Days 1 and 2

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Day 1: Traveling

My group met at Newark airport and flew to Fort Lauderdale, Florida which took about 2 hours. We had a 5-hour layover so I walked around the airport, ate food, and did some reading. Our flight to Quito, Ecuador took about 4 hours and we arrived just before midnight. After going through customs, we took a bus to ACLAS, the school/organization that we came through. There we met our hosts. Kim, my house partner, and I are staying with Zully. She has 3 kids, but they are grown up. Zully also has a poodle named Thomas who is 11 years old. Kim's Spanish has been very helpful for communicating since I have only studied German. Our house is nice! We each have our own rooms and a bathroom. My room is at the top and the roof is just outside my room up a short flight of stairs. So when I come out of my room, I am basically outside! I didn't go to bed until around 3 am so it was a rather long day.



Day 2: Quito

I woke up around 8:30 to the sound of music outside but went back to sleep. We had breakfast around 9:30 which was fresh fruit, a hot ham and cheese sandwich, and tea or coffee. We had time to unpack and get settled in. Kim and I then sat on a balcony porch, talking and reading. The weather is beautiful! It is in the 60s during the day and the sun is very warm. For lunch, we had chicken, rice, green beans, and carrots prepared by the maid, Marian. We also had fresh lemonade and a chocolate cake with nuts and dried fruit in is for dessert. We went to ACLAS for the afternoon. We had a discussion about safety and other important information. Zully picked us up and there was a lot of traffic on the way home! For dinner, we had rice and chicken again, but with salad, tea, and a biscuit sort of thing. Zully was on the phone a lot so Kim and I played a game and talked, then spent some time alone to recharge and get ready for the next day.



Individual Level Reflection:

We are not supposed to flush our toilet paper which feels odd to me. I have to consciously think about it every time I use the bathroom and remember to put it in the little trash can next to the toilet.

Also, the traffic flow is different here than in America. When we were coming home from ACLAS, it was rush hour so there were a lot of vehicles around, which I am fairly used to. However, there is a lot more honking, cars will just go whether there is space for them or not, and motorcycles will weave in and out of traffic. The bigger you are, the more right you are. This seems chaotic at first, but I am starting to see how there is a rhythm to it. It is not obvious through traffic signs (stop signs are not always observed), but I think the longer you drove here, the more you would pick up on the unspoken rules. I did not feel unsafe, but I was aware of how close other vehicles were to us and was watching for when other cars were turning onto the road we were on without seeming to stop and check. It is definitely different, but as long as I stay alert and aware when walking along the road, I am not too concerned about safety.

Instead of thinking that this is the wrong way to move through traffic, I am using CQ Drive to adapt to my current situation and CQ Action to safely navigate the traffic in Quito while I am here.

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Comments

[Keith Nisly]

Great to read how it's going and see some photos! Driving sounds quite... interesting!

[LYNETTE NISLY]

First days
Looks like you have lovely surroundings and are starting to get used to a very different flow of life. The bathroom thing is definitely something to get used to! I'm always excited to see your next update and hear what you are experiencing. Love you! Mom