hello! I'm in Quito now and having a great time! Things have been a crazy whirl... but it's all been a very fun, crazy whirl! It's funny to think that I've only been here for 4 1/2 days now, but I've already done so many things and met so many people, it feels like I've been here for much longer! I have made a bunch of friends from Germany, Scotland, France, Norway... and have also met some really cool local Quitenos.

Quito is BEAUTIFUL! The city is in an Andean valley, so you can see the beautiful green mountains of the Andes all around the city! I had heard some not-so-great things about Quito before coming here... that it is very touristy and feels like Khao San Rd times 10. But when I got here, I discovered that that description really only applies to a small area of the city that I have steered clear of almost entirely. I have been spending most of my time in the Old Town (El Centro Historico), which has so many nice little cobblestone streets, stunning colonial buildings, and nice, laid-back plazas to lounge around in. There are some tourists there, but it seems that probably 98% of people in the Old Town are locals, just going about their daily business, which is how it should be. The Old Town has a lot of character, and there are tons of great, cheap, local restaurants. The other day, my dinner only cost me 40 cents! I really love just wandering around the Old Town and taking it all in. It has quite a relaxed and festive feel to it; there is always salsa music flooding out of the shops and into the streets, live bands playing at Cafe teatro or brass bands just randomly playing on the sidewalk.

I have also spent some time going on little excursions outside of the city. Yesterday, I went with my Spanish teacher to an indigenous market about 1.5 hrs away from Quito. There were tons of different markets there: an animal market selling GIANT pigs, goats, wooley sheep, alpacas, and other strange Andean animals; an artisan's market selling lots of colorful clothes, fabrics, and hammocks; a shoe market selling a million different kids of running shoes; a potato market with potatoes of every color, shape, and size; a small animal market selling chickens and guinea pigs (yes, for eating); and several fruit and vegetable markets. We spent a few hours just walking around but didn't buy anything (though I was tempted to ship an alpaca home to Mom ;)) We did eat some delicious corn cakes filled with cheese, peppers, and onions and fried right on the spot. Mmmm.

Ooh, and the other day I went to my first football game ever! Two Ecuadorean teams played against each other, and it was so much fun to watch! The football itself wasn't exactly of a World Cup caliber (although some of the footballers were from the Ecuador World Cup team) but it was still really exciting to watch. It was also exciting just watching the fans, because they get SO into football here! Everyone was dancing, cheering, singing, whistling, setting off flares and firecrackers, and spraying confetti everywhere. It was like going to one big party!

I've also been taking 4 hrs of Spanish class everyday, which has been very challenging but also very interesting. It also has been very exciting learning a new language (esp one that is so much easier to learn and pronounce than Chinese!) and I have already learned how to say a lot of practical things for travelling too. My Spanish class is also really great about organizing extra little activities for us, like salsa and merengue classes. Today, after class we all made some typical Ecuadorian dishes together: fried potato cakes, chorizo, a limey carrot and beet salad, and fresh pineapple juice.

Better go now, as I am fading out. I only got about 1 hr of sleep last night... went out for a movie, then dinner, then salsa dancing on a beautiful rooftop terrace overlooking Quito, and finally ended up in a small local bar in South Quito until 5am, drinking cheap beer, salsa dancing, breaking, and singing karaoke in Spanish (well, I was not really part of the last thing but enjoyed listening to everyone else!) It was interesting going over to South Quito, where everyone apparently lives but tourists almost never stray over to. The whole night was tons of fun, but it was muy dificil speaking Spanish in my 8:30am class this morning! Better get a bit more sleep tonight, because tomorrow I am going to climb a volcano! (Don't worry, it's not the one that has erupted recently! I am far away from that one).

Hope everyone is doing well. I have free email in Quito (with the S American explorers club, which is GREAT) so I will be checking my email fairly often for the next few weeks.... until I go into the Amazon in October!