First Night Out - Club IQ Flashback!

Yesterday morning (Friday morning), I got up bright and early because I didn't want to be rushed again. I was going to be a good exchange student! Promptly, my backpack was packed, clothes on, and ready to go by 7:35. As I'm sitting down for my morning Frosted Flakes, Salomé (host mom) told me that María (program director) called and told her that I didn't have to be there until 9:00am today... greeeaaattt. I swallowed down my breakfast and was actually happy that I had some time to work out the bugs on this blog, answer e-mails (with my shirt on this time), and get other miscellaneous stuff done. I was productive.

At 8:55am, we drove over to the University where I saw our whole group outside. Apparently, there wasn't  another day of orientation; we were going on more excursions. That was fantastic, but I just wasn't mentally prepared for that. My mind was already set that we'd be sitting all day. Therefore, throughout our travels, I was more tired than if I originally knew what was going on. I should probably read the itinerary more.

As we took off on another adventure, we walked through the park that you're not supposed to go to at night, visited the Botanical Garden, a Snake museum (gross), and a pre-colonial art museum. There is no way I could handle those snakes on a normal basis. There were some people who wanted to have pet snakes, hold them, and get close to the deadly ones. All I have to say is that I'm alive today because my ancestors avoided all forms of those disgustingly slimy serpientes and I will too.

At this point, going from the snake museum to the colonial art museum, I had no idea how I was going to get through the night later. Our group had planned to go to a salsa club that night and I have only been sleeping about 6 hours a night from all the excitement. Somehow though, I woke up as we arrived back in Cumbaya from Quito. I got home, threw on some cloths, ate while chatting with my gorgeous girlfriend via skype, and then took off for the night. If you guys ever want to have a good night, just talk to your girl/boy friend (or both?) before you go out, and they'll put a smile on your face -- it makes the night that much better!

If any of you know me well, you probably won't be surprised by this next part. Of course I didn't go with the big gringo group to the salsa club. I love all of them, but just wanted to get a more authentic experience. So, thankfully to Jill (a friend on the program) who had an Ecuadorian friend (Ana Sophia), we got to hang out with her and her cousins/friends before and throughout the night! It was so fun! For about 2 ours before we went out, we talked with Ana, and her friend David in Spanish at her apartment. We talked about everything from U of I, to relationships, to just normal messing around, first impressions of each other -- a lot of stuff. Later, when we were ready to leave, Ana called up her cousins and we all packed into a car to go to a club named "Love." Unfortunately, they didn't show us too much love when we got there; you needed to have a reservation and be 23. Both of which many of us did not have. So we walked 2 blocks down the street to a club named "Blues."

Compare and contrast US vs. Ecuador
Most things: less expensive in Ecuador
Electronics: More expensive in Ecuador (I'm thinking of selling my iPhone here for about $300-$400 here at the end of the semester)
Cover at clubs: Same as any other city in the US...

So, I paid $10 to get into the club when the girls paid $5 -- pretty typical. When I walked in, a flashback from Turkey [SHOUT OUT TO THE BIZBROS] from Club IQ hit me like a kabob flavored brick! There were almost no people in the bar, the one random girl dancing from side to side on the dance floor, and neon lights everywhere. Normally I would have thought it to be just as shady as Club IQ from Istanbul, but they assured me it gets good at about 1:00am. And you know what? It did! We all just hung out, and I got to know Ana's cousin from Quito (Jorge) who's studying international business. I think we'll have lunch later to talk more. C'mon... you know me -- I always have to network...

The night was a success! Not much salsa though -- it was actually all techno here because it was more of a local club. But tonight, we're all going salsaing! Excited!

Ok, I need to go get some spanish music for my computer from my friend now. Have a great day everyone!

¡Bien Venidos!

Michael