Figuring out computers . . .

So I´m very proud of myself for figuring out how to upload my pictures to the web. Those of you less computer illiterate than me probably think little of this accomplishment, but hey one has to take baby steps =) The pictures are of Otavalo, which is one of the tourist capitals of Ecuador due to all the local crafts. We went to the animal market, which was filled with cows, pigs, and horses. I saw a few goats, but no llamas or alpacas. We got there kind of late, so most of the animals left were not exactly the cream of the crop. The crafts market was crazy. If you want a nice alpaca sweater it´s definitely the place to go. I got a nice sweater for $15. It was weird seeing all the other tourists there. I´ve gotten used to never seeing gringos except for the other people in my program. There was this weird area with all these native american headresses and dream catchers which I found slightly disturbing.

This past week in classes was the "scare the crap out of them" time. We had several lectures on safety, culminating with a bus trip where these undercover cops pretended to be robbers holding up the bus. Most of the things covered were common sense, such as don´t wander around dowtown Quito drunk in the middle of the night, or beware of pickpockets on a crowded trolley when you have a huge backpack. However the robbers on the bus is something you don´t generally have to worry about in the states. After all the lectures our safety and security officer was nice enough to add that these things hardly ever happen and we shouldn´t worry (too) much.