Arrival

Hola!! Estamos aqui!

We have made it to Ecuador. I am sitting at the desk in our bedroom that our host familia has provided, looking out at a very busy street. A hummingbird just landed on a telephone wire out side the window. That is how cool Ecuador is...hummingbirds hang out on the telephone wires.

After an overnight in Washington D.C, where I acted the part of the overenthusiastic tourist (first time there for me) and seeing a great friend from college, we got on a plane early Friday morning and flew to Ecuador via Houston.

Arriving in the airport caused a myriad of emotions. Are we actually here? How is it already February? I can't wait to see everything! Am I going to be able to communicate at all? I am so excited to try the food! What if this school we signed up for isn't legit? What if our host family isn't here to meet us?

After making it through customs, all my worries went out the window. There, holding a sign that read "Hamels" was Marco. He waved and said hello and we got about 2 seconds to try to impress him with our Spanish (which is about as unimpressive as possible at this point) when a woman barged in, threw her arms around us and gave us each a welcoming kiss on the cheek. We realized that this was our host for the next few weeks.

Aulolia is wonderful. She is a mother to Paula and Marco, grandmother to Emilio and Emalie, and Ecuadorean mama to countless Spanish language students that she has hosted over the past 10 years. She is just what a person needs to feel comfortable and cared for. And she is an extremely talented chef! Colin and I feel very blessed to have ended up in her home.

Our fist full day in Quito. Pride kept me from admitting until late in the day that the altitude was, indeed, giving me a hard time. Luckily, much was done before it got too bad. We took a walk around the area that we will be spending a lot of our time: La Mariscal. It is the more modern part of Quito and the site of our school and home.

We visited the Mindalae Museo Etnohistorico de Artisanias del Ecuador and learned a bit about the history and culture of some of the people groups in Ecuador.

We got home just in time to enjoy a delicioso homemade meal, followed by our first siesta of the trip.

Today we took at trip across the city to the equator. Taxi, bus, and lots of walking got us to Mitad del Mundo. The middle of the earth.

(By the way, another hummingbird just landed next to the aforementioned hummingbird. )

We learned a lot about the equator. We also learned that beyond being delicious (I have yet to be convinced), guinea pigs are an excellent judge of character. Apparently they can sense what type of presence a person has, and they will make their little squeaks very loudly if someone suspicious is nearby. They were nice and quiet when I looked in the cage. Colin, however, got quite the reaction....just saying. :)

We start classes tomorrow. Our poor teacher. She will have her hands full!

Also, I saw a shrunken head.

Thanks for reading.

Chao!