Near our apartment, is two parks. One of them, Parque El Ejido has many play structures and a zip line. The zip line was quite an exciting find and everyone has been eager to get back!

This past Tuesday, Holly, Greta and I began spanish classes at a school about a 5 minute walk from our apartment. We go for 4 hours and we will go for all of this coming week as well. I sure hope I can get a grip on Spanish. Church today was all a blur. At one point in Relief Society one of the woman began to talk about me. I believe she was telling about how I came to an activity this last week and am welcomed. I panicked a little bit wondering if I was expected to make a comment. But I think that generally it's ok that I don't speak the language well and our church community knows I'm trying to learn. Back to church being a blur today... I can pick out some words but not enough to truly understand! Conor told me that today he made a mental note of today so that in 3 months he could compare and appreciate how far he's come. Hopefully i make progress!

So the girls and I go to school... and I really do like it. It's a challenge for sure! Last week, all the students made ensalada de las fruitas. In it was: piñas, frases, naranjas, papayas, mangos, bananas, cerezas... it was so good! A very fun activity.

Last Sunday, we went to Parque La Carolina with our very new (local) friends, Vivian, Diego and Emi. They were in an apartment a couple doors down for half of last week, but now they have returned to their home a few hours from here. It sure was fun to have friends for a few days! Their daughter played with our girls and I tried my best to speak spanish with Vivian. One night, after the children were asleep, we stayed up late playing an Ecuador card game called Cuarenta (40). 

Parque la Carolina is a big park, 165 acres. There are so many things within the park - play structures, lagoon, botanical garden, a track, soccer fields, vendors... it was very fun to go see it and extra special to spend time with new friends! We hope to see Vivian, Diego and Emi again. We have been invited to our home and will try to make that happen in our last month in Ecuador.

On our very first full day in Ecuador, I was tired and a little culture shocked! Before we came to Ecuador, I worked my buns off organizing and cleaning my house for the family who are staying there while we are gone. Moving into an apartment that isn't quite as clean and nice as my home was a bit of a stumble for me. I'm mostly over it now. We are in this apartment for a total of 2 weeks and then we go to Cuenca for 6 weeks. We are very confident that our apartment in Cuenca will be clean. There's someone who will come to clean it every couple of days... so... feeling good about that one. Our current apartment is a good size, probably about 1000 sq feet. Our next apartment will be smaller. Hopefully we don't kill each other!

On our first day here, we went to the Parque la Alameda which we can see from our apartment. Conor and the girls rented a row boat and were soaked by the water spraying up in the lagoon.

One thing that has surprised me about the city, Quito is that there really are stray dogs everywhere! It seems as though they have their territory. We see the same strays in Parque La Alameda. In a way that is reassuring. We saw that dog last time, it left us alone and didn't bite so it shouldn't bite today.

We picked our apartment well I think. We are very close to el mercado (the market). My first visit there was so overwhelming. I think in part because we had just arrived and it's so different! There are so many smells and almost any food item can be bought including cows' hooves, just in case you are in the mood. 

The women that work there all wear lilac purple uniforms - aprons with hair coverings. And they all want you to buy! The women are very inviting - inviting to look and taste. The fruit of Ecuador is amazing. Blackberries (moras) grow year round. I've never had papaya or passion fruit until this trip. I try to eat avocado daily. I want to figure out the best way to consume more plantains. I will never be the same. Holly and Greta like mangos the best. Oddly, Maeve isn't digging the fruit scene as much as I think she should!