Of Mice and Men, Visas and Jazz

Going back to Wednesday, when all my correspondence ended...

The school day went well and I finally sat at the spanish-speaking table! I passed the 40 minutes super chévere with the ecuadorian teachers and staff and I haven't gone back to the British table since!

The night was interesting, in that I was dutifully writing in my journal and watching CNN en español before going to bed, when all of a sudden I see a little ratoncito scurry across my floor. While in theory I'm not afraid of them, in practice I screamed, watched it run to the corner of my room and then stayed paralyzed until Monica and Jairo came down to investigate. Then, while Mony and I sat on the couch with our feet up, the valient Jairo and Jairito attempted to find/catch/kill the little mouse. Upon seeing it a few times, but not catching it, they set up three traps and I slept on a matress on the floor upstairs. I awoke to the news that the little guy was dead and the traps were removed to provide a perfectly new, mouse-free room!

Thursday, instead of going to school, I went into Quito to register my visa with the Dirección General de Extranjería del Ministerio de Gobierno. What I thought would be a simple process ended up being quite the opposite. I got there bright and early to find a long line, all of whom were directed to the local papelería to make photocopies and buy a folder, prongs, and an envelope. After waiting in the long line to be told such, I waited in the long line to buy said products, afterwhich I waited in a long line to get to the one single worker who handled such matters. At that stage I had to pay more money to this oh-so-welcoming country, upon which the man took my passport and told me to come back on Monday to get it. What?! That's right--I start teaching this Monday. Not quite convenient. I may wait 'till Thursday. Stupid embassies. However, upon chatting tonight with Mony, her sister, and Jairo, I learned that the only reason it's so hard and complicated to register is because the U.S. makes it exceedingly hard for Ecuadorians to obtain a visa and they're just returning the favor! Thanks, good ol' USofA.

Anyway, after school I walked to the nearby shopping mall and discovered it only takes 40 minutes, not the 1.5 hours I had budgeted. So I walked some more and then did the only logical, though dreadful, thing--I shopped! I ended up with 3 books, two of which I want to start right away (in addition to that other one I bought and haven't had time to start), and all of which made me realize that I must quit buying books it will take me years to read! Ah well, the whole point of going to the mall was to hear the Big Band Jazz presentation. It was fabulous! Some songs were more modern, with a female singer, but they ended with a medley of In the Mood and Chatanooga Choo-Choo, so it couldn't have been better!