lunes, 16 de enero de 2012

About a week after being here...

    Time for another entry. Since the last entry, I have now attended all my classes, taken more crazy buses, and visited both the historical and actual Equators.
    First, I think I will talk about my classes. My classes for this semester are Ceramics, Photography, Spanish Phonetics, and Social Problems of Ecuador ( a far cry from the Organic Chemistry and Biology that consumed my life last semester). Not to mention, if you hadn't guessed, my schedule for this semester is a mere 12 credits, another change from the 18 I would take in the United States. Anyways, I love all my classes, even though at times they may seem difficult due to the language difference. Oh yeah, but my Social Problems class is in English. The teacher who teaches the Spanish version wasn't teaching it this semester, but the English is a nice relief since I have that class at 4:00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Also, this semester, I did not have to buy any textbooks for my classes. A nice way to save money. =) However, Photography will cost some money, since I have to buy special paper and other things when I turn in my projects. 
    The buses continue to be as packed as usual. This past week, for the first time, I had to stand on the bus from Cumbaya (where my school is located) to the Rio Coca station in Quito. Not that standing is bad, but when the bus driver is going around turns at speeds that we in the United States wouldn't dream of (on a mountain nonetheless), it is almost inevitable that you will have trouble keeping your balance. This was exactly what happened to me. I never actually fell down, but came close several times. I don't think I mentioned this before, but I have to take two buses to school and two buses to get back home. The total cost of all four buses: $1. Can you believe that? 
    This past Sunday, I went with a few of my friends to see the Equator. We first went to the historic one, which is not exactly the real Equator. This was the line that was determined back several hundred years ago. However, with GPS technology, they realized that this historic line was actually 240 meters off from the actual Equator. (Not bad though considering the technology back then.) After seeing the historic site, we walked to the place that had the GPS verified line. It was a really cool place though, because it had an outdoor museum that talked about various parts of the indigenous cultures of not only Ecuador, but other parts of Latin America. (We chose the option of receiving the tour in Spanish since we are here to learn it. =P) They also had some pretty cool experiments to show the competing forces of the two hemispheres. These included that water going down the drain will rotate in opposite directions depending on the hemisphere you are in and that it is very hard to keep your balance while walking with your arms out on the Equator line. Not to mention, I saw the same type of hummingbird there that I had seen at my school, and I actually got a photo of it. (I will post it later; I know it may not be the best photo, but it is not easy trying to get a picture of a hummingbird.) 

   Well, that is all for now. I will try to post again within a week of this entry. =) As we say to each other in Ecuador, chao!! (Bye) 
 


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