Ecuador: Day 1 and 2

Day 1:
At 5am yesterday we packed our suitcases into the car and headed off for the airport. It was foggy and a gray blue color hung over everything, save little pinpoints of lights here and there. We arrived at the airport and began the ordeal that LAX requires. Go here, go there, show passport, take your jacket off, go here, wait here. Only two of our seats on the plane were together, so me and mom sat next to each other while Greg sat further back. I had forgotten how much I dislike taking off in a plane. But once we were in the air I felt much better. We soared above the clouds; a fluffy blanket of under us. It was quite lovely. I slept a bit, listened to music, drew and listened to a book on tape. The flight felt rather long, five hours to be exact. We arrived in Miami at around 3:50 Miami time, but unfortunately we had to wait on the runway in the plane for about 30 minutes. It was really nice being able to see the lovely green-blue water as we were flying in. We ate at the airport, walked around a bit and then bored our next flight. This time we were all together, which was nice. I enjoyed this flight much more than the first one. Maybe it was because it was getting dark and I didn't feel like I was missing out on the sunlight. I fell asleep several times but I would always get woken up, either from someone bumping into me or a tap from mom or Greg. The food was, well, just as you'd expect airplane food to be. Not great, not awful. After about four or five hours we arrived in Quito, which is the capital of Ecuador. All we could see were flickering lights. We got our luggage and went through customs. The lady who was helping us said to her friend in Spanish "I thought this man was a girl" (about Greg) and mom replied to her in Spanish asking why that was so. I guess she didn't expect that we understood her.
We met Eduardo, who is our host (the Dean of Illustration at the school Greg will be teaching at) and his wife and they took us back our hotel. The room we were staying in was rather small and had a strong perfume smell. After not to long I fell asleep exhausted.

Day 2:
I awoke today at around 8:13 (6:13 LA time). The view outside my window was quite nice. Jungle covered hills, mountains, a far off volcano and some buildings. I realized that even though it doesn't seem like it, we have become very spoiled. Things that we take for granted we don't have here. Our hotel in Canada seems like a palace compared with ours here. Greg desided he really didn't like our room so him and mom went to find a new one. I wasn't feeling very well, so I lie around while they explored different rooms. When they got back we all went upstairs for breakfast. The room had a gorgeous view of the other side of the city. It looks rather like Moraco or other dessert city but with jungle covered hills. The city is large and sort of climbs up the hills. Mom said it looks like a weaving and I think that is a very good description. We moved into a new room which I like a lot better. It has a much better feel to it and it doesn't smell like perfume. Its very nice! We lounged about in the new room for a while, I read and drew while Greg was on the computer and mom ironed a dress. When we received the ironing bored mom saw stains that looked like burn marks so she ignored them and began ironing her skirt. She realized, a little late, that it was chocolate and thus had ironed chocolate into her nice skirt.
We ate a small lunch at the restaurant, I had pumpkin ravioli and an amazing smoothie thing, and then at 2:00 we met Eduardo to go out and about. He wanted to show us Down Town Quito so we loaded into a cab and drove off. Being in down town made it very apparent that it is a third world country. It was very crowded with people, cars honking and speeding by and children begging for money. It makes one realize how well we have it back home.
Some of the building are really great. They're old and some are painted in this fantastic ocher color. We went into several churches which were filled with stunning carvings covered in gold leaf. There were also lots of really lovely paintings. Unfortunately I couldn't bring my camera inside so I don't have any pictures from them.
Next we went to a museum that was all about everyday life in Quito through the ages. They had lots of exhibits and copies of housing and everyday things as well as real old pots and clothes. It had some really nice courtyards as well, with great little fountains and trees. We walked around some more and went to a little restaurant where we got La Empanadas Verdes, plantain filled empanadas, which were really yummy and Humita which is like a corn tamale like pastry that was delicious as well. After we took a cab back to the hotel and even though it was only 7:15 (5:15 LA time) mom and Greg were both exhausted and went to sleep soon after. So far, it has been a good trip. It's very different from back home and I couldn't imagine living here, but its been really nice to see a new place and experience something fresh.