Ecuador !

Yesterday I landed in Quito, Ecuador and it's been an interesting adventure so far! My lack of Spanish has definitely left me feeling a bit out of the loop (and made every conversation that I have more comparable to a game of charades.)

I was picked up from the airport and we drove for just over 2 hours on winding roads to the town of cosanga. (I also learned that while their are rules for the roads here, nobody really follows them. Red lights seem to be more of a suggestion, and passing on blind corners is totally normal.)
When I arrived at the volunteer house in cosanga last night ? I was met by 2 other volunteers, and a handful of locals who kept asking me questions in Spanish...while I sat there regretting not learning the language before I left. I went to bed exhausted and feeling a bit isolated. I've learned a few things about cosanga though.
1. there are dogs and chickens roaming around everywhere.
2. The temperature is pretty much always the same. (Around 18 degrees.)
3. It rains. Always. Everyone tells me living here has really made them appreciate the sunshine.
4. You don't know on people's doors here. You just walk up to their house in the street and yell their name or "Buenos Dias."

Today was a whole new day though. I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to face the day. The other volunteers have all been here for at least 6 months, so they have classes that they teach. When one of them was leaving, he offered to have me come along with him. So off I went to a class consisting of grades kindergarten, one, and two. The town is extremely small, so they combine the grades (there were around 8 students in this class.) I was floored by how welcoming the students were. They all immediately gave me hugs and hellos and wanted to hold my hand and show me around. They're a great group of kids. It's interesting watching the teachers plan their lessons. There is internet in our house... But it's terribly slow. Think dial-up, but worse.
The younger class spent a lot of time colouring (they're learning animals so today they learned the word anteater.)

After that, I helped out with a reforestation project they have here. The hike to get to the site is about an hour and a half each way up a mountain, and it's pretty treacherous (and muddy.) It was absolutely beautiful though. So much green here! I think I'm going to be spending a lot of time helping out with the reforestation, so I'm looking forward to that. I didn't bring my camera today because I don't want to appear too touristy right off the bat, but I'll have to next time we go because it's so beautiful.

I've made a few friends here, although they speak little English. I think they like hanging out with me so they can ask me how to say things in English (and I can hopefully pick up a little spanish from them).. Looking forward to what tomorrow brings !