First Impressions of Cuenca

It's now been about a week that we've been in Cuenca. I've settled somewhat into a regular routine. Here it is: wake up at 6-6:30, shower, eat breakfast at 7:00, walk half hour to school, classes from 8:00 until 12:30, walk home for lunch, return to school at 2:00-2:30 for a planned activity, do homework from 5:30-7:30, eat dinner at 7:30, finish homework from 8:00-9:00, from 9:00 until 10:00 I sit in my room and stare at the wall, incapable of thought. At 10:00 I fall into a slumber somewhere between coma and death. Next morning, repeat. Needless to say, this schedule keeps me quite busy. The plus side to this, however, is that there is very little time to feel homesick, and with the 4 hours of class completely in Spanish and the 3+ hours of homework in Spanish my speaking and understanding have improved a lot more than I could have hoped after this long.

I've realized one thing about this city. The pedestrians do not have the right of way. I was told this before coming to Ecuador, but the gringo in me wouldn't really accept the gravity of this until I took part in the highly dangerous and adrenaline rushing sport known as "crossing the street". When I first came here I thought that everyone honked at each other out of anger, as in North America. I have recently discovered that the honking has much more benevolent motives than that. When a motorist honks at you, it's not to say, "f### you! get out of my way!" as in North America. On the contrary, what a honk means in Cuenca is "excuse me, pedestrian, I am about to run you down without remorse, but I thought that I would give you a sporting good chance to get out of the way." Also, I believe this their way of putting themselves right with god before committing vehicular manslaughter. "I'm going to drive 120 km/h in a residential area and if you get in my way, it's your own fault."

I love the food here. If it weren't for the 3 hours of brisk walking per day, I would be coming back several pounds heavier than I am now. Breakfast consists of café con leche, cheesy bread, nata (milk condensed over night in which you dip the cheesy bread), a banana or apple, fresh juice of some unpronounceable fruit, and an omelette or warm-boiled egg. (For those of you who know me well, you will know that eggs are just about the only food I will not eat. You will be proud to know that I have eaten an egg nearly every day I have been here and I am starting to develop a taste for cheesy omelettes.) Lunch is the generally the biggest meal of the day with soup to start and then a heaping plate of rice, vegetables and meat. This heaping plate alternates as well with meat, vegetables and rice; and sometimes,  vegetables, rice and meat. Afterwards, there is nearly always a dessert made of fresh fruit or a tamale dolce (a sweet dessert made with corn, cheese, milk and sugar cooked in a corn husk). Dinner is smaller, usually just leftovers from lunch and a cup of coffee.

I have inherited a new job when we all go out for nachos and cervezas. Unfortunately I am not getting paid for this job, but it is pretty fun nonetheless. I am the designated translator. One of the other student's host mother came out with us one night and she was constantly saying to me "diles lo que digo" (tell them what I'm saying) whenever she got blank looks from the other students. This job has also taken me to banks where I try to resolve money problems for fellow students as well. I have to say, however, that this more than anything else has helped me improve. Constantly trying to switch between two languages is somewhat akin to doing push-ups for my brain.

There are days where I think I am going completely crazy and I miss Risa and Beckham so much, but on the whole I love being here and I love learning the language. Everything I have eaten I have loved and everything I have seen the same.