Honeymoon's Over.

Ok, so now real life in Cuenca is setting in. I now realize that I REALLY miss summer. Because here it does not feel like summer. It is roughly 60 all the time, and when it rains it gets cold and when the sun goes down it gets cold. The house has no central heating so a space heater is my only salvation. And earlier this week I awoke with a sore throat and have also had a little bit of a cold. Not to mention my nose ring seems to be disagreeing with Ecuador. But really, this is all I have to complain about- the weather. :) I just miss the sun! It's always cloudy. And the umbrella is just as necessary as the wallet or the cell phone.

What have I been up to? Well. A lot. If you've been following my pics on facebook, you would have seen pics from Corpus Cristi, the 7 day sweets festival that's held around the central park, El Parque Calderón. Also, on Saturday I was out all day on a paseo (road trip) to Chordeleg (known for it's gazillions of jewelry shops) and Sigsig (great name). These towns are tiny and mountainous, yet more developed than the others, such as Quingeo. I went with a bunch of old people. Haha. Well, people in their late 20's. :) But it was SO nice to be with some girls- the Luna sisters were so sweet and welcomed me into the group warmly. At the end of the day we went to El Cafecito- a very hipster-friendly cafe/hostal where lots of backpackers stay as they pass through. The papas picantes were delicious.

FRIDAY I went to Quingeo with Valeria, oldest Bustos daughter. She turned out to be way more adventurous than I expected. We found ourselves attempting to drive up steep mountain paths of dirt in a tiny V4 (or whatever the smallest engine size is) silver Chevolet. Manual. It was insane- I was seriously scared that we would get stuck there in the middle of no where. But we survived. And we ate some cascaritas on the way back. These are hard pig skins that are fired with a torch and cut off the pig right in front of your eyes. You prob saw the pic on FB- Yes, the huge pig body with the knife sticking out? That's what I ate from. But it was pretty good, actually! And the lady who made it only had like 2 teeth and was so super friendly. She asked me if I liked Ecuador, and I said, "Yes! Me encanta!" Then she asked, if I met a boy here that I liked would I stay in Ecuador? I didn't understand at first, then said, "Yes!" Then she proceded to point to a man with a beard behind her, saying that I should meet her son! No gracias. She was verry friendly though. I love how open and friendly EVERYONE is here! After Quingeo, back in Cuenca we went to Turi again- that town that's up high and has a view of the entire city. It's really awesome.

Sunday... Sunday was very laid back. I Skyped with about 5 people, and later that night helped Andrea with some muy feo deberes (homework) for her English class. It was about human rights and security and law... But I was glad to help.

Monday I had Andres for my English partner in the afternoon, then Santiago the next 2 days. It's been fun having these English conversations, but at the same time difficult. It's not like a class- it's VERY informal- just talking- so I always have to have some kind of topic that we can discuss. And it also messes with me, because when I leave the little room where we talk, I have to switch back to Spanish. It's not preferable but it gives me something to DO! Thus I am grateful. That day since Julio was bringing me home I went with him to the store and we bought the most random things- sprinklers, light bulbs, spongy material for his mami to make cushions, a beach umbrella. Must have looked odd. On the way, saw the discoteca on wheels- it's literally a bus. With smirnoff ice pictures all over it. Interesting. haha.

Tuesday night I took my first taxi into town from the house. Cost me 4 stinkin dollars. I didn't expect that. But I was glad that I was able to communicate with the driver and call the taxi radio and get where I needed to go! Anyway... Latinos are always late. We were all meeting up at the restaurant (Monday Blue, Mexican food and more, tiny place covered in pictures and blue and red paint) at 8:30. Well... I supposed that meant 8:45. But it really means 9pm. So I was waiting in there for the rest of the group to get there. Juan Andres, Julio, Michelle, Claudia (Michelle's friend), and fellow gringo Luke. Poor guy can't speak Spanish too well, but speaks it better than he did a week ago upon arriving. He was a champ for trying. But we had fun- chilling and eating and playing games. I taught them the statue game, and Julio was the only one that got it. For once I understood what was going on and the Ecuadorians didn't. :) just kidding.

There's more I could say, but my time is limited! More to come. Besos y abrazos a ti.