienda – For mi mama y Alfie, it’s a cup of coffee and bread, for me its an actual meal.

My fav foods so far are the empanadas de morocha (shredded beef) and la sopa de locro (potato soup with cheese and avocados), so tasty! I also love the fruits, guanabanas especially.

Random…
- Peanut butter is “disgusting” here, Ecuadorians don’t like it. When I told my bro about peanut butter ice cream, he was grossed out. They don’t know what they are missing out on!
- The milk, and some yogurt, comes in a bag (at least what mi familia has bought)…kinda gross, so I have yet to drink some en mi casa
- Eggs are NOT refrigerated here, but apparently the US is like the only country to do that, weird.

Mi Familia Ecuatoriana

Mi family is very nice, loving, and quite affectionate. Florencia (Flor), my mom, is super sweet and always hugging me when she can. She works for Tupperware and has 15 women that work for her, which basically means she only goes to the main office like twice a week and pretty much spends the rest of the time at home (where she cooks a lot, luckily for me). Her husband, Alfonso (aka mi papa Alfie), is a journalist and film critic that works from home. I also live with my bro, Jose, who is 27 and works for a tourist company as a tourist engineer (which I’m still not quite sure what that means). I also have another bro, Diego, who lives a few blocks down, but is always at my house for some reason, and a sister, Maria Paulina who also lives a few blocks down. She is a communications professor at the Catholic University. She has a son named Bruno, who is way too tall and smart for his age…he recently told me that he really liked National Treasure, but the production/direction could have been better, and goes on to explain certain things --what 7 yr old child says this?

Mi casa is pretty nice. I have my own room and bathroom downstairs, right next to the kitchen and the patio, where Frida, our dog, stays.