fuuuutbolllll!!!!!

Hi all!

ECUADOR VS. BOLIVIA THIS WEEKEND!! We have tickets, I have a bright yellow jersey, it’s on Saturday! And we’re going to go to the Equator! And we started an Ultimate Frisbee club at school. And I joined about 6 other clubs (including salsa).

And I’m feeling much better and I ate pizza. It's American pizza here Uncle Jim - we have Dominoes and Papa John's and such. I haven't tried Ecuadorian pizza yet, but they say it is a lot different. On a side note, it's really funny that Burger King and Taco Bell and other fast food restaurants are on the high end of prices here - they're considered the expensive food. A Big Mac is a delicacy?

Anyways, I’ve had classes all week. A walk through the typical scene at USFQ.....

Walking through the security-staffed entrance, one sees at least a couple of USFQ girls in tight jeans, perfectly curled hair, painted nails, at least 2 inch heels, and expensive sunglasses. This is typical wear for the Ecuadorian female students.

Scanning around, one will also probably encounter several males in polo’s, slicked back hair, and expensive sunglasses. Typical menswear. You will usually find several groups of Gringos (excange students) chatting at our outdoor sushi bar, and some people lounging by the Japanese-style lake surrounded by Catholic sculptures. There’s usually yoga going on in the pagoda, some studying under the palm trees or the multiple Egyptian obelisks (?), and always absolutely gorgeous mountains in the distance.

The teachers insist that you call them by their first name. The cafeteria has been serving red wine for lunch all week. Ahhhh, this is the life.

Haha, I’m oversimplifying a bit (despite all that being entirely true). We still have classes, there’s still homework. Classes are more difficult because of the Spanish barrier. I can generally understand my professors, but Spanish readings take forever, and it’s still hard for me to discuss theories behind liberalism in Spanish, for example.

Weather here is surprisingly like Michigan in the sense that it’s unpredictable. When it’s sunny in the valley where USFQ is, it feels hot (the sun’s brutal although the temp may not be that high). If it’s cloudy or raining, which it is at least a couple times a week, it’s fairly cool - long-sleeve shirt weather. Nights and mornings are cold. I have 4 rather large blankets on my bed at present (although that is partially an effort to soften my mattress-less bed).

There are pictures on my Facebook of everything! I'm trying to figure out how to import the album here, but it's proving more difficult than I thought. More later, I have class!


Lisa