Vicente

My host Dad, César (Chicho) has taken to calling me Vicente (pronounced "vee-cent-ay" in spanish). At "La Mitad del Mundo" he bought me a string bracelet the has weaved into it the name "VICENTE." Now, why, might you ask, would my host father randomly start calling me Vicente? Look:

Self-portrait of Syd

Actually, this a self-portrait (autorretrato) of Vincent Van Gogh. He's dead, and I, apparently, am his reincarnate. Chico decided I look like Van Gogh because I have a red beard and reddish hair. Chico also thinks I should cut off part of my ear to make my look more... accurate. Maybe later.

However, more supporting evidence for the Van Gogh theory: remember my friend Ted? Well, Vincent Van Gogh had a brother named Ted who had a black beard and black hair.

Well, the result is that I have assumed the nickname Vicente. I wear the "VICENTE" bracelet all the time (it's kind of tied on), so when I meet Ecuadorian kids, they take to calling me Vicente. "Syd" is hard to say for spanish-speakers, and this way if they forget my name, they can always just look at my wrist.

As long as I have mentioned Chicho, I should describe my host family and my living situation. I live in a two-story house with César Jaramillo and Mercedes Serrano, who go by Chicho and Miche, respectively. The house is in a small gated subdivision type dealy with 48 houses, but each 12 are connected. Here, this is too hard to explain:

That's my house and that's my driveway/street/neighborhood.

As long as I'm talking about my house, here is my address:

Sydney Berkman
Fco. Cruz Miranda y Mañosca
Conjunto Falconi C#12
Quito, Ecuador

I don't know what you'll do with that, but there it is, just in case. I don't know how mailing stuff here works yet, but I'll figure it out.

Anyways, Chicho and Miche have two kids, Martín and Esteban, who no longer live at home. Estaban is in Spain getting a PhD in something or another and Martín works as a photographer for one of the biggest local newspapers, "El Comercio." Chicho and Miche also have a dog, a Schnauzer, named Seguismundo (Sigmund) Freud-Jaramillo-Serrano, who still lives at home.

Chicho is an engineer who specializes in infrastructure (i.e. aqueducts, bridges), and Miche is a psychologist of some sort who specializes in astrology. She works at home on different clients' astrological charts/readings, often cooking (incredible food) at the same time.

I have my own room. It's pretty standard. I've got a bed, a small desk, a closet with shelves and drawers inside, a little nightstand and a lamp to go with it. I'll try to get some pictures of my family and my room up soon.