Quito Ecuador

Hello all!

I write this email from south of the Equator. Our first couple of days have been great. The trip started out on the right foot with a six hour layover in Miami that resulted in a three hour stint on Miami beach (all sun and about 85 or 90 F). We then made it into Quito after a bit of a scare with fog and not being able to see the runway.

We have stayed with Sarah´s host family and have had homemade food each meal!!! Fresh fruit and granola in the morning and crazy Ecuadorian meals every day. We have beds to sleep in and two kids to play with (Manuela 7 and Juan Diego 11). We have gone to the park twice with the kids and played animal games and FOOTBALL!!!!!! It has been nice breaking into South American culture in a house with a family.

In the mornings we have gone to Sarah´s internship which is for indigenous children. Here we have played FOOTBALL and played group games. This first week thus far has been quite relaxing but very full!

The weather has been pretty good...80s until about 1500 where it proceeds to rain for a couple of hours (but the rain is predictable so that really helps).

My spanish has been improving quite a bit with the help of Beth, Sarah, and using it on kids! I am still pretty bad, but I can say sentences and other basic things!

The near future holds a potential trip to the Equator, four days in the Amazon (starting Saturday morning where we will most likely see wild trantullas and anacondas!), and a train ride through some crazy areas in South Ecuador! We hopefully have managed to avoid the five day bus trip we were anticipating!

That is all for now, Beth and I need to get some research done about Peru!

Thank you everyone for the emails, well wishes, prayers, et cetera! I will see you in July.

Adam