Ay! What a week!

Ok ok, This first week is definitely unusual in terms of how much I will blog. The pueblo I live in has no wireless, and only two spots for internet. However, next week I will begin classes at my university and there is indeed wireless there. So, starting monday I can upload pictures (I arlready have over a hundred) and blog much more frequently.

Things have been overwhelming, beautiful, really cool, and fun so far. Right now there is a huge 4 day festival going on in my town celebrating the 473 anniversary of Lumbisí, my pueblo. From killing and cooking over 300 chickens, to massive amounts of fireworks, to the traditional dance that my group of university students somehow ended up taking part in, it is a crazy time here. Rafael Correa, the president of the country of Ecuador just finished speaking in the stadium in Lumbisí. One thing I did not realize was how politically charged this semester is going to be in this country. Correa re wrote the constitution, and there will be a vote from the public at the end of September. Things are heating up, because the constitution has a strong socialist bent, very anti-foreign countries (mainly US). Some things that would change would be:
-legalizing abortion in some cases
-expulsion of all foreign military bases
-shutting down all private schools (including the university I will be attending, one which Correa himself was educated and taught at)
-and other things I need to learn about myself

Basically, the opposition is a mix of Catholic priest and students from the private catholic university. They disagree with Correa for obvious reasons. I will of course keep you all posted on this situation. Another thing is that voting is compulsory here, so everyone must vote! Makes things a bit more interesting than the States, eh?

In the following posts, I will talk about my family and volunteer work because I will show you pictures. For now, know I am safe and happy, but only a week here and I realize how important my own family and friends are to me. I really want to begin classes, to learn, to stay busy, and get moving with the semester. More on Monday, te prometo (I promise you)

Ciao!