El Centro Historico

Hello everyone :) Today we went to el centro historico (the historic center) in Quito. There are, as expected, many old buildings, churches, plazas, and even the White House (which by the way isvery non-cholantly located in the middle of the street. Apparently the current president doesn´t live there now though) We also ascended (by way of climbing up steep, trecherous staircases) the towers of an old basilica. At the top there were great views of Quito. The city is truly enormous. I don´t think any city in the USA is as big (square feet wise). Since I know there are foodies reading my blog, I'll tell you what I ate today: pineapple and bread for breakfast; lunch was a combo plate of lentils, rice, steak, and a fried banana slice; helado (ice cream in a flavor called tazo - which is a delicious sour, citrus fruit), and dinner was lentil soup with a rice and cold mix of tomato, avocado, pidgeon peas, chicken, and onion. Delicioso! Hasta mañana - when we start teaching!

First Day in Quito

Hola a todos! I arrived safe in Quito last night (well, early this morning). The city is huge - and driving through it at night reminded me of the vastness of Mexico City. Luckily, I was able to sleep in this morning and wake up just in time for breakfast at 10am: a fried egg, apple slices drizzled with liquid yogurt, bread, and tea. Yum! Not a bad start. Afterwards, Adriana (the host mom) and her son Julio and infant Paula went on a stroll through the park nearby (picture at left). Julio and I and a father and son teamed up to play some futbol (of course!). Julio was NOT happy with me when I hit him in the stomach accidently. Also in the park there was this stage set up for dancing. We stopped to watch a lot of couples shaking their hips to reggaeton, salsa, and cumbia. Lunch was around 3pm: pork with onions and steamed vegetables. One of the other tutors in the house took me on a tour to the centro comercial (the mall) nearby. I think I am the only person in Quito with blonde hair. Seriously! None of the other tutors have blonde hair. For dinner at 7:45 Adriana ordered pizza - from Papa John's! Muy delicioso! The mealtimes are very nice in that they are casual and usually we stay at the table afterwards to chat with each other. I can tell already that my Spanish is going to improve a lot! I think tonight is going to be very low key - some tutors are on an excursion to the Jungle and many others are leaving soon since their one month committment will end June 30th. Hasta luego...

Still in AA

Let's test this...