First Impressions

My first day traveling to Ecuador was a very long one. My flight from PDX left at 5 AM, and I had planned on sleeping but I was so anxious that I ended up not really sleeping the night before my departure. So at 2 AM I got ready to head out to the airport. My dad was less than thrilled when his nervous daughter woke him up at 2:30 in the morning to leave (sorry Marky) when he knew well that we didn’t need to be at the airport any earlier than 3:15. He dropped me off and we said our goodbyes. Being sad was not an option. I was too. damn. tired. Honestly, when the flight took off, it still didn’t seem real to me that I was leaving for another country and that I would be staying there for the next five months, but after a 7 hour layover in Houston, and a 5 hour flight, I finally arrived in Quito just past midnight. I was a bit nervous getting off the plane knowing that I would be using my Spanish (which was a bit rusty) and entering a new home, especially since I felt absolutely wiped out from the long day. However, when I walked out of customs my sweet new host mom Lucía was waiting there for me and was so beyond welcoming that my nerves disappeared. We had a sleepy drive home where I finally got to shower, relax and get ready to sleep. I unpacked some of my things so that I wouldn’t have to do it in the morning, popped a melatonin in my mouth and fell asleep around 3 AM Quito time which was midnight back home.

I ended up sleeping in until 10 that morning and if you know me, that is absolutely unheard of. I finished unpacking, put on some cozy clothes and looked out my window towards the hustle and bustle on 6 de Deciembre (the main street and my temporary home). It was such a nice, relaxing day with my host mom. We ran errands before heading over to a lunch with my fellow exchange students where I caught my first real view of Cumbaya valley where the University is located.

That was where I would be spending the following day for a 9 hour long orientation to USFQ . It was a long day full of tours and speeches about safety, and health among other things that I feel as if I have heard a million times before. The campus is absolutely beautiful. It has small ponds, trees everywhere and buildings in vibrant shades of purple, orange, red and green (which is strange to see coming from a place where I am constantly surrounded by brick buildings). The campus is also bigger than Linfield and even on my campus tour I was utterly lost (but wouldn’t you be too if there was a mall and a movie theatre on your campus?). Hopefully when I show up for class on Monday I am not too flustered to ask for directions.

On Saturday I spent time with my group of exchange students walking around Quito and trying to get to know the city a bit. Thankfully we had our program coordinator with us because without him there would have been six gringas walking around Quicentro aimlessly for hours. We saw the main plazas of Quito, learned (kind of) how to navigate the bus system and climbed over 200 steps to get to the top of el torre (tower) of the Basilica de Voto Nacional which had the most stunning view of the city and the Virgen de Quito which sits on top of el Panecillo towards the south of the city.

3 days in and the city has already taken my breath away. Both because of its beauty and because of the pure fear that is stricken into my heart everytime one of these crazy Ecuadorian taxi drivers takes a turn like he’s in one of the Fast and Furious installments. I feel so blessed that I am going to be able to spend five more months in such a vibrant city with such kind people around me. I can already see my Spanish being challenged and I love being able to jump back into the language in such an immersive way since I haven’t used it in so long. Since I am only 3 days in I know that there will be a lot of challenges that come with becoming comfortable living in an unfamiliar country and culture. I will try to take everything day by day and try to have a level head to overcome them. I have so much planned to explore and so many goals I have set for myself to help myself grow while I am here. I know that not every day will be easy (especially when the last thing I want to do is study), but I am extremely eager to see what the next 5 months will bring.

Chao por ahora,

Claire