Monday, September 5, 2011

Finally in Ecuador

Hey guys!

I just wanted to make a quick post saying I got in to Ecuador without any issues. I´ve been placed with an excellent host family, and Í´m quite comfortable. I don´t have much internet access in the home of my host family, so I´m using the computer at an internet cafe. Here´s a quick list of my recent activities.

On my first night, I was picked up around one in the morning by the Pacheco family at Quito´s airport. My host dad, Miguel, demonstrated the phrase "don´t stop for stoplights." Apparently, it´s okay to just roll through stop lights in Quito at one in the morning. The next morning, I visited a megamall called San Luis shopping, where I bought a new cell phone. Later, Alexix (host brother, 14) and I explored a new park with bike trails. We only have one bike, so I biked and he held on! I also got a chance to see my school in person.

We´ve also been doing some exploring in Quito (my host family lives about twenty minutes south of Quito). It´s a gorgeous part of the world. They call Ecuador the land of eternal spring for a reason. I´ve also been getting excited about the prices of some things. Here´s a quick sampling.

Soccer ball $50
Gallon of gas $1 (yes you read that right)
Three course meal between $2 and $5

Of course, there are a lot of things cheaper in the States (like the soccer ball).

I continue to be impressed by the beauty of the country. I´m in a valley surrounded by many mountains, two of which are snow capped. The weather´s great, and the food is wonderful (especially the fruit).

I´m sorry that I don´t have any photos up right now. I´m going to have to figure out a better way of updating the blog. Hopefully, I can update again soon, next time with pictures. Until then, adios!

6 comments:

  1. Awesome few days, J. Do you think we should send a few more soccer balls with the extra clothes?

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  2. Jimmy, it's great that things are going well and that you are getting to explore Quito already. It sounds like you should ask your mom to include another bike with the extra clothes she's sending you. ;)

    Do you know that you can post to your blog via email? Under Settings there an Email section where you can specify a special email address to which you send your posts, which I believe can include pictures.

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  3. ...Dang, if only I was living in Ecuador during my early years of driving - then I would have saved myself from some expensive tickets.

    We LOOOVE you, Jimmy! Thanks for the update!
    (Bella thinks you have an alarming lack of exclamation points in your blog - we're trying to make up for that)

    Love,
    Jeanne, Bella and Bobby a.k.a. "A.J."

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  4. Republican comment from Uncle Greg (who, despite his techno-savvy, cannot figure out how to post this):
    Similar to Brazil and China, Ecuador has high import taxes to protect local companies and provide incentives for foreign companies to manufacture in Ecuador. This is why some things (local items) are crazy cheap and some (imported items) are crazy expensive. Unfortunately, this genius idea always results in inferior local manufacturing because a) they are protected from real competition, and b) the foreign companies won't give their latest tech to the locals. So whenever i go to Brazil or China, i bring a lot of international brand items as gifts. Surprisingly, in China, people just love to have USA toothpaste! They also love things like real Swiss Army knives, Nike shoes, real Nike or Adidas sports apparel, perfume and US Whiskey (coz the US manufacturers don't want to risk losing their technology or recipes to the locals).

    Uncle Greg

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  5. Uncle Greg should know that I'm living with a conservative (for Ecuador) family who think that President Rafael Correa is scum of the earth. They liked me more when I told them that we don't elect Socialists in the US.

    Btw, I think Greg needs to become a "follower" to post comments.

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  6. The last friend of mine who lived in Quito returned a Marxist. ;)

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