Day 1

I made it in to Quito safe and sound with only a 2 hour delay in Miami. Not bad but it made for a very long day. Immigration and customs was no problem and my luggage made it as well (2 guys at our hostel still had not received their bags and they had been there 4 days already, yuck). I boarded the hostel shuttle with two other ladies from my program, Shelby and Jacquie, where I soon realized that losing my luggage might have been easier than not speaking Spanish. This was going to be a lot more challenging and exhausting than I had thought. We tried to communicate with our driver in what words we could remember from high school Spanish and our driver with what words he had learned from American TV and movies. We made it to our hostel, The Secret Garden, regardless and were welcomed by three others from my program, Christina, Elysse, and Tina. It was great to see them, hear about their adventures in Quito before we arrived, and enjoy a glass of wine at 9350 ft of elevation.

The next morning I woke up and found that Christina, Elysse, and Tina had contracted Montezuma's revenge and were not feeling well at all. The rest of us helped the sicklings move out of our hostel room before we departed on a walking tour of the city, promising not to stop for lunch at the restaurant where they think they had the bad food. The walking tour lasted about 2 hours as our friendly tour guide showed us all the important spots in Old Town. We finished with a climb to the top of the basilica that offered us wonderful views of the sprawling city of Quito. The birds eye view made the city look like a gigantic patch work quilt.

Later that day in the pouring rain we made our way to the Universidad San Francisco de Quito where we will be taking classes for the next month. We were on our way to meet our host families. I had no idea what to expect of my "family" or where I would be living but I found some solace in the fact that I would be living with Jacquie from my program. I was also praying they spoke a little English so things wouldn't be terribly difficult, but not too much so I could learn the language. Was that too much to ask? After only a few minutes of waiting, we were picked up by our host mom, Martha and sister, Monica. I was immediately relieved when Monica started speaking in very good English. I knew the housing situation was going to be very different than I had expected when we drove through the entrance of the gated community where we would be living. Was I just seeing things through the pouring down rain? Nope! Our host families home is beautiful and more than I could ask for; my own room with double bed, wireless internet, two cats, a dog, and home cooked Ecuadorian meals!