¿Como se dice 'stalker' en español?

So, Xavier has turned into a full blown stalker.  While at home for lunch today, he came by my house (after several calls and emails that he sent and I didn't respond to).  I made the housekeeper tell him I was in the shower (such a cliche, but it works!).  Then, I composed an email saying that I just wanted to be friends... so here is 'the talk' in Espanol.  You know, I am not good at this in English and may be even worse at it in Spanish, but at least it was proofread by the family before being sent! :)

Hola Xavier,
Que tal? Lo siento que yo estaba ocupada cuando tu llegaste. Esta semana he estado un poco ataraedo con clases y otras actividades. Tambien yo pienso que es lo mejor que nosotros seamos amigos. Voy a salir en una semana y pienso que eso es la mejor decision. Espero que tu entiendas, y espero que nosotros podamos ser amigos.
Jillian
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Then he called me at the house and I asked my host mom tell him that I was out of the house!  Hello, stalker!!!  I know I will have to deal with this eventually but for now, I'm hoping that he gets the hint...

Anyway, everything is going well.  We are having a little problem in Cuenca right now.  The campesinos outside of Cuenca are staging a massive protest and blocking all roads in and out of Cuenca.  This is going to take place for an indefinite amount of time... I just hope I can leave next week!  They are protesting because the previous president of Ecuador apparently signed a deal with a foreign mining business to excavate the gold mines outside of Cuenca.  This will vastly disrupt the life of the indigenous in the area - contaminating water supplies and much more.  So, I don't know what is going to happen, but we are starting to feel the effects because there is less food in the markets (particularly chicken and vegetables).  Crazy!

I thought I would answer a few questions now for all of you:

1. What do you do all day?

I get this question a lot, so let me try to answer it.  I go to class in the morning from 8:30 until 12:30pm.  Then I go home for lunch around 2pm with the whole family.  Then I sometimes take a quick nap, do my homework and go for a walk or to a museum or shopping or some other cultural activity.  I have dance class usually at 6pm.  Then i go home, rest and have a really light supper (usually just soup) at like 8:30pm or so.  Then I either go out or I stay in.  Writing this down doesn't sound like much but it easily fills up the day.

2. What did you do yesterday, for example?

Yeseterday, I went to class in the morning.  About half way through, Martha, my professor, took me with another student (Steve) to Turi, the lookout point for Cuenca.  It is absolutely beautiful (see pics).  Then we went to a studio for handmade pottery by a Cuencan man named Vega.  His work can be seen all over the world in murals, sculpture and other dishes, plates, etc.  Then I ran home to drop off my purchases.  I met up with Patrick, a student from England, for lunch at a really cute place on a terrace overlooking the main square.  We had a three course meal for $2.  I couldn't eat at home because I had made plans with my friend Kristiina (a girl I met here from Estonia who is teaching english for a year in Cuenca).  We went to the Museo de Metales, which had a very cool modern art exhibit.  Then we went to the 'zoo' and I use that word lightly, because it was just an aquamarine zoo - with fish, reptiles, snakes, tarantulas and other creepy crawlies.  Did a little shopping and then I walked home.  Had some dinner, talked to my host parents for like an hour and then went to bed!

3. How do people make a living in Cuenca?

Cuenca is a relatively big city with something like 200k people living here.  So, people do all sorts of things like run businesses, own shops, farming, bars, restaurants, schools, universities, architects, doctors, nutritionists, tourism, etc.  You name it and they´ve got it (pretty much).  I imagine that this is the way things were in the US many years ago when there were separate shops for everything.  There's one shop for bread and a separate for cheese, one for paper and one for blackboards and yesterday I happened on a store selling nothing but feminine products!

4.  What are you eating?

The food here is really good -- too good -- so I am having a hard not over indulging all the time.  Generally, here is what I'm eating: for breakfast, I have cereal (cornflakes) with milk and a piece of odd but delicious tropical fruit with coffee and fresh juice.  Lunch always starts off with soup, then you have a plate of vegetables, rice or pasta and some kind of meat (chicken, beef, pork, whatever) or a pastel - kind of like a cross between a casserole and a sandwich that is *wonderful!  Dinner is always soup.  I haven't had the same thing twice and I have almost been here for 2 weeks.  There are a bazillion varieties of vegetables and fruits - totally different from the US - and everything is just amazing and fresh.  Juice is also a big deal.  They drink a different kind of fresh squeezed juice at every meal.  I am particularly fond of the babaco juice and I really like this weird fruit that's grey on the inside called grenadia (sp?) and is sort of like a pomegranet, but smaller and... grey.  Yum. 

5. What's the family like? And the house you are living in?

The house I'm living in is like a totally normal house.  2 stories, balcony, 5 bedrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, etc.  We just got cable last night which is a really big deal.  Everyone has their own TV in their room.  The family is great.  They are SO nice.  Really ' buena gente' as they say here. Eulalia, the mom, works in Victor's shop (he sells sewing machines) answering the phones and also cooks every meal and makes sure the girls are all where they are supposed to be.  We talk a lot about the differences between the US and Ecuador and as you might guess, they are vast.  Among them: almost no one here has insurance (health, life, car, house), there is no such thing as a return policy (buy a tv and it doesn't work after a week? tough luck), almost everyone lives at home with their parents until they marry.  If they don't marry, you live with your parents forever... que horor! (just kiddin' mom and dad) But the set up here is totally different.  They know they're in it for the long haul together so there is a lot more flexibility with the kids.  You want to go out to the discoteca with your friends all night and sleep til 3 the next day? Fine, but you better get your school work done and be a good kid!  Very interesting.

Anyway.  Tomorrow begins a week long festival in Ecuador called Corpus Cristi...something about Christ's body?... that was created basically to appease the indigenous back in the day who wanted to celebrate Inti Raymi (the solstice pagan celebration), and it's basically a week long festival of special dulces (sweets), fireworks and general merriment.  Very exciting!  Also, tomorrow I'm getting a massage... 2 hours for $25!  Tonight, I'm going salsa dancing with my friends.  Thus is my life in Ecuador.

:) Hope you are all doing well and enjoying reading the blog.  I am having fun writing it.  xoxox