I MADE IT :)

Hola mis amigos!

I made it, finally! I am so happy. My flight to Houston went really well. I met up with OUS students who were on the same flight as me. On the flight, I sat next to an older couple on the plane and the wife and I started talking. I told how excited I was to go on this trip. She noticed my sweatshirt and told me her and her husband went to U of O also! She actually grew up in Eugene, and her husband grew up in Portland. They lived in Houston for a few years and so they were returning to visit friends. We talked for a very long time about how important going abroad is. We live in a bubble in the United States, and it's good to get a new perspective.

We had a three hour lay over in Houston. Me and two other OUS students ate lunch together, and then we waited at the gate where more OUS students met up with us. The flight to Quito was about five hours long. I sat next to an Ecuadorian about my age. He told me I'm going to love it and have a great time. His English was very good. I hope my Spanish becomes as good as his English! My host parents and an uncle were there at the airport to pick me up. They were so kind and made me feel very welcome. The father and uncle speak English so I was very comfortable. As I went to put my seat belt, they were like "Oh, you don't have to wear it if you don't want to. It's not a law. In Quito it is illegal to drive over 50 km per hour." (50 km is about 30 mph). So, I didn't wear my seat belt (sorry mom and dad). We got home at around midnight. My host mom made me tea and showed me my room. I slept so well last night. I'm so happy to be here. It's now 1 pm my time, and for the past hour my host sister and I (Sofi, seven years old) have been watching Spongebob and playing chess and checkers. She is so sweet and laughs at everything. Andres, my host brother who is twelve, was very helpful and kept looking things up in the dictionary to talk to me. This morning I had a scrambled egg with blackberry juice, it was so delicious.

Today in a couple hours, the international students are meeting up for coffee. I'm excited to see what the other families are like!

Love,
Audrey