Day one.

It's 5:30pm on my first full day in South America! Today has definitely been a full day. We were up pretty late last night unpacking, meeting each other, and all that fun stuff so I'm definitely a little tired now. 

This morning we went to the dean's house for breakfast, which was really good. Right away I noticed foreign fruits in the fruit salad, reminding me that I am now living at the equator! We enjoyed eating and chatting until it was time for some orientation stuff. We talked about what we're excited and nervous for; having faith like Abraham, who was a stranger in a foreign land; practiced greeting each other Ecuadorian style (by touching someone's upper arm, meeting your cheek with theirs, and making a kissing noise); met the staff; and finally played some games. By the end of all that I was definitely ready to explore; I have a hard time sitting for a long time and wanted to get out and actually do something. Which we did!

The staff took us on a little walking tour of the area, pointing out important streets and other locations. I felt more than a little overwhelmed trying to keep track of the street names and where they were in relation to our apartment--getting around the city is probably one of the things I'm most nervous for here. Thankfully, I remember that Pichincha (the mountain that I think is also a volcano looming over us) is west, and if I get really lost I know how to tell a taxi driver to bring me back to the apartment. Eventually we stopped at a mall, which actually has a lot of American chains--Subway, Cinnabon, Burger King. We stuck with Ecuadorian food, of course, so I was brave and tried ceviche. Ceviche is a cold soup containing fish or shrimp. I'm not a fan of shrimp, so I tried the fish and it was actually pretty good! It's packed with cilantro and lime, so it has a lot of flavor. It was served with popcorn, corn nuts, and plantain chips. Yum.

As we continued our tour we went into a market, full of produce I've never seen before in my life. There are so many exotic fruits here, and they're all cheap! There's one called a "snot fruit", which apparently looks like snot but tastes delicious. Shopping there ought to be an adventure.


After our walk we climbed back up to our neighborhood, where we had a bit more orientation stuff before finally getting some down time. The weather is gorgeous and so far it's been a good day. The altitude and pollution are definitely there, but so far neither has been too bad for me. The next few days bring more orientation, which I honestly can't wait to get through. I just want to be in my internship, living life in Quito. However, I know I have to be able to function here first, so it's all worth it. That's all for now! I've included pictures of the view from the roof of our apartment.