Language Barriers: It's been 4 weeks already, come on!

Dear Chris Kwon,

Yesterday, I was on my way to class. A block away from my house, a lady slowed her car down and asked me something. I asked her to repeat what she said, because I didn't understand. She said something about a "part". I then explained to her that my English isn't all that good. She asked , in English, if I speak English. I told her yes. She asked me if I wanted a ride. I was in shock. How did she have any idea where I was going? In Spanish, I told her no thank you, but I enjoy walking. Very strange.

Yesterday was abuelita's birthday. She turned 87. I wasn't invited to the family party. Last night, I hit the hay sort of early because I had to wake up early this morning for my biweekly date with Ines. The two students who usually go to FUDIS with me called/texted me around midnight, saying they weren't coming to Service Learning. At 6:30, I seriously considered not getting out of bed, but Susy had probably already made my breakfast, so I dragged myself out of bed. I ended up taking a cab to FUDIS, but remembered I didn't know the address. I told the cabby it was by the hospital, right next to a dominos. About 30 minutes into the ride, I looked at the meter. It was at $2.75. I only had $3.00 in change. I also had a $20, but cabbies don't give change. I asked him if we were close and he said sort of. I told him I only had $3. He told me not to worry. (I love this country). A block away from FUDIS, we were still stuck in traffic. I told him I could walk the rest of the way. He insisted on driving me, because he "enjoyed my company." (I had tried to start a conversation about how the mayor is limiting traffic in the city, because I wondered how it would affect cab drivers, but I couldn't explain all of it, so the conversation during the whole ride was very dull). We finally reached FUDIS and I gave him my $3. As I was getting out of the cab, he either said, "I need your phone number" or "you need my phone number." I told him it was fine, because I had no other way to respond to this, and ran away. Oh Ecuador.

On the way back to school, I stopped by a convenience store to make change with my $20. I bought a 40 cent pastry. It was delicious! I took the bus back with no issues. Why are busses less sketchy than taxi's?

I did the school thing, then we had a meeting about Otavalo (where we’re going tomorrow). Otavalo is all paid for- meals, hotel, and transportation. I’m especially excited, because I found some adventures in my guidebook, which, apparently, we’re doing as a group.

After school, some of us decided to buy tickets for Avatar. We were unable to see the English version in 3-d. We got to choose between Spanish in 3-d or English in regular. We opted for the Spanish version in 3-d. We ran to grab some food at Shwamar (a middle eastern restaurant). I had the most delicious sandwich. You could also have a hookah at your table for only $3.

We rushed back to the movie, put our 3-dimension stunna glasses on and enjoyed the show. That movie was amazing- even in Spanish. We taxied it home and here I am.