New Town, No English

Over a week in country and I already feel like I am getting a hold of things. We moved out our summer camp-style hacienda and in with our host families. It was sad to say goodbye to the large training class, but now we are finally living like Ecuadoreans.

I live in the small town of Olmedo (over 10,000 feet in elevation) with five other volunteers at my language level. My host family consists of my madre and padre who have 82 and 78 years, respectively. My madre has six children just like my grandma Sima, so I feel right at home. She operates a small clothing store in front of our residence, where we spent hours last night chatting about her life since birth in this same town. One of her daughters, and her three daughters, live in the house with us, so there is always gossip going on at the dinner table. My room opens up to a patio with a beautiful view of the snow-capped Cayame volcano.

This morning I had to be in class by 8 AM, so after a breakfast of rice, tomatoes, and fried something, I went to take a shower. During my initial house tour, Iness (my madre) explained that we had hot water. Neglecting to consider the overnight cooling of the water tank, my shower was not only cold, but at a surprisingly high pressure that I could barely escape clean.

Two hours of class today was devoted to describing the differences between the idea of time in the States and in Ecuador. Something I may get used to just in time to return home. We spent another two hours walking around town, talking with people about life here. I guess the exercise is designed to condition us as the strange gringos asking for information.

So here I am after a nice big lunch of cerdo and maíz. I need not a cell phone and carry a minimal amount of cash. I guess I´ll go for a siesta before capping the afternoon off with a game of fútbol.


Update:
It is now four hours after the original post. The afternoon which I had hoped would be tranquilo turned out to be the opposite. I went for siesta and gradually realized my stomach was not agreeing with my lunch. I spent the last four hours twisting and turning in bed with a terrible cramp. When it got too painful to bare I tried to go to the baño, but to no avail. Oh well, it will pass and was bound to happen eventually. Must have been the lettuce.