Well - here I am! In Guayaquil. Both of my flights were pretty uneventful. I used the bathroom when I got to the airport, and I went in the stall to pee, and then looked around for toilet paper but there was none. At first I thought "oh how silly of me I didn't check to see if it was out," but then I looked around some more and there was never any tp there in the first place. I mean, that's perfectly logical, to not put tp in a bathroom stall. Of course, I just forgot to grab some from the communal tp dispenser on the wall next to the sink on my way in. Naturally that's where it would be.

I walked out into the main airport and experienced my first feeling of slight panic. There were crowds of people in the airport and I didn't know any of them or who I was looking for or what I would do if I couldn't find them. But that only lasted for a couple minutes, because there was this little Ecuadorian woman holding a paper with my name on it. I met Patti (the mom), Ernesto (the dad), and their son Raul. They are very nice and welcoming and patient with my lack of Spanish.

There are two other students living in the house as well, Karina and Natasha. Natasha took me out to walk around our neighborhood in Guayaquil for a little bit. The buses are positively frightening, but that is how I am going to have to get around. They kept on telling me what to do if I got lost and what to tell the cab driver and all I could think was, I hope to God I never get lost. Apparently we are on the bad side of town? I don't know if it's the bad side or if it's just not the wealthy side.

Camilo just told me that I'm going to need scrubs for my job, and let me tell you, that literally made my day. I'm working at an orphanage, or center/clinic, for malnourished children. I'm going to be working with the nurses there. I was really glad to hear that, because I thought I was going to be at an orphanage doing the whole "play with the children and make them feel loved before you leave them to go back to America and Starbucks" thing. I would much prefer to do something a little more concrete. And really, "helping the nurses" could also mean "play with the children." But I was worried that my job wouldn't be as health related as I wanted - or really needed - it to be.

I begin on Tuesday. Today I am going on a city tour with Raul. Monday I am doing an orientation with Camilo. I am taking this whole thing one day at a time, because I am freaking out on the inside.