Monday night out

Elections are coming up: People campaigning in the Plaza Grande

Looking up at the Basilica

Cool view of part of the ceiling in the Palacio de los Arzobispos

Known as "Calle de las Siete Cruces" because of the seven churches with seven distinct crosses on this street

One of the many cathedrals

View from Plaza de San Francisco

Another view from the Plaza

The actual Catedral de San Francisco

All of the birds hanging out on the church

Well, a lot has happened in the last three days. On Sunday, I went on a tour of the historical part of Quito with my family. My uncle was mainly the one who told me about things, but it was fun walking around with everyone. I saw so many churches and other things, it was pretty difficult to process everything. The churches that I went into were all gorgeous, although many are undergoing renovations. We went in during mass so it was a little awkward walking around while the service was going on, but my uncle insisted that I see everything and other people were doing it. I just didn't take any pictures of the inside. I also saw the Teatro Bolivar, the national ballet group dancing, and lots of people. There are always just people hanging out in the plazas and walking around everywhere. We also drove into Quito to a mall that made me feel just like I was walking back into America. Although many people in this nation are poor, the stores are just like those in the U.S., at least in the malls. The prices are also comparable, so I didn't go crazy and buy a lot of cheap stuff. I took lots of pictures of everything I saw, but I can't remember most of the names. I'll try to look them up later.

Then, last night was pretty interesting. First of all, in school yesterday, everyone was talking about how they went to the bull fights in Sangolqui this past weekend. This happens once a year during this festival, which is going on right now. I didn't go, though my mom tried to go but the police stopped us becuase it was too crowded, so we went into Quito instead. My sister told me she was going last night and, since I didn't have that much homework, I decided to go with her. Her boyfriend was driving us around and he had two friends with him. So we all piled in his car and drove around Sangolqui for an hour and a half. There were just so many people there. It was only five, but it gets darker here earlier, so by the time we left, it was getting dark. Then, we drove to this parking lot and just kind of hung out there for a few hours. I guess people my age here just like to socialize where they can. It was kind of fun. One of the friends tried to teach me salsa, but I'm not that great at dancing. I also met a racecar driver of some sort who was really funny. I was home by nine, so I just finished my homework and went to bed early because I was really tired. The whole language barrier was definately present the whole time. I couldn't really understand most of what was being said. And, some people were trying to talk in English with me, but it was so broken that I had some trouble understanding them. But overall, it was a fun night.

Well, I'm having some trouble with the computer so I'll try to completely update later. Chao.