I'm in South America

We arrived in Quito, Ecuador on Friday the 13th! No bad luck with the planes, in fact TACA, the airlines we flew in on, was more than impressive in getting our bags to arrive with us and work out some other minor issues! Back home I feel that our bags would have been left behind and the airlines would have made it our problem to worry about. Flying into Quito was amazing! To see a large city nestled between the sierras of the Andes Mountains was incredible. It rained the entire weekend we were in Quito but our hostel was very nice and it was nice to relax, read, and get caught up on emails and to use the internet again. We met some new volunteers whom we will spend the next four to five weeks with in Octavalo. They all seem very interesting and nice and it seems we will have a great group. Food was a highlight of Quito and we spend most of our time in what the locals call “Gringo Land.” I ate Pad Thai and sushi and steak, etc! It was wonderful. Also, Tracey, our program director, briefed us on our assignments and what we could expect for the next six weeks. I will be teaching in a new school and helping to integrate the new students into the school experience. Also, we will be teaching English to the older children as well. It will definitely be a challenge but I think my group is up for it. Susan, Aviv, and Maya will all be teaching at different schools so we will have drastically different experiences to share. On Sunday, we made our way form Quito to Octavalo. The drive was amazing and the views through the Andes were brilliant. The views reminded me of Colorado with a lot more green! To begin this week, I will have Spanish classes on Monday and Tuesday and then we will begin school on Wednesday…can’t wait!