Aguita

Aguita is Leni's secret remedy for colds-actually for la gripe y toz-throat and cough. It's hot water with spices and I detect lemon aswell. I don't know what it is-but I do know it's helping along with my cold pills that I brough from home lol I've been fighting this cold/nasty cough at night for this whole week now and everytime I think its gone-it just comes back. So I'm glad I don't have classes on friday! TGIF! And then the weekend is finally here! I've made it through my first full week of school at USFQ (complete with confusion and one meltdown lol) !!!
But being here I can say that along with ur moments of complete frustration (mine always come when someone is talking to me and they might as well be speaking French), there are also moments of excitement that balance it out.

I had a few of these moments during this week after my tuesday night meltdown- one was when I made it up the hill/mountain without wanting to die! I actually walk it twice on tuesdays and thursdays becasue I have 3 morning classes and then walk home for lunch and then go back to school at 3 for my aerobics class-so needless to say my butt is going to be in shape!!!lol
Another plus is that my classes are finally set-after like 8 changes and i am liking them! My FINAL schedule (about time) is:

MONDAY:11:30-1pm Photography; 2:30-4 Advanced Spanish Conversation
TUESDAY:8:30 (not ideal)-10am Intro. to International Relations; 10-11:30 Tejdo (basket weaving); 11:30-1pm Intro. to Ecuadorian Culture; 3pm-4:25 Aerobics
WEDNESDAY: SAME AS MONDAY
THURSDAY: SAME AS TUESDAY
FRIDAY: nada, zip, nothin : )

And I have managed to make a couple ecuadorian friends!!!lol Its not to hard considering I am the only Gringa in my photography class, tejido class, and aerobics class. Now the key is to be able to hold a convo with them for more than 3 minutes lol

Wednesday after my photo class which I really think I am going to like, I got my censo which was my last step-after all of my applications and visa and passport and customs papers and registering for USFQ-it was my last step to officially seal the deal that I can stay here for the semester! We went in groups because the office was in Quito and I had a little bit of de'javu because Maria's son took us in his car-the same one he picked me up in the night I arrived in Quito. : )

After the censo my friends Sarah, and Molly and me found an awesome place right by the university that has $3 pizzas! and i honestly was quite impressed-I didn't know how ecuadorian pizza would be but we dominated 2 small margarita pizzas! -we need our energy for walking up these mountains everyday lol

Thursday I had my first tejido class-I was behind since I just added to my schedule at the end of the week-and the teacher speaks 0 english. So it definitly was one of my frustrating moments when she was telling me the supplies I needed. But I somehow managed-I set up my board, followed her directions IN SPANISH and somehow wandered in the right direction to the hardware store she was describing where I bought my string I was pretty excited lol and then somehow even more miraculously I managed to weave a couple rows correctly! its a start-but i have a feeling its going to get more complicated with designs and different colors

Last night I went out to Quito to La Mariscal-or better know as "gringolandia (Gringo-land) which is a strip of restaurants dance clubs etc. with Sophie and Sarah and Molly and a few other people from our program. We danced at a place called the Next Level to a unique mix of reggae, merangue and US 1990 music lol

and now im going to be a bum and probably watch marley y yo (marley and me) with sophie and rest before our first excursion tomorrow! Everyone in our program is leaving for Otovalo (a town with one of the biggest markets in Latin America that sells a huge variety of Andean crafts) tomorrow morning and staying to sunday night! I'm really excited to go SHOPPING! lol I also cant forget to buy some yarn for my Tejido class : )

Side note-weather has been HOT!-still no rain so to conserve energy, the goverment shuts off la luz (power/lights) for a couple hours each day at random times. : ( but other than the energy shortage im loving the weather despite the fact that I sometimes forget the sun here is sooo intense I got fried on my chest the other day just from walking to and from USFQ! Maybe that is why all the ecuadorians are dressed head to toe in sweaters, jeans, and UGG BOOTS they loovvvee boots here lol I really want to ask them sometimes if they know its in the 70's???? If it was this hot at UofI everyone would be laying out on the quad in their swim suites!!! Hear they act like its January in the midwest-you go to Quito at night and people kid you not have winter coats on!!!! crazies

TTFN : )