Bienvenidos a Ecuador

I was incredibly excited going into the trip, and had no idea what to expect, this being my first time out of the country. As we waited in the airport for the flight, it began to be more real. Flying in at night made it hard to see where we were, or what was around us. All we had was a small screen in front of us periodically showing us our progress and how close we were to Quito. All of the sudden the lights of a huge city appeared in the mountains, and we were right there. Flying in to the airport was much different than anything in the United States. We seemed to be surrounded by buildings and it was as if we flew right into the city. As we got off the plane, it was an amazing feeling to be in a different country for the first time. The language barrier quickly became apparent, and I knew what it felt like to be the foreigner for the first time in my life. Going through airport security and customs was also quite an interesting experience. I was prepared for a thorough questioning and a long wait, but I simply had to give him my passport and wait as he talked to his amiga in migracion. We made it through and loaded on to the bus that was waiting for us. Quito was unlike any city I had ever seen before. The city was very cramped and there were very few buildings over 3 or 4 stories high. It also quickly became apparent that the traffic laws were quite different than in the United States, if not completely nonexistent. Driving through the city and arriving at the hotel really made the reality of being in a different country for over two months set in.