Keeping lists

So, every day I've been here, I have kept lists of words to look up and things to think/write about. The list of words I had to look up from English to Spanish were: exciting (emocionante), plain (liso or sencillo), flat (llano), and scary (espeluzante). While looking up words, I stumbled across an English word I had never before encountered: "thingummyjig." Thin gummy jig? Like a lean dance made of gelatin? What? But the translation to Spanish were cosa and cosita, which mean "thing." I started saying the mystery word out loud: Thingummyjig? Thingummajig? OH! THING-A-MA-JIG!!! OH, I GET IT! YAYYY GINA!

My list of topics to discuss were as follows: "coffee level, how tired I am, driving, notebooks, slow/fast life, guarding, when JI arrives, my accent." Some are just one-sentence-ers, and some are actually kind of interesting. First, coffee level. I have had coffee at least once every day, and while the coffee content is always the same, the water level keeps going down. So today, I had about three shots of very, very strong cafe. Second, I am very tired all the time. Seriously, all the time. By the time Rosita and I finished registering my visa I was ready for bed. To my dismay, it was 11AM, and I had woken up at 815AM. Excellent. Sidenote, on the way home from visa registration, a man got his hand caught in the autobus door hinge! It was horrible! He was yelling and everyone else was yelling and eventually he got his hand out, mostly unscathed.

Anyway! Third, I have tried five stores (one papeleria, two bookstores, and two office supply stores) and cannot find a notebook. Okay, I can find notebooks, but they all have a gazillion pictures and drawings on them! Hello Kitty, showboarders, flowers, Jesus, clothing, Steve Tyler... do they not make boring notebooks in Ecuador? I like boring school supplies! I just want one that's red, or blue, or green. Maybe it has a little logo on it somewhere. Maybe it even has polka dots. I just don't want one that looks like Ed Hardy jeans (seriously, I saw one like that).

"Driving" and "slow/fast life" kind of go together. Everyone here drives like a lunatic. No one stops at stop signs, people will seriously just run you over, and I can't tell if everyone has the right of way or no one has the right of way. That ties into lifestyle, which is faster than I imagined. Everyone talks fast, walks fast, drives fast... I suppose day-to-day life itself is slower paced, with more time for enjoying oneself, but damn, everything is fast. Actually "guarding" goes with the theme of cars in general too. Ecuador is full of people guarding things. There are guards all over the street, watching people's cars (and you have to tip them), and men in riot gear at each bank, and a few dudes in front of each store at the mall, just hanging around waiting for someone to try something shady. It's taking some getting used to.

"JI" is Jose Ignacio, Rita's son who is in DC right now. He returns tonight on the same plane I arived on. And I decided that everything will be easier once he gets here. I will know how I'm supposed to act (do I wait to eat with Rosita? Do I come downstairs already showered or can I walk around in my PJs? How should I act around...people? Can I shut my bedroom door?... the list is endless) and I'll have someone my own age to talk to. Plus, the house won't feel so empty.

Last on my list is my accent. I am so self-conscious when I speak Spanish, which is stupid, because no one expects me to be an expert, but I get super nervous anyway. For instance, today I told Rita, "Fui a una papeleria hoy y tiene los mismos," which means, "I went to a paper store today and they have the same ones," referring, of course, to notebooks. And I tried my hardest to remember everything I learned in SPN330, but I know I sounded like a doof. Like, if I was trying to tell someone the same thing in English, it would probably sound like "Ey weent t'day too ah paypoor stur en da saim juans dey haff." Ughhhhhhhhh, I wish I had a certificate that said, "Gina E. R. Rome is not a complete idiot. She is very intelligent and very cool, so don't be confused or offended by anything that comes out of her mouth. Signed, Barack H. Obama." Whatever, I just have to practice.

That's it. There's a party tonight that I thought was cancelled, but it isn't. I don't know if I'm going to go or not. Classes begin tomorrow!!!

Love,

Gina.