The mornings were pretty much the same. Every day I would go back to my kennel and study Spanish for about 4 hours. Even though the lessons were not filled with new material, it was very good to practice everything to make sure I understood it. The only problem was that on Wednesday, the cat that was living in the kennel was having some digestion problems and we got a good laugh at how much the cat actually stank. All in all it was a good experience to be living in the kennel as it just added to the story and my teacher was very good and had me practice everything many times.
The afternoons were a different story. I had a different teacher in the afternoons, Adriana. The way things worked in the afternoon is we would go out on the town to explore the city and practice my Spanish. This was a great way to learn and I probably got the most out of the school with these afternoon classes. Adriana was also very knowledgeable about Quito and quite enjoyed my sence of humour (most of the teachers did) and suprisingly it was understood, even with the language barrier.
The fist trip was Tuesday afternoon when we went to the Museo de la Ciudad (Museum of the City). This Museum is located in a former mental hospital in old town Quito that had laid unused for many years before being restored into this wonderful museum. It covered the history of the city and surrounding area from when the native inhabitants first arrived in Qutio to present day.
Upon leaving the museum, Adriana told me about the Monastery across the street (Monasterio de Carmen Alto) where the nuns sell their wears through a revolving door so as to remain secluded. Through this door they sell bread, traditional sweets, brewed elixirs to help all that ails you, and mistela....a traditional Ecuadorian spirit. Adriana also told me about another monastery in the city. Here when the nuns first join the convent they spend 2 years in solitary confinement and once finished are only allowed one hour a day to either watch TV or talk.
The Wednesday afternoon trip was to El Mercado Santa Clara, one of the main markets in town where Adriana was going to teach me about the different foods and visit some shops around the market to better understand the crafts. It was extremely fascinating to see all the new-to-me fruit that is grown in Ecuador. She had me buy the most interesting fruit to eat, basically so she could see my reaction. The one I ate with her (I don't know the name) had a hard orange shell and was about the size of a pear. Inside it was filled with slimy grey seeds that were very crunchy when you ate them. They tasted wonderful, but the texture left something to be desired.
One of the things that fascinated me the most about the market was the number of medicinal plants they sell. They appear to brew many different plants in a tea to help with everything. They sell it pre-packaged for high blood pressure, arthritis, gout, and digestive problems. I learned lots of "colourful" words as Adriana she grew increasingly frustrated with not knowing the names of many of these plants.
After the market we went up to the university and had a very in-depth discussion about the political differences between Canada and Ecuador. It has given me a greater understanding of the issues in Ecuador, and they make the issues in Canada seem very unimportant. The most interesting thing about the conversation is that I might not know enough Spanish to ask for a bottle of water, but I was able to understand the complexities of politics!
Thursday's trip was to the Museum of Water (Yaku, the native word for water). The view from this hilltop museum overlooking the city was magnificent. As I still didn't understand the bus system, I have no idea how we got there, but it was well worth it. The main focus of the museum is to educate people about the importance of water in the world and why they should conserve and protect the water. The entire museum is explored with a Spanish speaking guide, so it was a good thing I already knew about the water cycle so I could grasp a few things that they talked about. Even though I didn't understand everything, listening to the song of the Spanish language was very useful. The most interesting exhibit at the museum was an art display where they took pictures of ice crystals and the photographers selected music that best fit with the mood of the pictures.
The trip on Friday was to the Basilica. This is the newest church in the old town of Quito and is built in the gothic style of many European churches. The gargoyles are not your traditional animals, but are all animals found in the Galapagos Islands. Construction started in the 1920s and has yet to be finished due to monetary constraints. You can see that some of the stained glass windows are broken due to not having enough money to repair them. With that said, I would hardly have noticed the construction was not complete if Adriana had not pointed it out. 
One of the main attractions of the Basilica is the ability to climb to the top of the towers, the highest of any church in South America. As many of you know, I'm not the biggest fan of heights, but I did my best to scale the towers. The first tower you come to is approached by walking along wooden planks (I still don't think they are safe) that cross the ceiling of the church, then you climb up a very steep ladder to get outside on the roof. Then, if you have the guts, there are ladders that go up the outside of the tower to a viewing platform. There was no way I was going to do that ...... so I watched everyone else. The second tower went much higher. You climb inside the clock tower up spiral staircases until you reached the clock. From there you take ladders (inside mind you) up to where the church bells are (which you can ring) and then up higher to another viewing platform, maybe 10 or 12 stories high. The view from there was magnificent.That evening I was awake enough to join the other students for a night on the town. We went down to Mariscal Sucre (new part of town) to have some drinks and go dancing. Personally, I think I'm a good dancer, but compared to Ecuadorians, I'm white to the bone. Everyone is very musical and rhythm is in their blood. As it was Carnival, they were also dancing in the street, banging drums, walking on stilts and dressed in festive costumes. I knew I would enjoy Carnival, but I didn't know how much.
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