If there is one thing I´m sure about, it´s that I´m going to learn a whole lot while I´m here. Laura and Anyel and I spent most of the flight reading about Ecuador and quizzing each other on our Spanish. It´s paying off! So far, I´ve at least recognized names of people and places that my family tells me about. For example, the view from our kitchen window is of Pichincha, a volcano located in Quito.
I´ve been thinking and writing and speaking so much spanish that this is a task in itself to translate my journal into English. I think that´s a good sign! I´m doing much, much better than I expected with my spanish. I usually understand very clearly when my family speaks to me, or at least clearly enough that gestures make up the difference.
FAMILY CEVALLOS VITERI:
Mother-Lupe (Guadalupe), taught in a university for 33 years and has a great sense of humor
Father-Marcelo, works in the petroleum industry, loves to since and dance and give me cervezas
Older Daughter-Alexandra, 33, married with two children, lives in Canada and works in business administration
Son-Melo (Marcelo), 28, works as an engineer of computer systems (I think... haha)
Younger Daughter-Diana, 20, attends la Universidad de San Francisco de Quito (with me!), studies la gastronomía (culinary arts, I think), and is visiting New York for one month
Melo, Diana, and Alexandra all speak very good english, but I hope I never get to see it. It is helping me immensely to speak and think only in spanish. I have also met one of Papa Marcelo´s 10 siblings, Michita (short for Mercedes). She lives at his parents´ home in Quito. His parents names are Jorge and Michita (Mercedes). They both paint very, very well, and Jorge worked as a lawyer and taught upcoming lawyers all of his life. They spent an hour or more showing me pictures from their recent trip to Mexico. They have 9 boys, all married, and 2 girls, both single! Woohoo. I also met Mama Lupe´s sister, Gladys, and her husband, Hermán. Lupe´s parents died many years ago, but there is a LOT of family in Quito. I can´t wait to meet more of them!
OUR ADDRESS: PLEASE DON'T WRITE HEREEl Tiempo 219 y El Comercio N37-103
Quito, Ecuador
ACLAS ADDRESS~PLEASE WRITE HERE
El Día 207 y El Comercio
Quito, Ecuador
I live about a five minute walk away from ACLAS, where I will take my spanish class this summer. We´ll also have several excursions, the first being this Monday to the Galápagos! I had an exam and an interview on Friday with the ACLAS professors, and they have placed me in the advanced spanish class... it´ll be a challenge, but a good one.
More about my Friday night and Saturday adventures in the next episode...
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6 comments:
Buenas dias - and that's the best we can do. It's So exciting to hear all about "it" so far. We followed your flight and thought you'd be having a close call making connections in Houston....And now to hear about your home and family and their family. We'll be getting almost as much out of this semester as you - thanks to your blog. Keep it coming. Gpa and Gma
Marcelo sounds like he comes from a family similar to Neil's - BIG! What an awesome situation you're in - to have Lupe be a teacher at heart and have a great sense of humor, and Marcelo love to sing & dance (I'll ignore the "cervesa" part) and lots of extended family to meet and get to know - WOW! Also sounds like you did well on your Spanish test and will be pushed hard en Espanol the next few weeks, which is great. Love this blog/diary of yours! And, obviously, D & J are going to be enjoying every entry. What a gift you give us all by sharing this experience. Te amo, Mama
Love it! Is it an active Volcano? So scary, glad you made it safe, have fun in class. I'll try to stop in once'n a while, but you know i'm not very good at keeping on top of this stuff.
Asta la bye bye,
Eric
Hi Larkspur - Just thinking of you today - imagining you winging your way to the Galapagos. I'm in your pocket!
The adventure begins! Wow. I'm so delighted to have your blogs - as Doug and Janet said, it's going to be so much fun to ride along with you! Hope you saw amazing things on the Galapagos (without accents, thank you - I can't find them on my Spanish keyboard!) and even looked in the eye of one of those astounding tortoises! Um abrazo muy fuerte, Larkinito - dal tuo zio Corb.
Larkita:
Or some other nick bestowed by your Quito-based fam - since everyone else you have introduced has a handle I'm sure you will get nicked shortly.
I'm impressed with how quickly your were able to get familial names and relationships straight. I know cultural athropologists who would envy this facility.
Visiting your blog is now an early morning ritual - right up there with flossing, oatmeal and a sudoku.
Croc
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