Traveling yesterday went great, as far as my flying experiences have been. We had the shortest flight ever from Memphis to Atlanta. I mean, so short they didn't even have time to serve drinks. But, who's complaining about that? Our layover in Atlanta was a little rushed, but I think layovers pretty much fall into one of two categories: rushed or mercilessly long. But, we had just enough time to get all 38 of us to our gate, visit the bathroom, and grab us a snack for lunch. I have a feeling that snack will probably be the most expensive meal I buy all trip! Yikes!
Got on our plane for Quito, and I settled into my windowseat, which I had the foresight to book ahead of time :) We were flying with a whole troop of kids headed to be foreign exchange students in Ecuador. I sat next to a girl who was going to be staying with a family in Riobamba. I assured her she would instantly be the most popular girl in school. I remember the day NP's first exchange students, Svea and Karl, came. Everyone pretty much fought over who would be their friends, and we were high school juniors! Haha but I told her she would have an amazing year and by the end she probably wouldn't want to leave.
Our plane was delayed on the runway for over an hour. Atlanta is just good like that. But finally we took off, and the longest flight I've ever been on started. It was kind of a novel thing to me to have movies in flight; I've only had one flight with that amenity before, and it was a really short one. This flight was so long, I watched Water for Elephants (absolutely amazing, must see), Paul (has some funny moments, not that fabulous), and most of Jumping the Broom (I'll have to rent it on iTunes and finish it; it looked really funny). We got to Quito right about 11, 11:30.
Customs were surprisingly easy and quick, and luggage followed suit. Nobody lost a single bag, and the only drama was one of mine got covered in thick, black grease. It's cool though, I bought it on clearance at Wal-Mart :) We got loaded on the buses and to our hotel, and were in our rooms bedded down by 12:30. I shared a room last night with two sweet girls my age named Stacy and Mary Ellis from Harrisburg, but I'm solo tonight.
Today, I woke up early to have breakfast with the team and see them off. Harrisburg's team that I flew down here with have been amazing. I've just been petted and loved on and felt like I was the biggest celebrity. I really really needed the extra love yesterday. Leaving mama and daddy and Molly behinnd that security gate was probably one of the hardest things I've EVER had to do in my life. Top three at least. So, having people distract me all day long and keep me out of my mind was a Godsend.
The team had introduced me to one of their friends from the US who lives in Quito, Savannah, and her fiance Aaron. I needed to go to the mall and find a cellphone, so Savannah and Aaron offered to walk with me and show me the way and some of the sights. We walked through the gorgeous La Carolina park, and ended up a Quicentro mall. They were amazing tour guides and gave me some invaluable advice about the city.
I managed to buy a cellphone and minutes, using only a small amount of English (I had no idea how to say 'prepaid' in Espanol). Managed to find my way through the ginormous park and back to my hotel without getting lost. After that excursion, I was a little tired, so I drank some water - that's a big deal here, as the altitude is about 9 or 10 thousand feet and if you don't keep hydrated you'll get altitude sickness - and took a short nap.
I woke up about two, and decided to explore a little more. I went to the other mall close to my hotel, El Jardin. I liked it much better than Quicentro. It was much more like malls back home. The food court had McDonalds, Burger King, Sbarros, even a Baskin Robbins/Cinnabon. I ate lunch/supper, and stocked up on drinks and snacks at a Walgreens type store.
I'm really excited for tomorrow morning...across the street from the mall, I found an amazing bread store! Yum! After that, I'm going to church with Sara Risser, another missionary who lives in Quito. Then I'll pack up and head for the airport, and Macas!
Sunset from the plane yesterday...picture doesn't do it justice!
Quito city going up the mountain...rainclouds falling down the mountain.
City view from my window.
Tomorrow I'll take a piture without the clouds. The view is truly stunning!
The mini drinks they sell here. That's a normal sized juice box, but tiny tiny drinks! They're only about thirty cents.
Oh, I am going to love this little blog of yours! I am so excited that you are there and that you are loving it so far. I can only imagine how you felt when you left your family. Oh, how I remember that and I was only gone for 2 months! God bless you girl! Can't wait to keep up with you on here! LOVE YOU!
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