An (almost) full day

So much happened today it's hard to keep it all straight. And yet, as our first full day in Quito, we took it fairly slowly and didn't have a heavy schedule. The thought of all the things we have planned for tomorrow is frightening...and terrifically exciting.

We started the day around 7:30 with a great breakfast at the Hotel Quito restaurant, then drove directly up to one of the highest points in the city-- "el Panecillo", a tall hill where an enormous statue of La Virgen de la Garda was erected in the early 1900s. From el Panecillo you have an astounding view looking down on the entire city of Quito, spread out through the valley and creeping up the sides of the surrounding mountains. Our videographer Patrick got some fantastic shots of the different neighborhoods and of La Virgen herself.
We later drove to the Old Town, the historic center of Quito, which was industriously busy despite being a Sunday. After that we passed through some of the poorest neighborhoods, called "barrios". We had a great lunch at a tiny hole-in-the-wall local restaurant and ate a typical Ecuadorian meal: fried pork skin and sliced avocado included.

The only hurdle of the day happened on el Panecillo, where I got hit with a sudden and overwhelming case of altitude sickness. I had felt fine since arriving in Quito, as we stood watching a family fly their kites on the highest hill, a feeling of dizziness washed over me and I thought I was going to faint. The whole thing lasted about 20 minutes--Bruce had the driver pack us up and drive downhill immediately, and as soon as we got back to "lowland" Quito, I felt enormously better. Faintness and an upset stomach were my only symptoms, and no one else got sick, so all in all I think the altitude was not much of a setback.

The most interesting event was probably visiting our first Fe y Alegria school: "Escuela Afraser" in the eastern part of Quito. Normally we learned that it holds about 100 students from pre-school to 7th grade. As today is Sunday no regular classes were going on, but we were surprised to find that the school gets put to good use even on the weekends. We spoke to a few adults who come in every Saturday and Sunday for 4 hours of literacy training, as well as to a very young mother who attended a small weekend class to learn basic math and reading skills. The Fe y Alegria school is a beautiful oasis in a fairly dingy neighborhood, and provides education to a variety of people 7 days a week.
Our visit to Escuela Afraser was a promising beginning to our trip. We all felt, though, that we can't wait to see a school on a real schoolday, full to the brim of great students and teachers!

In case you're wondering what we all look like...

A shot of Patrick, Bruce, me and Fernando from left to right: