Middle Earth so far

So far at my school I seem to be the only student who has opted to stay with a host family ... everybody else seems to be in the student hostel. So while they are endulging in 700ml beers and speaking english in the evenings ... I am doing the opposite ... drinking tea with Martha (fresh mint from her garden!), watching spanish movies and doing lots of reading. I cannot complain though as it has been a great comfort to have a home to go to ... not to mention the fantastic food that I am constantly being fed! Not only has Martha been cooking for years but Ana happens to be a culinary student. My first proper sentance translated to ¨I am very lucky to be living in a house of great cooks.´´ That took me almost all day to come up with but it was worth it to hear Martha say ´´Awwwwww Jilly!¨ I feel very much at home there ... Martha already communicates by giving my bum a little tap when I walk by and lots of hugs and kisses. Together we even watched a Pink Floyd concert. Music is her passion (aside from cooking!) and she is always blasting music on her sound system. I have also noticed how much she enjoys car commercials because of the music. Her head bobs and she smiles during those 20 seconds. The schnauzers have also welcomed me onto their couch so there are always three cuddlers waiting.

I really noticed how much Quito came alive Monday morning when I was walking to school. It took me a good 10 minutes to cross a road which was empty on the weekend. On Sunday especially, the city was a ghost town. I still went out and walked to a park about 15 minutes away called Carolina Park (never to be crossed in the evening!) and visited their Botanical Gardens which were beautiful. Interestingly there was a large section which showed traditional medicinal plants as there are still practicing Shamans in villages that rely on this medicine. After the gardens, I purchased a coconut and found a perch to watch soccer on one side of me and aerobics on the other! There were approximately 40 people doing aerobics in the park, led by an instructor teaching on a bouncy castle! Music was blaring and it was a great atmosphere. During the ´cool down´ they switched up the mood by playing some Jewel (perhaps circa 1992 ... ´Foolish Games´). I then continued back downtown, walking along a major road that is closed to traffic every Sunday and everyone bikes instead! I think I was the only pedestrian.

While walking around the previously hip and happening neighborhood of the Mariscal, I soon realized maybe I shouldnt be there alone as I was the only one on the street and nearly all the shops were closed. Then a man in a sombrero approached and offered me a taco so I sat and ate and watched some soccer. I later medicated with 2 herbal Gravol, 2 Pepto Bismol and then 1 real Gravol (thank you Mandy for packing me with the real thing!).

I have just arrived back from visiting the equator which is one hour away (via a potential death trap on wheels) and was fantastic. Touristy but probably a must when in Quito (which translates to Middle Earth). There are two equators, approximately 250m apart. The newest one was added thanks to some GPS calculations.

Tomorrow is my first salsa class ... I can only hope that my hips don´t lie!