My first real non-American day

When I first found out about WorldTeach I wanted to go to the South Pacific... until I read that the islands have no running water or electricity. I picked Ecuador because I would be living in an urban area with people my age and all the necessities I need (like water).

On Sunday morning I woke up and realized there was no water or electricity. I walked downstairs and asked my host dad what was going on. He said there wouldn´t be any of that for the whole day. I started to panic because I knew I had a ton of work to do and I didn´t have any way to charge my computer or get on the internet.

I started to walk down the street to see if maybe a place had a generator. When I got back my host dad laughed at me and said the only place with a generator was Supermaxi. I guess I forgot this is Ecuador... So then I think I´ll go to Supermaxi but it is a 30 minute walk away so I needed a taxi. I asked my host dad and he said there weren´t any taxis either because of the strike. So there I was, stuck with no water, electricity, or way to do my work. I tried to explain to him that being so attatched to that stuff is a symptom of being from the United States. He said the last girl who lived with them was the exact same.

So then he got the whole family together and we decided to take a road trip for lunch. We eneded up going 1 hour outside of the city to a small town that grows a lot of fruit. We even squished 8 people in a 5 person car. The host mom ended up not liking lunch so she decided we should go find another lunch. We actually just went to a fruit stand and ate a bunch of fruit. But in total they kidnapped me for 5 hours. It was crazy. 5 hours for lunch!

Then I came back and skyped with my dad and wendy because the electricity was back.

On Monday the taxis and buses were still striking but of course CECAMI decided to still have class even though I had 5 students. They even decided we should have class at night when it would be unsafe for us to walk home. Kate, the director, stepped in and said no we don´t have class because she was more worried about our safety. But now it means I have to make up the class and I don´t really have any time since it´s the end of the module. Oh well, we´ll see what happens with that.

Side note:
The other day I went to a clothes shop with my host mom because she was looking for pants. I decided to be inquisitive and try on a pair myself. I wanted to know exactly why pants are so terrible in Ecuador. It´s because all of the pants are made of stretch fabric (so you can wear several sizes too small) and because they are all high waisted (so you can shove your stomach into it). It was crazy! The way the pants are made anyone can wear several sizes too small which just creates a terrible camel toe and horrible panty lines. No wonder they said girls can´t ever find pants in Ecuador... And the shirts aren´t much better. They are all a mix of Limited Too for adults and the ugly section of Forever XXI. It´s like kid clothes and hooker clothes that are all too tight for everyone. Crazy...