This month in Cuenca has really been one for me to find a routine and really make myself at home. Getting accustomed to Cuenca is quite easier. In fact, it’s much, much easier than I thought it would be. We finally moved into our new apartment, and it is just past the river in “New Cuenca”. New Cuenca is a very modern and suburban, and many call it “Gringolandia”. Therefore, it has been easy to feel at home because of all of the modern shops, hospitals, and restaurants in the area. The houses around this area are beautiful and large, and each yard has a plethora of beautiful succulents and flowers, and I have been inspired by the beauty in this area. Since we only started volunteering this past Monday, we have had plenty of time on our hands, and like I said before I have taken this time as a period of making myself at home and finding a bit of a routine here in South America. For me, exercising is my form of therapy and making myself feel better and normal. It’s my form of sanity, and I have used it as natural medicine for years since I was a child. So a few weeks ago, I decided to find a gym in the area. The gyms here are not exactly inexpensive, but I decided to join for the month since I have so much free time. The gym I joined is pretty nice and in the Centro, so run about a mile to the gym, get a workout in, and then I run back home. It’s been a really nice way for me to keep busy when I’m not volunteering. Like I said earlier, we started volunteering at our separate sites, and I am very excited for the experience and fulfillment La Fundación el Arenal will give me. My first week volunteering has been really good for me. I have developed a relationship with the other teachers and the coordinators at the Fundación, and everyone is very open and loving, and they are all very close to each other. On Monday and Wednesday, we stayed after the kids left for a couple of hours and talked. Having a volunteer site has definitely helped in making me feel at home here. Furthermore, the children at the Fundación are very intrigued by me. They all keep asking me where I am from and how to pronounce my name, but they are all very excited to have a new face around, and I am happy to be that new face. The first week is apparently a bit slow, so we haven’t been doing much tutoring or teaching since the children have only begun their schooling, but we have been playing outside, watching movies, and drawing a lot. I have started to pick up the student’s individual personalities, and I will say, they are all very animated and unique. I cannot wait to get to know them better, and I have been working very hard to learn all of their names! I have still yet to figure out the bus systems here, but once I do I will easily be able to commute to and from home to la Fundación as it is only a couple of miles. Overall, all of this free time has been quite great for me. Moving to a new country is a bit emotionally overwhelming, even if you don’t realize the emotional toll it takes on you. I have taken this free time to get back into my healthy routine, get to know my neighborhood, and throw myself into my volunteering. It has been quite the whirlwind moving to Cuenca, and I think that I am starting to realize and process the fact that I live in a new country, and I like it. I feel as though I can do anything; I can live anywhere, and I can adapt to anything. A word of advice to any incoming Puente Scholars, take the time to get to know Cuenca. You may not meet a million friends right off of the bat, but it is easy to feel at home here. Find what makes you happy because I am sure they have it here, and dive on into it. Also, get to know the people you work/volunteer with. Everyone here is very welcoming, especially when you show interest in being their friend and neighbor. Home is wherever you make it, and your experience here will reflect your effort of becoming familiar. Two months down, ten-ish months to go!