g-chating with my the co-intern/roommate

12:24 PM Sharada: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-20008291-10391698.html

 me: I KNEW IT!

12:25 PM that was def. her this morning then..

  when we saw that huge crowd, and a guy with a microphone.

 Sharada: looking for Brad pitt

  yep

  for shizzle

 me: exactamente

12:26 PM i´m just going to give her a call and ask her if she can take us to the next orphanage she goes to

 Sharada: of course. soooo facil

 me: exactly  

But in all seriousness. I am DYING to go visit (and maybe volunteer at) an orphanage while I´m here in Ecuador. I guess if Angelina doesn´t pick up her phone, I´ll just have to do some other research.
-Another post coming up today.. with the traveling/sightseeing we did this past weekend!

first week situations

If you decide to read nothing else of this blog post, please read the next paragraph, because I greatly enjoyed that "situation"! The rest of the post may be a bit long (as I´ll be updating about my work, living situation, etc.) but please read if you have time! And I promise.. my other blog posts wont be as long!

Movies in Ecuador (situation)

Two nights ago, Sharada and I decided to go to the movies & eat some McDonalds after work. (No judgements please. I know it is very "American" of us to go to the movies.. but we've kind of been at a lost of things to do during the week, after work). Anyway we decided to see Sex & The City 2. (Well.. I decided, and begged Sharada to come with me. And she did! In return, I´m going to see Toy Story 3 with her). Let me tell you, if I ever decide to move to Ecuador.. the movie theater will be in the top 5 reasons why I decided to movie.(A picture of the theater is to the right) First off, I paid $2.25! Two dollars and twenty-five cents. Can you believe that? I was amazed! I think I may have drooled on the counter a bit. THEN the guy said, which seat do you want?. You get to choose your seat in Ecuadorian movie theaters! And then, a guy escorted us to our seats! As we´re watching the movie, there is a scene where someone is running, and a man behind us says, in english "Run Forrest, RUN." Hilarious. After the movie, (which I loved) we caught a taxi. Now if you remember from my last blog post, we didnt have the best experience in a taxi last time. So we were a bit on edge. Well that mood lightened as SOON as our young taxi driver started going 70mph. In my head I was thinking, "Dear God, please. I dont want to die in an Ecuadorian taxi" but for some reason, only laughter came out of my mouth. THEN, he began singing along to this (American) song, specifically saying "dang, yous a sexy fish." Needless to say, I had a HARD time holding in my giggles. And when we got home, he charged us the RIGHT amount of money, unlike the I´m-going-to-rip-off-the-americans taxi driver, we had last time. It was a good night!

Overall situation
I would say that we´re still in our "adjustment phase." I´ve been a bit up and down mood wise. But I´m hoping/praying things get better in the next week, and weeks to come. Also I read this awesome quote today. "Rather than being your thoughts and emotions, be the awareness behind them." So here´s my awarness: it´s week one, I´m going to stop focusing on all the difficulties that come with the first week, and realize that things will probably get better.

Work (situation)

So today marks my official full week fo work! I found out on Monday that my primary assignment was going to be updating their website. It needs alot of work, so I believe I have a hefty assignment ahead of me, which I´m pretty excited about! Sharada´s primary assignment is updating CARE Ecuador´s library by coding and organizing all of the books. I helped her and another intern do that task, until I had a meeting yesterday morning about how I can get started with the website! I have alot of graphic experience, and I have designed a website before, but I have never actually put it on the web! (My boss knows this). But today I was able to skype with a friend who designs websites, and she gave me a mini tutorial on how to use the program to edit/code the website! I still have to read up on a few tutorials. But I think I´m going to have a good handle on it soon!

Other things about work:

- In the beginning of the week, I was terribly shy around the office. My spanish speaking skills haven´t fully come back to me, so I simply decided to just not speak. hah! But I´ve been praying about it alot.. and today I had good conversations with the IT guy AND with coworkers during lunch! Little by little it´s getting better.. and all with the help of God!

-  Surprise. Coffee runs right through me here in Ecuador (just as it does in America). I feel like my coworkers judge me when I get up every 15 minutes to go to the bathroom. And they probably judge me even more when I do a 5 minute pee dance in my chair before each time! haha.

Living (situation)

As I said in my last post.. my host mom is legit! She is SO incredibly warm, and treats us like her adopted hijas! (daughters). Sharada and I each have our own room, which is nice! 

Travel (situation)

Sharada and I plan to do ALOT of sightseeing, traveling, and hopefully some volunteering! So stay tuned for pictures/videos/funny stories. We´re also hoping to find some more things to do during the week! (We admit, the past few afternoons were spent mostly at home, watching episodes of Friends, Dawson´s Creek, Greys Anatomy, & Project Runway).

Thats all for now. Sorry I dont have many photos to show you guys as yet! 
 I decided to leave my SLR camera in the states (at the risk of it getting stolen). So, all photos from here on out will be from my simple point and shoot camera. But that´s okay! Photos are photos, right?

Hasta Luego!

8 things I´ve learned so far in Ecuador

I´m too hungry and headache-y to write a "full out paragraph by paragraph" blog post. So here is an update via list.. EIGHT Things I´ve Learned So Far In Ecuador

1. People in the South (specifically Georgia) are NICE!
We spent 3 days in Atlanta at the CARE office training for our internship. And every minute I was utterly amazed by "Southern hospitality".. While in the hotel never once did I carry my own suitcase, the hotel workers always helped me. I got into a great conversation with my cab driver from the airport. I found myself watching (aka staring) at people on the subway.. becuase they were simply striking up conversations with each other. And the list goes on and on. Funny how simple politeness and kindness amazes someone from the "North"
2. I don´t know how to make a colon on a spanish keyboard.
So from now on when I want to type a smiley face it will be this =)   and the time will be this 1230.
3. Our host mom is legit.
She is amazing. So kind, so warm, and geninuely cares for us. She´s been hosting students since 1997, so she´s very experienced to say the least.
4. Taxis are only supposed to cost ONE dollar.
Sunday we ventured out of the house by ourselves to find an internet cafe. (Our host mom gaves us directions). After walking for awhile, we asked for directions at a hotel to make sure we were going the right way.The hotel guy told us to take a taxi because it was pretty far. So we get a taxi, and our driver starts to make small talk. The conversation leads to us being from the United States. In which his response is "Ohhhh. Son Americanos?" (you probably realize what happened next) 10 minutes later...Turns out the internet cafe is actually closed, so we ask the guy to take us home. We get to our street, and the driver charges us TEN whole dollars.We told our house mom when we got inside, and she kindly/lovingly scolded us, saying we paid WAY to much. The most you pay to get pretty much anywhere (the mall, internet cafe, movies, stadium) is 1 dollar. How does the saying go? "You live and you learn." Well, let me tell you.. I have lived and I have learned!
5. If you have to wake up crazy early..going to bed early ACTUALLY helps.
Yes, I know this is common sense. But I´ll be honest... last night was one of  the first time I actually experienced this. We had to wake up at 730 this morning. So last night I went to bed around 1045. Low and behold.. I woke up this morning BEFORE my alarm went off. And I was wide awake. Double bonus.
6. I´m an RA.. wherever I go.
Saturday night. My cointer/roommate Sharada and I were talking in my room. And I decided it would be a good idea for us to play a question icebreaker so we could get to know each other better. It worked!
7. Do not speak english while in the office.
There are about 3 people who speak english in our office (our boss, and two other interns). And even though they speak english.. we have been told ( that we are only to speak spanish! Our boss really wants our spanish to get better! And while its a bit difficult to speak spanish to someone who knows english..I know my spanish will improve via this method!
8. Keeping up with World Cup Soccer here is muy facil (very easy)
Everyone..and I mean everyone, watches it. Who do I want to win? Brazil, Ivory Coast, New Zealand or Chile. I have based this on little expertise of these teams.. so don´t judge me. I just simply like those countries!


I know this is kind of a lame first blog entry for ECUADOR. But really.. I just want to let ya´ll know that I´m alive. I´ll write something much more exciting next time! (I´ll include pictures too!) I´m off to eat. Adios!
(Yes I said ya´ll.... I just love those accents)

kind of important: blog url change

So I've changed this blog URL to:
fromtheworldwithlove.blogspot.com
(From the world, with love)


If you follow me on googlereader.. dont forget to subscribe to this new URL... otherwise you wont be getting any of my lovely Ecuador updates!

conversations with mom (6.6.2010)

(while watching  "the notebook" together on TV)
me: oh this part coming up is so sad
mom: oh yeah.....when he sees her in the restaurant
me: wow you know the movie well. nice job mom.
mom: well, it comes on TV 5,000 times
me: true story
mom: what's a true story?!     (with her tone voice slightly surprised b/c she thinks the movie might be based on reality)
me: no mom.... its a phrase.

love her.

My To Do List before Ecuador

I feel like I'm pretty notorious for to-do lists. And somehow I still find a way to make them during the summer. Aren't to-do lists supposed to stop, when the stressfulness of school goes away for two months? Oh well. Here goes:

1. Finish "Amanecer" (aka "Breaking Dawn" written in Spanish)

(Not going to lie, it's been a bit tough to get through. Especially since my  I'm-dont-have-a-schedule-therefore-I'm-in-a-funk-of-laziness mood lasts most of the day. But I'm determined to finish it!)

2. Take more photos.

(I've barely used my camera while I've been home)

3. Start listening to the 1000+ songs that I have yet to listen to on my itunes.

(I went through all my songs and realized there were 1111 songs that I had never before listened to! That's 1/3 of my music. I couldn't believe it.)

4. Figure out how I'm going to blog my Ecuadorian experience.

(I' would love to a picture-a-day type ordeal.. but I just found out the house I'm staying in wont have internet.. and while internet will be accessible in other places, it might be too hard to promise a post everyday.. so we'll see. Any suggestions?)

5. Find some feature articles online in Spanish (preferably from an Ecuadorian source), to get a feel for the style of writing.

(since I'll be writing them in Ecuador!)
6. Begin praying ALOT more for my time in Ecuador.
( I took some time to pray for Ecuador today. Specifically, I prayed through Psalm 143. It felt pretty awesome to use this psalm to trust God in my specific situation. You can pray with me... if you'd like)

just something..

Just something else I've fallen for recently...

http://1000awesomethings.com/
According to (this website): "When Neil Pasricha started his WordPress.com blog, 1,000 Awesome Things, he decided to highlight one awesome thing each weekday to help him keep a positive outlook."
So basically this guy's blog is dedicated to speaking about one simple, yet awesome thing per day. I decided to click the link... and 45 minutes later, I'm still reading each "awesome" thing, agreeing with every single one of them! Seriously, take a look for yourself, it'll put a smile on your face, instantly change your mood, and make you want to start looking for the simple things throughout your day!

Also, here's a video about his book  that was just published. Pretty sweet, if you ask me.