Chulla Vida

I´ve been in Ecuador for 23 days. In training they´ve said that it takes 21 days to form new, daily habits, so I think it´s fair to say that not flushing toilet paper is now surely a habit of mine - and it´s not that bad. Also, I´ve gotten used to instant coffee, buses o´death, amazing fresh fruits, reggaeton, and the fact that avacados grow here.

I live with a host family in Tumbaco (about an hour outside of Quito) and commute to training in the nearby town of Collaqui six days a week. My host family - the Garcias - are really patient with my limited spanish skills and they feed me incredible food. The most unusual meal I´ve had so far was pig foot soup. It was difficult to get the meat off the foot, but the broth was amazing. I haven´t had cuy (guinea pig) yet, and I have my reservations about eating it since my goddaughter has one as a pet. There are amazing fruits here and there seems to be a plant to cure any type of illness.

The past three weeks have been a mix of technical training and language and culture training. I´m in the Natural Resources Conservation program, and we´ve been doing some cool stuff like tree nursery construction and management, community garden management, and parks management. Next week we go on our first of two tech trips - this one to Cotacachi in the sierras. Really looking forward to it, and I hope to have some good stories to share when we get back...

My Spanish is coming along. I can understand most of what I hear, but speaking it has been difficult. But I´m confident I´ll get there... poco a poco.

¨Chulla vida¨is the Ecuadorian equivalent of ¨seize the day¨/you only live once.¨I learned the phrase from my older host brother who has taught me most of what I know of Ecuadorian culture. It´s the posture I plan to have for my time in this country.