a day in the life of...

... A FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENT!

Please, if you will (and are capable), think with me for a second. Think back to when you had some sort of encounter with a foreign exchange student... whether it be at school, church, wherever you make your rounds. What words come to mind?

Quirky?

Peculiar?

Strange?

Just straight up different? Well, there's no doubt, exchange students are all of those and more... and being one, I can rightfully say so! FACT: Exchange students are a bit offbeat, AND they live hard-knock lives. Our group knew that we would stick out, seem kooky, and be uncomfortable at times while in Ecuador, but lately, we've realized what this really means. In addition, we've learned why exchange students do what they do.

For example, exchange students...

• laugh during movies because they don't understand what's going on
• take cold showers because they don't know how the hot water works
• purposely don't go down stairs because it may be awkward
• don't finish their entire meal because they're either sick of chicken and rice OR because they were served way too much
• are tired and drained because they're always a few notches above 'total relaxation'
• don't wear shoes because that's 'normal' for them (which is offensive in Ecuador)
• are not always properly dressed because they didn't pack the right clothes OR just came from class
• don't ask for a lot of things: toilet paper, washing clothes, rides because they don't want to be a nuisance
• zone-out because they're overwhelmed and can't find a better escape
• would like to explain more but literally can't find the words

Somehow we survive. Creativity and ingenuity suddenly kick-in, and we find ways around our little issues.

(guys, let me know if i left something out, por favor!)

A Typical Twenty-four Hours:

1. 6:20 a.m. - the rooster calls & i roll out of bed, make my bed (must be polite) and freshen up for the day
2. 7:05- say, "buenos dias" to mi madre, prepare my 'coffee', eat, drink, and be merry
3. 7:15- buseta arrives and picks me up, have interesting conversations and/or finish homework
4. 7:45- arrive at school
5. 8-10- speaking/grammar class
6. 15 minute break- get the latest updates on the world cup or watch jason's band on youtube
7. 10:15-12- vocab/attempt-to-learn-something-new class
8. 12:30- buseta arrives at school to take us home
9. 1:30- arrive at mi casa, eat a delicious, made-from-scratch lunch (the size of american dinners)
10. 2:20- finish lunch, watch the world cup/siesta time
11. 3-6- culture class: either a field trip, dancing lesson or boring lecture
12. 7:20- arrive home, relax, or run errands with the family
13. 8:30- dinner of some sort (usually a sandwich or fruit and yogurt)
14. 9- go out with my siblings/TU or watch a movie (...or do homework, if necessary)
15. 12-1: go to bed, dream good dreams
16. 6:20: start the whole process over

Back to the Basics: (I should have gone over this earlier, oops!)

• Here in Cuenca, everything is close together... especially the houses. Because of this, there are no yards what-so-ever (unless you're super wealthy), and our house practically connects to our neighbors'. I mean, the view out my window is a bunch of roofs, and my house has a TINY, TINY patch of grass. This patch is so tiny I could take my nail clippers, and cut it all in less than 10 minutes.
• My house is long and semi-narrow with three floors. The top two floors are bedrooms, bathrooms, and two landing areas. The first floor is the entrance/bookshelf/salon/dining room area, kitchen, and informal eating area with a tiny laundry room in the back. I'm currently staying in my 'sister's' room on the second floor which is pretty modern, and I have my own bathroom! The cars are parked outside, in front of the house, yet guarded by a gate.
• Like I mentioned earlier, everything is pretty up-to-date. I feel like they are just 6 or 7 years behind on technology (cars, TV, computers), furniture/decor, and fashion. A few differences I've noticed are: no toilet paper in the toilet, only one person can take a shower at a time because of lack of water pressure, small cars only, and no dishwasher.
• The town of Cuenca, I think, is overall pretty clean and well-off, however you can be driving down a street and see a nice house next to a dump. The buildings seem mismatched and have no real continuity.
• Although things seem pretty great, Ecuador is considered a third world country. My dad wanted to make sure I knew this fact. When our electricity went out for 15 minutes or so, he yelled, "Sarah, this is a third world country for ya!" However, no matter the conditions, there is always a nicely lit soccer/futbal field that is in constant use.
• Cuenca's population numbers somewhere around 417,000 people (thank you, culture class). This is a pretty small city, and wherever we go, my family seems to know somebody. The locals sometime complain about how everyone knows everything about everyone. One way or another gossip spreads like wildfire.
• Cuenca LOVES round-abouts... probably even more so than Carmel, IN.
• Living with a host family is a truly unique experience. Other study abroad programs at Taylor have the students live together... which I'm sure is great! At times, I know we've wanted that for ourselves. I like it the way it is, though. We're all down here together, having bonded plenty, and we share awesome experiences, but at the same time, we're all living out our own, different lives.

Time to Wrap This Baby Up:

Yesterday, our group travelled to Cajas National Park and hiked for about 5 hours! It was super muddy and rained part of the time, but the views were spectacular... more to come, below!

For culture class, we cruised down to a hat making museum. Here, Laura and I are trying on the best of the best. (thank Laura for this stellar pic)

These tiny guys were scattered all around Cajas

Like I mentioned, Cajas was very muddy. There was a part in the trail where our guide warned us, "DON'T STEP IN THE MUD!" It was kinda tricky, but unfortunately, Meghan fell in... waist deep! From then on out, she slid down the mountain. What a sport!

Jason throwing/spinning me around during dancing class

Ecuador's 411-

QOTW: "Laura, how long have you and Andy been dating?" "14 mesas." (Translation: 14 tables, instead of 14 months)

RFOTD: Toy Story 3 scored a 100% on RottenTomatoes.com ... and I agree 100 and 10%!

LLL: Me quieres o me amos? (Translation: Do you like me or do you love me?)

And, on a final note, a very important lesson we learned from Patricia, our prof:

"Men have problems, women have solutions."

A-men, sister!