First few days...

As all of you know, I have arrived in Quito, Ecuador and what a beautiful place it is! I will be living with the Beraha family for these next 4 months: Sandy is my host mother, Nicole is my host sister who lives at home and works in a vet clinic and Lauren is my other host sister who does not live at home but lives very close to our neighborhood. Sandy is a well known artist in Quito and has connections with tons of people in Ecuador and all over the world! The friends who live in Quito are constantly at the house, eating, drinking and talking about life. I also live with 4 dogs, Lulu, Candy, Huma and Max, a rabbit named Olivia and a turtle named Tortuga. The house is always full of fun and laughter and there is a lot of positive energy as well. So far in Quito, I have spoken Spanish all day, every day, I have met some very cool and interesting people, I have been getting ready for classes that start on Monday and I have been out on the town checking out what Quito has to offer. The neighborhood in which I live is very nice and very safe, but out on the streets I must be careful as the economy in Ecuador is not doing very well and the people here are fighting to survive, willing to steal from you or sell food to you that has been washed/cooked in sewage water. But there is no need to live in fear of what could happen, so I am taking risks and putting myself out there but I am being safe while doing so. I live in Quito but my university is located in Cumbaya which means I must take a couple buses in order to get there...the bus system is quite disorganized with only a few signs pointing one in the right direction and sometimes they don't even lead one in the right direction so I must always ask the bus driver before getting on the bus to where they are planning on driving. I also have to boil the water that I drink and wash the fruits and vegetables that I plan to eat in a chlorine solution so that I do not consume a bacteria that can keep me on the toilet for weeks haha. But this is what happens when one lives in another country...the culture is different, the customs are different, the food is different...everything that I am used to is completely different but it is something I have embraced and have grown to love. I am incredibly happy with everything so far, my host family is very helpful and they always have their arms wide open, ready to teach me what I need to know. Most things here are pretty inexpensive except for minutes on one's cell phone, imported goods, taxes and peanut butter which is about 10 dollars a jar...crazy!! The rest is quite cheap...it costs 25 cents to take a bus, 3 dollars to get across town in a taxi, 2 dollars for a beer in a bar and 4-6 dollars for a quality meal in a restaurant. My university is the most beautiful place I have every seen, decorated with bright colors, flowing fountains and green foliage everywhere! I start my classes tomorrow and will be taking the bus by myself for the first time but I am so excited to get started and make cool Ecuadorian friends with whom I can travel and experience life in Quito. I really could not be any happier with my choice of studying in Ecuador and I look forward to everything I will be experiencing in these next 4 months.

  Below I have attached 3 photos...the first is the loooooooong line in which I had to wait in order to go through customs, the second is a photo from the top of a building in Quito that shows the mountains that surround the city and the third is a picture taken at a bar called Strawberry Fields Forever in the Mariscal area of Quito where we celebrated the news that Lauren is going to have a baby!! From left to right there is my host mother Sandy, Lauren my biggest sister, me and Nicole my other sister closest to my age. And just by the way Lauren is holding my beer in her hand in the photo as a joke...she is not consuming alcohol as a pregnant woman :)

  I want to thank everyone who has and will be supporting me on this incredible adventure...it means a lot to me that so many of you have expressed such love and kindness. I will be using this blog from now on to share my experiences, display some photos that I have taken and keep up with everyone on my journey in Ecuador. I am new to this so please bare with me...I believe if you would like to make a comment on the blog you have to be a member for which you can sign up but my email is listed on the blog (powers.gatlin@gmail.com) so I would love to read your comments and answer any questions that you might have. I hope everyone is well and I look forward to hearing from everyone soon!