Week 1 in Cuenca
Last week was my first week of classes in Cuenca, and I must say, I could not be happier about my decision to return to Ecuador. My teacher is great, so the lessons have been really helpful, and I have made some incredible friends. The weather last week was absolutely amazing, so when I wasn´t in class, I spent a lot of time reading in the main plaza of the city, which is gorgeous. There are a bunch of museums and other things to see in the city, but I thought I would save those for rainy days. It´s been raining a bit this week, so I might have more to report on those next week.
This past week was largely spent getting to know the city and the people, and spending time with my new friends. The friends I made this week consisted of two girls from Massachusetts (Kristen and Sarah), a guy from Florida (Taylor), three British guys (Fahim from London, Andy from Scotland, and Gordy from Northern Ireland), and a girl from London named Jen.
The week started off kind of slow, as I was still getting to know everyone, but on Wednesday we had our first salsa dance lesson, and there´s no better way to get to know a group of people. That night, Taylor, Sara, Kristen, and I went out for dinner to this Italian place. The food is so-so, but the owner is incredibly nice and gives us incredible deals on everything. Here are some pictures of Kristen, Sara, and Taylor acting silly at dinner that night:
On Thursday evening, we once again had a salsa class. Later that night, the British and the Americans finally came together for dinner. We went to this great Colombian place for dinner, and we went out for drinks afterwards. That night devolved into the telling of horribly inappropriate jokes, but hey, at least we were doing our part to bridge the cultural divide between the yanks and the brits. The rest of our week was spent rehashing the inappropriate jokes, as well as quoting scenes from Ali G, particularly Borat (unfortunately, the movie is not yet out here).
We loved the Colombian place so much that we decided to go there again on Friday night. It was pretty much the same crowd, but this time Jen joined us. After dinner, we decided to go karaoke-ing, which ended up being a blast. The Ecuadorians just loved it when we sang English songs. Among the songs we sang that night were: Britney´s "Baby One More Time," Four Non Blondes´"What´s Going On?," "My Sharona," "Sweet Caroline," the "Macarena," and more. Here is a picture of Taylor and Kristen singing away:
Here is a picture of Gordy singing (from what I´ve been told, a rare phenomenon nowadays, given that he´s been kicked out of karaoke clubs on multiple occasions in the past):
And here is a picture of Andy and Fahim watching, awe-struck:
After leaving the karaoke bar, we went to some hole-in-the-wall (literally, a hole in the wall, not a restaurant) place where Taylor and Kristen picked up some food. We were sitting outside while they ate when a drunk and most likely mentally ill man came up to us and tried to steal my shoes. Good times.
On Saturday, I rallied the troops to go to a sports bar (in the rain, no less) to watch the Michigan/Indiana game, but to no avail. The first "sports bar" we went to was playing no sports (we didn´t even see TV screens), but was instead playing loud house music with flashing lights (yes, this was at 3:30 in the afternoon). The next sports bar we went to looked a bit more like a sports bar (or a TGI Friday´s), but they were not playing the game and could not find it. So, that venture was pretty much a bust, unfortunately. I was really looking forward to watching the game, and the British boys were looking forward to learning something about American football, which they currently have NO appreciation for.
On Saturday night, we all met at a place called Cafe Eucalyptus for salsa dancing (that´s the same place I went for my birthday with the girls when we were in Cuenca last). We were all a bit tired from the night before, but we rallied and actually ended up having a really fun night. Everyone said that Taylor and I tore up the dance floor with our salsa moves. As a result, Taylor and I have decided to take salsa classes separate from the school, since our salsa teacher doesn´t seem to have much more to teach us.
On Sunday, Taylor and I decided to have a "House" marathon. (Taylor lives in Cuenca with his dad, and they have a big screen TV with DVD player) . We are both obsessed with Hugh Laurie, and we both just needed to relax our brains with some American TV. We also ate pizza and ice cream. It was great.
That was about it for my first week in Cuenca. Unfortunately, the British boys took off for Peru at the end of the week, but my American friends and some of the British girls are still here. We also have a few more American students as well as a group of students from France. We have not hung out with the newbies all that much yet, but tonight is our first salsa class, so we shall see...
Also, Taylor and his dad get direct TV this week, so we´re planning on having a party at his place on Saturday to watch the Michigan/Ohio State game, so stay tuned...
This past week was largely spent getting to know the city and the people, and spending time with my new friends. The friends I made this week consisted of two girls from Massachusetts (Kristen and Sarah), a guy from Florida (Taylor), three British guys (Fahim from London, Andy from Scotland, and Gordy from Northern Ireland), and a girl from London named Jen.
The week started off kind of slow, as I was still getting to know everyone, but on Wednesday we had our first salsa dance lesson, and there´s no better way to get to know a group of people. That night, Taylor, Sara, Kristen, and I went out for dinner to this Italian place. The food is so-so, but the owner is incredibly nice and gives us incredible deals on everything. Here are some pictures of Kristen, Sara, and Taylor acting silly at dinner that night:
On Thursday evening, we once again had a salsa class. Later that night, the British and the Americans finally came together for dinner. We went to this great Colombian place for dinner, and we went out for drinks afterwards. That night devolved into the telling of horribly inappropriate jokes, but hey, at least we were doing our part to bridge the cultural divide between the yanks and the brits. The rest of our week was spent rehashing the inappropriate jokes, as well as quoting scenes from Ali G, particularly Borat (unfortunately, the movie is not yet out here).
We loved the Colombian place so much that we decided to go there again on Friday night. It was pretty much the same crowd, but this time Jen joined us. After dinner, we decided to go karaoke-ing, which ended up being a blast. The Ecuadorians just loved it when we sang English songs. Among the songs we sang that night were: Britney´s "Baby One More Time," Four Non Blondes´"What´s Going On?," "My Sharona," "Sweet Caroline," the "Macarena," and more. Here is a picture of Taylor and Kristen singing away:
Here is a picture of Gordy singing (from what I´ve been told, a rare phenomenon nowadays, given that he´s been kicked out of karaoke clubs on multiple occasions in the past):
And here is a picture of Andy and Fahim watching, awe-struck:
After leaving the karaoke bar, we went to some hole-in-the-wall (literally, a hole in the wall, not a restaurant) place where Taylor and Kristen picked up some food. We were sitting outside while they ate when a drunk and most likely mentally ill man came up to us and tried to steal my shoes. Good times.
On Saturday, I rallied the troops to go to a sports bar (in the rain, no less) to watch the Michigan/Indiana game, but to no avail. The first "sports bar" we went to was playing no sports (we didn´t even see TV screens), but was instead playing loud house music with flashing lights (yes, this was at 3:30 in the afternoon). The next sports bar we went to looked a bit more like a sports bar (or a TGI Friday´s), but they were not playing the game and could not find it. So, that venture was pretty much a bust, unfortunately. I was really looking forward to watching the game, and the British boys were looking forward to learning something about American football, which they currently have NO appreciation for.
On Saturday night, we all met at a place called Cafe Eucalyptus for salsa dancing (that´s the same place I went for my birthday with the girls when we were in Cuenca last). We were all a bit tired from the night before, but we rallied and actually ended up having a really fun night. Everyone said that Taylor and I tore up the dance floor with our salsa moves. As a result, Taylor and I have decided to take salsa classes separate from the school, since our salsa teacher doesn´t seem to have much more to teach us.
On Sunday, Taylor and I decided to have a "House" marathon. (Taylor lives in Cuenca with his dad, and they have a big screen TV with DVD player) . We are both obsessed with Hugh Laurie, and we both just needed to relax our brains with some American TV. We also ate pizza and ice cream. It was great.
That was about it for my first week in Cuenca. Unfortunately, the British boys took off for Peru at the end of the week, but my American friends and some of the British girls are still here. We also have a few more American students as well as a group of students from France. We have not hung out with the newbies all that much yet, but tonight is our first salsa class, so we shall see...
Also, Taylor and his dad get direct TV this week, so we´re planning on having a party at his place on Saturday to watch the Michigan/Ohio State game, so stay tuned...
posted by grapefruit at 11:55 AM
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