New Family

Today was a really long day. We woke up at 8:00 to get ready and eat breakfast by the time the bus came and picked us up at 9:20. For breakfast they had eggs, a croissant, and papaya juice. I hadn’t had papaya juice in years so that was awesome! After breakfast we all loaded our things onto the bus and went on our way to CIMAS, which is the institution where we will have our classes everyday. We had a full day of orientation to the school and life in Ecuador in general. After a couple speakers it was finally time for lunch and I couldn’t wait! As soon as I walked in the doors I could smell the food right away and I knew we would be enjoying that aroma for lunch. It was a potato soup that’s very similar to a typical Colombian soup my mom makes and it was really good! After lunch we had a few more speakers talk to us; the most interesting part was when a special agent from the U.S. Embassy in Quito talked about safety and the services that they provide to U.S. citizens abroad. I learned a lot about all of the risks of being in Quito and how to minimize them and if need be, handle them. It was a great advantage knowing Spanish because everything at CIMAS is in Spanish and some of the other students had some trouble following along. As the time neared to meet our host families I began to get really nervous and anxious! As they took us around on a tour I could see the families starting to arrive and I couldn’t wait to meet them! Finally everyone was introduced to the families and my host mother, father, and niece came to greet me. They were all incredibly nice and welcoming. Once we arrived at their home they gave me a tour and I couldn’t believe how nice my area is. They have a three level home and each level is kind of a separate apartment and I have a whole level to myself. It has a full kitchen, living room, bathroom, dining table, everything! It’s really crazy. The father is an architect and he designed the home. Originally as the children got older they would move into a different part for more independence. Their daughter moved to Switzerland with her husband and children, which is why one of the floors was empty. After getting to meet the rest of the family we had dinner and it was even better than lunch! When I sat down there was a large bowl of soup that was incredible. I thought that was dinner and I would’ve been more than satisfied with just that, but that was barely the first course. They then brought out a huge plate with rice, fish, and fried plantains. The fish was really good and tasted very similar to veal. After dinner we talked for a very long time with the family about everything from life in the US and Ecuador to politics and sports. It was really fun. I was really tired after a couple hours of talking so I came downstairs and talked to family and Kayla for a little bit. I just got done doing a little bit of unpacking and getting ready for bed. Tomorrow I have to wake up pretty early to get ready and be upstairs for breakfast because my mother will be taking the bus with me to school so that I learn how to get there. I’m really excited for tomorrow and hopefully the rain will stop so the sun will shine the whole day! Good night!

Arrived!

I arrived in Quito today! It only took about 12 hours to get here. I met a couple of cool people on the plane from Texas, Arkansas, and North Carolina and talking to them made the flights go by faster. As the little plane on the map started to get closer to Ecuador on the screen I started to get really excited! Quito has by far the most urban airport I’ve ever been to. It’s literally in the middle of the city unlike most other airports, which are outside of the city or in a suburb. I’ve met a few of the people that will be studying here with me. Tonight we are staying at a hotel and tomorrow we will meet our host families. My roommate for tonight seems pretty nice. We are really different people, so we’ve had some pretty interesting conversations! I’m exhausted from packing until late last night and waking up early and then traveling all day so I’m heading to bed. I’m really excited for tomorrow and meeting my host family!