Okay, aside from the fact that I just saw (and killed) two of the fastest spiders I have seen yet, today was a great day. In the morning, it continued raining, as it did all night long, stopping for about 30 minutes that happened to coincide with my walk home from school. But seeing as it's currently raining, we're going on 36 hours of dreary, cold weather. Nonetheless, I got a ride up to Quito this afternoon from two of the Ecuadorian (= spanish-speaking) staff at the school, during which they also invited me to the spanish-speaking lunch table at school. Seemingly petty, I've wanted to sit with them all week, but didn't really know if I should break the British-Ecuadorian divide. But now I have hope of breaking my english-speaking trend for at least 30 minutes each day!
Once we arrived in Quito, I was directed where to go to register with the Dirreccion General de Extranjería del Ministerio de Gobierno (basically the embassy), and I found it miraculously well without really having studied the massive map of the 43 km long city! Unsurprisingly, they weren't open, but I then got to thoroughly enjoy wandering the streets aimlessly! 
I found the best bookstore of the whole city (according to the travel guide) and bought my long sought-after Spanish dictionary. No, not a spanish-english dictionary, but one that actually gives the definitions in spanish! I also got another novel by Paulo Coelho, 
one of my absolute favorite authors. I also got some postcards (don't hold your breath, though, because I'm notoriously bad about never actually mailing them!), a few CDs (including Salio el Sol!), an awesome guide to Quito that includes 8 maps, and some bug-bite cream to numb all the picaduras on my ankles and legs! Although I didn't buy any street ice cream, I did begin to figure out a small portion of the city and I successfully navigated the 3 buses home!
I found the best bookstore of the whole city (according to the travel guide) and bought my long sought-after Spanish dictionary. No, not a spanish-english dictionary, but one that actually gives the definitions in spanish! I also got another novel by Paulo Coelho, 
one of my absolute favorite authors. I also got some postcards (don't hold your breath, though, because I'm notoriously bad about never actually mailing them!), a few CDs (including Salio el Sol!), an awesome guide to Quito that includes 8 maps, and some bug-bite cream to numb all the picaduras on my ankles and legs! Although I didn't buy any street ice cream, I did begin to figure out a small portion of the city and I successfully navigated the 3 buses home! I love public transit!!! 
The main bus system that runs through Quito is the Ecovía. It's a bunch of bright red accordian buses that have their own lanes and only periodic stops, so it's fast and fun and cheap ($0.25)! I made it onto the bus before nightfall, and I never once felt endangered the whole afternoon (shocker, I know). And though I didn't see but a small portion of the city, in addition to all the local eateries, I did see a Friday's, a KFC, and clearly a McDonalds, as well as my personal favorites Texas Chicken and Super Fritada (Super Fried...hmmm, 
sounds healthy)! And amazingly enough, I also spotted a Marathon Sports as I passed through the posh centro comercial between Quito and my town!
The main bus system that runs through Quito is the Ecovía. It's a bunch of bright red accordian buses that have their own lanes and only periodic stops, so it's fast and fun and cheap ($0.25)! I made it onto the bus before nightfall, and I never once felt endangered the whole afternoon (shocker, I know). And though I didn't see but a small portion of the city, in addition to all the local eateries, I did see a Friday's, a KFC, and clearly a McDonalds, as well as my personal favorites Texas Chicken and Super Fritada (Super Fried...hmmm, 
sounds healthy)! And amazingly enough, I also spotted a Marathon Sports as I passed through the posh centro comercial between Quito and my town! Tomorrow I wil be escorted to the mountain path if it's not raining, and/or I will go back into Quito because I've still got some 'splorin' to do! So all in all, this should be a great weekend!
1 comment:
Who are Chaka and Linus? I forgot about this blog sight of yours so now I have some reading catching up to do, Yea!!! And as I now see, it really isn't all that warm so for that my dear sobrina, I am sorry as that will not aid in the tanning department! Oh well, UV isn't good for the epidermis so your skin is being saved! All for now - more later! Te amo, AS
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