Arrived in my new home city

It has been a month since my last entry and although a lot has happened, I didn't think my preparations, packing and international flights would be of much interest to you readers.

I arrived in Ecuador on Tuesday. There are six of us English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) in the Fulbright program in Ecuador this year. We stayed in Quito for three days going to meetings, attending orientations and training sessions and taking care of business like setting up savings accounts. It was nice to be in a group but I was looking forward to going to the city where I will be living and teaching. I left the comfort of the group and the care of the Fulbright Commission this evening and took a flight alone to Cuenca.

The flight was uneventful and I was met at the airport by a driver whom the very helpful and kind program officer at the Fulbright Commission coordinated for me. The driver assured me that I would have a wonderful time in Cuenca and that I would be a great help to the students in my future classes. I was confused when he dropped me off because he seemed to be expecting something but I didn't know what it was. We'd just learned in our cultural training this afternoon that Ecuadorians are indirect and Americans are direct and this can be a cause of confusion. I experienced this within hours of the training and didn't know how to handle the situation. I emailed the program officer and I am sure she'll help clarify if I should have taken some kind of action (a tip or was I supposed to pay the guy? I thought that was taken care of when the reservation was made...) Anyway, I'm sure this is of no interest to you.

The hotel is great so far. I have my own little suite. There is a sign posted by the sink in the kitchen that reads, "DELICIOSA AGUA POTABLE DELICIOUS DRINKABLE WATER" but I'm skeptical. Tempted because my water bottle is almost empty but I don't think I'm ready to risk the tap water, however delicious it may be, quite yet.

On Monday I will meet with the people at the university who I will be working with. Until then I'm more or less on my own. That makes me nervous because here I am, thousands of miles from anyone who really knows me and I feel culturally clumsy and unfamiliar with nearly everything. On top of all that I have a recurring headache from the altitude and a bloody nose from the dry air.

Travel isn't all excitement and adventure. There's downtime, confusion, discomfort, and times when you find you'd really rather be someplace else. I'm on the verge of really good times, I can feel it. I'll start meeting people soon and making new, maybe even lifetime friends. For now I'm sitting alone in a hotel room and for better or worse, all I have is an internet connection. I'm tired, haven't eaten since lunch and it's my bedtime. I promise the next blog entry will be more positive.