ups

In Quito for the day. It´s nice to be surrounded by people who don´t know who I am, yet at the same time I can´t wait to get back to Las Tolas. I had forgotten how horribly polluted, noisy, dangerous and most importantly hectic the city is.

Looking back over my posts I felt I needed to update you on my experiences. Yes the first week was hard, but now that I´ve gotten into the swing of things I absolutely do not want to leave. The countryside is beautiful beyond words and even though it is only sunny for about half an hour per day, I´m not feeling the depression and claustrophobia I usually get from cloudy days.

This week two volunteers -who have become my good friends- leave Las Tolas. It is sad to see them go, but last night four new volunteers arrived. So far everyone has either been from the US or England, so I am not drowning in Spanish (in fact, I´m floating just above the surface and feeling more confident each week that I can get by with my Spanish no matter where I go).

The first week felt like an eternity and the second week felt like a blink of an eye. It´s amazing that more than half my time in the village has already flown. I am getting on better with my family now that I understand a little more of their slurred tongue (I found out they´re originally from the coast...near Guayaquil...which is the reason for their accent).

Todo bien. I hope you all are doing fantastically.
Mica