Just Living Life

 Hello all! A quick reminder to all those reading this in order to keep up with my life, that if you want to know something specific about my life in Quito please feel free to ask questions or post comments. Currently, I am still living with my friends Sean and Maria. Honestly, I don't know what this transition would have been like without them. I assume much lonelier and more intimidating. They have truly been great hosts and great friends. But, it is serious crunch time with finding a place to live permanently because each of their parents are coming to visit during the February break. So I have got to be out of here this week. I will keep you posted on the roller coaster that is my housing situation. Speaking of the February break,  I will be traveling to three different cities in Colombia for 10 days with a few friends from Colegio Americano. We will be visiting Medellin, Cartagena, and Barranquilla. Medellin is in the mountains and both Cartagena and Barranquilla are on the coast. Will be visiting during the exciting time of Carnaval!!!! This is going to be a blast!! I cannot wait to upload pictures of the extravagant costumes and activities that are going to take place in the coastal cities. We are leaving February 5th and returning the 15th. I will have a few days during the break to settle into my new living situation so that when I return I can relax before school starts again.
This is the last break until the summer break which begins at the beginning of July. So, it is going to be a long stretch until the end of the school year. They really pack in a lot of school days into the year here. The Ministry of Education in Ecuador does not seem to be very organized or really know whats happening in the classrooms to help make things run more smoothly. I am lucky because I am in the international primary section of the school which has a lot more perks than the national section. We have very small class sizes (19 total 3rd grades split into two classes).  The school calendar this year has changed and it doesn't seem to be making anyone very happy or in fact make much sense. I am interested to see if it stays the same next year or if there are some adjustments. For example, our students had finals this week (yes in 3rd grade) and we still have one more week before the two week break. So, I will be starting a new science unit for this week and then we will have a big break right after the very first part of the unit. It really doesn't make sense but we will just have to review for a few days when they return. I had a pretty low key weekend and got lots of sleep. I am still adjusting to the altitude but my appetite is getting back to a normal standard of eating. Last night I went on a walk with some friends to see the full moon in the park. It was so bright and big that it lit up the very wooded park, Parque Metropalitano, enough that we didn't need any light to find our way to the look out. Also, tonight we took another walk around sunset and I took couple pictures of the city from the opening of the park. 

All my love <3