So I have no new pictures to add today. This week has been pretty regular. So far I have been to the gym and classes and refrained from kicking my host sister in the shins, though I dont know how long my restraint is going to last.
I realized again how short of time I have left on Monday when I had to register for classes in South Carolina next fall! Its hard to imagine going to school somewhere else again! Although USC does have some definite advantages... like lights that work even when its raining outside.
I had a midterm exam yesterday in my Ecuadorian culture class yesterday. Right as my brain was begining to flow and cleverness was ready to fly from my fingertips in a stream of knowledge and made up fluff that was guaranteed to wow the teacher... the lights went off. We were left sitting in the pitch black barely able to see our own nose let alone our exams. A few of the Ecuadorians pulled out their trusty blackberrys which are attached to them like superglue at all times, and a few other kids pulled out lighters so that we could at least stare akwardly around at each other in the semi-darkness and complain about the lack of light. We waited for ten minutes in the dark and watched as all the other classes around us gave up and left (this class is at 9 at night so no one ever wants to be there anyway). The teacher finally gave us permission to leave and literally right as my hand touched the door knob the electricity flashed back on... so I got to return to my desk and finish the exam...
The funny thing about all of this is that it is completely normal and no one was the least bit concerned. The school has tons of power outages when it rains too much because the power lines arent strong enough to handle the storms.... This one was only a small one, the lights usually go out for a few hours. The teachers just pack up and hope its better the next day. Conversely, if it doesnt rain enough they have power shortages because a lot of the power sources depend on rain...so then University has to be shut down at 7 when there is no more light.
I woke up at 630 this morning to go to the gym early. It was the first time that I had seen the garbage collectors out in the neighborhood. I dont know why I had never thought of it before but in Ecuador the cost of labor is so low compared to the capital that is required to buy machinery, that all garbage collection is done by hand and just thrown in the back of regular pick up trunks. And I thought being a trash man would be no fun at home, at least there you dont have touch all the trash...
I spent the rest of my day doing homework and hanging out with Leonor while she cooked lunch. She asked me when my parents are coming and is now all excited to cook lunch for them one day! She is already planning out the menu! She is planning on making sopa de bola de camarón as an appetizer, which is a soup with shrimp filled platain balls in it. It sounds strange but it is an Ecuadorian specialty and pretty complicated to make so its a nice compliment. It should be a good time!
I have today and tomorrow left of classes this week and then only two more weeks left. I also have a cultural seminar on Friday where we will discuss how developing countries should ethically use natural resources... which probably means talking about the oil predicament again. Then we are watching a documentary on a attempted coup in Venezuela in 2002. Some people here relate the events of September 30th of last year in Ecuador (pepper spraying/"kidnapping" Correa) as an attempt to copy what happened in Venezuela to gain popularity. Saturday we are off to help build a house with a charity foundation called Hogar del Cristo! Should be another exciting weekend!
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