Runs with shoeshine boys, tried to volunteer and failed, new folks in my apartment

Day 18

Okay, so to bring you up to speed, since Thursday. Not much actually happened on Thursday, besides 2 new people in my apartment, Susanna and Leo, an older couple from Seattle, they´re cool, and make the apartment seem a little less quiet. Friday, a bunch of us went to see a concert that had come recommended, with directions, from Luis. After walking for about half an hour in the rain, we found it. The concert, as it developed, was VERY Christian, and as interesting as the folk music and colourful costumes were, we left when we all got hungry, and a man that gave the appearance of being a Bible Belt Evangelist started raving on the stage. Gave in and we got pizza, mine had a face, photo on gallery. On Saturday, nothing much, except managing to leave my money at home when I went grocery shopping. Sunday, I went up to the Old Town, and after getting reasonably lost, found my way to the Plaza de la Independencia, where a stand-up comedian was having an impromptu show, and largely making fun of the foreigners in the crowd, not me though. On the way back home, I ran into 4 shoeshine boys, Jesus, Carlos, Juan and Caliche, 13, 13, 11, and 10 respectively, who ultimately wanted me to buy them dinner, and me not planning on much spending, hadn´t brought any kind of money with me. Yesterday, on a hope, I started volunteering at a daycare a little ways from my house, helping a teacher take care of 3 year olds. This, was pretty cool, and went today too, but have had to dump it because I haven´t got the energy to concentrate in my spanish classes, and as most of you know, it takes a lot of energy to take care of little kids. There was one, Emilio, who reminds me of my little brother, anti-authoritarian, and always getting in trouble because he has decided he´s not going to participate in what´s going on. Other than that, I managed to bake bread at my apartment last night, difficult, having no bread board or with one exception, any baking pans at all.

This brings us to today... they are electing representatives to the new National Assembly, whose job it will be to change the Ecuadorian Constitution, parties are very low key this week as a result, with a distinct lack of alcohol.