My host mother, Pilar, is a typical mom. She worries almost as much as my actual mom, and her sworn duty in this world is to care for all her "kids" (the dog and me included). She is honestly one of the sweetest people I've ever met. One of the nice things she's decided to do for me is save a plate of lunch in the fridge for me to eat when I come home from class, since they don't eat a large dinner here, and she thinks the food on campus is less than ideal... So I came home today to a giant plate of pasta with a sort of tuna salad mixed in (tuna, diced red onions, celery). Well, I'm not exactly a fan of canned tuna OR of celery as a seasoning device (only by itself, with liberal amounts of peanut butter and possibly some chocolate chips), so I thought this might be a little rough. Come to find out, it was great! Something about the combination of flavors I don't like created something completely new that I did like! I still maintain that I dislike both canned tuna and celery, mind you, but this was an interesting little discovery.
After dinner, Juan Carlos took me down the street so I could try morocho, which we'd talked about in class today. Morocho is a type of corn, but it also refers to a drink made from the grain. The kernels are soaked in water and cooked down to a thick chunky mush, then mixed with sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, and whole raisins. The whole beverage is served hot. Juan Carlos told me that it's pretty dangerous because all the other gringas who have lived with them have become enamored with morocho and can't get enough! But it tastes quite a bit like oatmeal with sugar, milk, and raisins, another food which I maintain I do not like (except on the occasional subzero winter day, sans raisins of course), so I think trying it was enough for me. But it was interesting nonetheless! One thing about the food here is that it is built upon dozens of different grains paired with lots of cheese and eggs. This has proved beneficial for my vegetarian-ish-ness, since there's never a shortage of choices or protein, but it is unfortunate for anyone trying to maintain a less than rotund figure. Other than the guilt factor, however, the food is absolutely amazing!
I had a couple eruptions of quasi-coherent Spanish chatter today, which was very encouraging! Most of the time, I speak like I do in English - in fits and starts, as I whip between trains of thought and decide which route to take - only slower and concentrating a lot harder. But today it was a little easier: exciting! Grammar class is difficult in that it's a lot of info thrown to us at once, and I still usually require some "processing" time to work through a concept in my own head, but there's also lots and lots of conversing in that class, which is great for practicing and hearing these concepts. Also, there are only 2 of us, so we get very specialized attention and lots of time to talk! Conversation class is obviously a lot of talking as well. Today we read an Ecuadorian legend about the Incan treasure hidden beneath the hills in Quito, and our assignment for Monday is to recount an American folktale or legend in Spanish.
Yesterday I finally ventured out on my own! I walked down to a little office supply bodega to buy a folder (something I hadn't thought to bring, but desperately needed). It sounds a little silly that it took me a week to walk somewhere by myself, but with my sorry excuse for a sense of direction and the winding one-way streets that all look the same, I'd say that's quite an accomplishment! Then I had to try to explain my idea of a folder, which evidently doesn't exist here, but I got something close enough.
The bugs really haven't been bad; I can count on one hand the number of mosquitoes I've seen. However, I know they exist, because apparently they think it's really hilarious to chew up my wrists and forearms while I'm asleep. I suppose if I were a mosquito, I'd think that was really funny too, but being on the receiving end, I don't. But I don't yet have gangrene, and I haven't seen any of those gigantic hairy baby-eating spiders I hear about (knock on wood!), so I'm really doing well! ;)
Otherwise, things are great! The weather has been absolutely gorgeous - usually some periods of cloudiness interspersed with full or partial sun. Not too hot, and often a nice breeze to go with it. Cooler overnight, but not enough that I need to close the window or bundle up. They say it gets pretty unpleasant around December, but I'm willing to give it a try!
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