Chevere! (Awesome!)

I found out that I would be staying with the same host family as two other volunteers: Keith and Tara. I was stoked about rooming with Keith, but hadn’t really gotten to know Tara that much yet. She is awesome as well though and we are having a good time so far! As we waited Saturday night for our family to pick us up the nervousness started to kick in again. It didn’t help that we were the second to last group to get picked up. When our family finally arrived we three met them with open arms, kisses, and grammatically incorrect Spanish greetings (I think the understood…)! During the car ride Keith conversed with Marco (our Padre). I was able to understand the majority of the conversation (good) but struggled anytime I was asked a question not asking where I was from, what I did, and easy conversation like that (bad). We arrived at our casa and met the rest of the family: Sandra (madre), Andrea (hermana and an awesome artist), Cristian (hermano) and Alejandra (otra hermana). We also met Patricia (Marco’s hermana) and her daughter Sara. Tommy, if you’re reading this, Hermano means brother… little tribute to Arrested Development.
Saturday night we took a tour of our house. Unbeknownst to Tara, Keith, and Myself we were given a whole separate apartment above the Cruz’s house (see picture on left). Pimp.

The whole house is gorgeous and I fell in love with it when I saw a painted soccer field on the street outside the house (Marco had painted it there many years ago). After we were settled in Sandra made us some comida and we gladly ate it all. We sat and talked around the table for an hour or so. I explained, in broken Spanish, “Lo siento, Yo comprendo todo, pero no hablo espanol muy bueno.” I tried my best to answer questions, it really helped that Keith is fairly proficient in the language. Besides the verbal language, I’m sure my non-verbal communication told them that I was very excited; I literally didn’t stop smiling until I fell asleep. Today we woke up and had breakfast with the family. I gained a little more confidence and contributed a little more in conversation. Who cares if I mess up right? I’m here to learn as well. After breakfast Marco took us to an open market which was literally right down the block. After seeing and trying fruit I had never heard of before (awesome!) we headed to a picnic with the rest of the volunteers and their host families we took the scenic route, probably going all over Quito, by bus, rescued Keith after he was left on the bus (not a big deal but hilarious) and arrived at the park. We ate, and then went on a family hike. I was able to converse more with some family members one-on-one (see picture of mi familia on the right) and we then all piled into the cars and went back home for some rest and relaxation for the night. Orientation starts tomorrow along with some much needed Spanish classes.

I’m still really excited; so much to where although exhausted, I can’t nap or relax. Double edged sword.
Quito is awesome! So far so good.