Quito, at last

As my first experience outside of the US (you can't count Vancouver, BC), the flight into Ecuador was quite memorable. I left Denver at 11am, had a layover in Houston, then a 5 hour flight to Quito. However, due to dense fog in Quito, the airport was shut down and we were unable to land. After circling Quito for 30 minutes, the captain announced that we were running low on fuel and needed to make an unexpected landing in Guayaquil (Ecuador's major port city on the Pacific coast). After landing, confusion, customs, confusion, waiting on the bus, confusion, and checking into The Grand Hotel Guayaquil, it was 1:30am.

Riding through the late-night city streets on the bus, I was able to get my first glimpse of life outside of the US. The streets were dirty, the buildings rundown (by US standards) but heavily gated, and the people appeared a bit rough and (I'll be honest) scary. I got the feeling that if I was forced to walk on my own for some reason, that I would not last very long here. One, because I don't speak the language. And two, because I feel like I am a naive American tourist without much travel savvy. Immediately, the disparity between life as I've experienced it thus far, and the reality of life in a much less comfortable and opulent country was painfully apparent.

None-the-less, I did survive the night in a hotel room that probably half of the city's citizens could not afford one night in. In the morning, after somehow making it onto the correct bus to the airport, and onto the correct flight, I finally made my arrival into Quito at 10am - only 11 hours after my originally scheduled arrival. I didn't view this diversion as an inconvenience at all. Actually, I very much welcomed the adventure, eager to see what it held. It makes a great story, it was a baptism by fire, a memorable way to begin (hopefully) a lifetime of travel adventures. Instead, I was overwhelmed by the privilege to be able to make such a journey in the first place. Seeing the conditions in Ecuador, and then thinking about how much money my plane ticket alone cost, I am unable to be anything but grateful for this entire experience (whatever it may bring).

Connecting with my host family and driver was suprisingly easy at the airport. Most of my fears and anxieties were allayed once I arrived at my host family's apartment. A husband and wife, past middle-aged, warmly greeted me with broken English sufficient enough to make interactions possible. They kindly showed me to my living quarters - an apartment all to itself. A huge living room, nice bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen all freshly painted and furnished. As nice and definitely more spacious than anything I've had in the US. And an unbelievable view of Pichincha (Quito's most prominent and nearby mountain) through a huge picture window (see photo above). The couple then drove me around the local area, showing me my school and other useful landmarks and streets.

My first impression of Quito is wonderful. The weather is great - clouds mixed with sunshine, fresh mountain air (somewhat reminiscent of Colorado), and comfortable temperatures. Many of the windows of many buildings, including my apartment, consist of slats of glass that are unable to be completely sealed. Therefore, I assume that the temperature here never gets too extremely cold or hot, nor are insects a major concern. So far, the days have been very comfortable - highs in the mid 60's - and the nights somewhat chilly, but great sleeping temperatures - low 50's perhaps. The openness of the windows creates a wonderful feeling of being outdoors, even when inside, however it does a poor job of keeping out the noisy hustle and bustle of the city streets - something that I'm sure I will soon become accustomed to and unaware of.

My Spanish language school is very nice. The building itself is extremely beautiful and decorated with many Ecuadorian paintings, textiles, and photographs. My instruction is one-on-one for 4 hours every morning. The instructor is a native Ecuadorian and she is very helpful and personable. It must require a great amount of patience dealing with Spanish illiterates like myself. However, I feel like I have made tremendous strides in only 2 days. I'm excited to see where I stand after 10 weeks here. Life so far is very good and not too extremely foreign nor uncomfortable. The food has been phenomenal, and relatively cheap (we had a large lunch today consisting of soup, salad, chicken, rice, melon, and drink for $2.25). I've been hearing rumors from other travelers of guinea pig meat, so there will probably be opportunities in the near future to expand the horizons of my palate.