Ok...the rest of it all this was from sunday the first
So Friday we woke up and had breakfast. THe first thing I saw outside of my window were these breathtaking mountains....and I really mean breathtaking. In PA, there arent mtns with a valley in between but rather a series of pathetic lumps. Here, on either side of quito there is one range of the andes mountains. I know that for as long as I am in Quito, I will always stop to admire how incredibly huge the mountains are. . When I got downstairs to the dining room, there was bread and eggs and juice on the table. The eggs tasted a little fresher than home (meaning more like something that came out of a chicken) but the juice was awesome. No pulp. Just good fresh oj. And the bread was great too (that is pretty much all that they eat here..and I can see why). After breakfast we went to the Mitad del Mundo (equator) only 10 min north of Quito which is suprisingly surrounded by desert. One would think that Quito is lush and green but during the dry season it is really brown. Up until this point I hadnt really spoken spanish., so I was more than glad to have a conversation with a woman trying to sell me some plant ivory. I cant say that I understood all that she said, but I did understand some, which was a start. We stopped for food at the equator and I had my first taste of Ecuadorian empanadas verdes (cheese and bannana filled) and the other meat and corn kind of which I cant remember the name.
The difference between Saturday and Sunday is really blurry so I will just act as thought it were all one day.
We went with the rest of the group back to the statue called Panecillo that overlooks the entire city (which is gianormous!!) It was neat bc it was really clear out so that I got a good picture of Cotopaxi (volcano)YAY!Then we went to this exhibit called the Crystal Palace but didnt get to go inside...it had a mummy inside and the line was too long to go see it. Hopefully I will stop by before the exhibit moves on. We then went downtown, to the old part of Quito at sunset. All of the buildings are recently painted different colors as part of a project to renovate the scary crime areas. These kids kept following us around for money. One even tried to convince me that I took a picture of him and owed him a dollar to which I replied "whoa son, I think not!" and Then I realized that he didnt understand english. LOL.
The kids were standing in the plaza of this church that had all of this gold all over the walls and ceilings. Rebecca said something about a painting that showed Jesus whipping the jews in the synogauge for begging. She then commented on the irony of the painting being only ten feet from the beggars outside. Hah. We also went to the universidad (quite a bus ride). It is soo pretty. the guy that built it was super anal and super rich so it is gorgeous. Everything is marble and super silppery.
I am so afriad to meet my host family tomorrow. But excited too. I cant wait to live out of a real closet instead of a suitcase.
A sidenote: the drivers here dont use signals and they beep sooo much. Especially at gringos. Crossing the street is an endevour in itself. I already saved like 3 people from getting hit....you can tell who lived in a city and who hasnt.
And the director, Pablo is pretty cool. An aerospace engineer turned farmer turned BCA program director.
The difference between Saturday and Sunday is really blurry so I will just act as thought it were all one day.
We went with the rest of the group back to the statue called Panecillo that overlooks the entire city (which is gianormous!!) It was neat bc it was really clear out so that I got a good picture of Cotopaxi (volcano)YAY!Then we went to this exhibit called the Crystal Palace but didnt get to go inside...it had a mummy inside and the line was too long to go see it. Hopefully I will stop by before the exhibit moves on. We then went downtown, to the old part of Quito at sunset. All of the buildings are recently painted different colors as part of a project to renovate the scary crime areas. These kids kept following us around for money. One even tried to convince me that I took a picture of him and owed him a dollar to which I replied "whoa son, I think not!" and Then I realized that he didnt understand english. LOL.
The kids were standing in the plaza of this church that had all of this gold all over the walls and ceilings. Rebecca said something about a painting that showed Jesus whipping the jews in the synogauge for begging. She then commented on the irony of the painting being only ten feet from the beggars outside. Hah. We also went to the universidad (quite a bus ride). It is soo pretty. the guy that built it was super anal and super rich so it is gorgeous. Everything is marble and super silppery.
I am so afriad to meet my host family tomorrow. But excited too. I cant wait to live out of a real closet instead of a suitcase.
A sidenote: the drivers here dont use signals and they beep sooo much. Especially at gringos. Crossing the street is an endevour in itself. I already saved like 3 people from getting hit....you can tell who lived in a city and who hasnt.
And the director, Pablo is pretty cool. An aerospace engineer turned farmer turned BCA program director.