The Start of a New Beginning

Hey everyone! I have arrived in Cuenca...finally!
While we were in the Amazon Jungle from Wednesday night to Saturday morning, we stayed at a lodge called Cotococha. Every day, we did something different, but mostly we traveled up and down the river to get to different places. Thursday we went to a town called Misahualli where they are known for the monkeys. These monkeys were smaller but climbed all over the place, including climbing on Erin, a girl from my college. A local handed her an egg, which she held in her hand, and the monkey hung on her, trying to get it. We left to go to Amazoonico, an exotic animal refuge. Here we saw many wild animals found in the jungle. We were told many of the animals' stories of why they were there and if they could be released into the wild, or
 why not if they cannot be released. After this, we had lunch along the river and we got to swim in the Amazon River! We then continued our journey
 to an indigenous community where a native family taught us how to make a few drinks, make chocolate (which I got to help with and help sample. Mmmmm!), and taught us a dance-which I recorded and now have the only video of it. :)
Friday we had a short canoe ride before we hiked for about an hour through the secondary jungle (so basically, the lighter part of the jungle). We hiked to a waterfall called "Las Latas" where we were able to swim. On the way back to the boat, our guide said that whoever fell first would have to get something for everyone else. Immediately, I thought whoever fell should get us ice cream and what do you know, I was the first to fall!-the ONLY time I fell ever this entire trip so far. We had lunch back at the lodge and went back out to the jungle for another hike, except this time in the primary forest where it is really thick and....jungle-y? haha The guide pointed out different types of trees and plants that only live in the Amazon, so it was really neat. All of us returned to the lodge, tired from our trips during the day.
After leaving the Amazon Saturday mid-morning, we traveled to towards Puyo for lunch. Along the way, we stopped to visit another. We ate lunch quickly and jumped back on the bus and went to Patate, where we spent the night in a very nice lodge called La Hacienda. It was high in the mountains with a view of an active volcano in the range, but it only smoked from the top while we were there. It was almost like a ranch on a mountain. Most of Sunday was spent on the bus, traveling from Patate to Cuenca, so about an 8 hr drive, stopping only for another quick lunch. When we finally arrived in Cuenca, we immediately drove to the CEDEI building/school and had a few minutes to stretch out and get drinks, visit, and go to the bathroom. We were then shuffled upstairs for the family ceremony, where the families are placed in one room and we students are placed in another so we can't see each other. A family walks into a hallway connecting the two rooms and an announcer (after a drumroll) says whose family they are. I was the fourth student to be introduced to my family, but I knew immediately when I saw them that they were my family.
We said hello and were sent back into the family room to chat a little while everyone else met their families. As soon as the ceremony was over, we left because we had a family gathering. We only had enough time to drive to our house, drop off my bags, and leave once again to the grandparent's house where everyone else was. I was told there is a weekly gathering every Sunday afternoon to talk and chat since everyone lives in the same area. Here, I met extended family, but I don't remember who anyone is. My brother was the one who included me in everything right away because he was the best English speaker in the family (the extended family knows little to no English). We returned home about an hour later and my little sister and mother invited me to watch TV with them for a while. I then unpacked everything, while also giving my mother the family gifts of a photo album, cookie mixes and various candies.
Monday, we had a meeting in the morning and a city scavenger hunt later that night (it was just for all of the students). On the scavenger hunt, I found one of the best places to get ice cream and also a few good coffee shops. The rest of the day, I was at home and I got a little bonding time with the family. Tuesday classes started and that's about all there is to say about the whole week so far. haha So now that I am settled, I just have classes and, in my free time, hanging out with family and friends.
My family here is very fun and I never had any problems adjusting to them (they speak a lot of English so that helps a lot). I have a mother named Sandra, a brother, Andres, and a sister, Domenica. Domenica is 10 and very full of energy. She loves dancing and watching tv when she can. She is the one I see the least out of my family because she leaves when I wake up and comes home when I am doing homework. Andres is 21, so about my age, and we have a few things in common. He is a very big video game player which is how he spends almost all of his time. He likes listening to music and he also likes to dance. He and I have already spent a bunch of time together and we both have a crazy side to us that shows at the same time.
Sandra and I have a lot alike. We have the same taste in movies and tv shows, we both like coffee a lot, and we both have the same sense of humor. I have a lot of fun chatting with her over breakfast in the morning and seeing her a little bit at night. I love my host family and they made the transition from Iowa to here so easy. I fit right into the family and it's almost like I just returned from a trip instead of being on one. They are an easy-going family that let me do my thing but tell me things I should be cautious about without making me feel like a little kid. That is about it for me, I do not have anything else to report as of the moment. I do not have any pictures with my family so that is why I do not have any family photos added but I hope to get some soon.