The Bed & Breakfast was nice to start off in. But it was a little too noisy from people going in and out all the time, and my room was next to the front door and the kitchen. So onward and upward. I found a new studio apartment with a very nice Ecuadorian couple. They are both retired teachers and added on to their home to make 2 apartments to rent. The picture is my outdoor kitchen. It is always nice here, so making meals and eating outside is wonderfu...

One of the best school's around is Simon Bolivar Spanish School. There are a lot to pick from, but this one is in the center of town in an ancient building with lots of atmosphere and local teachers. You can choose from private lessons to many other schools. For my first week I had two teachers, Santiago and Juana. Both very good and spoke English and Spanish. I just have a little bit of a hard time going back to the apartment and studying. Brings back a lo...

One of my goals when moving to Ecuador, was to do volunteer work with children. Singing, art, games with small children. As in any place in the world, the children here are adorable! I went to one orphanage, and they were delighted that I wanted to help, but said I would need to know more Spanish. I totally understood and we exchanged names and email addresses and I said that I was enrolling in Spanish Lessons soon. So off to find a Spanish class.

One of my first wishes was to take Salsa lessons. Ecuador Central found me a wonderful teacher named Mauricio. One of the main things to do here is 'bargain' for prices. They arranged 12 lessons for $50.00. I liked that a lot. The man in the middle of the picture is Mauricio and I am on the left. (just kidding) He is very good and teaches many students for competitions. Dancing with the Stars, here I come.

My first few days were spent just walking around and seeing the city. My Bed & Breakfast was about a 15 minute walk to center city. The picture above is of the beautiful flower vendors in one of the parks. Some statistics about Cuenca: 8,000 miles above sea level, 26 square miles, about 500,000 people and the Spanish settlement was founded in 1557. The altitude got to me at first. I did not think about it, but I went from sea level to 8,000 miles high. ...