Sunday went as planned, well almost. We woke up at 630, had a quick continental breakfast and headed to the airport. The airport had about a dozen security check points, and even one where you divide males and females and they give you a good old fashion pat down. We made it to our gate with plenty of time though, and everything was going well. The flight was nice and we made it twenty minutes earlier than we told our host family we would be arriving. All was well, we made it through immigration and the thermal camera that was taking everyone’s temperature. I was nervous, Mike’s temp was a little high, but they let him through. We went to the “luggage desk” to claim our luggage that should have arrived the night before, but all they had was my backpack. I took the backpack and they told us to go check our current flight for our luggage. It wasn’t there. We filled out all the paperwork so that when it came we could come and claim it. By this time, we were the last ones to go through customs, and when we finally made it through, our poor new “poppa” was the only one waiting, looking worried with a sign “MARCY and MICHAEL”. He was relieved to find us and we apologized for everything and headed to their house.
Driving through Quito, I realized how much I missed this “modern life”. I saw a KFC and a couple McDonald’s, as well as lanes in the roads and a proper bus system. I started craving big apple bagels, taco bell and slurpees. I may be in luck, as today I saw a TacoBell bag laying in the street! I’m on a search!We arrived at their house after twenty minutes or so, and it is beautiful. It is a colonial house in a gated yard with big balconies and lovely garden. Our “sister” Ana and her momma “Susi” were at mass, so Teo, “papa” led us to our room and boy was I delighted! Mike and I each got our own room and our own bathroom. I have a queen size bed and a vanity and a FULL bookshelf! It is like a hotel room! The rest of the house is beautiful too, with the kitchen being huge and a nice dining and living room. Mike and I unpacked the little that we had and went to call our parents, to let them know we made it out of Columbia alive. We walked around the city and the headed back to the house, where “momma” and our little sister were waiting! They are both very nice but they talk very very fast! I am still getting used to it and probably only catch enough of what Susi says to stay on topic in the conversation, but I’m getting better. We got a tour of the garden and, Grandma and Robyn you would love it! I will have to take pictures when it is light out. There are about ten kinds of fruits and veggies including, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, grapefruits, pumpkins, cherries, figs, snap peas, and I can’t remember what the other things are called, as they are not foods we have in the states! And of course just pretty flowers! We picked grapefruits and ate them with our dinner, yummy! We got real milk in our coffee too! We had only had canned condensed milk in Peru. It was such a treat but our mami said that they only drink the fresh stuff, so that is good! We took a nap and just kind of hung out until about seven thirty, when we called the airport to see if our luggage was there and we were in luck!
We took a taxi back to the airport and wandered around looking for the offices. We eventually got both our suitcases, and nothing is missing, but mine got trashed. There is a rip along one of the seams and the plastic is all bent out of place. So we trucked it back to office after we got through customs, and they told me to come back today if I wanted to file a complaint. I was ticked, but there was really nothing I could do. I doubt it is worth it to lug my suitcase back and pay the ten dollars for the taxi fares for them to tell me they will give me a fifteen dollar credit to buy a new suitcase or on a future flight that I am not going to take. Grrr! But I am thankful that I have all of my things and that we made it safely, so I will stop complaining.
Today was orientation day at school. We had to taken an oral exam but we didn’t have to take the written exam again, as we took the same on in Peru. We than started our city tour. They gave us a very good map that has the bus routes on it and shows all of the main attractions, so we followed that to the Old City. It is the more cultural part of town. We stopped in a few churches and walked around the Plaza. The pictures with all of the guards are from the switching of the guards ceremony at the presidential palace, similar to the one in Britain I guess. There were balloons and all of these people watching, a bit bizarre and seemingly overdone.
After our city tour the fed us lunch at the school. Our family here only provides two meals a day, so the school has the option to pay 20 more dollars a week to just eat lunch there. Mike and I figured we would test it out this week to see if it is any good and then go from there. We had an orientation session with the safety do’s and don’ts and the social norm do’s and don’ts. Tomorrow we are going to talk with the volunteer coordinator, as I am hoping to volunteer for a week or two with a Children’s Center of some sort down here! So we shall see. After school we took a detour on our way home to walk through the Parque de La Carolina, which is the central park of Quito. It was awesome, you can rent paddle boats and play soccer and there is a nice path and some botanical gardens! I plan on spending some sunny afternoons there!
Tomorrow we start class at 830, and I’m going to put up some pictures and such during the break! I’ll update in a few days, Marcy. 27 to go!
ps - the pictures of the house aren't very good, i will put some more up in the next couple days!
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