Lleno: full

 This past week has been a full one, that's for sure!  But, it's been full of wonderful things; I've been feeling busy, full, and blessed.  We had a lot of class and a fair amount of homework this week, between two Spanish tests and lots of reading for out other classes.  I also registered my visa, and as a group we had one community dessert night, one community dinner/chapel, one girl's night with the one and only Christy Stumbo, one new family, and two cultural activities.  I've begun to take my camera with me almost everywhere -- so many photo ops! Hashtag:blogging! Adventure through the week with me via a few of these photos!



Monday night: Abby and I finally made real dinner.
Chicken, beans, and potatoes.  It was so yummy -- we were pretty proud :)

There's a little bread store about 3 blocks down from our apartment and we pass it cada dia!  Hot croissants with Bethany hit the spot after class.  I didn't even know I liked croissants until I had this one. It was incredible. :) 

This is a pretty typical scene in our living room. This is also how we've spent the last two Friday nights :)

 THE BASILICA!  The Basilica is a beautiful, old, church in the heart of Old Quito.  It is still in use today -- we got to go in (super quietly) while a mass was beginning.  It's such a beautiful building -- I felt like I was in Europe.

The architecture in Old Quito is beautiful.  We stumble upon beautiful things like this door all the time.

Todas las Chicas!
Lette, Abby, Lauren, Christy, Hannah, Melissa, Mahala, Ally, and Bethany

We climbed up to a really high point where we could see a ton of the building and the city.
Abby and Christy: so thankful for these beautiful women of God.



Once we were done at the Basilica a group of us went to La Calle Ronda for dinner (that's the same street where we had empanadas a few weeks ago).  We went to this really pretty restaurant with live music and a fire place.  The food was so good! I got an Ecuadorian plate with pork, avocado, plantains, potato patties, salad, pico de gallo, and white corn with cheese (this has a special name here...but I don't remember it...)  Oh, and this entrée cost $6.50.  Just saying.

Las Chicas in la Calle.
Ally, Lauren, Hannah, Lette, Abby, Melissa



After dinner, we went to find somewhere we could eat ice cream.  I eventually settled for a 50 cent ice cream bar.  Solid.  Most of the group headed home to watch a movie, but a few of us decided that it was a good night to adventure to "The woman in the sky" -- more properly known as the Virgin el Panecillo.  It's a giant stature of the Virgin Mary on top of the mountain called Panecillo (literally translated "cupcake.") So, five of us (taxis only hold 4 people...) piled into what turned out to be the jankiest taxi in all of Quito, and rode up a steep, winding road.  We literally scraped the ground several times. There was so much laughing in that taxi.

But...eventually we made it, and were able to go up several stories and stand right below the statue.  It was such a beautiful view!  We had a lot of fun figuring out the story to the statue, and taking fun pictures. It was soo cold, so that just made things all the more amusing.  All 5 of us eventually ended up wearing scarves we had just bought.

Nick, Abby, Andrew, Me, Matt
Our brave adventuring group! 
We had such a fun night adventuring the city...my spontaneity skills have increased so much in the last three years :)
Also, when we got home we played the most intense game of Dutch Blitz I have ever played. I was literally winded.

 

On Sunday we moved in with our host families.  This was bittersweet -- living with host families is such a great opportunity to learn more Spanish and to learn about the culture, but it's weird not to be living in the apartments with the friends we've made.  Because there are so many students this semester, most of us are doubled.  My roommate is Ally -- she speaks great Spanish, so we're making a good team.  I'm certainly still trying my best to communicate myself, no worries!  Our family is wonderful -- there's a mom, dad, and two sisters (17 and 23).  They are so kind, hospitable, and patient with us.  We're going to be living with them for 5 weeks -- I'm excited to see what we learn from them and the adventures we share! 

 

We are leaving for the jungle on Thursday morning, and won't be back until Sunday night, so I won't be using the internet then. However, upon return, I will be writing a (hopefully really interesting) post about our time there. With pictures, of course. 
Until then, a blog post wouldn't be complete without a picture from the roof.  These are some of the beautiful skies we've seen this week. So beautiful. 
God is the God of this city, and greater things are still to be done here. I have no doubt about it.