christmas

Hey all,
Merry christmas to you all.
The feeling here in Quito has not been christmasy at all. Its probably the mixture of a bit of summery rainy weather and just the fact that christmas is not so apparent here in the city. There are not decorations everywhere etc.

This week has been a little bit of ups and downs for me. I felt quite lonely this week as me and Dela weren´t working together, she was working later, and I didn´t have so many people that I really got along to talk to. Work was quite tiring this week as well, because me and Michael were alone in the project, the weather has been quite bad, I didn´t sleep well, was quite sick two days, one of which really spent in bed alone while it was the only sunny day out..its a bit of a rain-season here now.

But things are really good now again. I have been meeting up with an Austrian girl Helene and her friend from Germany Leoni and they are people that I really get along with. Leonis hostel is full of really nice people that I´ve also gotten to know, so I feel like my friendship circle is starting to expand a little. I also have started to feel more at home here, the city seems a little clearer to me now and thus I find myself taking small excursions here and there alone after work etc. It helps knowing where things are. The boy Eduardo who lives in my hostel and has studied classical music (piano) in Moscow and Stockholm is an absolute prodigy in piano, composes and plays so absolutely well. It is good to have these contacts as you would never find an isolated free classical music students concert here due to the lack of programmes..

I started taking salsa lessons this week too. It is really alot of fun, challenging, but really relaxing too after work. My teacher is called Patricio and is the stereotype of an energetic, good-natured, Latino man. Yesterday we went dancing with a group of people and it was great fun. Dancing alone as a girl just doesn´t exist here, even if you are in a group.. its just a different culture.
Whenever you are out, in the bus, in a taxi etc. people mostly start talking to. The prospect of getting to know "strangers" is just so much more likely here. I like that openness in this culture, as it is also not superficial, but quite sincere, you´ll probably not meet them again, but it is interesting to hear about different peoples lives and views.

Finland is perceived as the country of technology, flowers (?), and lonely independent strong women..

Yesterday I did get robbed with a knife. We were selling these origami games that the children make in a shoppingcentre and me not really knowing how to get home, took the wrong bus, ended up in an isolated end-stop with groceries and got robbed with a knife.. quite creepy, but the best thing to do is just to give your money straight away. Afterwards I had no idea how to get home, but a really nice taxi-driver took me home for much less than the trip cost.

Work has been pleasant as well though, I am starting to get to know the children better, the boys are much more open to me as well, I understand what they say better etc. Yesterday we organized a little christmas thing for them. It was a great improvement from the chicken claws dipped in soup with "brei" that they get sometimes..
Some of the children are quite aggressive sometimes, and as they are disciplined a little with slaps in the school too they take that example and practice it onwards.
Hm.
Okay this has been a very pragmatic overview of things I have done, as I haven´t written for a while. Today we are celebrating christmas with the big family of a man we work with.. should be interesting.

Hope you all enjoy your snowy(?) chirstmasy christmas.
Laura