I'm alive and well and having fun!

Hey everybody, welcome to my blog!

For the next six months I'll be in Quito, Ecuador on my study abroad program. I arrived here last Saturday, the 16th of August and was immediately greeted by my host family, Fernando and Ivonne, two very happy and caring people who live here in Quito. Since I've been here, they've taken me to various places around the city, like El Panecillo, which is a big mountain with a huge statue on top. My family has also taken me out at night to give me a tour of a part of town that is especially beautiful when it's all lit up at night. We went to La Basilica, which is a cathedral that's been under construction for the past 120 years and still isn't complete. La Plaza de San Fransisco is also a very beautiful place, and we went there too.

My housing situation is very nice. Like I said, both of my host parents are extremely nice, and although they have three grandchildren and another soon on the way, they are very young at heart and take good care of me. I have a room on the third floor of the house that has a fantastic view of the city. We live a few blocks from the movie theater and one very easy bus ride away from the futbol stadium.

The university (Universidad de San Fransico en

Quito - USFQ) here is very pretty too. A lot is put in to making the campus grounds as beautiful as possible. This week is for intensive Spanish classes that last four hours each morning, but that's OK, because they serve us fantastic meals for lunch. We still can't get over how good the food is.

I've done some exploring of the city with friends and there is SO much here. I'm glad I have

a full six months to get to know this place. Keep checking in here to get updates about my travels. If you

have questions, feel free to post them as comments and I'll answer them in following entries. I also plan on putting a web album up with Picasa, so once I do that I'll let you all know and you'll be able to see more of my pictures.

Hasta luego y chao,

~Joey