REGULAR DAY

On my average day I get up between 6 and 6:30. My mom usually has breakfast ready for me, anything from fruit with yogurt to a ham and cheese sandwich… it really can be anything. Then I have to leave at 7:05 to catch the bus. This took a couple days to get used to. If I catch that bus I am 15-20 early but if I miss it I have to wait 20 minutes, things get busier and I am 15-20 minutes late. So 705 is the time. I walk about a block down the street, paying attention clutching my bag and walking briskly. In the morning its fine but I am vigilant J so don’t worry about me. There are a bunch of people around waiting for tons of different buses.

The bus system here is crazy. There is no map or collection of routes or schedules, and there are tons of names of places on the front of each. You really just gotta know what you want. I take los laureles. It costs 25 cents per ride. When I get on it is usually pretty empty and I can snag a seat for the rest of the ride. Some times one of my compañieros Hunter gets on at the next stop or two and we got together but he doesn’t always make my bus. I take the bus for ~20 minutos to the beginning of the trolle that runs down 10 de agosto. Were I transfer and ride it to mariana de jesus. Were I walk west a block or two to school.

I have Spanish class with Jorge from 8-10 the a break with snack from 10-1030, then ecology class till 1. Then my mom usually picks me up, takes me to my abuela’s house for lunch. This is cool cause everyone takes their lunch break and goes there for lunch, from 1-3 usually. We have classic Ecuadorian food: first soup (super good here) then a plate with rice, fried egg, potatoes or platanos or yucca, and a piece of meat which is usually more like leather. Then my mama drops me back of at school and goes back to work around 3 (all of this is very close) Then I take the trolle and bus on the same route but reverse to get home. When I get home my sisters usually are off somewhere else. I take a nap sometimes and do my work. My sis usually come home with my mom when she gets off work at 8 830 and we have dinner, which is usually pretty light and more of the same.

Sometimes when we have a group meeting or Spanish excursion or adventure I will tell my mama and we will go out to lunch in one of the restaurants around school or something. Then, since I don’t have any idea about the other bus routes I find my way back to my same route and get home that way. I am always home by dark and we usually got to bed pretty early too, by 10, which is pretty nice.