¡Cuenca esta chevere!

So, we made it to Cuenca, Ecuador (which is in the souther highlands) without a hitch. We flew here on TAME which was a much better experience than most American airlines. We even got sandwiches, on our 45 minute flight! Amazing! (though, we´re still only partially sure what was in those sandwhiches, hmmmm...)
Our host madre met us at the airport. She was muy simpatico (very nice) right from the start. She welcomed us into her home and we felt like part of the family right away. The homestay has helped our Spanish immensely. We take classes in the afternoon which have also proved to be helpful. But, the most important thing is that we are forced to think and speak in Spanish most of the day & night. This has accelerated our learning process greatly. We have enjoyed spending time with the family, Rocio (madre), Jorge (padre), Rafael (hijo, 24 años), Jorge Adrian (hijo, 26 años). Rafael is married to Soledad and they have little Louis Antonio (2 años) - pictured below, tiene mi corazon (per Laura).

Oh, and we can not forget Puchini y Madona (los dos peros). Puchini esta bueno en la mañana y esta malo en la tarde. Le Puchini esta bipolar (their words, not mine, but they are correcto).
We are really enjoying the city of Cuenca as well. It is very picturesque with large plazas, grand cathedrals and cobblestone streets. The people here are very friendly and helpful, especially when we speak to them in our elementary Spanish.

(view of Cuenca from our balcony)

There are also many activities and things to do outside of Cuenca. Today we went to Ingapirca, which is a pre-Inca/Inca archeological site. It was very interesting to hear about the history of this special site. Incapirca was a nice appetizer for the main course of Machu Pichu to come in a few weeks...


p.s. chevere = cool. Steve is learning the local slang from Raphi.