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Well, I´ve been in Quito for 4 days now but it feels like ages! I arrived on Saturday night, much later than expected as I missed my connecting flight in Miami, don´t fly with American Airlines! They didn´t even transfer my luggage, I had to wait ages to collect it, lug in across the airport then check it i again, having already missed my flight! It all worked out ok though as I met another girl who also missed her flight and was also going to Quito! So we had a couple of cervezas and finally boarded our flight. I got sat between 2 Americans who, no lie, did not shut up for the entire flight and all I wanted to do was have some goddam sleep! I finally arrived in Quito at about midnight having been up for about 27 hours, and was lucky enough to get a lift to my hostel with a couple I met on the plane. Got to my hostel and after much drama got in to my room to find I´m sharing with a girl who is also volunteering in Tena!
On Sunday we went for a walk around the new town area of Quito, looked at the markets etc, then we got a trolley bus to the old town. The weather is bizarre here, it can go from red hot to cold and rainy in an hour! It started raining so we took shelter in a bar then braved it back to the hostel. In the evening we went out and stuffed our faces on cheese fondue...then chocolate fondue...and mojitos
On Monday we got picked up from our hostel by i-i (the company I am doing my volunteer work with). They took us to the families we were going to be living with while in Quito. I´ve been so lucky, I´m staying with a lady called Magda who lives in an amazing Penthouse apartment. Her son runs a martial arts academy in the building and her daughter teaches dance lessons and has the cutest 1 year old daughter ever who I want to steal! Spent the rest of the day walking around the nearby park and then went back for dinner with Magda - a traditional Ecuadorian soup called locro (cheese, potato and avocado).
Yesterday I met with the rest of the volunteers and we went on a trip to the Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world, equator line!). We did the necessary touristy things such as balancing an egg on a pin(!), it´s possible! In the afternoon I started my intense Spanish lessons, which were far more intense than expected!! I had 4 hours of solid 1-1 tuition, no English was spoken at all, which is difficult considering I didn´t actually speak Spanish!! Today I´ve had a further 6 hours which is still intense but it´s getting (slightly) easier! And now I´m sat in an internet cafe near to Magda´s house before I go home for dinner.
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