On Always Being Surprised

Many Ecuadorians, I have discovered, do this thing where they´ll lead you somewhere and not tell you exactly where you´re going to end up. A few weeks ago, my host brother asked me if I wanted to go get dinner. We hopped on the bus and rode for a few minutes. He turned to me and said, "actually, we´re going to the amusement park." So we did. And last weekend, my host mom asked me if I wanted to go out with her. I said yes and met up with her. We got in a car with two of her friends (that she did not mention...) and little did I know that half an hour later I would be out dancing with 30 of her tipsy coworkers.

To be honest, though, I think the most ridiculous example of this occured last night. A few friends of mine went out and we met up with a few guys--friends of one of the volunteers--who live in Ecuador. One of them asked us if we´d like to go get a drink. We thought he was going to bring us to some typical restaurant or bar...but we followed him to this hole-in-the-wall place where the waiter was Asian (the very first Asian I have seen here). He started speaking to us in really hilarious English (which was totally startling) and said "Come with me! Back here." He disappeared behind a curtain. So we followed him...fearing death...actually, I was kind of worried he was bringing us to a strip club or something. But he led us through the kitchen and up a red-velvet, nearly vertical staircase. We climbed up, only to find a tiny room with a ceiling too low for us to stand up straight, a small table with tea cups, wine glasses and napkins, and fringy pillows to sit on. The walls were covered in tapestry and there was a big-screen TV.

Wait...are we in Asia? Possibly. Anyway, my friends and I were laughing to the point of tears. The waiter then asked us to take off our shoes. We ordered drinks...and then went to a Lady Gaga drag show.

Okay, so the drag show was not a surprise. But still.