Hello everyone, I hope all is going well in the states!
I´ve been here in Ecuador for about one week, and I´ve learned a lot, seen a lot, and am starting to know my way around mi barrio, my neighborhood. Here are some highlights!

An interesting fact: December 6, o seis de diciembre is a very important date in Quito, as it marks the offical founding of the city. This day, I´m told, is a huge party day (and the 5th of December as well) that includes parties, parades, music and everything you would expect. How funny, becuase it is also my birthday. Whenever I tell this to Ecuadorians they are excited. So, no class for my birthday!

Important words and phrases
-Una parada- (para-da) a stop, like a bus stop
-Chevre, o ¡Que Chevre!- (chev-ray (like chevy truck, like a ray of sun) ¨chev-ray¨) a new word in the Spanish dictionary very popular in Ecuador which means ¨cool¨ or ¨how nice¨
My 13 year old sister, Dany, uses this word all the time.


Transportation in Ecuador:
Transportation here is something always exciting, and moving. Every day I take two buses to the University. There is not set schedule for the buses, they just come and go, pretty often actually. First, La Ecovia (red bus) and then a green bus to Cumbaya, the valley just outside of Quito where the University is. The red bus goes North to South through Quito on a main and very large and important street in Quito, called guess what? Seis de deciembre. La Ecovia is always very crowded, so much that sometimes you don´t need to hold onto anything, as all the people going to work or school or whatever are all smushed together and hold each other up.
The Green Bus (I am not sure if it has a name) picks up at the last stop ¨la última parada¨ for the Ecovia and goes to Cumbabya and other surrounding cities. This bus is always entertaining, as there is the bus driver (who, because he has the largest vehicle on the road basically rules it, and can pass cars and trucks as he pleases. There aren´t really lines on the road to Cumbaya either) Then there is another man who collets the money ($.25 per ride) and hangs out the door of bus yelling at people on the road or at a parada ¨A Cumbaya, A Quito, A Tumbaco¨´ or wherever the bus is going. Some of these men are VERY daring, jump off the bus to try and get riders, and hang off the side.

Taxis are also nice, as they are usually cheap, if the driver is legit and you establish a price before closing the door. 2 or 3 dollars for a 15-20 minute ride is the norm. My friends and I already had an experience where the taxista, taxi driver, already had the meter set at 3.50 when we entered! I told him to set it to zero, but he refused. He started to drive and I said ¨¡Para! ¡Para!¨ Stop! Stop! and we got out. All other taxi drivers I have had are nice.

Well, that´s it for now. I went to Otavalo, a large outdoor market, this past Saturday and plan to tell you about it later this week! Hasta luego!

Katie