Pato

June 1, 2011
Today didn't start off so good and I think it's the empanada's fault.  I was pretty nauseous and my nose was stuffy and my throat hurt.  Could have been allergies but I'm not sure.  It went away when class started.  Today we talked a lot about poverty and how greatly it affects health.  We also had a discussion on whether equality of health care can be achieved.  Based on the thoughts of most students it seemed that we would not be able to eliminate health disparities until issues concerning race and gender are solved.  I don't think issue about race and gender will be solved anytime soon so I don't believe that equal health care to all will be possible in the near future...
After class I took the bus home.  I took the bus to and from school today and it wasn't too bad.  We have to take a red bus for about 7 stops and then a green bus.  I still have to walk to my house from the bus stop and the whole walk is basically up hill.  That was definitely my exercise for the day and I was sweating by the end of the walk.
Lunch was good today.  There is a maid that comes three times a week to prepare lunch.  We started out with a potato soup which I thought was the only part of the meal so I ate a lot of it but actually it was like an appetizer.  We then had steak, rice patties, and salad with yellow peppers.  There was also a delicious juice that the maid prepared that had passion fruits in it indigenous to Ecuador.  It tasted just like a smoothie. nom nom.
I took a nap because I was exhausted and did some work.  Then Debi, one of my classmates and her host brother, Jose Miguel, picked me up to go to a Mexican restaurant called Chipote.  I had two cervezas but that's all.  Jose Miguel brought some of his friends.  One of his friends introduced himself as Pato (which in Puerto Rico can mean gay).  So I was like, "Wait, say that again? Pato?" Then I explained why I was confused and they told me that Pato is short for Patricio and that pato does not mean gay in Ecuador.  So that was embarrassing but they cracked jokes about it all night so I guess they thought it was funny...
I noticed when I was at the restaurant, practically everyone was smoking.  Even Jose Miguel's friends were smoking right in front of my face.  It was funny because on the Marlboro boxes it said, "Fumar mata" and "Fumar causa cancer" and they STILL smoke.  I asked Pato why he smoked so much (he said that on a good night out, he could smoke almost a pack and a half!)  He answered my question by saying, "It is life."  I guess it's just a part of the young adult culture here.  Almost everyone young person there was smoking except for me and my classmates.  He also told me that many people start drinking there between the ages of 12-14 (I started drinking when I was 18-19).  So yes, I've noticed that the young adult lifestyle is different here, but I guess that's life.