Expats & Estudio Sampere, Cuenca

Cuenca is such a friendly city, both the locals & expats most often have a smile on their face & take the time to stop and talk to others on the street.  The first day that my friends & I walked out of the hostel on the way to the Wunderbar Cafe (recommended by the hostal owner, Esperanza), we smiled at people who seemed to be expats.  They stopped to talk -- they are from Switzerland, retired 10 yrs ago, & have lived outside of Cuenca since retirement & were in the city for the day.  On the second day when we went for a walk, we saw John.  He stopped to talk & invited us to his party on the following Sunday.   He said later, "only in Cuenca would I invite people that I had just met to my apartment".  The invitees to the party were all expats (mostly from the U.S.) who shared their experiences with me about obtaining the residency visas.  Everyone chuckles & says every experience is different, some difficult, some more easily obtained--depending on the day, & the person in the government office that assists you.  I met great people who I am sure will become long-term friends.  John is the one in the middle talking to other expats.  Below is the view from his 4th floor apartment.  It was raining!  And it has been raining almost every day.

The second day at Spanish School & I'm impressed with professors & programs.  And there have been many changes -- it's Ecuador!  We were told the name was Amerispan; it is Estudio Sampere--I think Amerispan is a American division that belongs to Estudio Sampere.  We were told one address--it is different address (farther away from home stay which means walking briskly 20 minutes--my favorite part is walking along the river--& includes walking up most of the stairs in the picture featured previously).  Good exercise!  We signed up for morning classes--we have afternoon classes.  We were told there would be 4 classes, 45 min. ea.  We have 2 classes of 1 1/2 hr. ea. -- one grammar, one conversational Spanish.  We told there would be daily cultural classes; there was not a cultural class yesterday and the one today was canceled.  Oh, well, I still love it.  Here's the front of the building:

This is one of the historical buildings in Cuenca that has been recently restored.   

Even though there are bars on the windows, everyone says that Cuenca is a very safe city.  It's a precaution that businesses (& homes) take against thieves.  

I'm healthy & happy.  My friend, Robin, has been sick, so I am grateful for my "strong constitution".  I am doing what I want to do & I'm satisfied with the decisions that I have made for my retirement.  To be continued . . .