Tomorrow is the first day of school! I don’t have a very good idea of what classes I am taking, but I have several I am going to go to tomorrow and see what they are like. The first to try is Rural Sociology, at 8 am! This is resulting in an early wake up, and the cause of me not finishing Memoirs of a Geisha which was pretty hard to understand anyway, because it was a mixture of Spanish and Japanese and very dark.
Yesterday we had orientation with all the other extranjero students at USFQ. It started at 745, so ñaño and I just had grilled cheese and hot chocolate for breakfast, and then ran across Elijido, because his school starts early too. The orientation was. Not nearly as boring as these previous days, mostly because there were new people to watch as they got bored. There were some really interesting talks, including an international relations professor explaining the last ten years of Ecuadorian politics (about every three years, the people gather on this one avenue and oust the president. That’s just how it works). We also had a talk about staying healthy, which included three (3) photos of people holding up roundworms that they had…uh…passed through their digestive systems. And then the guy told us that roundworms only happen to like one in 10,000 people. Then why did you show us three pictures?
After a break, we got a special talk by Special Agent Mike Pearlt. Mike Pearlt is in charge of the US embassy in Quito, and he considers “irresponsible, drunk college students like you” his primary concern. He spoke to us at length about all the crimes that could befall us. I learned about a ton of new crimes, like the “sequester express” where they drive you around in a taxi taking your money, usually after they pop out of the trunk or the “condiment scheme.” I’ll only explain that one in private. Mike Pearlt’s talk was sprinkled with machismo and scary surprises to remind that “we are not in Kansas anymore.” Two of the best: “You know this is the third world when they only have five bullets. I never go out with less than 40.” And “They caught 5 of the 6 perpetrators of the assult. Oh yeah, it was a gang rape.” He just threw in tidbits like that.
Soon after Mike Pearlt had stereotyped and scared everyone, we were released. Most of my group went to lunch with some guide-ish USFQ students and their friends. We went to lunch at a place called “Palacio de Frito” (fried palace) and the specialty was “Fritada completa.” Jacobo and I shared one (he got all the pork, I got all the corn) and it was still more than enough. Walking over to the restaurant, I had a very awkward incounter. One of the people in our group was a 5th year odontologo (dentistry) student from Venezuela. I was chatting with him about moving to quito and stuff like that. Here’s how it went.
Dita: So, what type of dentistry interests you most?
Dentistry Student From Caracas: Umm, aesthetic dentistry.
D: Oh, like braces?
DSFC: yeah, and whitening and stuff
• (first of all, that’s boring as hell, but to each his own)
D: Haha, I used to have braces, but now my teeth are all messed up
DSFC: Why aren’t you wearing your retainer?
D: It broke…
DSFC: Let me look at your teeth.
D: Haha, no, we are walking down the sidewalk of a busy road, I don’t want to.
DSFC: LET ME LOOK AT YOUR TEETH
(D opens mouth)
DSFC: Wow. You have really messed up teeth. Do your gums bleed a lot? You need to get your teeth cleaned.
(Three weeks previously: D has teeth cleaned)
D: I don’t think I would get braces again, its just too much
DSFC: (Eight minute lecture on how braces work, including physiological and pretty graphic terms)
D: Wow, that’s interesting. I study sociology
(Silence for the remainder of the walk, until D runs away to complain about this to her friends)
FIN.
Uh so that was that. Later that night, some buddies came over, and we bought a lot of bread, and gossiped and drank this weird cane liquor called Zhumir. It tastes like “liquid jolly ranchers” ( I don’t think so, I think it just tastes like vodka and flat soda) and everyone here is obsessed with is. It was nice to show my Ecuamami that I have friends. She said a really cute thing about it this morning. I asked if we were too loud and she was like, “No, as soon as Grey’s Anatomy was over and Private Practice came on, I fell right asleep. That show is so boring.” She also said “I like your friends. They speak Spanish in front of me, they seem well read, and none of them smoked in the house.” She has low, but specific requirements.
Today was a pretty simple day. I had volunteered to help file our Visas, so I met up with a program leader and 4 other kids at 10. We each brought five envelopes with visas, passports, and papers like that to some kind of office building that was like a combination DMV and Embassy. Basically sat around, then talked to a pencil pusher for 5 minutes. Went home and had lunch with Ecuamami and Lil. I’m calling her Lil because her name is a dimuinutive. Anyway, she’s the housekeeper, she comes by once a week or so to mop and stuff, and her an Ecuamami’s relationship is very unclear. She ate breakfast and lunch with us, but she did the dishes. But then she gave Ecuamami some money….? She has a daughter, three years old, with Down’s Syndrome, who goes to a special school near here. Also, Ecuamami was getting her bed fixed, and the guy was like “why are there all these marks on your bedframe?” And she was like “the lady who cleans my house, her daughter was biting the bed.”
We went with Lil to the special school, which is sort of like a therapy center. It was really nice and advanced-seeming, and I’m thinking about doing my ICRP there. Also, Lil’s daughter was adorable and sleepy.
After that, I took the bus to this mall/ downtown place, and went ice skating with the Zhumir crew. One of those things you don’t expect to do in Ecuador, but it was only three dollars, great exercise, and really fun. I took the bus the clinic (where Ecuamami works, and Malcolm and his madre live), and just chilled out there for a while, looking around and watching the turtles and fish they have in tanks in their waiting room.
There was a poster on the wall for some sort of appliance, and I read the poster, and it described all my jaw symptoms. I said to Ecuamami, I think I have that (they call it ATM) and she sat me down in the chair, and got a mirror fresh from the sterilizer (no gloves, but we’ll ignore that), and was like, Yeah, you really do have a messed up jaw due to your cross bite, your steep hard palate and your tongue pression. I’ll do acupuncture on you to help your cartilage heal, and we can order you an appliance and that’ll cost 70 dollars here, but only 40 if you get it in the states do you want your other ma to send it to you?
Woah, that was easy. I didn't even have to make an appointment. To thank her, I made dinner (a salad) and kept out of the way while her friend who is getting divorced is discussing legal issues in the living room.
Man, this lady is capable. It makes me happy that I went from one house with a strong woman to another. I’m not sure if that has anything to do with it, but I’ve been feeling very happy lately. I’m not sure if its because I don’t have much to do each day, or the altitude, or maybe I’ve finally gotten to a brain chemistry that doesn't hate itself, but I’ve been feeling calm and strong and not guilty like 80% of every day, which might be a new record. I;ve stopped apologizing for being late, just roll with it. I don’t let myself obsess about saying the wrong thing or in the wrong tone. I let myself worry about it for like 30 seconds, and then let it go. And I’m smiling a lot too, at cute kids on the bus, at the sky, at goofy signs, and friends, and when I think of a great thing to write down.
My hand is starting to hurt. Instead of worrying aobut my risk of chronic carple tunnel, I’ll just take it as a sign that its time to go to bed.
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