Quito

I'm getting close to the end of my second week in Ecuador, and its amazing how much I have adjusted to living here. A lot of factors have made the adjustment easier, namely my great host family, my friends from school, the gorgeous weather, and Quito itself-I love this city.

This past week my friends and I made it a point to get out and see the city-there is so much to do and see. We made it to 'Old Quito,' a part of the city that has beautiful colonial architecture. We also made it to El Mercado Artensenal which has a huge array of crafts, jewelry and clothing. We even made it to the Supercines--their ultra modern movie theater to see Avatar (in English). This city is so diverse, the people, the buildings, the activities; there are areas that look and feel as if they could be in the US, and there are areas that feel like another world. And then there are the mountains and the snow covered Volcan Cotopaxi...

All in all, I am very happy to be in Quito : ) Enjoy the photos! [mostly from Old Quito-and a few photos of the view from my school]

San Miguel de los Bancos

This past Friday I traveled to an amazing spot called San Miguel de los Bancos with my MSID program. We stayed at a resort, El Encanto, situated on the top of the beautiful, green, rolling mountains that make this location truly one of the most amazing sites I have seen.

Once we arrived and had breakfast, we set off on a hike down the mountain through a lush forest filled with thousands of species of animals and plants. One square mile of this land has more living species than then entire US and Canada combined. We arrived at a few waterfalls where we could swim, the water felt great after hiking in the humid forest.

Later that day, I chose to go on another optional hike which ended up being quite an adventure from start to finish. We had to drive to the start of our guide's property, so about 11 of us hopped into the back of a dump truck and drove for about a half hour on gravel roads, through small rivers, and avoiding close tree limbs. Once we arrived, we hiked a little until we reached a waterfall which had a deep pool below. Naturally, this was not just a beautiful spot, but an opportunity to jump into the pool from various ledges. I started with the lower one, but knew I would regret not going on the taller one too. It was an amazing feeling facing my fear of heights and plunging into the water from upper ledge. We left the falls and continued on a two hour hike through what I can only call a jungle, trekking through the mud and creeks until we reached a small lake where again, we did some more swimming. As we rode back to the resort in the truck, I couldn't believe what we had packed into one adventure filled day. Needless to say, I slept very well that night.

Did I mention that this resort was literally on the equator? Check out some of the pictures...

I'm here!

Well, I made it. After a long day of traveling, I got into Quito at about 9:30 last night and was bussed to a nearby hotel with the rest of the people in my program. Meeting everyone and seeing part of the city at night was exciting, but the real treat came this morning when I woke up and could actually see the city and mountains. Quito is literally surrounded by mountains and buildings creep up the slopes on all sides. We took a bus from the hotel to Cimas (which is where I'll be taking my classes) and got a really good look at everything during the ride.

Cimas easily has one of the best views of Quito and the surrounding area. They have windows and balconies and patios so I'll be able to take in these amazing scenes all day long. I'll put up pictures of this soon.

I also met my host family, which consists of my host dad, Carlos, host mom, Pilar, and three sisters, Maria Belen, 19, Pili, 18, and Maria Jose, 12. Everyone is very sweet and welcoming and although there were some times when I couldn't fully understand them, I was pleased with my comprehension and speaking abilities.

Well, I'm pretty exhausted so that's all for now : )

Buenas noches.

What I Know...

There is a lot about my upcoming trip to Ecuador that is still unknown, but there are a few things I do know:

-I'm leaving SOON (January 18th)
-And I will be back before I know it (May 28th)
-I'm going to be living at an altitude of over 9,000 ft in the capital city of Quito.
-I'll be living with an Ecuadorian family.
-I'm going to learn a lot of Spanish : D
-And yet Spanish will be the least of what I'll learn.
-I'm going to miss my friends and family.
-And they are going to miss me!
-I have a lot to do before I leave.
-I'll learn to both appreiate what I have and get by with less than I'm used to.
-It will change me.
-I CANNOT wait!

This will also be my first attempt at a blog-so forgive me if it is less than perfect. I'll post photos and entries to let you all know what I'm up to!

BUEN VIAJE!