Coming back down to Pitt definitely felt weird after finishing our semester just a week ago, however we had so much fun in the “night” we stayed here! We arrived and had our orientation meeting where we played Ecuadorian jeopardy and got to test our knowledge of the country. Unfortunately we did not win, however we headed back to our rooms to get ready for the long travel day ahead of us. We were to meet at 3am for the bus and head to the Pittsburgh airport.
Things may have not gone exactly as planned… as me and Ella’s approximately twelve alarms decided to wake neither of us up. We awoke to a few phone calls and managed to sprint and make it to the bus right before departure. Basically everything will workout and don’t let one rocky start dictate your mood for the day! We flew away to Miami and had an 8 hour layover ahead of us, so we headed to the beach where it was VERY HOT. It was nice to get out of the airport, but boy can I say we were ready to be in Ecuador weather soon!
We got back to the airport and boarded for our last flight to Ecuador and I was lucky enough to be seated next to a very nice gentleman who spoke english and was very interested in our trip. I learned that he wants to start putting together programs similar to ours and partner with different colleges that want programs related to healthcare in Ecuador! It was a crazy feeling to have such a coincidence and commonality with the person randomly seated next to me on my trip to another country. This further confirmed my belief that everything always happens for a reason and you are meant to meet people for a reason!
After we landed in Quito we headed to our hotel and got a nice restful sleep before we had to get up the next morning. We got up for breakfast then headed out to sightsee in Quito. We started at the Plaza de San Francisco and visited the church and monastary which were beyond beautiful! We got an awesome tour guide who taught us about the history and teachings of the church and their religion. From here we grabbed some churros on our way to get lunch. We got delicious empanadas for lunch, which I would totally recommend trying while in Quito!
Lastly we had some free time so we headed to see the Virgin of the Panecillo, which had a breathtaking view of the city. We walked down from the statue back to the city and ended up roaming over to a chocolatier called Kitu, where we met the kindest man and owner who allowed for us to do samplings and taught us all about his company, how they operate, and the history behind chocolate. This was one of the most heartwarming and comforting experiences I have ever had, which is something you can get from trying spontaneous things!! We had dinner at the hotel and then headed back out for a later night snack, where we met an awesome staff and had a blast dancing with them before the curfew was up. Now we are headed to bed and ready for another exciting day in Ecuador tomorrow!
