We made it to Quito, Ecuador!

After a very long day at the airport, we finally made it to Quito Ecuador!! I wanted to provide a forum for posting pictures and discussing out study abroad experience for parents, family and friends.

The main photo of this blog is taken from my balcony. As you can see, Quito is nestled tightly within the Andes mountain range. While the actual city is around 10,000 feet elevation, all the students as well as myself and Dr. Urroz are located high above the city. My guess wold be that we are pushing around 10,500 to 11,000 feet. the air is a bit thin, but the students seem to be adjusting nicely.

First impressions of Quito is that its a big city, around 1.5 million inhabitants. Its a nice city, clean, quaint and pretty quiet for a city this large. The Ecuadorians have been very kind and the mother's of the families where the students are staying are excited to have the students. All the students are within walking distance of the school where they will be studying, taxis are cheap and the food is delicious. One interesting note, Ecuador uses the American Dollar as the monetary system, which has been nice to not have to worry about exchanging money and dealing with exchange rates.

Some of the students are already out and about and called me to let me know about a chocolate festival that was going on downtown. Its good to see the students enjoying the city already and I'm sure they will have many adventures to talk about when they get home.

I will be uploading slideshows about once a week containing select photos for your enjoyment. Please feel free to comment and discuss our experiences.

Cheers,
Dr. Zane U. Segle