From Texan to Quiteño: Some Ice in the Summertime

This morning, after breakfast with the family, I went with Alex, Cynthia, and Califas (the family's poodle) for a long walk in the parque metroplitano, a huge park that seemingly forms part of the border to the city. After hiking up a large hill and through some wooded trails we arrived at a large opening, where we could see clearly into the valley below. From the top of the hill we could see Cumbaya, where I will be travelling tomorrow for my orientation at Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ). The hike wasn't particularly difficult, but it was pretty warm, so by the end we were all sweaty We took a quick break at a playground that would have NEVER passed safety inspections in the US (which made it all the more awesome) and headed back down to the house for lunch, where I tried another exotic fruit juice from a fruit called naranjilla (Wikipedia article) that was, like the guanábana, delicious.

Walking up the trail in the Parque Metropolitano

Me and Cumbaya

Alex, Cynthia, and Califas at the playground

Alex with a view of Quito as we came down the hill from the park

After lunch I went to the bus stop with Alex and Lula (my host mother). Lula was going to work, and Alex and I were leaving for the center of northern Quito, which resembles the downtown area of an American city much more than the Centro Historico. I needed to buy a cell phone, so we went to a couple large malls, where I was surprised to see such shops as Armani Exchange, Abercrombie and Fitch, Payless Shoes, KFC, and Baskin Robbins (that's globalization at work, people). We compared prices at a number of different places, and the cheapest phone we could find was a $61.00 LG phone ($55.00 because I paid cash). I still need to "recharge" my phone with minutes and text messages (I'm using Movistar), but apparently this is very cheap and easy, and you can do it at any corner store around Quito.

While we were buying my cellphone, it had begun to rain lightly, but we saw a flash of lightening and all of the lights went out. For the next 15 minutes or so we were trapped in the electronics store, as it was raining VERY hard. When we finally left the store we took refuge under a pedestrian bridge and tried to hail a taxi. The rain finally let up and we walked back towards the Estadio Olimpico de Pichincha. As we walked, I noticed little white granules on the ground, which I assumed to be salt to make sure the ground didn't freeze. The white granules turned out to be hail. Apparently Quito only gets hail once or twice a year, and never in the summer (it's summer right now in Quito), so it was really weird for both Alex and I to see it. Tomorrow I have to be at the university at 7:30 in the morning, which I am not looking forward to, but it should be interesting to finally see USFQ and meet many of the international students that will be studying with me this semester. Hasta luego, y aquí están algunos fotos: