Today felt like my best day yet at class - even though I didn't completely get all the irregular verb conjugations (or the sentences,) for the homework that I was assigned. Absolutely shattered the night before, as a dog barking at 3:30 am woke me, plus a car alarm that went off. Now, that I've started to sleep, I keep getting woken up or being disturbed by car alarms (which I don't remember hearing the first week I was jetlagged and couldn't sleep). I managed to construct longer sentences and at a slighter faster pace (but still not quite normal conversational speed) whilst managing to use the correct verb conjugations and making guesses at adjectives from my known collection of verbs, more or less (mas o menos). We discussed emigration, illegal immigrants, and taxes, if you can believe it, in Spanish! Then we did some more irregular verbs (damn them! All the really important verbs seem to be irregular) and answered questions in the pretérito indefinado form (and which depends on whether they end in ir or not and if they are used for the third person, he, you or she singular and plural). I can't even always remember what the third person is!

Then lunch at a panaderia (bakery-cum-pastry shop, in this case) a block down before some quick emails and a snooze (yes, really) before salsa class.

Had a guy teacher today, which although could be good, he didn't speak a word of English and I didn't understand what he wanted me to do, whether to mirror him or not, etc. It was frustrating for both of us, especially as it was all to do with the all-important twirl. I kept not getting the right hand twirl, which involves a complicated step-turn and then twirling under his arm - I kept instinctively twirling the wrong way after the step-turn. I managed it a few times towards the end of the hour - but I saw him give a grimace to the teacher dancing with Anya. It was very difficult to understand what he wanted me to do and what his 'triggers' were for that particular move, I thought he wanted me to just move to the side and step back (it involves a lot of stepping back with one foot, tap, back to centre, other foot moves, back to centre, etc). As we are going to go out on Ladies night (Wednesday), we thought we'd see how we felt before booking another lesson for the next day. There's apparently a good salsa bar we need to check out tonight. My ex-room mate (I have had the room to myself since last Friday) says that we'd get asked to dance a lot there. I must admit, I did find that in Mindo. Whereas most guys at home will try and engage you on the dance floor (surreptitiously and then a perhaps bit more openly depending on how you react), they are much more open in asking to dance with you (a kind of tap on the shoulder thing) both on the dance floor and when you're sitting. Yeah, okay, so I danced with 3 guys in Mindo (two whilst I was dancing "solo" but with the group from school) and one who came up to me whilst I was taking a break sitting down. I managed to avoid eye contact with someone else who was obviously going to ask me and then veered off because I didn't look his way). But they're less intense about it - it can be that they just want to dance and are not necessarily (?!) trying to pick you up, although I'm not saying that that may not be a motive! And come to think of it, Monika (my hostess - we also have a volunteer called Monica) said that it's considered a badge of honour for the Ecuadorian guys to have a bevy of girlfriends. However, as this was the first evening and some of this was in Spanish, I'm not too sure what she meant by 'girlfriends.'

It'll all be good practice, the salsa lady at the salsa class thinks so, anyway!

I was supposed to try and go to the Spanish School's Spanish film night this afternoon, but I was still on the computer and would have got there late (plus it had started to rain). It would have been interesting to see how much of Spanish I could make out and if I understood the film, which is supposed to be based on a true story.

I was looking at the details of a jungle trip that has been recommended and can be done either as a 4 or 5 day trip; however, I was a bit concerned that the bus journey to where is starts is 8 hours! But apparently, you take the night bus and sleep on it. A previous housemate (Debbie) recommends keeping your money and mp3 player in your underwear whilst you do this! There is a lot of anecdotal evidence of thefts on buses and bag slashing, but Debbie says she felt safe on the bus. You do have to beware of your belongings and be a bit streetwise.

In the time I've been here, I've known someone who didn't take advice about taking a taxi after dark and get attacked (but nothing too serious, thank goodness) and recently a student at the Spanish school had her bag that she kept by her feet whilst in a restaurant surrounded by people she was with, stolen. Her bag had her camera and about $20. She doesn't know how it happened. Also, my ex-room mate here was told she could keep her jacket behind the bar one evening and it was stolen: the jacket held her house keys. I can only be thankful (but I was careful to keep my bag on my shoulder in front of me) that I didn't lose anything on that crowded bus yesterday.

Anyway, for the jungle trip, Monika recommended we (Anya and I) go around Feb 18 when there's a religious festival which will make it crazy in Quito. We need to book well in advance, though. On the trip, we get to see pink dolphins, caimans, and lots of other things with the aid of a bilingual guide. It also includes camping equipment, like tents, etc. If things go on like this, I'm beginning to wonder if I will need to have the two weeks after the project to travel around, after all!