isn't that a strip club?

this weekend, I went to Quito with Monica and Alex to visit their cousins. We traveled for about 5 hours to get to their house on Saturday (3 hours to Quito from Ambato, 2 hours on crowded city buses from the South of Quito to the North where they lived). I really like my host cousins. they're cool. It's amazing how much more liberal the mentality is Quito. We went out dancing that night to a club downtown. Originally, the deal was that Alex (age 17) was not allowed to come out with us at night. But since our host uncle (age 40 something) and his girlfriend (age 28 who has a 13 year old son!!!) were accompanying us, she was allowed to come. So I called my WorldTeach friends to tell them where I was going in case they didn't have other plans. I told my friend Chrissy that we were going to a club called demonios (or diablos, something like that, I can't remember) and she said "isn't that a strip club?" I was like, oh god I hope not. We're going with adult like figures. When we got there, it was just like a normal discoteca. they actually played really good music (lots of salsa!) and at about 1:30 AM they had one male stripper and one female stripper. That was enough strip club for me, and it was for sure enough for other adults.

I'm discovering that, at least in the conservative sierra (mountain region), relationships are... well.. conservative! Couples are big into PDA because they have no other means of showing each other affection. If you bring a boy into your house, by that point you're practically marrying that kid. Forget about showing him your room and closing the door. And you probably shouldn't stand on the corner and talk to this boy either, because the neighbors will talk. My host sister's friend (age 21) has been dating her boyfriend for over two years and they have only ever kissed. Could you imagine that happening in America? Kelly is probably bored just thinking about that prospect. :)

However, something tells me that it's different on the coast. Where it's hot and girls wear short skirts instead of always pants. you get weird looks if you wear a skirt in the sierra. I have not yet been to the beaches in Ecaudor, but I when I do I'll let you know.