While I have only been here since Wednesday evening, I have a lot to update you on. We left DC early on Wednesday morning. Our flight was at 11am, but we left at 6:30am despite being >15mins from the airport. There was a delay on our flight from DC to Miami because both the tires needed to be changed, so we almost missed our connecting flight to Quito. Luckily the terminal was very close, but we basically ran to the connecting flight. Good thing they didn't leave without us because who knows what we would have done. The flight was actually quite easy. It was about a 2-3hr flight to Miami and then a 4hr flight to Quito, so those of you thinking about visiting... dooooo itttt. We arrived in Quito around 6:30pm. It was an immediate rude awakening when the customs people only spoke Spanish. We took a bus to the training center, ate some dinner and went to sleep. We stayed/slept at the training center for 2-3 days, while they filled us in on all sorts of information. We also had to fill out a great deal of paperwork. As well, we started receiving some of our immunizations and med kit. An FBI agent from the US Embassy in Ecuador came to give us a talk about safety and security. I won't go too much into it, as my parents will be reading this. Basically, he was having a fun time trying to scare the crap out of us. Eventually, we finally got out of the training center compound and a few of us went on a walk for a couple hours. About half way in we stopped for some beers. We bought six 24oz beers for $6... not $6 each, $6 total. It was a good time, we got to see some more glimpses of the gorgeous landscape. It is going to be 27 months of some absolutely beautiful scenery. I wonder if I will ever get used to it. On Friday night, I proceeded to depict exactly how weird I am. To my friends from McDonogh and Williams, guys we are not normal. I had too many stories of all our weird shenanigans. Particularly from that one Hilton Head spring break lacrosse trip my senior year at McD. Also Kara, I threw a couple of your stories in there, too. Yesterday, they gave us a bunch of tips for living with our host families (e.g. what is and is not culturally appropriate). I was quite nervous, but it was mixed with a great deal of excitement.
Around noon yesterday we met our host families. It was sort of like being picked for a dodgeball team. They announced the host family's name with the corresponding trainee's name. I slowly watched everyone get paired. Oh the anticipation! Finally, I was still standing there and there were no families left. Hahaa. However, I did not need to worry, as my host mom and sister showed up two minutes later. They were completely worth the wait. I have a host mom, dad, two sisters, and a bother. Oh, and Coco their dog (basically a bigger Gomez). They are incredibly nice and comical at the same time. Their family is so full of love, it is quite endearing. They really seem to enjoy being around each other. They've provided me with my own room and bathroom. They've had two trainees before me, so they are quite vetted! They live in Tumbaco, which is a suburb of Quito and is only about 15-20 mins away from the training center. I will be with them for the next 11 weeks during training until Swearing In on August 1. We really only speak Spanish to each other, which is great because even though my spanish is pitiful, I get a chance to practice it. The kids know varying degrees of English, so when I am doing a terrible job, they are typically able to sort it out.
Today, we drove to Quito. We stopped for some lunch along the way. Which reminds me, the food has been great so far. I've been quite pleased and never gone hungry. Kim and Trosch, I'm even planning on trying guinea pig. During lunch today, I experienced my first encounter with blood soup. My host brother and father ordered it. I had assumed it was soup that looked like tomato, but instead of tomato it was blood. I was wrong. Instead, it is more of a ground beef-like substance that you add to soup. I think you can order an assortment of soups and it is more of a thing to add in. They each had different soups and both added in the sangre. I don't know why I didn't take a picture of it. I pretty much had the family order for me. 1. I wasn't so good at reading the menu and 2. they knew what wouldn't ravage my stomach. Then, we drove through Quito on our way to the statue of La Virgen de El Panecillo. Wow, it was quite a site. Quito is huge!! It's unlike anything I've ever seen. Once again, I wish I had taken some pictures while we were driving through the city, but it's hard to take pictures in a car while it's moving. Plus, I am sure I will have plenty more opportunities to take pictures of the city. The view from La Virgen de El Pancecillo is a 360 view. I couldn't capture it's magnitude with my camera. It took many, many pictures because it is located basically in the middle of the city between the old colonial part of the city and the newer part of the city. I've included some pictures below. Enjoy!
Some of the other trainees on the plane!
View from the training center
Part of the training center
Meow. This kitten had blue eyes.
First time out of the training center compound
View of south Quito from La Virgen de El Panecillo
more...
...más
mi familia nueva
This is the north part of the city. As you can see there are many more tall buildings.
North part of Quito
