La Mitad del Mundo

In the morning we visited La Universidad Politécnica Salesiana where we're going to take 3 of our classes.

In the afternoon we rode to La Mitad del Mundo, the Equator. We had a great lunch and then went to Volcán Puluhua, which is a dormant volcano that is REALLY high up. Like you could see the clouds between the mountain tops.

Afterward we went to a museum on the Equator and saw a bunch of cool tricks. If you are doubtful, it is indeed true: the water does spin different directions on either side of the Equator. The guide had water in a bucket with a drain and moved it to the right of the line and the water and leaves turned clockwise. He then moved it to the other side of the line and it went counterclockwise. Finally, he put it directly on the line and the leaf went STRAIGHT down. He also showed us other things, like balancing an egg on a nail and walking in a straight line along the Equator because both are easier on the line.

Next we went to the giant monument (La Mitad del Mundo)...which is actually about 100m off from the actual Equator. But shhh...it's still really cool!

No entiendo nada....

After my first night in Quito, I had breakfast with my host parents and then we went to the center of the city. We walked around and looked at the major churches and the cathedral and all of the different buildings. Everything was beautiful- and so different from the U.S.!
      Afterwards we came back to the house and ate lunch, which is the biggest meal of the day. We had a bunch of typical Ecuadorian dishes including locro (a soup), choclo (corn), and fritada (pork) and a pineapple fruit smoothie to drink.
      Later in the day we went to the Duke office where we met everyone else in the program (there's a total of 19 students). Afterwards we drove and had a coctail and the merienda (dinner, but is MUCH smaller than the dinner in the U.S.) and finally drove on La Chiva Cultural, a tour bus, around the city at night.
      After this long day I realized that my Spanish is NOT as good as I thought it was. Hopefully after 4 months of being immersed in nothing but Spanish, it will get a lot easier!

El Cambio de las Estaciones

So before my trip to Quito, Ecuador, I did some research about the climate, food, culture, geography, etc. Other than discovering lots of promising new food (come on...everyone that knows me realizes that I love food), I kept reading about the interesting climate in Quito. Because Quito is located on the Equator, most people generally think that it has a hot, tropical climate. In reality, the climate is quite the opposite. Since the city is located 2,800 meters above sea level (just a liiiittle different than Wilmington, right?), the temperatures usually range from the low 50s to the 80s. Although this temperature is pretty much perfect, what makes Quito different is that there is such a large range in temperatures each day. In the mornings and at night, it can be 51 degrees and later 83 degrees in the middle of the day. As a result of this, many Quiteños say that in Quito, one will experience the four different seasons every day.

Obviously, this is the reason that I named my blog "El Cambio de las Estaciones" or in English, "The Change of the Seasons." The other reason that I named my blog this is because throughout this entire study abroad experience, I am hoping to experience a lot of personal change. Not only am I going to live on a different continent, in a city that I have never been to, but I am also going to be speaking a language that I barely know. Other than improving my Spanish skills, I also want to grow as a person and become more knowledgeable, more accepting, and more inquisitive. Hopefully all of these changes that I will undergo will be for the best, but if not, I can always give up hope and just transfer to UNC ;)