Hey, people back home! For those of you in the North, how´s the polar vortex going? Even for Southerners, are you still having to reach for a jacket when you go out? Not us! (Well, okay, maybe in the mornings and evenings, but hey, we’re at 9,350 feet here) We have been able to strip down to shorts and t-shirts for the better parts of our days and run barefoot through sweet, non-snow-covered grass. It’s been wonderful, to be honest. Even from those of us sporting nasty sunburns, I don’t think there are many complaints.
Quito! What have we been up to. Orientation was the main goal, but it doesn’t really feel like we actually had it, because it was so much fun that we couldn´t have actually been working, right? But it did happen and we all learned a lot. We are ready for whatever challenges are ahead! For me, personally, I could not have asked for a better group to be travelling with. They are some of the most intelligent, kind, and empathetic people I have ever had the fortune to meet. I look forward to continue getting to know them throughout the semester.
Quito wasn’t all about orientation, though! We have had the opportunity to take a gondola up the mountain hike through a cloud! (For me, walking through a cloud has been a life-long dream and to have actually done it was incredible!) The next day we had a scavenger hunt through Quito! My group almost certainly could have (possibly) won, had we not gotten stuck at an internet café for an hour. (My memory card got stuck inside the machine, but that’s another story) The winners were sadly not us, but very worthy adversaries. Their prizes were stunning. You’ll have to ask them to show them to you whenever they have the chance. Yesterday we did two things! The first stop was at an overlook of some beautiful Ecuadorian countryside. I can’t remember the name, but it was gorgeous. There was a hiking trail that lead to the bottom, and since we’re all the adventurous sort, we looked down and said “Why not!´´. Well. What we foolishly did not realize was that the trail went MUCH farther down than we thought and what goes down must come up. Er, in this case, at least. We saw so many amazing things on the trek to the base, but ahaha… the way back up was challenging, to say the least. (Unless you’re like some people –coughRobbecough- who run the entire way up the mountain.) Then the equator! We went to a really neat museum and did many things I would love to tell you about, but we’re leaving soon to go to Otavalo and I have to pack!
-Casey
