First Weekend in Ecuador!

Saturday we visited the old city which was nice, I was able to buy a few gifts for some friends. We also went to eat at El Boca De Lobo (translates to the wolves mouth). The food here was amazing, I even tried mussels as well as cobayo (guinea pig). Our group ended up staying at the restaurant for over 3 hours, enjoying the food, drinks, and company. Sunday was a surprisingly eventful day. The day began with yoga on the rooftop with a few members of the group. After yoga we headed over to the house of a local principal who had invited us to her farm for lunch. We expected to eat a quick lunch. We were wrong. Enrique (Minister of Education in Ecuador) and his wife Monica joined us. It seems we can never know just what to expect when Enrique is involved. That being said his surprises have always been for the best. When we arrived at the farm we were all warmly greeted with a hug and kiss on the cheek by the principal. She led us down a steep grassy hill to a small pond filled with fish. Here we all had to catch our dinner. We all individually hopped into the pond and caught fish using our bare hands and a plastic strainer. I must give Justin props for catching the most fish, but he loses points for accidentally splashing our hostess in the face with water. Next we took our fish back up to the house and we cleaned, scaled, and filleted them. Although we all had various levels of experience and comfort with fish we all contributed to the process. Once this was done the hosts cooked the fish in a big outdoor oven. These fish were delicious. It seems the fish here in Ecuador always taste good because they are always fresh. To end the night we returned to the hotel and prepared for tomorrow. Sara and I went over a few plans of activities to play with the kids, as well as how we are going to introduce ourselves. I am both excited and nervous for tomorrow. I really want everything to go well, and I am confident that Sara and I will have a great first day.

I will be posting pictures from our fishing adventure as soon as they are uploaded.

Hope you are enjoying reading my blog, I have been having a great time here in Quito!