Muchas Cambias

Changes, changes, changes...My life here is going to look very different in a few short days. Some of the new things have started already. For example, last week a new set of volunteers (for the month of October) arrived and began orientation. Then my closest volunteer friend, Phillipp, left for Argentina. My last day of work at the Secret Garden will be Thursday or Friday. I am thinking of taking a few days to travel outside of Quito, but I'm not sure if that will work out or not. Also last week I met a family who would love to have me live with them for a few months. I found out about them through a woman who works in the restaurant at the hostel. She took me to meet them and see their home. It's a 10-15 min. walk from the hostel--still in the old part of town. Their apartment is on the side of a hill/mountain which makes for amazing views of the city. I will have my own room and bathroom (currently being fixed up for me) and I will eat all three meals with the family. In the apartment are three adults and two children. Maggie is the mother of the family and she has a son Juan Fernando and a daughter Alexandra. Juan Fernando has a daughter, Allison, who is eight and Alexandra has a daughter who is four. They are a lovely family, so nice and easy to be around. The kids seem to love having a new person around and they always ask me how to say words in English. I need to make sure that they speak Spanish to me though! That's the point! So I will move into their home in a week or so--whenever the room is ready to be lived in. Another new thing in my life is that today was my first day as a "profesora de ingles." I found out about a pediatrician who needs to learn English so that he can understand medical conferences. Today, I went to his office for the first lesson. He knows some English so we just spoke about his life so that I could get a better feel for what level he is at. He is a very friendly man and I'm looking forward to having him as a student. He is really eager to learn. I have also heard about a job at the Hilton Hotel in Quito that would be writing letters in English and reading and translating English mail. I haven't heard back from the contact person yet, but I think it would be good to have a couple different types of work. Anyway, that's my story for now. There will be many more changes and adjustments in the weeks to come. As for the pictures, I can't take all the credit. The two of the views from the terrace of the Secret Garden are mine, but the other three (the one's that are professional looking) are my friend Phillipp's photos. Well, I think that's about it. Until next time. Ciao!