Hey guys,

I´m currently in Quito, Ecuador. I arrived here Thursday night. So far everything has been pretty chill. My host mom, Maria, is really nice and is a decent cook (more on food later). Another volunteer lives in the same house. Her name is Julie and she´s from Texas (haha my luck). Julie came to Ecuador 5 weeks ago without knowing a lick of Spanish and started working in an orphanage. I don´t know how she´s managed so far, but I´ve kind of become her translator (if you´ve ever taken a spanish class with me, you know that can´t be a good thing). She also has the blondest hair ever so everywhere we go, people know we are american (i was hoping to blend in with my dark hair and skin). Yesterday we went to the largest market in South America, located in a town two hours away from Quito. It was ridiculously large and I managed to buy some cool stuff. Apparently 9 out of 10 tourists in Ecuador visit this market and it was obvious because I heard more English spoken than Spanish. I will be starting classes tomorrow, which will last through the week. I´ll then be jumping on a plane and going to the Galapagos Islands to work in a hospital for 6 weeks.

Alright the important part, the food. Maria cooks too much food for me to eat but I´ve learned one thing while in Ecuador, Ecuadorians love to eat ALL the time. Kids and adults are always munching on ice cream, fruit, snails, candied nuts and other stuff. It´s ridic, I think I finally have some competition. I´m not a big fan of Ecuadorian food thus far, but I´m looking forward to eating a ton of seafood on the islands.

Until next time…