FIRST WEEK IN GUAYAQUIL

MONDAY

So despite a short sleep, I once again leapt out of bed around 7.15am. It will be great if I am able to keep jumping out of bed like this all year, but I expect I’ll become my sleepy self again once I’ve settled. After a normal breakfast, Colby came round and Nizida drove us to UEES. The main gate entrance requires ID cards for being let in through the automatic gate, so for now we need to go in through the visitors reception section. 

The UEES main campus area.

On the campus we found most of the other internationals already there, and it was great to see the international family again, yay! Good to see Angelike and Andrea too. I caught up with most people, swapping stories about our homes and families, no exciting stories though i.e. cruel savages making them starve, drug-runners, etc. Probably because it was so early, there were not many native students to be seen yet and it was quite empty. Once everyone was there we had the group picture taken.

Welcome International Students Fall 2013!

Then it was time for a tour around Guayaquil which lasted about 2 hours. We were split up again into the two language groups, not in coaches this time but in the mini UEES shuttle buses. A couple of student volunteers from UEES helped out as well. Driving across the bridge from Samborondon to mainland Guayaquil, it really is like a different city. We got taken across various places of the city.

We went to a park where there were some turtles. Notice the turtle love in the background.

Our UEES bus, they run on a schedule from morning to night so we can take them from Entre Rios to university/vice versa.

A couple of areas we were told not to stray away from the group, or else we’d instantly get robbed or kidnapped or something.

Djibril

This place is called Las Peñas. There are 444 steps which lead up to a lighthouse, and the first half of them are surrounded by bars. Sounds like a place well worth visiting on the weekend, don't you think?

Our group, with a Chinese student (on the right) who half-studies Spanish at UEES. 

Chicos!

Pepe

Djibril

We passed the other group at the bottom of Las Peñas, so we took another picture of our wonderful group.

This pathway by the river is called Malecon. There's a few places to eat/drink around here, honestly the river doesn't look too nice it has that grey look you can find in England but this could be a nice place for a stroll in the evening.

Me probably frightening the Mexican girl Carmen.

William, the Chinese guy who is not an official UEES student but apparently can take a Spanish class there (not sure what his deal is) and Pepe, on the UEES bus.

Downtown. Walking through the streets here it definitely feels a little chaotic; loud cars, loud people, and seeing the crazy-looking public buses (packed with people and seeing them having to jump off) makes me appreciate Samborondon more. You can see an UEES bus here, presumably driving students to UEES.

Guayaquil's iguana park.

Being farted on?

A fellow UEES student.

We got taken back to UEES, where most of us would get collected by our host families for lunch at home. Colby’s host mum was meant to pick us up but she was running late so I chilled at the café Baru with one of the volunteers Katherine. She lives far away and has to travel for an hour or more to get here, making me feel even more thankful I live so close. The Chinese guy William showed up as well, and I talked with him for a bit. Still not really sure what his deal is, guess his English is not too good, but he seems nice. Eventually I met with Colby and we got driven back to our homes. Lunch was rice and chicken. I’m starting to see a pattern with rice at meal times. Also, the house had about 4 other women there working with Nizida, and the TV appears to be on without anyone watching it.

I basically had an hour to chill, then got taken to UEES again for a tour of the campus and for registering for our classes. I’m surprised we even had to do this since I already had mine but apparently some people did not. The tour was fairly short since UEES is not too big, but it is quite nice. A lot of areas for sitting down to relax and chill, or even study. Also, iguanas can be seen crawling around at times before climbing (surprisingly fast) up the palm trees. This is a private university and has quite a rich reputation, as I had been told over the summer when I met an Ecuadorian guy in Spain. Apparently there is a stereotype that you must be quite well off if you attend here, especially because the average student here studies for about 6 years or so. Anyway my favourite location of the university is probably the swimming pool, which we were told is mostly used by just internationals for some reason (maybe because a lot of students here are rich and have their own pools?).

We had a while to chill while people sorted out their classes. Our term is divided into two bimesters per term. Apart from the Mexicans, we have all been put in the ICP programme which is basically a programme for where all classes are in English (Ecuadorians can also take these classes), apart from one Spanish class which we are placed in depending on our language level. Beginners to advanced classes are for learning the language, then those of us who are fluent or near-fluent are placed in Proyectos Especiales (Special Projects). So my two classes for now until November are Institutions In Society and Proyectos Especiales. I don’t really know what the content of the two classes are, just that the Institutions class is apparently linked to our internships and deals with the culture of Ecuador so that should be interesting. Internships start next week, and the routine should be that we go to them in the mornings, then back to our host homes for lunch, and then to UEES for classes.

Spanish classes start on Wednesday, but the rest started today. Institutions was on at 9pm, until 10.20pm. None of us have ever had classes that late so it was quite surprising, but Nizida did warn me. Classes last only 80 minutes, and are from Monday to Thursday. So I had about four hours until my class. We also met Karina, the third member of the international office team. She deals with outbound students from UEES, Ecuadorians who go abroad rather than us coming abroad to Ecuador.

A couple of Ecuadorians guys were already lurking around only interested in making conversation with the female internationals so we just glared at them, then me and Esau headed off to get something to eat. Jieun the Korean/Canadian girl approached us asking if any of us spoke English, she truly thought I was Mexican! Anyway, eventually a little group of us went out behind the university to eat at one of those Bhundeo places. A plan was already made to head to Esau’s place after classes to have a few beers, naturally.

Eventually 9pm came around so I went to this class. There was about 15 of us, the only ones doing internships. Aside from myself and a couple of Frenchies, it was all people from the English speaking group so a fairly gringo class. I was sat behind the two Korean girls (as in the two super Korean girls), and made conversation with them since I never spoke to them during orientation week. Actually  they were the only ones I had not spoken to. The one directly in front of me was Solbi, who I knew shared a room with Karla. The other was Victoria. I thought that was a pretty un-Korean name until I realised that’s just her English name, her real name is Woljin. Solbi is easy enough to pronounce and remember so she doesn’t have an English name. I need a cool Asian name.

The teacher basically asked us all to discuss in partners what service-learning means. This is a method that combines classroom instruction with meaningful community service (i.e. our internships). I partnered with Solbi the Korean, and we could not really come up with much stuff to say. She seems instantly friendly and kind, and I invited her to join us for the beers tonight. Also, her and Victoria are also staying for two terms like me so I feel it will be nice to get to know these two more. Also a few of the French girls are staying as well, so there are about 6 or 7 of us that will be here next term. Turns out no one in the class had much to say about service learning, there was definitely a chilled out first class vibe going on even from the teacher. We also had to mention about our internships. I’m the only one doing my theatre one, the rest do things such as taking care of kids, helping at receptions of hospitals, caring for elder people, etc. We were all let out of class early.

Because the campus is so small, all of us internationals immediately spot each other upon leaving class and the fountain shall forever become a sort of meeting point for all of us. No doubt the Ecuadorian students walking past were all thinking who’s this handsome bunch. So we all got the UEES bus to Entre Rios. This bus service is pretty good, they leave at every time after each class finishes, and there are about 8 in total all going to different parts of Guayaquil. So that is very convenient. On the bus I was sat next to a kid who started talking to me just because I was a foreigner, his name is Django to which I likened him to Django Unchained and he seemed to appreciate this comparison. He studies engineering and seems cool. 

About 20 of us went to Esau’s place, which is a ground floor three bedroom flat and is small but cosy (he shares with Nancy and Mayte). We bought Pilseners, and found there is another brand of beer actually called Club which is considered more fancy merely because it costs half a dollar more. On the way back, a car started beeping at us. Turns out it was the host mother of the Korean girl Victoria, out of her mind with worry because she went to UEES to pick her up and she was not there. I definitely felt thankful Nizida was so relaxed with letting me do my own thing. Turns out Victoria also lives in that posher place on the other side of the highway called Las Riberas. As nice as that place probably is, I feel like Entre Rios is the place to be since pretty much everyone else lives here and it feels like a little community. Nice chilled night at Esau's place, stayed pretty late, and came to my new home for a good night's sleep.

This place may very well become my second home.

TUESDAY

After a nice lie-in, I made my way to UEES in the afternoon at some point to get my picture taken for the database and get my ID card so I can enter through the gate like the other students.

My UEES student profile picture, although I could look more dashing.

 An e-mail told me the Institutions In Society class was cancelled tonight; we all get the impression this class is going to be pretty chilled out. I took a taxi back home (the safe company taxis are usually found waiting by the main entrance to UEES) and got a bit confused about where my house was. The official address lists it as being on the Fifth Avenue (avenida quinta in reality, translating for you), but the house is actually located on the corner at the very bottom, so on a different street. All these roads look the same as well, so I was kind of hesitating and the taxi driver started to get impatient. Oi you can tell I’m a foreigner, why don’t you just ask your operator for the exact address then. But I eventually recognised the way and got there. The TV continues to be on without anyone watching it, and it’s a fairly loud/busy atmosphere in the house as clients regularly walk in to the house to collect or deliver some clothes for Nizida and her team to work on.

So I chilled and took a walk around Entre Rios to try and find the bus stop for where the UEES bus drives past. I guess it stops at the normal bus stops but there is no time-table for any of them so I’ll figure it out later. Also checked out some of the food places on the main road, and tried out a take-away from Wally’s. The verdict? Better than Bhundeo, in my professional opinion.

In the evening I went to Pepe and Karla’s place, they live quite close. I live between the bottom of 5^th and 6^th avenue, and their place is at the bottom of 7^th, so about a 5 minute walk. They basically live in a one bedroom room with a bathroom and fridge/sink area, which is cosy enough for a couple. They share the kitchen with their landlord, who lives in the larger building attached to their house, and they have a nice patio good for barbecues/party.

We went to check out a local bar called Waimea, where it is free bar for $10 entry. It was just the three of us going, though the bar was pretty much empty. 

Me and Pepe.

After a few drinks we went to the bar next door called Bierjaus (pronounced – and basically – Beer House) where some of the other internationals were having a few beers. Definitely pricey here, even though it had a better atmosphere and two for one beers on weekdays but no dancefloor. We made our way back to Waimea to make the most of our free bar. There were about 2 more groups of people there or so, including my first Ecuadorian dance with a lady who appeared to be a nurse, dressed in uniform and all. Was this a break during their shift? I don’t know but I’m liking this place. We left late and merry, good times!

First night out in Guayaquil! Also meant getting my groove on to some salsa/reggaeton, some of which was fairly enjoyable and some just sounded the same. All in all, good to get the hips moving.

WEDNESDAY

I was woken up earlier than expected at 9am by Nizida, who said Angelike was on the phone. Apparently my internship had suddenly started today, even though it was originally scheduled for next week like everyone else’s. Nizida drove me to the local church, where I got into a car with other students from UEES. I had no idea what was going on and merely had to say that I was an exchange student so I could get a quick briefing. There are about 8 arts students (arts meaning drama, dance, etc.) who are doing this volunteering for gaining credits to pass their courses. There is a play being shown soon, and we have to promote it to kids at different schools so that they will come. These students have all been told the details about this play, its content, that it deals with machismo and female power/abuse/things like that (I could not catch everything they told me whilst I panicked) so eventually we arrived to our first school. More students got out of another car behind us, and I approached a guy who looked like a teacher to ask for help but he was apparently just another student. Seems like there is no teacher with us. The play is called "Las Burladas Por Don Juan", which basically means 'the women tricked by don john' - don john/juan being the classic name for a lady killer/gets all the women (and apparently in this play does not treat them too well).

Anyway a teacher at this secondary school made us get into pairs to go into different classes and ‘promote this play’. I latched myself onto this boy and girl who had been talking to me, their names Javier and Anna. We went to a class of 14/15 year olds. Javier did almost of the talking with his bubbly self, and kindly introduced me as a foreigner so that I wouldn’t look weird not saying much. Anna did not say much either which made me feel better. I just said a couple of things which I quickly memorised of the sheet they had about the subject matter, and tried to look cool. We went to a second class, where I was a little more confident and said/interacted more. The kids seemed to like me just because I was foreign. After that it was time to go back to UEES, phew I was a little nervous for a while. While waiting for the car to take us back, some of the girls recorded me saying stuff in British accent (they all spoke decent English even though I tried to have the conversation in Spanish, but they seem to love the British accent). One of them even recorded me saying her boyfriend’s name so she could show it to her boyfriend. That’s kind of weird, I don’t think he’d be interested. But I'm happy to display my British charm (apparently) to the ladies, or should I say to las chicas.

Arriving at UEES, I chilled with the boy Javier. Said hi to Nancy the Mexican who was walking past to class, see this is what seems nice about this campus, it’s so small yet nice seems easy to run into people you know. Javier asked me about British shows he likes such as The Tudors, and about British history like kings. He actually seems really intelligent and I sort of had to improvise my answers. I thought this Javier fellow seemed camp, and he eventually commented he was gay. It was a bit surprising just because I’d heard how macho this country is supposed to be and the gay community is a vast minority, yet the first guy I meet is gay. Anyway, nice to meet you Javier.

The UEES sign on the highway.

Take a left here (where the sign is) and you eventually reach UEES.

Turns out Institutions In Society is cancelled for tonight and tomorrow as well, so basically all week. We had our first Spanish class today, Special Projects. The other native English speakers there are Ashley and Devan, then the rest are French girls and three Japanese students who arrived here last term (in January) and were in their second/last term. They are Miho, Sachiko, and Ayano. There is one other Japanese student from last term who also stayed apparently, just the 4 of them. That's less than how many we will be (myself, the two Koreans, and a few Frenchies). The teacher was nice, and the class seems to be like most Spanish language classes i.e. reading comprehension tasks/discussions, etc.

The class is at 2.40pm til 4, so then I had the rest of the day free. I felt keen to check out the local shopping centre, so I asked the Korean girl Solbi to come with me and we went to Plaza Village (although Riocentro is the bigger one) and I ended up buying a t-shirt. Because at the rate I was sweating in this heat, I needed more t shirts. Definitely pricey here though, because it is Samborondón I suppose, a very industrialized area which looks like it could belong anywhere in the Western world. Still, if you compare the dollar price to UK cost, I guess it would be the average cost. But while I am here I would like to take advantage of the cheaper economy. We ate at KFC (taking advantage of being in Ecuador again right) and she told me about her family and past travels she did in Israel. Her English is pretty decent. I wished I knew more about Korea right at this time, I could only say I liked the actress Yunjin Kim but that does not generate much conversation. Anyway we went back to UEES eventually and I walked back home which took about 25/30 minutes. It was 6pm now so fine, but I wonder how gruelling this walk would be during the middle of the day with the full blast of the heat here.

That night I ended up meeting Solbi again at Beer House. Strange to spend time with someone who I never spoke to and barely saw/registered last week. I guess the beer prices are not too bad with the two for one deal. We made a plan to go the cinema tomorrow, I’ve been told ticket prices are two for one from Monday to Thursday so that should work out fairly cheap. The film choice was not the best (quite a few of the films showing had come out in the UK around may/june) but this seemed like a good opportunity. The films here have the option of being seen in English (with Spanish subtitles), which is great cos dubbed versions are just…terrible. 

You know sometimes you might be spending time with a girl and thinking hmmm could be something going on here, well turns out she is 23 so that pretty much stopped that thinking. She is good company and can be a good friend though. I walked her back to her house, she lives a couple of roads behind UEES so it was about a 40 minute walk home this time. I stopped at a gas station for some snacks, gotta say I’m not feeling the snack front too much here so far. The crisps I’ve tasted aren’t quite to my taste, and Pringles tubes are a smaller size than they should be! Anyway, I ended up getting home pretty late.

THURSDAY

Tonight is party time at Pepe and Karla’s! The day went by pretty fast, Spanish was cool, and I walked home again after that. The traffic is really busy on that road, continuously cars beeping and loads of taxis hooting their horn at myself and anyone else on foot. In the evening, I went to the cinema with Solbi. We went to see ‘Stolen’, a Nicholas Cage action/thriller about his daughter who gets stolen, thus the title. It was ok, but cool to come to a cinema here. Also the combo of big popcorn and big drink is $5.90, which is about 3 pounds, cheap for UK standards.

After that we stopped by the market Nelson’s and made our way to Pepe and Karla’s place.

Ready for some party? Korea, England, and Mexico certainly are.

Quite a few people ended up coming here, definitely a load of Ecuadorians had managed to make their way in. But most of them were quite friendly and interested in where we were each from. Turns out it’s quite rare for British folk to be seen around here cos everyone was always like Oh wow eres Ingles que chevere!! (Oh wow you are British that’s cool!!). That chevere word is used a lot, just like that doctor in Quito airport told me.

Lots of dancing, and fun. Music ranging from latino/salsa/reggaeton so some good old gringo western music here and there. I stayed behind to help clean up a bit and got home to bed around 4:30am.

Matt, myself, and Steve - dancing furiously to something western at this moment, probably hip-hop. Not going to hook up with anyone with that face, but groove is in the heart for me at this moment!

FRIDAY

I woke up around 8.40am and remembered the international group had a meeting/activity event with our co-ordinators at 9am, woops, so I literally swung out of bed and headed straight out to UEES in a taxi. Wearing the exact same clothes from last night and not looking too good, I was relieved when most of the others also turned up late also looking worse for wear. We met in a hall with Angelike, Andrea and Karina, and we were sorted into groups where we basically had to act out certain problematic situations we may encounter and how to deal with them. Our group was given the scenario of having a host brother who steals your money, so our resolve was to report this to the staff obviously and move out while the host brother gets a cruel punishment for this devilish act. 

Our group acting out the robber brother scenario. Devan is on top form here as my host-mother.

My evil host brother was impersonated by Julio, a nice Ecuadorian fella.

This was pretty funny and enjoyable, especially when it came to watching those whose Spanish was at beginners levels. 

Other scenarios included: being followed by a stranger, smoking marijuana and how to bribe/give to a policeman who catches you, etc. 

Pepe giving a demonstration of a dodgy bus driver - drunken, falling asleep, better not to take the bus.

After this we went to the sports complex where we did some games, divided in groups of 6. A lot of native students assisted us here. I came second in the musical chairs competition, I’m extremely proud of that. Other games included running with the egg on spoon and nice innocent stuff like that.

A few of us went to the pool after that and had a delightful afternoon doing nothing. 

US, England, Canada, Australia - the gringo lads of the group.

The girl taking the picture is Tiffany, also from Australia.

That night I went with Pepe and Karla to a small house party in Entre Rios, where there were a couple of other internationals. To be honest it did not start off too good as it was mostly full of guys, and then a bunch of dodgy-looking folk turned up (maybe just drug dealers, or maybe a vicious street gang from the ghetto streets of Guayaquil). After this, the lovely Mexican couple wanted to leave, so we went to Esau’s place and hanged there for a while. Some are going to the beach this weekend. It would be nice, but I prefer to stay around Guayaquil for this week. Tonight was chilled and nice and got home relatively early for our first Friday night here.

SATURDAY

Today is Nizida’s birthday, so Eduardo drove me over to Guayaquil so I could buy some flowers for her. The driving around is pretty crazy here, so loud and everyone is in a rush, like London I suppose but somehow louder. Even Eduardo momentarily turns into a maniac at times, beeping away like a madman before becoming a gentleman again. We then went to eat at a café, and I spent the afternoon chilling at home. The heat really encourages you to take a nap. In the evening, quite a few people turned up to celebrate Nizida’s birthday. She was delighted to receive my flowers, and I sat with them in the back patio for a couple of hours, drinking some nice vino. Turns out I have already met her daughter Priscila during the week, because I asked where her daughter was/if she was coming and she pointed to a woman who’s been here a few days who I just assumed was one of Nizida’s workers. I also met Nizida’s grandson Diego, so pretty much all the family now. Before I came out of my room, Diego kept opening my bedroom door to look at me before running off, I hope he does not do that every time he visits.

I went out myself around 11. A bunch of us internationals went to Las Peñas, it was the birthday of French girl Berenice. 

The bar we went to first was somewhat expensive, but we eventually found a place where we could get beer towers for $5, whey! Eventually when we decided to go home, it was just 4 of us left and we called a taxi which took ages to arrive. Even though there were a lot of taxis at the bottom of Las Peñas, I guess we still do not feel comfortable to take these street taxis. Whereas I was basically a Mexican last week, I was getting closer to the other English natives as well.

SUNDAY

Today it was time to prove who has big cojones as a group of us went to the cinema to see a scary film The Conjuring.

Boo!

First of all, this popcorn with butter is delicious. The movie itself was fine, though I ended up in a separate row with Matt and his host brother while I could hear the Mexican chicks screaming behind us, probably wishing they had our manly selves there to hold. We chilled at a café, and I got to know Matt’s host brother Jose a bit. He’s pretty cool, and in his mid-twenties so he’s more down for hanging out than Eduardo who unfortunately seems to have a really busy schedule at work.

To round the night off, I went to see Esau at his place with Pepe and Karla. Seems like the folks who went to the beach town Salinas had a good time, I look forward to going sometime soon. Me and the couple then went to Bhundeo to get a take-away, the woman who works there seems to be either fascinated with me or fascinated with British people in general.

So this second week was also delightful fun, we all feel reluctant to properly start doing work this week in our classes (assuming they won’t be all cancelled). Also, despite the eternal speaking she does sometimes, being placed with Nizida has been lucky for me because she’s relaxed and generous about my doing my own thing and having my own schedule whereas I’ve heard some of the other families have shown tendencies to be strict or try to be controlling. Have not thought much about UK yet, still feels like I am on a holiday.