Living in Los Chillos

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We got to Quito on September 28th. When we arrived we stayed at the Loro Verde (Green Parrot) Hostal for four days while we searched for a family to live with in Quito. After meeting the staff and getting some help from the South American Explorers Club (SAE), we contacted Mariana Gonzalez, a Spanish teacher, to live with in their home in Los Chillos (South of Quito). We took spanish classes and helped teach english while living in the school building next to their home.

After one month of living with Mariana, Frank (her husband) and their children Maria Jose and Jean Pierre, we were not getting the amount of spanish lessons we were hoping for - (our SAE volunteer schedule was difficult with Mariana's teaching schedule). We started taking spanish lessons at another school and had to spend more time traveling to and from Quito (one hour each way).

After living with Mariana's family for two months, we decided to move into Quito to be closer to our Spanish School and SAE. It was a difficult decision, because we really love Mariana's family. We moved into the Mariscal District of Quito (also known as "Gringolandia") and are a ten minute walk from both SAE and our Spanish School. Our new apartment is quite modern with a microwave, cable TV, and wireless internet.

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Photos

Our home in Los Chillos
Mariana's Spanish and English School

Joanna
This was the going away party for Joanna. She stayed with Frank & Mariana while she studied spanish.

The Barnhill-Wright Family
This family lived with Frank and Mariana studying spanish while we were there