From Happy Valley to Cumbayá

Bienvenidos a Ecuador!  For those of you who may or may not know me, my name is Casey and I am currently studying abroad in Quito, Ecuador.  I arrived a few days ago after the craziness of preparing for this experience an entire year at Penn State and I already feel like I’ve learned a great deal about…well, everything.

These first days have been a whirlwind of attending orientations, meeting new people, and adjusting to the culture and language of the area.  I live in a community called Lumbisí with Jesús and Cecilia, my host mother and sister.  They are both wonderful, kind, patient people who seem eager to show me their culture and (more-or-less) willing to tolerate the many mistakes I make trying to speak Spanish.  I will be attending the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, which is in nearby Cumbayá.  All my orientations so far have been there and it is from there that we will depart for all manner of destinations across the country throughout the semester.

Highlights from this Week:

 

·      Wednesday – As I mentioned, I met my host family and explored mi casita bonita in Lumbisí.  Jesús and Cecilia live in an adorable apartment on the third floor of a three-story building.  The view from the roof is awesome, to say the least, and my room is wonderfully cozy.

·      Thursday – At orientation, we toured the neighborhood surrounding the university and found all sorts of useful places, like the bank, phone store, and a variety of restaurants.  I’m very glad we were able to look around the area together and I will be even gladder if I can actually find any of those places again…  We also bought cell phones (our American ones stick out to anyone who may wish to steal them) and used the computer labs at the university (since there’s no Internet in most homes in Lumbisí).

·      Friday – We went to the Centro Histórico de Quito, Quito’s “old-town,” which is a historic cultural center.  We toured two churches and two museums – the Museo Miguel de Santiago and Convento San Agustín (museum and church), Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús (church), and Museo de la Ciudad (museum).  We also walked through the Plaza Grande and Plaza de San Francisco, large open areas around which important buildings are located.  All of these places were absolutely fantastic and I could write a gazillion stories about each of them and what made them so neat, but that would take much too long and would likely lose your attention, since you can’t actually see what I’m talking about, but I would highly recommend looking up pictures of any of the places I mention – not that pictures can really do justice to the beauty of Quito both man-made and natural, but they can give you an idea of the awesome stuff I’m seeing.

·      Saturday – Jesús, Cecilia, and I went to the Mercado Mayorista, the largest outdoor market in Quito, to buy fruits and vegetables.  It was like a giant farmer’s market, only even more awesome because a lot of the produce was bigger than anything I’d ever seen in the United States – they really do a lot of vegetables and, especially, fruits here.  That evening, I went to sleep listening to a Mariachi band play music and sing in the house next door.  Apparently, one of the musicians was a friend of Cecilia’s and the house was celebrating either a Birthday or Baptism.

·      Sunday – Jesús, Cecilia, and I went for a walk down to the river near Lumbisí.  We climbed around the rocks and hiked paths along the river.  A few years ago, the river rose unexpectedly and swept away six children walking across the rocks in the middle of the water.  We found their crosses and said a prayer for them.  This was, of course, a terrible tragedy for the community and people still talk about it and tell the story, which shows how close members of the community are and how important each person is in everyday life.  Glancing back at the crosses, we ventured away along paths that could hardly be called that from all the bushes and spiny things in the way.  After a while of dodging interesting plants, we came to an open area with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and a giant plant in the middle that I recall seeing as the main exhibit in Phipps Conservatory (which is like a living plant museum) in the United States – apparently, those plants are pretty common here and we saw a bunch on our walk.  We stopped frequently to admire gorgeous views and the wild flowers growing alongside the path.  At one point, we ran into a small herd of cows and stopped to pet one of the calves.  This really is an amazing community.

Random Notes for Future Students and Anyone Else Who Likes Random Notes:

·      Bring a copy of your passport!  You should not carry your actual passport around with you (though you should have it), but you need a copy in case someone asks for your documents.

·      Put popcorn in your soup.

·      Put mayonnaise on your sweet-corn-on-the-cob.

·      Don’t carry anything valuable with you!  There are thieves here and, although they aren’t usually violent (at all), they are very good at what they do.  My third day here, my “cut-proof” bag was slashed.  The robber didn’t get anything, but I didn’t even notice until I felt water on my leg from my water bottle punctured with a razor.  On that note, always carry your bags in front of you in crowded places, especially on public transportation.

·      The fruit here is awesome!

·      Try speaking Spanish.  Everyone here seems really nice and seems to appreciate when you try to speak their language.

·      Don’t drink the water or eat things sold on the street, at least at first.  Eventually, you’ll be able to eat some things sold on the street, but you’ll probably be unable to drink the water at all without getting sick for the few months you’re here.

·      At first, the bus system may seem a little intimidating, but it’s a really great way to get around.  Bring lots of coins to use for busses, especially dimes and quarters.

·      There’s no Internet in most homes in Lumbisí.  Plan your life and study schedule accordingly.

·      The Sun rises at 7:00 and sets at 7:00.  To keep with the Sun’s schedule, daily life starts and ends early here, so be prepared to get up at 6:30 and go to bed at 9:30 or so.

·      As I mentioned, American phones stick out to thieves, so buy a cell phone here (the chips you need won’t work with your American phone anyway).  They’re pretty inexpensive ($50 or $60) and you can receive calls (including international ones) without using up your minutes.