October 26th-- "The Opening Ceremonies"
         

                
                     The day before we picked the song and the two exchange students of the class (TJ from Canada and I) choreographed the dance.  Now you are probably wondering what all this is for.  Every colegio here in Quito has a school sports tournament that is spread over a months time.  Each curso (or grade) creates a team name, picks a mascot, and then presents in front of the whole school in the opening ceremonies which is this video.  Each grade has the freedom to do whatever they want in the presentation so we decided to go all out.  Our mascot was the "Pac-Man" and so our team name was "Six Pac-Man."  In my opinion, this whole sport tournament concept is awesome because of the team building that is involved.  The classes become closer and this gives them a sense of teamwork.  Just the other day, we as quinto curso girls played sexto curso (senior girls).  A lot of the girls on our team thought it was not possible to beat the seniors but things changed that day.  We ended up winning the game 2-0 with two epic goals made by our whole team effort.  All the quinto curso guys were shouting hilarious chants as we, girls, kept up our game.  Those are the moments that I will always remember. :)

"Six Pac-Man"--They go all out when it comes to team spirit :) Here are two wonderful young ladies in my class: Majo y Briggette

The team! Yes, we have matching shirts which are awesome.

The quinto curso ladies; we are getting more confident with our soccer skills after every game.

The lovely sexto curso class (seniors) who all dressed up from the movie "Grease."

Our mascot, the Pac-Man, and I 

Getting ready to dance in front of the whole school

    Just yesterday, I was standing on the equator with one foot in the southern hemisphere, one in the northern hemisphere.  Now, that is a grand concept! A woman was actually trying to balance an egg on the exact line because it is said if one tries to do this, it is possible because of the complete balance on the equator.  The problem with this is that the equator line has changed because of continental shifts, earthquakes, and the like but hey I was technically on the equator or very close to it; and yes, the toilets actually do flush the other way here in Quito, Ecuador because we are in the southern hemisphere.

What's Different About Living On the Equator:

1. There is no day-light savings time because there is no need to save daylight. It gets dark around 6-6:30 pm almost all year around.
2. Technically speaking, there are only two seasons here: summer & winter. (It's November here right now and it's sunny and beautiful out---what a life!)
3. Millions of different species of animals live in Ecuador because of the four diverse climates/environments in just one country: a) the Galapagos b) the coast c) the mountainous region b) the Amazon
4. When it's sunny out, it is really really bright outside! You can get burnt in just the first minutes of being out in the sun---of course this happens because one is closest to the sun on the equator most of the year.
5. Many animals migrate here which results in penguins from Antarctica and whales from Alaska hanging out together at the Galapagos :) (Going there in about two weeks!) 

Babett and I standing at the equator=Latitude 0--0--0 (La Mitad del Mundo)

         Now it is time to learn a little bit about the Ecuadorian food...

               First off, the food is wonderful here, absolutely wonderful!! Every time when I come home from colegio (school), I know a lovely plate of Ecuadorian food is waiting for me.  It's like I'm eating at a restaurant but every day for every meal. Yes! 


            Typical Ecuadorian Dishes/Foods:




"la fritada"----a dish that includes corn on the cob (choclo), sweet plantains (plantano maduro), beef (carne), baked potatoes (papas fritadas)

"los gatos encerrados"--this literally translates to wrapped-up cats but of course, that is not what one is actually eating; this is a wonderful dessert that consists of cheese and banana cooked inside a fried outer shell (SO, SO TASTY!)

"colada morada"--this is a typical drink that is made during "el Dia de los Disfuntos" or the "Day of the Dead"; this thick, fruit drink consists of 5+ different fruits including the rinds of pineapples and it is usually drunk when heated

"caldo de gallina"--chicken soup; they basically put half a chicken in your soup and wish you luck

"caldo de patas"--another wonderful soup that is made with peanuts and cow's foot ( la pata de la vaca); now this may sound gross but it is actually quite tasty

 

"chocolate caliente con queso"--they don't just drink hot chocolate here, they drink hot chocolate with cheese




"pan, pan, pan"--bread, in general, is the basis to almost every meal here; when you go to a bakery you don't just have whole-wheat and plain bread to choose from, you have over 25+ options. I have yet to try every type.

 "jugos frescos"---in general, fresh fruit drinks are very typical here in Ecuador. I drink at least two different fresh fruits drinks everyday and they are so delicious! Types: guayaba, guava, la tomate del arbol, piña, mora (blackberry), naranja (orange), etc.



















   "cuy"---guinea pig; enough said











                  Food is definitely a huge part of the Ecuadorian culture; meal time is specifically a special time to bond with the family here.  I have shared many hilarious, cultural, as well as religious discussions over wonderful meals of delicious Ecuadorian food with my host family.  I've also made it my goal to learn how to cook Ecuadorian style :) 


            More to come! If you got really hungry by looking at all this wonderful food (except the guinea pig...), I challenge you to go for it and try to cook one these tasty meals yourself.  If the Ecuadorians can do it, it's possible.

¡Buena suerte y buen provecho!

       Serena