¡Bienvenidos!

¡Hola! Thanks for stopping by! I will be documenting my study abroad experience this semester on this blog in addition to Instagram (@emngtravel_ng).

I have been in Quito, Ecuador a little over two days now. Yesterday I met my lovely host family who will welcome me into their house for the next four months. Upon arriving, I noticed Quito’s environment is very different from LA’s environment. First, of course, the elevation in reportedly 9,260 feet above sea level (unreliably referencing the altitude tool via Snapchat). Though jet lag is not an issue, altitude sickness surely is. The altitude sickness becomes distinctly noticeable when walking up stairs, but even when you’re standing still, in bed sleeping. On my first night, I felt like I was spinning in my sleep! Being in a city like Quito also means pollution, which also adds to another difficulty in breathing with smog. Thinking back to pollution conditions when traveling with my family in Asia, where natives often wore masks to shield their nose and mouth, the smog here seems far worse. Though transportation is cheap, at 25 US cents, half of the population drives in the congested streets.

Despite a few conditions that I will have to acclimate to, Quito is beautiful and picturesque. Next week, I will start classes to strengthen my Spanish proficiency and take a bread making class at the university with Ecuadorian students. In the upcoming months I will also be traveling to the Galápagos Islands and other destinations! 🙂