*We had no cell service for a large portion of our trip, so I’m uploading all of these in chronological order from the US now that we’re back home! They’re all dated by the day they happened.*
Day 4:
Hola from Quito!
We’ve been here for a few days now, and we’re staying in the Hotel San Francisco. To say this is the coolest hotel I’ve ever stayed in is a huge understatement. It’s on a beautiful stone street with iron gates in the entrance with vines and flowers growing through the arch. The second you walk in, all you see is green. There are plants *everywhere* in the atrium. The hotel begins with the rectangle of the atrium with a clear skylight ceiling with warm sunlight spilling onto the velvet armchairs, tables, and reception desk. An ancient stone staircase (you can tell it’s ancient because there’s dips in the steps from where thousands of people have walked up and down over the years) turns up to the second floor that has hallways leading around the atrium to the rooms. We’re staying in triples which is a great way to get to know the other people on your trip really fast.
This is a bit different from the first night we stayed in Pittsburgh before catching our flight out. We stayed in Nordenberg for one night on a random room assignment. We were all in the same hallway as each other, but we were also in triples. From the first night, we’ve been alternating which group of three we sleep in and getting to know each and every member of our group more and more. Having just come out of freshman year living in the same 15-foot-wide space as someone for many months, I’m not having any big issues with this new home. It’s actually really fun to me to get to spend this much time with the people on my trip and talk with them about their perspective of the day past and anticipation for the day ahead.
I’m especially loving the challenge of adapting to a new home. It’s very fun trying to adjust to a new culture and home with new people accompanying you. There’ve been many communication and cultural shifts/challenges along the way. For example, last night, we ran out of toilet paper and all three of us in the room don’t speak Spanish, so we resorted to hand gestures and mimicking. It was incredibly funny, but it was also such a great bonding experience with my roommates. I can’t wait to see what our dorms are like for the rest of the trip and stay with each of the other women on the trip!
Until the next blog!
Katie Gallo