The first few days in Ecuador did not disappoint! On February 3, 2022, we left Minnesota around 10:00 a.m., had layovers in Chicago and Miami, and after a long day of travel, arrived in Quito at 2:00 a.m. There is something magical about arriving at night. On our long bus ride from the airport to Casa Foch, the hotel where we are staying, I was not able to see much out the window because it was dark, but I was able to sneak little peaks that made me extra excited for morning the next day. 

Our first day started with a nice introduction to our course, Sustainability in Ecuador, as well as the city. Our first classes introduced us to many of the people that will be teaching us while we are here. From Juan Miguel, we will learn about the history of Ecuador; from Lou Jost, about orchids and the Baños region, and we will learn as well from the many different excursions we will be going on. I am interested in this class as it will weave together disciplines in the sciences and humanities to provide nuanced discussions on sustainability.

Then, after a delicious lunch, we went on a walking excursion in the area and stopped at a nearby park. After returning from this quick introduction to the area, many of us wanted to go out to play frisbee before dinner. I originally thought we were going to the park we had stopped at earlier, but we ended up going to a much larger park. This park had so many different sections that each time you went around a corner, a new section of the park opened up. For instance, there was a lazy river that you can go paddle boating on, multiple jungle gyms, a track, soccer fields, basketball courts, and many vendors (including one that sells shredded cheese on ice cream, which is apparently pretty good but I have yet to try). While we were at the park, I looked up to the mountains and noticed that it looked like it was about to rain. I have realized that it does rain quite frequently here, though usually just in the afternoon, and not for too long at a time. To conclude the evening, we got to test our Spanish ability when ordering at a nearby bakery where we got different pastries and ice cream.  

Our second day started with more classes, including the first class for our semester-long Media and Democracy course. This course will look into the impact that media has democratic decision-making in a global context, and we will also be producing a final documentary video to address this topic. In the afternoon, we went to downtown Quito for another tour. Driving in Quito makes me realize how flat Minnesota is! We drove up and down some steep hills here, and you can almost always see the mountains. On the tour, we went to one of the main plazas that is surrounded by important buildings. The plaza was quite lively and had a pack of dogs that was hanging out in the area. We also visited a church, Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús, in which nearly the entire interior is covered in gold leaf. We were also able to go up on the church’s roof for an amazing view of the city. The tour was fun and interesting, but my favorite part was the chocolate tasting at Yumbos, which is reputed to have the highest quality chocolate in Ecuador (which is impressive given that a significant amount of the world’s best chocolate is from Ecuador). At Yumbos, we tasted a variety of chocolates: my favorites were the milk chocolate with vanilla and one with cocoa nibs in it. Other flavors included chocolate with lemongrass, chili peppers, orange, and ginger.

In these first days of the Global Semester, we stayed busy getting to know the place where we will spend the next month. The food at Casa Foch is amazing, the scenery and weather is quite different from Minnesota, and I have already learned a lot. We are off to the cloud forest next, and many more adventures await!