Hola y bienvenidos a mi blog! Hoy, vamos a hablar de…I’m just kidding haha. I don’t think I could do an entire post in Spanish. I could, maybe on a very basic level, but I’m not sure that you’re all here for that kind of blog. Anyway! This week I’m going to be talking about the first city we stayed in during my study abroad from January 2nd to the 15th. Quito! The capital of Ecuador!
If you haven’t read my post on all of my journals summing up my Ecuador trip, I recommend maybe doing that before you read this post, just so you get a general idea of everything I did. Or if that’s all you want to read about my time in Ecuador, you can read that too, by clicking HERE! 🙂 You won’t be totally lost if you don’t though. On with the show!
What a wonderful way to start off my trip to Ecuador. We arrived super late on the 2nd after an entire day of traveling. My first time through customs wasn’t as scary as I honestly imagined it being. The man just asked how long I will stay, and I couldn’t remember how to say fourteen days in Spanish, so I told him “Two weeks (dos semanas)!” and called that good. My first stamp is looking pretty cute in my passport. 🙂
When we arrived at the Holiday Inn Express we stayed at downtown, my roommates and I practically all crashed. That may or may not be a theme of mine for this trip, haha. The next morning, January 3rd, we had an early breakfast at our hotel and then it was off to the Fundacion Cristo Misionero Orante, which is a school run by a group of nuns. The place was entirely self-sustaining, so all of the food they needed was right there for them. In addition to that, they also double as a safe place and home for children who come from abusive homes. At Fundacion Cristo Misionero Orante, we helped weed in the areas where farming happened so that they could plant more vegetables and herbs too. We also had the opportunity to teach English to the kids who were in class at the time. Another student and I had the opportunity to go and teach English toward the end of our time at the school, and let me tell you, it was not easy. One of the things I learned during this part of the trip is that I really wish I had taken more opportunities to learn Spanish in high school. I learned quite a bit, but what I knew still wasn’t enough. The kids most definitely wanted to communicate and I wanted to communicate back, but it was difficult. Sometimes, I felt like a fool, if I’m being completely honest. In the end though, I was more focused on just being able to make the kids smile and enjoy their company overall.
After about three hours of work at the school, we went back to downtown Quito for lunch at this super cute place, Patio Andaluz. Our first of many wonderful meals happened at this place. My addiction to blackberry juice also began this day, haha.
With full stomachs, our tour of Quito then began. We saw the president’s estate, the main plaza, and many beautiful, tight streets lined with brightly colored buildings that were both homes and shops. Locals walked around will platters filled with meringue treats which looked delicious and every chance they had, they wanted to sell us something. We also visited a beautiful cathedral during our tour of Quito. With the help of our wonderful guide, we were allowed into the church and even got to climb up to the roof and see a wonderful city view. I can now say that I’ve been on top of a church before. Literally, the very top. After this, we visited another spot where we could see all of Quito. It was beautiful and also really cool to look out and see how the building climbed up the Andes Mountains and then suddenly stopped.
Our first busy day in Quito concluded with a wonderful dinner at this place not too far from the hotel called Restaurante Achiote. The food was great, yet again, although I wasn’t a huge fan of the dessert which was figs dipped in black sugar and cheese. It was different, that’s for sure. A lot of the people on my trip really wanted to go out that night, so we went to this area deemed “Gringoland” and found a bar. I got some good old bottled water while everyone else drank. One of the things I learned to be extremely grateful for that night was the no smoking policy that a lot of places have in the United States. There was a man smoking behind me and let me just say my asthma wasn’t too pleased with that. My first experience in a bar was an interesting one, that’s for sure.
The next day in Quito, we were back at Fundacion Cristo Misionero Orante. We helped paint the wall outside the school to cover up the graffiti and also did some more weeding. If I can’t put that I’m a professional weeder on my resume at this point, I’m going to be very disappointed. Just kidding. It was REALLY hot that day and I am so glad that I brought some water, sunscreen, and a hat with me that day.
After our time at the school again, we headed to Hacienda Herlinda for lunch. The food was fantastic, again and after that we visited El Mitad del Mundo, or the middle of the world. Here I got to experience the wackiness that is the equator and now I can proudly say that I’ve been in both hemispheres at once! Fun times. With another busy day practically over, it was back to the hotel. We later had dinner (at a place that I can’t remember and appear to not have written about in my notes) and then went and got brownies at this place called Sweets and Coffee, which to me, seems like the Starbucks of Ecuador. It was a cute little place! Everyone wanted to go out again that night, but I was getting a headache, so I called it a night.
And just like that, our time in Quito was over and we were onto our next city, the one I was most excited for, Otavalo. Save the drama for your llama and I’ll see you all next Sunday!