First Week in Otavalo

The hot springs at Papallacta were wonderful. The water is heated from the volcanoes surrounding the area, and the people collect the runoff water funneling them into the hotspring baths (more like hot tubs). The tubs are built with volcanic rock. The water and minerals are supposed to be great for your skin. The spa here is famous, so everyone got a massage. I had a very relaxing neck & back massage.

Hot springs at Papallacta

When our bus pulled into the University of Otavalo last Sunday, I started to panic. WHAT did I get myself into? How was I going to survive in a house where nobody speaks English? Well, the first night my shower was cold and I was woken up at 4:00 am by ten barking puppies. Yes, ten. However, they are SO adorable and fun to play with:

My two favorite German Shepherd puppies

My family is very nice - Their names are Julio and Acacia. They have two sons who live in Quito: One of them is a doctor, married, and has one daughter. The other is in law school, and he is taking his LSATs this weekend! 

My host mom is constantly telling me to eat more, and makes me fresh fruit juice from her garden every morning - delicious! My favorite is guanabana. (She taught me how to correctly use the hot water in the shower!) Every night at dinner my host dad makes me get out my Spanish work from class that day, and then quizzes me on the words I wrote next to in English. Yesterday I decided to try not writing anything on my paper in English to see if I would be quizzed on any words...He quizzed me on all of them instead.

  

This is a Guanabana 

My first day of teaching was this week! So far, everything is going well and I love my students. They are very attentive and eager to learn. Sometimes they forget my name so they just call me "Teacher." We are teaching Basic First Aid to our students. The first day, we surprised them with a skit where I had a bloody nose, and my teaching partner had to take care of me. I must say I am a fabulous actress - all the kids were laughing with (at?) me. 

 

So far, I am having a wonderful time here in Ecuador! This weekend we are hiking a local volcano (a 4 hour hike!), going horseback riding, shopping in the market, and planning lessons for next week! We only get internet at the university, so bear with me as I try to keep up with my blog! 

Hasta luego! 

Days in Quito

3 Days in Quito, and I already love Ecuador!


In Quito, we have done a lot of site-seeing. We took a bus tour through Old Town, where we saw all the different styles that have influenced Quito's architecture over the years. 

Spanish colonial influence

French influence

After our drive through Old Town Quito, we went to see the "Casa de Cristal," which was originally built for Rock concerts, due to a lack of venue for people who appreciate this type of music. Now, many cultural events are held here. From there we drove to the top of El Panecillo (little bread) to see the statue of the "Virgen de Quito." This is the only statue in the world that depicts Mary with wings - inspired by the Book of the Apocalypse. From the top of this hill you can see several volcanoes in the distance. The views are amazing! 

Virgen de Quito

View of the Virgen from Casa de Crital

We also took a gondola ride to the top of volcano Pichincha, the namesake of on of the provinces in Quito. The views at night were incredible, and you could really see how big the city is from the span of lights across the valley. The volcano is now inactive.

Quito is 10 miles long, 3 miles wide. This image only shows about
half of the city view from the top of Pichincha.

The food here is delicious! We have tried many fruit juices (my favorite is Guanabana) and traditional dishes. I have not tried Cuy yet (guinea pig) because they serve it whole - the head/body is all intact. I was informed that this is the Ecuadorian way of showing you that you are in fact being served cuy, not some other animal such as a rat. I still think it's gross. I do, however, like many of the other dishes. They serve a lot of plantains and yuca, and also potatoes. My favorite meal so far was "Ceviche de pollo y aguacate" which is a cold meal of chicken and avocado in a citrus/tangy sauce. The avocado here is SO good! It is always fresh. We also had a chance to try different chocolates and cocoa beans. As a chocolate lover, this was one of my favorite activities!  

Ceviche - Que rico!

     

Today we are moving to Papallacta, a natural hot spring and spa resort. This will be our last day before we move on to Otavalo, where I will be meeting my host family and begin teaching! 

En Route

...And we're off!

Leaving a rainy Miami behind, we boarded our Boeing 787 bound for Quito! As I sent final good-bye text messages and turned off my cell phone for a month (the horror!) I finally let it sink in that I was going to Ecuador...I was SO EXCITED!


After food, a movie, and some chatting with a local seated next to us, we began our descent to Quito. As we broke through the clouds, mountain tops came into view. The scenery from the sky was gorgeous. Tips of snow-capped mountains could be seen above the layer of clouds below us. I was shocked at the size of them. 

Gorgeous view from my plane window

Yes, that is a huge mountain at eye level out my plane window...and we were still 20 minutes from landing!
Pretty high up... 

When we landed, one of the program coordinators met us at the airport and took us to the hotel to meet up with the rest of our group. After settling into our rooms, we went to a local restaurant in search of some "Ecuadorian" food which turned out to be the most "American" meal I had all day - beer, chicken sandwiches, and french fries. We're all tired from traveling and can't wait for tomorrow, starting with a tour of Quito!

First night in Ecuador - Cheers!

Predeparture

Well, I think I'm ready... 

After packing over the course of 5 days (procrastinator, I know) my suitcase weight is just under the 50 lb. limit, my backpack is about to burst, and my mind is running wild. 

Tomorrow afternoon, I will be leaving to spend a month in Ecuador through Penn State's Teaching English as a Second Language certification program. We will be staying in Quito for the first few days, then will spend the remainder of our stay in a town called Otavalo. There, I will be staying with a host family and teaching English to 9- and 10-year-old students in the community - all of whom have little to no knowledge of the language! 

Our first stop, Quito (Ecuador's capital)
Majority of our time will be in the town of Otavalo (North of Quito)

While I am excited beyond words, I am also nervous! How do I walk into a classroom and start teaching...to students who don't speak English? Will my host family and I get along? What if I don't like the food? (Ecuador does not have American peanut butter. I'm a little concerned.) Will everything I learned in high school Spanish classes come back to me? I sure hope so!

Though I have some minor anxieties, I cannot wait to be on my way and begin this trip of a lifetime! I'll try to blog here frequently to keep you updated on my travels and experiences. Can't wait to share my stories and pictures with you!

Hasta la próxima...

To learn more about this Ecuador experience program, visit: Penn State Outreach.