Quito: Altitude Adjustments

           Hello! This is my blog continuing from my previous one about my study abroad experience in Europe. This blog is about my experiences in Ecuador, where I will be working with a non-profit that teaches film making to high schoolers. I'm starting in Quito then will work on the coast. I have no film experience so I'm pretty pumped. Here it goes so far: 

            Last night I left JFK airport for a flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador. I felt so at home in that little piece of NYC, even though I’m not from there. It’s just nice to see so many Latinos and other people of color living together and speaking different languages. Now I appreciate certain parts of the US for what they are. Europe was a huge conglomerate of languages and slight variations of cultures, while the US has its homogenous communities yet with strikingly different racial categories. My flight left at midnight, and the airplane was insanely comfortable. Also I couldn’t believe it was only a 6 hour flight to Ecuador. The seats reclined like crazy and go got nice pillows and blankets. At one point I lifted my sleeping mask to see them serving dinner in the middle of the night. No thanks! I needed to get rid of my jet lag. Thank goodness time zones are vertical and that I am only a 2 hours difference from home.

My first morning in Ecuador

            Right before boarding my plane, I had a $5 breakfast consisting of some form of mashed starch with cheese, real scrambled eggs, real orange juice, and coffee. It’s good to not be spending euros. I’m excited for the real fruit juice. Americans only lie when they say they serve it. It’s pretty early and my flight is delayed, but I’ll be in Quito in an hour. Also this airport is awesome because it has free wireless internet and JFK doesn’t. What up. Who is developed now? As soon as I boarded the plane, the steward said “Buenos días señorita.” It will be a hard transition from being called mademoiselle, but I think I can make it: P

The view of the Virgin overlooking the city

            Today I met up with the team I’m working with. We basically walked around all day, spoke Spanish and ate great food, which I was more than fine with. We went to this modern art museum with works by Guayasamín, a famous Ecuadorian painter who was influenced by Spanish painters like Picasso. His paintings depicted the struggles of the indigenous people and of the slaves who were brought to South America, and at first it was really shocking and heavy to me. I was proud that I knew who Victor Jara was, because he painted a work that was dedicated to the martyred Chilean poet. We visited his house, where he was buried next to one of his best friends who was a writer. It’s funny how many thigns you can feel from visiting the house of someone you don’t know but have heard about. I feel like when I do that, I understand them more…even if just a little. I felt very relaxed there. I appreciated being exposed to his art, which made me think about how far yet how little society has come.

            Then we took an hour long bus (traffic is insane here!) to the Basilica, a huge Cathedral in downtown. We were too late to climb to the top, but managed to go inside. It reminded me of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, but less controversial. Then we had a snack on a restaurant with a gorgeous terrace view. I had a café cortado (with half the milk) and an empanada de morocho (vegetables, chicken, rice). I had never had an empanada with rice in it. The menus here have more variety and I love that. It’s good to be in Latin America where I also have the option of having spicy food. When we first got there the lady told us that it was wet and that they were waiting for it to dry, but it was definitely dry when we got there. The thing about the weather here is that it can be cloudy for 10 minutes, rainy the next 10, and sunny (my nose burned a bit from a relatively short exposure time). The sun set and the Cathedrals lit up one by one like Christmas lights. There was also a rock concert going on in the central plaza, and the band kept talking about how the left was not left enough. It was going on right next to the President’s house.

One of Guayasamin's works...now an image of Quito for me.

            We walked towards the Ronda street, and tried to find a place for dinner. Meanwhile we had some hot spiced wine that warmed us right up. The weather here is colder than I’d thought because we are so high up. The cobblestone streets remind me of Europe’s, but they are definitely wider. For dinner we stopped in this little restaurant being served by one waitress. The big screen was playing American basketball (I didn’t think they would watch that here), and I had a delicious seafood soup with a green banana broth that was still boiling when I got it. AND green limes, which I did not have to bug the waitress about, surrounded it. Heaven! I want to learn how to make this concoction. We took a cab back to the hostel,  where I passed out and had a long sleep. I haven’t really budged since. It’s 3 pm. :]