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.