Friday I went to translation class and there were two more people in it- yay it won’t be cancelled! The teacher was late and when he came in to find a new student he went off to get a copy of the syllabus and assignment for her. While he was gone another new girl came in so when he got back he had to leave again. It was strange, but funny. We read out autobiographies in class and Dita, one of the new girls, told me as we left that she liked GBS several years ago but had never seen them live. I told her about 'the family that stalks together...' and that she should definitely see them live.
Then I went to the tiny, confusing book store to get my books and course packs. The books are listed by subject and that's it. You basically need to know the name of the book or your professor's name to find the right one. I didn’t see my course packs but I didn’t look that hard. I found my photography book, aptly named Photography, and since I needed it for class on Monday decided to get it. I got some money out of the ATM before I came in but was hoping to use my credit card so I would have money for the Otavalo market this weekend. I waited in line and once I got up there the lady said, only Visa. And I was like, this is Visa. And she said, oh I mean only Diners. Apparently Ecuadorians only use Diners Club International cards and not Visa or MasterCard. So I had to pay $99.99 in cash. My penny change just seemed ridiculous. I left feeling cheated and called Guadalupe who was coming to pick me up. I waited outside for 20 before she finally showed up.
When she got there we went to Tumbaco to get me some new glasses. It was a little shop in the mall and the lady must have thought I didn’t speak Spanish because she kept struggling to speak English to me. She even asked Guadalupe to come in and translate for her at one point. She didn’t because she knew I understood. The whole thing seemed really rushed though. I feel like she just sped through the whole exam. I was certainly no Woodstock Eye Care. Then when we went to pick out frames the lady kept picking out purple and blue metal frames for me, the kind that are only on the top. Ugh. I finally told her I like plastic which got her on the right track. A lot of them seemed too wide for my face and too square for my liking. Finally she showed me some purple-y pink ones that I liked the shape of. I asked if there was a different color but she said no. Then it seemed like all the sudden she was ringing them up! When I tried them on I liked them but when they were sitting on the desk and she was writing it all down I started to panic. They looked really pink. I don’t get them until Thursday so I’ll be worrying about them all week.
From there we stopped to get half a roast chicken for Guadalupe and me to share for lunch. We also had potatoes and salad. After lunch I took a little nap and then started reading my priceless photo book and playing around with my camera. It was Bianca’s 21st birthday so I was waiting for word on what was happening that night. I got a call from Chris saying that Maria Teresa was having a little dinner party for Bianca and we’d be going out to the Mariscal after. Then I got a call from Danielle saying that Betty was in the hospital. So dinner was pushed back since Maria Teresa was at the hospital, taking care of business- and Betty.
It took a long time for Danielle and me to figure out what to do and how to get there. We didn’t know Maria Teresa’s address or when they’d get there. Eventually Danielle called a taxi that was to pick Emily T and me up along the way to Maria Teresa’s house. Apparently though, Danielle told him all the directions at once so he just went straight to Maria's neighborhood and they had to go back to pick us up. Then when we made it to the neighborhood we didn’t know Maria’s last name or actual address so we couldn’t get in. Emily ended up calling Andres and having him spell his last name for us. We apologized several times to the cab driver but he still charged us eight dollars which is a little excessive.
Maria Teresa’s house is gorgeous. The front door could fit a truck through it and she has three sitting areas on her back porch alone. When we got there everyone else was at the giant dining table on the porch eating kebabs. Maria squeezed in some chairs for us and we ate baked potatoes, kebabs, chicken breasts and fresh fruit. It was delicious. All of the food was cooked on the built-in outdoor grill. It was so nice. After eating we called cabs and made our way to the Mariscal. It was packed by the time we got there around 10:30.
Bianca got a couple free cumpleaños shots at random expensive bars and then we went to chupitos- which means shots. Just about everyone bought Bianca a shot there. We both did a shot that was on fire- that was ridiculous. You had to drink it with a straw, obviously so you don't set your face on fire, but at the end you kind of drink the fire. Again, ridiculous! Then we went to a club called glass but it looked more like someone’s basement. We think it may have been a mob front though because there was a mafia looking guy sitting at the bar angrily watching everyone.
We danced there a little to the American music they played and left after another half hour or so. By then some of us were ready to go home given we had to be at the university by 8:30 the next morning. So we called Zack’s Lumbisi dad to drive us home. Since we had so much time until he got there we were debating if we wanted to sit at the Coffee Tree to wait. We knew sitting would entail buying something but we didn’t want to just stand around. So we sat down and Chris asks for ‘un menu?’ raising a finger and her voice simultaneously. We all burst out laughing while she hid her face from the confused waiter. Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, a woman was handing out menus. Danielle and I ordered mochaccinos and we got an order of fries for the table. Apparently they don’t pick the potatoes until you order them because it took forever to bring out a bowl of French fries. By the time they came out we had to scramble to eat the fries and count change for the bill because of course, our taxi was there. So we squeezed 6 people in the cab and made it home fine. I forgot my key so I had to buzz in. I felt bad. Apparently my brother Pato went out with three American girls that night and Guadalupe thought they were with my group. I don’t think she knew there were groups from other schools at the university too.
Hasta luego,
Caitlin
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