Things I've learned in my first week

1. People here drive like maniacs, but I guess they are all trained to drive like professional maniacs so there actually aren't a lot of accidents.
2. Men greet women and women greet women with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. This is WAY different from los Estados Unidos, but I love it! Watch out Kansas. When I come home be prepared to be greeted Ecuadorian style.
3. Drinking age is 18.
4. You have to throw your toilet paper away after it's been used because the water pressure and pipes aren't of good enough quality. We had to do this when my family visited Bolivia, but I hadn't really thought about the probability of having to do this in Ecuador until I actually got here.
4 Part 2. In some public bathrooms, there is a toilet paper dispenser OUTSIDE of the stalls. Don't forget to bring some toilet paper INTO the stall with you.
5. Kansas might have bipolar weather, but Quito is also pretty variable. Wake up, need a jacket. 10:00, don't need jacket. 12:00 hot as heck. 2:00, clouds and chilly. 4:00, sun's back out. 6:00, cloudy and rainy. 8:00, definitely need a jacket and maybe an umbrella if it hasn't stopped raining.
6. Don't forget sunscreen. It's incredible how much closer you are to the sun when you're on the equator. You know how you can feel it when you're getting burnt? Well, when the sun is not blocked from any clouds, you take one step from the shade into the sun and BAM! you can feel yourself roasting already.
7. USFQ is a liberal arts college where the professors ask you to call them by their first names. Just like Bethel!
8. My host brother is studying English so he can go to England! Unfortunately, if his visa is approved he leaves at the end of April. So I will be without my host brother for the last 2 to 3 weeks of my time in Ecuador :(   I'm happy for him, though.
9. Yep. Just like I was warned, they serve their milk warm here. Had to clarify with my mom that I enjoy my leche fria (cold).
10. Complete strangers can be so personable, but also, those whom you least expect can be the bad ones. Not trying to stereotype, but generally I assumed the pickpocketers would be male. We were on the very crowded Metrobus the other day, though, and some lady tried to pickpocket me and Wesley. Luckily, Daniel had taught us proper bag security, but Wesley's purse was slashed and one of my zippers was half open (I'm happy to report that nothing was missing from either of us, though.) Just can't let your guard down.

Well, that's all I have for now. BCA is off to Otavalo this weekend. Classes start Monday. Oh yeah, these are the classes I'm taking:
Advanced Conversation
Advanced Spanish
Soccer
Social Problems in Ecuador
Botany
Improvisation (This class is with Daniel and will definitely push me out of my comfort zone, but that's good for me, right?)

Anyway...more later,
Lizzie