......means great!

So, I've been here a week and a day so far.....and am finally starting to blog!
Just to fill everyone in, i am living in a town called Sangoloqui, just outside of Quito. The towns and cities that surround Quito (the capital of Ecuador) kind of remind me of Northern Virginia...ONLY in that they are all squished together and densely populated, so that you never know when one town ends and another begins!
Other than that, everything here is SO different, even from Nicaragua. Even though we live on the equator, the mornings, evenings, and nights can get pretty chilly. Quito is 2850m above sea level, and surrounded by gorgeous mountains on all sides, so it makes sense that things can get a little cold!
I live in a house with several other volunteers between "el choclo" (a huge colored corn statue) and "el monumento" (A tribute to an indigenous man who was famed for his extraordinary height.)
Sangoloqui itself is an interesting place to live, the houses are close together, and life can feel like it's moving kind of fast. The streets here are pretty rocky (literally) and there is litter everywhere. The houses aren't well made, and people seem to have a tendency to attempt to add a second or third floor, and then just give up. Basically, it's not very well developed, but i think that gives it great character!
So, here's what i'm doing here....
Teaching English! Who'd a thunk?
I take an hour bus ride, three times a week, to a town called San Juan, where i teach English for three hours to 8 kids ages 10-13. The experience has been completely amazing so far, and it's great to see what i can do with basically zero resources. My students are Paola, Leidy, Karla, Luis, Fernando, Marly, Ingrid, and another Luis! We pull a couple of benches to the space in front of the community center and get our learn on!
I am also volunteering at an orphanage called Jesus Divino in the mountains, as well as helping teach adult English at the manna library in Rumiloma on Saturdays.
There is so much more to say!!! But i'll leave you with this for now, and hope you all are well!!! Hope to fill you in on life here soon!!!
Besos! Ciao! (Yeah, they say ciao here instead of adios =)