"No, dumb is the right word."

This has nothing to do with Ecuador or any of my time here, but it has re-kindled my love for a certain vocal artist. The other day I was talking with my friend Stephanie, and we were talking about concerts because my parents had just gone to the Tim McGraw/Lady Antebellum concert (THEY TOUCHED THEIR HANDS!!!!!! When I was talking to my dad about it on the phone, I said, "Dad, did you about pee your pants?" His reply? "Sara, I screamed like a girl." Oh, Dad, how I miss you!! And my mom just about passed out.).

Anyways, we started talking about the first concert that we had ever been to. I am not much of a concert-goer myself, to be honest. I don't understand why everyone has to stand when there are perfectly good seats waiting to be sat in. I also don't understand why vocal artists insist on pointing the microphone towards the crowd, indicating that we should sing along. I don't want to hear the girl next to me screaming the wrong words to the song. I paid money to hear YOU sing LIVE. Please.

My first concert was the summer after second grade, I believe. My parents took Jenna and I to Summerfest. To see.... MICHAEL BOLTON. I don't remember very much of the concert, mostly the song "Steel Bars" when some girls got lowered from the ceiling in steel cages. And I also remember my dad sitting during it. Upon these recollections, I decided to download Michael Bolton's Greatest Hits (1985-1995) CD. And I love it. I have no idea what possessed my parents to bring us to Summerfest, but I also remember us having a good time and getting sweet sweatshirts that I'm sure we wore constantly. Mine had several of the Summerfest smiley face logos on it. I don't remember Jenna's, but I remember not liking it. Oh well, I didn't have to wear it!

So, Michael Bolton has been the soundtrack of my life the last week. And let me tell you, I can't WAIT to listen to this CD when I'm in my car driving in the US with the windows down and just BELT the words out. I feel that I'm not getting the full effect of this CD until I'm able to have it in my car.

Since I've been doing NOTHING this week, I've started reflecting about Ecuador. Let me tell you - I am living in a backwards world down here. Maybe it's because I'm south of the equator? I'm not sure...

I haven't talked very much about the food down here, but I can sum it up in 3 words: meat, potatoes, rice. The typical Ecuadorian food is potato and rice based, accompanied with a piece of meat, which can range from chicken to beef, to guinea pig or dog. Everyone asks me what I think of the food, and I always say, "Well, it's alright..." I like the fruit. And vegetables. But blegh, give me a hot dog, please. One of the delicacies here is (I wasn't joking when I said this) cuy. GUINEA PIG. It is SO gross looking, because when they roast it up, it seriously looks like a rat on a spit. I have NOT tried it, and will not try it. Everyone asks why. So I explain that I had a PET guinea pig when I was younger (which really grosses me out now, but I do have a heart - I cried when she died in labor with her little guinea piglets), and how could I POSSIBLY eat an animal that used to be my pet?

Another thing I always think of when I see these guinea pigs is the guinea pig that my grade school friend Amy Stanfield used to have growing up. Her name was Molly, and we loved that thing. The only thing I didn't like about it was it usually pooped when I was holding it, and when I spent the night it squeaked a lot (she kept it in her room).

I discovered a little while ago when I decided to bake banana bread (it didn't work) that baking soda is prohibited in this country. I asked a million people why, and I finally found the answer. Baking soda is, apparently, one of the ingredients in cocaine, so in a valiant effort to reduce the drug trade here (it's not as bad as Mexico or Colombia - not even CLOSE), the government has decided to ban baking soda. The part that I don't understand is how they bake things. There are bread/pastry shops on EVERY corner - it doesn't make sense to me. So, I smuggled two boxes of baking soda into the country when I came back in April, and I gave one to my host mom who caters, so she is making cakes all the time (oh, how I miss the days of having cake for dessert EVERY DAY).

The school that I work for has a bus the runs specifically for teachers. It picks me up every morning at the bus stop between 6:20 and 6:30, and drops me off after school at 3:15. We are required to be at the school until July 9. On Monday, I saw a sign above the clock-in/out finger-scanner thing (it always takes about 5 tries to get my finger scanned, and it's embarrassing EVERY DAY because there is always a line) that said that after June 30, the teacher bus would not be running. Excuse me? I have no idea how I'm supposed to get to school without this bus! I don't have a car; it would cost over $10 in a taxi; I have no idea which city bus to take. When I was telling Peter about how they aren't having the bus he said, "That's dumb.... no, logically unsound is a better phrase." To which I responded, "No, Peter. Dumb is the right word."

Yesterday morning I arranged with the secretary, who gets on at the same stop as me, to meet me at the stop at 6:30 this morning so we can go TOGETHER to school, because she knows which bus to take. So I get there American-ly early, and wait.

6:25 - Sara, it's only 6:25. Don't start hyperventilating yet.
6:28 - Huh. I wonder where she is. Trigger sweat.
6:31 - SHE. IS. LATE. Trigger pacing.
6:34 - OHMYGOOOOOOOOOOOOOD HOW AM I GOING TO GET TO SCHOOL? Trigger knotted stomach.
6:35 - Should I call Diego? I know he doesn't leave his house until 6:45... Trigger nausea.
6:37 - I'm going to have to take a taxi. Trigger panic attack when I check my wallet and find FIVE dollars. Definitely not enough to pay for a cab all the way to school.
6:38 - Trigger hyperventilation.
6:41 - A pre-school teacher gets off a bus at the stop I'm at. "Sarita! Now I will have company on the long bus ride!" Trigger NEAR COLLAPSE because I am so relieved. Don't even worry about it - I acted like I knew exactly what bus I was supposed to get on.

When I got to school, I was in the administration office, and I saw the secretary: "SARITA!!!! I am so sorry! I slept late. I'm so happy to see you here safely!!!!" And then she promised that she would be that at 6:30 on the DOT tomorrow morning.

Since I live in a house by myself, I obviously have to feed myself. So I go grocery shopping. The Sentry of Quito is called Supermaxi. I get a cart, go around the grocery store and generally buy: American cereal, Kraft macaroni and cheese, and American Kraft singles. Then I have to spend 20 minutes picking out EACH INDIVIDUAL item that I want, since I don't know what's good and what's bad. It's generally a shot in the dark, and I've been really disgusted a few times (I found Heinz ketchup, but MAN did I make the wrong choice for mustard. And ranch dressing.).

Going through the aisles, everything is mixed up kind of oddly, like baking supplies are right next to the noodles, not like, vegetable oil. And there is an entire aisle dedicated to MILK. Not refrigerated milk. Milk that is sold in cartons and BAGS. It's so bizarre, and I'm always a little hesitant to drink milk here, because how can it stay good in the store if it's not refrigerated?

When I get to the check-out line, the first time I was perplexed. After realizing that HUH, my cart is NOT going to fit through to the other side, I discovered one of the MOST backwards things here. You have to take all of your things out of the cart and put them on the check-out (which aren't the conveyor belts that we have, but just a table), and then you leave your cart there. Naturally, the carts pile up like crazy, and it's horrible, especially since the lines are ALWAYS long. Your bags (after being tied shut by the bagger) get put into a DIFFERENT cart on the other side of the check-out lane. What's the point? EVERY grocery store is like this, and it just blows my mind. If I introduce wider check-out lanes to Ecuador, could I get rich?

Those are just a few things that come to mind right away about the workings of Ecuador. There are more, believe me, but those are the main ones.

I took tomorrow and Monday off because I'm going to the JUNGLE!!!! It was a very last minute thing (I just decided yesterday), but I met a girl who studies at the same institute as my friend Maike, and the institute is having a trip to the Amazon, so I'm tagging along. I'm very excited. And terrified. When I come back, you can just call me Xena, warrior Princess. Or maybe I'll find the crystal skull like Indiana Jones - but that's not likely because I'll be in Ecuador and not Peru.

Until next time (hopefully I'll survive the jungle!),
Sara/Xena (and Michael Bolton's biggest fan!!)