On my first day of school in Quito some guy from the U.S. embassy told all the visiting foreign students that there are three phases of any long-term stay in another country. The first phase, the honeymoon phase, consists of loving every single thing about the place your in. The food tastes great, the people are wonderful, and you see all the countries weird little quirks as an example of the beautiful culture. The second phase, “I’m an American phase...

So as of yesterday I'm officially a Galapagos resident (at least according to customs). Landed last night in the surreal landscape of Isla San Cristobal. My last night in Quito I got pick-pocketed by a five year old and lost one of my favorite earings. It's good to be out of the Mariscal. The town I'm living in has 6,000 people. I live with a small family in a pretty ghetto part of town. My moms name is Monica and she is 6 months pregnant. My dads name in Lenin...