(in)Qui(e)to

For those of you that never took Spanish or let it fall to the wayside, inquieto means anxious or nervous. Take away one E and it's English for in Quito. One is what I am right now, one's what I will be very soon.

Says Wiki:
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkito]), is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha,^[1] an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains. With a population of 1,397,698 according to the last census (2001), and, as estimated by the municipality, approximately 1,504,991 in 2005,^[2] Quito is the second most populous city in Ecuador, after Guayaquil. It is also the capital of the Pichincha province and the seat of Metropolitan District of Quito. The canton recorded a population of 1,842,201 residents in the 2001 national census. In 2008, the city was designated as the headquarters of theUnion of South American Nations.^[3]

I don't know where I'ma gonna go when the volcano blows...
Note the active volcano business. It's the only capital city where an active volcano poses a threat. Cool. At least in photos the ashy kaboom is pretty:

Shots shots shots shots shots shots...everybody!
Yes, I'll be turning 21 when I'm there. But right now I'm talking about this ish:

I like this picture because my room could be clean for all you know.

That's 4 vaccinations. Also, I have to take a malaria pill once a week. The ones I got have been known to cause nightmares, depression, and hallucinations. Might make the plane ride more interesting? But yeah, it's been two days since I took one and I'm no more depressed and delirious than usual, so that's good.

Otherwise, just preparing to prepare to pack...bought some cropped pants today since shorts will be a big red flag that I'm a foreigner and then I'll get mugged and hit on. In that order. In possession of majorly overpriced antibiotics, should something go wrong with all the rice and very well-cooked beans and veggies I'll be eating (I wish I could eat meat to accommodate  my host family, but it's been over 10 years since a piece of beef or chicken has touched my lips and I think it'd be even more offensive if I couldn't digest the family's food.)

Hi! I'm a cynical and hey, j-j-jaded (who can name that tune?) person right now, in case you couldn't tell. I am excited, though. I'm excited to get to know my host family (and their dog!). My spoken Spanish will hopefully actually sound like Spanish (and not like Portuguese spoken in an American accent) afterwards. I'll get to know some cool people. I'll learn how to breathe at high altitudes. And awful but true cliches like getting to know a different culture and exploring and expanding horizons blah blah.

For now I'll just be counting down the days as I encourage my pile clothes to get with my suitcase (they're inevitably gonna get together), angst on Tumblr, neglect my other blog, and watch lots of Melrose Place on Netflix.

I hope y'all keep reading my narcissistic indulgence cultural observations.