WEATHER

So, it’s a lot colder here than I expected. The only time it’s hot is when you’re in the sun, which really isn’t a good place for me to be, given that I’m pretty much as close as you can get to the sun right now (the equator’s only about a half hour away). Not to mention that we’re in the rainy season, so the sun doesn’t even come out that much anyway… That being said, it’s not THAT cold, at least not enough to warrant the big winter jackets, gloves and scarves that the Ecuadorians wear at night. (Although if you go up into the mountains those things are indeed necessary). OH, and hats – hats are essential – every time the family goes out when it’s sunny, everyone wears a hat.

The sun rises around between 6 and 6:30am every day – so on those clear sunny days, it’s impossible to sleep past 7am (I have rather transparent white curtains covering the very large windows in my room). It gets dark pretty early, between 6 and 6:30pm, basically by the time I get home from work.

School

I’m not going to school here, but the kids I live with do. They start at SEVEN O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING. Who DOES that? Then they get out around 1pm. So that means they get up at 6am and have to go to bed around 9:30pm. Actually both Diana and Carlos go to bed around that time as well, so no late-night Skype chats for me (the Ethernet cable is in the kitchen).