Day 3....late also :)

Evidently I lost day 2. I don’t know how or when but I saved it last night and now it’s gone. Oh well, today I went to orientation again. Waking up at 6:30am is not my idea of a good day. Anyway, I got there and didn’t really know where to go, once again. J once everyone else arrived we got into our groups and had a tour of the campus. Although the campus is MUCH smaller than VT, I am sure that I will be getting lost tomorrow, and many days to come. Then we had a talk on health and how to take care of yourself while in Ecuador. I guess I’m just kind of sick of hearing warnings about getting sick and being careful. I hope I don’t get sick, of course, but I think it’s mostly common sense. Don’t eat the food on the streets, drink water, stay hydrated, be careful with the altitude, etc. anyways, then we had an hour for free because the guy who was supposed to present on politics couldn’t make it for some reason, which I was kind of sad about. But I went to eat at the Italian restaurant on campus with a girl I met yesterday, Missy. The food was wonderful. I had a Hawaiian pizza with real pineapple, it was so juicy. It made me miss home. But it was very good. Then we came back together and were separated into groups for registration. It took forever. I waited at least an hour and a half just to get into the room with the advisor lady to register for classes. Once I got in there and showed her that I knew exactly what classes I wanted, she was elated. Evidently no one else had come prepared. But coming prepared did not make it any easier for me. It took me at least an hour with her to get my classes because either they were full or they overlapped with the classes that I had already signed up for. So, all in all, I got one of the classes that I wanted. I’m in “LatinAmerican Boom”, Intermediate Spanish Conversation, Andean Anthropology, and Modern Dance. The first of which is the only one I had picked out ahead of time. I’m very disappointed with my schedule, but I guess I’ll have to make do. I really wanted photography but I couldn’t get in it. I couldn’t get into the ecology class, as a matter of fact, I tried to find some other environmental class to fulfill my environmental elective for IS but there were none that were my level of science and that were open. And you all can guess how excited I am about modern dance. That’s not really my kind of thing, but I’m gonna try it and see how it goes. Tomorrow my classes start at 12:30pm with Latin American Boom and end at 3:30pm. Those classes are Monday & Wednesday. Tuesday & Thursday classes start at 10:00am and I am done at 3:30pm. No Friday classes which is kind of nice, it would probably mean more to me if I had friends and stuff to do, which I guess I will eventually. Anyways, all in all, I was not pleased with the registration process. But, I guess a few summer classes are in order if I plan to get the major/minors I had in mind previously. When my host sister picked me up this afternoon we went and bought a cell phone. $46.00 plus a $10.00 card. You buy the cards in $3, $6, or $10 increments and they are worth so many minutes. However, I have not figured out how to use that calling card mama got for me with this cell phone yet. I cannot figure it out. I dial the country code and it says it’s not a number. I dial the country code with the 800 number and it says it’s still not a number. I don’t know what to do. I may end up just buying a calling card here to use. Also, when I get a chance I will email the number to you guys. This is important because all incoming calls are free to me, they don’t take away from my minutes that I get with the cards I buy. It’s better to have people call me than to call people. I’m running low on cash which means I have to figure out how/where to use an ATM. Tomorrow I am facing the bus system. Alone. Everyone else that has done it says it’s pretty good, but I’m still kind of nervous. Also, we have to go to register my VISA sometime. AND I have to get a CENSO card, which is my Ecuadorian ID while here. I’m so frustrated because I feel like I have spent a lot of money already, I buy lunch on campus and I have bought a phone, and because I thought I was DONE with the annoying paperwork. These two things (VISA & Censo) take at least 3 days or so, and each cost $20, I believe. I’m just ready to be done with the paperwork and be able to relax, make friends, go out, have fun, see the city.
This may sound really mean, but right now I’m also a little disappointed with my family. They are really nice, they are just a little boring. I hear about the other host families, other students are watching sports with their families, meeting other family members outside of the house, hanging out with their little brothers & sisters…..all I do when I am here is sleep & eat some. I watched some TV with MariClara tonight but we didn’t talk. I guess it will get better, I just wish it was more comfortable like everyone else. Oh well, I guess it’s about time for me to get in bed. Here’s to hoping things get MUCH better…