School and dog

Here's a link to some pictures of the school and of the dog Lucas.

http://s1185.photobucket.com/albums/z347/cooperky/School%20and%20the%20dog/ 




The dog never comes inside and pretty much stays in the side of the yard all day. No one ever walks with it or does anything with it.. I'm not really sure why they have it. But apparently that is typical for Ecuadorian families. They have a dog just to have one.. and maybe for protection I guess. Pretty much everyone has a dog here..I can hear three barking right now.. and if you don't have one you can find plenty of strays roaming the streets. In small towns like when we where in Mindo, and Banos will probably be the same, they are every where running around on the streets. One day we almost hit one on the way to school in the morning. Families that are from America or have lived in America actually walk their dogs and play with them and don't really like how Ecuadorians treat them but thats how it goes. 
The school is huge so the pictures are pretty much of just the high school part of the school. That day I took them they had to wear their formal uniforms which are skirts and red jackets for girls and slacks and red jackets for guys. I guess they were getting their picture taken for the yearbook so they had to wear them.. otherwise they never do. When I took the pictures they were on recess or first break which is from 1005 to 1025.. even though most students stay on break until about 1030. Thats how the school is.. there are really no rules or expectations.. its not a problem if students are late. Also they apparently have no policy on PDA. There is more touching, feeling, hugging, kissing, making out, holding hands, sitting on each others laps, or playing with each others hair between guys and girls than I have ever seen. It's hard to walk through the halls without walking past it... which is weird. But they can get away with it.. they could get away with about anything I think. Part of the reason is that its tradition in all of Ecuador to give a hug.. at least a partial hug, and a kiss on the cheek when you see someone or when you are leaving someone. Its not really a kiss on the cheek either its just touching cheeks basically and making a kiss noise.(Males just shake hands) Men are supposed to initialize it especially when your meeting someone for the first time... or anytime you see them again.. its a way of greeting a female.  But the students take it a little further than that usually. Also it stopped me in my tracks the first day when I seen a male student hugging and doing that to a female teacher. It looks wrong and weird.. but its just how it is and nothing is seen wrong with it... they do it because they like the teacher. I do not do that.. not to students.. and students haven't tried to do that to me. My teacher (a female) initialized it on Friday and did it again last Friday to say goodbye for the weekend..  kinda weird at first but its just the way it goes... its seen as rude not to. If I meet someone, like on Saturday when I had to meet a lot of the family, I do it but not at school.. it just feels wrong.
Thursday night Meghans family invited me and Peter over for their Thanksgiving diner because my family and his family do not celebrate it. Meghans family lived in the states for a while I think so thats why they still celebrate it. But it wont be an American turkey. Juanfrancisco was telling me that the President put a ban on all American turkeys from being imported to Ecuador... no one likes him here and they think he is crazy. He wanted everyone to support Ecuador and to buy turkey's from Ecuador only. Apparently the government puts bans on things all the time. He is also pretty much a socialist from what they have said. He wants everyone to be on the same level and helps the poor a lot. I guess he also lets almost anyone enter the country because he wants everyone to be accepting and equal. But no one likes this because then poor people come here and increase the crime and violence rate and is apparently why there is so much crime and stealing here in the city. Juanfrancisco said they caught Osama Bin Ladens cousin here in another big town called Guayaquil a few months ago and the president knew it but didn't do anything about it. Pretty crazy. But at least I get to eat turkey. Hope everyone thanksgiving is great!