First impressions of Ambato!

I just got back from my site visit in Ambato! I discovered a lot of important info about where I´ll be staying for the rest of the year. I will be teaching two classes each day, mon thru fri, of intermediates. My classes are from 7 to 8;30am and from 3;30 to 5pm every day. Kind of a crappy schedule, but not too bad considering I would be up that early anyway. Let me explain. I´m living with a host family that has a "lively" (as my description said) 2 year old and 5 year old boy. Maybe this is a cultural thing that I´m not aware of, but I swear these kids scream more often than the average child. Plus, my "mom", Yadira is very pregnant. She´s going to have a baby sometime this week. So by the time I return to Ambato in two weeks, there will be a newborn living directly below me... and there is no insulation in these houses... I don´t really know if this is going to work out with this family. They seem to be lovely, and they were very excited to introduce me to their extended family and show me around, but I don´´t know if I can put up with all their children for a year. However, my room is the only one on the third floor, and I have two balconies that lead to their laundry washing area on the roof. Plus i have my own bathroom with real hot water!! (not an electric machine that turns the water hot as it drips out of the faucet that I´m scared to electricute myself on...) So it´s not all bad. Plus I met some old WT volunteers who had stayed for more than one year. Kat from Texas is a nut case with more energy than a powerplant and Robert is a 76 year old doctor from rural Quebec. He told me the story of how he harbored Harvey Wells (i think that was his name) when he came to campaign in ME in the 1950s. Anyway, he´s nuts. And then Emily I have not met yet, but she lived with my host "grandparents" and apparently she plays ultimate!! yes!! so I will definitely be surrounded by some English speaking friends in Ambato. My goal is to then surround myself with Spanish speaking friends. I also would like to take salsa lessons, start running again (in altitude!! my lungs will be so strong) and start some kind of extra volunteer activity since I´ll only be teaching 15 hours a week. Well, for now, applying to graduate school will take up a lot of my time, so maybe I´ll start the volunteer project during the second half of the year.
For now, I´m back in Quito with two weeks of practice teaching and orientation ahead of me. I will be exhausted, I¨m sure. HOpe all is well in the states!