hey everyone! sorry it´s been so long since i last wrote! There´s been a lot going on. So since i havent written in over a month, i guess i have a lot to say!

Well, a few weeks ago, i had exams! I was kind of worried about those, but they actually went pretty well! i did what i could on all of them and then wrote notes to the teachers. They were very amused by this! And all of them were very nice and graded me on the work i did on their exams, and then on my spanish in the notes that i wrote to them, so i did pretty well and got through the exams without too much stress or even the threat of death under the workload, which i could never have accomplished in Houghton!

The next order of business to discuss is Thanksgiving. There was nothing really big going on for Thanksgiving, since they don´t celebrate it here. We were going to have a big rotary bash, but that didn´t end up working because i was sick =( I was really missing my family during that time because for me, Thanksgiving is big family time. So it was really weird not being with them! A couple days after Thanksgiving, i actually got to eat thanksgiving dinner, even though it wasn´t really THANKSGIVING dinner because it wasn´t thanksgiving, but oh well. It was delicious! definately one of the best thanksgiving dinners i´ve had. I really like stuffing in Ecuador, it was amazing!!! jaja. So that was a good time.

The next big event of course, was my birthday on December 3rd. We had a party at my school and ate lots of food. it was a lot of fun and i didn´t have classes, which was definately the best part! jaja. Then after school, i got to talk to my family for the first time on skype, which was really exciting. and Kier sang for me, which was like the best part of that conversation because I´ve really missed listening to her sing! I also loved being able to hear my mom and dad´s voices. I´d forgotten what they sounded like. But when i heard them they sounded just like i remembered and it was so good hearing from them!

After that was Quito Fest. A lot of things happen during Quito fest, it was a really big week and a really exciting one too! There were lots of parades, and soccer games, and Bull fights, and parties. And at my school we had games that we all participated in. they were a lot of fun. And my school had a few days off that week too because there was sooooo much was going on. It was a really fun week! I went to the champion ship soccer game with my family. it was between Quito and Cuenca, another city in Ecuador. It was a really exciting game, though i didn´t really know what was going on most of the time!

Now, I have one week until Christmas break, which will be 2 weeks and i´m soooo excited about. It´s definately time for a break from school! And Christmas and New Year´s are coming up! i´m so excited to see the traditions in ecuador for these holidays! For christmas, my family is going to the beach! it will be soooo different from Christmas at home! this is my first unwhite christmas! i´m not sure how i feel about that...but it´ll definately be a change and should be tons of fun! Also, for the New Year, apparently we dance around the house and burn dolls...jajaa that should be interesting to see! i´m going to another city in Ecuador with my sister and she´s going to show me all the different traditions! i´m really excited =)

At the beginning of January, i´m switching host families! I´m kind of sad that i have to leave this family. They´ve all been so nice to me and i know i´m going to miss them. But they´ve asked me to come back to visit them whenever i can, so i´m not too worried because i know i´ll see them. And i´m sure my next family will be just as kind and welcoming! and they´ll be able to show me different aspects of the Ecuadorian culture, will definately be cool. Also at the beginning of January, my brother Noell´s coming to visit me! i´m very very excited to see him! And to be able to show him Quito! Then, at the end of January, is the rotary trip to the Amazon! i´m really excited to go. i can´t wait to see the animals! and i hear they eat really strange things, like armadillo and ants that taste like lemon. omg, i´m just so stoked!

Here ends my blog entry for now. I´ll try to be quicker to write the blog about christmas and New Years!!