Safe and sound in Quito

"Miss, your passport is not valid, it's not signed." Well, that is not exactly how I planned for my trip to start out while checking in at the Eugene airport, but, it did. Luckily, the lady handed me a pen and let me sign it there and then, forgoing any potential problems. You would think that with my history of traveling more than the average person, I would have thought to do that before actually arriving at the airport, but, apparently that detail hadn't made it on my to-do list. I am happy to announce, however, that the rest of my long tedious journey to Quito was otherwise uneventful. After two red eye flights, I arrived in Huston at six (am), which felt like four, only to be stuck there for a thirteen hour lay-over. Thankfully, it was not as bad as it sounds. It let me catch up on a few important things, like say, planning a bit for where I shall be in a few weeks, and sleeping in a corner on the nice hard floor.


“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.”- Freya Stark. This pretty much sums it up. I know no one, I have never been here, and I don't even know the language. This is a feeling most people don't know, or at least don't seek out, but for me, it's one of the reasons I have chosen to do this trip. My host family, or rather host grandfather, picked me up from the airport in Quito at midnight when I arrived (thirty hours after leaving my house in Eugene), and I entered into a new way of life, one that will become "normal" for me over the next ten months. We rode back to his house (more like apartment) in a taxi, and were greeted by his wife, their kid in his twenties, and a very old dog. They showed me around their house and then wished me goodnight, as it was already 1am. I have never been somewhere, for an extended period of time, where I really didn't know any of the language. Boy is it weird! I understand bits and pieces of what is said to me, but I always want to answer back in French. I keep saying "oui," instead of "si," which is very unhelpful because at least if I was saying "yes" they would understand it! Well, I have a huge motivation now to learn Spanish, because if not, I won't be talking much over the next year, and, as we all know, that probably wouldn't be possible for me.

From my flight over:

Quito, the capital of Ecuador (1.5 million habitants), is a very historical, lively, and beautiful city found in the Andes at 2850m (10,000ft). As I have never lived (or even been) somewhere this high, it will take some adjusting, especially before I can do anything active. The city is split up into "new town"- more of a tourist area, with guesthouses, restaurants, and lots of nightlife, and "old town"- a Unesco World Heritage Site composed of 17th-century facades, beautiful plazas, and majestic churches. Needless to say, I plan on spending my time in the old town, visiting the huge handicraft market, wandering around the plazas with my camera, and taking the sky tram up to 4100m (and if the coca leaves, which are used for altitude sickness, help me out, hopefully I will get to summit Rucu Pichincha, a three hour hike from the sky tram and 4680m high)!

Well, that is more than enough for today. I am off to explore this amazing place, so I will check in again in a few days!