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...