Homestay and Spanish Classes

I have now been in Quito almost 4 days and am starting to learn my way around and slowly beginning to understand Spanish, or as the locals say... "poco a poco" (little by little). The hardest part is not being able to express my thoughts because I don't have the words I need.

The school is about a 20 to 30 minute walk from my house. It takes longer in the morning because I have to cross 3 busy streets and during traffic that is not an easy task. The primary reason is that Ecuadorian drivers don't always obey traffic signs and signals. Also, Quito is currently in a draught and their power is primarily hydro-electric. Therefore, to save water and energy, the city turns the power off in certain sections of the city at different times during the day. This means that when I walk to school some of the traffic lights are bound to be off, which increases the difficulty of crossing.

So far, most of the day is lived in Spanish, which I assume is the best way to learn the language. The family I am staying with only speaks Spanish, the school only teaches in Spanish, and to get around I need to use Spanish. It has been difficult, but is necessary to learn. I have been very focused on school and learning so far, and have yet to explore outside Quito, but plan to very soon. The city is very polluted and I can't wait to get into the fresh mountain air of the Andes. I will keep everyone posted.

Thanks for reading and hasta luego!