Lunch- Fear Factor Style

Well to start the day off I had yummy eggs for breakfast. The went out to the market to buy veggies and fruit with Ruth. I took some pictures but forgot that my memory card wasn't in...oops. The market had sooo many fruits, vegetables, meats and spices. The shelves are so high that they have stairs in between the rows. The food is also very cheap compared to US prices AND it's all grown locally and organic.

In the afternoon I helped Ruth cook lunch which was soup, rice with carrots and green beans and beef. After reading the title and then my lunch menu I know what you're thinking... why fear factor? We'll let me tell you what was in the soup. Turkey- that is, the gizzard, heart, lungs and liver of a turkey. I ATE MY WHOLE BOWL! I didn't really want to finish it because I was freaking myself out. The taste was fine, the meat isn't strong flavored and blends well in the soup. It was the textures that got me. Some pieces were very fatty, some felt as if I was eating a sponge and some were hard. It was an interesting lunch for sure, but now I can proudly say that I have eaten almost every part of a turkey.

After our late lunch we went to the "Our Body" exhibit in a not so nearby mall. If you haven't heard of the exhibit before it is a walk through science showcase where you can see about 15 cadavers and multiple body parts that have been preserved. Some bodies only show the muscles and then other display the tendons etc. It was really cool! All of the bodies were donated by people from Honk Kong so you could tell they were Asian unless they were only bones. It was kinda weird looking at real dead bodies that have been preserved but I really enjoyed it. The only bad part was that a massive smell of McDonalds swept through the exhibit... yeah, you don't really want to smell fast food while looking at dead bodies.

Sorry to Lurr and Mom! I had no idea how far away the exhibit was or that it would take 2 hours to go through! It sucks that my crappy phone can't text internationally or I would have warned you both that I would be so late. Skype tomorrow for sure.

Tomorrow I have three classes and I'm meeting my Ecuabuddy for lunch! The university has a system where Ecuadorian students can be mentors for internationals. My buddy is named Paul [with an accent on the "u" so it's pronounced pah-ool].

Today Ruth told me about 2 natural remedies that Ecudorians use for #1 hot flashed #2 sore throats. For hot flashes, you boil a fresh fig leaf in water for 30 minutes. Then you let it sit and cool and drink it before bed time. She said she's only had 2 hot flashes ever and the sort-of-tea is like magic. Second she boils ginger and honey with water and drinks it hot to sooth a sore throat.

I haven't really given a synopsis of my Ecuadorian family yet so I will catch you all up.

Ruth- She works at the Heath Company [Equal to our heath dept.]. She doesn't enjoy cooking very much so that's why we have the maid. She is so sweet, loves to feed me and she takes long walks in the park [seriously]. She 100% Ecutoriana (Ecuadorian)

Nelson- He works for (possibly owns) a pool, sauna, hot tub installment company. He travels a lot so I haven't spent much time with him. He is much tanner than Ruth and is part Colombian part Ecuadorian.

Veronica- She has her masters degree in digital arts. She is an amazing painter and a few of her paintings are hanging around the house. She loves extreme sports and is currently training for a three day mountain/jungle run. She has hiked the highest mountain in Quito before. Right now she works for the Peace Corp and she has studied in the US and about 15other different countries. She speaks English very well so that's why I have so much info about her.

Andres- He is currently working on his thesis in Civil Engineering so he doesn't have classes. He is mysterious and never really has an answer when I ask him things about himself haha. He made some kind of painting today so I assume he is in to art as well. One thing I do know is that he told me a "popular" expression that he said meant "oh my". The phrase is que bestia and Ruth told me today that it's actually a vulgar saying. Good thing I haven't used it in conversation yet... thanks a lot brother.

The south part of Quito is the poorer part

All of the little things below the mountain are houses. This area we drove by was HEAVILY populated

A cloud front began to creep over the mountains