My piece-of-crap-used-LG cell phone. Having a used one saved me $55. Texting one letter at a time used to be so much easier--it takes five minutes to type one message up on this thing.

I was pickpocketed

Safety and security is a huge problem here in Ecuador. If you are not looking, even for just a second, you will get pickpocketed. I thought I was being careful, but even then, those pickpocketers are VERY clever and know what they are doing. They always say watch out for pickpocketers in big cities or other countries abroad, but this is the first time where it really is a big problem. In short, my camera was stolen from me, only my camera, not the money or credit card it was resting next too. I was being cautious, but she still got me. :( So there will be no pictures for a while until I get a new camera.

The U.S. embassy sent someone to talk to us about safety and here's the rundown of what to do and stories:

• ALWAYS have your bag in front of you and keep your eyes on it, otherwise it will be sliced from the bottom and you won't even know you've had your things stolen.
• There are many taxis here, and according to the embassy, if it does not have an orange license plate, the number of the service, proof of registration with the municipal, and a couple other characteristics, you are not supposed to take it. Only about 1/3 of taxis meet all of this criteria, which makes it hard to flag one down sometimes.

Storytime:

• The main thing thieves and pickpocketers are trying to do is distract you.
• There is the smash-and-grab where people selling items on the streets between cars are looking into cars to see whose purses and bags are close and unattended near a window. They usually have a person juggling in front of you (I have already seen this many times) to distract the car and then, they then proceed to smash your window and grab your bag and run off.
• There is also the condiment distraction where they squirt mustard or ketchup on you to distract you at a restaurant giving them time to steal your bag before you notice.
  
• One American woman was walking down a street when two guys came up to her--one threw a bucket of bird poop on her (I don't know how you even get a bucket of it...) and then the other one took her bag as she stepped bag in surprise
• A student was skyping his parents at an internet cafe when his parents saw a man come up behind the student, hit his head, knocking him over, and stole his computer.
• Buses--prime pickpocketing place. You are surrounded by people who are always moving and getting off. Many people are robbed while standing there either their bag is sliced, or the pickpocketers are so good, you cannot feel your stuff being stolen.
  

I am now with my host family and I feel very safe as most houses are behind a guarded area. However, I hear car alarms going off for ten or fifteen minutes a few times everyday.

I was unlucky, but now I know, and I hope that is the only trouble I will run into during my time here!

Habits are Hard to Break

Here is the view from the hostel we are staying at during orientation. Quito is surrounded by mountains and it is beautiful! Thankfully, the altitude hasn't done much to affect me except for a headache the first day.

The water here--I'm not supposed to drink it, have ice, my food washed in it... the whole nine yards. This morning I'm brushing my teeth--all of a sudden "AHHHHHH!" as I realized that I was using the tap water to rinse out my mouth instead of the bottled water provided. I'm sad that I will be forced to use a lot of bottle water this semester, especially with no way to recycle.

My other habit that's hard to break--not putting toilet paper in the the toilet, but in the trashcan next to it. The pressure in the pipes isn't strong enough to deal with it, so all restrooms have little trashcans everywhere.

Later today I move in with my host family--and I still have no idea who they are.

Estoy Aqui!

Hola!

I made it to Quito after a two hour delay in Miami (the pilot didn't show up) and arrived at 1 a.m. Quito time (currently Central time in the states). After getting to bed after three a.m. we were up and starting orientation at nine after breakfast.

The people in my group consists of twenty girls and one guy--lucky for him. I really do think there is a great group here with students from all over the country and I've already bonded with a few girls. Right now we are staying in a nice little hostel until we move in with our host families on Sunday. Then on Monday we start our Spanish classes at the Universidad de San Francisco for a few hours a day for four weeks.

The group is currently speaking mostly in English because our director wants to make sure that we understand everything during orientation. Therefore, my Spanish has not started or really improved at all as I have not had much of a chance to practice. However, my listening skills have improved as I have tried hard to listen and understand as we travelled through the city today.

Today we had a get to know each other session along with a visit from a U.S. embassy employee and then we went and had a tour of the University! The tour was in Spanish and luckily I understood about 90% of what was said as we toured the beautiful campus. The campus is slightly smaller than DePauw in a gated community, with a very colorful and calm atmosphere (I'll post pictures later). After the tour we went out to eat in the Mariscal--basically the young, hip, bars everywhere place in Quito. The food is great, abundant, and filling--everything has tasted great so far!

So, after one of the longest days on very few hours of sleep, I am off to bed!

The Trip Begins!

As I am sitting in Indianapolis airport, I can only imagine what is ahead of me for the next six months. I am leaving behind possibly the best summer of my life to take in Ecuadorian life, culture, and of course, Spanish. I've been working on my Spanish all summer and I am hoping it will not be too hard of a transition to learn to think and speak well in Spanish.

Packing was rough--but I ended up with only one suitcase and a small duffle, something that I am priding myself on. I've said goodbye to everyone, and even my Iphone (which was hard to do sadly enough). I meet the rest of my group in Miami and fly to Quito from there!

Hasta luego los Estados Unidos!