Settling in...

Well, Jason and I finally have a host family! And we´re together! Woot woot!!!!!

We moved out of the hotel Friday evening and in with our family, the Echeverríos. Jose is one of the leading Ecuadorian anthropologists, so they are pretty well-off. His wife, Cristina, used to own a restaurant but closed it when her son & employee, Jose, went to Quito to find work. He´s 28 and really nice. He admitted that he doesn´t really like Quito, but there´s more work there. Jenny, the youngest at 18, lives with him and goes to the university for fashion/design. Carla, their daughter, lives 2 blocks away with her husband Cristian and their daughter Emily- the cutest baby! Basically, they are the nicest people. They are really patient and they understand that we need to practice, so they try to talk with us a lot. They have made us feel so welcome. I like them so much. I´m wishing we could work with them so we could spend all our time with them.

Jason and I bought local cell phones with the help of Paccha- she´s the best. Such a cutie! Our US phones don´t work here, so this way, we can keep in touch with each other.

Saturday, we went to Yahuarcocha, the site of an ancient Incan battle during their period of expansion. They fought in the ¨hills¨(mtns, let´s be honest) above this huge lake. Story goes, the water turned red w/ blood. The Incans were victorious, of course.
Then, we went to a friend of Jose´s (Nicolas Herrera - a painter), we thought because he had a great view of the lake/mtns. Turns out, we were there for the opening of his daughter´s art exposition. Let me tell you, Jason and I were surprised. And her work can only be described as creepy/disturbing. Everything was about death, crossing the river Styx, souls, demons, etc. We got there early, so we were there for a long time with nothing to do but look at the dark paintings. Somehow, they were kind of pretty. It was neat to be at the opening of her collection, though. I´ve never been to one in the US, but i´m pretty sure this one was very different. There was a singer (who sorta looked like the lead singer of Pussycat dolls) and there were native dancers who performed. So that was entertaining. Then there was this stupid lady with a poodle. She didn´t even have it on a leash! Seriously, who brings a dog to an art show? Anyway, this dog was chasing (trying to kill, let´s be honest) the chicken outside (a common sight here) and kept barking. So annoying!

Sunday, we went to Atuntaqui so Jose could vote. I´m under the impression taht you have to return to your hometown to vote here. Cristina was really busy because she was helping out, trying to get people to vote, making sure they knew what to do, etc. Then, we went to see a waterfall, but we couldn´t see if from where we were. We saw the river, though. The native tradition for San Juan (a local holiday on June 22/23) is to bathe in this water at midnight as a cleansing ritual. The water is freezing. Cristian kept teasing that he was going to throw Jason and I in. Next, we went to Lago San Pablo. It´s really pretty. We also tried a new fruit -hiro, prickly pear in English. We had hiro flavored ice cream; it tasted like Mary Jane candy to me, so I really liked it. We also tried some other fruit I´ve never heard of. I can´t even describe it. You crack it open, & inside, it looks like fish eggs - gooey, with seeds in the middle. It tastes like grapes. Believe it or not, I´m trying lots of foods and liking most of them.
When we got home, we play Uno for hours. It was a nice, relaxing day- how Sundays are meant to be!

Today, we met the families we will be studying. They live in Peguche, about 3 miles from Otavalo. We will have to ride the bus to and from everyday- something Jason and I are a little nervous about... In case I didn´t mention it, they drive like maniacs on not the greatest roads...Um, yea...

We actually have different families, and they don´t live near each other. We are still trying to figure out a game plan, as we are nervous about getting lost and being alone.
My family is all women: Doña Carmen, her daughters Matilde and Olga, and her daughter Ruth (I´m pretty sure she will always make me think of Doug´s mom). They seem really nice, even though we showed up unannounced. To be honest, both Jason and I feel more comfortable with them than we did with his family. I hope things get easier for him. I´m still worried about my Spanish. I´m understanding a lot more, but still having difficulty speaking. Literally, two year olds have a better grasp on conversation than I do! I seem to follow along until people ask me questions....Geez. But I can get details, sometimes even things Stuckart and Jason miss. I´m definitely wishing we´d let Señora have more all-Spanish days and that I´d practiced more (a little difficult in Bradford...).