My New Home

So as of yesterday, I moved in with my new family. And so far, I really like them. They all speak REALLY clearly and are really patient with my Spanish (or lack thereof). My mom's name is Sandra, she is really sweet and apparently got 6 of 8 years into studying to be a doctor, but then got pregnant and never went back. Huge shame. My dad is Marco, I like him, he is really robust and outgoing. I have a 25 year old sister, Alejandra; a 22 year old sister, Andrea; and a 13 year old brother who is without a doubt the coolest 13 year old I have ever met. Besides the family, Laura (another CIMAS student) lives here until she goes home in a week, and they have another student from Pensylvania who is here teaching English.

When I got here, we ate lunch, I unpacked, and then Alejandra invited Laura and I to go out with some of her friends for her birthday. We went to perhaps the coolest restaurant in Quito, the Western, and had DELICIOUS pizza and then played cards and Jenga. It was really fun. But then...I got sick. I continued to be sick throughout the night and today. And it is miserable. I am so done with being sick here.

Today, while I am being miserable, I attended Alejandra's family birthday party. That's one of the things that I like also about this family- they are actually a family, and have relatives. But anyways, they all came over and we had lunch, they had a tournament of Cuarenta (a really popular card game) and then brought out the karaoke machine. And everyone participated. It was fun, but I was too busy attending to my intestinal war to really care too much about the party. And the cake was AWFUL with homemade mango "ice cream", which was also horrible.

Other than that, it was a good day. I can actually live in this house (like I can get my own food from the kitchen and my own towels from the closet) which I am excited about. Hopefully I feel better tomorrow, because I have a lot to do to prepare for the last week of classes and my subsequent return to the US. Lots of love until next time!