Feb 9, 2024

On Friday, I walked to school with Julia since we both live 5 minutes away from the school. We met at a park, which was a halfway point, and continued on our two-and-a-half-minute walk. On this day, school was mostly uneventful; we continued with more orientation where they set standards.

During the first few days of our stay in Quito, most people got a new SIM card for their phones with an Ecuadorian number so that they could make calls in the country. I tried to beat the system by paying for a $95 international plan with T-Mobile, which was a significant increase from my previous $40 monthly Prepaid Plan. However, this did not work as I was not able to receive any notifications from the United States or Ecuador. So, during the day, I made sure to talk with my program director about obtaining a new SIM card with an Ecuadorian number. This way, I can receive messages from people near me and for my family back in the United States, WhatsApp is a great option for easy international communication. Because today was Max’s birthday, I wanted to make sure that my phone was ready so that I could go out and enjoy myself while also staying in contact with my Homestay family and the friends around me.

After a few hours of orientation, we had a break where the program staff bought a birthday cake for Max with fruit and fresh cream on the inside, as well as candles for them to blow out as we sang. It was really amazing to see, and I was glad that we got to celebrate their birthday in a special way, especially so far away from home. After our little celebration, we continued with a bit more orientation, and then we headed off to Centro Histórico de Quito with our Spanish professors. We learned some facts about the many churches in the region and tried a few traditional Ecuadorian snacks like espumilla (a fluffy egg white dessert that looks like ice cream). I wasn’t a fan, but the low cost and experience were worth a try. Our professors were kind enough to buy all of us ice cream, where I tried naranjilla (a citrusy flavor similar to orange or lemon sherbet); I absolutely loved this flavor. We then had time to shop around as we walked through the central area, where I found metallic string to buy for my embroidery projects. I think I got hit with the Gringo tax because I paid $9 for four different types of string. With the extremely low prices in Ecuador and the high quantity of strings in the store where I purchased my embroidery floss from, I definitely felt that $9 was too much. However, I did not have the Spanish skills to properly argue and was rushed, so I didn’t consider the cost until after I had left the store. I felt scammed, but there are definitely worse ways to be fooled in a foreign country, and this is a gentle lesson that I should learn from. After we left the market, we all headed back to our homes to prepare for the night where we planned to celebrate Max’s birthday by going to a few bars.

We first met at SINNERS Microcervecería Floresta at 7:30 p.m. for dinner and drinks, then we went to Mongo’s, which is a karaoke bar. We booked a private room and sang our little Gringo song till our hearts’ content. The whole night was so fun, and to top it off, you only need a photocopy of your passport as an ID, so I didn’t have to worry about losing my valuables besides my phone. We called it a night, and I headed out at 10:30, partially because of the national curfew but mostly because of my homestay’s curfew. I made it back home safely by Uber and headed to bed.